Round 5 Wrap up | 2020-2021 Macron SFL WA

The floodgates opened in Round 5 with a whopping 60 goals coming from the 7 matches as most sides demonstrated their attacking firepower and the defenders were left to rue a strikers’ weekend.

Fremantle FC 4 – 5 Perth Longobarda FC

The round opened with a blockbuster between 2 of the finalists from last season. With both sides coming into this encounter with similar stats from a fine start to the season, we expected a close result. Fremantle flew out of the blocks with goals from young-gun Jake Pizzuto and player-coach Luke Tidy, on his first start of the season, giving then the early lead. Longobarda, having lost their previous 3 encounters with Fremantle, responded late in the half with strikes from new recruits Philipp Alimov and Graziano Lucisano to end the half all square. And, upon the restart, Longobarda took the lead via Kevin Gallo to turn the match around. A quickfire double from Milan Rosic gave Fremantle the upper hand once again, only for Longobarda to demonstrate their resilience and their clinical finishing with Alex Kretowicz equalising midway through the 2nd half and Jan Cok scoring the winner late in the match. The victory drove Longobarda up to 3rd on the ladder, with Fremantle in 6th.

Canning Ultra Tigers FC 1 – 3 Stirling Braza Ginga FC

All expectations were that Stirling would thunder back into form in this match, having started the new season missing several star players and 3 losses from their first 4 matches. But it was a valiant Canning you who withstood Braza’s early dominance to score first via Shaz Ramlee to the excitement of their fans in the crowd. And with Nicholas Cooper having another blinder in goals, The Ultra Tigers maintained that lead until late in the 1st half when player-coach Victor Brauner took it upon himself to bring Stirling back into this contest, and on par at half-time. Brauner double his & Braza’s tally early in the 2nd half & completed his hattrick late in the match to take out man-of-the-match honours and lead the competition’s goalscoring charts with 9 goals from the first 5 matches. The victory also drove Stirling to 8th on the ladder.

Curtin Footbalista FC 5 – 3 Byford Venom FC

Two sides keen on kickstarting their season met in an entertaining end-to-end encounter. Curtin started brightly with early strikes from Omar Twalah and Moreno Cappello giving them a commanding lead. Byford responded midway through the first half via Vaughan Audrain, only for Twalah to restore Footbalista’s 2 goal advantage with his 2nd of the match. The Venom came biting back early in the 2nd half with a screamer from Brodie Stevens and the equaliser via their impressive target Johan Van Den Dolder. Curtin veteran Farzam Mehrabi scored the 4th as Byford piled on the pressure, only to find Milad Sabbagh in inspired form. Hazrat Akhlaqi, who toiled all night, ended the contest with a goal in the last minute, to give Footbalista a hard-earned victory.

Murdoch Warriors FC 1 – 7 Cockburn EWA FC

The first of Saturday’s contests sprang up a surprisingly one-sided contest between 2 of the finalists from last season. Murdoch were looking to bounce back from the surprise draw with Byford in Round 4. But it was Cockburn who flew out of the blocks with an early strike from Stefan Cvijanovic. Further goals from Alex Gamble and Mark Gavranich made for a comfortable half-time lead. Gavranic scored again early in the 2nd half, only for Shayan Bahmani to respond for The Warriors for his first goal of the season. Gavranic completed his hattrick and claimed man-of-the-match honours with another sumptuous strike, and there was still time for Gamble to score his 2nd and for youth captain Igor Cvijanovic to get on the scoresheet. The victory took EWA to 4th on the ladder, one spot above Murdoch.

Perth AFC 9 – 6 Perth Lions Futsal Academy

We had previewed a derby that was not to be missed, and with 15 goals, it certainly proved to be a strikers’ paradise. AFC secured their 2nd victory in a row with a resounding comeback against a shellshocked Lions. The Lions had started brightly taking an early 2 goal lead via the impressive Ali Milhem and Jamal Yusof. New recruit Ivan Palermo responded for AFC, but 2 further strikes from Milhem & an own goal gave The Lions a 3 goal buffer halfway through the 1st half. Then, for the 2nd time this season, The Lions conceded 4 goals in 8 minutes, with the irrepressible Andrija Jukic scoring a double, alongside strikes from Roger Lee and oscar Pit to send AFC into the half-time break leading by the odd goal in 9. And the goals did not stop there, with early 2nd half goals from captain Nathan Thorp and Gabriel Kieswetter extending AFC’s lead. It was then the turn of Yusof to start The Lions’ comeback with a double that completed his hattrick, but an own goal & Peter Rakic’ first strike of the season ensured a famous & memorable victory for AFC who climbed to 10th on the ladder. Consecutive losses for The Lions saw them retain 7th place, ahead of a crowded group of teams all chasing the Top 6.

South Perth FC 6 – 1 Balga FC

The Galacticos of South Perth passed another test with flying colours, as they not only maintained their perfect start to the season, but also climbed to the summit, on goal difference ahead of Rockingham. Balga made life difficult for their more fancied opponents, as they laboured through a physical contest and reduced South Perth to a solitary goal in the 1st half courtesy of Luka Bergomi. An early 2nd half strike from the charismatic Robert Armellini gave South Perth a more comfortable lead. But as the match got feistier, Brad Kneebone received his marching orders, and Balga reduced the deficit via Luke Ross. Player-coach Roberto Boi extended South Perth’s lead and that seemed to open the floodgates as Bergomi got his 2nd of the match, and Armellini completed a 2nd half hattrick to walk away with man-of-the-match honours. Balga have had a tough early season fixture list to contend with, and with a friendlier list of matches coming up, their talented squad should help them climb back up the ladder.

Rockingham Cambio Cumbre FC 6 – 3 Joondalup ECU Jets

The final match of round 5 featured another physical encounter, with Rockingham overcoming a resilient Joondalup despite a slow start. Kai Yip opened the scoring for ECU in the 1st half as an upset appeared on the cards. Nestor Fonseca responded with a quickfire double, and, further strikes from Faris Noor Rani and Tyler Garner gave Cumbre a comfortable half-time lead. The Jets flew back into the contest with early 2nd half strikes from Paul Grant and Kelechi Nmeni reducing the deficit to one. Garner’s 2nd of the match gave Rockingham some solace, and Fonseca claimed his 2nd consecutive hattrick soon after Paul Grant had received his marching orders. Joondalup had lost their discipline, and with that their chance of completing their 2nd half comeback.