2016/17 State League One – Round 21:
FC Footscray (Futsal Club) (4th) 2-3 (3rd) FC Melbourne Athletic
FOOT – Min.Chowdhury, Z.Ilahee
MEL – D.Smeathers, A.Husseini, B.Oussayfi
A dead rubber of sorts for both teams as Melbourne were locked into 3rd and Footscray 4th or 5th, but two proud teams who were not backing down. Melbourne in their away kit took the lead in the first half through a David Smeathers bomb past the returning Ramkishore. Smeathers goal kept Melbourne into the lead until the break but only a minute into the second half a slide tackle into the box led to a penalty for Footscray and Minhaz Chwodhury stepped up and equalised. Another returning player in Alex Husseini put Melbourne back into the lead minutes later and Melbourne were holding on strong to their single goal lead before Bilal Oussayfi made the scoreline a little safer with 4 minutes remaining. Zahin Ilahee would make the game interesting in the final minute but there was no time for another as Melbourne walk into the playoffs in good form.
Man of the Match – Bilal Oussayfi (FC Melbourne)
2016/17 State League One – Round 21:
Vermont Futsal Club (8th) 6-6 (6th) Melbourne University Futsal Club
VER – K.Trac 3, S.Tran, T.Miran, J.Chen
MU – T.Zeitlhofer 2, M.Antachew, E.Park, E.Tasker, F.Huzzey
A must win game for both teams to have any chance to jump out of their respective 8th or 6th places and it was Vermont desperate to not go down without a fight who came out swinging as goals from Simon Tran and Tousif Miran put them out in front 2-0. 2 goals would be the biggest lead of the game as the teams traded goals and by halftime it was Vermont in the lead 4-2. Their lead was erased almost instantly as within 90 seconds Zeitlhofer and Tasker scored to make it 4-4. Vermont tightened up their defenses but Uni managed to break through once more when Euikuk Park put them ahead for the first time in the game. Vermont looked down but with 4 minutes remaining Kenneth Trac bagged his second to level the game and then became a hero as he polished off his hat trick a minute later to give Vermont the lead. Vermont had the game sealed up until a defensive error led to Finn Huzzey drilling the ball into the roof of the net with 10 seconds left to grab a remarkable draw. Unfortunately for both teams the draw condemned both teams as Vermont were now officially relegated to State League Two while Melbourne Uni will have to playoff to keep their spot in the league.
Man of the Match – Kenneth Trac (Vermont FC)
2016/17 State League One – Round 21:
CF South Melbourne (7th) 2-2 (5th) Mt. Evelyn Futsal Club
SM – J.Hilton, S.Hosseini
MTE – S.Gebru, A.Vo
Following Melbourne Uni and Vermont’s draw both South Melbourne and Mt Evelyn could breathe a sigh of relief as their spots remained safe unless Mt Evelyn suffered a gigantic loss. This did not drop the intensity of the game at all as both teams racked up many a foul in the first half including South Melbourne hitting 5 fouls. It was South Melbourne though who could find the net as James Hilton and Shervin Hosseini gave them a 2-0 lead at half time. Mt Evelyn who were aiming to jump a spot into 4th for bragging rights over Footscray hit back with Solomon Gebru and Anthony Vo tying up the game with only a minute remaining. In the end the game finished as a fair draw as South Melbourne now prepare to face Tullamarine in a playoff game to hold their spot in the league.
Man of the Match – James Hilton (CF South Melbourne)
2016/17 State League One – Round 21:
Doncaster Futsal Club (2nd) 4-6 (1st) Hampton Street Futsal Club
DON – J.Abela 2, G.Paschalidis, A.Lee
HAM – R.Langerak 2, D.Grecea 2, O.Hummeyj-Jameson 2
Doncaster came into the clash needing to win by 12 goals against Hampton to nab the title from out of their grasp, a tough task. Doncaster initially started quite well as a brace from Jason Abela set them on their way early. Rueben Langerak up the other end kept Hampton in the game with a brace of his own before goalkeeper George Paschalidis scored for the third week running to allow Doncaster to lead into the break. With only a one goal lead Doncaster’s title hopes were all but gone but there was another interesting clash brewing between Al Khridah and Grecea. Both big strong players one from each team were constantly trying to one up each other with pride on the line. Grecea drew first blow as his goal after Hummeyj-Jameson’s took Hampton into the lead before Al Khridah hit back as he nutmegged both Grecea and Langerak before squaring to Lee for a tap in. Grecea and Hampton would have the last laugh however as a tired Doncaster short on personnel ran out of legs as the Hampton squad ran over the top of them with Hummenyj-Jameson and Grecea both scoring again to take the win and bragging rights to secure back to back titles and promotions. For Doncaster they will have a playoff against either Moreland or Brimbank while Hampton will enjoy the break as they relax with their winners medals.
Man of the Match – Rueben Langerak (Hampton FC)
Ladder:
Top Goalscorers:
- 27 – Orien Hummenyj-Jameson (Hampton FC)
- 22 – Daniel Grecea (Hampton FC)
- 21 – Monty Alkhridah (Doncaster FC)
- 20 – Alex Lee (Doncaster FC)
- 19 – Tim Topali (Hampton FC)