North Canberra Fire faces a pivotal weekend in its inaugural season in the Capital Futsal League (CFL) as the competition returns for 2023 amid the run-in to the maiden Finals series in February.
Fire meet South Canberra Swift and ANU Apex in successive days as they catch-up on cancelled fixtures knowing that the maximum return of the full six points would put them into third place and almost secure in finals football.
Neither of those results is a given however, as the Fire seek a return to form after losing 1-8 to West Canberra Lightning in their last game. Mitigating circumstances dictated that the Fire entered that match depleted in numbers, so they will be aiming to field their whole squad for these vital fixtures.
Swift meanwhile have eyes on the prize themselves and currently lead Fire by two, noting therefore that they could hold onto third place themselves should they manage to defeat the Fire in the Saturday afternoon game.
Apex are in a not too dissimilar situation, but their need is even greater. Should they lose to Fire their chances of making the top four would be over and they would be left playing for pride. If they needed any further incentive to record a first win in their history, perhaps this is it.
The University side will have two shots at gaining points on the weekend, their second encounter being on Sunday evening when Queanbeyan-Palerang Power provide the opposition.
Potentially both sides could enter that match looking for a first point in the CFL and both sides will be thinking that this could be their moment. That should make for a highly competitive end to the Round.
If that’s not enough, West Canberra Lightning and UC Stars meet on Saturday evening in a top-of-the-table match that will test the Lightning’s 100% record to the limit. The league leaders have been imperious and remain unbeaten as 2023 begins, but the Stars have slowly been building.
The loss of top-scorer Reilly Yuen through suspension will be a blow for the Stars and they will need to defend at their maximum best if they are to nullify the league’s leading scorers. Should they manage that they can keep alive the race for top spot.
The Lightning however know a win would secure the number one spot. Hold on tight for what promises to be a brilliant start to the New Year!
WOMEN
Friday 20 January
South Canberra Swift v North Canberra Fire (20:00)
Saturday 21 January
North Canberra Fire v ANU Apex (15:00)
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 | Lightning | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 8 | +54 | 21 |
2 | Stars | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 15 | +31 | 16 |
3 | Swift | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 9 |
4 | Fire | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 7 |
5 | Apex | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 38 | -29 | 0 |
6 | Power | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 86 | -77 | 0 |
LEADING SCORERS
14 Brittany PALOMBI (Lightning)
13 Jennifer BISSET (Lightning)
12 Reilly YUEN (Stars)
9 Amy MCLACHLAN (Lightning)
8 Rebecca KITING (Lightning)
7 Stella DE MARCO (Fire), Becky RIZZO (Stars)
6 Cara CERUTI (Swift), Sofia PALYWODA (Swift), Bessie RIETHMULLER (Fire)
5 Krista HAGEN (Lightning), Eliza-Jane NORRIS (Stars), Mikayla VAN DEYK (Stars), Dianne WILSON (Lightning), Own GOALS
4 Talia BACKHOUSE (Swift), Jamie BERKELEY (Lightning), Emily DANIEL (Stars), Natalie DE MARCO (Fire), Tayla HAMPSON (Stars), Nicole JALOCHA (Fire), Samantha PRICE (Swift), Madeleine STEINACKER (Stars), Sabrina TOUFEXIS (Swift)
3 Maia CAMERON (Power), Isabella HINDMARSH (Swift), Ginger OLIVER (Swift)
2 Justine ARMSTRONG (Power), Leah CARNEGIE (Swift), Kaitlyn COLWILL (Swift), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (Apex), Cassia MCGLASHAN (Stars), Nikita PERRY (Fire), Alexandra SERRAS (Apex), Roxie SWART (Apex), Kate WALKER (Stars)
1 Elke AITOLU (Fire), Grace DAVEY (Apex), Emily JENSEN (Apex), Sally KISS (Power), Renee KITE (Power), Stefi LEJINS (Fire), Holly MCPHERSON (Power), Erika PENNYFIELD (Lightning), Lauren QUACH (Power), Shayma TAWEEL (Apex)