South Coast Taipans maintained their perfect start to the season with a hard fought 2-1 away win over Benfica at Marrickville Indoor Stadium.

Both teams settled into the game looking to find their passing rhythm and secure possession. The pace was moderate and ball possession even but it was the South Coast who were having the majority of goal scoring chances.

Courtney Danyi, Justine Clemente, Alina McConnochie and Camille Augustyn all going close. Benfica had Belinda Candelori shooting from range whilst Louise Fantini went very close with an audacious lob which only just went wide of the post.

South Coast went ahead toward the end of the first half when Alina McConnochie was brought down in the box and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Courtney Danyi stepped up and dispatched the ball to give South Coast the lead.

The pace of the game quickened up as Benfica went in search of an equaliser. But the tactic of using the long throw down court from the keeper to enable a quick counter attack was not working for Benfica as the South Coast defence were picking it off and starving their opposition of good possession.

Benfica started the second half in search of an equaliser, their passing and movement was sharper and they were maintaining possession better and Olympia Avramidis went close with a shot just over the bar.

Soon after Benfica got the equaliser they were looking for when Olympia Avramidis stepped inside the defender and skilfully rounded the keeper to slot the ball home to make it 1-1.

Benfica went on a period of sustained pressure over their opponents with Beatrice SimSing dominant and Olympia Avramidis and Sherei Alpkaya looking dangerous in attack. South Coast were defending hard and trying to hit Benfica on the break.

South Coast resolutely weathered the pressure and hit back when Caitlyn Danyi robbed a defender mid court and raced on to slam the ball high into the corner of the net to give South Coast a 2-1 lead.

Benfica fought hard to level the game and had Mel Nolan in goal to thank for coming out to deny a Jacki Stopps counter attack late in the game.

Both teams on the day played some great football in a tense and entertaining contest with Caitlyn Danyi’s clinical finish giving the Taipans all three points.

Source : Football NSW
By : Peter Davies
Published : 20/10/2008

A strong and disciplined defensive display from South Coast was not enough to stop Benfica from making it four straight wins to maintain their position at the top of the Mens Super League.

Benfica started the game at a fast tempo and soon had Taipans keeper Jay Digger twice denying Benfica’s Marcelo De Andrade from giving his team the early lead.

Benfica’s court movement on and off the ball was faster than their opponents as they continued to dominate possession and pepper their opponents goal with Itaua Batista, Osmar De Barros, Hussein Akil and Caio Ongaratto all going close. Even keeper Joshua De Palma had several long range efforts.

Despite Benfica’s territorial advantage the South Coast played with admirable determination and discipline and always forced their opponents away from the penalty area to deny them clear cut attempts on goal.

South Coast had their chances too but perhaps their best attempt of the first half came when keeper Jay Digger crashed a shot from half way against the post. In the end both teams went to the break locked at 0-0.

The second half started the same as the first half with Benfica striving for a goal and the Taipans resolutely defending and hitting Benfica on the break. Keeper Josh De Palma made a great save to deny South Coasts Dean Triffitt on the counter attack.

Taipans keeper Jay Digger made further excellent saves to deny Itaua Batista and Nuno Simao and keep his team in the game whilst the dangerous Dean Triffitt for South Coast fired just wide.

But just when it looked like South Cost might hang on for a draw the game changed suddenly. The ball was back passed to the keeper when it was adjudged to have not have crossed the half way.

Despite South Coasts protests an indirect freekick was awarded and Caio Ongaratto slammed the ball home to make it 1-0 but not before the refs conferred that the ball had been touched first before Caio scored.

From this point South Coast had to go forward, but this left the gaps at the back that Benfica had craved all game and Itaua Batista made it 2-0 after forcing a mistake from the defence.

South Coasts Russell Crighton crashed a shot against the bar and Okan Turkman forced a fine save from keeper Da Palma. But it was not enough as Osmar De Barros wrapped up the game for Benfica late in the game.

Despite South Coasts gallant defensive effort the three points deservedly went to the skilful and mobile Benfica outfit.

Source : Football NSW
By : Peter Davies
Published : 20/10/2008

Four minutes into the Girls 13 match, things were starting to look shaky for Barcelona FC. Only good work by the Barca pivot was keeping the score at 0-0. Our girls were keeping possession well and moving the ball between all four outfield players. The next four minutes would define the game. During that time Morgan entered the court and scored 3 goals and Jess added a forth to make the score 4-0. The girls kept firing and finished the half ahead by 8.

Goal keeping was done admirably by Taylor in the first half and Natalie in the second half. They each had to make a couple of saves but I never felt concerned that a goal would be conceded. Good job girls. Our keepers can also be grateful of the good jobs done by our pivots, especially Natalie in the first half.

We made some improvements today in keeping possession while working the ball forward. Mikhaela was her normal composed self with the ball and was also quick to come to the aid of a team mate looking for an off load. Bronte was doing a good job of passing back to the pivot when needed and running forward in holes to receive the ball.

Kirrily continued her good form from last week’s game, playing at target. She fed the ball wide to the advancing flankers, setting up several goals and scoring one herself. Kirrily was the Player of the Match today which is a just reward for the improvement she has shown over the past two weeks.

We took advantage of our big first half lead to work on setting up goals for our team mates in the second half. This will be invaluable when we take on some of the strongest teams in the State Championships next week as good individual efforts wont win against the top teams, we need to play well as a team of five and score “team” goals. I congratulate the Barcelona girls for turning their game around and playing out a close second half of Futsal. The final score was 10-0 to Sutherland.

Morgan, Jess, and Taylor stayed back and played in the Girls 16s game. Morgan was a good second half keeper, earning complements from one of the coaches spectating. Taylor was outstanding at target. She held onto the ball under pressure, beat two defenders and was only denied a goal by a good save by the keeper.

Source : Sutherland Shire Futsal
By : P Ellis
Published : 19/10/2008

8 teams, 4 weeks, 2 finalists…but there can only be ONE winner.

Date: 2 November 2008

Where? FUTSAL ARENA’s International-sized futsal court.
Cnr Blake and Davis Streets, Reservoir (Victoria)
(At the end of Tyler Street, Northland end)

Entries close on 27 October 2008.

Prizes : Championship medalions. This tournament will be the qualification path for the upcoming Futsal Arena Premier League competition. The top 2 teams from this tournament and the A-League to automatically qualify.

The full tournament flyer is available here.

Source : Futsal Arena
Published : 20/10/2008

Think you’ve got the football skills to pay the bills? Queensland Roar is giving you the chance to prove it on the big stage with the Roar Freestyle Football Challenge.

The Roar are looking for 10 contestants to battle it out for the title of the Ultimate Freestyle Footballer, with the finalists to play off in front of a packed Suncorp Stadium before the Sydney match on January 17.

Heats will be held at half time of the National Youth League games, with four contestants each given one minute to showcase their talent. The crowd will judge the winner of each heat to progress to the final.

If you think you’ve got what it takes, upload a video onto YouTube and send the link to admin@qldroar.com.au

UPCOMING HEATS

HEAT 1- 17th October FRIDAY 4:45pm Suncorp Stadium
HEAT 2- 8th November SATURDAY 4:15pm Suncorp Stadium
HEAT 3- 15th November SATURDAY 4:00pm Perry Park
HEAT 4- 23rd November SUNDAY 2:15pm Suncorp Stadium
HEAT 5- 13th December SATURDAY 6:00pm Perry Park
FINALS -17th January SATURDAY 4:15pm SUNCORP STADIUM

Source : Queensland Roar
Published : 15/10/2008

Otago schools walked away with 4 of the 5 titles up for grabs at the Vikings Schools Champion of Champions in Queenstown.

30 schools and 240 participants played out the Champion of Champions in Queenstown over the weekend with Otago schools dominating.

Former All White and Otago Boys High School Head of Sport Mike McGarry, lead his boys to the 14yr and 16yr titles. The 14 boys went through undefeated winning the final 6-2 over Wakatipu High School while the 16 boys defeated Burnside High School (Christchurch) 5-2.

Linwood High School took home Canterbury’s only title winning the blue ribbon Senior Boys divsion 7-1 over the highly fancied Burnside high. Linwood dominated right from the start and shocked Burnside by taking a 4-0 lead into half time. The senior boys division was extremely competitive with any one of the 6 sides capable of winning.

Otago Girls wrapped up the 19 girls with a comprehensive tournament winning the final 4-1 while St Hilda’s (Dunedin) won the 16 girls 1 nil in extra time over Taieri High School.

With Schools from as far north as Kerikeri and small towns such as Carterton (Wairapa) the Campion of Champions catered for all of New Zealand. In term One 2009 Vikings Futsal NZ will be running Regional School Titles throughout New Zealand. The top 2 sides from each division will be invited the 2009 Vikings NZ Chapion of Chapions tournament.

For a full recap of results CLICK HERE (XLS)

Source : Vikings NZ
Published : 20/10/2008

NSW Premier League Round 4 : 18/10/2008

Quake travelled to Menai as the Club Championship Leaders Mascot Vipers played host to the Campbelltown Club. Quake won the day with 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses with plenty of excitement during the long day.

12 boys – Quake 4 (Justin Ivanovic 2, Mitchell Brooker, Jack Taseski) – Vipers 0

Once again we see the week to week improvement in this well drilled team. After and even start, Quake scored 2 goals in each half to secure their second win of the season. The scorers for Quake were a double to Justin Ivanovic and one each to Mitchell Brooker and Jack Taseski.

14 boys – Quake 4 (Nico Colantonio 3, Pat Antelmi) – Vipers 6

In this very much anticipated clash, Quake got off to a flying start. After conceding an early goal, Quake imposed their superiority by scoring 3 unanswered goals and going to the break winning 3-1. We knew Mascot would not give up that easily and they came back and scored the first goal to put the game at 3-2. When Nico scored his third and Quake’s fourth, we thought this might be enough. However, Mascot scored 3 unanswered goals to take this thriller all the way and take all 3 points.

13 girls – Quake 2 (Dana Buttigieg 2) – Vipers 6

This is a new team still finding their way and getting to know each other, Lead by the experienced Cahpman twins, Annika and Lucy, the girls should look to improve from week to week.

16 boys – Quake 4 (Joe Campenelli 3, Andrew Rose) – Vipers 2

It had to happen, their have been knocking on the door for weeks now, but the 16 boys got their first win of the season. In an exciting match, they came from behind to secure their first 3 pointer of the year. Joe Campanelli’s hat-trick was a highlight as was Andrew Rose’s left foot “cracker” to put Quake in front for the first time.

16 girls – Quake 6 (Linda Dudek 2, Laura Donelly 2, Jasmina Kasic, Emma-Jade Cocker) – Vipers 1.

This team never looked in doubt as they took a commanding 4 nil lead to the break. Whilst they slowed down a little in the second half, they did enough to take all points and send a message that the current champions are here to defend their title.

 Youth Men – Quake 4 (David Von Dinklage 2, Chris Sheerin, Emmanuel Harihiru) – Vipers 1

In all honesty, this was a bit of a let down, a happy one that is. We were expecting an awesome even encounter between the two undefeated teams. Instead, we saw the superiority of the defending champions and premiers take control and come out convincing winners. The return of Mark Symington was offset by the absence of Daniel Fulton and Darren Shadlow, which indicated the strength of this squad.

Women – Quake 2 (Claire Walsh, Sarah Semaan) – Vipers 3

This is the one that got away. In a very entertaining game, and with the scores even at 2-all, it took a deflection to settle the match and leave the Campbelltown girls with nothing to show for their efforts. Missing Joanne Coupland was a big loss, but our girls performed well enough to take something from the game.

Men – Quake 6 (Danny Martinez 3, Tuan Cao, Simon Keith, Mark Symington) – Vipers 6.

In the most even and exciting match of the day, the 1st and 2nd teams on the League Ladder could not separate themselves in a match Quake probably thought they had enough chances to win it. With Quake missing 5 members from their squad and the early injury to Gary “Choppy” Seymour, Quake had to dig deep and played some of the best Futsal of the season. With the scoreline at 4-all at the break, the second 25 was an up and down affair where either team could have won it. In the end, 6-all was a fair result, with the highlight being a hat-trick to Danny Martinez and Youth players Mark Symington and David Von Dinklage playing an important role in the result.
Quake now have a 2 week break, with their next matches away to Western Raiders on the 8th of November in Round 5 of the NSW Futsal Premier League.

Source : Campbelltown Qity Quake
By : Carlos Martinez
Published : 20/10/2008

The Sutherland Shire Futsal Association played away in its round 4 clash at the Robyn Webster Sports Centre, Tempe. Sutherland this week taking on the newly named Barcelona Futsal Club, formerly known as Fraser Park.

Results from the day are as follows;

Under 12 boys, Sutherland Shire FA 5 vs. Barcelona FC 5
Under 14 boys, Sutherland Shire FA 8 vs. Barcelona FC 5
Under 13 girls, Sutherland Shire FA 10 vs. Barcelona FC 0
Under 16 boys, Sutherland Shire FA 5 vs. Barcelona FC 0
Under 16 girls, Sutherland Shire FA 1 vs. Barcelona FC 7
Youth Men, Sutherland Shire FA 4 vs. Barcelona FC 10
Open Women’s, Sutherland Shire FA 4 vs. Barcelona FC 2
Open Men’s, Sutherland Shire FA 4 vs. Barcelona FC 3

Source : Sutherland Shire Futsal
By : J Simnett
Published : 18/10/2008

The FFAA Australian Women’s team to participate at the Women’s Cup of Europe in Bergamo, Italy from 3rd to 9th November 2008 has been finalised:

Player / Association
COPPING Amy / Bathurst
BIRCH Fiona / Coniston
GOUGH Jessica / Hawkesbury
MEEHAN Kylie / Shoalhaven
RIPAMONTI Monique / Hawkesbury
JOHNSTON Sarah / Shoalhaven
NOLAN Mel / Coniston
AINSWORTH Kristen-Lee / Blacktown
HONECKER Lani / Shoalhaven
TURNER Chanel / Hawkesbury
PETROVIC Sandra / Coniston

Team departs on 1st November. FFAA Executive wishes the team all the best in their endeavours in Italy.

Source : Futsal 5 A-Side Australia
Published : 17/10/2008

30 teams have converged on Queenstown with the hope of being crowned NZ School Champion of Champions.

Saturdays results can be found on the main draw link here.