The second round of the 13/14 NSW State League was an away round to the new International Football School (IFS) Futsal Club on the Central Coast (Woy Woy).
The nine Boomerangs teams and their supporters and parents headed north with many taking the opportunity to stay the weekend in the lovely central coast region.
Whilst a relaxing mini-break may have been the order of the day for some, the players certainly turned up to put in exceptional efforts across all nine teams, recording seven wins, one draw and a solitary loss for the round. And while it may be early days for the IFS futsal program, they have a skilled set of (football) players and dedicated volunteers, and their futsal will surely improve as the season progresses.
The 12 boys kicked off proceedings at 1.00pm and again got the day off to the perfect start for the Boomerangs. A fairly even first half that saw neither team dominate; and the teams went to the break with the youngest Boomers taking a narrow 2-0 lead in a closely fought and fairly even encounter. After the break though – in what would become the pattern throughout the day – the Boomerangs lifted their game intensity and started to dominate the opposition across all facets of the game. The boys ran rampant in the second half running out winners 9-2. Another great effort by the youngest Boomerangs boys who will certainly provide a seriously challenging encounter for any other team this season. (Luca Gagliardi 3 goals)
The 13 girls needed a good performance this week after a disappointing loss in Round 1. The girls started a bit tentatively and by half-time they led 2-1 after a solid effort by all the girls all over the court – including the rotating goalkeepers. A fantastic second half though saw the girls, through sheer hard work and determination, wear down their IFS opponents to take out the match 7-3, including a flurry of late goals.
A fast and entertaining end-to-end first half of futsal saw the Boomerangs 14 boys get the better of IFS through the initial 20 minutes to lead 6-4 at halftime (with six different goal scorers). With the promise of more of the same in the second half the Boomerangs supporters were optimistic of a third straight win for the day. However, the IFS boys must have listened to their coach at half time, and lifted their intensity several notches. They improved all over the court, to not only stop the Boomerangs from hitting the back of the net in the second stanza, but to also be able to score three of their own – the final goal in the dying minutes of the match. A frantic non-stop second half saw the Boomerangs lads go down by a solitary goal 6-7.
The 15 girls, showing a great deal of poise and control (that perhaps the 14 boys could have used in their second half), and a mature level of skill and disciplined structure, completely dominated the IFS 15 girls, pummeling the back of the opposition net ten times in the first half to lead 10-0 at the half-time break. A fairly lacklustre (comparatively) second half followed, even with a further seven goals scored, saw the Boomerangs 15 girls take the match 15-2. A top shelf effort from the girls, but against a team that struggled throughout and had no answer to the structure, pace and passing of the Boomerangs girls. (Seven goal scorers for the Boomerangs with Ivana Galic netting four and Alicia Meuronen a hat-trick)
At half-time in the 16 boys, the Boomerangs boys found themselves down by two goals 0-2 as the strong and fast IFS lads worked over-time. In a second half that produced high-energy and intensity, the crowd had to wait till the dying moments for a goal to be scored when the Boomers converted a ten metre penalty (Chris Kazolis), and followed that up almost immediately with a second from some sensational at-speed passing completed by a tap in (Connor Bill) – one the IFS boys just could not defend against. Given the balance of the match throughout, a 2-2 draw was probably a good result for the 16 boys. Expect this IFS team to do well throughout the rest of the season.
The 17 girls match took on a similar feel to the previous girls match with the Boomerangs dominating the first half over a lacklustre IFS team. At half-time the 17 girls held a comfortable 8-1 lead. With the intensity taken out of the match, the second half produced a few more goals to see the young Boomerangs women take out the match 11-1. The match saw a five goal effort by Rachel Corbett and a triple to Alex Martens.
At the halfway mark of the Youth Men’s match the Boomerangs lads looking solidly in command but held only a a two goal advantage (2-0). Any thoughts that the IFS Youth would stage a come back were snuffed out when the Boomer lads hit the court after the break and turned up the intensity and speed to twelve. Led by the energetic Ben Basser-Silk (2 goals), the Boomerangs youth piled on goals early in the second half, putting on an exhibition in how to play futsal for the IFS novices, They netted an additional eight goals in the second half to take out the match 10-0, with all the field players who took the court scoring in what was a terrific team effort by the lads.
At half-time in the penultimate match of the day, the Boomerangs Women lead comfortably 6-1. The second half followed the script of several earlier matches with the women pulling away to a very convincing 11-2 victory. The match saw triples to Sabrina Spinapolice and Olivia Gurney and highlighted the strength of the younger age groups with the majority of the team on the day made up from 17 girls and Grace Basser-Silk from the 15 girls.
Like the Open Women, the Open Men travelled to the Central Coast with only three of their regular starters. However, the Youth men – after the great effort in their own match – were full of confidence and running and performed strongly. After conceding two goals in the first ten minutes and getting an early scare, the Boomerang men replied with four of their own in quick succession to lead by two as half-time approached. A late first half goal by IFS saw the lead back to one before a ten metre penalty was converted by Cal Smith on the half-time whistle to again provide a two goal buffer at the break (5-3). The second half again saw a Boomerangs team shift into gear and blow the opposition away, with an 11-4 victory over a very solid IFS men’s team (Cal Smith four goals).
A hugely successful day for the club on their first away trip of the season. Of the nine games, seven wins, a draw and a solitary, single-goal loss. On the score sheet it was total dominance by the Boomerangs with 82 (> nine per match) goals scored across the nine matches whilst conceding only 23 (2.5 per match).
Next week sees a much tougher road trip to Dural to take on Sydney City Eagles.