Tag Archives: waspa tournament

2022 Sydney Open + Registration

2022 so poster 700px for web

After the worst possible 2 years for Table Football (ever tried to social distance while playing Subbuteo?!) we are incredibly excited to be able to announce that proper tournaments are back! With borders opening around Australia, the 2022 season is able to start with a bang at the 2022 Sydney Open.

Sponsorship of the tournament from our host venue, Willoughby Park Bowling Club, and their restaurant, Willows Bistro, means that entry fees have been able to be kept to a bare minimum – $5 per player for the entire weekend of table football (or free for juniors). The Draw will take place as part of a dinner at the venue on the evening of Friday, January 21, with Individual Events in Open, Women’s, U20 and U16 categories held on Saturday, January 22 and Club Teams (Open & Junior) events (with a separate WASPA tournament for those without a club team) on Sunday, January 23. All players are welcome regardless of age, gender or experience.

Dinners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights are also available, with Sunday’s meal available for free for players competing on both Saturday and Sunday. As part of our sponsorship deal, players are also asked not to bring food and drinks but to make any food purchases during the days of competition from the venue.

Hosted by the Sydney, Canberra and NSW South Coast table football clubs, we are looking forward to having the wonderful table footballing community of Australia (and beyond) reunited. Join us in January!

Australian National Team Qualification Tournament

australian table football association subbuteo national team wc trials poster 600px
2020 sees the FISTF World Cup of Table Football take place in Italy in September. Players who are thinking of traveling to Italy for the event are invited to compete in a qualification tournament next month. Please use the entry form below if you would like to compete in the tournament to qualify to represent ATFA at the World Cup. We will also be holding a WASPA tournament on the same day at the same venue – it would be great to have as many players coming along to create atmosphere! So please also enter on the form below if you’d like to play in that WASPA tournament (this will help the Northern Falcons TFC know how many pitches to set up for the day).

Saturday, March 7, 2020
Willoughby Park Bowling Club – 13 Robert St, Willoughby East, NSW
Registrations on the day will be open from 9:00AM.
Flick-off is at 10:00AM sharp.

A tournament held to determine places for Australian table footballers who wish to represent the country at the 2020 World Cup in the Open Individual Event and the Veterans’ Individual Event. There will also be a WASPA tournament held simultaneously, for those not wishing to compete at the World Cup but who’d like to be part of the atmosphere on the day of the qualifying tournament.

Entry to the World Cup qualifying tournament(s) on the day is $20 per player.
Entry into the WASPA tournament is $5 per player
Entry fees payable on the day.

All games will be played on Extremeworks astropitches.

A BBQ lunch will also be available on the day.

2018 Christmas Binge WASPA Report – Western Sydney Subbuteo

2018 wss christmas binge waspa 600pxWith bellies full from Christmas and Boxing Day feasts, and with players needing to begin their preparations for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix, it was a sizeable crowd that rolled up to Bella Vista Good Games on a warm Thursday evening, with representatives from all four Sydney clubs. A last minute realisation that there was a lack of goal posts meant that only 3 of the 6 available pitches could be utilised (we live and learn!) so the 10 players were split into 3 groups, rather than the preferred Swiss System which had been planned. An unseeded draw threw up a number of interesting match ups.

In the group stage, both Hermann Kruse and Fabrizio Coco made light work of Adrian Elmer. They finished equal on points after drawing their opening game against each other, but Fabrizio finished in top spot as he hammered Adrian while Hermann could only beat Adrian comfortably. Group Two saw Oliver Ollnow continue his recent run of great results, easily topping his group which featured Dave Sultana and new Sydney TFC recruit, Leonardo Nizzoli. Meanwhile, the 4 player Group Three saw the incredibly unlucky Geoff Sirmai finish in 3rd spot, in spite of amassing 5 points in going undefeated – Both Eliot Kennedy and Steve Dettre also finished on 5 points but had better goal differences than Geoff. Daniel Sirmai was the unfortunate victim of the top 3 players’ quest for better goal differences.

In the Repechage section, Adrian saw off Daniel 2-0 while Geoff had the same result against Leonardo. In the Repechage final, Adrian attacked for much of the opening phase, before Geoff came into his own in the latter stages. Neither player could, however, break the other’s defense and so a 0-0 result saw the two share the consolation category.

The Barrage saw Hermann score an unexpected 2-1 victory over Eliot, though Hermann’s recent form means that this probably shouldn’t have been a huge surprise. meanwhile, Steve and David fought out a dogged 0-0, Steve eventually coming up trumps, 2-1, in the shootout. The Semi-final between Fabrizio and Steve was tense for the opening 5 minutes, with neither player taking the upper hand. In a flurry over the next five minutes, however, Fabrizio gained a 2-1 advantage as both goals saw excellent opportunities converted. A late 3rd goal confirmed Fabrizio’s passage to the final. The father and son match-up (Hermann v Oliver) in the other semi, saw Oliver revert to the 9-1 structure which had served him well in his recent Falcons’ WASPA tournament win. Hermann huffed and puffed but struggled to break down Oliver’s dogged defence until later in the game. Hermann then rode out a scary stranded traveling ‘keeper moment to hold on for a 1-0 victory.

The final, therefore, saw the two opening game, Group One combatants, meet up again. While they couldn’t be split in their first encounter, Fabrizio had obviously warmed up by now. His two unanswered goals gave him his second tournament win for the month.

Thanks to all who turned up and enjoyed yet another hard fought, friendly bunch of games. Thanks, as ever, to our great hosts, Bella Vista Good Games. A happy new year to all with lots more table football action in store.

For more photos, go to https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.2081938548719438&type=3

For full results, go to http://subbuteoaustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018-wss-christmas-binge-waspa.html

This report originally posted on the Western Sydney Subbuteo website – https://sites.google.com/view/westernsydneysubbuteo/tournaments

Western Sydney Subbuteo October WASPA Tournament

IMG_1907 smallIt was an evening of schmoozing with the presidents at the HQ of Western Sydney Subbuteo, with Australian Table Football Association president, Adrian Connolly, visiting from Melbourne and the Federation of International Sports Table Football Association president, Steve Dettre, making the trek across from Chatswood. No doubt the other players put in a quiet word with their suggestions for running the game as they took on their illustrious opponents.

A small swiss system was battled out. Western Sydney Subbuteo’s Paul Magee and Paul Stockbridge faced each other in the first round, a game which doubled as their WSS Spring League fixture. Paul M slotted a goal in each half to take the game against a quickly improving Paul S. Meanwhile, Steve went down 1-0 to his Northern Falcons club mate, Hermann Kruse. Western Sydney Subbuteo’s Adrian Elmer opened the scoring in his fixture against Adrian C inside the first minute of their clash which proved to be the only goal action of the entire game.

Round two pitted Paul M against Hermann. A fixture which is always a tight one proved so again, with Hermann coming out on top via a solitary goal. Adrian E came from behind to pip Steve 2-1. On the third pitch, the ATFA president found that every touch turned to gold as he slammed six goals past a shell-shocked Paul S.

The final round saw Paul S recover to go down valiantly 2-1 to the other president, Steve, while Paul and Adrian C battled out a hard fought, goalless match in their first ever meeting. In the tussle for the title, Hermann and Adrian E picked up their ongoing rivalry with another evenly pitted battle. Adrian took the lead midway through the game and tried valiantly to hold on, but the extra pressure Hermann put on chasing the equaliser paid dividends with an equaliser with a few minutes to go, meaning the title would be shared between the two.

An excellent evening of friendly competition, with many thanks, as usual, to our hosts at Bella Vista Good Games.

For full results, click here.

For more photos, click here.

Subbuteo Parramatta Autumn Junior WASPA Tournament Report

poster 600pxIt has been exactly one year since Good Games Bella Vista played host to Subbuteo Parramatta for the first time. Before the store was even officially opened, it enthusiastically let the club hold a Junior WASPA tournament during the April school holidays. And, so, one year on, the Junior players were back for an anniversary tournament. With 8 players in attendance, the tournament was the largest Juniors only tournament the club has held to date.

The Northern Falcons brought along a strong contingent to join some of the Subbuteo Parramatta regulars and a couple of new players. Oliver and Æowyn were the highest two ranked WASPA players and so took the seeded positions in each group. The other 6 were then drawn randomly into the two groups.

Round One saw Oliver battle his sister, Hermine, the far more experienced older brother taking the honours 3-0. Meanwhile, their club mate Jonas played brand new Subbuteo Parramatta player, Ethan, in his first ever tournament. Ethan put up an excellent showing, but Jonas pipped him 1-0. In Group 2, none of the four players could find the goal. The Elmer sisters hadn’t played since their outing in last September’s Sydney International Open and it was showing as relative newcomer, Angela, playing her second ever tournament, and youngster Moritz, were both able to hold them to scoreless draws.

action shotThe second round was a repeat performance in Group Two, with different player combinations. This time, Imojjen and Æowyn played out a scoreless draw, as did Moritz and Angela. In Group One, Hermine put in an excellent showing, also holding Jonas to a scoreless draw. Tournament favourite, Oliver, put 2 goals past Ethan, the result showing that Ethan was picking up the finer points of the game very quickly.

In the final round, Group One took its turn to go entirely without troubling the scorer as 2 very close games ended in 0-0 draws. Organisers were sweating over some results in Group Two, however, as further draws could have led to a 4-way shootout to determine group positions. In the end, however, both Moritz and Imojjen were able to slip goals past Æowyn and Angela respectively to make the table clear cut.

In the Semi Finals, Moritz played well against Oliver but Oliver’s finishing proved the difference with 4 unanswered goals. Meanwhile, Jonas managed a solitary goal against Imojjen to take his place in the Grand Final. The lower placed players also enjoyed consolation friendlies against each other, with all 4 tables in constant action.

In the 3rd/4th Place Play-off, Moritz and Imojjen played out another 0-0 draw, both agreeing their play had taken a turn for the worse as the day was fading. They were declared equal 3rd place getters. After their goalless draw during the group stage, the Grand Final between Oliver and Jonas was shaping up as yet another close affair. Midway through the first half, Oliver took a lead after dominating much of the play. However, Jonas took this as his cue to renew his efforts and began to carve out chances for himself. Over the course of the rest of the game, both players had a few chances to score but couldn’t dominate. In the end, the early goal proved to be the difference, with Oliver taking the title.

group photoMany thanks again to Good Games Bella Vista for their hospitality, and to Hermann Kruse from the Northern Falcons for bussing the Junior Falcons across the extreme reaches of Sydney and refereeing at the tournament. Well done to all the players who all performed with the camaraderie and fair play that they have come to be known for.

For more photos, click here.

For full results, click here.

report by Adrian Elmer

Mar 2018 – Illawarra TFC FAST 15 WASPA

10 March 2018

The first ever WASPA tournament for the Illawarra Table Football Club took place in the seaside town of Kiama on the South Coast of New South Wales.

fast 15 march 10

As a warm-up to the FISTF Satellite event the next day, the “FAST 15” WASPA had eight players competing for the title, split into two groups while some of the juniors had warm up friendly matches. With games lasting only fifteen minutes (AGFA Cup style) and sudden death penalty shots for all drawn games, it created a fast, fun and competitive tournament.

Group 1 was stacked with the traveling Western Flickers players all the way from Melbourne, obviously attracted to the beautiful harbour side venue location like true pelicans! Also in the group competing in his first ever comp was local Illawarra resident and Glasgow Rangers tragic Alec Anderson who turned up in his bright red fish n chip van stacked with his large collection of Subbuteo playing figures old and new along with his board and several pitches he brought for us.

First round saw new boy Alec have a respectable one nil loss to current “season” World No.1 Benny Ng. The other game proved to be the crucial one in the end with Anthony Madiona drawing one all with teammate Steve Wright after 15 minutes. That produced the first sudden death penalty shots scenario with Anthony eventually taking it out and getting an extra point for his efforts.

Second round saw Benny get a comfortable three nil win over Anthony while Alec despite getting a great chance to score his first ever goal went down narrowly to Steve one nil. Going into the third group games, scores went to form and Benny comfortably went through to the semis with Anthony joining him due to the earlier shots victory over Steve.

Group 2 had the fourth “Western Flicker” Arjuna Hanafi join host and new Kiama resident Richard Wilson along with Sydney TFC players John Palamara and Raffaele Lombard who made the short trip from nearby hometown Berry. Raffaele grateful for not having to make the almost four hour round trip he normally takes to play his club matches in Sydney this time. Rumours have been circling in the local press recently that Illawarra TFC are about to make an approach to sign Raffaele for next season (think of all the time and petrol money you will save Raffaele! *wink wink*)

First round saw Arjuna, having made a mad dash earlier in the day to get to Kiama from Sydney while on work business, went down to Richard four nil while Raffaele put two past teammate John.

Second round saw Raffaele again put two past Richard while in a tighter affair nothing could separate John and Arjuna after 15 minute so it went to sudden death shots in which John held his nerve to gain the extra point.

Last round were more comfortable seeing Richard put three past John and Raffaele not giving any slack to Arjuna putting seven past him in the fifteen minutes.

The Semi finals provided two very tight and intense tussles in true cup knock out style. First off Raffaele despite the large amounts of possession and shot count could only score the one goal past the gallant Anthony Madiona. The other semi went to the wire. In a free flowing match, Richard had a couple of chances early on but then Benny Ng started to pile the pressure on late with a number of chances only to have them thwarted by the metal fingertips of Richards goalie. So it went to shots where Richard first had his effort comfortably saved by Benny. Then despite the fine form of Richard’s goalie during the 15 minutes, Benny picked a gap under the raised keeper and cheekily rolled it under his legs to score and win the match after the first penalty attempt.

fast 15 finalfast 15 winners

The final pitched two of the favourites and the “promoters dream match”. Benny versus Raffaele, Melbourne versus Sydney, the current “season” World No.1 versus the man who could be number 1 if he didn’t have to travel so far to play WASPA tournaments for his current club *hint hint*. Despite a tense start in the end it was Sydney coming out the winner, Raffaele pulled away midway through the match and ended up the three one victor.

RESULTS

(* = shots win)

GROUP 1
Anthony MADIONA *1-1 Steve WRIGHT
Alec ANDERSON 0-1 Benny NG
Anthony MADIONA 0-3 Benny NG
Steve WRIGHT 1-0 Alec ANDERSON
Steve WRIGHT 0-3 Benny NG
Anthony MADIONA 2-0 Alec ANDERSON

GROUP 1 Pl W SW SL L F A GD Pts
1 Benny NG Western Flickers 3 3 0 0 0 7 0 7 9
2 Anthony MADIONA Western Flickers 3 1 1 0 1 3 4 -1 5
3 Steve WRIGHT Western Flickers 3 1 0 1 1 2 4 -2 4
4 Alec ANDERSON Illawarra TFC 3 0 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0

GROUP 2
Raffaele LOMBARDI 2-0 John PALAMARA
Arjuna HANAFI 0-4 Richard WILSON
Raffaele LOMBARDI 2-0 Richard WILSON
John PALAMARA *0-0 Arjuna HANAFI
John PALAMARA 0-3 Richard WILSON
Raffaele LOMBARDI 7-0 Arjuna HANAFI

GROUP 2 Pl W SW SL L F A GD Pts
1 Raffaele LOMBARDI Sydney TFC 3 3 0 0 0 11 0 11 9
2 Richard WILSON Illawarra TFC 3 2 0 0 1 7 2 5 6
3 John PALAMARA Sydney TFC 3 0 1 0 2 0 5 -5 2
4 Arjuna HANAFI Western Flickers 3 0 0 1 2 0 11 -11 1

SEMI FINALS
Benny NG *0-0 Richard WILSON
Raffaele LOMBARDI 1-0 Anthony MADIONA

FINAL
Benny NG 1-3 Raffaele LOMBARDI *

Mar 2018 – Illawarra Open FISTF Satellite (Open, U19, WASPA)

11 March 2018
GROUP 1 Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 Raffaele LOMBARDI Sydney TFC 2 2 0 0 9 0 9 6
2 Paul MAGEE Subbuteo Parramatta 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 1
3 Anthony MADIONA Western Flickers TFC 2 0 1 1 1 7 -6 1
Raffaele LOMBARDI 6 0 Anthony MADIONA
Paul MAGEE 0 3 Raffaele LOMBARDI
Anthony MADIONA 1 1 Paul MAGEE
GROUP 2 Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 Daniele LOMBARDI Sydney TFC 2 1 1 0 7 2 5 4
2 Benny NG Western Flickers TFC 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 4
3 Kostas BARBARIS Sydney TFC 2 0 0 2 1 10 -9 0
Benny NG 4 0 Kostas BARBARIS
Daniele LOMBARDI 1 1 Benny NG
Kostas BARBARIS 1 6 Daniele LOMBARDI
GROUP 3 Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 Stephen DETTRE Northern Falcons TFC 3 3 0 0 7 1 6 9
2 Richard WILSON Subbuteo Parramatta 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
3 John PALAMARA Sydney TFC 3 0 2 1 2 3 -1 2
4 Arjuna HANAFI Western Flickers TFC 3 0 1 2 1 6 -5 1
Stephen DETTRE 3 0 Arjuna HANAFI
John PALAMARA 1 1 Richard WILSON
Richard WILSON 1 3 Stephen DETTRE
Arjuna HANAFI 1 1 John PALAMARA
Stephen DETTRE 1 0 John PALAMARA
Richard WILSON 2 0 Arjuna HANAFI

 

GROUP 4 Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 Tony CREDENTINO Sydney TFC 3 2 1 0 7 1 6 7
2 Hermann KRUSE Northern Falcons TFC 3 1 2 0 4 1 3 5
3 Steve WRIGHT Western Flickers TFC 3 1 1 1 3 2 1 4
4 Alec ANDERSON Illawarra TFC 3 0 0 3 0 10 -10 0
Hermann KRUSE 0 0 Steve WRIGHT
Alec ANDERSON 0 4 Tony CREDENTINO
Steve WRIGHT 3 0 Alec ANDERSON
Tony CREDENTINO 1 1 Hermann KRUSE
Hermann KRUSE 3 0 Alec ANDERSON
Tony CREDENTINO 2 0 Steve WRIGHT
QF1 Raffaele LOMBARDI 6 1 Richard WILSON
QF2 Benny NG 2 0 Tony CREDENTINO
QF3 Stephen DETTRE 5 3 Paul MAGEE
QF4 Hermann KRUSE 0 1 Daniele LOMBARDI
Semi Final Raffaele LOMBARDI 1 0 Benny NG
Semi Final Daniele LOMBARDI 4 0 Stephen DETTRE
FINAL Raffaele LOMBARDI * 5 3 Daniele LOMBARDI

 

Junior Group Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 Oliver OLLNOW Northern Falcons TFC 4 4 0 0 12 0 12 12
2 Torben PFISTER Northern Falcons TFC 4 3 0 1 11 3 8 9
3 Gabriel LOMBARDI Sydney TFC 4 2 0 2 8 5 3 6
4 Catherine PALAMARA Sydney TFC 4 1 0 3 1 9 -8 3
5 Saxon CRAPP Sydney TFC 4 0 0 4 0 15 -15 0
Torben PFISTER 6 0 Saxon CRAPP
Gabriel LOMBARDI 0 3 Oliver OLLNOW
Oliver OLLNOW 2 0 Torben PFISTER
Catherine PALAMARA 1 0 Saxon CRAPP
Oliver OLLNOW 4 0 Catherine PALAMARA
Saxon CRAPP 0 5 Gabriel LOMBARDI
Torben PFISTER 3 0 Catherine PALAMARA
Gabriel LOMBARDI 1 2 Torben PFISTER
Saxon CRAPP 0 3 Oliver OLLNOW
Shots
FINAL Oliver OLLNOW 1 1 Torben PFISTER * 1 2

 

WASPA Consolation | 20 min matches | Shots if draw
Round Player A Score Player B Shots
QF1 Arjuna HANAFI 0 0 John PALAMARA 2 4
QF2 Steve WRIGHT (BYE)
QF3 Anthony MADIONA (BYE)
QF4 Kostas BARBARIS (BYE)
Semi Final John PALAMARA 1 1 Steve WRIGHT 1 3
Semi Final Anthony MADIONA 0 2 Kostas BARBARIS
FINAL Steve WRIGHT 0 0 Kostas BARBARIS * 1 2

Subbuteo Parramatta – February 2018 WASPA

feb 15 2018 bSubbuteo Parramatta’s February WASPA tournament saw 4 of the club’s stalwarts head to the clubhouse at Bella Vista to battle out a very tight competition. Richard Wilson immediately put himself in the bad books by loudly declaring that this would be his first tournament officially as an Illawarra Table Football Club player – he had abandoned the club that had given him so much in getting him back into the game. On top of this, he was also getting his board, long stored at the clubhouse, and taking it home to Kiama at the end of the night. Not a good way to get onside with his opponents.

The first round of games saw Mat Barrie completely dominate Dave Sultana only to find that the woodwork was harder to beat than Dave’s ‘keeper. In the end, the woodwork proved to be the winner, a 0-0 scoreline ensuing. On the Extreme pitch, Adrian Elmer was in unfamiliar territory, dominating his opponent, Richard, instead of spending much of the game defending, as is his usual game plan. A number of half chances were easily batted away by Richard’s ‘keeper until, 20 seconds before the half time break, Richard made a swift counter attack and, with his first shot on goal of the game, went 1-0 up. Adrian equalised early in the second, before Richard took a decisive lead with a couple of minutes to go with a mishit shot that trickled inside the far post beyond Adrian’s stagnant ‘keeper. 2-1 to Richard.

Round two saw a couple of dour struggles. Adrian and Dave did their best to not upset the other’s ‘keeper in any way and finished at 0-0. Richard went to the half time break 1-0 up in his match against Mat though, again, had been dominated by his opponent. Mat got the equaliser he was looking for in the second half and the game finished at 1-1.

Going into the final round, everything was still to play for. A win to Richard would see him take the title and, with his opponent, Dave, yet to register a goal, was the clear favourite. Mat needed a big win and results to go his way on the other pitch and started strongly against Adrian. However, late in the half, an intricate dribbling sequence by Adrian’s attackers through Mat’s defence saw Adrian slip a goal past Mat’s stunned ‘keeper. Mat came out more determined in the second half and piled on some pressure, the game opening up. However, with time ticking away, things were slipping out of Mat’s hands. With 20 seconds to go in the game, Mat earned a flick in deep in his own area and mounted a quick attack. However, a rule debate saw the clock stopped and a deep discussion amongst the four players ensuing. In the end, the decision was made to replay the scenario with the time reinstalled. Mat took off – but forgot to touch the ball with his second flick. Adrian swiftly moved forward, got into the shooting area in one sweeping movement and put the ball in Mat’s goal with the final action of the game. On the Astrobase pitch, a tense struggle took place between Richard and Dave, with neither player being able to get on top in the first half. In the second half, though, the unbelievable happened – Dave finally bothering the scorer! He held on for a famous victory, throwing the entire points table into chaos. When the dust settled, all realised that Dave had emerged as the tournament victor. All that was left was to work out the minor placings. Adrian was in second place on goal difference, but a heated debate ensued as Richard argued the head to head result between equal players should be used, which would give him the second placing. As voices were raised, Richard stormed out with his board on his back and drove home to Kiama. Meanwhile, Dave went home satisfied – his pre tournament goal of finishing ahead of Mat achieved.

Subbuteo Parramatta’s next club meeting will be on Thursday March 1, with the next WASPA tournament on Thursday, March 15, both at Good Games Bella Vista.

(note: some events in this report may be exaggerated for dramatic effect)

Richard 2-1 Adrian
Mat 0-0 Dave

Adrian 0-0 Dave
Richard 1-1 Mat

Mat 0-2 Adrian
Dave 1-0 Richard

…………..P   W   D   L  GF  GA  P
Dave      3   1     2   0   1    0    5
Richard 3   1     1   1   3    3    4
Adrian   3   1     1   1   3    2    4
Mat        3   0     2   1   1    2    2

2017 Spring League Cup – Subbuteo Parramatta Leg

IMG_0084Following the completion of the Spring League, being run in three of Sydney’s club – Northern Falcons TFC, Subbuteo Parramatta and Sydney TFC – the final three weeks of November were set aside for each club to take a turn hosting a WASPA tournament. The last of these was held by Subbuteo Parramatta at their Bella Vista Good Games headquarters. Nine players joined in, most of who had not been able to play in any of the other two tournaments in the previous weeks.

Eliot Kennedy, Steve Dettre and Adrian Elmer were seeded into the three groups, with the other six players randomly placed. Steve Diasinos and Gordy Dudley assured organisers they would be arriving, just a little late, but double checks were made to ensure they were heading to the correct venue – you can never be too careful with these two. After a year without playing, Jordan Kolaczyk was also making a return, sporting his newly hand-painted i-Base Professionals.

IMG_0088The opening round of games through up a few surprises. In Group 1, Dave Sultana was at his consistent best and held top seed, Eliot, to a goalless draw. In Group 3, Kostas Barbaris showed the results of a few months’ solid play against some of Australia’s best players within his own club, Sydney TFC, his defensive flicking being particularly good and surprising Adrian with two quick, well worked goals. Adrian pulled one back just before half time and found an equaliser a few minutes before full time but Kosta was unfortunate that his immense improvement this season was not rewarded more. Meanwhile, in Group 2, Falcon Steve Dettre edged past club mate Adrian Grunbach with a 2-1 victory, Adrian’s late surge making Steve very nervous. The second phase saw Dave eventually take hold of his match against Jordan, who was having his first flick since the 2016 Spring League, with Dave taking the honours 2-0. Adrian G and Gordy played out a tight affair, Adrian scoring a solitary goal to earn the 3 points. Meanwhile, in a real arm wrestle, the two Greeks, Kostas and Steve Diasinos, took each other to the wire, with Steve also finally coming out with a single goal victory. In the final group matches, Eliot gave Jordan a bit of a Subbuteo lesson as Jordan grew increasingly desperate to get forward possession. Steve Dettre managed to squeeze one goal past Gordy Dudley who was defiant in his defence. Steve did have one shot right on full-time which found the net. It was unclear to all involved whether it had happened before or after the final whistle, however, so a 1-0 scoreline was settled on. Steve Diasinos had all the possession and applied all the pressure in the opening five minutes of his game against Adrian E, culminating in a beautiful shot on the run that sailed goalward. Somehow, Adrian managed to grab his ‘keeper with his left hand and get it in the way of the shot, the rebound ending deep in Steve’s half. One possession and three flicks later, the ball was in the back of Steve’s goal from a shot from an acute angle by Adrian. The circumstances of the goal turned the game on its head, finishing 3-0 to Adrian, a scoreline which flattered him but which he was delighted to inflict on Steve.

In the Repechage play-offs, Kostas and Gordy played out a 0-0 draw before each putting a solitary goal past Jordan, making for a very democratic conclusion. The Barrage round saw a typically tight tussle between Subbuteo Parramatta club mates Adrian E and Dave. Adrian managed to score a solitary goal to maintain his unbeaten competitive record against Dave. Meanwhile, in their first ever match up, Adrian G gave Steve Diasinos a spanking, slotting 3 unanswered goals past Steve’s ‘keeper. Adrian E than, unfortunately, ran into a brick wall in the shape of the diminutive Eliot. Eliot bossed the match and ran out a 4-0 winner. Meanwhile, Steve Dettre controlled the bulk of the possession in his semi against Adrian E, but couldn’t find a way past Adrian’s staunch defence (though Adrian was lucky to see one of Steve’s shots rebound off his unattended goalkeeper). Adrian, however, did manage some of his own counterattacks and 2 of these resulted in goals, one in each half.

IMG_0107Dave maintained Steve Diasinos’ misery in the 5th/6th play-off, putting one goal past his team mate. Meanwhile, Adrian G made a complete about face from the opening round encounter with Steve Dettre, taking a 3-0 lead into the half-time break. Steve came out with a better performance after the break, winning the half but still succumbing 4-2 in the 3rd/4th play-off. The grand-final saw the tournaments two shortest players face-off (something to do with centres of gravity being an advantage or something). In a fairly dour, technical match, Eliot pressed for much of the game, as he usually does, but Adrian’s defensive organisation and flicking were meaning his ‘keeper had little to do. Midway through the second half, however, Eliot got the half chance that was all he needed after a poor defensive flick from Adrian, and took the lead. Adrian attempted to take the game to Eliot but didn’t create any meaningful chances, meaning Eliot was able to take the tournament with a 1-0 victory.

Another great evening of friendly rivalry. As always, a great thanks to Nathan at Bella Vista Good Games for hosting us with lots of room for our pitches. Over the three weeks of Spring League Cup tournaments, 17 different players were able to take part. Many have one eye on the Asian Cup approaching in January and the series proved to be an invaluable opportunity for all players to continue improving.

for more photos click here

for full results click here