Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s Semi-Finals Preview
We enter the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s semi-finals with two intriguing matchups to enjoy and help us figure out the two Grand Finalists. South Coast Taipans host SD Raiders Futsal while West City Crusaders face off against Raiders Futsal Club.
Let’s get onto the preview.
South Coast Taipans vs SD Raiders Futsal, Saturday 16 December, 5:30pm, The Centre – Dural Pitch 1
South Coast Taipans host SD Raiders Futsal in their semi-final down at The Centre – Dural on Saturday night.
The Taipans swept all before them in the FPL2 Open Men’s regular season with 11 wins, one draw and a single loss to Crusaders.
There are plenty of options for the Taipans to use on the pitch in this semi-final including youth top scorer Jyden Harb.
The Taipans also have the FPL2 Open Men’s Golden Boot, Matthew Mazevski who will lead the line and try to find the back of the net.
It has been a magical season for the Taipans so they will want to add the icing to the cake with a Grand Final appearance.
SD Raiders Futsal secured their spot in the top four in the final round after their dramatic 7-7 draw with Raiders Futsal Club.
They should have some of their key firepower back including Charles Abou Serhal and Simon Nicholas after serving their suspensions.
Matthew Barkho has been the fulcrum in the SD Raiders Futsal side and contributed 23 goals thus far in the campaign.
It will be a big game for custodian Ryan Baldi. He has been one of the top keepers in the league and will be busy keeping out the Taipans attack.
Previous meetings: R5: Taipans 6 defeated SD Raiders Futsal 3; R12: SD Raiders Futsal 5 defeated by South Coast Taipans 15
West City Crusaders vs Raiders Futsal Club, Saturday 16 December, 5:30pm, The Centre – Dural Pitch 2
West City Crusaders face off against Raiders Futsal Club in the other semifinal at The Centre – Dural on Saturday night.
The Crusaders were one of the entertainers in the FPL2 Open Men’s season and ended up in second spot with 9 wins and 5 losses.
They have two of the top five goal scorers in Ryan Faulkner and Stuart Gosling to help drive them forward in this game.
Alongside those two, there is the influence of Benjamin Lam and Kwadwo Boamah-Addai in what promises to be a high scoring affair.
Custodian Shane Watson is a very vocal figure between the sticks and will have instructions for them to stifle Raiders Futsal Club.
Raiders Futsal Club were consistent across the campaign and finished in third position with 8 wins, 5 losses and one draw.
They are the defending champions and get a chance to go back-to-back if they can get past the Crusaders in this game.
Raiders Futsal Club will hope to have Christopher Godoy Bascur back for this game and help ignite their attack.
Their game plan is based off structure and defence which is helped by having Ibrahim Daniel in net who has a highlight reel of saves this season.
Previous meetings: R4: West City Crusaders 9 defeated Raiders Futsal Club 4; R11: Raiders Futsal CLub 5 defeated West City Crusaders 4
*The 2023 Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s Grand Final will be streamed live on Football NSW’s Futsal Facebook and Football NSW’s YouTube page.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
