The Capital Football Futsal Premier League Grand Finals were held last night at the AIS. Following is the account of the matches by Capital Football.
We congratulate the winners in both the men’s and women’s competition – Canberra City Prawns and our very own Boomerangs women’s team – both teams totally dominating the season and remaining unbeaten throughout.
MEN’S FUTSAL PREMIER LEAGUE: GRAND FINAL
Wednesday 18th December
Canberra City Prawns 5 (Robbie Cattanach 13’, Pat Ross-Magee 22’, Daniel Fulton 29’ Stephen Domenici 33’, Trent Flanigan 36’) Canberra Olympic 0
Canberra City Prawns claimed the Men’s Futsal Premier League crown but were made to work extremely hard for it, defeating a tenacious Canberra Olympic 5-0 in the decider played at the AIS Training Hall. Indeed, it wasn’t until Olympic pushed to find a way back into the contest after conceding a solitary goal in the first half that the score-line blew out.
There was very little to choose between the two teams in what was an absorbing opening to the match with chances at a premium early on. The best of them in the first ten minutes went to the underdogs as Olympic tested Kieran Stroh to the full. Misko Naumoski was first to try his luck, played in by a sweet pass, but was denied by the legs of Stroh. Moments later Stroh needed to be at his alert best to deny Naumoski again before making the save of the half.
Olympic turned over the ball and broke quickly with Callum Smith freeing Michael Reeve who was left bearing down on goal. Stroh stood firm however and made a superb save to preserve parity for the league champions. That save appeared to spark the Prawns into action and Futsalroos international Angelo Konstantinou had to be alive to make a wonderful double save, denying Stephen Domenici and Robbie Cattanach in quick succession.
But Cattanach, the league’s leading scorer, wasn’t to be denied seven minutes from half-time as the Prawns took the lead. The build-up was simplicity itself, the Prawns creating an overlap on the right hand side and Cattanach did the rest, hammering a shot across the body of Konstantinou and into the far corner for his 30th goal of the season, to give the Prawns a narrow lead they took into half-time.
The Prawns wasted very little time in extending their lead in the second half, going 2-0 up within two minutes of the re-start. Olympic was the architects of their own downfall, turning over cheap possession on the edge of their own area and allowing Trent Flanigan to find Pat Ross-Magee who squeezed home the second. Trailing by two Olympic was forced to go on the front foot for the rest of the encounter and, subsequently, were left exposed on the break.
The Prawns, ruthless as they are, took advantage of the gaps on offer and Daniel Fulton put the game out of reach of their opponents with eleven minutes to play. Late goals from Stephen Domenici and Trent Flanigan, the latter imperious in the playmaking role once more, put added gloss on the scoreboard but it was well deserved by the stand-out team of the competition.
Canberra City Prawns: 2. Kieran STROH, 1. Pat ROSS-MAGEE, 7. Stephen DOMENICI, 8. Ryan KEIR, 9. Robbie CATTANACH, 10. Trent FLANIGAN, 15. Daniel FULTON
Canberra Olympic: 18. Angelo KONSTANTINOU, 2. Callum SMITH, 12. Michael REEVE, 19. Kristian COLLINS, 20. Glenn SMITH, 21. Tom MCLACHLAN, 22. Misko NAUMOSKI
Match Officials: James NIKOLAIDIS, Sam NIXON, Richard BROWN (Third Official)
Player of the Match: Ryan KEIR (Canberra City Prawns)
WOMEN’S FUTSAL PREMIER LEAGUE: GRAND FINAL
Wednesday 18th December
Boomerangs FS 5 (Ashleigh Palombi 4’, Becky Roche 10’, 13’, Brittany Palombi 19’, 35’) Belconnen United 0
Boomerangs FS rounded off their unbeaten season by claiming the Women’s Futsal Premier League title with a dominating performance as they saw off the challenge of Belconnen United 5-0 at the AIS Training Hall. In front of a healthy crowd, Boomerangs dominated the play from start to finish and rarely looked like losing the stranglehold they put on the match with a devastating opening spell.
The league champions and hot favourites started at a frantic pace and took the game to their younger opponents racking up a comfortable 4-0 score-line by the half-time break and effectively taking the game out of the reach of the Blue Devils. It took the Boomerangs just four minutes to take the lead as they scored off a quick counter. Becky Roche won possession in her own half and drove forward to lay a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Ashleigh Palombi who did the rest.
A brace of goals within a couple of minutes to the hard-working Roche, who enjoyed an outstanding match as a creator and destroyer, had the Boomerangs in cruise control before Brittany Palombi showed her skills, swapping the ball quickly from right to left to drill home a splendid fourth goal just before half-time, her 34th of a highly impressive season.
Belconnen started the second half in lively fashion and Brittany Smale forced Boomerangs goalkeeper Gill Raymond into a smart save moments after the resumption. And with the silky-skilled Nicole Jalocha coming more into the match, the Blue Devils started to have a greater share of possession as they chased an unlikely way back into the fixture.
The Boomerangs rode the Belconnen storm though and their experienced players began to dictate the tempo with Crittenden and Michelle Aurousseau remaining calm on the ball and eating up the seconds with a patient brand of Futsal. Despite leading by four, Boomerangs showed a resolute desire to keep a clean sheet, intercepting the sporadic Blue Devils attacks before they got within striking distance of Raymond in goal with efforts from distance Belconnen’s best chances.
But it was Boomerangs day and they rounded off an exceptional season with a fifth close to the end as Brittany Palombi squeezed a shot in at the near post to conclude the scoring and give Boomerangs the silverware.
Boomerangs FS: 1. Gill RAYMOND, 5. Sarah CRITTENDEN, 6. Becky ROCHE, 7. Erin CLOUT, 8. Michelle AUROUSSEAU, 10. Ashleigh PALOMBI, 11. Brittany PALOMBI
Belconnen United: 1. Jess GIOVINAZZO, 2. Erica WEATHERLY, 3. Jessica McEWAN, 6. Samantha PRICE, 7. Brittany SMALE, 8. Nicole JALOCHA, 13. Maja BLASCH
Match Officials: David OCKERBY, Anderson SOUZA, Georgia GHIRARDELLO (Third Official)
Player of the Match: Becky Roche (Boomerangs FS)