Sheffield FC Futsal finish 3rd in FA Futsal Cup

Sheffield FC Futsal finished 3rd in the FA Futsal Cup after a thrilling weekend of futsal at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. The local side were beaten 4-2 by Spartans after extra time in the Semi Finals to end their hopes of breaking the national dominance of London based Spartans and Helevicia. National play off champions Helvecia completed the double by winning their third consecutive Futsal Cup by beating Spartans 3-2 in the final.
Sheffield started strongly during qualification beating Four Star 6-1 in their first game. In their second qualification game they succumbed to Helvecia with a 4-1 defeat. This was though a marked improvement from the heavy defeat Sheffield suffered against the national champions during the play offs in July. Even so Sheffield still qualified for the quarter finals facing old enemy Manchester who Sheffield overcame in the Northern National League title race in June. It was a tight and tense game with both sides relying on an organised defensive shape to keep both teams shooting chances to a minimum. Sheffield eventually broke the deadlock with a controversial goal with Portuguese player Joel Rocha ending his mazy run through the Manchester team with a shot which hit the underside of the bar, bouncing down, seemingly over the line. Manchester players complained profusely but the second referee gave the goal without hesitation. With only a minute to go it was an opportune time for Sheffield to take the ascendancy and Manchester time ran out securing Sheffield’s progression to the semi finals.
During the semi final against Spartans, Sheffield seemed confident and many felt that this could be their time to reach the final. This was supposed as Spartans had lost one of their star players Bruno Vitorino to semi finalists Team Unum prior to the tournament, which proved costly as he went on to be voted the player of the tournament also finishing top goalscorer with 13 goals. Sheffield scored early through Ben Mortlock with a direct counter attack and dominated the early exchanges. On 9 minutes Spartans were given a dubious free kick after what seemed a clean sliding tackle by James Cook. Agon Rexha scored from the free kick firing into the top of the net before he converted a penalty 1 minute later to give Spartans the lead. In the second half Sheffield dominated possession but were unable to capitalise on this until the 14th minute with Joel Rocha equalising for Sheffield. In extra time Spartans experience showed by punishing Sheffield on the counter attack with 2 goals to reach the final. Sheffield eventually secured 3rd place by beating Team Unum in the 3rd/4th place match. It was the furthest Sheffield had ever reached in the futsal cup and it was clear that the gap between them and the top two teams in the country is no longer as wide as it once was. Sheffield have made great strides this season and with further signings in the close season expected, they will hope to be amongst the honours next season with qualification for the UEFA Futsal Cup the clubs ultimate aim.
Sheffield FC Futsal will be holding trials during Thursday 16th, 23rd and 30th September. If you are interested then please get in contact with the club by emailing futsal@sheffieldfc.com.


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