Subbuteo Parramatta - September Cup 2014

Subbuteo returned to its roots in the September Cup, bringing back the days of cramming into lounge rooms, dining rooms and garages, to hover over cotton and nylon pitches and play with round based figures. With a variety of conditions present on the different styles of pitches - from smooth and fast to Field A, affectionately known as ’The Glue Pot’, players had to show versatility in their skills to do well. A field of 8 players with a diverse range of abilities locked horns in a Swiss System tournament that later ran into a finals series as everyone was keen for more games - and a grand final! Early results went the way of Steve Dettre and Ethan Foster, while Adrian Elmer and Jonny Ball played out a tense scoreless draw, as did youngsters Imojjen and Æowyn Elmer, the random draw pitting the sisters against each other in the opening round. Jonny Ball began to revel in the old pitch conditions as his bending and shooting skills gave him significant wins in the next few rounds. Adrian Elmer made his way through all 5 of the Swiss System rounds without conceding a goal, though did struggle at the pointy end of the field, leaving him with a string of draws to go with his two victories. After missing the first round due to a long drive to the venue, previous September Cup winner Phill Parker began to crawl his way up the table while another former champ, Alex Jennings, squeezed into the top four. Making his September Cup début, Ethan Foster had a mixed bag of results while Steve Dettre quietly went about building a consistent run.

After five rounds of the Swiss System, players went into a finals series, with the top four playing for the trophy and the lower four for the shield. In a rematch of the day’s opening game, Jonny finally broke down Adrian’s defense to grab a 1-0 victory, while Steve and Alex went to shots after a 1-1 draw. Steve booked himself a place in the final with 3 clinical finishes and some solid goalkeeping. Following the consolation play-offs, the grand final was another tense affair. Steve took a one goal lead into the half time break but Jonny levelled early in the second period with a delicate shot that left Steve’s ‘keeper stuck to the spot. With just under a minute to go, and both players feeling the tension, Steve pulled of a brilliant shot, squeezing past one defender while getting the finest of angles on the ball, yet still hitting it with the force to lodge into the far corner of the goals. It was a goal worthy of winning a final.

A great time was had by all - the experienced players giving pointers to the newer players and helping them improve, while competing fiercely in the tighter games. Thanks to all for making another great September Cup.

(Report by Adrian Elmer)

First round (5 games played each):
Steve Dettre (Northern Falcons TFC) 12
Adrian Elmer (Subbuteo Parramatta) 9
Jonny Ball (Northern Falcons TFC) 8
Alex Jennings (Subbuteo Parramatta) 8
Phill Parker (Subbuteo Parramatta) 7
Ethan Foster (Subbuteo Parramatta) 6
Æowyn Elmer (Subbuteo Parramatta) 2
Imojjen Elmer (Subbuteo Parramatta) 2

Semis:
Steve Dettre - Alex Jennings 1-1(3-1)
Adrian Elmer - Jonny Ball 0-1

Semis (places 5-8):
Phill Parker - Imojjen Elmer 1-0
Ethan Foster - Æowyn Elmer 3-0

Final:
Steve Dettre - Jonny Ball 2-1

Steve Dettre (left), winner of the tournament

Final 3-4:
Adrian Elmer - Alex Jennings 0-1

Final 5-6:
Phill Parker - Ethan Foster 1-0

Final 7-8:
Imojjen Elmer - Æowyn Elmer 0-0

Australian players in the world rankings

In the FISTF rankings of August 2014, Robert Green is ranked 327th in the Open table and 88th in the Veterans. Gerald Brightwell is 296th in the veterans.

WASPA ranking of August 2014

15 Peter Thomas (Subbuteo Melbourne) 121,50
27 Carl Young (Subbuteo Melbourne) 98,00
54 Benji Batten (Subbuteo Melbourne) 68,20
59 Eliot Kennedy (Northern Falcons TFC) 63,00
70 John Devaney (Lincoln Flickers SC) 58,80
98 Luke Radziminski (Subbuteo Melbourne) 44,80
116 Gerald Brightwell (London & Essex United) 37,38
178 David Simpson (Subbuteo Melbourne) 27,00
199 Alex Jennings (Subbuteo Parramatta) 25,00
217 Paul Magee (no club)  23,00
221 Adrian Elmer (Subbuteo Parramatta) 22,60
225 Steve Dettre (Northern Falcons TFC) 22,40
233 Brett Davis (Emu Heights Bundesliga TFC) 21,00
313 Adam Deverell (Subbuteo Melbourne) 14,50
335 Searle Batten (Subbuteo Melbourne) 13,50
345 Phill Parker (Subbuteo Parramatta) 13,00
379 Anthony Ilacqua (no club)  12,20
388 Robert Green (Team Subbuteo Stockholm) 11,50
419 Martin Sarnecki (Subbuteo Melbourne) 10,10
465 Eial Donnenfeld (Subbuteo Melbourne) 8,50
488 Tom Nowacki (Subbuteo Melbourne) 8,00
513 Costa Kamarados (Subbuteo Parramatta) 7,00
595 Jay Porter (no club)  5,90
622 Terry Koutzas (no club)  5,00
704 Steve Diasinos (Subbuteo Parramatta) 4,00
704 Rob Retalic (Subbuteo Parramatta) 4,00
704 Harrison Vercoe (Subbuteo Melbourne) 4,00
762 Rick Piccinelli (Subbuteo Melbourne) 3,50
847 Nick Drage (no club)  2,80
847 Peter Lipsett (Subbuteo Melbourne) 2,80
856 Ethan Foster (Western Sydney SC) 2,60
856 Billy Koutzas (no club)  2,60
859 Martin Murgolo (no club)  2,50
882 Alex Stefanos (Subbuteo Melbourne) 2,40
895 Jonny Ball (Northern Falcons TFC) 2,20
916 Trent Fernandes (no club)  2,10
919 John Sexton (Hamilton SC) 2,00
997 Aaron Daniels (no club)  1,70
1003 Benny Ng (Subbuteo Melbourne) 1,60
1009 Matthew Murgolo (no club)  1,50
1031 Cameron Toazell (no club)  1,40
1047 Gordon Dudley (Subbuteo Parramatta) 1,00
1047 Imojjen Elmer (Subbuteo Parramatta) 1,00
1047 Paul Gorjan (Subbuteo Parramatta) 1,00
1047 Gille Inbar (Subbuteo Melbourne) 1,00
1047 Dillon Izon (Subbuteo Melbourne) 1,00
1047 Mark McIntosh (no club)  1,00
1047 Bronte Scott (Subbuteo Parramatta) 1,00
1047 Daniel Wilkes (Subbuteo Parramatta) 1,00
1047 Jonathan Wilkes (Subbuteo Parramatta) 1,00
1047 Benjamin Ng (Subbuteo Melbourne) 1,00
1256 Marlon Faner (no club)  0,50
1256 Alex Fleig (no club)  0,50
1256 Braiden Graw (no club)  0,50
1256 Mitchell Schroder (no club)  0,50