Round 14 Review – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Women’s
Round 14 wrapped up the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Womens in a neat bow which was decorated with four superb clashes that helped to shape the top four in the last weekend.
Let’s get onto the final regular season review.
Match of the Round: Sydney City Eagles vs Dural Warriors
Mirroring their men’s side, Dural Warriors complete the unbeaten season with a 3-1 success against a resolute Sydney City Eagles Saturday afternoon at Thomas Hassell Anglican College.
The only blight on their form was their opening day 0-0 draw against South Coast Taipans but Dural showed both Saturday night and throughout the season, they are a tough nut to crack. Only four goals conceded and goals scored in abundance helped their cause. Tonight, Golden Boot Rachel Perrins, Imogen Lane and Emma Hurley found the back of the net.
Sydney City Eagles like much of the season battled hard but were blunted in attack tonight. They finish the season propping up the Futsal Premier League 2 ladder but were competitive in most of their games across the 14-game season.
Looking to start fast, Dural Warriors were the first side to test either keeper with Bianca Dobson dug the ball out of her feet and forced Eagles custodian Laura Morabito into her first action of the afternoon.
Getting the scoring started for Dural Warriors came from a familiar source. Rachel Perrins has run away with the Golden Boot this season, and knocked home her 29th goal in the season to make it 1-nil to Dural after four minutes.
Buoyed by their goal, Dural thrust forward again as Perrins scooped a shot over the bar quickly followed by Dobson, another of the early instigators forcing Morabito into another diving shot.
Looking to find their way back into the contest, Alanah Nicholas had the chance from the set piece for Sydney City Eagles. The attacker scooped the ball over in the best chance for the Eagles in the first half.
Dural remained relentless in their attacking chances. Perrins had a free-kick denied then Imogen Lane’s pair of shots both sprayed wide of the post as the Warriors took their slender advantage into the break chasing glory.
The Eagles soared out of the break with the first attempt of the half, Nicholas fired on target but it was pushed away well by Warriors custodian Sarah Easthope.
Much of the attacking threat still came from the visiting Warriors. Fragale flashed wide from a kick-in before the Eagles best chance came through Nicholas cutting inside before forcing Easthope into a near post save.
Headed into the final stage of the contest, Dural put the game to bed. Emma Hurley made it 2-nil after the chance was opened up by Perrins then Lane added the third with her dogged effort after being denied the first time.
As the time ticked down Dural Warriors were given a late spot kick. They gave the spot kick to custodian Sarah Easthope to break her duck for the season. She stepped up but sent the kick wide of the left-hand post.
Both custodians got themselves involved in the contest in the later stages. Easthope and Morabito engaged in an old-fashioned kicking duel in the final minute of a contest that was well won by Dural Warriors to confirm their undefeated season.
Talking afterwards Dural Warriors coach Rob Varela remarked on the incredible achievement from the Womens side and their bounce back from the relegation last season:
“We got into the finals with confidence knowing that if we play well it’l be good. We play as a team with everyone knowing their role which is a simple concept. The girls blamed themselves for the relegation last season only picking up a few points. It was the same personnel besides [Rachel] Perrins but they have improved and it a marvelous achievement.” said Varela.
Match Stats
Saturday 14 December 2019
Referee: S Aly
2nd Referee: L Hockings
3rd Referee: A Mansour
Sydney City Eagles 0
Dural Warriors 3 (Hurley, Lane, Perrins)
Sydney City Eagles: 1. MORABITO Laura, 4. MANNA Melina, 5. BOLZAN Montana, 6. SPURWAY Laura, 10. THOMPSON Abigail, 12. SOLLECITO Isabella, 18. NICHOLAS Alanah, 19. ANTIC Elena
Yellow cards: Bolzan, Nicholas
Red cards: nil
Dural Warriors: 1. EASTHOPE Sarah, 3. COOK Luseanne, 5. PERRINS Rachel, 8. HURLEY Emma, 10. LANE Imogen, 14. DOBSON Bianca, 19. FRAGALE Estelle, 21. RACZ Emma, 58. WHEATLEY Ellen
Yellow cards: Lane
Red cards: nil
SD Raiders Futsal 3 defeated by Sydney Futsal Club 6
Sydney Futsal Club got themselves warmed up for the semi-finals with a 6-3 success against SD Raiders Futsal in an entertaining contest at Fairfield Youth & Leisure Centre Saturday.
The first half was a tense contest between the two. It was only 1-1 at the break with Sydney Futsal Club taking control in the second half to finish the season in third spot and confirm their semi-final tussle with South Coast Taipans.
The visitors got their goals through Nicole Besz who led all scorers with a hat-trick taking her tally on nine goals for the season. Georgia Manos got herself a brace with Morgan Maxwell the other scorer in the finals tune-up.
It has been a rough second half of the season for the youthful SD Raiders Futsal side but there are plenty of positives for them to take from this contest. Mikala Tucker finished her season with a bang – scoring a hat-trick in the defeat.
South Coast Taipans 11 defeated West City Crusaders 2
South Coast Taipans will finish in second position after their 11-2 thumping of West City Crusaders at UOW Sports Hub on Saturday afternoon.
The Taipans will move into their semi-final contest against Sydney Futsal Club in fine form after getting double figures for the first time this season. South Coast did most of the damage in the first half scoring six goals to none from Crusaders.
Hat-tricks from Kya Stewart and Jinneecka Klenka took the headlines in the rout while Lisa Prior was the other player to find the back of the net multiple times with her brace. Danika Matos, Sarah Johnston and Ashley Kotevski were the others to find the back of the net.
The Crusaders scored twice in an open second half which gave them some consolation in the defeat. 2019 wasn’t the happiest of seasons for the Crusaders but they will finish in sixth spot on the Futsal Premier League 2 ladder.
Phoenix Futsal Club 1 defeated by Raiders Futsal Club 5
In the shootout for fourth spot, Raiders Futsal Club were comfortable in their 5-1 success against Phoenix Futsal Club Saturday afternoon at PCYC Hornsby.
There wasn’t a Cup Final hangover for Raiders Futsal Club. They took a 1-nil advantage into the break through Amanda Radmillo before the finals bound side piled in four more in the second half to confirm their success.
Emma Voloder, Tamsin Buchanan and Vanessa Ciabatti all found the back of the net in the second half for Raiders Futsal Club. Their coach Bernard Voloder remarked if they take their “a-game into the finals they will go close to winning” and Saturday was a step towards that.
Phoenix Futsal Club may fall at the final hurdle for the finals chase but they had some impressive efforts this season which brought them to a total of six wins for the season. Isabella Hopkins got them some consolation in the second half on Saturday as they head to the off-season.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
