Vipers Bite Again to Secure Back-to-Back Open Men’s Titles

Mascot Vipers sealed consecutive Futsal Premier League Open Men’s championships with a thrilling 7–4 victory over Eastern Suburbs Hakoah at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday evening.

Carrying strong momentum into the Grand Final, the Vipers once again rose to the occasion, delivering a ruthless attacking performance that ultimately proved the difference, as Hakoah were left to rue missed chances at the other end.

Mascot struck first through Mikah Chilas, who made an immediate impact off the bench. Taking a couple of composed touches to beat his marker, Chilas calmly slipped the ball through the legs of the onrushing goalkeeper to open the scoring. He almost doubled the lead soon after, teeing up Conor Quilligan, whose effort failed to connect cleanly.

Hakoah began to grow into the contest and found their equaliser through Paul Gautier. Picking up the ball at halfway, Gautier unleashed a low strike that crept into the net with the Vipers keeper unsighted.

The match opened up into an end-to-end affair. Alex Euripidou forced Jordan Polyzos into a sharp save for the Vipers, while at the other end Gabriel Murray denied Ethan De Melo as the league’s Player of the Season began to assert himself. Goalkeepers at both ends continued to shine, with Polyzos producing another fine stop to keep out Emmanuel Tzanakes.

Hakoah edged in front midway through the first half when Samuel Tzanakes finished under pressure at the back post from a Jonathan Lynch square pass. The Vipers responded with intent, De Melo going close before the equaliser arrived via a kick-in, Kosta Tsournakakis scrambling the ball home from close range.

Mascot completed the turnaround late in the half. De Melo struck the post, and Chilas reacted quickest to bury the rebound, sending the Vipers into the break with a 3–2 lead.

The defending champions created the first clear chance of the second half on the counter, De Melo again denied as Hakoah scrambled back defensively. The contest settled briefly before Polyzos produced a crucial double save to deny Samuel Tzanakes.

Those misses proved costly. A minute later, Mascot extended their lead when Tsournakakis squared the ball across goal for Corby Fowler to finish from close range and make it 4–2.

Hakoah searched for a response, but Polyzos continued to stand tall, denying Jonathan Lynch and James Reed in quick succession. Tsournakakis then struck again, intercepting at halfway before racing through to finish clinically and make it 5–2.

Vipers captain Sasha Chilas preserved the advantage with a key save to deny Tzanakes before getting on the scoresheet himself moments later. His audacious full-court effort floated into the net to stretch the lead to 6–2 with nine minutes remaining.

Hakoah broke through late when Gabriel Prates swept home after a sustained spell of possession to reduce the margin to 6–3. A pivotal moment followed shortly after, as Daniel Fornito produced a goal-saving block to deny Samuel Tzanakes.

Pedro Tonelli added a fourth for Hakoah via a late deflection, but any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when De Melo sealed the result, finishing from an angle into an open net from halfway.

The final whistle confirmed another championship for the Vipers, capping off a memorable campaign with a statement Grand Final performance.

Match Details
Saturday 20 December 2025
Valentine Sports Park

Mascot Vipers 7
(M. Chilas 3’, 20’, Tsournakakis 16’, 30’, Fowler 27’, S. Chilas 32’, De Melo 38’)

Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 4
(Gautier 6’, S. Tzanakes 10’, Prates 37’, Tonelli 40’)

Mascot Vipers:
Sasha Chilas, Conor Quilligan, Mikah Chilas, Yanni Platiotis, Jonathan Barzel, Corby Fowler, Daniel Fornito, Ethan De Melo, Hikun Nguyen, Thomas Hynes, Jordan Polyzos, Ikey Rodriguez Navas Teixeira, Konstantinos Tsournakakis
Yellow cards: Quilligan 18’, Platiotis 32’
Red cards: Nil

Eastern Suburbs Hakoah:
Gabriel Murray, Paul Gautier, Alexander Euripidou, Harrison James, Robert Ezekiel, Samuel Tzanakes, Emmanuel Tzanakes, Jordan Ditford, Gabriel Lemos Prates, Pedro Tonelli Bernardes, Jonathan Lynch, Coby New, James Reed, Ashton Marsh
Yellow cards: Euripidou 8’, James 17’, S. Tzanakes 38’
Red cards: Nil

By Justin Smith