In what was a successful opening day for Victoria in the FFA Futsal National Championships held in Canberra, nine out of twelve teams remain undefeated including the Open Men who drew with NSW Thunder in a replay of last season’s Grand Final.

In what was the match of the day played in the impressive AIS Main Arena, Ernie Simsek rescued a point for the Victorians in the second half, finishing off a good period of play after NSW Thunder had taken an early lead in the opening stanza.

The match continued a fierce rivalry between the two powerhouses as both sides traded blows without trying to give an inch to the opposition. As no-one claimed bragging rights at the conclusion of this tense match, all will be looking forward to another possible finals meeting later in the fixture, though Victoria could take comfort in the fact that NSW Thunder have not defeated them in regulation time in their last three meetings (one win and two draws).

Victoria followed that match with a 5-1 victory over Southern NSW this morning.

These results will put the Open Men in good stead for the rest of the tournament as they aim to wrestle the title from NSW who last failed to win in 2008.

In other notable results 14 Boys, who won the 2011 tournament as 13’s, started their title defence strongly with an 8-3 win over the dangerous ACT Colts while the 12 Girls who were runners-up last season are on track to go one better as they disposed of Southern NSW 4-1 in their opening match.

Don’t forget you can keep track of all results as they become available on the Victorian Training Centre Facebook Page.

Results;

• Open Men: Victoria 1-1 NSW Thunder
• Youth Men: Victoria 6-5 Capital Futsal (New Zealand)
• 16 Boys: Victoria 3-2 ACT Colts
• 15 Boys: Victoria 0-7 NSW Thunder
• 14 Boys: Victoria 8-3 ACT Colts
• 12 Boys: Victoria 10-4 ACT Colts
• 11 Boys: 8-0 Auckland Football Federation Rio
• Youth Women: Victoria Ranges 3-2 NSW Lightning
• Youth Women: Victoria Magic 1-5 NSW Thunder
• 14 Girls: Victoria 3-1 South Australia
• 12 Girls: Victoria 4-1 Southern NSW
• Athletes with Disability: Victoria 0-5 ACT Cobras