Round 3 Wrap up | 2020-2021 Macron SFL WA

Another exhilarating weekend of futsal, with 4 sides retaining their perfect records.

Rockingham Cambio Cumbre FC 4 – 1 Stirling Braza Ginga FC

Rockingham maintained their perfect start to the season with a resounding victory over an understrength Stirling. A tight first half was blown wide open by the irrepressible Nestor Fonseca to give Cumbre the narrowest of half-time leads. Braza responded early in the 2nd half with a spectacular goal from stalwart Victor Brauner to bring his side back into the encounter. New captain Michael Lino restored Rockingham’s lead shortly afterwards, and the match remained a tightly fought affair until late on, with strikes from Faris Noor Rani and Leno’s 2nd sealing a famous victory for Cumbre over their long-time rivals. The win keeps Rockingham at the top of the table, on goal difference, whilst Stirling dropped to 8th with 2 losses from their first 3 games.

South Perth FC 6 – 2 Perth AFC

South Perth secured their 3rd victory in 3 matches with some outstanding finishing from their star-studded line-up. AFC did well to keep South Perth at bay in the 1st half with Yethiha Aung making spectacular saves. AFC defended deep, and tested Brad Kneebone with counter attacks & set plays. Filip Rojnica scored early in the 2nd half to open the floodgates. Player-coach Roberto Boi raised the roof with the 2nd from a freekick and young gun James Toth made it 3 goals in 4 minutes. To their credit, AFC responded midway through the 2nd half with a goal from captain Nathan Thorp, only for recent recruit Justin Pearce to restore the 3 goal advantage soon after with another terrific strike from outside the area. Late goals from Remo Capitani, Luka Bergomi and a response from Ivan Palermo against his former club culminated the scoring. South Perth remain in 2nd on goal difference, and are the leading goalscorers in the competition averaging 7 goals per game.

Fremantle FC 2 – 1 Byford FC

Fremantle started brightly against a determined Byford with 1st half goals from Milan Rosic and Halil Russo giving them a comfortable lead. The Venom, looking for their first points of the season, fought back well in the 2nd half scoring late with a strike from Travis Bosveld to make for an interesting finish. The result means that Fremantle retained their perfect start to the new season, maintaining 4th spot on the ladder with the 2nd best defence in the league. Some bright sparks for Byford as they continue their development in their 2nd season in the SFL.

Curtin Footbalista FC 4 – 5 Balga FC

An intriguing matchup between two sides that are brimming with attacking talent gave us a high scoring encounter. Balga, searching for their first points of the season, started stronger with the enigmatic Eraste Vyamungu and man-of-the-match Connor O’Driscoll giving them a 2 goal lead midway through the 1st half. Footbalista’s new star Hazrat Akhlaqi responded, only for Toni Sips to restore Balga’s 2 goal advantage. Moreno Cappello replied for Curtin to mark the end of an exciting 1st half. Early 2nd half goals from O’Driscoll and Vyamungu gave Balga a 3 goal advantage. Once again, Footbalista came back with Akhlaqi’s 2nd and Fazram Mehrabi’s goal 5 minutes from time making for an thrilling finish. With Michael Dudek serving a red card suspension, youth goalkeeper Stefan Edward stepped up with several exceptional saves, and what he missed, captain Luqman Sayyed was there to cover with 3 goal-line clearances. The victory took Balga to 3 points, joining their counterparts with 1 win from 3 matches.

Murdoch Warriors FC 4 – 2 Joondalup ECU Jets

Murdoch continued their fine start to the season with their 3rd victory in a row to retain 3rd place on the ladder. The Warriors started on fire with academy product Justin Tang scoring early. Devan Conry doubled the lead as soon as he came on midway through the 1st half to the delight of his teammates in his first start of the season. Veteran Massimo Basolu made it 3, and goalkeeping sensation Ahmad Rahimi scored the 4th late in the half with a deflected strike from the halfway line to conclude a dominant 1st half performance. Joondalup fought back well in the 2nd half, with head coach Felippe Testa setting up his team higher up the court. Jimmy Fung scored early for ECU to breathe new life into the contest. And when goal-machine Luke Palmateer scored the 2nd later in the half, the match came to life. With both goalkeepers in fine form in the 2nd half, that was the end of the scoring. The Jets are still looking for their first win of the new season, but their 2nd half performance will give them confidence for their next match.

Perth Longobarda FC 2 – 5 Cockburn EWA FC

Yet another fascinating encounter with Cockburn taking down their kryptonite. Longobarda had the wood on EWA last season with 2 commanding victories in which Alex Kretowicz ran riot. Cockburn started on fire in this match with an early strike from new recruit Aden Da Luz. Longo responded with no-other-than Kretowicz to balance the ledger. Quickfire goals from James Eustace, Michael Vlasich, Cristiano Do Santos and Alex Gamble made it 4-2 at half-time. A lively & high scoring 1st half was swapped for a quieter 2nd in which Da Luz scored his 2nd of the match and both goalkeepers excelled. Cockburn’s victory broke Longobarda’s perfect start to the season, as EWA joined them on 6 points, just outside the Top 6.

Canning Ultra Tigers FC 1 – 5 Perth Lions Futsal Academy

The Lions prevailed in the battle of the Big Cats against a gallant Tigers. The Lions started strong, with Canning goalkeeper Nicholas Cooper keeping them at bay for long periods of the 1st half, until recent recruit Ali Milhem opened the scoring with a subtle finish. Amirali Azimi doubled the scoreline a couple of minutes later only for The Ultra Tigers to come roaring back with a team goal finished 7 celebrated by Khalif Omar. The game remained tight until late in the 2nd half when, with Canning pressing for the equaliser, The Lions caught them with 3 late strikes from Immanuel David, Bakr Al-Qaraghuli and goalkeeping recruit Danial Forbes who scored from distance catching his opposite number off his line. A fine & well deserved victory to the fast improving Lions outfit who made it 2 wins out of 3 starts. An improved performance also from The Ultra Tigers who are progressing in their 2nd season back in the SFL.