Boro march up to 2nd

by Damon Shaw

Middlesbrough Futsal Club climbed three places in the Northern Conference of the Futsal Premier League on Sunday, after a draw with FC Barsa of Leeds and a victory against pacesetters Sheffield Stormers. Boro went into the games today knowing that 2 wins would put them top and in control of the league. The task was not an easy one with Leeds in 3rd and Sheffield on top, both strong contenders for the title of northern champions.

The first match was against FC Barsa of Leeds, who had Stephen Harrison, England international playing for them. The first half saw no goals and a very tentative affair with Boro keeping Leeds at bay, limiting them to long shots, though creating few clear chances themselves.

The second half was undoubtedly going to open up and it was only a minute into the proceedings that a loose ball was picked up by Rob Oxley who fired a powerful shot beyond Christophe Gaube to make it 1-0 to Barsa. Playing with a small squad against 12 men of Barsa was always going to be difficult and to be behind even harder to find a way back. The determination of the players, however, ensured an immediate response and Ben Amos bagged his first Premier League goal after his first shot was cleared off the line by a Leeds defender. The game was surely going to open up now and it was Boro who took the lead with a poacher’s goal from Ryon Leyshon. At 2-1 Leyshon had a chance to put the game away but with 2 on 1 against the on rushing goalkeeper he made a pass too far in front of McGowan who was in support.

Barsa, with 5 minutes remaining on the clock, equalised through England international Steve Harrison who dribbled through and powered an unstoppable shot into the back of the net. Anything but a win for Barsa would see their chances of winning the league title disappear, and with 2 minutes left Barsa took the lead through their Croatian import, who had been left unmarked on a run from the back. Barsa could sense a victory that would give them revenge for the 4-2 defeat in December and severely dent Boro’s hopes of winning the league. Pressing on was the only way of salvaging something from the game and it was Burgess’s kamikaze run to close down their keeper that led to the equaliser 45 seconds from time. The 50/50 challenge left Ryon Leyshon clear to bag his 2nd of the match and 5th of the season. 3-3 was the final score.

Next up in the double header was Sheffield Stormers, who hold a proud 100% record at the top of the league. The tired legs of Middlesbrough, however, rose to the challenge, knowing that of the two games, this was the one they needed to win. Despite the fatigue setting in, an amazing opening 10 minutes saw Boro take a 6-0 lead with most goals coming from the quick counter attack. Sheffield had won all three of their previous matches coming from behind so even though 6 goals gave Boro the advantage it was important to keep focused. By half time Sheffield had showed that they have goals in them and the 7-4 score line was a warning to Boro that any complacency would be punished. A solid second half performance saw another 6 goals. Leyshon grabbed 5 to double his Boro total and break a record of most goals in one match, formerly held by Simon Whigham, who also equalled his own record with 4 goals. Rick McGowan buried his penalty nightmare of last season when he scored from 6 metres, which capped a good performance back in the first team. Ben Mortlock (2), and Xavi scored the other 3 goals to send their intentions to the rest of the league with a sound victory over the league leaders. 13-5

With two games remaining the title could go to one of 4 teams, Hull, Sheffield, Birmingham or Middlesbrough. The next league fixtures are University of York vs. Sheffield Stormers and Hull FC vs. Birmingham on 29th April. Boro play in the British University Futsal Cup Finals on the same weekend, with the next fixture not until 27th May, but Boro could wrap up the title if results go in their favour when they play York and Birmingham.



Boro Goals vs. Barsa - Goals vs. Sheffield
Christophe Gaube (GK) 0-0
Damon Shaw 0-0
Ryon Leyshon 2-5
Ben Amos (C) 1-0
Richard Burgess 0-0
Simon Whigham 0-4
Richard McGowan 0-1
Ben Mortlock 0-2
Xavi 0-1



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