Round 8 Wrap Up | 2019 2020 Macron SFL WA

Round 8 featured some exciting encountered with 49 goals being scored & the leader-board changing for the 6th time in 6 weeks.

Cockburn EWA FC 7 – 3 Joondalup ECU Jets

Friday night lights at the Pro Futsal Centre, with round 8 of the Macron State Futsal League opening with 4th placed Cockburn taking on 12th placed Joondalup. Having not won in 3 matches, EWA came into this match with focus & purpose and, despite missing inspirational leader Mark Gavranic, promptly took control to secure a comfortable victory. The match was not without controversy, with the heated affair resulting in 4 yellow cards being handed out. Man of the match honours went to Alex Gamble, who bagged 4 goals. Dek Burdle scored a brace, with Stefan Cvijanovic also on the scoresheet. ECU battled hard, with their leading target man Luke Palmateer scoring a hattrick, and goalkeeper Alex Donev in brilliant form. The victory kept Cockburn in 4th place, closing the gap on the Top 3.

Curtin Footbalista FC 1 – 4 Spearwood Lions FC

In an intriguing midtable encounter, all expectations were on Curtin overturning their recent poor form. But, with The Lions spearheaded by the outstanding Jamal Yusof, Spearwood had other ideas. By stifling Footbalista’s impressive attack, Spearwood were able to take out their 2nd victory in a row, and climb to 8th on the ladder. Yusof scored a double, with Immanuel David & Bakr Zeyad also on the scoresheet. Moreno Capello replied for Curtin. Head Coach Saeed Danesh has a lot of work to do at training to correct Footbalista’s recent slump, with an encounter against Fremantle to come in Round 9.

Canning Ultra Tigers FC 2 – 8 Fremantle FC

The final match on Friday evening featured Canning taking on 7th placed Fremantle. The Ultra Tigers surprised their more fancied opponents taking an early 2-0 lead with goals from Jerry Yap & Hezairee Sharizan. Fremantle’s shaky start forced player/coach Luke Tidy to call an early time out. The players returned with renewed purpose & promptly took control of the match to secure a comfortable victory, with several goals from set-plays & some from open play. Academy product Diego Florenca impressed with a hattrick. He was well supported with braces from Danilo Neves & Luke Tidy. Captain Liam Cummins also chipped in with a goal. The victory takes Fremantle up to 6th on the ladder. Canning with more work to do on their defence.

South Perth FC 4 – 1 Perth Longobarda FC

A contender for match-of-the-round featured the 2 form sides of the Macron State Futsal League. An absorbing & fiery encounter that lived up to its billing, with Longobarda starting strong, but finding South Perth’s goalkeeper Brad Kneebone in inspired form. Mountain Majik loanee Jamie Dib impressed with a goal & a superb assist. Filip Rojnica was again on fire, scoring a brace. Academy product James Toth also contributed with his 3rd goal in 3 games. Longobarda did not deserve the final scoreline. They were dangerous for long periods in this match, testing the South Perth defence on several occasions. Captain Remo Capitani scored their sole goal. With their 3rd victory in a row, South Perth cemented 5th on the ladder & are now only 4 points off the summit.

Byford Venom FC 3 – 6 Perth AFC

Another interesting encounter, with Byford taking on a confident Perth AFC. Once again, Byford took an early lead, and once again they were pegged back by the opposition. Goals from Vaughan Audrain, Brandon VanderRos & the impressive Brodie Stevens showed that Byford have the ability to trouble opposition defences. And they did hold AFC at bay for long periods. But with the irrepressible Andrija Jukic leading the line, AFC are a test to any side in the league. Jukic ended up with 4 goals & man of the match honours (despite the heroic defending of Stevens for The Venom). Goals from Martyn Sharpe & Nathan Thorp rounded off the scoring. The victory took AFC up to 9th, within touching distance of the Top 6.

Rockingham Cambio Cumbre FC 1 – 1 Murdoch Warriors FC

The match of the round featured 2nd placed Rockingham taking on table topping Murdoch. A pulsating, edge of the seat encounter with Murdoch scoring early through Justin Pearce and Cumbre responding with yet another goal from early MVP frontrunner Faris Noor Rani. With chances few & far between, both goalkeepers Rain Blauberg & Daniel Forbes excelled, and both sides had to settle for a low scoring draw. In the first 1st vs 2nd encounter of the season, and with the lead in the Macron State Futsal League having changed hands 5 times over the previous 5 weeks, the draw meant that Stirling had the opportunity to make it 6 ladder leaders in 6 weeks in the next match.

Stirling Braza Ginga FC 5 – 3 Balga FC

The final match of Round 8 of the Macron State Futsal League saw Stirling jump from 3rd to 1st on the ladder with a exciting yet bruising victory over Balga. An eventful and heated affair, culminated with the uncontainable Victor Brauner claiming man-of-the-match honours with a brace of goals. Further goals from Moh Totonchy, Claudio Tavares & debutant Kindle Valderrama added to the scoring. A negative was the injury to Chris Rocchi who may be out for a while with ligament damage. The returning Gideon Servatius impressed for Balga with 2 goals. Graham Dixon was also on the scoresheet. The win took Braza back to the summit with Balga