Bit cold, isn’t it? Possibly too early for some of the fair weather footballers to start thinking about getting back into it, but if you do…….

LEAGUE NEWS

We are less than two weeks away from the split in the TUESDAY LEAGUE, with the top 6 continuing as the Premiership, and the bottom two dropping in with 4 new teams to make up a new Championship. There are TWO SPACES AVAILABLE as it stands, with friendlies available for any new teams next week. Get in touch ASAP to book in your one off trial game.

The same thing will be happening in the MONDAY LEAGUE in 4 weeks time, so we are looking for another couple of teams to fill the TWO SPACES we have for that as well. There’s a bit more time to get your friendly games booked in for now, so to have the chance to get a few games under your belt, give us a shout.

The brand new SUNDAY LEAGUE kicks off on 4th March, and with the opportunity for expansion still there we can look to accommodate any new teams looking to get involved. There are two catch up weeks to follow this upcoming weekend, so some existing league teams will not have scheduled league games. Friendlies can be arranged over these two weeks to give us an  idea of what division any new team should go into. If you’re interested, you know what to do…….

TUESDAY LEAGUE

We welcomed a couple of new teams to the Tuesday league who got involved in friendlies ahead of the split, and both of these teams had differing fortunes, but they’ll both be back next week to do it all again. In the league games this week Inter Mi Van were looking to bounce back from their first defeat against struggling Wellspring FC. It was a Wellspring team featuring a couple of new recruits this week, and they were level at 1-1 at the break after Connor Harding leveled up after Ryan Andres had given Inter the lead. Two goals from Warren Yeo early in the second period put Wellspring two up, and though Carl Robins pulled one back with 15 minutes remaining, Harding’s second of the game 7 minutes from time completed a surprise victory for a team who look likely to drop into the Championship when the league splits. Outside of Gangs Of Dwight Yorke, the rest of the league appears to be hard to call, as Only Kruls & Horses looked to pick up some momentum after finally picking up their first win of the season last week, while Inter Row Z were looking to pick up some wins after a series of draws earlier in the campaign. Goals from Sean Martin, James Thornley and Seb Etchells gave Kruls a 3-0 lead inside the opening 14 minutes, but goals from Donnelly’s Ray and Callum reduced the deficit to one as we approached the interval. Etchells second made it 4-2 at the break, and Jack Mullern’s goal 6 minutes into the second period helped them open up a three goal lead again. There was no way back for Inter this time, and Mullern grabbed his second in the final minute to complete a win that pretty much ensures Kruls a place in the top 6 at the split. In the friendlies, brand new boys Turkish Delight picked up an impressive 10-2 win over a Wellspring team who stopped on to give them a game, while not as new but still new to Tuesday Shaka were heavily beaten 11-1 by a rapidly improving Oooze FC.

THE TUESDAY CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE KICKING OFF ON 20TH FEBRUARY, CURRENTLY TWO SPACES AVAILABLE, WITH FRIENDLIES AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK AS A ‘TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.’ GET IN TOUCH.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Kinky Slipper have been the bridesmaids more times than they would like to have been in the Sunday Premiership, and while we’re sure they looked very nice in their bridesmaids dresses, they wanted this to be their big season. While we’ve had some dramatic finishes to the Sunday Premiership in previous seasons, Kinky could clinch the title with weeks to spare if they could beat El Caliente this week. When they went in at half time 9-0 up, El Caliente might as well have formed a guard of honour for the second half. The game finished 13-0, with Joe Lailey scoring 4, and Jordan Hutchinson, Wesley Harney and Rob Cresswell scoring three each. The now former champions Insole faced an interesting game this week against a Kipsta Cobras team who’ve shown massive signs of improvement of late. A tight first half saw us go in at half time scoreless, and we were 5 minutes into the second half before a Liam Atkinson goal kicked this one into life. Matt Toft scored two in a minute to put Kipsta in front, before Jordan Cunningham scored the 4th goal in 6 minutes to make it Desmond with 14 minutes to play. There were no more goals, but Kipsta could have won it if Warren Yeo could have converted a penalty…….

With Under Rated having left us for now, Dench and Team Tom will finish in the top two at the end of the season, it’s just a case of who finishes top. Dench looked odds on to pick up another win this week as they faced bottom of the table McMuffin Men, but the McMuffin’s didn’t read the script as they went two up in the opening 5 minutes through goals from Sam Delgado and Mark Bailey. They looked like holding onto that lead until the break, but goals from Phil Carroll and Marc Jagger in the last 5 minutes of the half made it 2-2 at half time. Dan Jones put Dench in front for the first time 8 minutes into the second period, and it was Dench all the way from here as Jagger added another three, Carroll and Jones one each to complete the win. Team Tom have just kept winning this season, and are on the brink of fulfilling their dream of a return to the top flight……. They were 4-0 up in the first 16 minutes against a Veterans team who’ve lost the plot in the last few weeks and have gone from promotion hopefuls to relegation candidates. Carl Carter opened the scoring in the first minute before a couple from James MacDonald and a goal for the returning Sam Collicott looked to have killed this one off before half time. Wes Hodgkinson pulled one back before the break, and he got a second a minute into the second half to half the deficit and keep things interesting. Aaron Crook eased any worries the Toms had with their 5th 6 minutes from time, meaning Hodgkinson’s third of the game three minutes later was just a consolation.

Inter Row Z could still feel Wellspring’s breath on the back of their necks at the top of League One, despite having picked up 19 points out of a possible 24 from their opening 8 games, and having a sizeable goal difference advantage. A win over Rooneytunes could claim the title this week depending on Wellspring’s result, and it looked like a stroll for them when they went into the break with a 5-0 lead as Michael Winn, Ryan McAndrew, Jamie Kealy, Ray Donnelly and Anes Sejdich-Suhonjich scored as the goals were shared around. Rooneytunes kept it tight for the opening 15 minutes of the second period, before 4 more Inter goals in the final 10 minutes, one each for Kealey, Donnelly and Winn, meant Chris Sinclair’s last minute goal for Rooneytunes was barely worth noting.  Wellspring were heavy favourites to pick up the win over an SK Dons team who’ve struggled desperately in recent weeks. It looked like being more of the same for them as Mike Cocks and Lewis Arden put the promotion chasers two up in the first 4 minutes, but debutant Paddy Bannister pulled one back for the Dons a couple of minutes later. Arden’s second restored the two goal lead, but Bannister pulled another back before Mike Devitt made it 4-2 a minute before the break. Kyle Norris made it an interesting last 14 minutes when he pulled another back for the Dons, but Arden looked to have sealed the Wellspring win 5 minutes from time. Matthew Richardson ensured the game would go to the wire with a 4th for the Dons with three minutes left, but Wellspring held on for a win that puts them in a strong position to take second spot at worst. FC AOTS were the only team who could crash the promotion places if they can win their games in hand, but they fell behind to Polish Army when Matuesz scored in the 4th minute. Adam Atherton and Carl Buckley scored to turn it back in their favour, but two more from Mateusz and Eoghan Scott’s goal for AOTS meant we went into the break at 3-3. Atherton and Buckley gave AOTS some breathing space with goals early in the second period, and they seemed to be seeing the game out until Slawek scored 5 minutes from time to make it 5-4. They held on for the win though, and are now 8 points behind Wellspring with two games in hand.

Stockport Eagles would escape the Sunday bottom division for the first time in their history next season if they could pick up a win over FC Stront Bakken this week, and Michael Winn got them off to a good start with the opening goal in the third minute. Benjamin Dean drew the Bucket Boys level 4 minutes later, but Ryan McAndrew scored a double to put the Eagles in charge. Patrick Mitchell pulled one back for Stront Bakken just before the break, but the Eagles soared away in the second period as Paul Waugh, Alecs Pattinson and James Marshall completed a 6-2 win that clinches at least a promotion place. Deportivo Lack Of Talent would remain title favourites if they could beat struggling Inter Your Sister, but they looked to be fluffing their lines as a Steve Johnson goal late in the first half gave Inter a narrow half time lead. When Max Liversedge doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half and Dave Smythe made it three with 8 minutes left Deportivo’s title hopes looked over, and though Jake Riley pulled one back a minute later Craig Johnson restored Inter’s three goal lead with 6 to play. That first Riley goal put some life into Deportivo, and they fired in three goals in 4 minutes, Ashley Ellwood with the first and Riley with the other two to give Deportivo what looked for long periods of the game to be an unlikely point. Eagles are now 4 points clear of Deportivo, so it’s now entirely in their hands.

THE NEW SUNDAY EVENING LEAGUE KICKS OFF ON 4TH MARCH. THIS IS OUR BIGGEST LEAGUE NIGHT, WITH THE GREATEST VARIETY OF STANDARDS. IT IS ALSO THE ONE NIGHT WHERE EXPANSION IS STILL POSSIBLE, AND FRIENDLIES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR NEW TEAMS OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. WHAT’S THE HARM IN GIVING IT A GO…….?!

MONDAY LEAGUE

It looks to be one fro two for the Monday Premiership title this season, and those two played each other for the first time this season as back to back champs AC Milmanchester played Expected Toulouse. Some of the finishing in this one was something else, and two really good goals from Liam Mottram and Jordan Milne put Toulouse two up in the opening 6 minutes. Kiarno Samms pulled one back half way through the period but Wasim Akram quickly restored Toulouse’s two goal lead. The advantage was back to one at the break when Samms got his second a minute before the whistle. Toulouse took the game away from the champions in the first 8 minutes of the second period as Milne added another two and Niall Hillen and Akram other two more to make it 7-2. Samms got his third but Milne and Akram quickly added two more to kill the game off, meaning Samm’s 4th 9 minutes from time was nothing more than a consolation. Phantom Brazilians v Not A Chance always has the look of a game that’s too close to call, and this one was pretty tight from the get go. Paul Wilkinson put Phantom ahead 6 minutes in, but Chris Priestley’s goal 7 minutes before the break meant we went in level at half time. Phil Carroll put The Chancers ahead 5 minutes into the second period, and when he scored his second 12 minutes from time it looked a long way back for Phantom. The chances of a comeback were ended by Callum Boyle’s goal 4 minutes from the end, as Not A Chance finally get their season up and running at the 4th time of asking. FC Rhino Ket got their season going a week earlier, and were looking to make it two in a row against Pathetico Madrid, who’d taken a beating at the hands of Milmanchester last week. It was a high scoring first half with 10 goals in the opening 25 minutes, the first three coming from Jack Needham (2) and Louis Moore from the Rhinos. They retained a level of control throughout the half as far as the scoreline was concerned, as they quickly restored their three goal lead through Harrison Wroe and Sam Roberts goals after Craig Moss and Tom Arrundale had pulled a couple back for Pathetico. John Peneveyre grabbed a couple for Pathetico either side of Needham’s third, and it was 6-4 at the break. Pathetico weren’t helped in their attempts to stay in the game by an injury to ‘keeper Danny Robinshaw, but the second half belonged to The Kets as Jake Shaw, Moore and Wroe all grabbed two more and Needham another to ease them to a comfortable win with a couple of late Arrundale goals all Pathetico could muster in the second period. With Strikeforce unable to field a side this week, Team Randommer were back together to give Murder On Zidane’s Floor a game, and the Randoms picked up a 4-2 win as we consider trying to keep them together for the new Monday Championship in a few weeks time.

WE’RE LOOKING TO ADD THE SECOND DIVISION BACK TO MONDAY AT THE HALF WAY POINT IN THE SEASON IN A FEW WEEKS. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BOOK YOUR TEAM IN FOR A ONE OFF, NO OBLIGATION TRIAL GAME, GET IN TOUCH.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

It was a standard full house in the Wednesday league with all 6 teams in attendance on a chilly evening. Michu At De Dea Ba look set to stroll to their second successive title, but Magpie could still make a fight of it if they could pick up a win when the two faced each other this week. It looked like being a stroll for Michu when they went 3-0 up in the opening 11 minutes as Matt Barton scored two and Alex Brady the other. Magpie regrouped and struck back, and three goals in 10 minutes from Milosz Zawila mean that we went into half time with an unlikely 3-3 scoreline. Three minutes into the second half Mariusz Koszla scored to complete the Magpie turnaround, and as we headed towards the final 10 minutes a Magpie win remained on the cards. The wheels fell off for them in the final 10 minutes though, as Brady leveled things up before Barton put Michu back in front. They then added 5 more goals in the last 5 minutes as Barton scored two more to make it 5 for the game, Brady completed his hat trick and Maison Owen and Paul Rice put the icing on the cake. It would be just about the biggest shock in the history of the world if they didn’t make it back to back title wins now.

The very first evening of Wednesday league Ballers action featured a game between Polish Army and Stockport Eagles, and the latest chapter of their rivalry took place this week. A really tight first half saw us go in at the break at 1-1 as Mateusz cancelled out Michael Winn’s opener. We approached the final 10 with no further goals, but an injury to Ryan McAndrew left the Eagles to play out the game with 5 men, and the Army capitalised with three goals in the last 10 minutes through Grzegorz, Dominik and Pawel. The Army sit second, but 9 points behind the leaders with three games left, and a goal difference that’s 62 worse off! A pair of strugglers faced off as Exeter Gently looked to build on last week’s first win of the season against the newly renamed Sevilla Lacatalent (it was worth waiting for!). An own goal gave Exeter the ideal start, before Kristian Igo doubled their advantage with less than 10 minutes on the clock. Jake Riley puled one back half way through the period, but Mike Lavin ensured that Exeter had a two goal lead at the break. Sevilla got back to within a goal again when Sam Melling scored with 15 minutes to go, but Brad Robison edged Exeter two ahead briefly before Melling made it 4-3 with 11 minutes to play. As has been the case since they joined the league, Sevilla fell away in the final stages, and 4 more Robison goals alongside a second for Igo eased Exeter to a second straight win.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL. CAST YOUR EYES TO THE OTHER NIGHTS IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO SIGN UP!