11/06/2026
YMCA FUTSAL LEAGUE, term 2, 2026, week 8
And suddenly we are up to week eight and just two more Wednesday nights to decide Term Two in the Taranaki YMCA Futsal competition and what a night we had last night.
Nutnicks managed to hold onto their spot on top of the table last night, but they had to work for it, the eventual 6-2 win over FC Bada Bing actually being no easy thing. Yes, once again, the scoreline tells lies.
Bada Bing actually led the encounter against champions-in-waiting Nutnicks early on in last night’s fixture, partly thanks to a brilliant strike from Western Premiership outdoors football player Henry Stockman, his blast at goal for Bada Bing from just inside the Nutnicks’ half of the court and it ended up an absolute peach of a goal.
Stockman’s goal was only rivalled for goal-of-the-night by that of Egmont Deisel Services (EDS) player Mark Bland.
EDS played No.3-ranked and fellow former champion side Lads Indoor last night and what a clash that was!
A total of 17 goals were scored in this 24-minute battle, with EDS eventually winning 11-6. That would surely be more goals per minute than even the most entertaining match we could expect at the upcoming Football World Cup. Who is still sitting at home and watching television on a Wednesday night? Get yourself down to the YMCA stadium.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the court, Nick Betteridge was masterful in goal for EDS. He stopped some shots that he really had no right to get a hand to. The reflexes of a cat.
We also witnessed a couple of remarkable examples of sportsmanship last night that really warmed the heart.
Old Boys had only four players at kick-off time last night and pleaded with their opponents, Pacific United FC, to offer up one of their number allow them to have five players and help out as goalie. Pacific were gracious to provide Amal Raj to help out their opposition.
And “help out” he certainly did, pulling off some remarkable saves in goal. He could, afterall, have “helped out” his side by letting a few soft goals go past him, but instead he was a virtual brick wall in goal.
Then, when Old Boys’ regular keeper Enrico Grond eventually showed up, Pacific went a step further by allowing him to replace Amal Raj between the posts (instead of insisting the ring-in remain in goal, as per the rules), with Raj now acting as striker for his adopted team. And, even in the new role, Raj performed brilliantly.
It ended up as a 7-0 win to Pacific United and that’s just as well, because this team’s sportsmanship surely deserved at least that.
Bottom-of-the-table and win-less Footloose gave a great account of themselves last night, taking it to opponents Andy’s Army in a match that really could have gone either way. Footloose actually dominated for a few spells, but Andy’s Army eventually wore them down and won 7-3.
Andy’s Army is ranked fourth in our 10-team competition and Footloose is stony-broke last. Just let that sink in. It just goes to show how tight and competitive the Taranaki YMCA Futsal competition is.
In terms of the points table, Nutnicks hung onto the top spot last night, while defending champion side EDS remained second and, in fact, the only change to the points table positions last night was that of FC Bada Bing and Angry Beavers, Bada Bing dropping one spot from seventh to eighth and Beavers rising one spot, from eighth to seventh.
PLEASE NOTE:
The points table is arranged in this fashion: Top positions are determined firstly by points earned; then by superior goal difference; then by most wins acquired; then by most goals scored; then by most 'fairplays' acquired (and these are now awarded in only exceptional circumstances) and, finally, by fewest "yellow card" sanctions.
PLEASE NOTE TOO:
Three (3) yellow card sanctions result in the deduction of two (2) competition points and three (3) fairplay awards will result in the addition of one (1) bonus competition point. A red card is an immediate loss of three (3) points and the player involved must also miss the following week's competition. It pays to play fair.
Regards
Andy "The Ref"
