Courtesy: Sportsbyte Sunderland


Sunderland thrash Welsh side to finish Futsal campaign

Sunderland finished their Futsal campaign in convincing fashion after brushing aside Bangor 8-5 at York University.

Five goals from Richard Cowan and a brace from captain Jonny Snelling ensured the Wearsiders first full season of futsal ended on a high.

Striker Enahoro Vade’s tap-in completed the rout leaving the Welsh side ruing some slack defending and toothless forward play.

The win brings to an end what has been a exciting season for the University of Sunderland and one that will give them confidence going into the new next term.

With coach Damon Shaw unavailable for the fixture, it was up to second year student Snelling to take the reigns.

And he did so with distinction, as his grit, nous and tenaciousness shone throughout Sunderland’s win.

Yet it was his midfield counterpart Cowan who stole the limelight in the first period as his first-half hat-rick saw Sunderland storm into a commanding 4-1 lead.

Not content with three, Cowan added another two after the interval to steal the plaudits.

But it was Snelling who kept things ticking over, as he ran the show and pulled the strings with great guile.

His pressure of the Bangor defence lead to Cowan striking a low fizzing shot the opener, before Snelling’s short corner was blasted in again by Cowan.

With Sunderland seemingly in cruise control, the Welshman clawed one back as Ryan Schofield’s shot hit the inside of the post before spinning into the back of the net.

Sunderland’s response was immediate. Slack goalkeeping allowed Cowan to notch his third, before Snelling beat keeper Daniel Hash at his near post for the University’s fourth.

Bagnor gave themselves a glimmer of hope as they pulled one back just after the re-start thanks to Chris Grant’s effort.

Frustrated at Sunderland’s sloppy start, Snelling urged his troops forward and the rollicking paid dividends. Cowan got his fourth through a deflected shot, before Vade’s tap-in made it six for Sunderland.

To finish it, Snelling showed great individual skill down the left, jinking his way past the defence before unleashing a fizzing shot into hash’s bottom left corner. Not to be undone, Cowan was beautifully set up by Snelling and Sunderland’s goal hero blasted the ball into the roof of the net for his fifth and Sunderland’s eighth.

Bagnor pulled three quick goals back, due to some tired legs from Sunderland but it was too little too late.

After the match, Snelling told SportsByte: “It was a good win and we played well. We gave away a few slack goals at the end, but we were excellent going forward and took our chances well. It brings the end to what has been a good season for the team.”




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