SELECT Futsal Premier League – Round 13 Open Women’s Review
All hail Inner West Magic – Queens of Open Women’s Premier League… and Futsal Cup knockout!
Magic’s week had a distinct silver-lining after they beat UTS 2-1 in a stunning midweek Futsal Cup finale and then overturned a two-goal halftime PL deficit to a fantastic Easts on Saturday to level in the final 20 seconds and seal the first-past-post trophy as well.
It was elementary anyway as Mountain Majik fell 1-2 to UTS Northside 1-2 in a terrific bout of round-13 matches that also saw Dural Warriors draw 1-1 with finals-bound Campbelltown Quake and Enfield Allstars upstage Mascot Vipers 2-1 – all to make the final weekend redundant in terms of playoff berths but intriguing none-the-less with several side-battles still in play.
Top-dogs Inner West (33 points) are unbeaten in 19 league and cup games for a reason and their resolve to snatch a point versus Hakoah created an even healthier buffer back to nearest-rivals Mountain (27) and left everyone else clutching at dust.
Behind both is a cascade of mini-wars. Campbelltown and Northside are locked on 21 points (Quake plus-six better off in goal-difference) and normally they’d just meet each other in the first-round of semi-finals.
This time is different as fourth place has an unwanted fixture against leaders Magic (no preliminary final this season), while third place face Majik for the other grand final seat.
Quake play Majik this weekend; UTS meet Allstars.
Fifth-placed Easts (14) can let loose with nothing to gain and nothing to lose on the final weekend, but they’re none-the-less dragged into the wooden-spoon battle as they face bottom-side Dural.
Should Mascot (12) or Enfield (10) lose their last-round games – which is likely considering Vipers face newly-crowned premiers Inner West, Enfield vs playoff-bound UTS – a Warriors win would catapult them over either or both (they’ll even overtake Allstars with a draw).
Perhaps the most pivotal battle however is the all-hands-to-arms club-championship warcry (the most stressful since South Coast tipped PL foundation-club Campbelltown into div-2 three summers ago) as long-serving giants Enfield and Dural remain separated by seven points (although their men’s have a game-in-hand versus Quake) and a 21 points dangling in front of them this Saturday.
Allstars face UTS (sixth in CC) while Warriors play highly-ranked Vipers (second).
Warriors level Quake
Dural Warriors dug deep to grab a 1-1 draw with Campbelltown Quake at a leaky Minto Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The home side had plenty of possession and running but weren’t as clinical as they would’ve liked and a loose Linda Dudek pass just before the break freed up a Warriors 2-on-1 break that Sara Comert put away.
Quake created a lot of chances but found out why Dural claim the league’s second-best defensive record and ultimately had to go fifth-man with 10 minutes remaining just to get the better of a Warriors wall, and uncannily it was a neat Bethany Gordon run down the right and rifling shot against her former club that saw Campbelltown steal a 1-1 point.
The result left both clubs precariously poised but for obviously different reasons.
Finals-bound Quake are level with Northside (the ‘Towners have a better goal-difference) and both sides will want to avoid meeting runaway leaders Inner West in the knockout semi-finals.
Warriors are last on the ladder and must beat Hakoah this weekend to have any chance of being the wooden spoon recipient – one season on from making the grand final (a draw may be good enough if Allstars lose to UTS).
Campbelltown coach Mel Keith wanted her team to get something from a difficult challenge, and in that regard they delivered.
“Tough game! We had the better of the run in the first half and butchered a few chances… with two to go a Beth Gordon strike from a free run down the sideline broke her former club’s heart,” she said.
“Dural stood tall today in every age group and their women’s were no exception. We found a way to break through and get a result out of it, and with that I’m pleased.”
Northside topple Mountain
UTS Northside upset Mountain Majik 2-1 at PCYC Dee Why on Saturday afternoon to boost their playoff power heading into the post-season.
The home side turned up with an energy overload following their spirited 1-2 Futsal Cup midweek loss to Inner West and rocketed to a 2-0 halftime lead courtesy of Sarah Roger and Genevieve Tucker strikes, and it proved enough despite Mountaineer Tara Pender pegging one back before fulltime.
Northside’s next mission is to avoid a confrontation with juggernauts Inner West, and they can only do that with a little help from the team they just beat.
Majik play third-placed Quake next weekend and a Mountain win or draw will open the window for UTS to slide through should they beat Allstars.
The ‘Green-Machine’ have become a real premier league force but have a real Northside thorn in their side, who’ve won the past five meetings (Tucker scoring four goals in the last two while Roger’s scored in the last three straight) and, beautifully, will be their likely semi-final opponents if the above scenario plays out in UTS’ favour.
Like the safe driver everyone should be over the holiday season, Northside coach Danny Beauchamp had his eyes on the road.
“The girls executed the game-plan well defensively, and while we could’ve been more clinical with the ball I was happy to get a win on the board and lock in finals,” he said.
Allstars blind Vipers
Enfield Allstars turned the tables on Mascot Vipers in a terrific 2-1 Saturday-evening victory at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre.
A scoreless first term preceded a glitzy second where Vipers stole the lead minutes after the restart through Kiara Farquhar, only for lowly Allstars to band together and produce a stunning fightback, Lara White levelling with a quarter-hour to play and Annalise Schiraldi bobbing up for a 43rd-minute matchwinner – the second time they’ve beaten Vipers by a goal this summer.
The result ended Mascot’s playoff tilt and inexplicably dragged them into a tail-end battle as Enfield (10 points) shifted in between Vipers (12) and Warriors (9) ahead of dramatic regular-season finale.
As mentioned earlier, should Mascot (12) or Enfield (10) lose their last-round games (Vipers face newly-crowned premiers Inner West, Enfield vs playoff-bound UTS), a Warriors win over Hakoah would leave Allstars last.
Hakoah deadlock Magic
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah dished it up to Inner West only for a theatrical last-ditch Magic attack to level the scores at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Easts showed no fear in racing to a 2-0 advantage at the changeover, and it looked like they had a prized scalp in the bag before Amy Dahdah stepped up for her usual does of brilliance and steal a 2-2 draw.
Magic applied the early pressure hitting the post three times in the opening 10 minutes but were sucker-punched twice with two great Hakoah goals to trail by two at halftime.
Some stern words in the changerooms got Inner West going and the Easts defence and keeper needed to be top-notch to keep them out, but with 10 minutes to go Dahdah beat three players and perfectly sliced one into the onion bag to reduce the margin.
Magic piled on the pressure hitting the post again and left it late when superstar Dahdah dribbled past the entire Hakoah team and unleashed a left-foot rocket that hit the back of the net with 30 seconds left to send the large IW contingent into delirium.
With an unprecedented triple-trophy on the cards (Futsal Cup, PL premiership and championship), coach Matteo Maiorana was succinct.
“It took another wonder goal from Amy Dahdah to keep the streak alive,” he said.
“It was a good game. I thought defensively we were poor and that’s not how we play as we’re normally very good.
“Hakoah counted very well in the first half and scored two well-taken goals. We lifted the tempo and I think a draw was a fair result even though we hit the post four times… [Easts] are well drilled, credit to their coaches.
“I think it’s a good sign for us to be down 2-0 with 10 to go and trust in ourselves and our game-plan to get ourselves a point; it puts us in good stead for the finals.”
Next week’s games
SELECT Futsal Premier League round-14 Saturday matches features Mountain Majik against Campbelltown Quake at Blacktown Leisure Centre (2.20pm), Inner West Magic tackle Mascot Vipers at Valentine Sports Park (5.20pm), UTS Northside face Enfield Allstars at PCYC Dee Why (5.30pm), and Eastern Suburbs Hakoah host Dural Warriors at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (7.50pm).
– By Dan de Nardi
