SELECT Futsal Premier League – Round 8 Open Men’s Preview
SELECT Futsal Premier League round 8 Open Men’s Saturday matches features Campbelltown Quake versus Enfield Allstars at Minto Indoor Sports Centre (4.50pm), Dural Warriors host Mountain Majik at The Centre (6.50pm), UTS Northside face Inner West Magic at PCYC Dee Why (7.20pm), and Eastern Suburbs Hakoah meet Mascot Vipers at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (8.50pm).
A top-of-the-table meeting between Dural (16 points) and Mountain (13) could be a blessing for the chasing pack, with Mascot (11), Inner West (10), UTS Northside (8), Easts (7), Enfield (7) and Campbelltown (7) all so close behind.
It’s all Magic in the club championship as they topped the 100-mark and offered a rabbit out of a hat to the rest – Mascot (81), Easts (77), Mountain (74) and UTS (72), dropping off Campbelltown (58), Dural (52) and Enfield (45).
Campbelltown Quake vs Enfield Allstars
There’s a very different feel to Campbelltown Quake versus Enfield Allstars at Minto Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon, but it’s high stakes none-the-less should either side want to make a top-four charge.
Normally it’s a free-for-all between these two, who average 9.2 goals a meeting, but this time they’ve ‘brought knives to a gunfight’ as Campbelltown’s amassed a league-low 12 goals while Enfield don’t fare much better at 16.
To put it in perspective, in 121 PL matches Enfield’s averaged 4.5 goals per outing (they’re currently at 2.2 this season) while Quake in 140 runs average 4.0 (and they’re currently at 1.7). Dural top the pops at 4.7 goals a clip.
Campbelltown lead the head-to-head 10-8 with Danny Martinez the noticeable danger man having scored 11 goals in the last six Enfield encounters.
Dural Warriors vs Mountain Majik
Leaders Dural Warriors meet Mountain Majik in a delicious top-two clash at The Centre on Saturday evening.
A five-game winning streak has propelled Dural from the basement to the penthouse and they can add floors of space in between them and the rest should they get up over a vastly-improved Mountain side this weekend.
To add extra spice to the fixture: Majik snapped a 10-game losing streak to Dural winning 3-2 last time they ran onto court together.
Apart from that it’s been one-way Warriors traffic – of 77 goals in the fixture, 62 have been scored by Dural, Glen Kelshaw particularly active scoring nine.
Mountain will set a new club record should they win on the road a third-straight time.
UTS Northside vs Inner West Magic
A top-four spot is up for grabs when UTS Northside face Inner West Magic at PCYC Dee Why on Saturday night.
Back-to-back wins have Inner West on the wise but fifth-placed UTS can steal their top-four position this weekend.
Despite Magic holding a commanding 7-2 winning edge overall, every game has been decided by three goals or less and the last three have seen Northside win 4-2 at this venue last season buffeted by tight one-goal Inner West wins.
UTS will hope Karim Moursi continues his fondness of playing Magic as he’s scored in the last four contests, while Jonathan Barzel is the fixtures top-scorer with six goals.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah vs Mascot Vipers
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah needs to up the ante against Mascot Vipers at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Both sides play out of All Sorts so it’s familiar settings all around, but it’s Hakoah with their backs to the wall as successive losses places them joint-bottom.
Not that third-placed Vipers are all that far ahead, four points in fact, and it was a dogged 1-1 draw in the first round – the first ever premier league fixture between the sides.
– By Dan de Nardi
