Quake Vs. Warriors Round 14 Review

Major Sponsor - JR Electrical

Also Sponsored by – Clintons Toyota & Dunsheas United Realty

The final round of Premier League games were played on Saturday and Quake travelled to Dural to take on Warriors. With plenty at stake for both clubs things were tight all day but in the end we were able to wrap up another Minor Premiership and with 3 wins, 4 draws and just the 2 losses we took 13 Club Championships to secure our 3^rd place standing. Brief reports follow.

Academy

What a great game to finish the season for both teams. This was a close, well-played game with both teams showing plenty of technical ability and good tactical sense. Warriors were just shading our boys but they responded terrifically with an all-out blitz in the last 5 minutes but just missed taking chances when they presented themselves. It has been an absolute pleasure watching these boys develop over the course of the year. Well done lads.

12 Boys won 4-1 (Youssef Sawalha 2, Adrian Neoklis 1 and Angelo Kalamvokis 1)

The boys went into this game knowing that a win by a comfortable margin would secure the Minor Premiership. They focussed on their task and played patient futsal, waiting for the Warriors to make mistakes. Eventually their good, steady play paid off and they took their chances as they came to get out to a 3-0 lead before Warriors made things a little interesting by scoring. But we needn’t have worried as a 4^th goal put the result beyond doubt. As it happened, Magic lost their final game which meant the boys finished 1^st on the ladder by a clear 3 points. Fantastic boys, well done.

12 Girls lost 2-4 (Amy Sayer 1 and Natalie Vukovic 1)

These 2 teams would play in the Elimination Final next week no matter what the result was from today’s game, so, apart from trying to establish a psychological advantage, there was little riding on the game. As they sometimes do, the girls started slowly and found themselves down 0-2 after 5 minutes with Warriors playing excellent futsal and dominating. But the girls held things together to go into the half without conceding again. A quick chat and the girls figured out what they needed to do and proceeded to outplay Dural for the first 10 minutes of the 2^nd half to even the score. But 2 poor defensive lapses at set pieces cost them dearly and the game slipped away. A good hit out prior to next week’s game and the girls now know that if they concentrate for the full 40 minutes they can match Warriors.

14 Boys drew 5-5 (Riley Hinds 1, Daniel Wilmering 1, Danny Blachura 1, James Tsokos 1 and Jarrod Wiley 1)

The lads raced out to an early lead and went into the half 4-2 up and looked like winners all the way. But the game turned on its head in the 2^nd half and Warriors stormed back to take a 4-5 lead and had all the momentum. Jimmy then took the gamble and set the boys up to play 5^th man, with Jarrod taking the ‘keepers’ shirt, and the gamble paid off immediately with quick passing creating space for Jarrod to fire in a rocket to level the scores. From then on it was end-to-end with neither side able to land the knockout blow. A great way for the boys to finish a tough season and this game showcased their willingness to fight hard until the end no matter what. Well done boys.

14 Girls - Sponsored by JR Electrical – lost 2-5 (Rosie Galea 2)

The girls got the chance to show how good they could be today with a full squad ready to play. They started the game with confidence but gave away 2 poor goals (defensive lapses have been their Achilles heel this year) before fighting back to level the scores just before the half. Warriors then took another chance to take the lead into halftime. The girls were well in the game for most of the 2^nd half against the 2^nd place Warriors but eventually Dural’s attacking ability was too much for our girls and they stretched the lead to 5-2 and took all 3 points. Lauren had another blinder and her finish to the season augers well for next year. And Rosie was terrific yet again scoring another 2 to add to her tally.

16 Boys drew 2-2 (Anthony Haddad 1 and Harry Bagot 1)

The boys had already wrapped the Minor Premiership and had little to play for in this game and this was reflected in their performance and the result. The lads never really got out of 1^st gear and did just enough not to lose the game. We know that the boys are capable of much more than this and we can’t wait to see them in Finals action next week. Well done lads on going through the year with just the 2 losses and good luck next week.

16 Girls - Sponsored by Macarthur Marble & Granite – drew 1-1 (Chrystal Duggan 1)

Last placed Quake took on 7^th placed Dural in a game that had nothing riding on it other than pride. The girls took an early lead through a terrific goal by Chrystal but conceded not long after. From that point onwards the chances were limited for both teams and the girls hung on for the draw.

Youth drew 2-2 (Shannon Fielding 1 and Anson Gilligan 1)

There was plenty riding on this game with the winner securing the Minor Premiership and the possibility that the loser would be forced into the Elimination Final next week. Quake came out firing and with Shannon in beast mode they took an early lead. Dural then pegged a goal back before Anson smashed in Quake’s 2^nd for the lads to go into the half with a well-deserved lead. Quake continued to set the pace and were extremely unlucky not to extend their lead with Shannon skimming the cross bar and Daniel hitting all 3 posts with a thunderbolt left foot. Dural were forced to go to the 5^th man with 5 minutes left and the tactic worked with them scoring a 2^nd from a long range shot. Quake then went to 5^th man to try to get the win but couldn’t get their act together and weren’t able to create the chance they needed. In the end a disappointing result but, because results in other games went their way, the boys still finished 2^nd and they showed that they are more than capable of knocking Dural off next week.

Women - Sponsored by Dunsheas United Realty – won 3-1 (Steph Haim 1, Logan Garard 1 and an OG)

Whilst Quake had little to play for after securing the Minor Premiership 2 rounds ago it was a different story for Dural who needed a result to make sure they played in the Finals next week. Considering this our girls’ performance was quite good. They dominated the game and never really looked troubled. Perhaps the only concern was a lack of finishing but otherwise they defended well and created plenty of chances. As it was Dural snuck into the 4 when Magic lost in Canberra so a good day all round for both teams. Good luck ladies for next week when you take on arch rivals Rovers. Special mention to the young Dural ‘keeper who was obviously injured and played on in pain until it became too much for her. A gutsy effort.

Men won 5-3 (Shayne Ardle 2, Jordan Mundell 1, Harley Da Silva 1 and Danny Martinez 1)

We knew the boys had been playing well but how good was their form? We had a chance to find out on Saturday when the lads took on Minor Premiers Dural and the boys didn’t disappoint by putting in another fantastic effort. The lads worked hard and took their chances well in the 1^st half to take a 3-1 lead into the half. But you can’t relax against the Warriors and before you knew it Dural had scored 2 quick goals just after the half to level the scores. Would Quake buckle? No, not this year. The boys responded magnificently and took the lead through a fantastic 1 on 1 goal by Jordan and they rounded things out with a fast break sealer by Shayne to secure the win. Unfortunately for the lads other results didn’t go their way and even though they finished on equal points with Boomerangs they missed getting a 2^nd chance in the Finals on goal difference and will play the Elimination Final next week against Magic.

Summary

What an excellent final round of futsal with all the games being hard fought affairs. In the end we did just enough to pip Warriors to take the Club Championship points 13-10. This enabled us to hold Dural off for 3^rd place in the Championship - a remarkable result considering our paltry 3 points from the first round against Majik meant we were in last place!

We also finished with 3 Minor Premierships, just missed on another and we have 6 teams out of 9 in next week’s finals. So, all in all, so far-so good.

Finals next week at All Sorts @ Alexandria with the 12 Boys kicking off at 10.00 AM and the Men rounding at the day with a 6.15 PM kick off. Come on you Purple Hearts, get to the games to support your club!

As always……GO QUAKE!