Round 3 Review – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s
The Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens competition has started to shake out with four absorbing contests that played out across Futsal courts on Saturday evening. Dural Warriors remain top of the tree while the chasing pack has started to form.
Match of the Round: SD Raiders Futsal 5 defeated West City Crusaders 4
SD Raiders Futsal has broken their duck for the season with a tense 5-4 result against West City Crusaders in this weekend’s Match of the Round at Fairfield Youth & Leisure Centre.
The home side were made to work for their three points against the side they vanquished in last year’s decider. John Fahmi, Adrian Monge and Bruno Antelmi all scored in the first half but they were behind 4-3. Two late strikes from Nick Carle and Matthew Barkho brought a huge cheer around the court as SD Raiders Futsal get off the mark for the season.
Crusaders were in firm control in the first half. All four of their goals came before the 15th minute mark with Arsallan Mangal, Abdul Mohseni, Gregory Kondek and captain Simon Zahra all found the back of the net. They defended gallantly in the second but a red card to Kondek and the pair of late strikes saw Crusaders defeated by SD Raiders Futsal again.
The opening ten minutes of the contest was a whirlwind of action between two sides looking to establish themselves quickly. John Fahmi was the first to find the back of the net for SD Raiders Futsal and made it 1-nil.
West City Crusaders went for a quick one-two punch to send themselves into the lead. First it was Arsallan Mangal swept home to make it 1-1. That was followed up by Abdul Mohseni firing home to complete the turnaround and make it 2-1.
The game started to move into a tit-for-tat mode. Adrian Monge fired home his first goal of the season to bring SD Raiders Futsal back to 2-2. That delight was short-lived when one of their veterans Greg Kondek stepped up to hand Crusaders back the lead at 3-2.
Next it was Crusaders captain Simon Zahra that gave the visitors a two-goal cushion. He arrowed home from deep to make it 4-2 and the visitors had wrest control of the contest again, were starting to create a fair share of chances.
This SD Raiders Futsal side has a never-say-die attitude and pegged one back before the break. Bruno Antelmi was on hand to find the back of the net, made it 4-3 in the 22nd minute. SD Raiders pushed forward but the scoreline remained going into the break.
Whilst the second half didn’t have the constant action it was drama-filled. SD Raiders Futsal continued to thrust forward with their attacks, trying to prise open the Crusaders defense but for a period were repelled by Crusaders keeper James Law.
Their task was made much harder when Kondek was given a second yellow and sent off in the 41st minute. Crusaders defended gallantly and looked like they were going to hold on for a priceless victory as the time ticked down.
SD Raiders Futsal found the opening though. From a foul, the ball was laid off to Nick Carle who fired home a goal which saw the crowd erupt inside Fairfield Youth & Leisure Centre, making it 4-4 and they had the bit between their teeth.
Riding the momentum from their equaliser, Matthew Barkho brought the house down with a late winner. SD Raiders Futsal made it 5-4 and had completed the comeback against a dogged Crusaders side in another epic contest between the two.
There was a final moment in the contest. Crusaders had a penalty kick as the siren sounded to snatch a draw from the depths of defeat. Zahra stepped up and strode in confidently slammed the effort into the post as the home side held on.
Speaking afterwards SD Raiders Futsal coach Sergio Malfara praised his side for their effort to get their first win of the season:
“It has been a tough two weeks. Credit to the boys to get the win by a single goal and an opposition they know quite well. Hopefully this is the kickstart for our season with a few boys to come back for us as well.” said Malfara.
West City Crusaders Greg Kondek remained upbeat about his side despite the last-second loss in what has been a good start to their season:
“It was disappointing. We played quite well today but made some costly mistakes in the final ten minutes. We could’ve pulled one back right on the buzzer but we move onto next week.” said Kondek.
“You would love to be on three wins but first loss you cop on the chin. We have brought some good young players in and now we move on.” finished Kondek.
Match Stats
Saturday 6 October 2019
Fairfield Youth & Leisure Centre, Fairfield
Referee: J. Katz
2nd Referee: K. Hockings
3rd Referee: A. Naji
SD Raiders Futsal 5 (Fahmi, Monge, B. Antelmi, Carle, Barkho)
West City Crusaders 4 (Mangal, Mohseni, Kondek, Zahra)
SD Raiders Futsal: 1. IORFINO Adrian, 6. MONGE Adrian, 7. FERREIRA Luis, 8. LETTA James, 9. ANTELMI Bruno, 10. BARKHO Matthew, 15. COTTER Declan, 18. KOUTRODIMOS Jack, 19. CARLE Nick, 22. IBRAHIM Daniel, 93. FAHMI John, 99. PAZ Matias
Yellow cards: B. Antelmi
Red cards: B. Antelmi
West City Crusaders: 1. LADD Brycen, 2. MANGAL Arsallan, 4. ESLAMI Majid, 5. MOHSENI Abdul, 6. PERRI Antonio, 7. ADDAI BOAMAH Kwadwo, 8. O’NEILL Brodie, 20. LAM Benjamin, 21. ZAHRA Simon, 23. KONDEK Gregory, 78. LAW James
Yellow cards: Kondek
Red cards: Kondek
Dural Warriors 8 defeated Sydney Futsal Club 1
The Dural Warriors continue full steam ahead after an 8-1 demolition against Sydney Futsal Club on Saturday afternoon at The Centre – Dural.
It was a five-star performance from the Warriors. They strolled out to a 5-nil lead before piling on another three in the second half to remain perfect to start the season. Dural sit two points now ahead of the chasing pack.
Once again, the stars of the show were Greg and Wade Giovenali. Wade completed back-to-back hat-tricks to take him to the top of the Golden Boot standings while Greg got himself a brace. Not to be left out, Ahmad Sweedan also fired home a hat-trick as three of the Warriors Futsalroos found the back of the net.
For Sydney Futsal Club, it has been a horror week with this loss and their elimination from the Futsal Cup against LA All-Stars. Youngster Juan Da Silva did make it back-to-back games with a goal with his second half consolation.
South Coast Taipans 5 defeated Phoenix Futsal Club 3
It was back-to-back successes for South Coast Taipans with their 5-3 victory against Phoenix Futsal Club on Saturday night down at UOW Sports Hub.
The Taipans were on a mission early in the contest, they quickly sprung out to a 3-nil lead at the break before making it four after the restart. They had to absorb a late rebellion from the Phoenix then added a fifth to complete the result.
Ricky Goodchild led the way with a pair of goals with Klime Sekutkoski, Cody Waller and Zachary Mazevski contributed the others. Coach Bobby Mazevski hoped that result might have the other sides “step up and take notice” after their start to the year.
Phoenix Futsal Club coach Elliot Jurd was disappointed with the un-Phoenix like first half which dug them the hole. “We pushed hard in the end but couldn’t find the back of the net” added Jurd as his side go back to the drawing board with one point from three games.
Sydney City Eagles 4 defeated by Raiders Futsal Club 7
Raiders Futsal Club moved themselves into second spot with a 7-5 result against Sydney City Eagles in an entertaining contest at Michael Clarke Recreation Centre last night.
Building off their Raiders Cup success last weekend, Raiders Futsal Club strode out to a four-nil lead before the half-time buzzer. Adam Voloder opened up the scoring with Tomas Medimurac, Christopher Godoy-Bascur and Jovan Miladinovic the others to find the net.
Sydney City Eagles responded early in the second half through Matthew Trotter but strikes from Voloder and Medimurac in quick succession for Raiders Futsal Cup kept them at arms-length. Ibrahim Daniel added the seventh late in the piece.
The Eagles showed some grit with their attempted comeback. Robert Perre, Sam Perre and Aaron Cimitile all rattled the cage in the second half but they fell short. The result has the Eagles just outside the top four by a single point.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
