Round 3 & 4 Review – Futsal Premier League Open Men’s
Round Three Reviews
As unpredictable as ever, we were treated to seven quality Futsal Premier League games across two rounds of the competition.
UTS Northside continue to be the early pace setters while six clubs sit a game within each other behind. Plenty to write home about so enjoy our official review of the weekends action.
Dural Warriors 4 (Vella 2‘ 22‘, Moran 6‘, Philp 33‘) v Mascot Vipers 3 (Quilligan 18‘ 35‘ 36‘)
A Thomas Quilligan hat trick proved not enough for Mascot Vipers to deny Dural Warriors their first victory of the campaign.
Despite both sides opting for caution in their set ups early, Dural Warriors raced out to a two goal lead by the break with Brandon Vella finding the net twice and Joshua Moran adding a goal in between those two. A lead which was stretched out to three just after the eight minutes after the breakthrough Cameron Philp.
However, it was far from easy going from that point which two quickfire goals from the visitors bringing the game back to a coin toss, with Thomas Quilligan stepping up to complete his hat trick after earlier finding the net.
That three goal deficit proved just beyond reach. After the game, Dural Coach Alastair Bruce labelled the Vipers as a team to watch as the season goes on, while also praising his experienced players who stepped up when needed.
UTS Northside Futsal Club 0 v Mountain Majik Futsal Club 2 (Filipovic 22’, Dib 31’)
Mountain Majik bounced back from their round two defeat in positive fashion in turn condemning UTS Northside too their first defeat of the season.
With no illusions about the challenge in front of them, the Majik stood firm under the challenge of their opponents. Described as a gutsy win, it was two goals in and around the half time break which secured them the victory. The first coming through Marko Filipovic three minutes before the break before Jamie Dib scored six minutes into the second half.
Knowing the result a day later, we can comfortably say that this was more a blip in the road instead of a derailment for UTS Northside. Known for their physicality, they struggled a little bit with their opponent’s movement of the ball.
Inner West Futsal Club 4 (Fornito 2‘, Bangura 10‘ 30‘, Belkadi 18‘) v Enfield Allstars 1 (Abou Serhal 36’)
Inner West Futsal Club secured back to back wins with a confident win over Enfield Allstars, Saturday evening.
Back at close to full strength, Inner West put in their best performance of the season yet. Scoring four unanswered goals in the opening half hour, there was simply no coming back for their opponents. Suleyman Bangura starred with a brace, goals which were complimented by Daniel Fornito and Jamal Belkadi who also found the net.
For Enfield Allstars, the result goes down as a disappointment with other teams sneaking away from them. They still have games on hand on such teams but it’s important they don’t let them get too far away in the meantime. Charles Abou Serhal scored their solitary goal of the fixture.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah Futsal Club 5 (Tzanakes 21‘, Perego 28‘, Reed 35‘, Lynch 42‘, Lees 47‘) v Campbelltown City Quake Futsal Club 1 (Fowler 4’)
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah made a statement with a four goal victory over Campbelltown City Quake at Morris Iemma Sports Centre.
Coming up against a Quake side who were quick to press their opponents, Hakoah had joy attacking the space in behind their hosts finishing clinically throughout the game. Emmanuel Tzanakes opened the scoring pouncing on a mistake twenty minutes in. Before they scored a further four after the break, Cesar Perego with the second after a crossfield pass pierced the defense. James Reed with the third, Jonathan Lynch adding a fourth and Jake Lees with the fifth to see out the five goals.
For Campbelltown City Quake, it will go down as a learning experience. They brought the score line back to 3-1 in the second half through Corby Fowler but couldn’t add to their tally in the second half.
Round Four Reviews
Inner West Futsal Club 1 (Clifford 7’) v UTS Northside Futsal Club 3 (L. Rainbird 2’, N. Rainbird 45’ 49)
Well, we promised an unpredictable ride didn’t we? UTS Northside bounced back from a round three defeat just 24 hours later getting the better of Inner West Futsal Club at Valentine Sports Park.
And it was a case of returning to their strengths on the day, with their off the ball work paying dividends against their opponents. But they were made to wait till late to break away with two Nick Rainbird goals in the final five minutes the difference between the sides. This on the back of a goal from Lucas Rainbird in the 2nd minute of the fixture.
For Inner West, they were close but the chocolates just seemed out of reach. Hitting the goal frame multiple times throughout the match, it turned into a frustrating afternoon. Luke Clifford scored their goal to equalize early in the first half while Jonathan Barzel put in a good performance on the ball.
Dural Warriors 1 (Giovenali 9’) v Campbelltown City Quake Futsal Club 1 (Basden 38’)
Campbelltown City Quake claimed their first point of the season with a gutsy score draw in their meeting with Dural Warriors,
Looking to keep their momentum going from the game earlier in the weekend, Dural looked to play their own game applying pressure on their opponents, and it was going to plan when they opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes courtesy of a Wade Giovenali first half goal. However, they weren’t as clinical as they would like and were punished at the other end.
Which brings us to the Quake who broke a six game losing streak stretching back to 2019 with the result. They hung in for much of the game with good performances from both their goalkeepers Tomas Butkovic and Liam Polinsky. With a couple of close results in recent weeks, it only seems a matter of time before they taste victory.
Mountain Majik Futsal Club 4 (Filipovic 6’, Nisbet 30‘, Dib 45’ 48’) v Mascot Vipers 4 (Hodgson-Yu 17’, Scott 23’, Quilligan 42’ 49’)
Just look at those goal times! Mountain Majik and Mascot Vipers played out a chaotic fixture to bring our long weekend of action to a close.
In a game which saw the lead chance five times throughout and saw the scoring doubled in the final ten minutes, Mascot Vipers will perhaps walk away the happier of the two sides when all is said and done.
The Vipers took the lead once and equalized three times in the match with Fenn Hodgson-Yu and Timothy Scott finding the net before Conor Quilligan popped up with a crucial brace in the final ten minutes.
On the other hand, you could understand any Majik frustration having taken the lead on several occasions in the match. Marko Filipovic and Adam Nisbet scored for them in the opening half hour, joined by Jamie Dib who scored twice and saw red in the final minutes of the fixture.
