Broomedesliga Round One: Barbarians Raid the Shire

The Broome Soccer Association’s annual Broomedesliga futsal competition kicked off in earnest of Wednesday night, as eight teams vied for their place in the annals of history.

With several new teams and signings strutting their stuff, it was set to be an interesting night.

The undoubtable match of the round saw last season’s champions Sanga, pitted against Broome soccer stalwarts Racing Guantanamo, with both sides desperate to get off to the best start in this short season.

Raiko Kiudmaa showed just why Guantanamo moved quick to re-sign him with a hat-trick to his name, helping the Mighty Orange to a 9-3 victory over a Sanga side which struggled to maintain their excellent first half momentum into the second.

Racing Guantanamo’s brother side, Sporting Guantanamo, faced off against tough opposition in the Richard Brunger-led Royals side which promised so much last season but ultimately delivered little.

Sporting looked to be in control after the first half leading 2-0, but the Royals pushed back in the second, ultimately winning via an unfortunate own goal scored by Guantanamo captain Andy Smyth.

The match ended 4-3 to the Royals.

Newcomers Jiminies FC and Cardiff City faced off against each other in the third match of the round, and despite the scoreline of 11-1 in favour of Cardiff, the match was by no means one sided.

A spirited Jiminies side, with its focus on youth talent, held off a number of Cardiff attacks, while launching a few blistering strikes of their own.

In the final match, Hobbits FC went down 17-2 against UN Barbarians.

Hobbits experience showed in the middle of the park, with determination and grit showed by returning veteran Allan Meikle, but were unable to stem the onslaught of Barbarian attacks, led by wily South African JJ Murray.

The results of the round sees the Barbarians sit at the top on goal difference, while the Hobbits prop up the table, but with another seven rounds of football to be played before the finals series, it’s still anyone’s championship.