Futsal Premier League Open Men’s Round 14 Preview
The race for both the Premiership and finals places means there’s plenty to look forward to in round 14 of the Futsal Premier League Open Men competition.
Plenty to look forward too, there’s also the matter of survival in the club championship. So buckle up, Saturday is going to be action packed!
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah Futsal Club v Dural Warriors; Saturday 9 December, 5:20pm, Heffron Centre
Highlighting our action this weekend is the clash for the final spot in the semi-finals as fourth placed Eastern Suburbs Hakoah host Dural Warriors.
This one is a tough one to call with both sides separated by just the one point. Eastern Suburbs Hakoah secured an important victory over UTS Northside last Sunday after two straight defeats in rounds 11 and 12.
While Dural Warriors have won three of their last four games to bring themselves into finals contention a point behind the hosts. Last week winning their one game over 2nd placed Mountain Majik.
In the hosts victory over UTS Northside last Sunday, it was Cesar Perego who stood out on the pitch. Defying his age, he led his side around the court. While Jonathan Lynch scored two goals for the highlight reel from the right flank in probably his best performance of the season.
The Warriors victory over Majik was perhaps the most impressive this season. They emerged 7-4 winners with both Sweedan brothers grabbing a brace in that one. Coach Blake Rosier emphasising the need for consistency ahead of this one.
Boomerangs FS v Enfield Allstars; Saturday 9 December, 5:20pm, Mpowerdome
Boomerangs FS host an out of form Enfield Allstars with the two sides needing points for different reasons at the Mpowerdome.
The Boomerangs come into this one having secured a season best victory last Sunday. Still chasing crucial club championship points, the win last weekend showed character after a defeat the day before.
Standing out in that victory were Benjamin Basser-Silk and Elle Darwich who both scored multiple goals. Though it was a true team performance with multiple players missing in this one. They’ll be underdogs for this one, but they will give it a red-hot crack come Saturday afternoon.
Enfield Allstars will be looking to return to form with their first victory in three games. Yes, they have well and truly hit a hurdle last weekend with defeats to UTS Northside and Mascot Vipers away from home.
We’ll focus on their most recent loss to the Vipers where Peter Grozos scored a hat-trick in a losing effort. A six-goal deficit proved too much for the Allstars to chase down, particularly without Shervin Adeli on that occasion.
Macarthur Quake Futsal v Mascot Vipers; Saturday 9 December, 5:20pm, PCYC Hawkesbury
Mascot Vipers have the chance to wrap up the premiership when they travel to take on Macarthur Quake.
The Vipers are in the best form heading into the final round of the competition winning their last four games. With a two point and six goal lead at the top, a draw should be enough for them to secure the 2023 premiership this weekend.
Last weekend, they took maximum points from the double header weekend with victories over Eastern Suburbs Hakoah and Enfield Allstars. Since we were at the latter, we’ll focus on that. Ethan De Melo put in an impressive performance on pitch leading the way, while Daniel Fornito and Thomas Quilligan also picked up braces.
It’s top against bottom in this one, with Macarthur Quake’s season coming to a close after this one. They secured their second win of the season against Boomerangs last Saturday before forfeiting their game Sunday.
Let’s focus on Saturday however where they dug deep to secure some important club championship points. Liam Polinsky leading the way in goal with some crucial saves. While we should also give a shoutout to Mel Keith who backed up from coaching the Open Womens in that one.
UTS Northside Futsal Club v Mountain Majik Futsal Club; Saturday 9 December, 6:05pm, PCYC Dee Why
UTS Northside will look to cause one more upset in 2023 when they host Mountain Majik in our final fixture of the regular season.
This one could be a close one with UTS Northside having a good home record against a visiting side who are out of form. Let’s focus on the hosts though who won one and lost the other across the weekend.
The highlight being a victory over Enfield Allstars on the Saturday where Michael Borg scored a brace, their second half performance one of the better ones they have played this season. One last dance for the season, they’ll be looking to avenge their first-round defeat.
It was a tough weekend for Mountain Majik last time out. Perhaps a case of the double header weekend falling at the wrong time for Brett Hewit’s side, they fell to two consecutive defeats against Dural Warriors and Boomerangs FS.
Anthony Haddad could well prove vital once again after scoring four against the Boomerangs last weekend. Almost a must win to gain some momentum going into next week, can they recapture their form here?
By Justin Smith
