Middlesbrough begin their title defence

The Futsal season kicks off this weekend and Middlesbrough’s title defence gets underway against Manchester away in Manchester. Boro go into this season as champions of The FA Futsal League North, but have yet to beat Manchester in four attempts in the league. Their best result came in last season’s away game which ended 3-3.

Despite losing over 20 years of experience in the close season, including Nick Hamblin’s move to Manchester, Boro boss Damon Shaw is happy with his squad and season preparations.

“We might have lost some very good players, but we’ve worked hard since the end of the season to bring in players who can take this team forward. The more experienced players will be vital and will step into the boots of those who left and the newer, younger players have a lot of ability as well. I’m very happy with the squad I have and I am looking forward to seeing them develop into top class players.”

Middlesbrough have been struggling to find a sponsor for their title defence season, but their search continues while the players contribute to keep the club running. Darlington Football Club have stepped in to provide a kit for the Teessiders until a sponsor is found so Boro’s traditional navy and red will be replaced with black and white hoops for now! Hertel, who withdrew a substantial amount of support for financial reasons have also contributed £300 to the cause, and Boro are looking for local companies to offer a similar amount to take the burden off the players.

Despite the off the pitch struggles, the players are in a good mood and can’t wait to get back into action. A 14-6 win over Grimsby last week was good preparation for the season but Shaw isn’t looking too far ahead and insists there is no pressure on the team.

“We’ve proved ourselves once and had a fantastic season last year; the pressure isn’t on these lads to repeat that, I just want to see commitment to development. The team we’ve got now may take time to reach the heights we got used to, but we’ve got time. The average age of the team is 21 and all except Jason (Kilbride) and Jon (Prosser) are local.”

Boro take on Manchester this weekend, in the midst of the football season being disrupted by the heavy snow. It’s a chance for fans to get their footy fix as, futsal, unless the venue closes in extreme cases won’t fall foul of the weather. Middlesbrough then welcome Leeds Futsal Club to Thornaby on 17th for their first home game of the season.

For full fixtures and more information about futsal, please visit www.BoroFutsal.com.





Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com