The rearranged matches from Round 5 are in store as the Capral Futsal League (CFL) returned after the Christmas break with the New Year offering much promise for all six teams in the race for the league title and the top four places.
There’s a top-of-the-table clash to begin the round as the South Canberra Swift meet the North Canberra Fire on Friday evening. The Swift moved to the top of the table for the first time in the last round before the break for the annual Christmas festivities, as a double win over ANU Apex pushed them to the summit.
North Canberra Fire meanwhile were defeated by West Canberra Lightning as their points lead was eradicated in the space of two days. And yet, they could regain that spot with a win in what is sure to be a significant match in the final shake-up.
The return of Maxx Green to the line-up, the Golden Boot leader having missed the Lightning setback, will be a massive boost, and with seven of the eight leading contenders for the leading scorer involved in this set too, goals are almost a given and, more than likely, lots of them!
Waiting in the wings for a slip-up from the those above them are the West Canberra Lightning who head into their Saturday evening clash with UC Stars four points off the top and only a couple of points away from second place.
A win for the Lightning, against a team they have yet to test themselves against this season, might be expected given both teams variable form in the competition to date, but the Stars have improved immeasurably and are much better than the two points, and bottom of the table status, that they currently hold.
Stars have only scored two goals less than Lightning this term, but its defensively where they have fallen short despite the undoubted brilliance of goalkeeper Jamie-Lee Guo. Protecting Guo will be paramount if Stars are to surprise the title-chasers.
Queanbeyan-Palerang Power and ANU Apex complete the weekend’s action in what is sure to be a hugely important match in the shaping of the top four places as Apex currently lead Power by a point.
The Power ended 2022 with a maiden win at this level, a massively entertaining 8-7 win over the Stars, a result that has potentially kickstarted their season and given hope for the Purple and Pink that they can make the finals.
A brace of losses to the South Canberra Swift saw ANU Apex fall off the pace of the leading trio, and yet they know a win here would put them in the box seat for the last remaining spot in the semi-finals. Expect a no-holds-barred challenge and a match that could be explosive.
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Friday 20 January
South Canberra Swift v North Canberra Fire (20:00)
Saturday 21 January
UC Stars v West Canberra Lightning (19:00)
Sunday 22 January
ANU Apex v Queanbeyan-Palerang Power (19:00)
TABLE
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Swift | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 27 | +34 | 18 |
| 2 | Fire | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 32 | +32 | 16 |
| 3 | Lightning | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 20 | +18 | 14 |
| 4 | Apex | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 40 | 53 | -13 | 5 |
| 5 | Power | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 75 | -51 | 4 |
| 6 | Stars | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 56 | -20 | 2 |
LEADING SCORERS
18 Maxx GREEN (Fire)
12 Samuel THOMSON (Fire)
11 Edward MCCARTHY (Swift)
10 Alen JAMES (Swift), Jackson PAESLER (Swift)
9 Lucas ALCAZAR-STEVENS (Swift), Luca FLOREZ (Fire), Luke STEVENS (Apex)
7 Daniel FULTON (Lightning), Patrick SHORE (Apex), Nicholas SUBASIC (Lightning), Own GOALS
6 Hassan ALNUWAYSIR (Power), Michael ADAMS (Swift), Riley BROWN (Fire), Juan Sebastian OSPINA (Swift), Bailey SORENSON (Fire)
5 Jake FITZGERALD (Apex), Brandon HAWKER (Fire), Clyde HOLO (Stars), Kai THORNTON (Apex), Blaise VLAZLOVSKI (Apex)
4 Vinnie BRASIL (Stars), Marco GAYER (Power), Sherab GUO (Stars), Johnny HAJDU (Stars), Brad MALONE (Fire), Michael MOSCARITOLO (Stars), Michael SYDNEY (Lightning)
3 Ben BASSER-SILK (Lightning), Ashley BLOUNT (Lightning), Jenno CERUTI (Apex), Brett FORWARD (Lightning), David JENKINS (Power), Marko RATHOUSKI (Stars), Michael RINAUDO (Stars), Daniel ROBERTS (Swift)
2 Andrew AITCHISON (Stars), Julian BRITTON (Apex), Sam CARTERS (Lightning), Alistair DAVIS (Fire), Jason FARRELL (Lighting), Connor FALUSI (Stars), Lachlan HARRINGTON (Stars), Hamed JADEER (Stars), Phakedi MANDA (Swift), Bruno MELO (Apex), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Power), Will SHEPPARD (Lightning), James WILSON (Power)
1 Michael CAHILL (Power), Arnold CHOI (Power), Caleb CULLEN-RUA (Power), Grant DAVOREN (Lightning), Daniel FELIZZI (Power), Marco GAYER (Power), Robert MCKAY (Fire), Braulio MELO (Apex), Vanh NGUYEN (Swift), Michael NOLAN (Lightning), Zach PRITCHARD (Stars), Martin SANTOS (Power), Jordan SELEMS (Power), Robert TKATCHENKO (Swift), Herbert YEUNG (Apex)
