A solid 10 team turnout for the first of two Christmas Cup tournaments for this year helped us raise a decent wedge of money for Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity. By the end of the event, no teams had a 100% win record, so the tightness of the standards made for a highly competitive event.

GROUP A

Group A got started with two games kicking off at the same time, but only one winner. Dench FC picked up a 2-1 win over Stockport Eagles while Wellspring FC picked up an impressive 0-0 draw against one of the pre-tournament favourites Duno FC. The Eagles stayed on for the third game in the group, but they had no more luck as they lost again, this time 1-0 against Inter Row Z. The third ’round’ of games saw a little controversy, as confusion reigned for a few minutes at the end of the Dench v Wellspring game, which eventually went down as a 2-1 win to Dench, meaning it was two wins from two for them. In a family affair, Inter Row Z drew first blood against Duno in what was looking like a must win game for Duno. The managed to turn it around and picked up a 2-1 win that put them back in control of their own destiny within the group. Any hope Eagles had of getting out of the group ended with a 2-0 defeat to Wellspring, who still had a chance of claiming one of the top two spots. The biggest game of the group was up next, as Dench looked to make it three from three against Duno, but Duno hit their stride in this one and ran out comfortable 4-0 winners. After a good start, Inter Row Z’s chances of qualifying looked all but over after they lost a second successive game, 1-0 to Wellspring, and Duno confirmed their place at the top of the group with a 2-1 victory over Eagles. Dench needed a win in their last game against Inter Row Z to ensure second place was theirs, and they just about got it, winning the match 1-0.

GROUP B

On paper, the first game in Group B looked like being a one sided affair as Sunday top division faced bottom. The game was tighter than many would have predicted, but it did end up going the way we’d have expected as J Stands Barmy Army beat FC Stront Bakken 1-0. A mix and match El Caliente side were up against it after the first round of games, as they were hammered 4-1 by Polish Army, while J Stands made it two wins from two with another 1-0 win, this time against Kelly’s Wanderers, who were the only non Ballers league team in the competition. El Caliente faced Stront Bakken next in a game both teams needed to win to retain a realistic hope of making the semis. Caliente’s bad start continued, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat that meant they would be out unless they could beat J Stands in their next game. A third straight 1-0 win for J Stands confirmed their place in the next round, while Caliente’s tournament was over before it had really began. The fight for second place was now a three way fight, and two of those faced each other next as Kelly’s Wanderers looked for their first points against Polish Army. A 2-0 win for Kelly’s saw them join their polish opponents and Stront Bakken on three points, but the Army had an immediate chance to hit straight back against Stront Bakken. A 2-0 win for the poles saw them go into their final round of fixtures still in with a good chance of qualifying, while Stront Bakken’s chances were now hanging by a thread. A 3-1 win for Kelly’s Wanderers against El Caliente meant they went into the final round of fixtures level on points with Polish Army, and the Army were up next with the tough task of trying to take points off J Stands, and a creditable 2-2 draw did just that. That point meant that Stront Bakken now couldn’t qualify, regardless of the result of their final game against Kelly’s Wanderers, with the Wanderers needing a win to go through. A 2-0 win for Kelly’s saw them claim second spot, earning them a semi final spot against Duno.

SEMI FINALS

Group A winners Duno took on Kelly’s Wanderers on pitch 1 in what looked like being a tough one to call, especially as Kelly’s had reeled off three straight wins after their opening game defeat. It was Duno who struck first, but Kelly’s hit back to take this one to penalties, and two misses from three Duno penalties was enough to send Kelly’s into the final.

The other semi saw Dench looking like facing an uphill battle against Group B winners J Stands, but it was the underdogs who struck first and the potential shock was on. J Stands struck back and once they had pulled themselves level they took complete control, easing to a 4-1 victory to see an all Group B final.

FINAL

These two teams met each other in the first game in Group B, with J Stands picking up a 1-0 win, but from that point on both teams had looked impressive in making their way through the tournament. J Stands would start this one as favourites, and they took the lead through Scott Stokes goal in the early stages. They had a chance to make it 2-0 a few minutes later, but Marcus Dean saw his penalty saved. They didn’t have to wait long for that second to arrive as Dean converted from close range, and despite Kelly’s best efforts they couldn’t find a way back into this one, and J Stands Barmy Army picked up the trophies from the first of our Christmas Cup competitions for 2017!

OTHER INFORMATION

11 players entered the draw to win a pair of tickets to a Stockport County game of their choice, courtesy of Richard at JR Sports, our football and shirt suppliers. Lukas Voveris and Declan Matthews from FC Stront Bakken, Dominik from Polish Army, and James Marshall from Stockport Eagles went into the draw for what they did on the pitch, while Shaun Mather, Paul Waugh, Alecs Pattison, Lee Bridge, Kyle Bell, Scott Stokes and Nicky Stokes all entered the draw as a result of making more than the standard donation to take part. The winner, picked completely at random, was James Marshall.

The full time result in terms of money to donate to Shelter after expenses had been removed, was £229.80. Thank you so much to everyone who took part, and hopefully we’ll have more of the same next week when we look to raise some money for Stroke Information.

From a league point of view, that’s us done for 2017. The next time we see a lot of our league teams there will be turkey and (dare we say) a bit of beer that teams will be looking to run off.

LEAGUE NEWS

The NEW MONDAY LEAGUE kicks off on 15th March, with friendlies available for any new or returning teams on 8th January. We will also be looking to add a mini league on a Tuesday evening, starting on 23rd January, also with friendlies available in the run up. Get in touch for details about either of these.

Following the success of our first Christmas Cup of the year this week, we have a second one taking place next Thursday, 28th December, in support of Stroke Information. Spaces are filling up, but there’s still a couple remaining on a first come, first served basis. Kick off is at 7pm, a minimum donation of £5 per player to take part.

MONDAY LEAGUE

This week saw the final night of a slightly disrupted Monday league season, but there was plenty of room for drama in the Premiership as AC Milmanchester and Expected Toulouse went into the final night level on points with Expected leading the way on goal difference. AC were up first. knowing they needed to set a target for Toulouse to chase down, and they went about it in the first half as three goals from Martin Gordon, and one each from Chris Singelton, Callum Jones and Kiarno Samms gave them a 6-1 lead at the break. They stepped on the gas in the second period, with Gordon and Jones adding 4 more each amongst others, as they ran out 17-4 winners meaning Expected needed a 10 goal win in their game with Phantom Brazilians to claim a debut Monday Premiership title. They gave themselves a fighting chance in the first half, as three goals from Liam Mottram and two from Jordan Milne gave them a 5-1 lead at half time. Matt Holbrook made their task harder by pulling one back for Phantom early in the second half, and Toulouse fell just short as three more for Milne and two for Niall Hillen meant they won 10-2, leaving Milmanchester as back to back Monday Premiership title winners.

In the Championship, Not A Chance already had the title wrapped up before they took on relative new boys FC Rhino Ket. It was the new side that took the lead through a Louis Moore goal on 12 minutes, and they came within two minutes of holding that lead until the break, but Kyle Bell struck a leveller for the Chancers. Jack Needham restored Ket’s lead early in the second half, but Not A Chance were the stronger team in the final stages as Bell grabbed another three and Phil Carroll two inside the final 20 minutes to give the Championship winners a perfect 10 for the season.

THE NEW MONDAY LEAGUE STARTS ON 15TH JANUARY 2018! GET IN TOUCH TO BOOK IN YOUR FRIENDLY FOR THE 8TH JANUARY IF YOU ARE THINKING IT COULD BE FOR YOU.

TUESDAY LEAGUE

Only a couple of games barely survived in the final Tuesday evening of the year, and title holders Mirror Signal Malouda made it two wins from two heading into 2018 as 5 goals from Josh Morrisey, three from Jake Dean, two from Kieran Hamilton and one from Wez Barker gave them a comfortable enough 11-6 win over Wellspring, for whom Lewis Arden and Jamie Berrisford grabbed three apiece. The other game was an entertaining affair as Oooze FC took on a Cheadle FC team who were fielding a stronger side this week than the last time they turned out. An end to end first half saw Oooze lead 5-4 at the break, before they edged themselves clear to eventually run out 10-6 winners to take top spot as the only team to have fulfilled all of their fixtures so far.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE MAY CURRENTLY BE FULL, BUT WE DO HAVE SPACE TO GET A MINI LEAGUE STARTED IN EARLY 2018, SO GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

Just one game in the Wednesday league this week as the final few days before Christmas started to bite, but it was a tight one between Polish Army and Exeter Gently. Dominik and Marcin gave the poles an early two goal lead, but a couple of Kristian Igo goals and a tidy finish from Tom Harrison turned things in Exeter’s favour approaching the break. They couldn’t hold the lead until half time though, as Dominik grabbed his second in the final seconds of the half to see us into the break at 3-3. The Polish style of play was proving to be a distraction to the Exeter players, and their loss of concentration throughout the second period was to cost them dear as goals from Marcin 7 minutes into the half and Slawek two minutes from time gave them the win.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL, SO FOR NOW IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO JOIN A LEAGUE, MONDAY OR TUESDAY IS WHERE YOU’RE BEST OFF LOOKING!

SUNDAY LEAGUE

There were still 7 games on this week in the Sunday league (should have been 8…..) as our biggest league night showed little sign of slowing down heading into the festive period. Duno had got off to a decent start to life in the top flight, but they faced their toughest test of the season so far against reigning champions Insole. They got off to the ideal start when Steven Whetham gave them the lead in the third minute, and Roberto added a second for them 9 minutes from the break. Jack Atkinson reduced the arrears a couple of minutes later, and Insole were level with 14 minutes remaining when Liam Atkinson grabbed a goal. Duno hit straight back as Calvin Alexander scored a minute later, and in a frantic final few minutes Duno were able to hold on for an impressive win that sees them clear at the top of the table at Christmas. Kinky Slipper were playing only their second game of the season after a fairly disrupted start to the Sunday Premiership season, and they faced El Caliente this week. Rob Creswell gave them the lead in the 7th minute, but Michael Jennison leveled things up on 16. Joe Lailey restored the Kinky lead two minutes before the break, and they looked to have killed the game off with two Jordan Hutchinson goals in the opening 4 minutes of the second period. Matthew Kealy (we think) did pull one back for Caliente with 20 minutes still to play, but that was it as far as the scoring went, as Kinky set themselves up to be the nearest contenders to Duno in these early stages.

The only game in the Championship saw family members go up against each other as Step Brothers took on The McMuffin Men. The McMuffins were in just their second game at this level having skipped League One, and they were looking for their first points of the campaign. They got off to the better start as two Jack Derbyshire goals gave them the advantage in the opening stages. A piece of magic by Chris Moore got Step Brothers back into it, and they were level 7 minutes before the break as Rob Sheldon scored. The McMuffins lead at the break though, as Sam Delgado scored three minutes from the interval, but things quickly turned in the Brotherhood’s favour early in the second period. Goals from Gaz Fay, Tom Cioffi and two from Josh Armitage saw Step Brothers take a three goal lead in the first 9 minutes, and though Derbyshire pulled one back for McMuffin, further goals from Cioffi and Sheldon took the game away from them. Derbyshire added another two to reduce the deficit to two goals again, but Moore ended any thoughts of a comeback before Delgado grabbed the final goal of the game to leave Step Brothers with a 9-7 victory.

Rooneytunes had done ok since they joined the Sunday league a couple of weeks ago, with one 5-4 win and one 5-4 defeat in their first two games, but they didn’t have quite as strong a team out this week and boy did it show! Inter Row Z look set to claim a promotion place at least as they remain unbeaten so far, and when 5 goals from Ray Donnelly helped them to a 10-0 half time lead this week, there was no danger of that run ending. The eventually ended up running out 16-2 winners as Donnelly added another three in the second half, while the rest of the goals were spread around the team. The other game in the division saw SK Dons, who were still looking for their first League One point, take on a Wellspring team who had started the season well before taking a hammering against Inter last time out. Mike Devitt seemed to have put Wellspring on the way to s comfortable win when he scored twice in the opening 10 minutes, but Kyle Norris halved that lead and we went into the break at 2-1. Nathan Wilkinson made it 3-1 a couple of minutes into the second half, but two goals in a minute for the Dons made it 3-3 with 14 minutes left. George Quayle and Wilkinson grabbed the decisive goals in the final 10 minutes as Wellspring returned to winning ways as they sit second in the Christmas standings.

With Pathetico Madrid picking up a forfeit win this week as SFC Club failed to recover from their Christmas hangovers, Deportivo needed to pick up a win to keep pace with the leaders. No one can remember the last time Inter Your Sister picked up a point, but they were level at 1-1 10 minutes into this one after Craig Johnson cancelled out Jake Riley’s opener, but Deportivo lead at the break as Chris Cunliffe and Brad Peet added goals towards the end of the half. The goals flowed a little more in the second period as Rob Parker grabbed 4 for Deportivo as they eased to an 8-5 victory to join Pathetico on 9 points. Stockport Eagles and FC Stront Bakken would both be expecting to push towards the promotion spots, but having dropped points already this season they both needed points from this week’s game. The Eagles soared into a 3-1 half time lead as Ben Waugh grabbed a first half hat trick, but Declan Matthews second of the game early in the second half meant it was game on again going into the latter stages. Ryan McAndrew grabbed the final goal of the game in the final 5 minutes to give the Eagles the win, and they go third, three points behind the leaders.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL! WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK AT THE OPTIONS FOR ADDING A 5TH DIVISION IN THE NEW YEAR, SO FEEL FREE TO ASK AWAY……

Since the launch of the new website we’ve had people asking us about the possibility of us producing more stats, so here’s what we’ve come up with.

We now have a Zepp Play Football tracker device that records all kinds of stats for the player that wears it, and an app that does a whole bunch of other stuff that we haven’t had chance to try yet!

Our first victim last night was Mike Pinder of Strikeforce, with the photos showing the information it provides, including distance covered, how much of it was walked, ran and sprinted, how many times he kicked the ball, his top speed, how hard he kicked the ball, all broken down by 5 minute intervals throughout the game. It also breaks down the teams goal conversion rate.

HOW COOL IS THAT?!

If we get off to a good start to 2018, we plan to buy another 5 of these trackers so we can do a full teams stats each night, but for now if you want to give it a go (or if you’d like to be able to show that lad in your team how lazy he is), let us know!

Hopefully into 2018 we will be able to keep coming up with new ideas to keep adding more to the overall Ballers experience!

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and with next week being the last round of games until the new year, we will hopefully go out of 2017 on a high.

LEAGUE NEWS

We’ve still got spaces available in our second Christmas Cup on Thursday 28th December, kicking off at 7pm. All money cleared from the event will be donated to Stroke Information, so get yourselves involved! The current spaces won’t be there for long……

The next new league to start will be the Monday league which will kick off on 15th January. There are currently three spaces available for new or returning teams, but with the new year on it’s way we don’t expect them to stick around for long!

We will also be looking to add a mini league to our Tuesday league as soon as possible in the new year, so the options are there for getting your team signed up!

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Quite surprisingly, given the weather and the little matter of the Manchester Derby, 5 games still went ahead on Sunday evening. None of them were in the Premiership as Kinky Slipper and Insole were the last men standing, and we weren’t getting them playing each other again this week!

The Championship looks like being a good division this season, but the only game this week saw Team Tom looking to join Under Rated on 6 points as they took on The McMuffin Men in their Championship debut. The more experienced team started the stronger, and THE Tom Hornsby scored twice in the opening 5 minutes as they went into the break 3-2 in front. They looked to have killed it at 4-2 with 18 minutes left, but the McMuffin’s hit back and Charley Eyre’s second of the game helped them draw level at 4-4 with three minutes left. Hornsby was the hat trick hero though, as his third a minute from time gave them the narrowest of victories.

It was a night of narrow victories, with 4 of the 5 games all as tight as you can get. The only one that wasn’t was in League One, where Inter Row Z shared the goals around as they hammered Wellspring FC 14-2, Ray Donnelly with 4 while Callum Donnelly and Ryan McAndrew helped themselves to three each. Bizarrely, that result ended Wellspring’s 100% start to the season and sent Inter top. In the other game, Rooneytunes were looking to make it second time lucky after the lost their first game against Wellspring by the odd goal in 9 last week. It was the odd goal in 9 again this week as they took on Polish Army, and the new boys held on in the final few minutes after letting a 5-2 lead close to 5-4 with 7 left to play, Daniel White with two of the Rooneytunes goals. The freak Wellspring result aside, this is looking like being another good, competitive division.

Two more close games in the bottom division, and the game between Stockport Eagles and Deportivo Lack Of Talent was unique for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there were only three goals in a 50 minute game of 6-a-side, and secondly, all three goals were own goals! Deportivo came away with a 2-1 win to see them join Pathetico Madrid at the top of the table with Pathetico not playing this week. SFC Club picked up a first Ballers win last week, and were hoping to make it two from two against an FC Stront Bakken side who’s return to the Sunday league hasn’t been all plain sailing. We entered the final knockings of the game with the scoreline locked at 3-3 and both teams going for the win, but Benjamin Dean’s last gasp goal gave The Bucket Boys the win in another division where anyone can beat anyone.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL! THAT 5TH DIVISION COULD COME IN THE NEW YEAR THOUGH, SO FEEL FREE TO ASK….. 

MONDAY LEAGUE

The hangover from Sunday continued into Monday with three games going ahead. The one in the top division was an interesting looking one between Expected Toulouse and Phantom Brazilians, who were facing each other for the first time this season, this close to the end of the season. Three first half Liam Mottram goals saw title chaser Toulouse lead 3-2 at the break in a game they had to win to retain any real hope of claiming the title. 4-2 a minute into the second half became 4-4 with 16 minutes to play, but a second half hat trick for Jordan Milne helped Toulouse to an 8-5 win. With Old Reddish now having left us, despite being top of the table, Expected Toulouse now lead AC Milmanchester on goal difference with both teams having one game left to play. IN the other game, new boys FC Rhino Ket picked up a first Ballers win, beating Strikeforce 10-6, Ryan Stringer picking up the man of the match award after baggin himself 5 goals.

Assuming we can maintain two divisions going into the new season which start in the new year, Not A Chance will finally be back in the big time. Going into tonight’s game against Pathetico Madrid they were 7 from 7 for the season, and after a tight first half they lead 2-1 at the break. The second half was a little more one sided, and 4 goals from Phil Carroll helped the leaders to a comfortable 8-1 win.

THE NEW MONDAY LEAGUE KICKS OFF ON 15TH JANUARY 2018. IF YOU, OR ANYONE YOU KNOW ARE MAKING ANY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS, SIGNING UP FOR SOME NEW YEAR FOOTIE IS A GOOD START!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

It would seem that Gangs Of Dwight Yorke are very much the team to beat this season. On paper they faced a tough game this week against an Only Kruls & Horses team who gave Mirror Signal Malouda a good game last week. 4 first half goals from Aden Jones eased the Gangs into a 7-2 half time lead, and though Kruls managed to get back to 8-4 early in the second half, a quick fire double from Connor Harding took the game away from them again, as Gangs ran out 11-5 winners.

Only a couple of games were played this evening as the prospect of Christmas looms large, but the other game was a belter! Oooze FC were looking to make it two wins from two, and they started well against Inter Row Z, going 3-1 up in the opening 11 minutes. Inter began to pepper the Oooze goal but could only pull one back before getting caught out by a double sucker punch in the final minutes of the half to go into the break 5-2 down. That became 5-4 early in the second period as Inter hit back again, but Phil Parker’s third of the game 9 minutes from time looked to have clinched the win for Oooze. Callum Donnelly also grabbed his third two minutes later to make it 6-5, and Ray Donnelly made it 6 apiece in the final minute to end a breathless game with a point each.

WITH THE AIM IN THE NEW YEAR TO GET BACK TO TWO DIVISIONS, MINI LEAGUE SPOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM JANUARY.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

The opening night of the new Wednesday league saw a couple of games played in slightly ropey conditions! Last day Champions Ruud van Ni-Ste-Lloyd plowed through the slush a liitle better than Polish Army, and 4 goals from Adam Porter helped them to a 9-3 opening day win.

Stockport Eagles will fancy having a bash at the title this season, and they were also opening day winners as hat tricks from Paul Waugh, Connor Harding and Ryan McAndrew helped them to a 12-6 win over Wellspring FC.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL! GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS OF ANY OTHER SPACES.

As a temporary replacement for the individual match reviews at this busy time of year, we will put a little more meat on the bones of the weekly round up. We will also mix things up a little in terms of the order in which we review the leagues

LEAGUE NEWS

First things first, we’ve got our two Charity Christmas tournaments coming up:

Cup 1: Thursday 21st December, 7pm kick off, in support of Shelter

Cup 2: Thursday 28th December, 7pm kick off, in support of Stroke Information

Minimum donation of £5 per player to take part, get in touch for details.

The new Wednesday league starts NEXT WEEK, with ONE SPACE currently available.

The next new league after that will be the MONDAY LEAGUE, which kicks off on 22ND JANUARY 2018. The ideal time to get back into it after the festive period, with friendlies available in the first couple of weeks of the year. Fill in a ‘Join A League’ form on the home page to register your interest.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

With Magpie having blown their chances to win the league by losing their last two games, Ruud van Ni-Ste-Lloyd had the chance to steal the title if they could beat Exeter Gently this week. Exeter had pulled a performance out of the bag last week in defeating Magpie, but there was to be no repeat this week as the Ruud boys went into the break 4 goals in front. They could even afford a Phil Coyne missed penalty in the second half as they completely ran away with it, eventually winning 14-0, with Jamie Longworth and Adam Porter helping themselves to 4 goals apiece. Congratulations to Ruud van Ni-Ste-Lloyd, who are the FIRST WEDNESDAY LEAGUE WINNERS! In the other game of the night, Stockport Eagles picked up a 4-2 win over Polish Army in a friendly ahead of the new season.

The NEW WEDNESDAY LEAGUE starts NEXT WEEK! We currently have ONE SPACE AVAILABLE in what has been a fantastic league this season.

TUESDAY LEAGUE

The opening night of the new, slightly restructured Tuesday league season got underway this week with three games being played despite United being at home.

New team Gangs Of Dwight Yorke were given a bit of a bonus as they went up against a Cheadle FC side who had really scrambled around for a team this week. They raced into a 6 goal half time lead, and eventually ran out 12-4 winners as Jimmy Lesson scored 5 and Connor Harding 4. Two other teams who were struggling to scrape a team together this week week were Oooze FC and Wellspring FC, who met for the second week in a row. The team changes affected Wellspring more, as Oooze picked up an 8-3 win to get their season off to a winning start with two goals each for Tom Galbraith, Phil Parker and Josh Armitage. The game of the opening night saw Championship winners Only Kruls & Horses take on Premiership winners Mirror Signal Malouda. It looked like being a one sided affair as Malouda raced into a 4 goal lead in the opening 6 minutes, Kieran Hamilton with two of them. Kruls settled into the game and two Seb Etchells goals saw them claw it back to 5-3 at the break. Kruls continued to knock at the door in the second period and got it back to 5-4 with 15 minutes to play, but a couple of breakaway goals from Jake Dean eased Malouda to a 7-4 win.

There are currently no spaces in the Tuesday league, however we will be looking to get a mini league going in January, so for further details get in touch.

MONDAY LEAGUE

Just a couple of games survived this week as the run up to Christmas begins to kick in, with the big disappointment being the cancellation of the big Premiership clash between Old Reddish FC and AC Milmanchester. Expected Toulouse maintained their position as a potential title challenger as 6 goals from Liam Mottram and 5 from Waz Akram helped them to a comfortable 13-2 win over Strikeforce. We welcomed new boys FC Rhino Ket to the Monday league this week, and though they looked good in spells against Phantom Brazilians, the more experienced side eased to a 14-4 win with Matt Barton also grabbing 6 goals, with Robin Hulme scoring 5. Hopefully back to a better turnout this week!

The NEW MONDAY LEAGUE starts on 22nd January 2018. Currently TWO SPACES AVAILABLE for any new teams looking to get involved.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

A slightly stuttering start to the Sunday Premiership saw just the one game played this week, with Duno looking to make it two wins from two at the start of their debut top flight season. Kipsta Cobras have slightly struggled for numbers of late, and the team they put out this week never really looked likely to pick up any points as Duno took an early three goal lead. They kept Kipsta at arms length throughout the first half and lead 6-2 at the break, before scoring 4 unanswered goals in the second period to make it 6 points from two games with Luke Newsham helping himself to a hat trick. Two own goals didn’t exactly help the Kipsta cause……

A couple of games in the Championship included ‘favourites’ Under Rated taking on Step Brothers and Team Tom and Dench FC getting their seasons underway. Under Rated took early control of their game by going three up in the first 10 minutes. A magic finish from the returning Chris Moore pulled one back for The Brotherhood, but Steven Batho and Colin Stelfox got their second goals of the game before half time to make it 5-1. Step Brothers grabbed the only goal of the second period, but Under Rated maintain their 100% start to the season. Another team with a 100% record is Team Tom, though that is after just one game! They won a hard fought battle with Dench 4-3 as Rob Jordan’s second of the game 7 minutes from time proved to be the difference between the two teams.

We welcomed a new team this week as Rooneytunes (name subject to change!) replaced the departing Exeter Gently. Their first half of Ballers action was a good one as they shared 6 goals with Wellspring FC, who had picked up a narrow win in week one. In the end it was a Lewis Arden penalty 11 minutes from the end that gave Wellspring a 5-4 win that sees them go top, though a goal from Wellspring ‘keeper Jack Kerton in the first half is probably worth a mention. We potentially got things a little wrong with League One last season as a couple of teams were head and shoulders above the rest, but it looks very right this time around as FC AOTS and Inter Row Z also played out a very tight game. 2-2 at half time became 6-6 at full time with neither time ever enjoying a two goal lead. Ray Donnelly scored 5 of the Inter goals, with Eoghan Scott grabbing three for AOTS. Polish Army pulled out a better performance this week as they went 4-0 up by half time against SK Dons, who are struggling to adapt to the higher level of football. The second half was tighter, but three goals from Kamil helped the Poles pick up an 8-3 win and they get their first points on the board for the season.

Old rivals Pathetico Madrid and Stockport Eagles went up against each other with both teams having won their opening game. As is often the case, this was a tight one with Pathetico edging in front 2-1 at the break. A third goal for Pathetico just after the interval was the final goal of the game as Pathetico become the only team with 6 points after two weeks. A big night for SFC Club, who pick up their first Ballers league win in a game where defences weren’t exactly on top. SFC lead 8-3 at the break, and a hat trick in each half from Phil Carroll helped them to a 13-10 win, despite 4 goals from Ryan McAndrew for Inter, who now sit bottom of the bottom division just a few seasons after being in the top flight!

The Sunday league is currently FULL, but there is always the option of adding a 5TH DIVISION as we enter 2018. Get in touch for details.

 

With our first Christmas Cup having filled up in double quick time, we decided with the time of year and the chance to support another charity we’d throw a second one in!

The second Christmas Cup will take place on Thursday 28th December, kicking off at 7pm.

All cleared proceeds will be donated to Stroke Information, with a minimum donation of £5 per player to take part.

For more information or to register your team, get in touch!

December is here, so with three Ballers weeks til Christmas, here’s what happened last week.

LEAGUE NEWS

The new Tuesday league kicks off next week, and with time running out there are still spaces to be had for any new teams wanting to get involved. If no new teams come in by Tuesday we will go with the teams that we’ve got!

The new Wednesday league kicks off on 13th December, currently we have a team in pole position to take the spot we’ve got available, but if they don’t take it there’s a space to be taken.

After our first Christmas Cup filled up in no time, we are doing a second even on Thursday 28th December, kicking off at 7pm, in support of Stroke Information. For details or to register your team, get in touch for details.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Week one of the Sunday league saw 9 league games take place as the 4 divisions remained full as we got started.

In the Premiership, there was a last minute change of fixtures as last season’s top two went head to head for the second week in a row on opening night. With Insole having won last week to claim the title, Kinky were up for revenge this week, and they came close to getting it before two late Insole goals gave them a point from a 3-3 draw. Duno FC joined the top flight this season, and they got off to a winning start to lead the opening night league table, beating El Caliente 7-4.

Only one game in the Championship this week as Step Brothers and Dench were forced into rare cancellations, leaving The Veterans and Under Rat. Under ed to play out for the right to go top. Under Rated picked up a 10-5 win to start their promotion chasing campaign on the front foot.

A full house in the bottom two divisions, with FC AOTS and Inter Row Z picking up comfortable opening night wins. AOTS beat a struggling Exeter Gently 11-1, while Inter were 8-1 winners over SK Dons, though a number of those goals came late on. The final game saw Wellspring just about hold on for a 4-2 win over Sunday new boys Polish Army, who double up their Ballers action with their existing Wednesday team.

Deportivo Lack Of Talent will be looking to bounce back to League One at the first opportunity, and they picked up a 9-4 win over SFC Club in week one. Stockport Eagles and Pathetico Madrid both picked up hard fought wins, the Eagles beating Inter Your Sister 7-4, and Pathetico saw off the returning FC Stront Bakken 4-1.

The Sunday league is currently FULL, but there are spaces to be had on other nights.

MONDAY LEAGUE

A ‘tricky’ Monday evening saw the Premiership title race blown wide open again as Old Reddish were beaten for the first time this season, 6-4 by Expected Toulouse, meaning AC Milmanchester claim top spot after a 4-2 win over Phantom Brazilians. Old Reddish are a point behind, but have a game in hand, and the top two go up against each other next week. Expected Toulouse are a further game back, and can still get themselves right amongst it if they win their games in hand.

After a generally tricky season, the Championship looked like settling down in recent weeks, but Let’s Try Again’s inability to field 6 players this week meant their planned second game didn’t end up happening. With the players they had they lost the one game they played 9-0 against Jeremy Cheadle. Not A Chance continue to lead the way after a 6-2 win over Pathetico Madrid, who are still looking for their first win in their sharp new shirts.

There is currently a space in either division of the Monday league, with the new league set to start in January 2018 (not too far away!).

TUESDAY LEAGUE

An interim week for the Tuesday league saw just the one friendly played, but it was an interesting one as Championship runners up Wellspring FC took on Premiership strugglers Oooze FC. After a tight opening half and a bit, Wellspring ended up running away with it 14-5 to suggest they will do ok in the top flight next season.

The new Tuesday league starts NEXT WEEK, spaces still available.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

We assumed this would be the week when Magpie confirmed the inaugural Wednesday league title, having fluffed their lines last week in the Polish Derby. This week they faced Wednesday whipping boys Exeter Gently. In a surprisingly close game, Exeter ended up edging this one 8-4 after a late flurry of goals, to leave Ruud van Ni-Ste-Lloyd in with a chance a taking the title if they can beat Exeter next week. They put themselves in pole position after beating Stockport Eagles 4-2, and this fantastic first Wednesday season will go right to the wire. We welcomed a potential new team to the Wednesday league this week, but Dare To Zoltan lost on their opening night, 1-0 against Polish Army. That’s 1-0. In a 50 minute game of 6-a-side!

If Dare To Zoltan don’t take the league space, we’ll have one gap available for anyone wanting to join the new league starting on 13th December. Get two games under your belt then take a couple of weeks off over Christmas!

Following a week without your weekly review (I am allowed to have a holiday, you know…..?!), we are back, even if it is a little later than normal as we continue to play catch up.

LEAGUE NEWS

Several new leagues get started in the next few weeks, and with our leagues running up until Christmas week and then only restarting in the first week of January, now is the ideal time to sign up to beat the new years resolution brigade!

SUNDAY LEAGUE – Kicks off on 26th November. As it currently stands we have just the ONE SPACE AVAILABLE! 

TUESDAY LEAGUE – Kicks off on 28th November. Currently TWO SPACES AVAILABLE!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE – Kicks off 13th December. Currently FULL, but get in touch to get on standby in case anyone else drops out. Or even better, get in touch about one of the nights we do have space on!

MONDAY LEAGUE – We are half way through the current season, but we have a space in either division if you have a team good to go and want to jump straight into an existing league. There’s never a bad time to join, and if you start out now you get some games under your belt before going into your first full season!

CHARITY CHRISTMAS CUP

With the first Charity Christmas Cup, in support of Shelter, scheduled for Thursday 21st December already full, we have decided to run a SECOND CHARITY CHRISTMAS CUP on Thursday 28th December, kicking off at 7pm. This event will be supporting Stroke Information, and all money cleared from the event will be donated.

Spaces in the first one filled quickly, so if you want to get involved in the second one don’t hang about!

SUNDAY LEAGUE

No top division games this week as the anticipated Premiership title clash between Insole and Kinky Slipper had to be cancelled due to illness in the Kinky camp, so the Championship took centre stage this week. There was only one game in that division, but it was a big one as title favourites Kipsta Cobras took on surprise package The Veterans. The surprises continued as The Vets ran out 4-2 winners to take over top spot with a week of the season to go, leaving them in the unlikely position of heading into the Premiership for the first time.

Having stumbled recently, Under Rated had another chance to claim the League One title as they took on an FC AOTS team who’d ended their unbeaten record a few weeks ago. They got over the line this time though, running out 6-4 winners to take at least one step up for the new season.

Most of the action took place in League Two this week, as The McMuffin Men confirmed their status as winners with a 7-4 win over nearest challengers SK Dons, but the Dons then claimed second place by beating Pathetico Madrid 6-4 in a secdon game for them this week. SFC Club hadn’t had a bad start to Ballers life, but in a bit of a turn up for the books they were hammered 19-1 by Stockport Eagles this week. Best getting these things out of the way before the start of their first full season I suppose!

The new Sunday league starts on 26th November, currently ONE SPACE AVAILABLE, get in touch for details.

MONDAY LEAGUE

In the last few weeks it’s become Old Reddish’s league to lose, as a surprise draw for AC Milmanchester against Expected Toulouse the previous week gave them a healthy cushion at the top of the Premiership. This week they faced Phantom Brazilians in a repeat of the previous weeks fixture, which had proven to be a tight game. This week was a little more comfortable for the league leaders, and an 8-3 win sees them stay in control at the top. Milmanchester did get back to winning ways, but let an 11-0 lead become an 11-5 full time result against Strikeforce. If it comes down to goal difference they might regret that!

The Championship has had a stuttering start, and there was just the one game again this week, which saw Not A Chance pick up a 9-4 win over a Team Randommer side that is still trying to get a settled squad together.

We have a space in either division of our Monday league for an immediate start. For more information get in touch!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

The title was on the line in the Premiership this week, where only a win for J Stands Barmy Army would keep their title hopes alive. Their game with Mirror Signal Malouda was a thriller, but it was Malouda who edged it 8-7 to pick up their first Tuesday league title. The other game saw Oooze pick up a surprise point in a 9-9 draw with Cheadle FC, who will finish third.

Just the one game took place in the Championship, and it saw Inter Row Z pick up a hard fought 11-7 win over Wellspring FC, to end their debut season in third place, while Wellspring will finish second.

The new Tuesday league start on 28th November, and there are currently TWO SPACES AVAILABLE. Get in touch for details.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

A couple of games took place in the penultimate night of the ‘regular’ Wednesday league season, with leaders Magpie not in action as Exeter Gently couldn’t field a side. Polish Army’s hopes of taking the first Wednesday league title al but ended as they lost 6-0 to Ruud van Ni-Ste-Lloyd, who could still catch Magpie if results go their way with the games still to play for both sides. Stockport Eagles picked up an impressive win, 13-2 against Shaka in a week where the normally close run Wednesday games were anything but……

The new Wednesday league kicks off on 13th December, but there are currently no spaces. It doesn’t do any harm to ask though……

It’s reached the business end of the current Sunday and Tuesday leagues, meaning the new leagues kick off in the next couple of weeks!

SUNDAY LEAGUE – Kicks off 26th November, currently ONE SPACE AVAILABLE

TUESDAY LEAGUE – Kicks off 28th November, currently TWO SPACES AVAILABLE

For more details or to reserve your space, get in touch by completing a Join A League form on the home page, or call or text 07809252658.

 

LEAGUE NEWS

We’ve got two leagues restarting in November, with the potential for new teams a possibility in both.

The new Sunday league kicks off on 19th November. As always, the possibility of adding in that 5th division is still there, and as our biggest league night, the greater variety of standards can suit a broader ability of team, making the leagues more competitive.

The new Tuesday league kicks off two days later, on the 21st November. We currently have space for ONE NEW TEAM.

BIG ONE – Our now (hopefully) annual Charity Christmas Cup will be taking place on Thursday 21st December at 7pm. Minimum donation of £5 per player to take part, with all money cleared from the event being donated to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity. Spaces are strictly limited and filling up fast…….

For more information on the above, get in touch through the ‘Join A League’ tab on the homepage.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

With us having lost a couple of sides in the top division, the remaining teams will play each other for a third time (with the exception of Step Brothers who, after a fairly disastrous season, are looking forward to taking the drop into the Championship). The first of those games saw Kinky Slipper take another step towards the title with a 12-3 win over an El Caliente side who had a couple of last minute drop outs that affected them this week.

In the Championship, the Team Tom revival continued as they picked up their most impressive victory to date with a 6-3 win over leaders Kipsta Cobras. They are now just two points off the top two and an unlikely promotion spot, where El Caliente B still sit after a more than comfortable 11-2 win over Exeter Gently, who had a very bad week. Dench’s struggles continue, and they looked destined for the drop after another narrow defeat, 6-5 at the hands of The Veterans who are also just a point off second spot in an incredibly competitive division.

The Under Rated procession towards the League One title stumbled as they were beaten for the first time this season, 5-4 by an under achieving FC AOTS. Duno took advantage of the Under Rated stumble to close the gap to 5 points with a game in hand and a game against the leaders still to play after a comfortable 12-2 win over Deportivo Lack Of Talent, who’s recent good run ended. In the battle at the bottom, Wellspring picked up the three points with a 4-2 win over Inter Your Sister, who look set to make the drop from top division to bottom in consecutive seasons.

Only one game took place in the bottom division, as a much changed Team GM showed vadt improvements to claim their first point with a 5-5 draw against Stockport Eagles.

For more information on the spaces we’ll have in the new Sunday league, get in touch!

MONDAY LEAGUE

The big game in the Monday Premiership went the way of Old Reddish for the second time in three weeks as they came from behind to beat AC Milmanchester 8-5 having trailed 5-3 with 15 minutes remaining. The early pacesetters are Phantom Brazilians, who beat Duno 6-2 in what looks like being Duno’s last Monday game with us. Expected Toulouse got their first Premiership win with a hard fought 7-5 victory over Strikeforce, who are still looking for their first point despite an improved performance on last weeks.

It’s been a stumbling start to the Championship season, with just the one game played this week as several teams struggle for numbers. Despite an improved showing with some new players, a lack of defensive organisation cost Ji Sung Park The Bus dearly as they lost 16-5 to Not A Chance.

There is a top division space to be filled in the Monday league, so if you are up for the challenge of a decent level of competition, get in touch!

Tuesday league

Wow……. Not a lot to say about the Tuesday league this week. The Carabao Cup seems to be a more attractive proposition than we could have imagined, with all but one league game going down. That game was a Championship promotion battle that Wellspring won 11-4 against an improving Inter Row Z.

The new Tuesday league kicks off on 21st November, spaces will be available so get in touch for details.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

The ever reliable Wednesday league had another full house of games, though we didn’t quite have the tight encounters we’ve had recently. Magpie stay three points clear at the top after an 8-3 win over Stockport Eagles, but after losing the Polish Derby last week, The Army got back to winning ways with a 5-2 win over Shaka. Exeter Gently’s bad week concluded with a 17-2 hammering by Ruud van Ni-Ste-Lloyd, who are 5 points behind the leaders with a couple of games in hand. Plenty still to play for.

There’s no sign of the Wednesday league slowing down, so if you’re looking to join a league you might want to look at one of the ones above!