Futsal: Luxol beat Spartans to clinch Knock-Out

Luxol FC clinched their second honour of the 2015-16 Futsal season on Monday after claiming the Gatorade Knock-Out. In the final, they beat Hamrun Spartans 7-3 in a hard-fought contest at the Corradino Pavilion.

Luxol had opened their campaign way back in November with the Super Cup after beating Valletta. The St. Andrews outfit faced strong resistance from Hamrun especially in the first half, which resulted in a balanced affair.

It was clearly evident from the initial stages that this match, which was also played behind closed doors, was going to be a thriller. Luxol established a double advantage through Florin Anton and Mark Zammit but the Spartans drew level just before half-time through Madson Caetano and George Frendo.

In the second half, Luxol proved to be a determined lot as they struck forward in search of goal. They regained the lead from a well-taken Florin Anton shot. Hamrun, however, again hit back and George Frendo levelled at 3-3. Luxol continued to attack and opened a four-goal lead following a Carl Azzopardi brace, William Barbosa and Celino Alves. Hamrun opted to attack with the flying keeper but the Luxol reaguard controlled the proceedings to secure an important success.

Luxol captain, William Barbosa was presented with the Knock-Out trophy by FMA President Mark Borg.

Meanwhile Raphael Felipe Ortiz de Oliveira of Ħamrun Spartans was presented with the Gatorade Futsal League top scorer award.