Round 5 Review – Futsal Premier League Open Women’s

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Women’s Futsal Premier League round-five Saturday ended with Inner West Magic ahead of Campbelltown Quake 7-3, Mascot Vipers downed Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 6-3, UTS Northside and Mountain Majik played out a 1-1 draw, and Boomerangs FS beat Enfield Allstars 4-1.

And why not have something eerie about the competition heading into Halloween – a one-goal difference is the women’s most popular scoreline with 28% of all matches in the past eight years finishing this way (122 close-calls from 437 matches)… there hasn’t been one in the 20 played this summer.

Campbelltown Quake 3 (Linda Dudek, Darcey Malone 2) Inner West Magic 7 (Amy Dahdah 2, Rhianna Pollicina 2, Doris Osman, Tori Tumeth, own goal)

Eastern Suburbs 3 (Lareane Bachega, Tamires Souza, Jess Frampton) Hakoah Mascot Vipers 6 (Natasha Aitken 2, Marcella Santos 2, Mariel Hecher 2)

UTS Northside 1 (Daisy Arrowsmith) Mountain Majik 1 (Monique Holder)

Enfield Allstars 1 (Olivia Riddel) Boomerangs FS 4 (Ellen Brown, Elke Aitolu, Ashlyn Garrity, Bronte Pyke)

 

Magic dazzles Quake

Inner West Magic flexed their muscle to bring down Campbelltown Quake 7-3 at Minto Sports Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The home side started hot off the blocks and made the most of some Inner West defensive mishaps, Linda Dudek netting the first with a dominant finish and Darcey Malone, capitalising on a pinched ball, out-muscled Osman and toed the ball into the bottom-corner past Magic keeper Sophie Magus.

Inner West got back in it late in the half, a corner from leader Tori Tumeth hitting goal-line Campbelltown defender Zoeie Redman for a deflection, enough for the visitors to gain some confidence heading into the second term.

The second half was a huge test for Quake as Magic came out like a team possessed with stars Rhianna Policina, Amy Dahdah and Ceyda Cambaz swinging the game Inner West’s way, pinching the ball on halfway for a back-post tap-in and the momentum was there’s at 2-2.

Good pressure from Tumeth saw her pinch one from Melissa Walsh at the top of the D and finish with precision, but Campbelltown wouldn’t die wondering with keepers Magus and Quake’s Brianna Clarke pivotal between the sticks at both ends, magus saving multiple 1-v-1s and Clarke point-blank blasts.

Magic struck again to go 4-2 up before some good build-up play between Campbelltown legend Claire Walsh and Malone saw the youngster grab her second for the night and fourth in two games.

Inner West quickly restored their buffer and when Quake turned to a powerplay they were put to the sword as Magic slammed home two more goals to round out an impressive four-goal victory that draws them alongside second-placed Campbelltown on the ladder.

Pollicina and Dahdah finished with pairs for Inner West.

Coach Matteo Maiorana applauded both teams’ efforts, particularly Magus who denied his side time and time again.

“Quake defended well, they dropped very deep and tried to catch us on the counter, which they did; but I was more disappointed with our performance,” he said.

“I thought it was one of our worst halves of futsal in five seasons. We were flat and looked uninterested, and our defensive pressure was very poor. Thankfully we woke up and I thought we dominated the remainder of game.

“Tori Tumeth was exceptional and really led when it got physical. Amy [Dahdah] was also very good.

“Quake are a good side and there is a fierce rivalry between our two teams, so anytime we get the win makes for a good weekend.”

Campbelltown coach Mel Keith had mixed emotions following the defeat.

“It’s bitter-sweet for me this loss. You go 2-nil up in any game and you’re doing well, but you switch-off against Magic and they are so clinical it’ll cost you,” she said.

“We had numerous chances today, enough to kill off the game, but didn’t take them. We also had lapses in play and credit to Magic – good teams always find a way to win.

“Going forward though, I am confident in my girls to pick themselves up and contest this competition,” Keith said.

“They showed today the can compete with the benchmark, so it’s promising heading into the remainder of the season.”

 

Vipers stifle Hakoah

A first-half Mascot Vipers blitz helped keep Eastern Suburbs Hakoah at bay in a 6-3 result at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday evening.

Mascot raced to a 4-zip halftime cushion and although Easts fought back hard in the second half, with goals from Lareane Bachega, Tamires Souza and Jess Frampton, it was to big a mountain to climb as Vipers triple-threat Natasha Aitken, Marcella Santos and Mariel Hecher finished with a brace each.

The three-goal win shot Mascot into clear first place following Campbelltown’s earlier demise, and of the competition’s top-seven scorers, three of them line up in Vipers colours – Santos (9 goals), Natasha Aitken (8) and Hecher (7). Only Inner West’s goalscoring machine Rhianna Pollicina (11) has tallied more than them individually.

Mascot coach Zvi Ben David said an unfortunate Santos injury caused a loss of focus late in the game, but praised his troops for securing the three points.

In just a handful of seasons Hecher’s become the most prolific scorer over the past eight seasons with 41 goals, three more than former club-great Caitlin Campbell, while Natasha Aitken (22 goals) moved into third spot.

 

Northside level with Mountain

UTS Northside and Mountain Majik cancelled each other in a hardfought 1-1 stalemate at PCYC Dee Why on Saturday evening.

Monique Holder’s 12th-minute strike gave Mountain the first-half ascendancy, but Daisy Arrowsmith countered for Northside a quarter-hour from the end and a goal-each was the way it stayed.

Majik’s remain win-less to start the season but the result certainly tightens the screws on fourth-place UTS and opens up a huge field in the playoff race – a five-point spread separates fourth from seventh.

 

Boomerangs defeat Allstars

Boomerangs FS played a smart game to finally end their premier league Sydney voodoo as they beat a determined Enfield Allstars 4-1 at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.

Ellen Brown gave the visitors a 10th-minute lead but Enfield’s Olivia Riddel had the scores level again within minutes as the sides hit halftime locked at one-apiece.

The Allstars resistance was broken though when Elke Aitolu, Ashlyn Garrity and Bronte Pyke strikes inside the first seven minutes of the second-half gave Boomerangs the breathing space they need for a terrific win.

The last time Boomerangs women won a top-flight match in Sydney was six years ago, ending a 13-defeat sequence and putting them back into the playoff mix.

The headaches don’t stop for Enfield as they must pick themselves up off the canvas once more to stop a run of six-straight league losses – they hold the unfortunate league-mark of eight in a row.

 

Next games

2019/20 Women’s Futsal Premier League round-six Saturday action features Mountain Majik against Boomerangs FS at Blacktown Leisure Centre (2.20pm), UTS Northside tackle Inner West Magic at PCYC Dee Why (4.50pm), Eastern Suburbs Hakoah host Enfield Allstars at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (5.30pm), and Mascot Vipers play Campbelltown Quake at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (6.50pm).