Round 8 Review – Futsal Premier League Open Men’s
2019/20 Men’s Futsal Premier League round-eight Saturday saw Boomerangs FS defeat Campbelltown Quake 3-1, UTS Northside smashed Enfield Allstars 7-1, Mountain Majik beat Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 3-2, and Inner West Magic edged Mascot Vipers 4-2.
What a showdown heading into the last six rounds with nine points separating top-dogs Vipers from sixth-place – Mascot (19), Northside (16), Inner West (15), Mountain (13), Easts (13) and Enfield (10) all in a position to make it or break it from here on in.
Campbelltown Quake 1 (David Von Dinklage) Boomerangs FS 3 (Benjamin Basser-Silk, Elie Darwich, Michael Rinaudo)
UTS Northside 7 Enfield Allstars 1
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 2 (Everton Vendrasco 2) Mountain Majik 3 (Chris Barbera, Alex Vlizmas, Jordan Guerreiro)
Mascot Vipers 2 (Conor Quilligan, Emmanuel Tzanakes) Inner West Magic 4 (Andrew Luttringer 2, Chris Zeballos, Daniel Fogarty)
Boomerangs shake Quake
Boomerangs FS came up trumps 3-1 against Campbelltown Quake at Minto Sports Stadium on Saturday afternoon, finally breaking a 17-match win-less streak on the road.
Benjamin Basser-Silk, Elie Darwich and Michael Rinaudo scored one each for the victors to cancel David Von Dinklage’s strike for Quake, who rolled to an eighth-straight league loss although half of them have been by two goals or less.
Boomerangs coach Kristian Collins applauded his side’s tenacity despite missing several players.
“Happy to get the win with a very depleted squad this weekend,” he said. “Hopefully we can take confidence from that into the Cup game [against Enfield] on Tuesday.”
“The finals would be a long shot, but we can still aim big and hope results go our way… Nice to finally win away from home too!”
The Territorians will be looking for greater contributions from its roster – only two players have scored more than one goal for them this summer, Basser-Silk (5) and Darwich (3).
Northside belt Enfield
UTS Northside cruised to a 7-1 Saturday-evening demolition of title-holders Enfield Allstars at PCYC Dee Why to make a real statement midway through the season.
The home side led 3-1 at oranges and continued their domination with a four-goal second half that launched them into sole second-place on the table just three points behind pace-setters Mascot.
It’s the first time Northside’s gone three league runs without loss and also their second-biggest PL win (they beat South Coast 7-0 in 2015/16).
The performance certainly holds UTS in good stead ahead of their Futsal Cup quarter-final versus Inner West on Wednesday, but Enfield need a real kickstart if they want to figure in the post-season – that was the club’s third-heaviest defeat in 10 PL seasons.
Mountain shadows Easts
Mountain Majik held out Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 3-2 in a fantastic match at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday evening.
The game got off to a frenetic start with both teams attacking hard and missing the minutest of opportunities, looking likely that any slightest slip-up from either side would result in a ‘golden goal’.
Majik scored on the counter to take the lead forcing Hakoah to make some vital changes, and the intensity and physicality of the game lifted, with hard tackles, practiced moves and missed opportunities.
Mountain played from the back and pressed while Easts tried to use the full court, and Majik found a second breakthrough only for Hakoah to strike back almost immediately, a quick corner and bullseye Everton Vendrasco shot made the score 2-1.
A good halftime chat revved up Easts as Vendrasco slotted a second to make it a 2-2 party and everything to play for.
Both sides searched for a winner and it was the Mountaineers who found it. Following some robust Hakoah play a sweet Majik freekick into the top-left corner of the goal to give them the final edge, thanks to goals from Chris Barbera, Alex Vlizmas and Jordan Guerreiro.
Mountain won one of the opening four rounds but suddenly find themselves in fourth spot and a real chance at the finals [Ed: if they do make the playoffs it will be their 100th premier league run]. They also breached the 300-goal mark with victory over Hakoah.
Magic stomp on Vipers
Inner West Magic were too good for high-flyers Mascot Vipers in a fabulous 4-2 win at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Andrew Luttringer was the star of the show for Inner West and he kickstarted the scoring with the only first-half goal as the teams swapped sides in a tight tussle.
Luttringer added another in the second term and, coupled with a Chris Zeballos strike, held Mascot at bay despite goals from Conor Quilligan and Emmanuel Tzanakes narrowing the gap.
Both sides threw themselves into a frantic finish but Luttringer ensured the points fell Magic’s way with a last-minute clincher.
The result tightened up the leaderboard and, despite only winning half their games, Inner West are third just four points off leaders Vipers.
Magic men’s manager Mohammad Dubdub said his team had two choices but only one option.
“Going into this game there was always only going to be two outcomes: either we win and keep winning to chase top spot, or we lose and allow Vipers to be potential premiers, so it was a must-win for us, no ifs or buts,” he said.
“We had a full-strength squad ready to fight for the win and we knew what we lacked last time we faced Vipers – a pre-game talk from captain Fogarty got the team fired-up and rearing to go into battle.”
“Our persistence was rewarded and we came out on top with the first goal, giving us the momentum to keep going forward, and dominant performances by our Futsalroo players Fogarty and Robbie [Maiorana] kept us in the game,” said Dubdub.
“A clinical finish from retired Futsalroo Chris Zeballos and a hat-trick from the ever-improving Andrew Luttringer made sure the Magicians walked away with a solid three-point performance.”
Inner West club manager Matteo Maiorana was as mesmerised as a spectator let alone a club official.
“It was a phenomenal game, like a finals match!” he said. “Both teams were excellent and it made for a spectacle.”
“We were excellent. Fogarty had one of his best games in a long time, as did Robbie in goals… but Andy Luttringer was sensational! Three goals in an action-packed game where he was involved in all the best moments.”
“But it wasn’t just those three, every single player who took the court were brilliant.
“Credit to Vipers though, they just did not stop and kept coming at us – it was one of the best premier league games I’ve seen in a while.”
As a titbit, Magic men’s will line up for their 200th PL run in the final round of the summer – the first club to reach this mark (Campbelltown have currently played 182 games, Mascot 179, Dural 159 and Enfield 146).
Next games
2019/20 Men’s Futsal Premier League round-nine Saturday action features Campbelltown Quake versus Mountain Majik at Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium (3.20pm), Inner West Magic play Boomerangs FS at Valentine Sports Park (6.20pm), UTS Northside tackle Eastern Suburbs Hakoah at PCYC Dee Why (6.40pm), and Enfield Allstars face Mascot Vipers at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (7.50pm).
