Round 7 of the 2013/2014 Football NSW Futsal Premier League was an away round to Riverwood up against one of the leagues powerhouse clubs, Inner West Magic. With many of the Magic teams either topping the table or pressing for top spot, it was always going to be a big ask to return with more than a few wins from the day. However as the day panned out, Magic won both the 12s games and from there the momentum stayed with them for the majority of the day – at least until the Youth Men match. Having less than full strength squads for both the Open Men’s and Women’s teams was the final straw, and losing both those games meant a solitary win – an unexpected one at that, was all that could be achieved from the days’ outing.
So the trip to the Morris Iemma Stadium in Riverwood garnered the club a mere three club championship points – and sees the club fall to the bottom of the club championship table. Definitely not a place the club wants to be at the half way point of the season.
12 Boys
Boomerangs 1 – 3 Magic
The 12 boys once again proved they could match it with the best teams in this competition. They remained competitive throughout the match and put together a solid and disciplined performance. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t slot the ball into the back of the net often enough to bring home some points.
12 Girls
Boomerangs 1 – 9 Magic
The 12 girls ran out of legs late in the second half, having too few subs on the bench, and ended up falling 9-1 to a well drilled Inner West team. This was an unlucky match for the girls who played well early to match it with the top of the table team, but couldn’t sustain the energy levels to keep the defence solid for the full 40 minutes. It was only in the last 10 minutes that the Magic girls made the Boomerangs pay heavily when they blew the scoreline out.
14 Boys
Boomerangs 4 – 13 Magic
A physical, fast and attacking game resulting in a 13-4 loss for the U14 boys. Our boys were not up to the same level as the Magic boys and couldn’t match the skill, speed, intensity and goal scoring ability. More work to do for the boys to pick themselves up after this.
14 Girls
Boomerangs 0 – 10 Magic
A few missed chances early on made all the difference in this game. Had the 14 girls slotted a few early chances then the game may well have played out totally differently. As it was, the Magic took their chances and ran away with it as their confidence built the longer the game went on.
16 Boys
Boomerangs 3 – 6 Magic
A topsy turvy game as Inner West squeezed out a hard fought 6-3 win in the U16 boys. The Boomerangs boys were right in this match and very competitive till the final few minutes – even leading at several stages throughout the game. An encouraging performance for the boys as they worked hard right until the final whistle; outdone by only a few unlucky bounces and slices of luck going Magic’s way.
16 Girls
Boomerangs 1 – 2 Magic
Once again, a goal in the last seconds prevents the 16 Girls from at least splitting the points from this tightly fought match with the Magic girls where for much of it, they were dominant. This team, full of girls who have had experience playing in the women’s team, and in the F-League (as well as including an Australian representative outdoor player) should be securing better results than they do. How these girls do not win more matches is perplexing. Perhaps it will all come together across the second half of the season…
Youth Men
Boomerangs 2 – 1 Magic
Finally the Boomerangs day produces a victory – and an unlikely one at that. This youth team, after much success last season (for the many involved in the 16s Grand Final winning team), have had difficulty stepping up to the faster and more physical youth competition. An extremely tight match with a nail-biting finish saw the under 19s pull out a 2-1 win in a brilliant exhibition of futsal that was a thrill to watch. It was high drama and suspense as the 1-1 half time score was quickly converted to a 2-1 lead soon after the second half started…. and there it remained, though not for want of trying by both teams. Perhaps like the 16 Girls, this team can produce more victories in the second half of the season.
Open Women
Boomerangs 2 – 6 Magic
Another case of chalking up a loss due to lack of regular players being available for this match. Indeed the majority of the playing roster were 16s, including the ‘keeper. And it was always going to be tough for the team, with so many 16’s filling in, it showed as Inner West were full of energy, maturity and experience and ran out 6-2 winners.
Open Men
Boomerangs 2 – 5 Magic
With only the regular first choice goalkeeper being a starter and the other four first team starters either unavailable or injured, this was always going to be a difficult match to be competitive in. A valiant effort though from this depleted men’s squad with the regular bench players stepping up to starting spots and significant court time, and the exhausted youth players filling the rotation spots off the bench. The players that did turn up played out of their skins and kept the Boomerangs in the match right until the last few minutes, when some late goals against saw Inner West run out 5-2 victors. Nothing much can be read into this result at all, except to highlight the value of the four missing Boomerangs starters. Inner West should take little out of the win, except for the three valuable competition points.
The Football NSW review of the weekend’s men’s matches can be found HERE.
The Club Championship table after Round 6 can be found HERE.