The second university derby of the season will get Round 6 of the Capital Futsal League underway with the ANU Apex seeking the three points that would keep them well within touching distance of top-spot with their game in hand.
Apex have been steadily improving in recent weeks and will be seen as favourites ahead of a UC Stars side they defeated earlier in the season, but the Stars improvement has also been noticeable, and this could well be a much closer clash than the league table would potentially suggest.
The Stars have had a leaky defence so far, conceding 37 in four matches compared to 20 in three for the Apex but the draw they achieved to get them off the mark and the narrow one-goal loss to the South Canberra Swift would indicate that they are moving in the right direction and see the derby as their chance to lay down a marker.
West Canberra Lightning will be seeking the win that would put them to the top of the league table ahead of the Sunday afternoon fixtures, as they meet South Canberra Swift in a repeat of the fixture that commenced the CFL men’s competition back in Round 1, which Lightning won.
As yet unbeaten, the Lightning have been forced to share the spoils twice so far, a brace of draws that leaves them trailing the North Canberra Fire by two points on the table as we reach the halfway stage.
Swift were narrow winners over the Stars in their last outing a fortnight ago, and have only conceded twelve goals in three matches, equal best in the League with the Lightning although they have been in action once less than their opponents.
This might suggest a cagey, low-scoring match, and yet with the firepower and sheer quality on both line-ups, we could well be in for a cracking encounter. A victory for the Swift would ignite their own title challenge and open up the chase for the top four spots ahead of a bust end to the campaign.
Top meets bottom on Sunday evening as Queanbeyan-Palerang Power set out to shut down the division’s leading scorers, North Canberra Fire, and improve on their debut match in the competition, a game in which the Fire were simply in irresistible mood running out winners by 20-2.
Fire haven’t stopped scoring since then, netting 49 goals in four matches whilst conceding only nineteen, as they have cut a swathe through most of their opponents. And yet they have been made to work hard in recent weeks, narrowly winning in their last outing after drawing the match before.
Power have shown glimpses of improvement in their most recent matches, introducing new players into the mix and looking far more cohesive than they initially did, a testament to the work put in by the team and their coaching staff. They will be eyeing off an upset here and the Fire know they will need to be on their game from the off.
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Friday 2 December
ANU Apex v UC Stars (18:00)
Saturday 3 December
West Canberra Lightning v South Canberra Swift (17:00)
Sunday 4 December
Queanbeyan-Palerang Power v North Canberra Fire (17:00)
TABLE
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Fire | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 19 | +30 | 10 |
| 2 | Lightning | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 12 | +13 | 8 |
| 3 | Swift | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 6 |
| 4 | Apex | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 20 | +5 | 4 |
| 5 | Stars | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 37 | -18 | 1 |
| 6 | Power | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 46 | -39 | 1 |
LEADING SCORERS
13 Maxx GREEN (Fire)
8 Luca FLOREZ (Fire), Samuel THOMSON (Fire)
7 Edward MCCARTHY (Swift), Nicholas SUBASIC (Lightning)
6 Patrick SHORE (Apex)
5 Riley BROWN (Fire), Daniel FULTON (Lightning), Bailey SORENSON (Fire), Own GOALS
4 Lucas ALCAZAR-STEVENS (Swift), Brad MALONE (Fire), Juan Sebastian OSPINA (Swift), Luke STEVENS (Apex), Kai THORNTON (Apex)
3 Jake FITZGERALD (Apex), Sherab GUO (Stars), Johnny HAJDU (Stars), Clyde HOLO (Stars), David JENKINS (Power), Jackson PAESLER (Swift), Blaise VLAZLOVSKI (Apex)
2 Andrew AITCHISON (Stars), Ben BASSER-SILK (Lightning), Julian BRITTON (Apex), Sam CARTERS (Lightning), Jenno CERUTI (Apex), Alistair DAVIS (Fire), Jason FARRELL (Lighting), Brandon HAWKER (Fire), Hamed JADEER (Stars)
1 Ashley BLOUNT (Lightning), Vinnie BRASIL (Stars), Michael CAHILL (Power), Connor FALUSI (Stars), Brett FORWARD (Lightning), Lachlan HARRINGTON (Stars), Alen JAMES (Swift), Robert MCKAY (Fire), Bruno MELO (Apex), Michael MOSCARITOLO (Stars), Michael NOLAN (Lightning), Zach PRITCHARD (Stars), Marko RATHOUSKI (Stars), Daniel ROBERTS (Swift), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Power), Martin SANTOS (Power), Jordan SELEMS (Power), Michael SYDNEY (Lightning)
