Round 7 Preview – Futsal Premier League Open Men

2019/20 Men’s Futsal Premier League round-seven Saturday pits Campbelltown Quake versus UTS Northside, Boomerangs FS play Mascot Vipers, Inner West Magic host Eastern Suburbs Hakoah, and Enfield Allstars face Mountain Majik.

Campbelltown Quake                 UTS Northside              Minto Sports Stadium                            4.50pm Saturday 2 November

Boomerangs FS                        Mascot Vipers               AIS Training Halls                                  5.50pm Saturday 2 November

Inner West Magic                      Eastern Subs Hakoah    Valentine Sports Park                            6.20pm Saturday 2 November

Enfield Allstars                          Mountain Majik              Morris Iemma Sports Centre                   7.50pm Saturday 2 November

Campbelltown Quake v UTS Northside

An understated Campbelltown Quake host a confident UTS Northside at Minto Sports Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Northside wrestled a stubborn 2-2 draw with Inner West on the weekend to be joint-fourth on the ladder, just a couple points behind second-placed Inner West.

UTS are also on a club-high three-match unbeaten streak on the road to give them extra oomph heading down the M5 to Sydney’s south-west.

Campbelltown have endured a frustrating win-less start to summer but they’ve also been highly competitive and hold a 6-2 historical edge over Northside, including all four meetings at Minto.

Having said that, Quake have lost their last four league runs at the Sports Stadium and another dour result would set a new club-low mark at home, so they certainly have plenty to play for.

Boomerangs FS v Mascot Vipers

Boomerangs FS welcome Mascot to the AIS Training Halls for a Saturday-afternoon contest that will test leaders Mascot in different ways.

Boomerangs won their first match and lost all five games since to only be ahead of win-less Campbelltown on the ladder.

But three of those defeats have been by two goals or less and they are staggering value on home turf winning 61% of the time (19 wins in 34 games); only Dural (77%) has a better away return rate, Enfield (59%).

Mascot have set the standard in an unbeaten season-beginning and very much deserve their current state-best lead, but the Hume Highway is a long stretch of bitumen and the visitors have an unsightly premier-league road-record.

Vipers have registered just 18 wins in 74 fixtures as the away team (24%) – slightly better than lowest Crusaders (17%), Boomerangs (18%), Benfica (22%) and Hakoah (22%).

On top of that, Boomerangs have won four and drawn two of their eight Mascot encounters, including 8-0 and 7-1 drubbings, and both Vipers victories were by slender one-goal margins… and they’ve never won in the capital, the closest result a 5-5 shootout in February 2013.

Inner West Magic v Eastern Suburbs Hakoah

Inner West Magic versus Eastern Suburbs Hakoah at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday evening should be an absolute cracker!

Easts have stunned the league this summer with a blistering start that sees them second behind Mascot, one point ahead of Inner West.

Hakoah need one more point to equal their overall haul from last season’s debut – and we’re only halfway through the regulatory rounds.

They knocked off the defending champs Enfield on the weekend with a fantastic team effort, particularly hat-trick hero Gilad Swartz, and Easts have won their last two travelling excursions to be primed for this away challenge.

Inner West were held to a 2-2 draw by Northside but maintain a five-match unbeaten sequence – one more without loss would be the club’s third-highest run (they went a dozen without loss in 2014/15 and seven in a row a few summers ago).

Just as interesting is tonight’s Futsal Cup round-of-16 clash between Magic and Hakoah at Valentine Sports Park (Wednesday).

Enfield Allstars v Mountain Majik

There’s plenty at stake when Enfield Allstars meet Mountain Majik at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre for a Saturday-night tussle.

Title-holders Enfield have spluttered their way to two wins in six rounds and both of those were against the two teams below them on the points table.

Still, Allstars are a single victory outside a top-four spot and if they can gather some momentum there’s no reason they can’t impress in the post-season once more.

Mountain is joint-fourth and on a roll, becoming the only team to defy comp leaders Mascot in a gritty 4-4 draw a fortnight ago, but they’ve thrown up some erratic performances against Enfield in the past.

Allstars own the overall record 8-4 with each contest averaging over nine goals a run – this has included 10-1 and 11-6 Enfield victories and a crazy 6-6 draw, all at the Sports Centre.