SELECT Futsal Premier League 2 – Round 12 Open Men’s Preview

Three of the four spots in the finals gauntlet have been secured as Sydney City Eagles, SD Raiders and Phoenix Futsal will finish as the top three.

Underneath, there is a traffic jam of four square pegs to fit into one round hole aka fourth.

So, these finals three weekends of action will be fast, furious and full of action to see who does fill that spot.

West City Crusaders vs Sydney Futsal Club, Saturday 8 December, 5:50pm, Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium

Fresh from their scalp on Saturday night, Sydney Futsal Club make the trip out west to Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium, taking on sixth placed West City Crusaders in the opening fixture of the weekend.

Sydney Futsal Club crafted one of the bigger results on the season, downed Boomerangs FS 3-1 in Canberra before they lost 3-2 to Phoenix the next day. Crusaders had a downbeat doubleheader weekend, with a pair of losses to make it three games without a win.

Saturday shapes up as a vital bounce back game for the Crusaders. Sitting two points from fourth, and in a slump, they need to find their rhythm again, with Simon Zahra and Ryan Faulkner at the forefront.

The visitors will feel energised headed to Windsor, they have found their scoring in recent weeks. Nathan Spinola leads the way with seven goals, and if the sharpshooter can be on pace again, we could see another big result Saturday night.

SD Raiders vs Boomerangs FS, Saturday 8 December, 6:20pm, AIS Training Halls

Second placed SD Raiders FC are the next side to make the nation’s capital, taking on finals chasing Boomerangs FS, Saturday night down at AIS Training Halls.

It was a mixed doubleheader weekend for SD Raiders with a haul of four points, nine goals scored as they remain seated in second position whilst for the Boomerangs, they had a torrid time, a pair of losses to Sydney Futsal and the Eagles, have them on the outside looking into the finals equation.

SD Raiders have locked up a finals spot, alongside Phoenix so the final three weeks serve as a period to work on stuff for the run home. The SD Raiders can certainly find the net (they are near half a century scored) finals games can be tight affairs so their defence needs a tweak after the nine goals conceded last week. A powerful Boomerangs side is a good test of that on Saturday.

For Boomerangs, it is about finding the winning feeling, again. After three games unbeaten, they were dealt a tough blow to their finals aspirations last weekend. Coach Kristian Collins hopes it won’t be a repeat of the start of the season, where they struggled for goals because they’ll need them in a see-sawing contest on Saturday.

Match of the Round: Raiders Futsal Club vs South Coast Taipans, Saturday 8 December, 6:40pm, Thomas Hassell Anglican College

Hanging onto fourth place, Raiders Futsal Club host a resurgent South Coast Taipans, looking to possibly make a late run Saturday night at Thomas Hassell Anglican College.

Despite their collapse against SD Raiders, 5-4, in the local derby, Raiders FC are still alive. Their Saturday success has them in fourth, and in pole position for the finals. Their opponents, South Coast Taipans have entered the mix after a perfect weekend taking all six points and they believe there could be a late charge.

If Raiders FC want to stay in fourth, they need to be the first half Raiders which blitzed SD Raiders. The home side piled on four goals and the impressive nature in how Hassan Jalloh and Anthony Tomelic worked their openings, could form a problem for the Taipans in defence.

For the Taipans, wins is the only thing they are concerned with. They have the triple threat of Matthew Mazevski, Mitchell Ferraro and Rob Delbanco is something for their rivals to be concerned with and if they make it three in a row, it could be a fun final fortnight for that fourth spot between the logjammed sides.

Phoenix Futsal Club vs Sydney City Eagles, Saturday 8 December, 8:40pm, PCYC Hornsby

Finishing off the weekend, Sydney City Eagles aim for a dozen games unbeaten, traveling to PCYC Hornsby, facing Phoenix Futsal Club in a potential finals preview on Saturday night.

Both come into the contest on a high, the Eagles because despite being 4-nil down, they maintain their unbeaten record, then turned aside Boomerangs FS on Sunday 4-2. Phoenix rebounded from a loss on Saturday to lock up third spot with their 3-2 win against Sydney Futsal Club.

Injuries has cruelled Phoenix at the wrong end of the season. They were short-handed across the weekend, may have a few troops missing again, on Saturday. A bright spot has been the purple patch Joshua Mathie has been in – three goals in his last three games – takes his tally to double digits for the season and someone for the Eagles to be wary of across the 50 minutes.

The Eagles were tested, and they sored through the challenges. They have the Premiership secured with maximum points from this encounter. Add to that, their attack continued to purr, John Dimitrakas picked up an assist while Judah Cleur has emerged as a major option with 10 goals this season, so we’re set for an offensive explosion to round off a wonderful weekend of futsal action.

-By Justin Davies