Day 2 of the Open Men’s Championship through up plenty of surprises, goals and action as the competition for places in Thursday’s semi-finals hotted up. Queensland entered the fray after missing Day 1 and looked in good form as a group of teams pushed for the final four.
Round 2
Victoria 6 (Fernando De Moraes 7’, 29’, Jonathan Barrientos 8’, Adam Cooper 9’, Carlos Munoz 15’, Vadim Mazurskiy 25’ (pen)) South Australia 0 Victoria stormed to a 6-0 hammering of South Australia in the opening match of the Open Men’s competition on Day 2. It didn’t take long for Victoria to hit their stride as they ripped into South Australia from the outset showing a ruthlessness and technical prowess that their opponents simply could not match. The Victorians appeared a lot fresher than in their opening match and took firm command of the contest with a three-goal burst within the space of three first-half minutes. Fernando set the scene, dictating the pace early on, before scoring a sublime opener. That set the scene and when Jonathon Barrientos and Adam Cooper added to the Fernando strike Victoria was virtually home and dry by the nine minute mark. They still kept attacking though and the impressive Carlos Munoz swept home at the back post after another rapid-fire break to take the score to 4-0 at the interval. There was little let up in the second half as Victoria kept up the offensive. A handball in the area presented Vadim Mazurskiy with the chance to blast goal number from the penalty spot before Fernando completed his brace with a cute flick from close range after good lead up work from Mirza Pedic.
Tasmania 1 (Liam Scott 19’) NSW Metro 2 (Jonathon Kontalis 8’, Miles Downie 24’) NSW Metro remained unbeaten after two rounds following a tense and exciting 2-1 win over Tasmania at the AIS Training Hall. Tasmania battled hard and was unfortunate not to gain a point from a top-drawer match. It was NSW Metro who started the better of the two teams and deservedly went ahead in the eighth minute as Jonathan Kontalis, hero of the narrow win over the ACT yesterday, found time and space in front of goal to squeeze his shot past Liam Ferrall in the Tasmanian goal. Tasmania though are floating on a wave of confidence after getting off to a winning start yesterday with an emphatic win over South Australia and they hit back with a stunning strike as Liam Scott took aim from distance and crashed a thunderbolt high into the top corner past the agile Roberto Maiorana in the NSW goal to make it 1-1 on the cusp of half-time. There was little to separate the teams in the second half either with good openings rare. However, NSW did manage to find a way past Ferrall in the 24th minute. Miles Downie received a cut-back and lashed a firm, low drive that flashed past the diving Ferrall and nestled in the bottom corner. Later, Nathan Niski fired over when well-placed in front of goal but it was to matter not as NSW held on for a valuable three points.
ACT 2 (Michael Reeve 17’, 25’) Queensland 2 (Scott Fenn 4’, Lucas Cordeiro 30’) ACT and Queensland shared the spoils in a feisty encounter that saw four goals, a plethora of yellow cards and the ACT Head Coach sent to the stands for dissent. Queensland, playing their first match after having the bye in Round 1, looked sharp and bright from the opening whistle with Giancarlo Romano forcing Angelo Konstantinou into a fine save in the 2nd minute. The ACT’s international ‘keeper could do little just two minutes later though as Scott Fenn broke away and slotted through his legs to give the Maroons the lead. The ACT attempted to hit back and went close through the efforts of Pat Ross-Magee and Daniel Fulton and it was Fulton who was instrumental in bringing his team level hurdling two desperate tackles and drawing the ‘keeper to give Michael Reeve a simple tap-in. Moments later Reeve hit the post with a shot on the turn as the half ended 1-1. Needing a victory the ACT pushed at the start of the second half and, after a Ross-Magee volley came back off the underside of the crossbar, they took the lead as Reeve hammered in his second of the match. Queensland hit back though with ten minutes to play as Lucas Cordeiro intercepted a stray pass and coolly slotted past Konstantinou for the equaliser to set-up a grandstand finale. Both teams went close to a winner but, in the end, had to settle for a point apiece.
BYE: Western Australia
Round 3
NSW Metro 0 Victoria 3 (Adam Cooper 11’, Fernando De Moraes 13’, Reuben Langerak 21’) Victoria put down a firm statement of intent as they ripped asunder the reigning champions NSW Metro with a convincing 3-0 victory in a performance that marks them down as the early favourites for the 2013 title. The margin of victory in no way flattered Victoria who dominated possession in the opening half and only some excellent zone defending from the NSW Metro outfit denied them the space to create clear cut chances and really test Roberto Maiorana in the Metro goal. Surprisingly therefore the best chance in the first quarter belonged to Metro as a slick break saw an effort from Takuya Umeda blocked by Victorian ‘keeper Christos Apostolakis. Victoria’s weight of possession was sure to tell though and they duly took the lead in the 11th minute as Adam Cooper found the back of the net. Two minutes later they took control of the match on the score board as Fernando got in behind to clip the ball over Maiorana and make it 2-0. Their grip on proceedings became even firmer only a minute into the second half as Reuben Langerak took aim from distance and thumped home the third goal that emphasised Victoria’s lead and they were easy winners from there on in.
Queensland 2 (Giancarlo Romano 9’, Sean Byrne 17’) Tasmania 1 (Adam McKeown 38’) Queensland’s impressive start to the 2013 championships continued as they defeated Tasmania 2-1 thanks to a pair of first half goals. In a fast and furious encounter Queensland emerged the stronger in the first half as they hounded Tasmania whenever they had possession. And, whilst Tasmania was a touch profligate with their chances, the Maroons were less inclined to pass up openings. Even so there was a touch of fortune about the opening goal scored in the ninth minute as Giancarlo Romano shot from an angle but saw the ball deflect into the net. Tasmania responded with good efforts from Jacob Clamp and Joshua Quan, the latter really catching hold of a strike from a corner, but on both occasions Brendan Pickett in the Queensland goal was equal to the task to repel the shots. Sean Byrne was then able to put Queensland 2-0 ahead with a finely taken shot three minutes before the break as the Maroons upped the ante. The second half carried on in much the same vein as the first as Queensland created the better but Tasmania battled hard throughout. Impressive in white were Quan and Liam Scott with Scott, in particular, a bundle of energy as he scampered across the court. And it was Scott’s corner that led to Adam McKeown pulling one back late on but Queensland held on to win.
South Australia 0 Western Australia 5 (Daniel Micevski 7’, Ciro Celulari 9’, Andres Bouzinekis 11’, Luke Tidy 19’, David Micevski 37’) Western Australia swamped South Australia 5-0 to keep up their steady progress towards the semi-finals. Western Australia took a while to get the measure of their opponents but when they did they struck three times in four minutes. Daniel Micevski opened the scoring in the 7th minute, much to the delight of the bench, and it was 2-0 only a couple of minutes later following a quite brilliant goal from Ciro Celulari. Celulari burst onto a flick from Diego Garcia at pace to race away and, under pressure, slot past the exposed Cameron Rogowski. Western Australia’s perfect start continued in the 11th minute as they broke at speed again to allow Andres Bouzinekis the opportunity to slide a finish into the corner of the net from in front of goal. And they made certain of the points by the half-time whistle as Luke Tidy blazed home after a ricochet fell kindly for him outside the penalty area. Haris Vuckic, returning from suspension, almost pulled one back for South Australia but, after cleverly beating his man with a dummy, saw his shot saved by Glen Sheldon. Not to be outdone by his brother Daniel, David Micevski notched his name onto the score card in the 37th minute to cap a wonderful display. Awarded a free kick outside the box, Micevski thrashed the ball home, at the second attempt to bring up five for Western Australia and condemn South Australia to another heavy defeat.
BYE: ACT
Round 4
Victoria 0 Queensland 3 (Giancarlo Romano 11’, Scott Fenn 15’, Lucas Cordeiro 25’) After Victoria had underlined their championship credentials with a win over NSW Metro in the morning so Queensland laid down a marker of their desire to take home the Open Men’s crown with a stunning 3-0 defeat of the previously unbeaten Victorians in the opening match of the afternoon session. The Maroons, who had a bye on the first day, looked fresh and sharp heading into the match and, after withstanding some early pressure Queensland roared into action with a brace of goals within four minutes of each other. Giancarlo Romano got the ball rolling with the first goal in the 11th minute, his second of the day, and he was joined amongst the scorers by Scott Fenn four minutes later. Fenn, who had scored against the ACT earlier in the day, netted his second of the championship to put Queensland in the driving seat. Any hopes that Victoria had of getting back into the match were dashed five minutes into the second half as Lucas Cordeiro joined Romano and Fenn on two goals in the tournament with another sharp finish as the Maroons stormed towards the top of the table alongside the vanquished Victoria.
Tasmania 1 (Andrew Clark 28’) ACT 6 (own goal 13’, Michael Reeve 15’, Stephen Domenici 21’, 31’, Robbie Cattanach 24’, Callum Smith 27’) The ACT’s hopes of making the semi-finals received a welcome shot in the arm as they blasted aside the challenge of Tasmania in the early evening match in the AIS Training Hall. The 2012 beaten finalists, who generally start this competition slowly, turned up the heat on Tasmania with a superb display. They needed a helping hand to get them on the way though as an own goal on thirteen minutes put ACT ahead to the delight of the home crowd. And it got better for the ACT two minutes later as Michael Reeve bagged his third goal of the competition to make it 2-0 at the interval. Tasmania really needed to score first in the second stanza but it was the hosts who did just that as Stephen Domenici, Cooma Tigers Grand Final football hero, turned futsal goal scorer with a wonderful effort. Robbie Cattanach, nursing a knock, made it 4-0 and Callum Smith added a fifth as ACT turned on the style. Tasmania kept plucking away though and deservedly pulled one back a minute later through the talented Andrew Clark but that proved a mere blip for the ACT as they completed a comfortable 6-1 win as Domenici added his second to round off a good performance and sound a warning to the other competitors.
Western Australia 1 (Daniel Micevski 40’) NSW Metro 2 (Sam Perre 8’, Jarrod Basger 29’) NSW Metro ensured they ended Day 2 of the Open Men’s Championship on top of the pile with a 2-1 win over Western Australia in the final match of the Day. The defending champions have hardly been in sparkling form in their first four matches but have ridden their luck and showed bags of desire and determination. And they needed to be full of grit against a Western Australian side that hustled and harried at every possible moment. Metro got a settling early goal when the skilful Sam Perre managed to find the target and that was a narrow lead that they were able to take into the interval. A 1-0 advantage is slender at any time though and Western Australia pressed hard for an equaliser. It was therefore with great relief that Metro went 2-0 up in the 29th minute via a goal from Futsalroo international Jarrod Basger. That was to prove the match winner as NSW Metro survived a late onslaught, and a last minute goal from Daniel Micevski to claim the win.
ACT roars to the head of the table in the Women’s Open Division
JAN 8TH
The ACT and NSW Metro emerged as the big winners on Day 2 of the 2013 FFA National Futsal Championships in Canberra as they took four points each from their two matches including a 1-1 draw in the game between the pair. The traditional women’s powerhouses look a good bet to be contesting the Grand Final on Friday after a quality day’s play.
Round 2
Victoria 3 (Stephanie Tanti 22’, Krystal McCluskey 23’, Tina Benoit 34’) NSW Regional 1 (Ashley Francis 35’) Victoria bounced back from a Round 1 defeat by seeing off the challenge of NSW Regional 3-1 in an excellent match to kick off Day 2 of the Open Women’s competition. With both teams having been defeated in their opening round match on Day One this fixture took on extra significance as Victoria and NSW Regional went looking for their first point of the championships. An energetic and tight match was the result with neither team able to assert their authority on the opening twenty minutes with the respective goalkeepers rarely troubled early on. The combination between Stephanie Tanti and Emily Hulbert seemed most likely to pay dividends for Victoria and so it proved two minutes into the second half as Hulbert fed a sweet pass to Tanti who slotted into the far corner past Sophie Harper in the NSW Regional goal. Barely sixty seconds later the lead was doubled as a neat passing move culminated in Krystal McCluskey finding room to bang in the second. NSW Regional tried their best to get back into the contest with Tara Murphy pulling the strings from the back but Victoria held firm and added a third via a venomous left foot shot from Tina Benoit with six minutes remaining. NSW Regional though did have the consolation of a finely taken goal from Ashley Francis but Victoria deserved the points.
NSW Metro 1 (Filiz Urkanci 8’) ACT 1 (Erin Clout 25’) Early table leaders NSW Metro and ACT fought out a 1-1 draw in their first match on Day 2 in what was a high intensity match in which parity was probably a fair outcome. Matches between the two old foes are always enthralling affairs and this re-match from the 2012 Grand Final was no exception. NSW Metro struck first blood in only the 8th minute. Becky Roche was penalised for a foul mid-court and Metro took the free-kick quickly, catching the ACT defence napping, and allowing Filiz Urkanci to turn and hit a shot past Luisa Marzotto in the ACT goal. The rest of the half was played at a frantic pace but there was no further addition to the score. The ACT started the second half intent on finding an equaliser and they did just that five minutes into the second period. A superb move saw Erin Clout play a one-two with Becky Roche and clip a delightful finish over the advancing NSW Metro ‘keeper to make it all-square. Chances came and went for both teams following the leveller but neither side was able to make the critical breakthrough. Hayley Buckingham and Sarah Crittenden had strong matches for the ACT whilst Doris Osman was, once again, prominent for the Blues.
Round 3
Victoria 0 NSW Metro 3 (Zoeie Redman 7’, Sarah Seamaan 13’, Renee Tomkins 18’) NSW Metro remained unbeaten after three rounds of the FFA National Futsal Championships after recording a 3-0 win over Victoria in the first of the afternoon matches in the Open Women’s competition. After a fairly even start it was NSW Metro who finally took the initiative and created the first goal of the game. The Blue-clad NSW players swarmed onto the offensive and the ball was worked to Zoeie Redman whose eye for goal in these championships continued as she unleashed a low shot that beat Candace Sallama to her left to register her third goal of the campaign. Victoria recovered well from this setback but was given a tough task as the Metro went 2-0 up six minutes later, Sarah Seamaan slicing through the Victorian defence like a hot knife through butter to batter a shot past Sallama. Renee Tomkins, who has played a bit-part role in the championships to date, added a third just before half-time in a brief cameo as NSW Metro seized total control. Metro eased off a little in the second half as Victoria upped the tempo in the knowledge that they needed to find a way back into the match if they were to keep their Grand Final hopes alive, however they were unable to break through a rock solid Metro backline and the defending champions marched on and look good for a place in the showdown on Friday.
ACT 7 (Becky Roche 2’, 13’, Sarah Crittenden 3’, Rachel Crittenden 7’, 20’, Sabrina Spinapolice 29’, Hayley Buckingham 37’) NSW Regional 1 (Ashley Francis 8’) The ACT roared to the top of the Open Women’s Championship table at the end of Day 2 with a thumping 7-1 hammering of a plucky NSW Regional team at the AIS Training Hall. The hosts were in buccaneering form and had the match sewn up by the break, leading 5-1 with a display of pace, power and panache that was too much for their younger opponents to handle. ACT was 2-0 to the good inside three minutes as Becky Roche and Sarah Crittenden found a way past the static NSW Regional defence to give their team the perfect beginning. When Rachel Crittenden bagged the first of her personal double in the 7th minute a rout looked on the cards. However, NSW Regional hit back strongly and Ashley Francis netted her second of the competition to reduce the arrears. This proved a minor setback to ACT though who went 4-1 up as Roche struck a second and completed a superb opening half as Rachel Crittenden netted her fourth of the tournament on the stroke of the half time whistle. There was little respite for an overworked Regional defence in the second stanza as Sabrina Spinapolice got the goal her endeavour deserved before the scoring was rounded off late on by Hayley Buckingham.
