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Sydney Spring League Wrap Up

Match Day 10

Players in each of the three divisions went into the final match day with the table permutations swirling around their brains. The title for each division was still up for grabs with jostling for the minor placings also still in the balance. And so 12 players headed to Good Games in Chatswood for the grand climax.

Unfortunately, Division Two turned into a non-event. Before the evening. Mat Barrie, with two games to play, was the only one who could overtake Steve Diasinos, should he win both fixtures, but he could also finish last if he lost them, such was the tightness of the division. But, alas, a last minute trip to Melbourne for work had him stranded out of the state. The matches were rescheduled for the following week but, again, this proved impossible due to life getting in the way so, with a heavy heart, Mat had to declare the fixtures forfeit. This meant that Steve did get his title, while Harley and Tony each glided past Mat on the table. A slight anti-climax to what, regardless, was an incredibly tight division, with 4 of its 8 completed games ending in draws. Many congratulations to Steve Diasinos.

In the Third Division, Hermann Kruse was in pole position. Only Costa Kamarados could catch him, but would need some favours from others to help him get there. Hermann was on song, though, slotting 4 past Paul Stockbridge before getting the job done in a tight 1-0 tussle with Simon Cole. Ultimately, this was all academic, though, as Costa was held to two draws by the same opponents, meaning Hermann took the title convincingly. Many congratulations to Hermann Kruse!

The First Division still had 3 players in the running. Daniele got off to the perfect start with a tight 1-0 victory over his nemesis, Fabrizio. This also gave Eliot the glimmer of hope he needed. This was dampened, somewhat, when Daniele, having the Subbuteo night of his life, slipped 2 goals past Eliot in their clash, with Eliot only able to find the back of the net once. With one round remaining, all three were still in with a chance for the title. Club league champions, Fabrizio and Eliot, faced each other, while Daniele had the, theoretically, simpler task of facing Adrian. In keeping with the evening’s them of tight, tense tussles, Eliot got the better of Fabrizio by 2 goals to 1. On the other table, Daniele got to a 2 goal lead against Adrian and seemed to be cruising to the title. Adrian, however, pulled a goal back midway through the second half and piled some pressure on for the remainder. But the nervous Daniele held out – 3 wins from 3 games, an unbeaten record in the division and victories against his two nearest rivals meaning he claimed the title emphatically in the end. Many congratulations to Daniele Lombardi.

And so a very successful Spring League, the biggest yet, drew to a close. With brand new players competing, experienced players fighting tight battles, and a middle tier that is growing in skill collectively and beginning to push the top players, the league had everything that could be hoped for. Many thanks to all the players, to those who opened their homes as venues, and to our two great friends in Good Games, Chatswood and The Games Cube, Parramatta, all of who made this the best league series in the 21st century era of the Australian Table Football Association.

Spring League 2016 Update

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Match Day Nine

Adrian (front), Harley v Steve (middle), Jordan v Costa (back)

The Spring League really began to heat up in the penultimate date of fixtures. A couple of catch-up matches were scheduled for Monday night, where Johnny pushed Fabrizio all the way in their First Division clash. He eventually went down 1-0, but not before giving Fabrizio a huge scare with a shot on target in the final 30 seconds. He then backed up against clubmate, Steve, this time keeping things even tighter, with a 0-0 result.

Tuesday evening saw the Falcons’ players heading to Parramatta for a full program of games across the 3 pitches. In the Third Division, Costa kicked off with a flurry, putting 3 past Jordan. Jordan backed up against Paul and, with 10 seconds left on the clock in the first half, sent a perfect chip shot into the top left corner to take the lead. In the second half, Paul pushed for the equaliser and carved out a number of half chances, only for his final set up flick to consistently miss, denying him the chance to shoot in anger and pull level. Jordan excitedly picked up his first win of the league. In the final of his triple-header, Jordan then had a narrow loss to Hermann, who was playing with considerable determination. In the final fixture, Hermann then ground out a very tight victory against Costa, finishing 1-0 to make it two from two for the German.

The Second Division is where things are incredibly tight. So much so that every fixture on the night ended in a draw, with Harley, Steve Diasinos and Dave all failing to make a claim of supremacy over any of the others. Harley and Dave opened with a 1-1 battle, followed by Harley and Steve in a goalless stalemate. The final game of the division then saw Dave and Steve play their second draw of the league, this time an entertaining 2-2, with Dave putting Steve under the pump for much of the game but succumbing to Steve’s few counter-attacks. After his flying start on Match Day Eight, Steve had a chance to secure the Second Division title, but his two draws, while leaving him in a strong position, leaves the door open for Mat Barrie to sneak past if he can have a good week next week. Either way, the division is constantly on a knife’s edge, with every fixture showing the potential to go either way.

In the First Division, Eliot had drawn Adrian in the opening game. After Eliot had given Adrian a Subbuteo lesson in the quarter-finals of the recent Australian Open, Adrian was happy to limit Eliot to only 4 or 5 shots over the 30 minutes. Even more to his liking was that Eliot was leaving some holes in his defence, which Adrian was able to occasionally pressure and force the odd save from Eliot. After a goalless opening half, Adrian then sent shockwaves through the division, opening the scoring against one of the title favourites. Eliot doubled his efforts in response and, with a few minutes left, finally breached Adrian’s goal with a deft close in chip, having struck the woodwork with his earlier shots. The score finished 1-1. Steve Dettre and Fabrizio then took to the pitch. An otherwise tight game was punctuated with a steady flow of Fabrizio taking advantage of his chances to finish with a 3-0 victory. The old foes, Eliot and Steve, then faced each other. Stung by his earlier draw, Eliot played with renewed determination and was up 3-0 midway through the second half, in spite of the two players sharing the possession in general play. Steve did strike back, though, with the goal of the evening on the run, but that was as far as the scoring went. Fabrizio then played clubmate, Adrian, in the final game. A tight first half saw Adrian have the first shot, his chip going over the crossbar. Fabrizio’s calmness in front of goals, however, saw him take the lead by half time, which he followed up with 2 more in the second half.

All three divisions are still open for the taking as we head to the final week of fixtures, where a return to the Extreme pitches of Chatswood will, no doubt, please the local Northern Falcons players.

Sydney Spring League 2016 Update

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Match Day Seven

Jordan v Fabrizio, Mat v Paul M, Daniele v Steve, Costa spectating

Subbuteo Parramatta concluded their league with a 3 table, 10 game blitz held at The Games Cube in Parramatta. Daniele and Jordan both had a number of games to complete, so both had 4 game Subbuteo benders. Jordan opened his account with a narrow loss to the Costa, who was able to use his new bases for the first time. Daniele dispatched Paul Stockbridge in their opener before Daniele faced a tricky fixture against Paul Magee, both players aiming for second place in the final standings. However, Daniele was in fine form and took the match with a convincing 3-0 win. Jordan’s goalkeeper got a workout, making a number of saves, though he succumbed to Steve Diasinos 4-0. The next round of fixtures through up some cracking fixtures. Fabrizio arrived from his day trip to the Royal National Park to take a 5-0 win in an entertaining game against Jordan – the league’s winning player against it’s least experienced Subbuteo player. Paul Magee and Mat Barrie played out an intense 1-1 draw. A close call was sportingly given to Paul by Mat, and Paul scored from the subsequent play. The end result was a good indication of the game, though, and demonstrated the great sportsmanship that is often reciprocated between players.

Steve and Daniele, meanwhile, were playing out the match of the evening. Daniele took an early lead and looked to be on track to repeat his earlier efforts. Steve, however, is never one to be flustered and soon found his way into the game, scoring a deserved equaliser before the break. Daniele went ahead again in the second half but Steve, determined to pick up the point which could help him into the top tier of the league, remained calm and precise and again scored an equaliser. And so the result ended 2-2, both players taking the point from an outstanding clash.

Jordan then rounded out his evening with his first point of the league in a very good natured 1-1 encounter with his fellow Subbuteo novice, Paul Stockbridge. Following Steve’s draw with Daniele, Adrian knew he needed a result against Daniele to have any chance of staying ahead of Steve, whose fixture against the always improving but still very inexperienced Costa was a foregone conclusion. Adrian played well to keep Daniele at bay and provide the odd glimmer of hope with the occasional counter-attack. However, midway through the second half, after 20-odd minutes of stout defending, a soft-mistake led to the game’s decisive goal from Daniele, who took the points with the 1-0 victory. Meanwhile, Steve’s exertions against Daniele must have been coming back to haunt him. Though he peppered Costa’s goal, nothing would go in, a mixture of soft finishing and some great goalkeeping. Costa managed two forays forward during the entire game – and decisively buried one of those shots. 1-0 to the team painted in the 2004 Greek, Euros winning uniform – a victory that could not have been more Greek had it been scripted!

A final catch-up game between Daniele and Dave saw Daniele reinforce his 2nd place standing. However, just below him, as the dust settled, an incredibly tight table was to be found. As an indication, Steve Diasinos finished in 7th place. A win against Costa in that fateful final match could have seen him finish 3rd! The league also pointed to the future with introduction of 3 brand new players.

Northern Falcons didn’t play any of their outstanding fixtures due to absences, but their standings in relation to the next phase of the league couldn’t be altered by those games, so these will be caught up in the near future.

Results

Final League Standings

Match Day Eight

Match Day Eight saw the two leagues come together for the first time. The top 3 players from each league (not including Subbuteo Parramatta’s guest marquee player, Paul Magee, who is unable to take further part due to work commitments) moved into the First Division, the next 3 from SP and the next 2 from NF moved into the Second Division, and the next 3 from SP and 2 from NF made up the Third Division. All players will play each other within each division. For the first group of matches, Subbuteo Parramatta made the trip up to Northern Falcons HQ at Chatswood.

Steve v Mat, Dave v Daniele, Simon v Paul

NF’s Simon made a winning start with a 3-0 result over SP’s Paul, though Paul did discover, later in the evening when packing away his figures, that he had gone into the match with only 10 players! SP’s Mat and Steve renewed rivalries, Steve edging this one 1-0 after their 1-1 draw in the SP league. SP’s Adrian had trouble adapting to the Extreme pitches and NF’s Steve put in a commanding display to blitz him 3-0, while SP’s Daniele got over NF’s Johnny by the same score. SP’s Dave put a solitary goal past NF’s Tony in a tightly fought contest.

The two 3rd placed qualifiers for the 1st division, Adrian and Johnny, then faced each other following their respective losses. A dour first half finished goalless before Johnny came out with renewed attacking intent. Unfortunately, this left him more open at the back and Adrian scored two counter-attacking goals inspite of Johnny’s domination of possession and field position. Mat picked up a 1-0 victory in another tight tussle against Dave in the Second Division, while SP’s Steve rounded out a good evening for himself with a 2-0 win over Tony.

In the final round, NF’s Eliot put jet-lag aside in a dominant display against Johnny, putting 5 well taken goals past him. NF’s Harley and Tony battled out yet another draw in the Second Division, which is clearly going to be a very tight league. Meanwhile, in the match of the evening, NF’s Steve and SP’s Daniele renewed their long rivalry. The game was as tight as could be expected with neither player flinching in the first half. Early in the second, Daniele finally managed a small bit of space to have a shot. Steve saved it easily, only to then drag the ball back into his own goal with his ‘keeper to give Daniele the advantage. Not to be discouraged, Steve was soon back on level terms with a fine on-the-run goal from a corner which drew a hearty congratulation even from Daniele. Not to be outdone, Daniele then went back ahead with his own impressive, trademark on-the-run goal to take the advantage back. Steve pushed hard for the equaliser and, with a few minutes left, finally found a couple of centimetres of space through the middle of Daniele’s defense and made no mistake with his shot. The final few minutes were a flurry with both players desperate to take all 3 points, resulting in some heated discussion of close calls. In the end, however, each had to settle for a point in a classic battle that neither player deserved to lose.

Results

Tables

Sydney Spring League 2016 Update

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Match Day Four

Top of the table clash at Northern Falcons between Eliot and Steve

Tony Credentino had a minor marathon at the Falcons’ end of town as he played consecutive games against Eliot Kennedy, Harley Ullrich and Hermann Kruse. It was an inauspicious start, as Eliot put 5 past him in the opening game. Of course, Tony is not the first to succumb to such a scoreline against Eliot and he certainly won’t be the last! By his next game, though, he was warmed up and scored a hard fought 2-0 victory over Harley. Harley later commented on Tony’s brick wall defines – the foundation of his victory. The final match was a more open affair as Tony and Hermann traded goals to finish up sharing the spoils at 2-2.

Out in the Western Suburbs, Steve Diasinos made his first appearance, playing out two 1-1 draws. The first saw he and David Sultana, with their similar playing styles, cancel each other out, while his clash against Mat Barrie renewed a long rivalry with neither being able to grab the bragging rights. Jordan Kolaczyk continued his learning curve, going down to David and Mat respectively, but picking up many pointers along the way. Later in the week, Adrian dropped in at New Trafford to play a catch-up against Mat, taking a 2-0 win in a game that was much tighter than the score would indicate.

Match Day Five

Northern Falcons finally gave out hope of replacing two players who had had to pull out after the first match day, so their reduced numbers meant that no matches were played on match day five. Back at the Subbuteo Parramatta Clubhouse, Paul Stockbridge was up against it, losing his 3 consecutive matches, but with all his opponents noting his improvement over the course of the league, particularly in his tactical understanding. Steve Diasinos had no answers against Paul Magee though had to admit that even he enjoyed the match, in spite of the 3-0 scoreline. He turned the result around in his second game, against Adrian Elmer, however. Numerous attempts on goal did nothing but underline the poor quality of Adrian’s shooting as he blazed away without result. Meanwhile, Steve was clinical, slotting a goal in each half for the win.

Match Day Six

Wishing to catch the Socceroos match against Japan live on TV, the Falcons convened a little early, playing just a few of their remaining games. The top of the table clash saw Eliot Kennedy race to a 3-0 lead by the break. Not one to roll over, however, Steve scored with 7 minutes to go, then put another one away to make for some nervous moments for Eliot, who managed to hold on for a 3-2 win. Eliot then dispatched Simon Cole 3-0 before heading off to the pub. Meanwhile, Johnny Ball and Tony Credentino battled out an open, but fruitless, 0-0 draw.

Steve, Fabrizio, Dave and Paul at The Games Cube in Parramatta

What was originally planned as the end of league grand finale for Subbuteo Parramatta turned into only a handful of matches, due to late muscle tears and parental illnesses taking the attention of a few players. With the big event, therefore, pushed back a week, 5 players were still free to play a few fixtures. Fabrizio got off to a flyer against Adrian and had a 4-0 lead by the break, with Adrian reminding Fabrizio of the 5-0 mercy rule. The second half was a different affair, however, with Adrian taking advantage of the downhill slope to finish with the (ever so slightly) more respectable scoreline of 4-1. Dave and Paul Magee battled out a very entertaining 0-0 draw, neither player able to take a stranglehold of the close match. Meanwhile, Fabrizio opened his account against Steve in the first 30 seconds and looked to be heading to another big win. Steve was made of sterner stuff, though and, defending stoutly, ‘keeping majestically and offering quite a bit on the counter, he pegged Fabrizio back, the score staying the same until the break. Early in the second half, after all the hard work getting back into the game, Steve allowed Fabrizio in for a relatively soft goal to ease the pressure. The game remained tight, though, with neither player troubling the scoreboard further. Finally, Dave and Adrian exchanged blows in the final match. Another even battle could have gone either way. Adrian had the game’s only clear cut shot on goal, spraying his shot across the goal. Both defences were excellent, though, meaning that neither could make the break through, the 0-0 result a fair indication of proceedings.

With both clubs now having just one week of their leagues left, final standings are on the line. Steve will need two big wins and hope that Johnny can do him a favour against Eliot in the Falcons’ league, while Fabrizio has all but secured the title at Parramatta. The minor placings are still very much up for grabs, with 6 players still in the running for the other two top 3 spots, which would qualify them for the 1st Division as the two clubs join together the following week. A series of games between the newer players at the foot of the table will also go a long way to deciding who has made the best progress in their first league.

Tables as of 12.10.2016

Sydney Spring League Update

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Adrian and Costa battle it out while Jordan, already hooked, googles the price of new pitches

The Sydney Spring League is well underway with two of the bigger clubs (Subbuteo Parramatta and Northern Falcons) hosting leagues which include players from all 4 clubs. After 3 match days, the tables for both club leagues are beginning to take shape (you’ll notice some players haven’t played yet, due to them being so far unavailable, but the majority have now begun their campaigns).

At the conclusion of the two club leagues, the top tier of players from both leagues will come together to play a First Division League, the middle tier of players will form a Second Division and the lower tier of players a Third Division, with titles up for grabs in each division.

Match Day One
4 brand new league members were in action at the Subbuteo Parramatta Clubhouse, two of whom were playing their first ever competitive games. They were joined by a few old (in both senses!) hands. Special guest on the night, down from Newcastle to be a keen observer and have his first friendly flick in over 20 years, was former Australian representative Anthony Macmillan.

Results went pretty much to form with the more experienced players gaining the advantage over their less experienced counterparts. Jordan scored his first ever goal, a consolation against Paul Magee, while Paul and Adrian played out the evening’s only draw, a very tight 0-0 affair.

Meanwhile, at Northern Falcons HQ, a handful of games saw Steve Dettre take the early running, though he was pushed to earn his points in all his fixtures. Every player came away with at least 1 point from their fixtures, indicating that the Falcons’ league should be a close affair.

Match Day Two

Harley moves into attack against Johnny.

Last year’s Spring League runner-up, Fabrizio, played his first matches at the New Trafford Subbuteo Complex in the Subbuteo Parramatta league. He immediately stamped his mark, scoring 14 goals in his 3 games. Costa, meanwhile, picked up his first goal of the league and Mat and Dave shared honours in their clash.

Over in Chatswood, it was great to see Harley back in action after a 7 month lay-off and he picked up points against Hermann while pushing Johnny all the way. Simon struggled a little more in his clash with Johnny.

Match Day Three
A big night at New Trafford as Daniele got his campaign underway with a 5-0 flourish but then succumbed 5-2 to Fabrizio in what was a goalscoring feast. Costa and Paul Stockbridge showed they were picking up confidence, with very respectable losses to Mat Barrie, then both picked up their first points in the league from a drawn clash against each other.

Champion of the first two Spring Leagues (2014 and 15), Eliot, started his campaign in the Falcons’ league, picking up maximum points but being pushed to the wire by Harley, who was able to pick up 3 points himself against Simon. Meanwhile, Hermann also picked up his first victory of the league.

So, after 3 matchdays, Fabrizio has stamped his authority on the Subbuteo Parramatta League, with a large cluster following in his wake. Northern Falcons, with fewer games played, look to have a tight competition on their hands so far.

To follow the fixtures, results and table in real time, click this link to open the googledoc.

Subbuteo Parramatta Junior Spring League

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The popularity of the Sydney wide Spring League has soared this season, so the Subbuteo Parramatta club has decided to run a separate Junior League for school-aged players. Games will be played at the Subbuteo Parramatta clubhouse in Toongabbie on Tuesday afternoons between 4PM and 6PM. The league is open to all players, regardless of experience or gender, who are currently school-aged.

There will be equipment available to borrow, if needed, by any player. Players will need to be accompanied by a guardian to their matches. Players will need to be available most Tuesdays, but not every Tuesday – if you know you will be unavailable on any specific dates, we will work the draw out around these. The league will run from September to November, 2016, with specific dates depending on the number of entrants. Entry is completely free.

For more details contact Adrian Elmer at ajebec@netspace.net.au.

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2016 Spring League

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For the last two years, the Subbuteo Parramatta club has run the Spring League for all interested players. Following its exponential growth last season, this season the Spring League is to be expanded further to cater to all the Sydney based clubs. Included will be Subbuteo Parramatta, Northern Falcons TFC, Deportivo de La Katoomba and Hipfingerz.

Players from across Sydney are invited to register to join the league. The first stage will take place within each club, with each player playing every other player within their own club. At the conclusion of this stage, the top tier of players from each club league will go into the 1st Division with the top players from the other clubs. Meanwhile, intermediate and lower placed players will also play against players of similar quality from the other clubs in the 2nd, 3rd, etc (as needed) Divisions. So all players, regardless of experience or ability, will be able to compete on a level pegging with others from around the city.

The competition will begin in late August/early September (pending numbers in each club). Games will be played weekly at various venues local to each club. Players will need to be available for most weeks, but not every week, so the draw can be scheduled to allow for absences if you know you are going to be away for a week here or there. The competition will end in late November.

At this stage, Deportivo de La Katoomba (Penrith/Blue Mountains) will be joining Subbuteo Parramatta for the first stage but, if there is enough interest, there is the possibility of organising a separate league to make it more local for players in the Penrith/Blue Mountains area. Both Subbuteo Parramatta/Deportivo and Northern Falcons TFC will be running their leagues on Tuesday evenings, while the specific day of the week for Hipfingerz will be confirmed in the near future.

If you would like to play in the Spring League, register below. Entry is open to all players of all ages and abilities and entry into the competition itself is free. Some clubs may need to charge a small fee for venue hire. Players are able to play in whichever league they choose (based on location or club allegiance) but will then represent that club in any other competitions they choose to enter for the remainder of the 2016/17 season. When registering, please choose your preferred club.

Entries close at midnight on Sunday, August 14, 2016.

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