2014 FFA FUTSAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 16th January 2014

MEN – DAY FOUR

ACT 10 (Robbie Cattanach 3’, 7’, 24’, Trent Flanigan 4’, Daniel Bennett 7’, 26’, Ryan Keir 9’, 40’, Daniel Fulton 14’, Stephen Domenici 31’) Queensland Metro 0

The ACT warmed up for their semi-final match this afternoon by confirming second place on the final round-robin ladder with a comfortable 10-0 win over Queensland Metro. The home team were in red hot form from the off against the Metro, perhaps still smarting from letting a point slip out of their hands against NSW Thunder, racing into the lead early on and playing at a fast tempo throughout. From the moment that Robbie Cattanach opened the scoring in the third minute there was little doubt as to the outcome of this match as goals flowed at regular intervals. Trent Flanigan made it two within a minute and by the ten minute mark it was 5-0 as Daniel Bennett, Cattanach again and Ryan Keir all found the net. Daniel Fulton was presented with a gift for goal number six, Queensland defenders and goalkeeper making a mess of a through ball to allow Fulton an open goal, as the ACT hit half-a-dozen before half-time. The onslaught continued after the resumption as Cattanach completed a hat-trick, Bennett struck his second and Stephen Domenici netted his first of the competition as the score mounted. The ACT eased off after this but saw goalkeeper Keiran Stroh dismissed for a robust aerial challenge before Keir slid home the tenth goal seconds before the final hooter sounded.

South Australia 0 Victoria 4 (Adam Cooper (pen) 15’, Miguel Barrigos 25’, Matthew Vragovski 28’, Maxim Avram 38’)

Victoria sealed third place in the final table and a fixture with the ACT in the last four following their 4-0 win over South Australia in the last match of the round-robin competition. The loss consigned SA to a semi-final match against NSW Thunder. With only positioning to play for there was a cagey opening to the match with neither team able to find the breakthrough. The deadlock was broken in bizarre circumstances as Victoria was awarded a penalty five minutes before half-time. Alexander Payne had saved well from a Maxim Avram cross-shot but as the ball was cleared it stuck an outstretched arm of a South Australian defender and the penalty was awarded. Futsalroo Adam Cooper made no mistake from the spot welting the ball into the top corner for a vital lead for Victoria. South Australia pushed for the equaliser at the beginning of the second stanza but they were caught cold by a quickly taken kick-in by Victoria, Avram combining with Miguel Barrigos who had an empty goal to slide into after Avram drew replacement ‘keeper Simon Ortlepp from his line. Shortly after Matthew Vragovski was in the right place after a terrific run to slam home the third and virtually seal the result. Avram rounded off the scoring, getting the goal his individual performance deserved, with only two minutes remaining.

TABLE

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	NSW Thunder	4	3	1	0	22	9	+13	12
2	ACT	4	3	0	1	24	8	+16	9
3	Victoria	4	2	1	1	12	8	+4	7
4	South Australia	4	1	0	3	4	15	-11	3
5	Queensland Metro	4	0	0	4	2	24	-22	0

LEADING SCORERS

6 Robbie CATTANACH (ACT)
5 Jordan GUERREIRO, Jordan MUNDELL (NSW Thunder)
4 Daniel BENNETT, Trent FLANIGAN (ACT), Jarrod BASGER (NSW Thunder)
3 Ryan KEIR (ACT), Sam PERRE (NSW Thunder), Maxim AVRAM (Victoria)
2 Michael REEVE, Callum SMITH (ACT), Clayton MUSUMECI (NSW Thunder), Jake LA SCALA (South Australia), Miguel BARRIGOS (Victoria), own GOAL
1 Stephen DOMENICI, Daniel FULTON, Angelo KONSTANTINOU (ACT), Jonathan KONTALIS, Lev LEWIS, Mark SYMINGTON (NSW Thunder), Brendan COBB, Brian QUAN (Queensland), Aaron NOBLE, Andres OBIELGO (South Australia), Jason BARRIENTOS, Adam COOPER, FERNANDO De Moraes, Reuben LANGERAK, Konrad MACHOY, Matthew VRAGOVSKI (Victoria)

 

 

WOMEN – DAY FOUR

ACT 2 (Ashleigh Palombi 20’, Maja Blasch 36’) NSW Thunder 1 (Doris Osman 40’)

The ACT struck a potential psychological blow ahead of the semi-final match-up between these teams by recording a narrow 2-1 victory over NSW Thunder in the final group game for both. With the two teams scheduled to meet again this evening in the last four there was nothing to play for but pride in this encounter, however matches between NSW Thunder and the ACT always matter and the two teams fought hammer and nail to get a result with thoughts of going through the motions seemingly on the back-burner. As such a fairly full-bloodied affair took places with tackles firm and chances few. With the game looking like it would enter its half-time break all square, the ACT struck. A long ball from the back found Ashleigh Palombi out wide but the angle mattered not to the forward who took aim and blasted a shot high into the roof of the net past Tani Rosekelly in the Thunder goal. With the ACT ahead NSW pushed for the equaliser but Luisa Marzotto in the host’s goal stood tall denying Rachel Perrins and Dmelza Howard in quick succession. And the ACT made sure with a second four minutes from time. Hayley Buckingham found room in front of goal and squared for Maja Blasch to flick home from inside the area to secure the positive result and confirm ACT in second place despite a last minute consolation from Doris Osman.

South Australia 5 (Renae Pantelis 5’, Susan Bassett 9’, Amelia Pacillo 18’, Rhiannon Eglinton 29’, Jamilla Hull 38’) Victoria 6 (Sienna Fogarty 2’, Bethany Koutsouridis (og) 4’, Marijana Rajcic 17’, 31’, Kristin Stensholt 27’, Madelaine Richardson 29’)

Victoria made the semi-finals with an exciting 6-5 win over South Australia that, in the process, ended SA’s participation in the competition. Victoria got off to a dream start taking the lead in the second minute with their first foray into South Australian territory. Working the ball across court Victoria created space for Sienna Fogarty to flick a shot at goal with the outside of her foot that trickled into the net past Leah Trebilcock and in off the base of the post. And they doubled that two minutes later as a goalmouth scramble resulted in an own goal off Bethany Koutsouridis. South Australia needed a response and got it with an immediate reply from Renae Pantelis to bring them back into the contest and within four minutes they restored parity, a sweeping move culminating in Susan Bassett emphatically finishing past Elizabeth Sarcevic. In an end to end thriller, Victoria went back in front through Marijana Rajcic only for South Australia to draw level immediately from the kick off as Amelia Pacillo cracked home from 15 metres. The match continued to ebb and flow in the second twenty as Victoria hit the front through goals from Kristin Stensholt and Madelaine Richardson only for South Australia to fight back with Rhinannon Eglinton reducing the deficit to one with ten minutes to play. Try as they might SA couldn’t get back level and Rajcic confirmed Victoria’s place in the last four with her second of the game in spite of Jamilla Hull’s late goal for SA.

TABLE

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	NSW Lightning	4	3	1	0	6	1	+5	10
2	ACT	4	3	0	1	14	6	+8	9
3	NSW Thunder	4	2	0	2	8	6	+2	6
4	Victoria	4	1	1	2	9	11	-2	4
5	South Australia	4	0	0	4	9	22	-13	0

LEADING SCORERS

3 Erin CLOUT, Ashleigh PALOMBI (ACT), Claire WALSH (NSW Thunder)
2 Hayley BUCKINGHAM, Becky ROCHE (ACT), Dominique CARIDAD, Ceyda CAMBAZ (NSW Lightning), Doris OSMAN (NSW Thunder), Rhiannon EGLINTON, Jamilla HULL, Renae PANTELIS (South Australia), Marijana RAJCIC, Kristin STENSHOLT (Victoria)
1 Michelle AUROUSSEAU, Maja BLASCH, Michaela DAY, Nikola ORGILL (ACT), Logan GARARD, Kathryn MLADINEO (NSW Lightning), Laura DONNELLY, Rachel PERRINS, Jo-Anne SALIBA (NSW Thunder), Shannon ADAMS, Susan BASSETT, Amelia PACILLO (South Australia), Sienna FOGARTY, Melissa MISSAILIDIS, Madelaine RICHARDSON, Liesl WOODS (Victoria), Own GOAL