Sandy Bay Storm continued its quest for the first ever Tasmanian Supa Liga title in round 2 of the competition with a convincing 14-1 victory over the Tasmanian Islanders Northern Youth team on saturday night.

The youth team which were playing their debut game in the competition found the going tough against a well organised Storm team which had prolific goalscorer Kosta Grillas in sensational form netting 9 times on his debut to become the competitions top goalscorer.

With star Brazilian playmaker Igor Sao Jose and Pivot Corey Smith controlling the game from the back the Storm continuously moved the ball and opened up cracks in the Islanders defence with Youth goalkeeper Sam Ralph making some fantastic saves through out. With Grillas finishing all night with deadly accuracy the Storm cantered to victory to sit top of the table being the only team with a perfect record after two games. For the Storm Grillas grabbed 9, Sao Jose scored 2 and Smith, Callan Griffin and Josh Fielding scored 1 each with Luke Conroy replying for the visitors.

The well fancied Northern Fusion got off the mark this week after their slip up to the Southern Youth team in round one with a well controlled and polished win against tournament debutants Hobart United 8-2. A fine all round display from the Northerners completely outshone the individual brilliance of the United team. Andrew Davies, Andrew Nicholson and Will Gee were the chief destoyers for the Fusion with 2 goals a piece with singles coming from Shay Hickey and Brad Reeves.

There were touches of individual genius from the Hobart Utd boys but it was never enough to break down the well organised defence of Northern Fusion which was marshalled well on the night with a return to form from goalkeeper Tony Burgess. Goals from Hobart Utd were scored by Akuol Guot and Samson Rume.

In the first game of the night the Tassal Stripes kicked off their campaign with a comfortable 6-1 win in a fiery encounter against the undermanned Newstead Blues squad. The game was evenly poised until two second half send offs of Simon Napier and Michael Grey from the Blues gave the ascendancy to Tassal who controlled the game through Jon Foley-Donaghue and Jason Dawes. Tireless work rate by Greg Duffy and Matthew Russell gave the Blues a fighting chance but the extra man advantage in the end proved too much as the Stripes recorded victory number one.

Goalscorers for Tassal Stripes were Jason Dawes 1, Kirk Stanton 1, Seth Van Heyster 1, Huw Jarvis 1, Jon Foley-Donaghue 1 and an own goal while Simon Napier scored for the Blues.

Next week sees the Tasmanian Supa Liga head to Elphin Sports Cntre in Launceston for the first time with Hobart Utd looking to cause a big upset against top side Sandy Bay Storm at 8pm, Storm will be missing Igor Sao Jose who is in Sydney for the Tasmanian Youth team and Josh Fielding due to work commitments. At 6pm the Tassal Stripes will look for their second consecutive win against the Tasmanian Islanders Northern Youth team who will be looking for a much more impressive performance with Sean Howe back in the side. At 7pm The Tasmanian Islanders Southern Youth side will also be looking to consolidate their spot on the table with their 2nd win in as many matches when they take on the under performing Newstead Blues. The Blues will be on home soil but will need to improve dramatically with the absence of key suspended duo Grey and Napier.

Ladder – Sandy Bay Storm 6, Tassal Stripes 3, Tasmanian Southern Youth 3, Northern Fusion 3, Hobart Utd 0, Newstead Blues 0, Tasmanian Northern Youth 0

Goalscorers – K.Grillas (Storm) 9, C.Smith (Storm) 5, J.Fielding (Storm) 5, D.Kunwar (Sth Youth) 3, W.Gee (Fusion) 3, A.Nicholson (Fusion) 3, S.Napier (Blues) 3

Source : Futsal Tasmania
Published : 3/11/2008