The long-awaited Futsal Premier & Championship Division 19/20 seasons get underway this weekend with a total of 23 clubs taking part.
The new rule introduced by the Gibraltar FA earlier this week will see 1 HGP on the pitch at all times for the duration of the whole match with the rule expected to rise to 2 for the 2020/21 season.
Each League (Premier and Championship) will ‘split’ after the 1st round of matches to allow a more balanced competition. The number of clubs in each half of the split will be determined by the final number of teams that registered in the respective Leagues by the 31st of August.
Premier Division teams:
Bavaria FC
College 1975
Europa FC
Inter Principia FC
Koala FC
Laguna 2007 FC
Lynx FC
Mons Calpe FC
South United FC
Spartans FC
Zoca Bastion
Games to be played on Saturday 19th October & Sunday 20th October at the Tercentenary Sports Hall.
Championship Divison teams:
Boca Juniors Gib FC
Expendables FC
FC Britannia
FC Hound Dogs
Hercules Football Club
Lek Bangkok FC
Lions Gib FC
Maccabi FC
Rock Solid FC
Sporting FC
St Joseph’s Football Club
Stallions FC
Games to be played Saturday 19th October & Sunday 20th October at the Old Sports Hall.
Lions Black went undefeated in Group 2 to progress into the final with Joelle Gilbert scoring in both games while Lions Orange saw themselves come from behind to beat Lincoln FC courtesy of goals from Josie Cummings and Reighann Olivero and won their first game in Group 1, goals from Alba Martin, Keshia Doody, Reighann Olivero and a Kayleigh Ferro brace.
Lions president Alex Grech spoke about how good it was to have the final between both Lions teams, saying it is a: “great achievement, and it shows how serious the club takes the ladies football. Furthermore, with our qualified coaches Jansen Olivero and Chris Ward continuously working and putting the hours for their development.”
We caught up with Tyson Ruiz as he reflects on the UEFA Futsal Champions League tournament with Lynx and his view going into the domestic season with his new club Mons Calpe.
Tyson Ruiz had mixed feelings about Lynx’s preparation going into the Futsal Champions League and said, “We’ve had better preparations in previous years, mainly due to the change of manager and players not able to attend all training sessions.”
Lynx lost all their group games against Hovocubo, Helvecia Futsal London and PYF Saltires – Tyson reflected on the tournament, “Overall, I think we had a good tournament. I felt that we could have done a bit more against the Scots, but the other two games were going to be near impossible.”
With the new Futsal season reportedly kicking off in October, we asked Tyson what he is hoping to achieve this season – “This season, I’m gonna take a break from futsal, at least till January. Last year it was difficult training with both futsal and football then playing twice a week.”
Tyson returned to Mons Calpe in the summer after leaving in 2017 and asked him if he is looking forward to the new domestic season, “Like I said before, it was difficult playing the two sports. This year, I’m concentrating on Mons Calpe and looking forward to trying to help achieve the clubs goals which is to try qualify for Europe.”
Lynx beat Mons Calpe 10-3 on aggregate while Gibraltar Phoenix Viajes Lineasol overcame South United on penalties to qualify for the Futsal 1st Division playoff final.
After the first leg finished 2-2, you would expect the second leg to be as tight but on the contrary, Lynx made light work of their opponents. Tyson Ruiz scored a hat-trick, captain Ezequiel Martin Martin bagged a brace and there were further goals for Ruben Fernandez Ruiz, Ethan Perez & Joel Emiliano Fraile as the holders shipped eight past Mons.
South United put in a valiant effort in the first leg, leading twice and equalising to make it 3-3 but Phoenix’s quality shone near the end which saw them take a 5-3 lead into the second leg.
Braces for Jayce Consigliero & Alberto Caravaca and one from Estiven Morente Veles saw South United win the second leg 5-3 and take the game to penalties which Phoenix would go on and win – it is games such as this which makes Futsal so exciting.
Lynx will now play Phoenix Viajes Lineasol in a best of three final which is expected to take place this weekend (no official confirmation by the Gibraltar FA at the time of writing).
Northern Ireland produced a second half comeback to stun Gibraltar and come from two goals down to win 3-2 in an action packed match at the Tercentenary Sports Hall.
After losing their opening game on Saturday 3-0, Gibraltar came into the game hoping to get revenge. The early stages were a very even contest with both keepers called into action.
As the game went on, Tiffany Viagas started to see more of the ball and was pulling the strings in all of Gibraltar’s attacks. Halfway through the first half and Gibraltar broke the deadlock through Kayleigh Ferro.
Gibraltar goalkeeper Caitlin Robba made a good save shortly after, to keep out a shot from Olivia Brown. 17 minutes played and Gibraltar doubled their lead, Shania Robba drawed the keeper off her line and squared the ball for Joelle Gilbert to smash in from close range.
The hosts were awarded two penalties in the final minute of the first half, Kayleigh Ferro hit the first one over the bar while Joelle Gilbert’s hit the post and the Northern Ireland keeper Alice Harkness showed great reflexes to keep out Tiffany Viagas’ rebound.
After a relatively even start to the second half, Shania Robba nearly made it 3-0 for Gibraltar but Harkness made an excellent save to keep out. Four minutes later, Caitlin Robba made another great save to keep out a close range shot from Mairead McCann.
A minute later, Northern Ireland pulled a goal back as Hannah Henderson bundled the ball over from a corner. Playing again in less than 24 hours really took it’s toll on Gibraltar as two late goals from Olivia Brown secured the visitors a 3-2 win.
Conclusion: This weekend would have definitely been what the Gibraltar women’s team would have hoped for going into the games. Two losses but two excellent performances – from the experience of Keisha Doody, the technical ability of Tiffany Viagas and the goalscoring prowess of Kayleigh Ferro, the foundation has been laid down for what looks to be an exciting new chapter in Women’s football.
Mons Calpe and Gibraltar Phoenix Viajes Lineasol both recorded wins last weekend to keep the battle at the top on goal difference while South United secured a top four place.
Mons Calpe 7-4 Newton Stores
Jaydan Parody scored four goals as Mons Calpe cruised to a comfortable win over Newton to remain top of the Futsal 1st Division table – Gibraltar internationals Dylan Glynn, Naoufal El Andaloussi & Zane Holgado all got on the scoresheet.
Lynx 1-4 Gibraltar Phoenix Viajes Lineasol
Mons Calpe were hoping last season’s league winners Lynx would do them a favour and try to get a result against Phoenix but goals from ex-Gibraltar internationals Jamie Pecino & a Joseph Chipol brace sealed an important win.
South United 1-1 Europa
South United announced on social that their draw against Europa mathematically confirmed them a top four finish. Justin Collado gave South the lead before Europa quickly equalised.
A big achievement for a side which was only created three years ago, now to build and go one better next season!
Mons Calpe ended Gibraltar Phoenix’s 12-game unbeaten run with Lynx & South United picked up wins also.
After coming up just short against Lynx, South United got back to winning ways by beating Newton Store 6-3. Goals from Kailan Perez, Liam Clarke,Alan Parker, Zhane Consigliero and a Estiven Morente brace puts their side on 25 points, 11 off the leaders.
Last years leaders Lynx easily beat Europa 9-2, Robert Montovio got amongst the goals which now sees them stay third – three points adrift of Phoenix & Mons Calpe.
Gibraltar Phoenix Viajes Lineasol versus Mons Calpe definitely lived up to the hype with the latter recording a 4-1 win, Gibraltar Internationals Andrew Lopez, Guy Olivero & Jaydan Parody all got on the scoresheet to end Phoenix’s 12-match unbeaten run.
After returning from the Futsal World Cup qualifiers, we spoke to Alan Parker about his goal against England, preparation for the tournament and achievements with South United.
Firstly. Alan described how the trip to Latvia was “Well for starters, I would like to say that it has been an amazing trip. I feel that I have gained valuable experience which will benefit myself and my team-mates in future competitions.”
Gibraltar flew out to Latvia on Saturday 26th January, four days before their opening game against England. We asked how those extra days of preparation helped the team, “I think travelling earlier gave us more time to prepare the games but also helped us to focus more, instead of being in Gibraltar and flying to Latvia two days before the game.”
Alan scored in Gibraltar’s opening 4-1 defeat to England followed by 9-0 & 11-0 defeats to hosts Latvia and Cyprus respectively. Alan reflected on his individual performances, “Scoring a goal for Gibraltar is always important and in that moment, it felt amazing. However, the result against England wasn’t what we wanted but our performance was excellent. We all tried our best and gave our all for Gibraltar, the results weren’t great but i’m proud enough with that. Hopefully the experience we’ve gained from this tournament will help us get better results next time around.”
Alan’s focus now turns to the domestic league, with South United sitting fourth in the First Division – we asked how his team will do for the rest of the season, “We have two games left and then the league splits into two for the playoffs. We just take things one match at a time and try our best to finish in the top four and qualify for a spot in Europe next season which is our aim.”
Gibraltar kick off their FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying campaign this afternoon against England – we caught up with head coach Jose Carlos Gil Prieto as he talks about the preparation leading up to the tournament, what he hopes to achieve and much more.
After being pitted in Group A with England, Cyprus and hosts Latvia; we asked Jose Carlos on his thoughts on the draw – “After 4 years working for the GFA Futsal, first as an assistant to Peter Moreno and this last year & a half as head coach – I could say that the effort made by these players and technical staff has been incredible. With Christmas in between, we have carried on training, despite the problems we always encounter with the allocations (despite the great effort made by the Gibraltar FA). The mix of experience with youth, existing in this team, is probably the best which I have worked with, they are a good group of players and we hope that all the hard-work put in will be reflected in the matches.”
We asked how the preparation has gone in the lead up to the Futsal World Cup qualifiers, “In fact, the preparation has been quite good except for the injuries sustained to Mark Moxham and our captain Andrew Lopez, who are unable to travel with the squad. As I said before, preparation has been excellent especially during December and January as we’ve had practically 20 players, which, on previous occasions, it was very difficult for us to create a stable group. This shows that Futsal continues to grow in Gibraltar as there’s more interest in our selection, both young and experienced players.”
During the UEFA Nations League campaign, Jose Carlos worked closely with Julio Ribas – we asked how it’s benefited him as a coach, “To be honest, it has helped me a lot but not only in the days before the games, but in the day to day of our work (preparation of training, talks, etc). Working with someone like Julio, who has worked at the highest level has been a real eye opener for me. Lastly, I would like to thank Julio and the members of the Gibraltar FA for giving me this precious opportunity.”
Lastly, Jose Carlos gave an insight into what he hopes to achieve from this tournament which sees Gibraltar play three games in four days – “Regarding what I hope to achieve in this qualifier; we are all very clear that the main and most important thing is to give our maximum in each game, to compete at the highest level and continue acquiring international experience. In the result, many other details intervene as can be the rival, luck, etc .., But that does not prevent, that no one will take from us, the immense illusion with which we travel, and although we have to be realistic of the harshness of the rivals, in our mind there is always the maximum demand, which is to get positive results and continue scoring, and for the first time in the history of our federation progress to the next round of the World Cup.”
We take a look at the remarkable rise of South United – from a group of friends at “El Quarry” to competing in the Futsal Premier Division. Continue reading →
