Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s Preview

The Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens competition is back for another exciting which promises to be filled with the usual action, drama and goals to enjoy.

There is the addition of the stop clock this season that will help bring more futsal action to the court so let’s get onto the preview.

Let’s start with the newcomers. APIA FC were relegated into this division despite winning the Open Mens championship in their final bow. It has been a full refresh for them in the squad with only three players remaining from 2022.

They do have names like Jared Macerola, Giacomo Di Mento and Jamal Belkadi in the squad which promises to be an attacking powerhouse. So their games will be ones to watch across the whole FPL2 season.

Moving on, Phoenix Futsal Club had a disappointing campaign last year and hopefully might be rising up the table in 2023. Jordan Smylie was a sharpshooter with 24 goals and he returns to help lift the side into the semi-finals this season.

Alongside him, Phoenix Futsal Club have retained much of the team including Ibrahim Sweedan and keeper Jack Vandervelde to make The Centre – Dural a fortress this season and improve on their sixth place finish last year.

Next is the 2022 Champions, Raiders Futsal Club. It was an emotional triumph for the squad and they will look to double their delight this season. Goal machine Christopher Godoy Bascur will lead the way again alongside Jovan Miladinovic and captain coach Slaven Ljuboja.

The champions did bolster their squad with experienced shotstopper Nenad Vekic returning to the club to create a dynamic duo with Ibrahim Daniel alongside some talented youth to bring more glory back to Thomas Hassell.

SD Raiders Futsal entertained all the way to a semi-final appearance and look to take a further step in the new season. The south-west side has kept the core of the team which scored the most goals in the competition which will bode well.

Franco Maya, Matthew Barkho and Martin Fernandez will be a tough trio to hold off the scoresheet for SD Raiders Futsal while Simon Nicholas remains the glue for the squad who will play out of new surroundings at Thomas Hassell Anglican College this season.

For South Coast Taipans, they hope to take the lessons learnt from last year and bring some extra string to their futsal and make the top tour. Bobby Mazevski will be coaching the side again and hopes for a fast start.

It is a case of keeping the band together for the Taipans. The squad remains the same furnished with the promotion of Logan Mathie from the youth team. Once again Matthew Mazevski and Cody Waller will lead the way for the south coast side.

Another team which just fell short in 2022 was Sydney City Eagles. They did pick up the Premiership for finishing first but hope to soar to new heights this year. It is another team which didn’t make many changes to their squad.

Major names to check out with be Judah Cleur, Matthew Trotter and Peter Pelekanos in the team which will be once again marshalled by longstanding coach Roy Perre who will have them firing from the first whistle.

While Sydney Futsal Club might’ve finished last they still had moments which they will build on for the new season. Carlos Perez will take the coaching duties for the side and has brought some change into the squad.

They did retain custodian Ata Hoveidaeifar who impressed last year alongside Bruno Laricca and Gustav Soerensen. New names for the team include Patrick Pace, Dion Kellis and Ryuki Hirota looking to break into the top half.

Last but definitely not least is West City Crusaders who have gone through a refresh this season to improve their results. Benjamin Lam and Peter Malecki will be coaching the squad that brought in experienced keeper Shane Watson alongside stars Stuart Gosling, Zach Reardon and Arsallan Mangal.

Those additions will be helped along by the core which remains for the Crusaders. Ryan Faulkner and Kurt Elborough will be focal points for their attack while Kwadno Boamah-Addai is always a handful for defenders.

Round 1 kicks off on Saturday afternoon 16/09/2023 with the fixtures listed below:

Sydney Futsal Club vs West City Crusaders – NC of Indigenous Excellence 4:50pm

Raiders Futsal Club vs Phoenix Futsal Club – Thomas Hassell Anglican College 5:20pm

Sydney City Eagles vs SD Raiders Futsal – Morris Iemma Indoor SC 5:50pm

South Coast Taipans vs APIA FC Futsal – Illawarra Hockey Centre 6:50pm

-By Justin Davies