Round 2 Review – Futsal Premier League Open Men’s

2019/20 Futsal Premier League round two was as tight as it gets as Mountain Majik held off Campbelltown Quake 6-4, Inner West Magic edged Boomerangs FS 2-1, UTS Northside pipped Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 1-0, and Mascot Vipers stunned Enfield Allstars 3-1.

Remarkably the away team has won seven out of eight games so far this season (note: Mascot is playing from Enfield’s home arena this season), and a paltry 18 round-two goals scored is the fifth-lightest scoring-round on record (two of the scores below it included a no-result fixture).

And can you believe it’s Mascot leading both the men’s & women’s points tables after just the second weekend of action.

Campbelltown Quake 4 (Harrison Bagot, Mark Symington 3) Mountain Majik 6 (Chris Barbera 3, Aaron Fraser, Alex Vlismas, Daniel Muzzarelli)

Boomerangs 1 (Jayde James-Ward) Inner West Magic 2 (Anthony Haddad 2)

Eastern Subs Hakoah 0 UTS Northside 1 (Michael Loupis)

Mascot Vipers 3 Enfield Allstars 1 

Mountain hold off Campbelltown

Campbelltown Quake gave Mountain Majik a run for their money, falling short 4-6 after trailing by five goals at Minto Sports Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

It was a restless start from both sides until Daniel Muzzarelli scored his first premier league goal finishing off a great Majik team move, and team-mate Chris Barbera dazzled his way to a first-half double before Quake pinched a late goal to stay in touch at 1-3 at the changeover.

The Mountaineers maintained the rage after the break, Barbera completed his hat-trick to complement Aaron Fraser and Alex Vlismas strikes and the visitors raced to a comfy 6-1 buffer.

But the Campbelltown character shone through as coach Mark Symington switched to a press and smashed in three quickfire goals himself, only to be beaten by the fulltime buzzer short a couple 6-4.

Majik assistant coach Adam Barbera was pleased with the result despite conceding a few late goals.

“The game started off very cagey with both teams set up compact and unwilling to give away good chances,” he said. “The rest of first half went almost to plan, we stayed compact and limited Quake’s attacking chances.”

“… Quake were able to get a couple of goals back through our defensive breakdowns [but] all-in-all a good result and performance against a very experienced and well drilled Quake side.”

Symington knew five goals was too much head-start for a team still getting to know each other.

“… We went fifth-man and dragged it back to 6-4 but ran out of time,” he said. “They took their opportunities and you can tell we are a new team and still gelling a few new players.”

“David von Dinklage was very good for us, as was Dean Lockhart.”

Modesty won’t allow the man Campbelltown dub ‘Symo’ to nominate himself for a mention in the post-match ratings, but his triple pushed him through the 100-goal mark in premier league to join an elite band of four brothers – fellow centurions Shervin Adeli, Danny Martinez and Greg Giovenali.

Magic slice Boomerangs

Inner West Magic did what they had to do to stave off Boomerangs FS 2-1 in a gritty Saturday-evening slog-fest at the AIS Training Halls.

Like a Spanish bullring it looked an uneven match-up only for the host to stamp its authority in the dust, the Territorians riled up to keep the score deadlocked 0-0 at oranges.

Inner West wrestled control with a double Anthony Haddad strike inside five minutes of the restart, but Boomerangs weren’t done with yet and threw everything into getting back into the contest, Jayde James-Ward’s last-minute strike becoming a consolation as Magic ran out 2-1 victors.

Inner West club manager Matteo Maiorana said the team was clinical in gaining maximum points.

“An excellent performance tonight saw the Magic Men’s completely dominate from beginning to end,” he said.

“An excellent performance by the boys; They combined very well – the movement and their support of the ball was excellent.

“New signings Haddad [Campbelltown] and Mazevski [South Coast] had great games with Anth scoring his first two goals for the club.

“It was good to get our first win leading into the derby next week.”

Northside pip Hakoah

A Michael Loupis goal separated UTS Northside from Eastern Suburbs Hakoah in a tense Saturday-evening affair at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre.

The sides were evenly matched throughout the riveting contest and Loupis’ second goal in as many weeks gave Northside back-to-back wins and first place on the points table.

You could tell UTS coach Grant Lynch was happy with how his team’s sailing, complimenting captain Nathan Amore on his weather knowledge.

“It was a great defensive performance once again and good to hang on to a 1-0 win,” he said.

“Skipper Nathan Amore picked to go against the wind for the second-half advantage … [and although] Hakoah moved the ball well we’re obviously happy with the result.”

“[We had] Excellent performances from Emilio Manos and Mason Ireland. Looking forward to the game against Mascot next week.”

Mascot down Enfield

Mascot Vipers turned up the heat under Enfield Allstars following a 3-1 triumph at Morris Iemma Indoor Centre on Saturday night.

It was anyone’s game at halftime with the sides stalemated at 1-1, but a two-goal second half saw Mascot storm home to slice the ribbon and take an early lead in the competition.

Just the fourth Vipers win against Allstars in their past 17 encounters belies the competitiveness between these two great rivals, it’s the eighth straight time their fixture has been decided by two goals or less.

The result has stunned title-holders Enfield who become the first defending champion in premier league to lose the opening two rounds of the next season – Dural started last year’s defence with a loss and draw, also how Sydney Magic began their 2008/09 season after winning the grand final.

Next games

2019/20 Futsal Premier League round three Saturday action features UTS Northside against Mascot Vipers at PCYC Dee Why (5.50pm), Inner West Magic play Mountain Magic at Valentine Sports Park (6.20pm), Eastern Suburbs Hakoah face Boomerangs at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (6.30pm), and Enfield Allstars host Campbelltown Quake at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (7.50pm).

Don’t forget to Like & Share! And huge congratulations to Mark Symington for clearing the 100-goal mark!