Round 5 Review – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s
Round 5 in the Futsal Premier League Open Mens competition was another pulsating edition as the goals flowed freely in four competitive contests.
SD Raiders Futsal remain top while Sydney City Eagles and South Coast Taipans both won.
Let’s get onto the review!
SD Raiders Futsal 8 defeated West City Crusaders 3
The unbeaten run continues for SD Raiders Futsal in their 8-3 win against West City Crusaders at Fairfield Youth and Community Centre on Saturday afternoon.
SD Raiders Futsal were in full flow in their five-goal win and showed why they are the team to beat in the FPL2 competition thus far. Sebastian Malfara got a hat-trick, Matthew Barkho scored two while captain Simon Nicholas, Clay Tanti and Jordan Figon all scored.
The West City Crusaders are struggling for form and numbers but gave a good account of themselves in the defeat. Antonio Perri pulled a goal back in the first half before Kurt Elborough and Ryan Faulkner added a pair of goals in the second half.
Leading the competition, SD Raiders Futsal had a fast start once again. Sebastian Malfara tapped wide early then Clay Tanti followed up with an effort that went wide.
Malfara thought he had the opener when he swept home from a pass but it was ruled out for handball after the officials conferred.
The opener came in the ninth minute for SD Raiders Futsal. Matthew Barkho had a shot from range which arrowed into the net to make it 1-0 for the home side.
Then there was a glut of goals for SD Raiders Futsal to stretch their advantage to 4-0 before half-time. Malfara made it 2-0 then Barkho doubled his delight for 3-0 before Tanti rifled home the fourth goal.
West City Crusaders pulled a goal back before half-time and got on the board. Antonio Perri was on the mark to tap home after some solid build up for 4-1.
The hosts restored their four goal advantage right on the buzzer. Malfara got his second goal when he tapped home after good work from Jordan Figon.
Coming out of the break, Crusaders felt ready to go. They had an early chance through Perri then made it 5-2 when Kurt Elborough slotted home to give them some life.
The visitors hope grew after they pulled another goal back in the 37th minute. Ryan Faulkner scored the goal after some good combination work for 5-3.
From there, the SD Raiders Futsal attack clicked back into gear. Captain Simon Nicholas drilled home after another sublime assist from Figon for 6-3.
Greg Kondek hit the post for Crusaders trying to wrestle back another goal but it was SD Raiders Futsal through Malfara. He completed his hat-trick to make it 7-3 from a Nicholas pass.
Showing that it isn’t just going forward that SD Raiders Futsal are determined to win. Barkho got into position to block a certain goal from Faulkner and keep their four goal lead.
Figon put the icing on a fine performance from SD Raiders Futsal with the eighth goal. He rolled a cheeky backheel into the net to the delight of the crowd for 8-3 and a dominant win.
Post match SD Raiders Futsal captain Simon Nicholas was happy with the side’s performance as they continue to work towards their goals:
“It was a very tough game. We’re a quality side and I knew if we executed our gameplan we should win the game. Once we got a few goals the boys clicked into gear. We are hoping to go the whole season undefeated which was one of our goals pre-season but first it is onto next week.” said Nicholas.
West City Crusaders coach Joe Perri remained positive about his squad if they can get back some of their numbers and compete like they did on Saturday:
“We were outclassed in the critical moments against some class futsal players. We are struggling for numbers and hopefully have the full squad back next week. We didn’t take our chances when they were on offer and SD Raiders were clinical.” said Perri.
MATCH STATS
Saturday 8 October 2022
Fairfield Youth and Community Centre
SD Raiders Futsal 8 (Malfara 3, Barkho 2, Nicholas, Tanti, Figon)
West City Crusaders 3 (Perri, Elborough, Faulkner)
SD Raiders: 1. IBRAHIM Daniel, 2. TANTI Clay, 3. BALDI Lachlan, 4. CARBONE Marcus, 5. MILLER Jake, 6. NICHOLAS Simon, 10. BARKHO Matthew, 14. FIGON Jordan, 18. LEE Corey, 21. MALFARA Sebastian, 111. BALDI Ryan
Yellow cards: Nicholas, Figon
Red cards: nil
West City Crusaders: 1. ELBOROUGH Kurt, 3. PERRI Antonio, 4. KONDEK Gregory, 5. PAPALIA Francesco, 9. FAULKNER Ryan, 16. PERRI Marco, 20. CALAY Tarkan, 21. HADDAD Dominic
Yellow cards: Papalia
Red cards: nil
Boomerangs FS 1 defeated by South Coast Taipans 3
South Coast Taipans took three points home after their 3-1 win against Boomerangs FS at MPowerdome on Saturday afternoon.
The Taipans made it back-to-back wins down in Canberra which lifts them into fourth spot on the FPL2 Open Mens ladder. Kyle Del got a brace alongside Cody Waller’s opener in a performance which coach Bobby Mazevski commended the solid win. He also gave the youth players a praise for their work as the Taipans look to push on now.
It was a slow start which cost Boomerangs FS in their second loss for the season. They couldn’t find a way past the Taipans defence throughout the contest until a late goal from Nicholas Dahl rounded out the scoring on Saturday.
Sydney City Eagles 5 defeated Sydney Futsal Club 3
Sydney City Eagles continue their soaring ways with a 5-3 win against Sydney Futsal Club at Thomas Hassell Anglican College on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles made it three wins on the bounce and cemented second spot on the FPL2 Open Mens ladder with a solid display. It was a shared scoring display with William Gafa, Bruno Antelmi, Sam Perre, Dean and Peter Pelekanos all found the back of the net.
Sydney Futsal Club went behind early but showed some good fight to score three goals in the second half to complete the scoring. Omid Mokhtar got a brace for the visitors alongside another goal from Michael Candy.
Phoenix Futsal Club 4 drew with Raiders Futsal Club 4
Points were shared in a wild 4-4 draw between Phoenix Futsal Club and Raiders Futsal Club at The Centre – Dural on Saturday night.
That is back-to-back draws for Raiders Futsal Club as they remain in the top four of the FPL2 Open Mens competition. Christopher Godoy-Bascur continued his fabulous form with a pair of goals alongside goals from Thomas Todd and Samuel Fernandez. Keeper Shane Watson was shown a red card in the second half of the drawn match.
For Phoenix Futsal Club, it is their first point of the season and it was due to some tremendous grit to comeback from 2-0 down. Jordan Smylie took his goal tally to seven with a hat-trick alongside Jay Azzopardi’s strike.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
