The League leading South Canberra Swift recorded a sixth win in seven matches in the Capital Futsal League this season as they saw off the determined challenge of ANU Apex, winning 7-5 at Daramalan College on Saturday evening.
The game got off to a breathless start with three goals inside the opening five minutes of action with Swift hitting the front with a brace of goals within minutes of each other. The first was superbly crafted as Alessandro Pena lifted a ball over the Apex defence for Fernando who headed home from close range.
If that was a shock to the ANU system, there was double-trouble moments later as Pena got in on the act himself, striking home past Gareth Veitch to double the South Canberra lead and leave ANU up against it.
Their response was magnificent, Connor Falusi teeing up captain Jake Fitzgerald who struck a low shot through the legs of James Benivento, but that merely ignited the fire in the Swift bellies and, before half-time, they were 4-1 to the good. Pena made it three with a deflected shot, and Atiya Waraga clattered in the fourth with a sublime left-footed finish.
It looked like the Swift would storm to victory in the second stanza as Fernando and Waraga increased the advantage to 6-1, but the Apex hit back thanks to a brilliant hat-trick from Braulio Melo, and a goal from twin brother Bruno. As they went searching for an equaliser with the fifth man play, Lucas Alcazar-Stevens sealed it for Swift from long-range.
A hat-trick from Futsalroo international Nicholas Rathjen enable UC Stars to take over the leadership of the league on goal difference from the Sift as they accounted for the Queanbeyan-Palerang Power 7-1 on Sunday evening.
Rathjen was in great form throughout the game, grabbing a treble of goals, and dictating the pace and tempo of the team’s approach. He netted twice inside the opening ten minutes, alongside a goal from Jayde James-Ward to have the Stars 3-0 up and coasting by the half-time break.
Luca Macor took on the goalscoring mantle at the beginning of the second-half, scoring twice within a minute to increase the lead to five, before the Power responded via a maiden goal at this level for Dylan Deep-Jones. Jake Wilsener restored the cushion for Stars before Rathjen rounded the night off with the seventh late on.
The fixture between North Canberra Fire and West Canberra Lightning was abandoned after only five minutes due to a leak from a ceiling fan as the Lightning led 1-0 via a goal from Nicholas Subasic. The match will be replayed.
RESULTS
Fri: North Canberra Fire 0 West Canberra Lightning 1 (Subasic 4’) – match abandoned
Sat: South Canberra Swift 7 (Fernando 3’, 24’, Pena 4’, 16’, Waraga 20’, 29’, L. Alcazar-Stevens 40’) ANU Apex 5 (Fitzgerald 5’, Braulio Melo 31’, 34’, 38’, Bruno Melo 39’)
Sun: UC Stars 7 (Rathjen 4’, 10’, 40’, James-Ward 7’, L. Macor 25’, 26’, Wilsener 33’) QP Power 1 (Deep-Jones 31’)
TABLE
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
1 | UC Stars | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 18 | +17 | 18 |
2 | South Canberra Swift | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 26 | +14 | 18 |
3 | West Canberra Lightning | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 7 |
4 | QP Power | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 33 | 41 | -8 | 4 |
5 | ANU Apex | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 33 | 46 | -13 | 4 |
6 | North Canberra Fire | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 26 | -12 | 4 |
TOP SCORERS
12 Johnny HAJDU (Apex)
10 Nicholas SUBASIC (Lightning)
8 Alessandro PENA (Swift), Doug WOODIWISS (Power)
7 Daniel FULTON (Lightning), Marco GAYER (Power)
6 Nic DAHL (Stars), Jayde JAMES-WARD (Stars), FERNANDO Jorquera (Swift)
5 Lucas ALCAZAR-STEVENS (Swift), Luca MACOR (Stars), Nick PRATEZINA (Stars), Nick RATHJEN (Stars), Bailey SORENSON (Fire)
4 Elie DARWICH (Fire), Stephen DOMENICI (Lightning), Jake FITZGERALD (Apex), Aisosa IHEGIE (Swift), Marley JACKSON (Power), Ed MCCARTHY (Power), Nathen MEGIC (Lightning), Braulio MELO (Apex), Adam NEOU (Power), Atiya WARAGA (Swift)
3 Hassan ALNUWAYSIR (Swift), Ashley BLOUNT (Lightning), Bailey DICKINSON (Apex), Connor FALUSI (Apex), Robert TKATCHENKO (Stars), Jake WILSENER (Stars), Own GOALS
2 Ben BASSER-SILK (Lightning), Caleb CULLEN-RUA (Power), Daniel GIOVINAZZO (Lightning), Bradley MALONE (Fire), Bruno MELO (Apex), Angus PITKIN (Swift), Nik POPOVICH (Lightning), Kai THORNTON (Apex)
1 Micheal ADAMS (Swift), Elliot ALBERTO (Fire), Adrian DAWSON (Power), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Power), Jason FARRELL (Lightning), Sherab GUO (Apex), Brandon HAWKER (Fire), William MANOLO (Stars), Van NGUYEN (Swift), Johnny PHAM (Swift), Michael RINAUDO (Stars), David SESELJA (Swift), Jeremy SALEH (Power), Tony SPASESKI (Power)