Men’s futsal on the brink of history

Down 7-5 away to Nottingham with seven minutes left in arguably the biggest game in the team’s history, it would be easy to think that the men’s futsal team had their backs against the wall.

Yet despite the fact that their opponents had momentum well and truly in their favour and a raucous crowd baying for blood, the Warwick players didn’t blink.

In a period of just six minutes, Warwick scored six times to completely overwhelm their opponents and silence a shocked the home crowd. In doing so, the team managed to win both the game and the title, clinching the Midlands 1A division and giving themselves a shot at promotion to the Premier Midlands League in one fell swoop.

The comeback, whilst being an incredible achievement for the Warwick players, was far from a surprise. As some of the players themselves have pointed out, the team had been playing from behind all season.

Top goalscorer Hudson Rolfel said: “We have had to come back from behind before this season. We were 3-1 down to Derby in the third game of the season and we came back to win 7-4. We showed real character to keep fighting after losing the first game of the season against Loughborough.”

This knack for winning from a losing position is not simply a testament to team spirit, according to forward Chris Wright. He credits the absence of a designated coach or manager with the team’s recent success.

He said: “I think with no coach or manager there is little expectation put on us when playing other universities. I think this differentiates us from our competitors who find it hard to retain high concentration levels under pressure.”

Captain Alex Chomette also credits this more communal team atmosphere with the formation of a superior game strategy, which gives them a crucial advantage over their opponents.

He said: “I make most of the decisions, but the team’s tactics and style of play are determined communally through training to find the optimum way of playing together. The fact that the club doesn’t have a coach means that I’m in charge but it’s vital to get advice from others because I can miss things.”

Should the team win in a playoff later this year, they will be promoted to the highest regional division for the first time in their history – a remarkable achievement considering that the club only entered the BUCS leagues in the 2010 season and played only friendly fixtures prior to that.

Alex Chomette hopes that winning the Midlands 1A division and possibly achieving promotion to the Premier Midlands League will lead to extra funding for the club, giving more players the chance to play competitively.

He said: “The squad is composed of 40 players who get through trials at the start of the year, but only eight or nine play in BUCS, making it hard to stay motivated if you’re not playing. “Hopefully winning the Midlands 1A division this year, something that has never been done before, will enable us to obtain the extra financing to enter two teams in BUCS next year.”