2018-2019 SFL Round 22 wrap-up
Round 22 of the Nike State Futsal League commenced on Friday night with a comfortable 8-1 win for Perth Longobarda FC over Balga FC, to cement their position in the Top 6. Marco Tomassetti starred for Longobarda with a hattrick, taking his season tally to 7 goals in 19 matches. Balga will need to do more work on their defence at their next training session in order to arrest their dramatic drop in form. This is now their 6th loss in a row and sees them anchored at the bottom of the table.
Another high scoring match saw Cockburn EWA FC crawl back from a 4-0 deficit to Curtin Footballista FC to draw in the final minutes. 4-4 was a fitting result to an exhilarating match. Both sides gave their all & it was wonderful to see the tactics from the coaches on the sidelines as they took their time-outs, played 5th man, end-to-end action, change of strategies; this match had it all! 8 players shared the goals.
The final match of the evening saw an exciting 1-0 victory for Fremantle FC over Stirling Braza Ginga FC. This was a futsal match for the purists, with Fremantle avenging their 2-0 loss from earlier in the season. Having not kept a clean sheet all season, Fremantle have now kept 2 clean sheets in a row. Moh Totonchy is proving to be an excellent mid-season acquisition with the match-clinching goal. He has now scored 4 goals in 5 matches for his new club.
Saturday’s matches commenced with another breath-taking comeback by Perth AFC, this time against Joondalup ECU Jets. After trailing 4-2 midway through the 2nd half, AFC’s head coach Jon Bucolo called a time-out. AFC went on to win the match 8-4, scoring 6 unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes of the match! Oscar Pit showcased his outstanding futsal talents with 4 goals (taking his season tally to 9 goals in only 6 matches), whilst Spiro Nenadic contributed to 2 piledrivers from distance, to take his season record to 7 goals in 20 matches. Paul Grant had earlier scored a hattrick for the Jets, and had claims for man-of-the-match honours, until AFC’s late show handed that title to Oscar Pit.
Rockingham Cambio Cumbre FC roared back to form with a 6-1 victory over South Perth FC. Nestor Fonseca also returned to his best in this match scoring a hattrick, and taking his season tally to an astonishing 38 goals in 22 matches. Fonseca is staking an early claim to SFL MVP award along with the Top Scorer award. He is having an exceptional season. Young Joon Park also contributed with a brace. South Perth welcomed back their head coach Roberto Boi who will have his work cut-out to arrest their drop on form in recent weeks. They have introduced several players from their successful youth side in recent weeks and they are gaining valuable experience with every match. But they do need to turn their form around soon if they are to have any chance of reaching the Top 6.
The final match of the round saw the form side of the competition Murdoch Warriors FC defeat Spearwood Lions FC 9-2. Spearwood surprised by pressing Murdoch and at one point early in the 2nd half the score-line was a tight 3-2 to Murdoch. But the Lions ran out of legs as Murdoch overpowered them to score the final 6 goals of the match. Alex Basto (11 goals in 19 matches), Justin Tang (8 goals in 21 matches) and Meysam Kanani (11 goals in 22 matches) all contributed with 2 goals each. And Murdoch continued their march towards the Top 6, with the gap now down to only 2 points. They were 10 points back from the Top 6, but they have now gone on an 8 match undefeated run and will be a match for any side on the competition on current form.
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