The third round of the 15/16 NSW Premier League 2 season saw the club travel away to Hurstville to take on the Botany Bay Pirates across the nine competitive age groups.
The U11 boys development squad took on their Pirates counterparts at the nearby St George PCYC and came out resounding winners, scoring at will and conceding not one goal. A fantastic effort as this development group continues to grow and learn more about the game of futsal.
The nine competitive matches for the day started with the 12 boys at 12.30pm and culminated with the Open Men kicking off around 8.00pm. And across all of those nine competitive matches, the Boomerangs brought home maximum points – nine wins from nine matches. A superb effort by the players, coaches and officials to deliver a rare outcome in the NSW elite futsal leagues – a clean sweep.
And remarkably, the nine competitive teams racked up a massive 69 goals for and only 19 against for a net goal difference on the day of +50.
12 Boys
Boomerangs FS 8 – 2 Botany Bay Pirates
The 12 boys came out firing and led at the break 4-0. They persisted with the relentless pressure in their forward half after the break, but fell off a little at the defensive end of the court, conceding two second half goals, while scoring four themselves. A terrific effort that sees them rack up their second win from three outings. A five goal haul by Seb Woods led the way for the Boomerangs.
13 Girls
Boomerangs FS 12 – 0 Botany Bay Pirates
The 13 girls were on fire during this match – especially in the second half where they put the sword to their opposition, piling on eight goals to add to their four in the first stanza. The youngest Boomers girls remain undefeated after three rounds with a fourteen goal, goal difference. Cec Matic led the scoring with four goals and seven other scorers spread the glory across the majority of the team.
14 Boys
Boomerangs FS 8 – 2 Botany Bay Pirates
The 14 boys notched their first win for the season defeating a tough opponent in the Pirates. The boys came out at the start with a strong determination and the hard work paid off with a 3-1 lead at the half-time whistle. A couple of early goals in the second half saw the opposition drop off a little and the 14s stormed home to finish in a flurry, taking out the match 8-2. A much improved defensive effort to go with their offensive firepower – which was led by the irrepressible Zac Barbatano who netted five.
15 Girls
Boomerangs FS 6 – 1 Botany Bay Pirates
The 15 girls ‘clicked’ in this outing and were never really in trouble. A 3-0 first half lead converted to a 6-1 final score reflected the dominance of the Boomerangs 15s. A terrific return to goal scoring form by ‘Lefty’ Meuronen who bagged four. These girls definitely have the potential to take the title this season.
16 Boys
Boomerangs FS 6 – 4 Botany Bay Pirates
The 16 boys racked up their first win for the season with this hard fought match – probably the closest match of the day. The lads worked hard from kick off but had trouble finding the back of the net – and went into the half-time break down by a solitary goal 1-2. The boys lifted their work rate in the second half and found their goal scoring mojo, including a hat-trick from Zac Barbatano, to add to his five goals in the 14 boys. A sensational team effort by the boys, that will hopefully kick start the remainder of the season.
17 Girls
Boomerangs FS 7 – 3 Botany Bay Pirates
The Pirates put up a strong fight in the first half of this match and went into the break level with the Boomerangs 17s at two goals a piece. Like all Boomers teams on this day of positive results, they lifted their intensity and work rate in the second half and ran out much stronger at the back end of the match. Five second half goals to one put the result beyond doubt. Leading the goal scorers were Alex Martens and Isobel D’Amico who scored two each.
Youth Men
Boomerangs FS 8 – 3 Botany Bay Pirates
Like most of the games this match day, the Youth match had the Botany Bay Pirates putting up a strong effort in the first half (3-1 to Boomerangs). However, the Boomers players lifted their work rate and effort in the second half at both ends of the court, netting a further five and only conceding two. The end result a fair reflection of the match and sees the Youth men kicking into the kind of form that won them the State League Grand Final last season. Goal scoring was lead by Grant Barlow (3) and Ahmed Ugool (2)
Open Women
Boomerangs FS 7 – 1 Botany Bay Pirates
The Boomerangs open age women’s team swatted away another team at the back end of this day of wins by the Boomerangs. There is serious quality in this team which blends significant experience with talented and skillful youth. Nat De Marco led scorers with three. And with this win, the four age group female teams from the Boomerangs remain unbeaten over three rounds.
Open Men
Boomerangs FS 7- 3 Botany Bay Pirates
The men knew they were up for a challenge against this energetic Pirates men’s team. The Boomerangs men were without a few key players, but the men’s players that made the Sydney trip were ably supported by the growing contingent of skillful, able and competitive Youth men.
The match was up for grabs at half time as the Boomerangs took a one goal advantage into the break after the Pirates had scored first. The lads took the momentum of the latter part of the first half and pushed through the early stages of the second half. Their speed and passing skills constantly frustrating their opponents who had two players red carded in the second half (the keeper received two yellows for similar tackling infringements, and a straight red for a field player infringement).
The Boomerangs men maintained their composure through the heated second half and scored a bunch of goals in quick succession to put the game away. Daniel Bennett and Nick Rathjen scored two a piece and Jason O’Dwyer put in a man-of-the-match performance in the absence of four other senior players.
Two highlights were evident across the nine competitive matches of the day. Firstly was the ability to lift performances and effort in the second half of matches – when the game was on the line. And secondly was the propensity to score multiple goals in surges — while at the same time not concede more than one or (at the most) two in a row.
Photos of this round of matches can be found HERE
The Club now sits atop the club championship table two games (six points) ahead of Raiders Futsal.
Next week, Round 4 sees the club at home (at mPowerdome) taking on Phoenix Futsal.