After going down in a tense penalty shoot-out in their last encounter, Fitzroy is looking to settle its score against arch-rivals Pascoe Vale this Sunday.
During the Round 2 clash earlier this season, Fitzroy led Pascoe Vale for the majority of the match before a late comeback from the reigning champs saw the game level at full-time.
The controversial new Series Futsal rules that has eliminated draws, replaced by penalty shoot-outs and guaranteeing the fans a winner, led to Pascoe Vale taking a shock win.
Fitzroy manager Fernando de Moraes says that his young Fitzroy outfit is keen to get a
“Of course we want to win and we are looking for redemption,” the former Futsalroos captain told SeriesFutsal.com.
“We were winning the game, and obviously we didn’t lose, but with the penalties, we didn’t get any points. That felt bad.
“It’s always special to beat Pascoe Vale. We have a good rivalry with them. It’s always good to beat these guys – it’s a good feeling to beat the champions.”
Fitzroy currently sits third on the ladder, with Pascoe Vale on top after nine rounds.
Last week, Pascoe Vale suffered a shock loss to Ashburton, and de Moreas says that with Pascoe Vale on the back foot, the timing is right to strike.
“It’s a good opportunity to beat them. They came from a bad loss and we will look to take the opportunity to beat them,” he said.
“But I’m sure they will be more hungry than last time. We want to take advantage, but we can’t take it easy, we need to take our chances.”
Pascoe Vale trialled a group of new players last week after the team has lost a number of key members to injury and absence.
One of those players on the outer is star Joao da Silva, who continues to recover from a calf complaint. His availability for the Fitzroy match is “unlikely, but possible.”
The match will take place at 4:05pm at the Thomastown Futsal Oz Stadium. It is one of the ‘must see’ matches of the 2016/17 season, with the competition’s star players Andre Caro (Pascoe Vale) and Rico Zulkarnain (Fitzroy) the main attractions. CLICK HERE for Game Day information.
If you can’t make it to the game, CLICK HERE for live stream coverage, starting at 2:50pm AEDT.