Semi Finals Preview – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s

Untitled-design-3-3

Here we go!

The Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens competition moves into the post-season with four sides hungry to lift the trophy on Sunday night.

Saturday sees two thrilling semi-final contests play out at The Centre – Dural to decide who goes into the Grand Final.

Semi Final #1: Dural Warriors vs Raiders Futsal Club, Saturday 21, 6pm, The Centre – Dural Court 1

Premiers Dural Warriors aim to book their spot in the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens Grand Final when they take on Raiders Futsal Club in the first semi-final.

The runaway leaders of the competition started the season with a thrilling 6-5 success against South Coast Taipans which ended up as one of their closest game this season. Dural Warriors swept all before them, scoring a league high 86 goals in 14 straight victories. Now they look to add the Championship to their trophies.

Raiders Futsal Club sealed their appearance in the semi-finals in Round 13 with their 5-1 result against South Coast Taipans. Something Raiders Futsal Club games has guaranteed were goals with 67 scored and 54 conceded this season. Getting here was a massive achievement now Raiders Futsal Club look for glory moving ahead.

Regular Season Results:

Round 4: Raiders Futsal Club 2 defeated by Dural Warriors 6

Round 11: Dural Warriors 5 defeated Raiders Futsal Club 2

Trying to take down the Dural Warriors juggernaut is a tough task for any of three sides left in the competition. Golden Boot Wade Giovenali netted 26 goals across the season to spearhead their attack with brother Greg, Samuel and Carlos De Oliveira, Ahmed Sweedan and Brandon Vella all handy contributors.

For Raiders Futsal Club, they will need to bring their best to try and be the side to snap the unbeaten streak. In Adolph Koudakpo and Filip Markovic, they have the goal scorers alongside the work from Jovan Miladinovic, Kodai Hayashi and Adam Voloder to give them a chance.

Knockout football can be a different beast so there is always a chance to create the upset. Dural Warriors will be on their home court, ready to go and a bustling Raiders Futsal Club have to produce a wonderful effort to dethrone them.

Semi Final #2: SD Raiders Futsal vs Sydney City Eagles, Saturday 21, 6pm, The Centre – Dural Court 2

Whenever these two take the court there is fireworks and SD Raiders Futsal take on Sydney City Eagles with the prize of a Grand Final berth on the line Saturday night.

SD Raiders Futsal finished the regular season in second position after a slow start to the season, SD Raiders Futsal went six games unbeaten through the middle portion of the competition to keep their chances of back-to-back Grand Finals alive.

Sydney City Eagles also were slow starters but remained consistent in picking up results including a late-season five game win streak to finish third. The Eagles aim to take the extra step and get themselves into a Grand Final after their semi-final disappointment last year.

Regular Season Results:

Round 1: Sydney City Eagles 6 defeated SD Raiders Futsal 3

Round 8: SD Raiders Futsal 5 defeated Sydney City Eagles 4

Reigning Champions SD Raiders Futsal have plenty of scoring options to throw on the court. Jordan Figon headlines those options, coach Sergio Malfara called him after his seven-goal performance against Phoenix Futsal Club “the best target in Australia.” Alongside him – Matthew Barkho, Joshua Da Silva and the experienced Nick Carle help to make SD Raiders Futsal a tough side to defeat.

For Sydney City Eagles, Lachlan Rose is their greatest goal threat with 20 goals in the regular season from the blonde-haired attacker. Matthew Trotter, Aaron Cimitile and Peter Pelekanos chipped in with important goals for the side.

The Eagles also have one of the most interesting stories of the season in the returning custodian Zlatko Joseski. The veteran made his first appearance in Round 5 and has pulled off some superb stops to keep Sydney City in contests.

As mentioned in numerous post-match comments by Malfara, SD Raiders Futsal “don’t do it easy” which shows in the comebacks against Phoenix Futsal and West City Crusaders this season. So, strap in and enjoy because this contest will go the whole 50 minutes.

By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)