The opening weekend in November proved fruitful for two of Maidenhead United Futsal’s three teams. The Development Team and Women’s side both secured three points, while the Men’s First Team fell to their second defeat of the season.
The weekend, as ever, started with MUF Women as they headed down to Avonbourne Academy where they faced off against Dorset Women in their opening fixture of the NFS WSS Tier 2. This was their first game in the second stage of the league format for this campaign, the previous games had been played through the qualifying stage in their regionalised groups. They were sure to open it in style, as Clara Dété's hat trick, Paula Cerro's double and a first goal of the season for Megan Packett secured a 6-2 victory and three points back to Berkshire.
Head coach, Diogo Luz said: “Great start to our Tier 2 campaign after a tough qualifying season. The away trip to Dorset had the girls competing in a tough game with a limited squad due to some players at England Camps. We were able to get a 6-2 win through a hat trick hero in Clara Dété. The girls will look to keep this going and to finish near the top of Tier 2 this season”
The Development Team, still in their qualification group stage phase, enjoyed an emphatic 26-1 victory against FC Cayman. Goals were in plentiful supply and shared amongst the squad, Noah Joyner scored six while Hugo Lopes and Arlow Ross grabbed four each. Muddaththir Ukasha and Ayo Olotin each scored hat tricks, as Grahame Gardiner bagged a brace. Then, Oliver Giles, Guillermo Alonso, Ellis Scanlon and Josh Bannister each added their name to the scoresheet. A result which takes them top of the South West Group with three wins from three. Summarising his thoughts, Head Coach Diogo Luz said: “3 wins for 3 for our development side, who are top of the Tier 3 South West Qualifiers. A massive scoreline of 26-1 saw our group of youngsters raise in confidence as they pursue for a position in the NFS Tier 3.1 competition after Christmas.”
Unfortunately, the Men’s team couldn’t make it a perfect weekend as they fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat against Wessex. The two have played out many close-fought contests in the past and this was no different.
It took until 15 minutes played for the deadlock to be broken, as Elliot Mathema turned his man before finishing cutely for Wessex. It then took until almost 10 minutes into the second half for them to double their lead, a combination of some tidy interplay and some fortuitous bounces saw Jordan Matthews make it 2-0.
The Magpies were swift to respond though as Diogo Luz fed Jack Yates, who with his back to goal pivoted well before finishing into the far top corner – halving the deficit. However, this 1-goal deficit was short-lived as United pushed for an equaliser by playing fly goalkeeper. A tactic where the goalkeeper leaves his usual post and moves into the attacking half becoming an outfield player and removing his usual 5-second on the ball time restriction. The tactic does have its downfalls as it leaves the goal open, something which Wessex capitalised on as a sloppy pass found Matthews, and he lifted it into an empty net.
This wasn’t a deterrent though as United moved back into fly goalkeeper and saw the rewards of it the second time round, making the numerical advantage count. Playing around the outside of Wessex’s defensive shape, goalkeeper Jack Walsh found Diogo Luz who played a brilliantly disguised pass to the back post for Yates again, who tapped in from close range. But it wouldn’t be enough to claw a route back into the game as the Men’s team were forced to return home empty handed.
Head of Futsal and Men's Head Coach, Ryan Walsh said: “[Based on] the performance, the momentum going into the game and the nature of the fixture; along with the chances we had and didn’t finalise we’re disappointed to come away from the game without getting something (points wise) out of it. We finished the game with over 50 shots on goal, including three attempts that hit the woodwork, compared to Wessex who had a third of that amount. From a stats point of view, we deserved to get more out the game, and our finishing let us down and that is something we have to improve on going forward. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t lie, and you get what you deserve, and our finishing on the day gave us the result we deserved.”
In the next week, MUF Men’s goalkeeper Jack Walsh jets off to Turkey to represent England for the IBSA Partially Sighted Futsal World Championship that get underway on the 5th. Along with that, MUF Women’s players Lucindha Lawson and Georgia Jones is heading to the Deaflympics in Tokyo to represent Team GB. The Team GB squad are all self-funded and are so close to hitting their fundraising target, if you can please donate at: https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/GBDF (Deadline: November 10th)
After the international break, the Men’s take on Manchester, the Devs face Futsal 360 Bristol and Women’s team go up against City of Peterborough Ladies.
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