Round 8 Preview – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s

Round 8 signals the beginning of the second half of the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens season. We start the new act with four exciting contests headlined by Raiders Futsal Club taking on West City Crusaders to get things going.

Match of the Round: Raiders Futsal Club vs West City Crusaders, Saturday 9 November, 6:40pm, Thomas Hassell Anglican College

Raiders Futsal Club host the Match of the Round this weekend out at Thomas Hassell Anglican College taking on West City Crusaders in a mouth-watering contest.

Both sides will be bouncing into this fixture with Raiders Futsal Club putting 9 goals past Phoenix Futsal Club last weekend while West City Crusaders caused shockwaves with their 4-1 success against South Coast Taipans.

The Crusaders sit just outside the top four after their upset loss and take on an opposition they shared a 4-4 draw with in the opening fixture. Crusaders have started to blend their experienced core with some talented young products to hopefully propel them to back-to-back finals appearances.

Raiders Futsal Club sit in a perfect position in second, riding a three-game unbeaten streak. They also feature two of the top five goal scorers thus far – Adolph Kaudakpo and Adam Voloder – so they take plenty of strike into this intriguing contest to headline Round 8.

SD Raiders Futsal vs Sydney City Eagles, Saturday 9 November, 4:20pm, Fairfield Youth & Leisure Centre

Two local rivals in SD Raiders Futsal and Sydney City Eagles clash in an exciting contest on Saturday afternoon at Fairfield Youth & Leisure Centre looking to stamp their top four credentials.

The two sides come off contrasting results – SD Raiders Futsal blew away Sydney Futsal Club in a 5-4 success while Sydney City Eagles battled hard but fell to the Dural Warriors 4-1 – but games between these teams bring entertainment.

Sydney City Eagles head to Fairfield on a high after knocking off Futsal Premier League 1 outfit Mascot Vipers in the Futsal Cup mid-week. The form of Lachlan Rose – who scored a hat-trick in this fixture first time around – and Sam Perre is vital to the Eagles success and getting them back in the winner’s circle.

This week represents a vital week for SD Raiders Futsal with their catch-up game against Dural Warriors on Wednesday night. If they can collect all six points, SD Raiders Futsal can move into the top four and set up their second half of the season.

Dural Warriors vs South Coast Taipans, Saturday 9 November, 4:50pm, The Centre – Dural

The next step in Dural Warriors hectic schedule is taking on South Coast Taipans at The Centre – Dural on Saturday afternoon in a top four clash.

Dural Warriors started their schedule with a comfortable 4-1 success against Sydney City Eagles in last weekend’s Match of the Round whilst South Coast Taipans were on the wrong side of a 4-1 result against West City Crusaders.

The Taipans ran the Warriors close in their 6-5 loss back in Round 1 and Bobby Mazevski will want his side to attempt to avenge that “gutting” loss. Headed into it they need to arrest their second half slide against the undefeated leaders if they are to do so.

For Dural it is about maintaining their standard. The leaders showed in their holding of the ball and the ability to score in a variety of ways can hurt teams. The team runs through the talismanic Giovenali brothers which generates a lot of offence and allows the goal scorers in the side to shine.

Phoenix Futsal Club vs Sydney Futsal Club, Saturday 9 November, 7:15pm, PCYC Hornsby

Both Phoenix Futsal Club and Sydney Futsal Club have struggled this season but have a chance to kickstart their campaign Saturday night at PCYC Hornsby when they come together.

Last start losses for both Phoenix Futsal Club and Sydney Futsal Club have them anchored in seventh and eighth position. Phoenix were beaten 9-2 against a rampant Raiders Futsal Club while Sydney suffered a close 5-4 loss to SD Raiders Futsal.

Sydney Futsal Club will relish the chance to get themselves off the duck egg for victories this season. They welcomed Northern Ireland international Jack Magee into the fold last weekend alongside the consistent spine of Nathan Spinola and Daniel Espejel to cause issues for Phoenix.

Phoenix will be stung by their position in the Futsal Premier League 2 thus far. Last year’s semi-finalists will need a huge second half of the season to repeat that dose but there is talent in Jordan Smylie and Angus Chance to get them a relieving win and move up the ladder.

By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)