Round 14 Review – Futsal Premier League Open Women’s

Women’s Futsal Premier League round-14 Saturday had Mountain Majik down Enfield Allstars 2-0, Campbelltown Quake take UTS Northside 3-0, Inner West Magic edge Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 3-2, and Mascot Vipers overcome Boomerangs FS 4-1.

Inner West (30 points) claimed a third straight premiership ahead of Campbelltown (27), Easts (26) and Mascot (25). Mountain (22) and Northside (19) just missed out.

The Golden Boot race saw Magic’s Rhianna Pollicina (23 goals) head Hakoah’s Tamires Souza (21), with Majik’s Bethany Gordon (12), Magic’s Ceyda Cambaz (12) and Quake’s Linda Dudek (11) also enjoying double-figure seasons.

And while it was the largest points gap between first and eighth (30, equal with the 2015/16 competition), it was the joint-closest top-four finish with five points separating Inner West from Mascot (the same margin as Mascot to Inner West in 2012/13).

Mountain Majik (Renee Blakemore, Bethany Gordon) 2 Enfield Allstars 0

UTS Northside 0 Campbelltown Quake 3 (Linda Dudek, Antonia Sharp, Olivia Sloan)

Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 2 (Anna Hermes Da Silva, Tamires Souza) Inner West Magic 3 (Ceyda Cambaz 2, ?)

Mascot Vipers 4 (Mariel Hecher 2, Sienna Fraser, own goal) Boomerangs FS 1

 

Mountain hold off Enfield

Two late strikes saw Mountain Majik score a 2-0 win over a stubborn Enfield Allstars at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday afternoon.

Enfield scrapped hard all game to make life a misery for Mountain and it took until 10 minutes to go when Renee Blakemore scored to finally push Mountain’s nose in front.

A late Bethany Gordon goal made it 2-0 in the end, but Allstars were magnificent in defeat considering they finished the season winless with just nine goals to their name.

Majik will consider their playoff miss unlucky. They didn’t win their first game until round eight but had a fabulous back-end to the season winning six of their last eight matches.

 

Campbelltown bust Northside

Campbelltown Quake beat UTS Northside 3-0 at PCYC Dee Why on Sunday afternoon to secure second place on the ladder.

UTS had the run of play for the opening five minutes before the visitors clicked into gear, Darcey Malone, Kylie Ledbrook, Linda Dudek and Renee Rollason with chances that went unconverted.

Quake finally tweaked their plan with success as Dudek opened the scoring with a break down the flank which she buried near-post, the consistent scorer proving pivotal for Campbelltown yet again.

Antonia Sharp then executed a one-on-one press at the top of the court perfectly to pinch the ball from the last Northside player and finishing with precision past the UTS custodian for a 2-0 advantage.

Next it was good timing and pressure from Ledbrook followed by some tidy footwork, squaring the ball to an oncoming Olivia Sloan who skipped past her man and slotted the ball into the bottom left-corner to round out a three-goal cleansheet.

It’s Campbelltown’s best points haul in six years and holds them in good stead for this weekend’s elimination finals.

Campbelltown coach Mel Keith was excited about the upcoming post-season – the last time Quake won the title Keith was in goals for a triumphant 4-3 penalty-shootout win against Enfield Rovers in 2013/14.

“I am so proud of my team. We  were in the top-two for the entire season bar one week and to finish second on the ladder after the win today is fitting,” she said.

“We’ve gone one position better than last year and, with the semis upon us, I know we are ready to give our best against what will be a tough Hakoah outfit.”

Dudek has been Quake’s best scorer in successive seasons and will again be instrumental to Campbelltown’s trophy aspirations.

 

Magic pip Hakoah

Inner West Magic beat Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 3-2 in a remarkable match at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon that saw them lift the premiers trophy for the third year running.

Four days after securing back-to-back Futsal Cup trophies with a grinding 1-0 victory over PL2-side Raiders the Inner West women were at it again, adding even more silverware to the club’s bulging trophy cabinet with a scintillating win over Easts that sealed first place on the points table.

Magic’s Ceyda Cambaz scored twice to cancel out Hakoah goals from Anna Hermes Da Silva and Tamires Souza, the result relegating Easts to third position.

Interestingly, Inner West scored 62 goals for their highest season-tally but also conceded their most-ever goals (40), but coach Matteo Maiorana said scoreboard positions never lie.

“I can’t be any prouder of my girls,” he said. “Hakoah are a good side and have improved immensely – Ralph [Cappaso] has done a great job with them, but we had a game plan and stuck to it. We defended really well.”

“We started the season poorly, it’s been a roller coaster ride, but it’s full credit to the resilience of the team to finish the league on top.”

“We have two more games to go, but the girls have found a nice rhythm.”

It’s been a remarkable summer for Souza who set a new women’s record for scoring in 13 of the 14 regular-season matches, two more than next-best Rhianna Pollicina (2017/18 and 2015/16) and Doris Osman (at Majik in 2013/14).

Souza’s 21 goals is also the third-highest personal tally behind Mountain’s Ashlie Crofts 24 goals in 2018/19 and Pollicina’s 23 this summer.

 

Mascot break Boomerangs

Mascot Vipers beat a depleted Boomerangs FS 4-1 at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday night to ensure they’ll feature in next weekend’s finals.

Mariel Hecher scored on the quarter-hour to give Mascot a 1-0 lead at oranges, and they finished the job in the second term with Hecher netting another and Sienna Fraser also scoring.

It was a first Vipers win in four rounds and, more importantly according to coach Ben Zvi David, harnessed momentum heading into the post-season.

“It was very important to register a win going into the finals,” he said.

“Boomerangs were missing a lot of players and to their credit held us at one-nil for a long time. They defended very well.”

“After a brilliant start to the season and then losing star player Marcella Santos due to a broken foot and Mariel Hecher away for five games, it has been a struggle,” Ben David continued.

“However, all is now forgotten and we have to focus on next week where it all counts.

“Regardless of the outcome [against Inner West], some of our young players have benefited from being part of the team and we are happy to be back in the finals circle for women.”

 

Next games

2019/20 Women’s Futsal Premier League enters the finals series at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Halls with Inner West Magic versus Mascot Vipers and Campbelltown Quake versus Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (both matches kickoff at 3.30pm).

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