Futsal Premier/State League Round 2 Reviews

Official reviews in what was a busy weekend of futsal action in the Premier and State League competitions.
Quake rumbles in Premier League round 2
Campbelltown downed Majik 5-1 to sit top of the premier league table, Dural came from behind to beat an unlucky Mascot 4-1, UTS roared to its first win 3-2 over Phoenix, while Enfield and Inner West battled out a thrilling 4-4 draw.
Campbelltown Quake soundly beat Mountain Majik 5-1 at Valentine Sports Park, a 3-0 halftime buffer more than enough for the home side to cruise to victory, especially after Majik’s Luke Clifford was sent-off.
Mark Symington and Daniel Martinez grabbed braces and Dean Lockhart added another for the competition’s early ‘Shakers’ and cancel out Samuel De Oliveira’s sole second-half strike for the Mountaineers.
Enfield fought out an incredible 4-4 deadlock with Inner West at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre, an electric second-half contrasting sharply with a cagey opening period that saw Rovers with a paw in front 1-0 at the changeover.
Both sides drew at ten paces in the second term and neither were left standing in the end, levelled by a gasping 4-4 draw.
Shervin Adeli bagged a brace for Enfield who are proving a real bogey side for Magic, Inner West winning just one of their past seven premier league meetings.
UTS Northside penned their names on the leaderboard with a terrific 3-2 win over Phoenix in what proved an epic stoush at Ryde Sports & Community Centre.
UTS led 2-1 at oranges and maintained their slight edge to the finish line and register their first premier league points. Keifer Dotti and Vic Koutsoufis scored for Phoenix, who suffered a sixth straight home loss that has them pegged with a sour Sydney City Eagles run from in 2012/13.
Dural Warriors came from a goal down at halftime to beat a gallant Mascot Vipers 4-1 at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre.
Vipers came out firing and thoroughly deserved their 1-0 midway advantage before three-time winners Warriors stormed home and stay unbeaten in nine straight premier league road trips, now equal with their high-nine mark set two summers ago.
It’s not as pretty at Mascot. They’ve lost 15 straight open men’s matches to close in on a tough 16-game losing sequence from Sydney City Eagles over 2011/12-2012/13 (and Phoenix are just one defeat behind Vipers).
And a couple of titbits: Last week’s paltry opening round collection of 20 goals was the second lowest round total from the last four premier league summers, only one better than last year’s opening weekend and two better than the 2012/13 first round.
For the record the highest round total is 41, which incredibly occurred consecutively over the final three weeks of last season. The average round score over the past four years is 30.7.
And Enfield’s 5-4 victory over UTS last week strengthened Rovers claim to being the league’s close-game specialists having now won 10 of 13 one-goal results over the past four seasons.
And while the 5.5 goal average per game is at a four-summer low (overall average is 7.8), the current two-goal mean winning margin is a lot tighter than usual and a whole goal closer than the 3.1 average winning margin from two summers ago.
Next week’s premier league round three features a grand final rematch with Campbelltown Quake against Dural Warriors at Minto Indoor Sports Centre, Inner West Magic battle Mountain Majik in a doozy at Valentine Sports Park, Enfield Rovers tackle Phoenix Futsal Club at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre, and Mascot Vipers meet UTS Northside at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre.
Trio rule State League
Boomerangs, Sydney City and Western Wolves are joint state league leaders after securing second wins to start the new season. South Coast had the bye.

Sydney City Eagles withstood a courageous second-half fight back from Sydney Futsal Club to win 5-4 at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre on Saturday. The Eagles led 2-0 at the break but Sydney came at them in the second term, but couldn’t quite bridge the gap to fall by the smallest of margins.
A hungry West City Crusaders toppled ladder leaders Botany Bay Pirates 5-3 at Hurstville Aquatic Centre on the back of Alex Crane and David McMurray doubles, but they didn’t have it their own way as a second-half Pedro De Carvalho hat-trick gave the Pirates a whiff before Crusaders finally raised the victory flag.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah endured a second successive stalemate at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre, this time a 3-3 draw with Raiders. The visitors led 2-1 at the break before Hakoah regained control in the second term to grab another point.
International Football School Futsal gave a good account for themselves in their debut state league clash at Peninsula Leisure Centre, trailing former premier league outfit Boomerangs 5-3 at the break before eventually falling 11-4, Callum Smith netting four times and Nick Rathjen and Kristian Collins scoring twice for the Territorians, Brad Porter picking up a hat-trick for the conquered.
Sutherland Shire picked up their first win with a 6-2 defeat of Parramatta at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre on Saturday after leading 3-0 at the interval, leaving Pumas win-less after two rounds; and Western Wolves comfortably beat Mount Druitt Town Rangers 3-0 at Emerton Leisure Centre to grab a share of the sceptre.
In next week’s state league round three Parramatta Pumas play Botany Bay Pirates at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre, Sydney City Eagles host Boomerangs in a top-of-the-table clash at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre, Mount Druitt Town Rangers tackle South Coast Taipans at Kevin Butts Stadium, Western Wolves meet West City Crusaders at Emerton Leisure Centre, Sutherland Shire face Raiders at Menai Sports, Sydney Futsal Club welcomes International Football School Futsal, while Eastern Suburbs Hakoah has the bye.
-By Dan De Nardi