All the latest from day 1 in the men's tournament
32nd FFA FUTSAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS GRAND FINALS
Friday 14th January 2011 AIS Arena, Canberra, ACT
16-BOYS NSW Lightning 2 (Luke Clifford, Nathan Clissold) NSW Thunder 0 The NSW Lightning provided an upset with a 2-0 win over the Thunder with goals from Luke Clifford and Nathan Clissold to end a competitive Boy-s under-16 competition. The Lightning looked in excellent form for the match and played some wonderful futsal keeping possession and pouncing at the right times to deny their stable mates. In something of a consolation to the beaten team Daniel Vellonio of NSW Thunder completed a memorable week by winning the tournament MVP.
YOUTH MEN NSW Thunder 2 (Jarrod Basger (2)) ACT Cobras 1 (Timothy Denne) NSW Thunder claimed the 2011 Youth Men championships by capitalising on a couple of mistakes by the hoe town ACT Cobras. Twice the Cobras turned over cheap possession inside their own half and Basger was on hand to slide home two excellent finishes to put his team in full control. Timothy Denne pulled one back for the Cobras with a shot that Alastair Bruce should have done better with, but the Thunder were deserving winners on the day. Home town player Ryan Keir was named tournament MVP with team mate Glenn Smith claiming the Golden Boot award.
YOUTH WOMEN NSW Thunder 2 (Doris Osman, Helen Petinos) ACT Cobras 0 A sublime goal by Doris Osman gave the NSW Thunder the platform to take home the Youth Women final with a 2-0 win over the ACT Cobras. Osman was on the end of a slick move to fire home from close range and give the Thunder the priceless advantage. A second goal, after the half time break from Helen Petinos, slamming a left foot effort high into the net completed the Thunder win with the ACT going close on a couple of occasions with Catherine Brown hitting the woodwork. Elise O-Kelly of NSW Lightning was named tournament MVP with team mate Doris Osman the leading goal scorer.
OPEN MEN NSW Thunder 2 (Simon Keith, Shervin Adeli) Victoria 2 (Ernie Simsek, Fernando De Moraes) - Thunder win 3-2 on penalties A penalty miss from Ahmed Azzam ultimately proved the difference in the Open Men-s Final as NSW Thunder claimed the crown. Azzam saw his penalty pushed onto the post by Gavin O-Brien as the Thunder erupted. Earlier, Simon Keith had slotted in off the post in the 19th minute to give Thunder the lead only for Victoria to hit back and equalise with three minutes remaining after Fernando De Moraes fed an exquisite pass to Ernie Simsek to slot home. And it seemed as though Victoria would claim the glory when De Moraes scored with two minutes to play only for Shervin Adeli to clip in a sensational last minute leveller to send the game to spot-kicks. Adam Husseni of Tasmania was selected as the Open Men-s tournament MVP.
OPEN WOMEN NSW Thunder 1 (Renee Tomkins) ACT Cobras 0 A thumping strike from Renee Tomkins sealed the Open Women-s title for the NSW Thunder as the Sky Blues continued t rack up the titles. Tomkins smashed in the winner from distance to settle a staid tie that was lacking in inspiration but was a tactical battle to the extreme. The Cobras went close to an equaliser but the Thunder deserved their narrow win with Natasha Lo Guidice in outstanding form. Lauren Diduszko of Western NSW was named MVP of the Open Women-s competition.
OPEN MEN - DAY FOUR
THUNDER TO MEET VICTORIA FOR FINAL GLORY
NSW Thunder will play Victoria in the final of the men-s open at the FFA Futsal National Championships after Day four of action was completed with the knock out stages.
QUARTER FINALS QF1: NSW LIGHTNING 4 (Danny Martinez (2), Pat Pace, Mark Symington) ACT COLTS 2 (Travis Dries, Goran Josifovski) NSW Lightning booked a semi-final berth after defeating ACT Colts 4-2 in a high-intensity quarter final match. The game was fiercely contested with both teams racking up a plethora of yellow cards and the Colts seeing Callum Beaton dismissed for a second caution. The home team took the lead in the first half when Travis Dries was on hand to mop up after a corner was spilled by the Lightning goalkeeper, but the NSW team wasn-t fazed and with Danny Martinez enjoying his best game of the tournament were soon level. A shot on the turn by Martinez flashed in off the inside of the post to make it 1-1. A sloppy turnover early in the second half by the Colts allowed Patrick Pace to race away and coolly slot home before a moment of inspiration from Goran Josifovski, the forward cutting inside and unleashing a low right foot effort into the bottom corner, brought the match all square once more. However, any hopes of the Colts making the semi-final stage were soon dispelled as Martinez upped the ante. The skilful Lightning player made space to surge past his marker and crash a shot into the net, before picking his way past a number of Colts challenges to lay the ball on a plate to Mark Symington who slotted in from close range to seal the result.
QF2: ACT COBRAS 3 (Trent Flanigan, George Cattanach, Angelo Konstantinou) SOUTHERN NSW 3 (Giovanni Leuzzi (2), Peter Gaffney) - after extra time, ACT Cobras win 4-3 on penalties The ACT Cobras were forced to come from 0-2 and 2-3 behind to eventually see off Southern NSW in a penalty shoot-out in an epic quarter final clash at the AIS Arena. Southern NSW threatened a huge upset when forging into a two-goal lead midway through the second half after carving open the Cobras defence with two magnificent goals. Giovanni Leuzzi was the beneficiary on each occasion, tapping in from close in, but the approach work was Futsal at its very best with Gavin Schipp in superb form. The Cobras have plenty of experience though and halved the deficit when Trent Flanigan curled in a beauty from distance before Pat Ross-Magee skipped past two tackles to give George Cattanach a simple equaliser. Not to be outdone Southern hit back almost immediately. Joseph Foti won a turnover and fed Peter Gaffney who seemed to have won it for his team. The ACT responded though and a set-play ended with goalkeeper Angelo Konstantinou smashing a long range effort into the net to level the scores at 3-3. The penalty shoot out was always going to throw up a fall guy and, on this occasion, it was Southern-s Christian Ristevski who saw his kick saved allowing Cattanach to send the Cobras into the last four.
QF3: VICTORIA 2 (Vadim Mazurskiy, Fernando De Moraes) NORTHERN NSW 0 Victoria recorded a routine 2-0 victory over Northern NSW to book their semi-final match where they will face ACT Cobras. The Victorians were always in control of the match against Northern but had to wait until the 17th minute to break the deadlock. A shot from Marcos Barbosa seemed to be heading wide until it was deflected in from close range by Vadim Mazurskiy. Having gained the lead Victoria controlled the temp of the match and added a second midway through the second half. Fernando De Moraes, who has become increasingly influential as the week has gone on, took advantage of hesitancy in the Northern defence to fire in a killer second. To their credit Northern refused to buckle an almost pulled themselves back into the contest when Nathan Baker saw a thunderbolt shot pushed brilliantly to safety by Victoria goalkeeper Dianoush Rasoulzadeh-Seysan. That was the closest Northern came to breaking through as Victoria eased towards the coveted Grand Final spot.
QF4: NSW THUNDER 6 (Chris Zeballos (3), Shervin Adeli (2), Daine Merrin) SOUTHERN NSW FLAME 0 NSW Thunder turned on the style to overpower Southern NSW Flame in a one-side quarter final. The Thunder were in excellent form and once Daine Merrin had given them an early lead inside of two minutes rarely looked backwards. The Flame tried their best and battled throughout the match but were clearly no match for their more experienced opponents. Chris Zeballos was in sparkling form and proved deadly in front of goal with a well-take hat-trick, one before half time and a quick fire brace in the second twenty minutes. Shervin Adeli added a double to Zeballos- treble as the Thunder moved ominously into gear ahead of the semi-final showdown with New South Wales peers the Lightning. Throughout the game the Thunder were slick and enterprising in attack and robust ion defence and looked a completely different outfit to the one that scraped through from the Pool stage. For the Flames reaching this stage was a huge achievement and despite their best endeavours they were second best on the day.
9th/10th PO: - TASMANIA 2 (Liam Scott, Jacob Clamp) SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5 (Jarrod Noel (2), Nick Bucco, Chris Casiero, Raff Frisina) South Australia came from 2-0 down to defeat Tasmania 5-2 in the ninth and tenth place play off. Tasmania looked good for the win when leading by the double at the break thanks to goals from Liam Scott and Jacob Clamp, but it was a resurgent Reds who emerged after the interval. Jarrod Noel struck two goals, before being sent off after receiving two yellow cards, whilst Chris Bucco, Chris Casiero and Raff Frisina completed the comeback victory.
SEMI-FINALS SF1: NSW Lightning 3 (Danny Martinez (2), Aaron Cimitile) NSW Thunder 4 (Tobias Seeto, Chris Zeballos (2), Simon Keith) NSW Thunder struck late on defeat rivals NSW Lightning 4-3 in an epic semi-final match-up. Tobias Seeto swept in the 36th minute winner from a quick break to dump defending champions NSW Lightning out of the competition and gain a measure of revenge for last season-s semi-final upset. In a game that had pretty much everything, including the dismissal of Lightning-s Patrick Pace for two yellow card offences, it was Thunder who were quickest out of the blocks taking the lead in the 5th minute via a Simon Keith free-kick. Danny Martinez equalised for the Lightning before another free-kick, this time from Chris Zeballos restored the Thunder-s lead. After the interval Daniel Fogarty stepped on the accelerator to fire in a cross that Martinez gleefully finished before Zeballos added his second, executing a superb finish to Keith-s break. Aaron Cimitile seemed to have sent the match into extra-time when he equalised for the third time before the late dismissal of Pace and Seeto-s dramatic match-winner.
SF2: ACT Cobras 1 (Angelo Konstantinou) Victoria 2 (Vadim Mazurskiy, Joa Da Silva) A goal from Joa Da Silva deep into extra-time sent Victoria to the men-s open final at the expense of the ACT Cobras. In an entertaining match it took seventeen minutes for the first goal to be scored when Vadim Mazurskiy took a ball on the turn and fired a crisp finish into the net past Angelo Konstantinou in the Cobras goal. The ACT ‘keeper was on the score sheet in the quarter final and he rescued his team again four minutes from full time when he blasted a free kick into the back of the Victoria net. Extra-time was needed and when Da Silva scored in the first period with barely a minute to play things looked bleak for the home side. Backed by a vociferous support Victoria held on and when Adrian Vizzari blazed a six-metre free shot wide of goal the Cobras hopes of a repeat final appearance were dashed.
FINAL POOL STATISTICS Pool A Northern NSW 2 (Nathan Baker, Hakan Canli) NSW Lightning 3 (Daniel Fogarty, Kane Wright Shane Ardle)
TABLE - POOL A
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts 1 NSW Lightning 4 3 1 0 14 8 +6 11 2 ACT Cobras 4 2 2 0 13 4 +9 10 3 Southern NSW Flame 4 1 1 2 11 13 -2 5 4 Northern NSW 4 1 0 3 8 13 -5 3 5 Tasmania 4 1 0 3 5 13 -8 3
Round 5 NSW Thunder 5 (Yavuz Ekcini (2), Tobias Seeto, Daine Merrin, Chris Zeballos) South Australia 0 Southern NSW 1 (Shane Soutter) Victoria 1 (Eduardo Waldron)
TABLE - POOL B
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Victoria 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 8 2 NSW Thunder 4 2 1 1 10 5 +5 8 3 Southern NSW 4 1 2 1 9 9 0 7 4 ACT Colts 4 1 2 1 6 7 -1 7 5 South Australia 4 1 1 2 7 14 -7 3
LEADING SCORERS 7 Chris ZEBALLOS (NSW Thunder) 6 Danny MARTINEZ (NSW Lightning) 4 Nick BUCCO (South Australia), Giovanni LEUZZI, Engelo RUMORA (both Southern NSW), Luis CARNEIRO (Southern NSW Flame), Fernando DE MORAES (Victoria) 3 Misko NAUMOSKI (ACT Cobras), Yavuz EKINCI, Daine MERRIN (both NSW Thunder), Raff FRISINA (South Australia), Vadim MAZURSKIY (Victoria) 2 Angelo KONSTANTINOU, Scott MANSON, Dustin WELLS (all ACT Cobras), Taylor BEATON (ACT Colts), Aaron CIMITILE, Daniel FOGARTY, Jordan MUNDELL, Mark SYMINGTON, Kane WRIGHT (all NSW Lightning), Shervin ADELI, Simon KEITH, Tobias SEETO (all NSW Thunder), Hakan CANLI, Pouria BASHARDOUST (both Northern NSW), Jarrod NOEL (South Australia), Shane SOUTTER (Southern NSW), Kevin OLIVIERA, Thomas TAYLOR (both Southern NSW Flame), Adam HUSSENI Liam SCOTT (both Tasmania) Joa DA SILVA (Victoria) 1 George CATTANACH, Trent FLANIGAN, Marcial MUNOZ, Adrian VIZZARI (all ACT Cobras), Callum BEATON, Adrian DOWLING, Travis DRIES, Goran JOSIFOVSKI, Jason O-DWYER (all ACT Colts), Patrick PACE (NSW Lightning), Daniel FULTON (NSW Thunder), Luke DRINKWATER, Hassem TABATABAEE (Northern NSW), Chris CASIERO, Chris DEAN, Liam MOLLER (all South Australia), Joseph FOTI, Peter GAFFNEY (Southern NSW), Ali BAZZI, Kane EDWARDS, Christian RISTEVSKI (all Southern NSW Flame), Andrew CLARK, Jacob CLAMP, Joshua QUAN (all Tasmania), Andre CARLO SILVA, Resit CULCULOGLU, Eduardo WALDRON (both Victoria), Own GOALS
OPEN MEN - DAY THREE
ALL TO PLAY FOR AS HOMETOWN COLTS FIRE
A double to all-action Taylor Beaton kept alive the ACT Colts hopes of a quarter-final place as the home team held Southern NSW to a draw in the opening match of the day in Pool B. Beaton-s double was influential in gaining two points for the Colts with Giovanni Leuzzi and Engelo Rumora scoring the goals for Southern NSW with a draw being a fair result.
And Beaton was at it again later in the day as the Colts reinvigorated their campaign with a 3-1 win over South Australia. Beaton scored from inside his own half seconds from time capitalising on a loose piece of goalkeeping from the South Australian number one whose run and pass were intercepted by Beaton who rounded off a fine win. Only a minute earlier the Colts has regained the lead via an explosive Adrian Dowling free-kick that rocketed into the top corner much to the delight of the home supporters.
Scott Conlon-s team had led 1-0 at half-time after Jason O-Dwyer deflected in a fierce Callum Beaton shot half-way inside the first stanza. South Australia responded well with Liam Moller hitting the base of the post from no more than two yards after a goalmouth scramble before Raff Frisnia struck the equalising goal as the ACT team qualified for the last eight.
Following the action of the 2-2 Colts-Southern opener Victoria put down a further marker that they could go all the way in 2011 with a convincing 3-1 win over perennial title contenders NSW Thunder. The increasingly influential Victorian captain Fernando De Moraes was at the hub of everything creative Victoria put together and scored his third goal of the competition. He was joined on the score sheet by Andre Carlo Silva and Joa Da Silva. The Thunder, for whom Chris Zeballos netted a consolation, faced the ignominy of bowing out at the early stages after this defeat.
However, an improved Thunder emerged in the afternoon with goals from Simon Keith, Daniel Fulton and Yavuz Ekinci leading the Sky Blues to a 3-1 success over their Southern NSW counterparts. Engelo Rumora netted again for Southern to give them some hope of the points but Thunder were simply too good. The remaining matches in the Pool between NSW Thunder and South Australia (late kick off) and Southern NSW and Victoria (tomorrow morning) would therefore be critical.
In Pool A, Northern NSW recorded their first win of the tournament by seeing off the challenge of a plucky Tasmania 3-0 in the first of the afternoon-s action. Despite the dismissal of Alejandro Donaire for a shirt pull, Northern NSW dominated the game after seeing out the two minutes down a man. Hassem Tabatabaee gave Northern the lead in the first half and further goals to Luke Drinkwater and Pouria Bashardoust made sure of their maiden 2011 victory.
NSW Lightning made sure of a quarter final spot with a thrilling 4-3 win over Southern NSW in a ding-dong match. Danny Martinez hit a brace for Lightning with Jordan Mundell and Daniel Fogarty getting their second goals of the competition. Christian Ristevski, Kane Edwards and Thomas Taylor replied for Southern who gave as good as they got in a physical encounter that had the crowd on the edge of their seat until the final whistle.
And the ACT Cobras are also assured of a quarter final place as they rounded out their Pool matches with a convincing 4-0 win over Tasmania. The Cobras visibly looked a sharper outfit than previously as they systematically set about taking apart the gritty Tasmanians. George Cattanach slotted the Cobras ahead after a cut back by Misko Naumoski whilst Adrian Vizzari grabbed a brace, the first on the stroke of half-time. Naumoski himself completed the scoring with the fourth, his own fourth of the championships, close to full-time.
STATISTICS Round 4 Northern NSW 3 (Hassem Tabatabaee, Luke Drinkwater, Pouria Bashardoust) Tasmania 0 NSW Lightning 4 (Danny Martinez (2), Jordan Mundell, Daniel Fogarty) Southern NSW Flame 3 (Christian Ristevski, Kane Edwards, Thomas Taylor)
Round 5 Tasmania 0 ACT Cobras 4 (George Cattanach, Adrian Vizzari (2), Misko Naumoski)
OPEN MEN - DAY TWO
TASMANIA DOUSE SOUTHERN NSW FLAME
Tasmania recovered from a morning hammering by NSW Lightning to inflict a first defeat on Southern NSW Flame, winning their Pool A clash 4-1 in memorable style. The Tasmanians roared into a 2-0 lead by the break thanks to goals from Adam Husseni and a superb goal from Joshua Quan, sweeping the ball into the net first time from an acute angle, via both posts, for a sublime finish. Skipper Andrew Clark made it three after the resumption before Luis Carnerio registered his fourth goal of the competition to give the Flame some hope. This was doused not longer afterwards when Liam Scott made it four to complete a terrific result. Southern NSW Flame also saw Kevin Oliveira sent off for receiving two yellow cards.
The morning-s matches had seen NSW Lightning set out a marker that they would be defending their championship with vigour after seeing off the challenge of Tasmania 5-1. The strength in depth of the Lightning team was exemplified by the sharing of the goals amongst the squad. Mark Symington, Jordan Mundell, Kane Wright and Aaron Cimitile all netted for the NSW side with an own goal completing the victory. Adam Husseni responded for Tasmania but it was scant consolation.
The ACT Cobras, one of the pre-tournament favourites, were held to a second successive 2-2 draw, this time by Southern NSW Flame. The Cobras were 2-0 up by the break with Marcial Munoz and Dustin Wells finishing well, but the Southern NSW Flame team fought back after the re-start and a double to Luis Carnerio, taking his personal tally to three goals in two matches ensured the game ended in an entertaining score draw.
But the hometown heroes found their feet in the evening fixtures romping to a 5-0 destruction of Northern NSW in a performance that was a step up from what they had offered earlier. Scott Manson and Misko Naumoski were the beneficiaries of some sterling approach work grabbing a brace apiece with the latter moving his tournament tally to three. The rout had been instigated by Dustin Wells who had opened the scoring in the first half.
In Pool B the ACT Colts suffered their first defeat of the championships when they succumbed to a Fernando De Moraes inspired Victoria by 3-0. De Moraes, the Victorian captain, was in spectacular form in the second half and proved the difference between the teams with two well taken goals, the second of which, a superb back-heel flick, secured the points close to the conclusion of the match. Victoria had taken the lead in the first half through Resit Culculoglu and played some quick-fire Futsal, but the Colts were left to rue missed chances with Jason O-Dwyer going closest when his effort from just outside the ‘D- was pushed to safety. The Colts face Southern NSW and South Australia tomorrow and realistically probably need two wins to ignite their finals hopes.
In what-s shaping up to be an incredibly tight Pool, Southern NSW have the advantage after they won their first match of the tournament by defeating South Australia 5-3. Liam Moller had given the South Australians the lead in the first half only for Giovanni Leuzzi to level matters minutes later. Joseph Foti and Shane Soutter out Southern NSW in front in the second term and, after Nick Bucco had netted his third goal in two games, a double to Engelo Rumora secured the points for Southern. Chris Dean pulled one back late on for South Australia but they couldn-t haul themselves back into the encounter.
STATISTICS Round 2 NSW Lightning 5 (Mark Symington, Jordan Mundell, Kane Wright, Aaron Cimitile, own goal) Tasmania 1 (Adam Husseni) Southern NSW Flame 2 (Luis Carnerio (2)) ACT Cobras 2 (Marcial Munoz, Dustin Wells) BYE - Northern NSW
Round 3 Tasmania 4 (Adam Husseni, Joshua Quan, Andrew Clark, Liam Scott) Southern NSW Flame 1 (Luis Carneiro) ACT Cobras 5 (Scott Manson (2), Misko Naumoski (2), Dustin Wells) Northern NSW 0 BYE - NSW Lightning
OPEN MEN - DAY ONE
NSW Lightning began the defence of their FFA Futsal National Championships title with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against hosts ACT Cobras at a packed AIS Arena. The Lightning, who stunned the Futsal community by claiming the 2010 crown against all odds, came from a goal down to lead before being pegged back late in the game by the Cobras.
The home team got off to a perfect start with an early goal to new recruit Adrian Vizzari, the former NSW representative sweeping home at the end of a slick ACT move much to the delight of the home support that dominated the terraces,
Lightning however showed their resilience and, despite trailing by that goal at the interval, got themselves back into the match with a brace of superb goals. Kane Wright levelled proceedings with a low finish beyond Angelo Konstantinou before man of the match Daniel Fogarty latched onto a perceptive Wright through ball to round the prostrate Cobras shot-stopper and slide the ball into the empty net for a wonderful goal.
The Cobras though hit back and managed to pilfer a late equaliser when Misko Naumoski pounced on a cut back at the end of a terrific team move to calmly finish through a crowd of players and ensure the ACT team a share of the spoils.
Southern NSW Flames tops Pool A after a high-scoring 5-3 victory over Northern NSW. Kevin Oliviera was the star of the show for the Flames scoring twice for his team whilst team mates Thomas Taylor, Ali Bazzi and Luis Carneiro had Southern NSW 5-1 ahead close to the conclusion of the match before a late brace to Hakan Canli made the score line more respectable for Northern. Earlier Pouria Bashardoust had netted Northern NSW first goal of the competition.
NSW Thunder were held in their opener by a spirited ACT Colts team in Pool B that led for the vast majority of the match. The Colts took a first half lead through the feisty Callum Beaton and held the lead for most of the encounter. Late on Daine Merrin equalised for the Thunder but the Colts could have won it at the death when Elia Salloum spooned a chance over the bar in the end the draw was a fair result.
STATISTICS
Tasmania - Bye ACT Cobras 2 (Adrian Vizzari, Misko Naumoski) NSW Lightning 2 (Kane Wright, Daniel Fogarty) Northern NSW 3 (Pouria Bashardoust, Hakan Canli (2)) Southern NSW Flame 5 (Kevin Oliviera (2), Thomas Taylor, Ali Bazzi, Luis Carneiro)