Round 13 Preview – Futsal Premier League Open Men’s
2019/20 Men’s Futsal Premier League round-13 Saturday pits Campbelltown Quake against Mascot Vipers, Boomerangs FS host Mountain Majik, Inner West Magic take on UTS Northside, and Enfield Allstars play Eastern Suburbs Hakoah.
It’s set up a thrilling season finish with six teams fighting for four playoff spots and no side guaranteed of making it just yet: Mascot (25 points) head Northside (23), Inner West (22), Easts (20) and Mountain (20) and Enfield (18).
This weekend should also confirm Inner West as club champions, while Boomerangs will most likely be relegated back to Premier League 2 with Dural Warriors heralded for a top-flight return.
Campbelltown Quake Mascot Vipers Minto Sports Stadium 4.50pm Saturday 7 December
Boomerangs FS Mountain Majik Q-One Indoor Sports Queanbeyan 5.50pm Saturday 7 December
Inner West Magic UTS Northside Valentine Sports Park 6.20pm Saturday 7 December
Enfield Allstars Eastern Subs Hakoah Morris Iemma Sports Centre 7.50pm Saturday 7 December
Campbelltown Quake v Mascot Vipers
It’s first-versus-last when leaders Mascot Vipers travel to Minto Sports Stadium to take on Campbelltown Quake on Saturday afternoon.
Mascot finally returned to winning ways with a gritty 2-0 shutout of Easts on Sunday following three successive draws and play the bottom-two sides to round out the season.
It certainly looks appetising for a Vipers premiership but winless Campbelltown certainly won’t be a pushover after Quake grabbed their first point of the season in a 1-1 draw with Hakoah on Saturday, and seven of their summer defeats have been by two goals or less, including a tight 3-5 round-six loss to Mascot.
The ‘Towners hold a commanding 11 wins to five historical edge in this fixture (three draws) but haven’t won at home in their last seven tries, while Vipers are unbeaten in six straight road trips.
Interestingly, should Mascot not win this weekend it’ll be the first time a top-flight premiership has been claimed by a side earning less than 30 points.
Also, despite not winning any games this season Campbelltown can still avoid the wooden spoon with wins in the final two games.
Boomerangs FS v Mountain Majik
Mountain Majik have it all to play for as they head to Q-One Indoor Sports Queanbeyan for a Saturday-evening match-up with Boomerangs FS.
The Mountaineers are joint-fourth with Enfield also breathing down their necks so a win this weekend is essential to set up a final-round playoff opportunity.
They face a Boomerangs outfit whose only two successes this summer have come against winless Campbelltown.
The Territorians have been terrible in the capital this season with five ACT losses on the trot spiraling a 68% home winning-rate (second-best behind Dural in premier league) to a fifth-best 56%.
It’s an astonishing record between the sides with Boomerangs romping to a 9-2 victory in their first meeting in October 2013, and two Mountain wins and two draws since then – their games finished 3-3 and 4-4 in 2016/17 and Majik won 3-2 earlier this season.
Inner West Magic v UTS Northside
It’s a top-three showdown when Inner West Magic face UTS Northside at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday evening.
Inner West have only lost one of their past 10 matches but four draws has dented their premiership stride as they trail frontrunners Mascot by three points.
Magic might’ve beaten Northside eight times in 11 meetings – a 2-2 round-six stalemate the only draw in this fixture – but UTS are experiencing an ecstasy season having already tallied their most points in a season, most goals and least goals conceded, plus they’re unbeaten in three runs and haven’t lost an away game all summer.
On top of that, Inner West’s last three wins over Northside have been by a solitary goal and UTS have a genuine premiership shot should Mascot slip-up just once in the final two rounds.
This promises to be a cracking encounter!
Enfield Allstars v Eastern Suburbs Hakoah
It’ll be all guns blazing when Enfield Allstars face Eastern Suburbs Hakoah at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Defending champions Enfield simply can’t afford to lose to fourth-placed Easts just two points ahead of them, but then neither can Hakoah leave their playoff chances to a final-round meeting against Inner West.
Easts have enjoyed a fabulous summer but a sloppy double-header weekend – drawing 1-1 with winless Campbelltown and clean-sheeted by Mascot 2-0 – threatens to keep them out of the finals a second time.
Allstars won both times last season before Hakoah flipped the tables with a spirited 3-2 win earlier this season.
