Futsal Premier League Open Men’s Round 8 Preview
Round eight is another important weekend in the Futsal Premier League Open Men competition as three teams threaten to break away from the pack.
Four games are taking place this Saturday with a bonus fixture on the Sunday, let’s preview the weekend ahead.
Boomerangs FS v Mascot Vipers; Saturday 4 November, 5:20pm, Mpowerdome
The undefeated Mascot Vipers are the next team to make the trip down to face Boomerangs FS this weekend.
Boomerangs return home this weekend after going down to their second defeat in a row last weekend. However, it will be a welcome return to the venue their two victories have come this season as they sit in 7th position.
Last weekend they went down to Enfield Allstars away from home in a close game. Nicholas Dahl was probably their best on the pitch, scoring their first two goals. While a special shoutout should go to Rachael Corbett who stepped up to coach the team.
It will be a tough ask however against a Mascot Vipers side whose undefeated streak stretches back till last season. Including three victories in their past three games, they took victory over Macarthur Quake last weekend.
They put together a dominant second performance in that one with Ethan De Melo, Jacob Debien and Thomas Quilligan scoring goals in the second half. Ethan De Melo in particular has proved to be a key player in recent weeks for the Vipers.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah Futsal Club v Mountain Majik Futsal Club; Saturday 4 November, 5:20pm, Heffron Centre
Competition leaders Mountain Majik travel east to face a team unbeaten in their last four in Mountain Majik.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah find themselves on a four-game unbeaten run including two wins and two draws. As such they will be looking to carry on their positive momentum.
To do so however they will have to topple a side who beat them the first time around in Mountain Majik. Leading the competition with double the points of their opponents, coach Brett Hewit has done a great job leading his side.
They also have one of the form players in the competition in Anthony Haddad who has proved a threat to any opponent in recent weeks. While their defense proved solid against UTS Northside despite coming up against a 5th man. They will be looking to do the double over their hosts this weekend.
Macarthur Quake Futsal v UTS Northside Futsal Club; Saturday 4 November, 5:20pm, Minto Indoor Sports Centre
Two sides urgently chasing a victory face off when Macarthur Quake host UTS Northside in round 8 action.
Macarthur Quake haven’t tasted a win since round two against Eastern Suburbs Hakoah so they will consider themselves overdue here. Five games winless, they struggled to keep pace against Mascot Vipers in round seven action.
Kingston Luburic found the back of the net in the first half but they couldn’t keep pace with their fancied competition. 46 goals conceded in their seven fixtures, they need to tighten up here.
For their part, it’s been a tough few weeks for UTS Northside as well. Losing three games in a row, they find themselves in the unfamiliar surroundings of the bottom half of the competition.
Last weekend, they gave Mountain Majik a scare but couldn’t break through late on with a powerplay. Nick Rainbird and Nathan Amore their goal scorers either side of half time in that one.
Enfield Allstars v Dural Warriors; Saturday 4 November, 6:50pm, Morris Iemma Indoor SC
Enfield Allstars host Dural Warriors as the two sides meet for the second time in a week at Morris Iemma Indoor SC.
Favourites for this one will be Enfield Allstars who put nine past Dural Warriors last weekend after beating Boomerangs FS the day before. With games coming thick and fast for the Allstars, they are quickly moving up the table into semi-finals contention.
Shervin Adeli starred in the game against Boomerangs with four goals. While the day after saw a true team performance with Michael Kouta scoring a hat-trick alongside goals to Luiz Lobo, Bruno Pivato and Adeli once again.
In contrast, Dural Warriors had a tough weekend securing one point from their two fixtures. Saturday saw them take a point against Eastern Suburbs Hakoah in a brave performance before they were beaten 9-0 by the Allstars.
This is their chance at redemption less than seven days later, so expect them to be out to prove a point here.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah Futsal Club v Enfield Allstars; Sunday 5 November, 6pm, Heffron Centre.
By Justin Smith
