Recap
The second match of the night saw another top half of the table clash as second placed Pascoe Vale took on fourth placed Ashburton. Ashburton have had a very positive start to life back in Series Futsal Victoria, and this was going to be their toughest test yet as the reigning champions Pascoe Vale are seen as the performance bench mark in the league. After a tense opening few encounters, Ashburton got the best possible start as they hit the lead first, as star player Mehran Shafiei finished from range into the bottom left corner. The shock of going behind seemed to spark Pascoe into life and after a few narrow misses and some good saves from Ashburton shot stopper Omid Azami, they eventually broke through, with Thiago Martins being found at the back post to tap home. Pascoe Vale would dominate possession for the remainder of the half, but they could find another breakthrough, and the scores remained level going into half time.
The second period started in the best possible way for the defending champions as Joao Da Silva’s effort from just outside the area could only be parried into the bottom left corner by Azami. Pascoe Vale continued were they left off in the first half as they once again began to work the ball around quickly and hold a large amount of possession. The pressure on the Ashburton goal was only building and soon it proved too much as one of Pascoe Vale’s favourite sons, Lucas Kruel, was found on the right side, and he powered his shot into the roof of the net to mark his return to the Series Futsal court. This third Pascoe goal, was responded too in some fashion by Ashburton as they mounted attack after attack on Felipe Bley’s goal. the Pascoe Vale stopped was equal to it, however, as he made a string of outstanding saves to deny the Warriors time and time again. Eventually, however, Ashburton would finally break through, as Shafiei took the ball down the right before squaring it for Iraj Hani to tap home at the back post. The goal was too little too late though, as Pascoe settled and help on to the ball for the remaining few minutes too round out a winning return for Lucas Kruel in Pascoe Vale colours once again.
Man of the Match: Felipe Bley (Pascoe Vale FC)