Futsal Premier League Open Men’s Round 8 Review
The season permutations just became clearer in the Futsal Premier League Open Men’s competition with the top three opening up a gap over the rest after round eight.
Yes, all three of Mountain Majik, Mascot Vipers and Enfield Allstars tasted victory this weekend while Quake secured a first point in six matches against UTS Northside.
Boomerangs FS 2-6 Mascot Vipers
Keeping the good times rolling! Mascot Vipers took three points away from their clash with Boomerangs FS away from home.
Keeping their unbeaten record intact through seven games, the Vipers scored four unanswered goals in the second half for the victory. In terms of goal scorers, Peter Politis and Ethan De Melo both scored braces with Thomas Quilligan also having a good game combining with those around them.
But it was just as much about the youth players coming into the side. Mikah Chilas scored and got a special mention alongside another goal scorer in Thomas Hynes as well as Hikun Nguyen, Rafael Costa and Fernando Darvas. Club president Zvi Bendavid delighted with how his experienced and youth players combined in this one.
Not one of the best performances from Boomerangs FS, they missed Nick Rathjen in particular. Their two goals came from Jayde James-Ward and William Manalo either side of half time.
Boomerangs take on Dural Warriors who sit one point above them, while Mascot Vipers host UTS Northside.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah Futsal Club 3-6 Mountain Majik Futsal Club
Top of the table, Mountain Majik emerged victorious from their clash with Eastern Suburbs Hakoah at Heffron Centre.
It proved to be a fixture where one side had the ball, the other scored the goals with the Majik just proving too clinical for the hosts.
With six goals coming in the first half, there was plenty of entertainment from the get-go. Nicholas Bakopoulos scored the opener for the Majik two minutes in before James Reed scored Hakoah’s first after a give and go to his left five minutes later.
Mountain Majik then pouncing three times in four minutes to take control of the scoreboard through Anthony Haddad and a Jamie Dib brace. Emmanuel Tzanakes then keeping the hosts in it with a 18th minute goal to make it 4-2 Majik at half time.
And when Mitchell Lowe scored early in the second half, there was reason to believe for the hosts. However, Majik scored a minute later making things more difficult for the hosts. The Majik having to be at their best defensive against a 5th man in the second half with Anthony Haddad scoring at the other end.
Hakoah weren’t far away in this one and coach Steve Tzanakes singled out NZ international Adam Paulsen as his best player on the night.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah were in action again this weekend against Enfield Allstars (see the review below) while Mountain Majik host Enfield Allstars in a hotly anticipated round nine clash next weekend.
Macarthur Quake Futsal 4-4 UTS Northside Futsal Club
After five games without a point, Macarthur Quake managed to hold out against a fast-finishing UTS Northside side, Saturday evening.
This one came to life in the second half with seven of the eight total goals coming after the break. Quake walking away with their first Open Men’s point since round two.
The solitary goal of the first half came through Daniel Goni, three minutes in to give the Quake the 1-0 halftime advantage.
Nathan Amore equalizing after the break in the 23rd minute for the visitors. A disappointing result which could’ve been worse if not for the contributions of youngsters Jacob Brazete and William Faulder.
Alexander Nicolosi then taking control of the fixture from a goalscoring perspective with a three-minute hat-trick, Grant Lynch adding Northside’s second in between which set up a dramatic set of events in the final three minutes.
Macarthur Quake perhaps feeling like they threw away their second victory of the season conceding a freekick which was scored by Lucas Rainbird with two minutes left. Before an unfortunate brain snap from the Quake custodian sent Grant Lynch to the 10m spot. Lynch adding the equalizer late on.
UTS Northside travel to Sydney’s East to face Mascot Vipers next weekend, while Macarthur Quake host Eastern Suburbs Hakoah.
Enfield Allstars 4-2 Dural Warriors
Our final round eight fixture saw Enfield Allstars overcome a much-improved Dural Warriors 4-2 at Morris Iemma Indoor SC.
Winning their third successive game, the Allstars opened a seven-point gap to the teams below as of Sunday afternoon. They conceded early in this one before a brace either side of half time gave them the victory. The result meaning Dural Warriors remain in 6th position on the table, the Boomerangs below them with a game in hand.
As mentioned above, Dural Warriors were there to prove a point after last weekends 9-0 defeat to the Allstars, coach Blake Rosier noting he was proud of his side’s performance. Opening their account through Ahmed Sweedan in the second minute.
However, they were punished for perhaps sitting too far back with Dylan Chau scoring a first half brace.
Chasing the game, the Warriors pushed for an equalizer, something which cost them at the other end with Shervin Adeli scoring a brace of his own to put the Allstars 4-1 up.
Jake Basden scoring a captain’s goal on the half hour to bring it back to 4-2, the game finishing on that scoreline.
Enfield Allstars were in action again this weekend, while Dural Warriors host Boomerangs FS next weekend at the Centre.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah Futsal Club 2-1 Enfield Allstars
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah claimed an important 2-1 victory over Enfield Allstars in a round four catch up game at the Heffron Centre.
A high-quality showcase of Futsal, the hosts had to dig deep to overcome the individual quality of the Allstars with the win taking them into the top four, one place and four points behind their opponents.
It looked like it was going to be a game of many goals early on with two goals in the opening three minutes. Jonathon Lynch giving Hakoah the lead from close range after a Vinicius Janjacomo shot was saved. Before a quick response came from the Allstars, Dylan Chau completing a good weekend on the scoring n front with a shot from the edge of the circle.
However, the scoring slowed from that point as we had to wait till the final minute for the eventual winner. Enfield shot stopper Domenic Badolato playing a crucial role in keeping the hosts at bay throughout the second half.
The pressure finally telling when Samuel Tzanakes found a winner with 30 seconds remaining to cap off a quality individual performance. While Adam Paulson once again impressed for the hosts on the night.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah will have revenge on the mind when they travel to Macarthur Quake next weekend, while Enfield Allstars take on Mountain Majik in round nine action.
By Justin Smith
