We’ve got a bit ahead of ourselves here, so if you’re reading this on Friday, Happy Star Wars Day (we thought we’d be posting this on Friday…..)! The Phantom Menace was the last one I saw so it’s not a big day for me, but I’m sure we have plenty of nerds who are excited about this kind of thing, so fill your boots. The number of teams catching up 11’s games this week means teams struggled to field a side a little bit more this week, but the effort involved to put a side out on the pitch is always appreciated.

LEAGUE NEWS

Less league, more tournament information to start with, but a quick reminder that the SK BALLERS WORLD CUP heats take place over Sunday’s the 3rd and 10th June. Get signed up today, get assigned one of the 32 nations for the event, and let’s see if we end up with Panama winning it! Get in touch for more details.

The NEW SUNDAY LEAGUE kicks off at the back end of May, and with 11’s seasons coming to an end now is the perfect time to get signed up, get a couple of friendlies under your belt to get used to things, and be part of one of the 5 DIVISIONS we are hoping to have for the big kick off!

We have ONE SPACE AVAILABLE in our WEDNESDAY LEAGUE at the minute, and we have secured the MUGA pitch on a Monday night so any teams who are waiting for a slot can get some football in the bank while they wait for a gap in the main league.

For information on any of the above, fill in a ‘Join A League’ form on the homepage, call or text 07809252658 or email [email protected]

SUNDAY LEAGUE

This Sunday Premiership title race has taken more twists and turns this season than any other that we can remember, and defeat last week to Bangers & Pash meant champions Kinky Slipper couldn’t afford any unlikely slip up this week against Team Tom, who are counting down the seconds til the season ends. They took the lead here though as James MacDonald put them one up in the third minute, but Joe Lailey quickly drew Kinky level. Jordan Hutchinson put Kinky in front, but rather than that being the start of a landslide, Carl Carter made it 2-2 with just 10 minutes on the clock. Kinky lead by two at the break as Hutchinson and Rob Cresswell got their names on the score sheet. There wasn’t too much in the second half, but further goals from Hutchinson and James Radcliffe eased Kinky to a 6-2 win that takes them to 21 points with just Insole left to play. Having seen Kinky slip up last week, Insole were keen that their title push wasn’t affected when they faced Bangers this week, and they looked in control when Jack Atkinson and Jordan Cunningham gave them a two goal lead in the first 13 minutes. We were level at the break as Rory Kelly grabbed two in three minutes to make it 2-2, but Insole were back in front 10 minutes after the restart as Atkinson got his second. Robbie Fallon struck a stunning leveler for Bangers with just two minutes remaining, but Insole went back in front almost immediately as Atkinson got this third a minute later. Insole couldn’t hold on though as the title race took another twist when Harry Kilmartin made it 4-4 in the final minute, meaning Insole drop a vital two points in the race to regain the title they lost last season. Duno could leapfrog Insole with a win over Kipsta Cobras this week, and though they got off to the perfect start with Jack Cope’s 4th minute opener, Wayne Reeves drew Kipsta level within a minute. Duno took control with two goals halfway through the opening period, Steven Whetham and Cope with his second giving them a 3-1 half time lead. There wasn’t much to write about, goal-wise in the second half, but the one goal that was scored three minutes from time by Liam Watson ensured that Duno stay right in the mix up heading into the final stages of the season.

Only one game survived in the Championship this week, which is very unusual, and the fact that it involved McMuffin Men means we might as well tell you now that it ended as a draw. The last time they played El Caliente it ended in a point apiece, as had 4 of their 8 games so far this season. An entertaining, end to end first half saw 8 goals scored, the first two of which were from Ross Grealey of El Caliente to put them two up after 8 minutes. Within two minutes the McMuffin’s were level as Tom Collins grabbed two of his own, but Grealey quickly grabbed his third to edge Caliente back in front. Charley Eyre made it 3-3 on 14 minutes, before Collins and Mac Eyre put McMuffin’s in front for the first time at 5-3 three minutes before half time. Fidelis Eberegbe grabbed a vital goal for Caliente early in the second half to get them back into it, and Grealey made it 5-5 5 minutes later. Caliente controlled most of the second period, and they went onto win this one as Nathaniel Odysseus-Kingsley grabbed two and Grealey his 5th of the game to give them an 8-5 win that sees them join Inter Row Z on 11 points in the race for second place.

Things could get awkward next season as there’s a couple of players who double up and play for Stockport Eagles and Inter Row Z, so if the Eagles go up and Row Z don’t there will be some decisions to be made! The Eagles were up against an FC AOTS team who can cause problems for any team in this division on their day, as shown in their 8-2 win over the Eagles just a few weeks ago, but they didn’t get off the mark in the first half of this one as Ben Waugh scored the only goal of the half to give Eagles a 1-0 half time lead. A burst of three goals in 4 second half minutes made the points safe for Eagles as Ryan McAndrew, Paul Waugh and Ray Donnelly got on the sheet. Adam Atherton denied Eagles the shut out with a late reply for AOTS, but it looks like another season in this division awaits them next season, unless they go the other way….. A defeat for Polish Army this week would all but end their promotion hopes, and that’s the way it looked to be going as goals in the opening 12 minutes from Mark Bailey (3) and Conor McLellan, against just the one from Julian meant Murder On Zidane’s Floor had an early 4-1 lead. Further goals from Mitchell Robertson, Sam Delgado and Bailey meant this one was all but over with just 18 minutes on the clock, and though Bania pulled one back on 20 it was 8-2 at the break as Bailey got his 5th of the half. The Army got off to a good start in the second half, reducing that lead to 8-4 through goals from Bania and Julian, but Robertson stalled their momentum with another Murder goal 11 minutes from time. Mateusz did grab another for the Army in the latter stages, but it was too little, too late as Murder pick up just their second win of the season as they aim to avoid dropping into what we hope will be the second from bottom division next season.

Along with Real Maskid in the Championship, the only other team with a perfect record this season is FC Stront Bakken, who will be playing at a higher level next season (but will that still be League Two if we have a League Three?! Possibly some sorting out to be done…..). They were playing an improving Beercalona team this week and looked to be heading for a fairly routine three points as Declan Matthews and Shaun Jemison put them two up approaching the break. Tom Ratcliffe halved the deficit on the stroke of half time, and they remained in touch when Rob Prince scored just after Matthews had increased the Bucket Boys lead again. Patrick Mitchell ensured that Stront Bakken maintain their 100% record for the season with the final goal 4 minutes from time and they are now one game away from completing a perfect season. Inter Your Sister look favourites to join them in whatever division it is next season, while for Rooneytunes we’re just looking for them to show a consistency of turning up for games for now, the rest will follow……. Inter were three up at the break here as Dave Smythe, Max Liversedge and Craig Johnson scored three quick goals half way through the period. Smythe’s second looked to have wrapped the points up 8 minutes into the second half, but Chris Sinclair and Cian Gillespie gave Rooneytunes a bit of hope when they pulled two back. Aaron Crook quickly put Inter back in control at 5-2, and it finished 6-3 as Sinclair and Matthew Kealy grabbed a goal each in the dying seconds to leave Inter 6 points clear in second place.

THE NEW SUNDAY SEASON STARTS IN THREE WEEKS! SPACES ARE AVAILABLE AS WE LOOK TO ADD IN DIVISION 5!! FRIENDLIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY NEW TEAMS WANTING TO GIVE IT A GO BEFORE THE BIG KICK OFF.

MONDAY LEAGUE

The tough end to the 11’s seasons meant half of the Monday league games went under this week, which is unusual for a league that has been going strong for a little while now, hopefully the end of the 11’s season will mean the overall turnout will pick back up over the next few weeks. Not A Chance were looking to keep their momentum going after their shock opening night win over reigning champs Expected Toulouse against FC Rhino Ket, who were making their first appearance of the season. Paul Bardsley got the Chancers off to the best of starts with a second minute goal, but in a first half of twists and turns Jack Needham leveled things up for Rhino 5 minutes later. Chris Priestley restored Not A Chance’s lead on 11 minutes, Needham squared it up at 2-2 a minute later, before Callum Wild put the Chancers in front for a third time almost immediately. Priestley’s second 8 minutes before half time gave them a bit of daylight for the first time, but Ben Pawsey kept the Ketters in touch by pulling one back a minute later with the final goal of an end to end half. The second half was a little more attritional, but we had a three goal burst half way through the period. An own goal gave Not A Chance that two goal cushion again, but again they weren’t able to hold onto it for long as Louis Moore pulled one back a minute later and Connor Stone’s speculative strike 9 minutes from time made it 5-5. Both teams went for the win, but there were no more goals and both teams had to settle for a share of the points. Our high hopes for a highly competitive, unpredictable top division were fueled by both of last seasons top two losing on the opening night, and AC Milmanchester were wanting to get back to winning ways against the fairly unknown quantity of Pink Panthers FC. The new boys went in front in the third minute as Connor Morrisey got the opener, but Jason Singleton drew ACM level within a minute. The Panthers restored their lead on 11 minutes as Morrisey got his second, but two goals in as many minutes from Anthony Pugh and Aaron Edwards saw AC go in front for the first time heading into the final 5 minutes of the half. Joe Manion looked to have sent us into the break all square, but Simon Hackney scored just before the break to give Milmanchester the edge. That edge was gone within a minute of the start of the second period as Ray Donnelly made it 4-4, but a decisive 6 minute spell where Milmanchester scored 4 goals was the turning point in this one. Singleton got his second with 15 minutes to play, Hackney his second a minute later, and Edwards two more to take the game away from the Panthers at 8-4. Given how close the game had been up until that point, a further couple of goals in the last two minutes from Callum Jones and Edwards might have been a little cruel on the new team, but it’s still early days for them and we expect to see improvement from them as the season goes on.

Migg FC looked very impressive in their league debut last week, and would have fancied their chances of making it two wins from two against a Nice Buns team who were missing a couple of regulars this week. It looked to be heading that way when Lee Morgan and Josh Meehan put them two up in the opening 10 minutes, but Tom Dempsey halved the deficit before the break. Kyle Mulliner restored Migg’s two goal lead in the second minute of the second half, but Jimmy Williamson kept Buns in touch with a goal a minute later. Goals from Aaron Roby and Mulliner looked to have put Migg out of sight with 17 minutes to play, but Dempsey’s second 8 minutes from time kept Buns in with a shout. Within 4 minutes they were level again as Williamson and debutant Adriano Ferigno scored to make it 5-5 with 4 minutes left. That was the end of the scoring, so Buns start their season with two 5-5 draws, while Migg sit top of the very early Championship league table.

In a friendly that shows how potentially close the standards of both divisions could be, Netsix & Chill beat Phantom Brazilians 6-4 to help them recover from their opening night defeat.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL, BUT WE HAVE THE AVAILABILITY OF THE MUGA PITCH TO GET TEAMS FRIENDLY GAMES WHILE THEY WAIT FOR A SPACE TO COME UP. GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS. 

TUESDAY LEAGUE

The last couple of weeks have been a struggle for a number of teams, but after all the scrambling, begging and searching down the back of the sofas for players, we only ended up losing one game from the Tuesday league this week. Shaka finally played their first game of the season, but with a very changed line up from the one that won the feeder Championship last season, and it couldn’t have been a tougher start against champions Gangs Of Dwight Yorke, who themselves were missing a number of regulars. Defences were hardly on top in this one from the off as Jason Singleton’s second minute opener was cancelled out by Adam Taylor’s 6th minute leveler. Gangs dominated the scoring throughout the opening half as Singleton grabbed two more and Callum Jones a brace, while Callum Clarke grabbed Shaka’s only other goal of the period. Krisstian Ebanks-Perrin made it 5-3 three minutes into the second half, and Clarke’s second reduced their deficit to one with 20 minutes still to play. Andrew Moors first Ballers goal a minute later gave Gangs a bit of breathing space, and Singleton’s 4th of the game gave them a three goal lead again. Clarke pulled another back but Singleton and Jones added two more to see Gangs seemingly out of sight with 7 minutes left. Mark Brookes pulled a couple more back within three minutes, but they couldn’t find a leveler and Gangs held on for the win that sees them go level on points with Oooze FC, who didn’t play this week. Both Inter Mi Van and Inter Row Z had to work to field a side this week for the Inter Derby, but it was Mi Van who struck first through Karl Robins 9th minute strike. They doubled their lead through Ryan Andres goal two minutes later, but goals from Jack Cope and Calvin Alexander had us level at 2-2 with 6 minutes of the half remaining. Ray Donnelly put Row Z in front for the first time in the 22nd minute, but we were level at the break as Gary Wood made it 3-3 a minute later. Donnelly struck first for Row Z 5 minutes into the second half, but Jonny Langton and Andres quickly turned things back in Mi Van’s favour. Donnelly’s third made it 5-5 as we headed into the final 10 minutes, but it was Mi Van who proved to be the stronger in the dying stages as Simon Royle scored three and Andres his third to ease Inter Mi Van to a 9-5 win, their first of the campaign.

LQ FC have been on the missing list for the opening few weeks of the season, so they couldn’t really have picked a more difficult game to return with as they took on Stroke Titty, who already look set for the top division next season. They held their own in the opening stages and even took the lead through Alex Brash’s 14th minute goal, but the final 5 minutes of the half were vital as Jay Willingham scored two and Sam Tattersall another as they turned it round to go into the break 3-1 up. Daniel Atherden kept LQ in touch with a goal 5 minutes after the break, but goals from Willingham and Joe Lailey sent Stroke into the final 10 minutes with a three goal lead. Conor Dolan made it 6-2 with a minute left, which meant Sam Holland’s goal in the dying seconds was just a consolation. But at least they are back after their 4 week break! Black Jack got their season up and running with a win over Wellspring last week, with Beercalona back after their game went down last week and still looking for their first win of the campaign. They got off to the better start, with two own goals in the opening 4 minutes putting them 2-0 up. Black Jack pulled one back on 13 minutes, guess what? Yep, another own goal….. The first player to score for his own team was Tom Ratcliffe, who gave Beercalona a 3-1 lead 10 minutes from half time, and Scott Williams put them 4-1 up two minutes after the restart. Joe Dear almost immediately pulled one back for Black Jack, and with 7 minutes to go Luke Waiting set us up for a big finish by making it 4-3. The final goal of the game came two minutes later, and wouldn’t you just know it, it was an own goal that made the final score 4-4! Turkish Delight looked set for a bash at the Championship title with their early performances, but they crashed down to earth with an 8-0 defeat to Stroke Titty last week and were looking to get back to winning ways against struggling Wellspring. Volkan gave Turkish the lead on 6 minutes, and for a while it looked like that might be the half time score, but goals from Nathan Wilkinson and Callum Clarke in the final two minutes of the half meant Wellspring took a 2-1 lead into the break. Ferai struck early in the second half to make it 2-2, but Wellspring took control with three goals in 5 minutes, Lewis Arden with a brace after an own goal had initially put them back in front. Ferai got his second with 9 minutes to play to keep Turkish in the hunt, but they suffer a second successive defeat as Wilkinson and Mike Devitt added goals in the final 5 minutes to give Wellspring their first win of the season.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL. FOR AN IMMEDIATE START CAST YOUR EYES TOWARDS THE OTHER NIGHTS.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

Last week’s results suggest we may be heading back towards the Wednesday league as it was when we first started it, with all games being hard fought and close to call, so we were hoping for a little more of the same this week. Stockport Eagles went into this week knowing that a win over Polish Army would give them a 6 point lead at the top of the table, but they fell behind to Marcin’s third minute opener for the Army. Shaun Mather leveled things up on 8 minutes, but the Poles lead at the break as Marcin grabbed his second three minutes before the break. We were all square again 8 minutes into the second half as Ben Waugh fired home, and the Eagles went in front for the first time with 15 minutes left as Ryan McAndrew grabbed a goal. Paul Waugh made it 4-2 4 minutes later, but Mateusz  set us up for an interesting ending by making it 4-3 4 minutes from time. Ray Donnelly looked to have ended it with a goal a minute later but Michal made them sweat by scoring a minute from time to make it 5-4. The Eagles held on for the win which takes them onto 12 points at the half way point of the season. Michu At De Gea Ba suffered a rare defeat last week and were looking to get back to winning ways against a Magpie team who have been far more competitive since they rejoined the Wednesday league. This one looked like being a comfortable Michu win in the first half as Ian Davies scored two, Jamie Longworth and Matt Barton one each as they went 4-0 up in the opening 16 minutes. Karol (still no surname) got the only Magpie goal of the half two minutes later, but Davies third two minutes after the restart restored the Michu 4 goal lead. Magpie scored two in the next two minutes through Mariusz Koszla and Adrian Hulicki to get back to within two goals, but Davies got the next week to keep Michu at arms length. Karol got his second with 11 minutes left to play, and when Hulicki got his second 4 minutes from time Magpie looked like they might be in with a chance of taking something from this game. Davies got his 5th of the game a minute later, and Michu saw the game out to pick up a 7-5 win that keeps them in the hunt as they have games in hand.

WE HAVE A SOLITARY SPACE IN OUR WEDNESDAY LEAGUE – IT’S THE ONLY ONE WE CURRENTLY HAVE FOR AN IMMEDIATE START ACROSS ALL OF OUR LEAGUE NIGHTS, SO GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS OR TO SIGN UP!