Semi-Final Preview – Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s
Semi Final Saturday shapes up to a mammoth one in the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens competition with four teams ready to go and fight it out to see who will represent on Grand Final day on Sunday afternoon.
Let’s get onto the preview.
SD Raiders Futsal vs Raiders Futsal Club, Saturday 17 December, 4:30pm, Morris Iemma Indoor SC
Our first semi final sees SD Raiders Futsal take on Raiders Futsal Club at Morris Iemma Indoor SC on Saturday afternoon.
SD Raiders Futsal lived up to coach Sebastian Malfara’s prediction that they would be entertaining to watch across the whole campaign. They just missed out on the Minor Premiership by a point but did win ten games in the season.
They had a solid performance to take into Saturday afternoon with their 5-2 win over a spirited South Coast Taipans side which Martin Fernandez and Matthew Joseph scoring braces.
Another one of the blistering attacks in the FPL2 Open Mens competition, SD Raiders Futsal have plenty of options headed into the weekend. Captain Simon Nicholas leads from the front and is a key cog in the go forward.
Add to that Malfara, Jordan Figon who has shown touches of class whenever he is on the pitch alongside Matthew Barkho to chime in. At the back Daniel Ibrahim is a quality shot stopper and will be key to their chances on Saturday.
Raiders Futsal Club will have to pick themselves up after they lost out on their chance on the Minor Premiership in a 6-1 loss to eventual winners Sydney City Eagles
Coach Slaven Ljuboja has faith in his squad and they will be buoyed by a 6-4 win over SD Raiders Futsal back in Round 8 after they were beaten by SD Raiders Futsal in the opening weekend of the competition in a tight battle.
Both Christopher Godoy Bascur and Goran Ljuboja are key contributors to the Raiders Futsal Club success. Godoy Bascur has 11 goals in 14 appearances while Ljuboja found the back of the net in their loss last week.
This is set up to a classic battle between these two sides who were high flyers across the whole FPL2 Open Mens season. So if you can get down to Morris Iemma Indoor SC and enjoy some fast-paced futsal action.
Sydney City Eagles vs Boomerangs FS, Saturday 17 December, 5pm, Valentine Sports Park
The other final sees leaders Sydney City Eagles take on fourth place Boomerangs FS at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday afternoon.
Sydney City Eagles head into this game in supreme form after their dominant 6-1 win against Raiders Futsal Club which earnt them the Minor Premiership, the first trophy of the season.
The Eagles finished the season in style with four straight wins in a FPL2 Open Mens campaign which saw them win ten games, draw only once and taste defeat thrice which was mostly in the first month of the season.
One of the main weapons for the side is Patrick Antelmi. He has 12 goals for the season alongside Judah Cleru who has registered 10 goals in his appearances, so they will be a duo to watch for the Boomerangs FS defence.
Last weekend also showed the Eagles have a tight defensive structure as they were able to block plenty of shots and it might lead coach Roy Perre to some tough calls on his custodians John Dimitrakis and Aaron Messina who were both excellent behind the defence.
Boomerangs FS had a slow start to the season but they found their rhythm and were able to finish in fourth position and earn a chance to take home the Championship trophy.
They had an interesting warm up for the upcoming weekend after an 8-7 win over Phoenix Futsal Club where they led 7-1 before being pegged back. Coach Nick Van Aalst will want a tighter display against one of the most potent attacks.
Looking through the Boomerangs FS roster, they have a talented line-up of their own and a standout across the whole 14 rounds has been Elie Darwich. He found the back of the net nine times and his combination with Nicholas Dahl will be key.
These two sides split their regular season encounters which sets this up for an intriguing contest. Sydney City Eagles won the first game 5-1 while Boomerangs FS returned serve back in Canberra with a 6-2 result which was the Eagles last loss.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
