Briony Barclay is a regular “Bend it like Beckham” kind of girl.

Although the 18-year-old Otago Girls High School pupil has been kicking the round ball since she ditched gymnastics when she was 4 years old, she only took up futsal about a year ago.

The speedy striker made a smooth transition from the outdoor game to the indoor game and is one of only two New Zealanders named in a combined Australian and New Zealand under-19 side to tour China early next year.

But the soccer-mad teenager was meant to be performing somersaults instead of scoring goals.

“Mum wanted me to do gymnastics. I tried that but I didn’t like it,” she said when asked how she got started in soccer.

Her main love is soccer but Briony discovered a late love for futsal.

“My boyfriend plays, and I went down and watched and they all got me to play.”

Half-a-dozen medals and trophies later, it is clear that was an inspired move.

Briony co-captained the Otago Girls High School team which outplayed all opposition to claim the under-19 title at the national futsal championship in Queenstown last month.

She also captained the New Zealand Schools team during a tournament in Brisbane last month.

For now, Briony is happy just to have fun and enjoy futsal, but her ultimate goal is to one day play for the Football Ferns.

“I want to make the national team.”

One of her most treasured possessions is the golden-boot trophy she was awarded after scoring 32 goals for Wakari during the season.

She was the leading scorer in Dunedin club soccer this year and is pretty proud of that achievement.

As well as the coveted golden boot, she also won the Otago young player of the year award.

Source : Otago Daily Times
By : Adrian Seconi
Published : 12/11/2008

Wingham High School’s under 14s boys futsal team has defied the odds to finish fifth in the inaugural national titles.

The creditable performance surprised the team’s apprehensive coach Peter Dixon who feared the team would be slaughtered at this elite level.Mr Dixon travelled with the team to Penrith early October where they proved to be fast learners.

After a touch-up in the first game to Epping Boys High, the team regrouped to win two of their final five games and narrowly miss the semi-finals.

They also managed to exact vengeance on arch rivals Callaghan College, Newcastle, who Wingham finished second to at the State titles in August.

Mr Dixon is already looking forward to next year’s comp.

“I believe this team can be a real surprise packet at State and national levels next season,” he said.

Source : Wingham Chronicle
Published : 11/11/2008

The Vipers Nick Steel, Joel Clare, Toby Barton, Nat Caldwell, Coach Aaron Smith, Paddy Cable, Zeb Branton, Nathan Veness, Max Harlem, and Manager Rob McCrae. Photo Tracey Veness.

The Northern NSW Futsal ‘Vipers’ 14 years boys team, came second in the point score competition yesterday at Caloundra at the Country Futsal Titles.

The boys beat eight other teams to come runners up, not bad for a group which had not played together before the tournament and who have now qualified for the National State and Club titles to be held in Sydney in January.

There were outstanding performances by the team which includes students from Byron Bay High, Trinity and Woodlawn in Lismore, Alstonville High, and Southern Cross Distant Ed.

The boys hail from right accross the Norhter Rivers region and had to play against some tough competition and teams that had been together for years, many of the Vipers were playing up a division as they are only 12.

The team was composed of Nat Caldwell, Nathan Veness, Joel Clare, Zeb Branton, Paddy Cable, Toby Barton, Nick Steel, Max Harlem and coach Aaron Smith, who gives time willingly to coach the boys.

The team unfortunately does not currently have the funds to supply transport and accommodation for the Sydney event.

This is the strongest team the Northern Rivers region has produced and it would be a shame for the regional families to miss out again.

The National Futsal Championships will be held from January 13-15 and where the boys hope to represent the state and the Nation Team Futsal Championships will be held on January 17 and 18 where the boys, if there, will represent Northern NSW against other NSW Club teams including Sydney and teams from other states. Both events will be held at the Minto Sport and Leisure stadium.

The entry fee for the event is due by December 14 to register a team and secure accomodation and the Vipers are hoping to travel by bus and stay in cheap accommodation close to Minto Stadium.

Coach Aaron Smith is a competitive futsal player himself at 19 and coaches the Vipers as a way of supporting upcoming juniors and to give back to the sport.

Aaron has been a fantastic mentor to the boys in both futsal and life skills and is very pleased with the results the team have achieved in such a short period of time together.

Next for the boys is the Brisbane Cup in December. They will now begin intense training including specialist sport psychology training and Australian Institute of Sport Conditioning Training.

The boys will also compete at the Pacific Titles in 2009 which includes teams from all over Australia, Asia and New Zealand.

For more information about the team or to offer sponsorship support, please phone Liss on 0407 918 031.

Source : Byron Shire Echo
By : Eve Jeffery
Published : 11/11/2008

There are no Solomon Islands representatives attending the weeklong FIFA sanctioned Futsal coaching course held in Suva , Fiji.

Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) revealed to Star Sports the reason for Solomon Islands not attending is they were not invited.

This is despite Solomon Islands being the first Islands nation to represent Oceania in the Futsal World Cup this year after wining the qualifiers earlier in Suva .

The course starts yesterday and will be attended by coaches from other countries in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) region.

FUTSAL is a popular sport in the world today as a shorter code of football played in almost every country.

Through the course and the clinic, the coaches will be able to develop the sport further in the region but unfortunately we are left out.

A FIFA Beach Football clinic held fortnight ago in Suva which was attended by participants from Fiji , Vanuatu and New Caledonia also left Solomon Islands out.

Source : Solomon Star
Published : 11/11/2008

With the forming of the W league which is the female version of the A league its with great pleasure that Sydney Magic announce two Magic players in Servet Uzunlar and Teresa Polias have been signed up to compete.Uzunlar (18) a member of our Open Womens side for the past 2 seasons and also a member of the Matildas squad was signed by Sydney F.C and started the first game with Servets corner setting up the opening goal of the game.

Polias (17) has also been with Magic for 3 years starting with our u/16g girls side, is an integral part of the young Matildas squad has signed up for the Central Coast Mariners and also started in the opening game of the competition.

Everyone at the club wishes the best to these two talented young players.

Another great thing to see is so many players competing in this tournament that have played Futsal over the course of their careers especially over the past few seasons which include:

Playing for Sydney F.C
Servet Uzunlar: Sydney Magic PCYC
Lisa Gilbert: Western Raiders
Danielle Brogan: Western Raiders
Kylie Ledbrook: Western Raiders
Leena Khamis: Western Raiders
Joanne Burgess: Inner West Allstars
Nicola Bolger: Liverpool Fusion

Playing for Central Coast Mariners
Kyah Simon: Inner West Allstars
Trudy Camilleri: Hawkesbury Commodores
Stephanie Haim: Campelltown City Quake
Britt Simons: Western Raiders
Emma Kate Dewhurst: Sydney University
Jodie Bain: Sydney City Eagles
Elizabeth O Rielly: Western Raiders
Renee Rollason: Hawkesbury Commodores

The club wishes the competition and all involved all the best of luck.

 

Source : Sydney Magic
Published : 11/11/2008

Last week the club competed in the Futsal NSW State Championships which was a very long but quite enjoyable weekend at both Penrth and Hawkesbury.

The club had 9 teams participating :

u/10 Boys
u/12 Boys
u/12 Girls
u/14 Boys
u/15 Boys
u/16 Girls
Youth Mens
Open Womens
Open Mens

The under 10s had a great first competition where they reaches the semi finals only to be knocked out by another great u/10 side in the Sydney City Eagles by the score of 2-1.

The u/12 boys were also fantastic going through the competition undefeated beating numerous Premier League clubs along the way only to be beaten by a rampant Mascot Vipers in the final by 3-2.

By all accounts the boys under the stewardship of Ollie Momricevski played some fantastic futsal and fully deserved their place in the final and could’ve even taken full honours.

The under 12 girls also had a good tournament also losing in the semi finals. With the majority of squad only being 12 we pushed the two 13 year old girls up to the 16s team and the youngest female Magic team did extremely well to get to the semi finals losing by 2 goals.

The under 14 boys have been progressing well in the Premier League which has seen them creep quietly into 3rd position. The boys unfortunately were the only team in the club not to reach the penultimate round and bowed out against a very big and strong Mascot Vipers side in the Quarters.

Carmine Bortones successful streak of winning State titles has continued now winning 6 of the past 7 championships his team has competed in. His u/15s squad which also had to take on some strong u/16s teams throughout the competition cruised to victory in the final by 8 goals to 4.

The 16 girls had plenty of overcome if they were going to win the competition as they only had 5 of the original 8 members of the squad available with both star strikers Natasha Lo Giudice and Jenna Kingsley both unavailable as was still injured Allysha Lo Giudice.

The 16 girls had two members of the clubs u/13 girls helping the squad and when Kate Mc Pherson went down in the first game of the tournament with a serious knee injury which ruled her out of the rest of the competition the situation looked bleak but the remaining squad members pulled together and won their next 2 games to book a quarter final birth against Campelltown Quake.

It didn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse with first Juliana Dundovic having to come of injured and then Samantha Bergin having to do the same. Such was the heart of both girls both attempted to re take the court but what was obvious the girls just couldn’t play to their best and went down in a game which showed the ugly side of futsal where 5 of the 8 opposition goals were scored by the keeper launching the ball NFL style the entire length of the court and hoping for a flick on or a rebound.

Full credit to all the girls in this team as they showed and played with plenty of heart and overcame a lot to reach as far as they did. Special mention to injured captain Marie Svinos who played with one leg, and youngster Yvonne Illioglou who as the tournament went on really stepped up to the mark and became more and more important whilst Helen Petinos played a huge amount of minutes being the only fully fit player in the entire squad.

The Youth Mens who have had to endure a rough start to the Premier League season having only won 1 out of 4 games to start the season but a hard fought tournament was exactly what the boys needed and they went on to make the semi finals in which they lost a very hard fought clash with the Inner West Allstars 3-2 in extra time.

The boys played some brilliant futsal throughout the tournament and losing only 1 game on the way. Hopefully this will lead the way to a return of the great form the Youth sides have been able to showcase in the past few years.

The Open Womens were another of our sides to make the final but again the lack of numbers proved our downfall with captain Rose Marie Scarlato breaking her ankle in the semi final ending not only her tournament but her entire season. The girls played an entertaining brand of futsal especially in the semi finals which was one of the best halves of futsal played in a very long time and continued that all the way to the final where the girls lost 4-2 in extra time to the Mascot Vipers.

Natalie Spirovski was in brilliant form as she has been all season. The girls only dropped 1 point on the way to the final with a scored draw vs Quake.

Whilst our senior Mens seemed ready to book their position in a final leading by 4-2 with only 4 minutes remaining when all went pear shaped in the semis vs the Inner West Allstars. The Allstars fought back to send the game into extra time and with no one able to break the deadlock the game went to penalties where the side from Homebush went on to take take the honours 5-4 in penalties.

The Mens side played some fantastic futsal with the stand out games vs SLB and Sutherland in the Elimination final where we finished victorious in 2 close hard fought games.

So out of the 9 teams, we had 7 semi finalists and 3 finalists and a champion which was an extremely good effort for the club.

Congratulations on all the teams and their respective coaches who represented the club over the weekend.

See you all soon when the Premier League returns vs the West City Crusaders at Marrickville.

Source : Sydney Magic
Published : 11/11/2008

Round 3 of the Premier League took us to Parklea to take on the promising Western Raiders.

The Academy game was a superb curtain raiser to the Premier League Fixtures and the talent showcased by both squads was at the highest standard. Congratulations should be extended to both sides on a brilliant performance.

12 Boys

The 12s fixture was an absolute cracker of a game which had absolutely everything. It was without doubt the best game of the day and the 4-5 result was every bit as close as the scoreline indicated. The Young Raiders started off very well and led by the brilliant Noah Chianese took an early lead but the determination and heart shown by our boys was unparalleled.

Behind 4-1 the boys came storming back led by Vincent Giannini and Michael Loupis and belted the Raiders with everything they had and just as the cracks began to appear in the young Raiders rearguard our boys lifted another notch to close the game to one goal.

The Raiders scored again as did our young boys but young Tony Lo in goal for the Raiders made a brilliant save denying our boys from the penalty spot. Our young magicians also went on to hit 3 posts and had numerous top chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net to get points out of the game which they thoroughly deserved.

Well done to both squads on a brilliant game which had everyone on the edge of their seats.
Score 4-5
Magic: Micheal Loupis, Ryan Henderson, Vincent Giannini and Mark Rizovski.
Raiders: N Chianese 4, A.Vlismor 1.

14 Boys

The Under 14 Boys game was another which could’ve gone either way but led by the enigmatic duo of Andres Vais and Alex Doyle our side put on a display that was absolutely fantastic and one that proved this team is definitely heading in the right direction.

The futsal the team played was a joy to watch and with all the squad playing extremely well the boys are well and truly in the running for a top 4 spot as long as they keep playing the futsal that coaches Ross and Billy are trying to instill in them.

Score 3-2
Magic: Andres Vais 2, Alex Doyle 1
Raiders: M. Herceg 1, S. Drewrey 1.

13 Girls

The Under 13 girls fixture was played the following Monday evening as were the remaining two female games and our young girls started the game brilliantly but faded away towards the end of the first half.

Still without a goal keeper the girls conceded 2 early goals but they never stopped trying and could’ve easily taken something from the game had it not been for the fantastic form of Shamiran Khamis in the Raiders goal. The girls just need to get a little bit of confidence back and soon and realign themselves into the team we know they are capable of being.

Score 1-3
Magic: Georgia Klapos 1
Raiders: A. Pollicina 1, L. Meduri 1, E. Sherry 1.

16 Boys

The 16 boys were brilliant. That’s one of many words that could describe their performance. From goal keeper to reserves the entire squad was sensational.

Anthony Poniris was once again brilliant in attack as was David Talevski whilst Marcello Bortone played one of his best games in a long time. The return of Clayton Musumeci was instrumental in the team playing excellent and structured futsal.

The Raiders are a very good side in their own right but on the day our boys just blew them off the court.

Score 6-2
Magic: Anthony Poniris 2, David Talevski 1, David Han 1, Clayton Musumeci 1
Raiders: Z. Freeburn 1, M, Brennan 1.

16 Girls

The 16 girls have continued their good start to the season with another comprehensive victory. They are beginning to mix their undeniable talent with a little bit of structure and the results are coming thick and fast and with greater Futsal playing.

The girls were once again a joy to watch and are turning into the favoured team to watch every Saturday such is the talent within the squad and the way they are playing at the moment.

Score 4-1
Magic: Jenna Kingsley 2, Natasha Lo Giudice 2
Raiders: S. Haaring 1.

Youth Men

The Youth Mens are still yet to click and suffered their 3rd straight defeat. The talent is definitely in the squad and we eagerly await for their form to turn. Missing key players hasn’t helped in 2 time goal keeper of the year Roberto Maiorana and Miki Awad. But under the watchful eye of Tony Candy and Peter Musumeci we know its only a matter of time.

On the day the result could’ve gone either way but Shane Ardle was the difference. For our boys with a bit more compose could’ve taken something out of the game. Albert Crocco and Micheal Candy were yet again the stand out 2.

Score 2-4
Magic: Albert Crocco 1, Anthony Musumeci 1
Raiders: S. Ardle 3, R. Diaz 1.

Women

The Womens game was the 3rd and final that was played at Homebush on the Monday evening and the result was a formality against a young raiders side. Full credit to the Raiders girls for their never say die attitude but our girls were just a class above from the outset.

Even though the Raider girls scored early the response was swift and deadly with Clare, Doyle and Nat working a free flowing move that saw the score even out and from then on there was only one way the result was heading.

Some of the play by our girls was of the highest of quality. Sophie Svinos was once again in superb form as was Natalie Spirovski.

Score 6-1
Magic: Clare Tyson 2, Rose Scarlato 2, Sophie Svinos 1, Jenna Kingsley 1.
Raiders: J. Hurst 1.

Men

The Men’s game was another fantastic and exciting end to end clash and special mention must go to the young Raiders side for putting up such a gallant and courageous effort.

Our boys who went behind then in front and then behind again with only 8 minutes to go stormed to the front and added a few extra nails into the coffin of the Raiders for good measure.

Our boys left it to late to go ahead for good but some of the play was outstanding. Ross Fazzalaro was once again superb setting up numerous chances whilst Marino Musumeci was as always dangerous while Andres Gomes was back to his tricky best.

In the end a deserved but very tough fought victory for our boys.

Score 5-3
Magic: Marino Musumeci 1, Andrew Paine 1, Andres Gomes 1, Dylan Maloney 1, Ross Fazzalaro 1.
Raiders: R. Tripia, R. Miller 1, K. Romero 1.

Players of the Week – Round 3

Male Player of the week – Clayton Musumeci u/16 Boys

Whilst attack is the way you win games if its not for players who also think defence first then your always going to struggle and Clayton proved that on the weekend by having a brilliant game controlling the play and making the extra defensive yards whilst his team mates were very attack minded. Had it not been for Clayton’s defensive efforts the score line could’ve been a lot different.

Female Player of the week – Kahlee Doyle Open Womens

Doyle was on fire against the Raiders. Playing in her favoured position of pivot Doyle dominated the game laying on half the teams goals with precision passing and her uncanny knack of seeing what others cant. The famous Doyle roll over was also at its finest.

Goal Keeper of the week – Marcello Bortone u/16 Boys

Marcy had a superb game in fact one of his best in a number of years. Whilst his team played very well Marcello was at his shot stopping best this round and made some spectacular saves to keep his team in it when the opposition went on a run.

Team of the week – Under 12 Boys

Whilst losing the boys were exceptional in a game where there deserved to be no loser. The youngest of Magicians played brilliantly and with so much heart they deserved something out of the game. The result deserved a victory and had it not been for a bit of bad luck and a few posts then the 3 points would’ve been theirs. The club was extremely proud of your commitment and effort.

Source : Sydney Magic
Published : 11/11/2008

The latest Teams of the week have been published for the NSW Premier League and Super League…

Premier League

Mens Team of the Week : GK – Roberto Maiorana (Magic), Dean Lockhart (Quake), Yavuz Ekinci (Vipers), Alex Ricco (Allstars), Chris Zaballos (Eagles)
Mens Golden Boot : Yavuz Ekinci 12 goals 5 games, Adrian Vizzari 7 goals 5 games, Shane Ardel 6 goals 5 games

Womens Team of the Week : GK – Antonella Oliva (Vipers), Samantha Muscat (Commodores), Bronwyn Jarvis (Vipers), Alicia Cavanagh (Raiders), Natalie Spirovski (Magic)
Womens Golden Boot : Laura Elliott 9 goals 5 games, Hayley Buckingham 8 goals 5 games, Kayleigh Koops 6 goals 5 games

Super League

Mens Team of the Week : GK – Bojan Radmilo (Sutherland), Justin McLeay (Parramatta), Marko Kraljevic (Pirates), Caio Ongaratto (Benfica), Ben Lawson (Dural)
Mens Golden Boot : Renato Jelen 14 goals 5 games, Admir Smajovic 11 goals 5 games, Ben Lawson 11 goals 5 games

Womens Team of the Week : GK – Di Murance (Breakers), Maree Di Martino (Benfica), Demelza Howard (Dural), Belinda Seers (Sydney Uni), Melissa Cox (Sutherland)
Womens Golden Boot : Laura Peters 8 goals 4 games, Fatma Agar 8 goals 5 games, Kristie Liddle 7 goals 5 games

Source : Football NSW
Published : 11/11/2008

After a busy couple of weeks of trials, the State Championships and a week off, the boys were itching to get back into the competition.

Although we knew Parramatta were on the bottom of the table our Coach Lee Pepper reminded the boys to remain alert because a couple of there stronger players were back in the side for this game.

In previous weeks it has taken the boys a few minutes to get into the game but this week was an exception. From the kick off the boys dominated with confident passing and running. 1,2, 3…4, in no time we were ahead 4 nil and settling in to enjoy the game. Futsal at its best! It was nice to see the boys enjoying themselves out there.

There wasn’t anyone hurrying on the ball, there was room to move and have fun. It was hard to pick the best players on the day with everyone putting in solid performances, a special mention to Nathan Spinola though for a great hat trick and Chris Marques for almost getting that clean sheet (Lee is still waiting for that zero).

Well done boys the final score Sutherland 6 vs. Parramatta Blues 1, you fought hard and played well. We are all proud of you! See you all next week against the Northern Tigers.

Source : Sutherland Shire Futsal
By : Rodney Stewart
Published : 9/11/2008

SUVA – Local football coaches will have a chance to enhance and upgrade their FUTSAL knowledge and skills when they attend the FIFA sanctioned FUTSAL coaching course in Suva today.The week-long course starts today and will be attended by coaches from other countries in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) region.

Fiji Football Association chief executive officer Bob Kumar said the course will really be beneficial to the coaches as FUTSAL is fast growing and a very popular sport around the globe.

“FUTSAL is one of the most popular sports in the world these days as the shorter code of football is played in almost every country and through the course and the clinic, the coaches will be able to develop the sport further in the region.

“Earlier this season we had the World Cup qualifiers in Fiji which proved out to be a success and the winner, Solomon Islands went on to play in the World Cup where they did well against the power houses of the sport.

“The sport lacks awareness in the region and we also have very few qualified coaches that is why we are abit behind in terms of development FUTSAL in Fiji and the story is similar in the other Island nations also.

“With the training and theoretical knowledge gained from the sport the coaching will be able to overcome the development issues as they will be more equipped and certified by the world governing body” he said.

A FIFA Beach Football clinic was held fortnight ago in Suva which was attended by participants from Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Source : Oceania Football Confederation
Published : 10/11/2008