University of East London firsts have put themselves in pole position for the league title following an enthralling, action-packed 16-8 win over Queen Mary at SportsDock on Sunday.
Both sides entered the tie with 100% records in the league this season, but it was the visitors that sat top of the table by six points having played two extra games.
The win means that UEL can go three points clear of Queen Mary if they win their two games in hand, making them the front-runners for the first time all season despite technically still being in second place.
Speaking after one of the games of the season, UEL coach Trevor Tamatave gave his thoughts on the match and his sides title chances.
“It was a good win. Maybe it wasn’t our best first half but we worked hard for the win. The squad wasn’t as strong as we’d have liked but we still scored some superb futsal goals.
“We’re nearly there now. The league is ours, but only if we want to be winners. Being winners means sacrificing and giving your all.” Claimed the Blues boss, “If we want to win we need everyone to be to training and preparing well for the remaining games.”
UEL were looking to bounce back from their Conference Cup despair last week at Brunel, but they without two key individuals in Bruno Cesar and Koki Ogawa and this left them with just a single sub, meaning fatigue could quite likely work in the away side’s favour, whose squad boasted two extra players.
Neck and neck
Tamatave, who spoke in great depth about how to approach the game tactically prior to kick-off, was left frustrated when his side went behind through a rare error from captain James Rene who gifted the away side a goal within the first two minutes. Responding to his side’s hesitant start, Tamatave called a ‘timeout’ for his team to regroup.
Taking the manager’s words on board, the Blues began to threaten as they knew they could. Queen Mary economics graduate Amine Mimoune saw his one-on-one effort saved by the goalkeeper of his former University, Mir Al Sadi, before Yacine Rabia popped up at the back post to level the scoreline. UEL then took the lead almost immediately after this through Mo Farah’s close-range finish.
Determined to extend their lead at the top of the table, Queen Mary fought back through a dominant spell of possession in which UEL were caught between pressing their opponents, or sitting off of them. The away side saw several of their efforts denied by the Blues’ keeper Dan Grimes, but Tanapat Panna eventually slotted a one-on-one home to make things 2-2.
Exploded into life
After a tense early period, the tie exploded into life for the remaining period of the half. The catalyst, Harman Sandhu, stepped up massively to spark a valiant spell of dominance for the East Londoners. Using his pace and close control, he played a one-two with Mimoune, continued his run down the left and then set up Rabia who lashed home as powerfully as ever.
Sandhu then added to the scoreline himself, before providing the assist for Mimoune’s first goal to make things 5-2 to the hosts. Queen Mary could have crumbled there and then, but they picked themselves back up courageously and began to pepper the UEL goal once more.
Grimes looked to be denying the visitors a way back into the match, but they refused to take no for an answer and clawed their way back with two goals before half time. Things were finely poised going into the second half, with UEL’s slender 5-4 lead largely reflecting how closely-fought the game had been so far. However, not many would have predicted the chaos that ensued in the coming half.
Flared Tempers
Perhaps unaccustomed to being behind, one or two Queen Mary players started to question the referee’s performance, a trend which carried on well after full time. Unwilling to get too involved with the away side’s attempts to provoke, UEL saw an opportunity to put the unsettled side to the sword and took it emphatically.
Now pressing Queen Mary, UEL could smell blood. They were chasing down every loose ball as if they were a pack of hungry dogs and Queen Mary were struggling to defend against the hosts’ intricate movement and clinical finishing. With just five minutes left on the clock they’d given themselves an insurmountable 14-6 lead.
The chances Queen Mary did get were more often than not thwarted by Grimes, and Jachym Stary even saw a late penalty end up in the keeper’s grasp after cannoning back off of the post. Their two late goals weren’t nearly enough for them to think about drawing level, as Mimoune responded with an outrageous rabona into the top corner, shortly before Rabia bulldozed home a final goal for UEL.
Queen Mary’s protests after the game caused some confrontation which marred what was otherwise a fantastic game of futsal, but the small blemish won’t be enough to deter either team from continuing their fight for the title.
With the league now in their hands, UEL still have six games to play, the first coming this Sunday away to third place City University, who will be looking to overtake the Blues in their own quest for the title. Meanwhile Queen Mary take on Essex second’s, who are yet to score a single point from their first four games.
Man of the Match – Dan Grimes: The Blues’ keeper was in inspired form, pulling off numerous saves throughout the match to keep his side ahead.
