To see the photos of the two-day Championships head to our photo site.
A terrific weekend of futsal saw ten Boomerangs junior teams experience the NSW State Futsal Championships – some players for the first time, others returning after competing in 2016. The primary purpose of competing at this event is as a pre-season warm-up for the upcoming NSW Premier League 2 competition.
The three youngest teams -10 boys, 11 boys and 11/12 girls played a series of (non-competitive) matches at Valentine Sports Park (10 boys) and Blacktown Leisure Centre (11 boys and 11/12 girls). Players on all three teams had a fantastic weekend, winning some games, and losing others, but importantly learning more about how to play futsal against some really tough and highly skilled opposition. The increasing level of skill in these players (and teams) is becoming more evident as they are exposed to higher levels of competition.
The 12 boys – the youngest of the competitive age groups – played four matches at Blacktown for a win, a draw and two losses. The 13 girls also played at Blacktown and in a strong pool won their first game and lost the following two in tight, close encounters that could have gone either way. They were unlucky not to make finals.
The 14 boys played at Windsor and after handing out a hammering (10-0) to their first opponent were themselves on the receiving end of two defeats. The 15 girls also played their matches at Windsor and ended up making the quarter-finals after a win, a loss and a draw in the pool matches. Unfortunately, they could not overcome stiff opposition in the quarter-final to progress further. They were certainly not disgraced in this solid hit out.
The 16 boys won their first match in a canter 11-0 and their third 6-4, but lost their middle game 2-8. They made the semi-final but could not put together a winning performance to make it to the final. The 18 girls were dominant in their first match winning 6-1, but lost their second by the narrowest of margins (0-1). They won their final pool match 5-1 to miss out on the semi-finals by a miserly one-goal goal differential.
The youth men went through their pool undefeated with an 11-2 first up win followed by an exciting 7-7 draw and a 5-3 victory. Unfortunately, they were outplayed in their semi-final and could not replicate the success of last year. Again, they showed some real potential and should be up amongst the leaders in the PL2 competition.
All in all a terrific weekend of futsal with all ten Boomerangs junior teams getting valuable court time together in preparation for the upcoming season. The (competitive) pool rounds returning eleven wins, three draws and eight losses from the 22 round robin matches. This hit out will help all teams in preparation for their upcoming Round 1 matches next weekend against Sydney City Eagles in the PL2 competition.