Round 19 Wrap up | 2020-2021 Macron SFL WA

Yet another goal laden weekend of futsal, with Friday night’s matches in particular proving to be a haven for goalscorers. And some exciting matches on Saturday that resulted in several teams changing their placings on the table.

Canning Ultra Tigers FC 2 – 15 Balga FC

Canning (13th) came into this match looking to reignite their season, but they ran into a rampant Balga (8th) side who were determined to address their inferior goal difference & maintain an interest in reaching the finals in May. Balga started with purpose, stamping their feet on this fixture with a dominant 1st half performance in which young gun Luke Ross scored a hattrick, and Luqman Sayyed & Eraste Vyamungu scored doubles. The 2nd half was the Michael Dudek show – the eccentric goalkeeper scored a hattrick and offered 3 assists in an attack-minded goalkeeping performance never before witnessed in the SFL. Further strikes from Chris Andrews, Numan Sayyed & Betim Ziba meant that Balga had 7 different goalscorers in this match. There was time form Sayyed & Vyamungu to complete their hattricks. Consolation strikes from Tarek Atta and Aniq Saipunizam, were well deserved as The Ultra Tigers kept plying away until the last moments of the match.

Murdoch Warriors FC 3 – 6 Perth Longobarda FC

An intriguing encounter with Murdoch (11th) matching it up with an in-form Longobarda (2nd), only for experience to end up trumping youth. The Warriors started well, with a goal from Koray Altinas giving them the advantage. Longobarda responded with an equaliser by former Murdoch stalwart Massimo Basolu. Further 1st half strikes by Phil Alimov, Vaughan Audrain, Jeevan Krishnan and Bruno Di Gregorio gave Longo a commanding lead at the midway point of the match. The Warriors battled their way back into the contest with 2nd half goals by Jamie Rossi and Robbie Hasell, but it was Basolu who had the last say, scoring his 2nd of the match to secure Longo’s 5th win in a row.

South Perth FC 8 – 3 Joondalup ECU Jets

The final match on Friday night saw South Perth (3rd) overcome a determined Joondalup (14th). South Perth struck early via Daniel Muzzarelli, only for ECU to respond with a goal from Adrian Rossi. An own goal & a strike by Filip Rojnica restored South Perth’s advantage, but again The Jets came flying back into the contest with a goal from the lively George Mugambi. Danilo Neves responded to give South Perth a 2 goal half-time lead. Moutasim Al-Busaidi kept ECU in the contest for long periods with some outstanding saves. Rojnica completed his double early in the 2nd half. Spaniard Jaime Serrano got in on the action too, as Chris Rocchi scored a quickfire double to seal the match. Rossi responded for The Jets, who will take heart from an improved performance, if not the result.

Fremantle FC 2 – 0 Perth Lions FA

Saturday’s fixtures started with the match-of-the-round, with Fremantle (6th) overcoming The Lions (7th), and swapping places on the ladder with them, in a low scoring encounter. Both sides started with purpose as both sets of goalkeepers were called into action. A combination of excellent goalkeeping & good defence kept the scores tied until veteran Luke Tidy stepped up to give Fremantle the lead late in the 1st half. The 2nd half was also a close, cagy affair with both sides getting chances, and Tom Robles in particular excelling on the Fremantle goal. Academy product Jake Pizzuto doubled Fremantle’s advantage, and the defence held up to secure the victory and send Fremantle back into the Top 6 for the first time since Round 9. The result also Balga & AFC back into finals contention as they are now 2 & 4 points respectively from a spot in the Top 6. Goal difference may well become a factor.

Perth AFC 3 – 3 Stirling Braza Ginga FC

Another highly anticipated encounter with AFC (9th) drawing with Stirling (5th) in what is becoming an exciting rivalry between those 2 clubs. AFC started well, with an early start from captain Nathan Thorp giving them the lead. Braza turned the match around midway through the 1st half with 2 goals in 2 minutes via Connor Crews and Thiago Mesquita. When Mesquita made it 1-3 late in the 2nd half it looked like Stirling were about to complete the double over AFC. But, in a reversal of fortunes from the last time that those 2 sides had met, it was AFC who completed a remarkable comeback, with a late double from Oscar Pit giving them a well-earned share of the spoils.

Rockingham Cambio Cumbre FC 8 – 2 Byford Venom FC

Rockingham (1st) have been in dominant form since the turn of the year, and despite Byford’s (12th) best effort, they found it difficult to contain a rampant Cumbre. Early Igor Cvijanovic and Faris Noor Rani strikes set the tone for La Cumbre. Darrell Pragash and Noor Rani’s 2nd gave Rockingham a 4 goal advantage. The Venom responded with a late 1st half strike from young gun Eddie Garrido. Veteran Nestor Fonseca made it 5 early in the 2nd half, as Igor Cvijanovic scored a double to secure his first hattrick for his new club. Karim Yusof too got in on the act with a fine strike. Johan Van Den Dolder continued his fine goalscoring form for Byford with a late consolation as the yellow cards started to flow in a feisty but exciting encounter.

Curtin Footbalista FC 5 – 1 Cockburn EWA FC

The final match of the round saw Curtin (10th) overcome an understrength Cockburn (4th). Footbalista set the tone early with man-of-the-match Hazrat Akhlaqi scoring from range. EWA responded quickly via youngster Daniel Mcmullan, only for Akhlaqi to restore Curtin’s advantage shortly thereafter. Moreno Cappello doubled Curtin’s lead midway through the 1st half to give Footbalista confidence going into the 2nd half. Akhlaqi completed his hattrick early in the 2nd half, and as Cockburn piled on the pressure and played 5th man, Amin Movahedi stole the ball & scored from distance to end the match in Footbalista’s favour. EWA retained 4th spot on the ladder, but are now 8 points outside the Top 3.