Match reports for all games from Round 3 of the Futsal Oz Legea V-League Premiership.

Fitzroy FC 11 vs. 2 Doncaster FC 6:30pm

A yellow and blue opening to the evening with front runners Fitzroy blowing a rattled Doncaster away with Mercurial James Blackburn & Samba King Leonardo Correa scoring 9 between them! Fitzroy opened the game with a fast short pass & groove style, new inclusion Serar Issa made a promising debut & linked up well with his new team mates. Manny “Bulldog” Karris was superb in defence, and the odd occasion Doncaster forwards beat him they had Goalkeeper of the year Flo Deffner to beat.

6-0 at half time and with the game won, some of Fitzroy’s interplay & goals were pure magic, and the audacious attempts to chip Con Makris (DFC) in the dying stages must have been tough on a proud Doncaster side that are yet to register a point. Doncaster had an intense post-match discussion which may see some new inclusions next week. They will need them to avoid being chained to the bottom of the table.

Referees: Nectar Karalis & Anthony Grima

Goal Scorers:
Fitzroy : James Blackburn 6, Leonardo Correa 3, Manny Karas 1, Luciano Bessa 1
Doncaster: Ari Vlahos 1, Zaya Younnan 1

Melbourne Uni 2 vs. 7 Pascoe Vale 7:15pm

Melbourne Uni’s passionate goal keeper Tom Wang missed this one with an elbow injury, so Joseph U had a second week in goals. Pascoe Vale, a revamped side before the close of the transfer window played donning beautiful orange LEGEA kits & plenty of talent with Victorian National representatives in Tommo Grigic, Juan Sastre & Adrian D’Ortenzio. And it was the latter who posed Melbourne Uni the biggest threat. It was a stalemate in the first half with both sides peppering both goal keepers. Anthony Cianflone was outstanding for Pascoe Vale albeit a bit rusty.

2-1 at half time and both sides putting on a interesting display of Futsal. Pascoe Vale began to take control in the second half knocking the ball around fluidly, with plenty of substitutions, a rotation here and a long ball there it wasn’t long before Adrian had a hat-trick and Pascoe Vale on there way to three points. Melbourne University are too reliant on Udit Dahwan & Duke Duva, there are plenty of first class Futsal and football players and Melbourne University. They will need to improve tenfold to avoid the drop this season.

Referees: Anthony Grima & Nectar Karalis

Goal Scorers:
Melbourne Uni : Udit Dahwan 1, Duke Duva 1
Pascoe Vale: Adrian D’Ortenzio 3, Tommo Grigic 1, Juan Sastre 1, Mohammed Alsakran 1

Metropolitan FC 3 vs. 9 North Melbourne FC 8:00pm

Plenty of pre-match banter for this prime time kickoff, a tale of two Futsal styles, both sides have Australian coaches with two different Brazilian Futsal philosophies. Metropolitan managed by Marco Barisic have recruited well and trained hard. They stuck to there game plan rotating and roaming freely, there one touch passing game almost had them an early goal when Mesquita hit the bar but there set piece routines let them down.

North Melbourne led by talisman Fernando De Moraes made a blistering start beating the champions Essendon but then losing to this seasons favourite Fitzroy. North Melbourne has added an extra dimension to the V-League with some fantastic Futsal being played. Colby had smashed one into the top corner to open the games proceedings and North Melbourne didn’t look back. They were 5-0 up at halftime. It was an incredible performance, Metropolitan surprised everybody substituting goal keeper Brendan Chen for outfielder Ahmed Muktar trying to utilize the 5th man but it was to no avail.

North Melbourne have to be joint favourites with Fitzroy now, Metropolitan look destined for a mid-table finish but its early days and teams will have a better indication over the next few weeks.

Referees: Anthony Grima & Duck Farah

Goal Scorers:
Metropolitan : Moussi Eloor 1, Marco Barbosa Jnr 1, Ahmed Muktar 1
North Melb FC: Johnathan Barrientos 3, Colby Waterfield 2, Bill Mihelakis 1, Fernando De Moraes 2

FC Essendon 8 vs. 11 Ashburton FC 8:45pm

There was no curtain raiser needed for the Champions, a healthy crowd watched on as they took on the rejuvenated green machine Ashburton. This game was an intense affair, with a combination of good Futsal, physicality, strength, speed and stamina. Ashburton opened the night with 3-4 near misses before Essendon scored with there first chance of the game. The opening 10 minute spell of the game was breathtaking, Ashburton really clicked and found the back of the net 5 times. Essendon responded with two quick goals in one minute and suddenly the game was on again.

6-4 at half time both sides went out with the belief that they could win a vital 3 points. It was 6-5 and Ashburton looked a bit nervous and cagey. Junior Melo scored a vital goal at a crucial stage & so did Michael Dixon to restore parity and eventually win the game. It was a huge win for Ashburton who can take confidence; form & belief into next weeks clash against the giants Fitzroy. Essendon have had an up and down start to this season but will definitely be in the title mixer come seasons end.

Referees: Nectar Karalis & Duck Farah

Goal Scorers:
FC Essendon : Alexander Stevanovic 3, Dushan Bosniak 2, Ivan Zilic 1, Ivan Stevanovic 1
Ashburton FC: Junior Melo 3, Michael Dixon 3, Adam Husseini 1, Marco Kuna 1, Igor Arsovski 2, Irzad Spijodic 1

FC Prahran 5 vs. 3 Albert Park 9:30pm

Cup Winners Prahran took on an Albert Park side who had added premiership player Ahmed Azzam to the list. Both sides started tentatively but it wasn’t long until Maxim Avram had lashed a shot into the top left corner. Maxim is a delight to watch, he glides around the court, and has become even more lethal using both feet when passing & shooting. Ned Torbica was in good form again pulling of numerous saves and was unlucky when an unsighted Sanjin Lazetic strike went straight through him.

Haider Noor (PFC) wasn’t his usual self, but his predatory instincts & movement proved constant annoyance for Zoran Matic (AP) who must be wondering how his side lost after hitting the bar numerous times and missing a penalty. Albert Park looks to be missing a key ingredient, which could be playing for them next week, Alia Redzepovic. Dino did well but lacks the chemistry with his team mates to be really effective and will look forward to his brothers’ return. Prahran are sitting in 3rd with 7 points and have made a great start to the LEGEA V-League.

Referees: Duck Farah & Anthony Grima

Goal Scorers:
Prahran : Haider Noor 2, Maxim Avram 1, Michael Habashi 1, Sanjin Lazetic 1
Albert Park: Dino Redzepovic 2, Ahmed Azzam 1

FC Carlton 9-3 FC Geelong 10:15pm

The late game saw battlers Geelong take on silky smooth Carlton who welcomed back Imran Arjoman. Carlton looked to run riot with 2 early goals to Hooman, but they didn’t, and after 8 minutes of play it was 2-2. Geelong was playing with pride and heart chasing Carlton all over the court.

They will need to fight for every ball for 40 minutes in upcoming games; they’ve done a terrific job getting into the V-League, now Geelong needs to start getting some wins on the board. They peppered Dianoosh with a few goal attempts late in the first half.

It wasn’t enough though and what was becoming a dire affair saw Carlton score some good goals to lock up the 3 points. 5-2 at halftime and 9-3 the final score, teams should keep in mind that it was goal difference that relegated FC Melbourne and that every goal is vital!

Referees: Nectar Karalis & Anthony Grima

Goal Scorers:
FC Carlton : Hooman Shekari 4, Savva Pattikis 2, Hamid Hassanikhoo 1, Robert Shekari 1, Iman Arjomand
FC Geelong: Aaron D’Antino 2, Dejan Rasic 1

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