Enfield Rovers 5-1 thrashing of Campbelltown Quake was somewhat of a surprise, whilst Inner West Magic won by the odd goal in five in the other fixture.

Rovers thrash Campbelltown Quake

Enfield Rovers were far too good for a disappointing Campbelltown Quake.

Quake started well as usual and took the lead through a brilliant goal from Bruno Antelmi.

From then on though, it was all Enfield and they scored five unanswered goals to put the game well beyond the reach of the home side.

Quake were undoubtedly hampered by the suspension of Danny Martinez, but regardless, their poor performance will be cause for concern, given that Enfield Rovers were a very much depleted outfit.

Carlos Martinez of Quake said, “We’re disappointed in ourselves.”

“Our commitment was poor as was our defensive effort.

“Our coach (Simon Keith) is disappointed and at the moment we’re searching for answers,” Martinez said.

His disappointment is understandable given that Quake were expected to be far more competitive this season, but more importantly, the manner in which they have thrown away leads will be greater cause for concern.

“We know we have what it takes to compete,” Martinez continued.

“But we were never in it against Enfield, and that’s really disappointing.

“To lose 5-1 to a depleted Rovers is hard to take and to their credit, their young players really stepped up.

“We have a chance to regroup though as we aren’t playing next week and then State Titles are the weekend after.

“We’re going to train hard and get it together,” he said.

By contrast, Enfield Rovers coach Ernie Biovona was ecstatic with the performance.

“I’m very happy with the boys,” he said.

“We had six players out and it just goes to show that the club is in good hands, given the performances of the young players today.

“We had a few youth boys and two U/16s and I want to make special mention of young Alex, he was on fire all day and actually got a start.

“They didn’t just help us out, the young players got us the result,” Bivona said.

Inner West edge Phoenix in five goal thriller

A depleted Inner West Magic were narrow victors over Phoenix Futsal Club, thanks to a late winner from Anthony Poniris.

In what was a pulsating match, Phoenix took the lead through Daryl Fernandez, before Marino Musumeci equalised for the home side.

Moments into the second half, Josh Yeates scored a stunning goal to put Phoenix 2-1 up, much to the disappointment of Magic.

The home side rallied however, and they soon found an equaliser through an Andrew Paine penalty.

The pressure tolled on the Phoenix and Poniris was on the spot to score a late winner for the Magic.

Their coach Carmine Bortone was happy with the effort of his depleted squad.

“I’m pretty happy, given that we only have five players available,” he said.

“We were pretty disappointed to concede so early in the second half, but I thought we pretty much dominated the game,” he added.

Phoenix coach Chris Cowley was likewise pleased, as his side have put in a number of decent showings since their promotion to the Premier League.

“We played very well,” he said.

“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose in the last couple of minutes, but I’m proud of the guys.

“We’re competing better than I thought we would.

“There’s a great spread of talent throughout the Premier League, which marks it out from the Super League.

“In the end, a lack of experience probably caused us to lose concentration towards the end when we conceded the goal,” Cowley said.