Aussies upstage Kiwis on home patch
DENNY Dutra kicked Maccabi Hakoah to the top of the New Zealand National Futsal League table with a last-minute penalty on Sunday.
DENNY Dutra kicked Maccabi Hakoah to the top of the New Zealand National Futsal League table with a last-minute penalty on Sunday.
After a 0-0 draw against Wellington side Capital City Futsal, the Australian team won four matches on the first weekend of the inaugural NZ National Futsal League.
“It was an unbelievable experience just being there and playing in NZ’s first national league,” said Maccabi Hakoah goalkeeper John Myers, who was the driving force to get the side into the competition.
Similar to A-League team Wellington Phoenix – the sole New Zealand representative in the Australian domestic competition – Maccabi is competing against sides from East Auckland, Central Auckland, Wellington, Napier, Palmerston North, Dunedin and Queenstown.
“The standard was high and it was just an amazing professional football experience.
“We left Sydney at 9.30am on Friday and came back at 3.30pm on Sunday, and all we did was prepare for the games and compete.”
After the first-up draw on Saturday morning, Maccabi smashed Christchurch Futsal 15-2 and defeated Red Sox from Palmerston 7-1.
On day two of competition, the Aussie side defeated Dunedin’s Football South Futsal 4-0 and then prevailed in a nail-biter over East City Futsal from Auckland, 4-3.
“The last match was amazing because Auckland had five Futsal Whites [the NZ national futsal team] players, and we went down 1-0 early,” Myers said.
Maccabi Hakoah fought back to lead 3-1, but then conceded two goals and the match looked headed for a draw. In the last minute, Auckland committed its sixth foul of the match and the Australians were awarded a nine-metre penalty.
“With the last kick of the game, Denny Dutra won the match for us and sent us to the top of the table. It was just amazing to be a part of.”
But Dutra wasn’t alone, with Myers lauding an even team performance.
“The matches were streamed live online and the commentators were calling Jarred Basger a goal machine because he scored five in our game against Christchurch,” said Myers.
After two days of competition, Maccabi and Capital City Futsal, from Wellington, are the only teams with four wins from five matches. However, Maccabi has a better goal-differential.
The next two days of competition will be held in Dunedin in February, and then a fifth day of play and the finals will be held in Auckland in March. “This is a trailblazing time because obviously they have just set up their national league and we would love to have a similar competition in Australia,” said Myers.
“It’s something that we hope to remain a part of because, although I don’t think my body could cope past this season, our junior players would get a lot out of this experience.”
JOSHUA LEVI
Photo: Lev Lewis (left) in action for Maccabi Hakoah in New Zealand at the weekend.
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