Round 7 Review – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s
Round 7 in the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens competition saw us head past the halfway mark and the season is starting to firm into shape.
All four games featured some fabulous futsal action so let’s get onto the review!
Sydney City Eagles 2 drew with Raiders Futsal Club 2
A pulsating 2-2 draw between Sydney City Eagles and Raiders in a contest played at Thomas Hassell Anglican College on Saturday afternoon.
Raiders Futsal Club will be disappointed not to take all three points after leading for a majority of the contest today. Tomas Medimurac and Thomas Todd bookended the first half with goals were their goal scorers in the game.
For Sydney City Eagles, it was a game won on their passion to provide a comeback despite being below their usual standards. Robert Perre pulled one back before Dean Pelekanos completed the comeback late in the piece.
On a humid afternoon at Thomas Hassell Anglican College, these two top four sides ripped into each other from the opening whistle in a cracking contest.
The first shot in anger fell to Raiders Futsal Club’s Thomas Todd who fired straight at Sydney City Eagles custodian John Dimitrakis who gathered easily.
That was a warning shot for the Eagles defence as the Raiders Futsal Club took the lead. Christopher Godoy Bascur started the move and cushioned it to Tomas Medimurac to fire home for 1-0.
Sydney City Eagles responded in fine fashion with a pair of efforts which were blocked by the Raiders Futsal Club defence then they flashed wide of the mark again.
The Eagles started to settle in the game and went close again. Robert Perre found some space on the pitch and thrashed an effort against the post.
Looking to double their lead, Raiders Futsal Club were close to the mark through their captain. Slaven Ljuboja unfurled from range and had both efforts blocked.
The hosts aimed to finish the half on a high with a trifecta of shots. John Morabito and Giovanni Strati fired wide of the mark while Bruno Antelmi had a free-kick blocked then rattled the frame with a venomous strike.
There was a late sucker punch from Raiders Futsal Club which sent them into the break, leading 2-0 and in control. Todd was in the right place to tap home from some smart work for the goal.
Coming out of the break, the Eagles had the first chance of the half when Peter Pelekanos was denied from a good save by keeper Shane Watson after a half-time switch.
The two sides continued to trade chances in a tight tussle. Luis Ferreira had a free-kick repelled then Robert Perre was again denied by the Raiders keeper.
Perre did the Eagles some sign of life in the 38th minute. He pounced on a loose ball from the Raiders defence before he slotted home to make it 2-1.
That goal raised the intensity of the contest between two top tier sides. Raiders Futsal Club had Godoy Bascur denied twice then he scooped wide of the mark.
Sensing the game in the balance, Antelmi had a pair of golden chances for the hosts. He firstly hit the post with an effort then rolled one into the side netting.
Headed into the final minutes, Eagles went for the sixth man to give them some more options. It paid off immediately when Dean Pelekanos fired into the net for 2-2.
Raiders Futsal Club had a pair of chances in the final minute through Godoy Bascur and Medimurac but both sides settled for a point in a fabulous futsal game.
Post match Sydney City Eagles coach Roy Perre was happy with the fightback from his side after an unusual first half from them:
“We were very sloppy and trying to work some stuff out for the team. I don’t believe we’ve hit our straps yet and have a lot to go. We are only in second gear and need to move the ball quicker. I am proud of the boys to comeback.” said Perre.
For Raiders Futsal Club coach Slaven Ljuboja, it was a wonderful effort for his side to push one of the top sides all the way:
“It was a great game of futsal and was a nailbiter. I thought we were in control but that is futsal. That is the halfway mark and we know we can match it with the top two teams which is a positive for us.” said Ljuboja.
MATCH STATS
Saturday 22 October 2022
Thomas Hassell Anglican College
Sydney City Eagles 2 (R. Perre, D. Pelekanos)
Raiders Futsal Club 2 (Medimurac, Todd)
Sydney City Eagles: 1. DIMITRAKIS John, 2. MESSINA Aaron, 5. TOMELIC Anthony, 7. CLEUR Judah, 9. ANTELMI Bruno, 10. PERRE Sam, 13. MORABITO John, 14. PELEKANOS Peter, 15. PERRE Robert, 18. PELEKANOS Dean, 24. CALIGIURI Cameron, 40. STRATI Giovanni
Yellow cards: P. Pelekanos, B. Antelmi, R. Perre
Red cards: nil
Raiders Futsal Club: 1. DANIEL Ibrahim, 2 TODD Thomas, 3. HAYASHI Kodai, 5. FERREIRA Luis, 6. GODOY BASCUR Christopher, 7. MILADINOVIC Jovan, 9. MEDIMURAC Tomas, 10. LJUBOJA Slaven, 11. MAKRIS Anthony, 12. BRADSHAW Terry, 13. YOUNG Samuel, 83. WATSON Shane
Yellow cards: Godoy Bascur, Young
Red cards: nil
SD Raiders Futsal 7 defeated South Coast Taipans 3
SD Raiders Futsal won a spirited contest 7-3 against South Coast Taipans at Fairfield Youth and Community Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The leaders have sole possession of first on their own after their sixth win of the season. Martin Fernandez was the star of the show for the hosts with a hat-trick which included a fabulous goal where he did finished off some superb work from Jordan Figon and Simon Nicholas.
The rest of the scorers for SD Raiders Futsal were regular contributors for the side. Captain Simon Nicholas fired home the third goal before Sebastian Malfara, Jordan Figon and Franco Maya all found the back of the net.
For South Coast Taipans battled hard and drew it back to 2-2 before they were blown away by the prolific SD Raiders Futsal attack. Matthew Mazevski and Jyden Harb scored for the visitors along with an own goal to complete the scoresheet.
Sydney Futsal Club 1 defeated by West City Crusaders 5
Back in the winner’s circle for West City Crusaders after their 5-1 win against Sydney Futsal Club at NC of Indigenous Excellence on Saturday afternoon.
That was West City Crusaders first win since the opening weekend and has them within striking distance of the top four. Jacob Newman spearheaded the win with his hat-trick alongside goals from Antonio Perri and the opener from Alexander Murrell.
Sydney Futsal Club were on the backfoot from the opening whistle and slumped to their fifth loss of the campaign. They did find the back of the net late in the first half through Omid Mohktar but also lost keeper Ata Hoveidaeifar to a red card in the second half.
Boomerangs FS 7 defeated Phoenix Futsal Club 4
It was another dominant performance from Boomerangs FS in their 7-4 win against Phoenix Futsal Club at MPowerdome on Saturday afternoon.
Boomerangs FS surged into the game and led 4-0 after 10 minutes continuing their superb work from last weekend against SD Raiders Futsal. Nicholas Dahl started the scoring and got himself a brace alongside Elie Darwich.
Leon Michl was another who fired home a pair of goals in the one-sided result. Boomerangs FS other scorer was Jayde James-Ward in a performance that coach Nick Van Aalst called a good step for his side with back-to-back wins.
Phoenix Futsal Club were blown away early but showed some good fight to get themselves back to 4-3 at one point in the contest. Jordan Smylie once again led the way for the visitors with a hat-trick while Jay Daynes also found the back of the net.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
