Hmmm, this probably won’t take as long as normal…… The scorching bank holiday might have been great for the majority of you, but it was a major buzz kill for our Sunday and Monday leagues as people decided to spend time with friends and family, in beer gardens and Blackpool rather than Ballers.

LEAGUE NEWS

The BRAND NEW SUNDAY LEAGUE creeps closer and closer, with the start date set for 27th May (we know, we know, that’s the next bank holiday, we’ll work around it!). 5 divisions is still our aim, so the spaces are there for any new teams wanting to get involved. If your 11’s season has just finished and you want to keep playing through the summer, give us a shout.

The SK BALLERS WORLD CUP continues to pick up teams as we look to fill the 32 spaces. 50% of all cleared takings from the event will be donated to SoccerAid, so get in touch if you want to get involved in raising some money through this event.

Minimal spaces pop up on our other nights every now and again, so always feel free to ask about those, and we can get some friendlies on on a Monday evening on a separate pitch it the lads want some games to build the fitness up.

We’ll also be unveiling a competition to give teams a chance to WIN A FREE SEASON which will be announced on the Facebook page at 6pm on Monday, so keep an eye out……

Either fill in a ‘Join A League’ form on the homepage or call or text 07809252658 for details.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

We had one of those rarest of Sunday’s where the number of games off was more than the number of games on. Anyone would think it was a sunny bank holiday weekend….. In the top division one game survived, and it gave Duno the chance to cement their place as genuine title contenders as they took on Team Tom for the first time this season. Duno needed goals if they were to try and peg back some of the goal difference advantage held by Kinky Slipper and Insole, so it was a frustrating opening 12 minutes before Liam Watson put them in front. Luke Cope doubled the lead two minutes later, but it was another 9 minutes before Watson added their third. They didn’t go into the break with a three goal lead though, as Tom Hornsby scored on the stroke of half time to make it 3-1 at the interval. Cope restored Duno’s three goal lead in the first minute of the second half, but it was another frustrating half as the Tommers dug in. Watson got his third 10 minutes from time, and Calvin Alexander and an own goal completed the scoring as Duno pick up a 7-1 win to keep them level with Kinky, with Kinky’s final game against Insole, and Duno go again against Team Tom. A win for Duno will give them the title if Kinky fail to win…..

The Championship was a washout this week, so in League One we had Stockport Eagles looking to take the step up to that level, and with Pat’s Giants not playing this week they could go 6 points clear at the top with a win over Murder On Zidane’s Floor. Just the two oals in the first half, both within three minutes of each other, as Ray Donnelly’s opener for Eagles was cancelled out by Logan Sherer’s leveler for Murder. Things opened up in the second half as Ryan McAndrew and Donnelly gave the Eagles a two goal lead in the first 6 minutes of the half. Sam Delgado quickly pulled  one back for Zidane, but Paul Waugh and Donnelly added another couple to ease the Eagles three goals clear. McAndrew and Waugh added two more inside the final 5 minutes to secure the victory, meaning Delgado’s second of the game two minutes from time was just a consolation. The Veterans were looking to avoid back to back relegations having dropped out of the Championship last season, a season after they just missed out on promotion to the Premiership. Their game with FC AOTS this week was wide open in the first half, as AOTS went two up inside the opening 14minutes through goals from Adam Duty and Eoghan Scott. The Vets turned things around, and Ryan Prestwich’s 15th minute goal was quickly followed by two from Paul Atherton as they turned the game in their favour within 4 minutes. Duty’s second of the game three minutes from half time sent us into the break all square at 3-3. The second half was much tighter, and Atherton’s third of the game 6 minutes from time looked to have won it for The Veterans, but Duty also grabbed his third a minute later to give both teams a share of the spoils

FC Stront Bakken were looking to make it a perfect 10 to complete their promotion back to League One against SK Six, and they looked set to do that as Lukas Voveris and Declan Matthews put them two up in the first 16 minutes. They held that lead until the break, and extended it through Matthews’ second goal two minutes after the restart. Henry Cooke pulled one back for SK 20 minutes from time, and remarkably they turned the game completely on it’s head with three more goals in 5 minutes as Harry Bridge scored two after Steve Blunsten had also found the net. Stront Bakken threw everything at SK in the dying minutes, but a man of the match performance from SK keeper Bernard Blicharz kept them at bay as SK pick up their second ever Ballers win!

Wellspring took on Inter Your Sister in a friendly which ended up being 5v5 as only 4 Inter players turned up. Jay Berrisford of Wellspring made the shift over and scored 4 goals against his parent club, but Wellspring were the winners as Lewis Arden and Mike Devitt both scored 4 each to help them to a 12-9 win.

THE NEW SUNDAY SEASON STARTS ON 27TH MAY – WE HAVE SPACES AVAILABLE FOR NEW TEAMS AS WE LOOK TO GET UP TO 5 DIVISIONS FOR THE SUMMER 

MONDAY LEAGUE

Only a couple of Championship games survived this week, and with Migg FC only involved in a friendly this week it gave those teams behind them the chance to close the gap at the top. Netsix were pre-season favourites for the Championship crown, but they went into this week’s game with Pathetico Madrid looking for their first win of the season. Granted it was only their second game, but goals in the opening 5 minutes from Mike Pinder and Warren Yeo looked to be putting them on their way to a win. Pathetico got on the board through Liam Needham’s 15th minute strike, but Matty Aked restored the two goal lead almost immediately before Connor Harding made it 4-1 at the break. Pinder got their 5th two minutes after the restart, but Needham pulled another back for Pathetico two minutes later. The result was never really in doubt though, and Pinder and Harding eased Netsix into a 7-2 lead with 14 to play. Needham completed his hat trick as Pathetico refused to lie down and accept the result, but Aaron Campbell grabbed two and Pinder his 4th in the final 10 minutes to give Netsix a comfortable win. Nice Buns had two points on the board after a pair of 5-5 draws from their opening two games, and faced league debutants Diva Fever this week as they looked for a first win of the campaign. A topsy turvy first half started with Jimmy Williamson giving Buns a 7th minute lead, but John Brookes drew Diva level 6 minutes later. Williamson got his second a minute later to restore the Buns lead, but the Diva’s scored two in a minute through Brookes and an own goal to go in front 5 minutes before half time. 5 minutes was still time for another twist as Williamson and Tom Dempsey scored in those final 5 to send Buns into the interval with a 4-3 lead. With 15 minutes to play a repeat of Buns opening two games looked on as Brookes third of the game made it 4-4, but the same player added two more in a minute to make it 6-4 with 10 to play. Paul Cheetham quickly pulled a goal back for Buns, but they couldn’t find a 6th of their own and slip to their first defeat of the season.

Migg took on an Inter Row Z / Stockport Eagles mish mash in a friendly this week, and the Eagles shard the goals around as 6 different scorers helped them to a surprisingly comfortable 9-3 victory.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL, BUT WE HAVE THE OPTION OF USING THE MUGA TO GET FRIENDLIES ON FOR ANY TEAMS WAITING FOR A SPACE. GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS. 

TUESDAY LEAGUE

With bank holiday out of the way the Tuesday was back to it’s normal decent turnout, with all 5 games passing by without any real incidents of note…… Gangs Of Dwight Yorke had picked up a pair of wins in their attempts to defend their title, but the games were proving to be a lot closer this time around, and they fell behind to a 7th minute Gary Wood goal against Inter Mi Van this week. Within 8 minutes Gangs had turned things around to take the lead through a pair of Callum Jones goals, and the score remained 2-1 at the break. Wood’s second of the game three minutes after the restart meant that we headed into the final 15 minutes all square at 2-2, but as they have a tendency to do Gangs stepped up a gear and two more goals from Jones, one from Chris Singleton and another from Aden Jones eased them to another hard fought win. Oooze had become the latest team to run Gangs close as they fell to a narrow defeat in their delayed Premiership debut last week, and they faced another tough game as Oooze FC looked to match Gangs on three wins out of three. Adam Corr gave Oooze the lead in the second minute, but Ryan Green drew Shaka level with 11 minutes of the half to go. An own goal in the 21st minute looked like sending Oooze into the break in front, but Mark Brookes ensured we went into the break all square at two apiece. Shaka went in front for the first time 5 minutes into the second half through James Holden’s finish, and they increased their lead another 5 minutes later when Liam Paull found a finish. The same player gave them a three goal lead that Oooze never looked likely to recover from, but they will hope to bounce back next week as some of their players return from their 11-a-side commitments. Their start might have been delayed, but Shaka look set to hold their own at this level for the season.

Stroke Titty look Premiership bound for the new season, and would have been expecting another three points against a hit and miss Black Jack this week. It took 11 minutes for them to break the deadlock through Ross Graham’s goal, but after that Graham, Craig Gould and Ryan Stevens added further goals to send them into half time with a 4-0 lead. Black Jack pulled one back two minutes into the second period through Harri Budd’s finish, and things started to look interesting when Joe Dear grabbed another three minutes later to make it 4-2 with 20 minutes still to play. The comeback stalled at this point, and the only other goal of the game came from Graham who completed his hat trick in the final minute to ease Stroke to a 5th straight win. The wheels had fallen off in the past couple of weeks for Turkish Delight as they suffered a second defeat in a row last week after a positive start to the season, and they faced LQ FC this week who had given a good account of themselves in defeat to Stroke in their first game of the season last week. After Rajat had given Turkish the lead in the 4th minute the remainder of the opening half was incredibly tight as we went into the break at 1-0. Volkan doubled the Turkish lead 8 minutes after the restart, and the game was as good as over when Deigo made it 3-0 with 11 minutes to go. Morgan finished this one off with their 4th of the game two minutes from time, a result that sees the Turks get back to winning ways and back into second spot in the table. Wellspring had impressed in last week’s win over Turkish and were looking to build some momentum against winless Beercalona this week. They had to come from behind twice in the opening 19 minutes though, as Craig Scanlon’s double for Beercalona was matched by the same from Mike Devitt of Wellspring. Jamie Berrisford ensured that Wellspring edged things at the break, and things exploded into life early in the second half as Devitt’s third goal to put Wellspring two up was quickly matched by a goal apiece from Tom Ratcliffe and Scanlon to make it 4-4 on 29 minutes. A minute later Devitt grabbed another to restore the Wellspring lead, before Berrisford and Ratcliffe exchanged goals within second of each other to keep Wellspring a goal in front. Scanlon drew Beercalona level again with 13 minutes still to play and this game was anyone’s to win. Ratcliffe and Berrisford repeated their earlier trick of scoring in the same minute and we sat at 7-7 with 12 to go. Wellspring finally made the decisive move as Callum Clarke got on the score sheet and Berrisford added two more to give them a three goal lead and some breathing space with just 5 minutes left. Ste Bowler did pull one back for Beercalona in the final minute, but Wellspring held on for a two goal victory that sees them stay level on points with Turkish Delight in the race for second place.

TECHNICALLY WE HAVE A SPACE IN THE TOP DIVISION OF THE TUESDAY LEAGUE, BUT WE HAVE A TEAM LOOKING AT MAKING A MOVE. IF YOU WANT THE SPOT YOU BEST GET IN QUICK!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

With a new team set to join us next week, we’ll hopefully be back to the regular full house of Wednesday games. Unless Michu move to the Tuesday league…… Stockport Eagles were looking to retain their position at the top of the table as they took on a Magpie team that has been competitive since it rejoined, but haven’t picked up many points. The tightness of the Wednesday league this season was shown in the fact that it took 23 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, as Ray Donnelly gave Eagles a narrow half time lead. In a more open second half it was the Eagles who took their chances as Donnelly and Ryan McAndrew helped them open up a three goal lead in the first 10 minutes of the half. Donnelly made it 4-0 with 12 minutes to play, but Milosz Zawila scored a minute from time to ruin Eagles ‘keeper Lee Bridge’s birthday by denying him a birthday clean sheet. McAndrew finished the game off in the final seconds to give Eagles a 5-1 win which would ensure they stayed top regardless of the other results. Michu At De Gea Ba took on familiar foes Polish Army as they looked to cling onto Eagles coat tails, but they didn’t get off to a good start as two goals from Julian and another from Michal put the Army 3-1 up in the opening 17 minutes after Adam Porter had initially pulled a goal back for Michu. Ian Davies scored two minutes from half time to reduce the deficit back to one at the break, and when Matt Barton scored two in three minutes early in the second half they were in front for the first time. Nathan Brammer and Adam Porter added to the Michu lead to seemingly kill the game off, but the Poles kept things interesting as Julian and new boy Dan pulled a couple back to make it 6-5 with 6 minutes still to play. Despite pushing hard there was to be no leveler for the Army as Michu continue their quest for a third straight title. Unless they move nights…..

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS NOW BACK TO BEING FULL, SO UNLESS MICHU SHIFT NIGHTS YOU MIGHT BE BEST LOOKING ELSEWHERE…… 

The 11’s season is just about over from both a viewing and participation point of view, so with a lot of people having three months to spare, here’s some dates for your diary if you want to stay sharp during the simmer months.

SUNDAY 27TH MAY – BRAND NEW SUNDAY EVENING LEAGUE

This could be perfect for those Sunday league teams who want to keep playing during the summer months. A start date of 27th May means the league will be finishing at the start of August, so if you’re looking for joining us for a single season this could be the one. We are looking for new teams to make up a new 5th division we want to add in, even if it’s only temporary! Obviously any teams who want to join without a set end date are more than welcome as we’d love to keep a 5th division going long term!

Friendlies are available over the next couple of weeks, so get in touch for details.

SUNDAY 3RD JUNE – SK BALLERS WORLD CUP – HEATS 1 & 2

Our SK BALLERS WORLD CUP heats take place over two Sunday’s, with heat 1 taking place at 1.30pm on 3rd June, and heat 2 taking place at 3.30pm on the same day. Teams will be allocated a country that is participating in the World Cup and the groups will mirror the actual event. Spaces are limited so get in touch to register your team asap. Half of the cleared proceeds for the entire event will be donated to SoccerAid, another reason to get involved!

SUNDAY 10TH JUNE – SK BALLERS WORLD CUP – HEATS 3 & 4

The following week heats 3 and 4 take place, with heat 3 at 1.30pm and heat 4 at 3.30pm. In both cases the group stages and last 16 knockout games take place during the heats, leaving 8 teams in total to qualify for FINALS DAY. Any teams who take part in the first two heats can have another go in heats 3 and 4 if any spaces are available.

WEDNESDAY 20TH JUNE – BRAND NEW WEDNESDAY EVENING LEAGUE

Our late night Wednesday league is currently without spaces, but there’s time for something to come up, so if you like the idea of a fixed 9pm kick off every week, and Wednesday is the best night for you, get in touch.

TUESDAY 3RD JULY – BRAND NEW TUESDAY EVENING LEAGUE

There is currently one space in the Tuesday league for an immediate start, so if you get involved now there’s plenty of time for the lads to get up to speed with the league before the new season starts in July.

SUNDAY 15TH JULY – SK BALLERS WORLD CUP FINALS DAY

The 8 teams that qualify from the 4 heats in June will be invited back for a straight knockout, 15 minutes a game Finals Day to decide who will be the SK Ballers World Cup winners! The tournament will finish shortly before the kick off of the actual World Cup Final, with the game available to watch in the club house after.

MONDAY 16TH JULY – BRAND NEW MONDAY EVENING LEAGUE

It seems like a long time between now and the middle of July, but the Monday and Tuesday leagues may provide the ideal leagues for students who are home for summer to get involved with. And while there isn’t currently a space, as we’ve already said, there’s a long time between now and then. We have the MUGA pitch available at the centre, so we can get friendlies on for any team who want to get games under their belt while they wait.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THE ABOVE, FILL IN A ‘JOIN A LEAGUE’ FORM ON THE HOME PAGE, OR CALL OR TEXT 07809252658

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! 

There are currently no spaces available in the Sunday league under the current set up, but there are if we ADD IN A 5TH DIVISION!

When the new Sunday league kicks off on 20th May we will be looking to add the 5th division (or League Three, as it will probably be known) to our biggest league night!

We already have some interest from new teams, so spaces remain limited, but friendlies are available for any new or returning teams who might want to get involved. Book a friendly in with no obligation to sign up for the leagues, but if you decide to sign up these friendlies will form the basis for what division we put you in.

The 11’s season is coming to an end, so if you want a regular weekly game over the summer months, we’re the way to go.

Our biggest league night means we can cater for teams of any standards, ages or fitness levels, so get in touch today to book in your one off friendly.

Fill in a ‘Join A League’ form on the homepage, call or text 07809252658 or email [email protected]

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO COMMIT TO A WEEKLY GAME, GET INVOLVED IN THE BALLERS WORLD CUP AS A BIT OF A ONE OFF, HEATS TAKE PLACE OVER THE SUNDAY’S 3RD AND 10TH JUNE!

We’ve given this a lot of thought, and we think we’re onto a winner with this one. We’re proud to announce our plans for a World Cup tournament, taking place over June and July. We think we’re the first ones to consider running a tournament like this…….

50% of all proceeds cleared from the event will be donated to SoccerAid, another reason to get involved…..

Format: Group stages and last 16 knockout games will take place over two Sundays, with two groups playing at the same time followed by the last 16 tie between those groups to decide which team qualifies for Finals Day. The tournament will replicate the World Cup draw, so teams will be assigned a country at random and play out the groups as per the World Cup groups. The dates and times of the groups are as follows:

HEAT 1 – Sunday 3rd June – Two Groups and last 16 knockout from 1.30pm – 8 teams

HEAT 2 – Sunday 3rd June – Two Groups and last 16 knockout from 3.30pm – 8 teams

HEAT 3 – Sunday 10th June – Two Groups and last 16 knockout from 1.30pm – 8 teams

HEAT 4 – Sunday 10th June – Two Groups and last 16 knockout from 3.30pm – 8 teams

Each group stage and last 16 knockout stage should last no longer than two hours as we will run the two groups over three pitches, meaning only 4 game slots for the group stages before the round of 16. Group games will be 15 minutes long, meaning each team gets 45 minutes of game time time as a minimum. We want to push as many teams as possible to the first weekend, and once those 16 spots are full we will look to fill the slots on the 10^th (unless date availability means the 10^th is the only date of the two that your team can play). Any teams that fail to qualify from the first week of games can take any available slots in the second week and have a second go.

Once you’ve registered for one of the group stages we will do a random draw to decide which nation you will represent in the run up to the event, and assign you with a team colour for the group stages in the hope of avoiding the need for bibs on the day, but we are ordering bibs to cover the colours of the countries taking part, so we will be covered!

Cost of entry for group stages will be the standard £5 per player.

FINALS DAY

Finals day will take place on World Cup Final day, Sunday 15^th July, starting at 2pm (earlier in the highly unlikely event of England making the final), where the last 8 knockout games will be played. Finals Day is just £2 per player for all teams that qualify as it will be a straight knockout, so you might only be there for one short game. The £2 charge is literally just to cover the cost of pitch hire and referees. From there drinks and snacks will be available at the club, and the World Cup Final which kicks off at 4pm will be shown on the big screen in the clubs meeting room.

Spaces are strictly limited, so get in touch asap for further details or to register.

There was something in the air this week, something that caused more than a couple of shocks across our league nights. It’s always nice to keep things interesting…..

LEAGUE NEWS

We announced details of our SK BALLERS WORLD CUP this week, but if you missed it here’s the briefest of details:

Heats take place on Sunday’s 3rd and 10th June, with teams being assigned one of the nations from this years World Cup. Group stages and last 16 knockouts will take place over two time slots on each Sunday, with the last 8 qualifying for Finals Day which will take place on World Cup Finals day. For more details see the previous post on the website.

We are still looking at adding the elusive 5TH DIVISION to our SUNDAY EVENING LEAGUE for the new season which begins in late May. This coincides nicely with the end of the 11-a-side season, so to keep playing through the summer months, get in touch. Friendlies are available for any teams wanting to get some games under their belt before the new season starts.

We’ve secured the MUGA pitch on a Monday evening, so while teams wait for a space to come up in the 6-a-side league, 5-a-side friendlies will be available.

We are also looking at the possibility of a space coming up in our ever popular, very reliable Wednesday league. All games at 9pm, so if that time suits you and the lads, give it a go.

For more information on any of the above, get in touch.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

With Kinky Slipper’s impressive win over Duno last week, it looked like we were heading for another scenario of a straight shootout between Kinky and Insole for the Premiership title, and they would open up a 6 point gap to third placed Duno if both of them were to win this week. Part of the reason for this was because Insole were playing Duno, who had been a bit of a bogie team for them since they joined the top flight a couple of seasons ago. 11 minutes were on the clock when Regain Mannion gave Duno the lead, and goals from Calvin Alexander and Liam Watson put them three up within the next 4 minutes. That lead was quickly trimmed back to one when Aaron Campbell scored twice in the next two minutes, and in a breathless first half we were level 5 minutes before the break as Jack Atkinson scored their third in 5 minutes. The goals kept coming, as Watson scored two more in the next two minutes to give Duno a two goal lead again, but they couldn’t hold that lead for more than a minute as Atkinson got his second to make it 5-4 at the break. There was no way the second half was going to be able to maintain the same intensity as the first, but Jack Cope eased Duno two goals up again 4 minutes after the restart. There were no more goals until the final 5 minutes, and the final goal of the game also went Duno’s way as Jake Humphries completed an impressive win for Duno, who keep themselves in the fight in what’s turning into a really good top flight. This gave Kinky Slipper the chance to take control of what’s becoming a difficult league to predict, and they went up against the still fairly new Bangers & Pash in what looked like a game you’d expect them to win. It took 14 minutes for the early deadlock to be broken, and surprisingly the opening goal went to Robbie Fallon of Bangers, and they also got the second 4 minutes from the break through Chris Carroll. A third and 4th quickly followed as Matt Sheehan and Harry Kilmartin both scored to make it 4-0 in what was looking like being not just a massive upset, but also a surprisingly heavy defeat for one of the title challengers. Joe Lailey converted a penalty to get Kinky on the board in the final minute of the half, but with the expectation being that the champions would throw everything at the new boys, it was Carroll’s second 6 minutes into the second half that restored Bangers 4 goal lead. Wesley Harney had been denied on numerous occasions by Pash’ keeper Matt Fitzgerald, but eventually he bagged two in three minutes to make it 5-3 with 13 minutes to go. Rory Kelly stopped the Kinky momentum with another goal a minute later, but Harney kept Kinky in touching distance with his third in 5 minutes to make it 6-4 with 11 to play. Sheehan got his second 5 minutes from time to give Bangers a three goal lead and surely the three points, but Harney scored two more in the dying moments to mean that Bangers had to hold on for the final few seconds. They did hold on, and all of a sudden it’s all to play for again in the top division. Another week, another batch of questions from Team Tom as to how long their Premiership nightmare has to continue…… This week they took on the unpredictable Kipsta Cobras, who are looking like fighting Bangers for 4th place as it stands. Connor Harding gave them an 11th minute lead in this one with what was the only goal of the opening period as Team Tom, helped by a man of the match performance from Rob Longworth in goal, kept things tight in the first half. Harding got his second in the opening minute of the second period, but rather than the floodgates opening, things continued to remain tight going into the final 10 minutes. Matty Aked (we think) and Wayne Reeves added two in a minute before Harding grabbed his third two minutes from time to ease Kipsta to a 5-0 win, which anyone looking at the result on the website may think was a forfeit win……

Real Maskid seem to be playing out the season in full knowledge that they will be joining a very competitive top division next season. In the meantime they had three more games to negotiate, the first of which was against El Caliente, and this one got off to a quick start. Jack McConnell put Maskid in front in the second minute, but Fidelis Eberegbe leveled up a minute later, before an own goal put Real back in front on 7 minutes. Caliente didn’t really do themselves any favours, as they conceded another own goal in the 11th minute to give Maskid a 3-1 lead, which Darren McConnell made 4 three minutes later. Caliente showed a bit of fight, and a goal from Danny King and another from unnamed player brought them back to within a goal 7 minutes from the end of the first half. The deficit at the break was three as Kieran O’Connell grabbed a double in the final 5 minutes of the half, and he added his third a minute after the restart as Maskid edged 4 goals clear. Jack McConnell grabbed 4 more in the final 10 minutes to make it another double figure score for Maskid, with King’s second of the game in the dying seconds nothing more than a consolation for Caliente. The last time Inter Row Z and Step Brothers faced off it ended up as a highly competitive 6-6 draw, one of a host of draws in this division this season. This one didn’t look like ending up as a draw as Inter roared into a 4-0 lead in the first 4 minutes as Ryan McAndrew and Ray Donnelly grabbed a goal each, and Callum Jones a double to put them in immediate control. Step Brothers got a grip as the half went on, and Rob Sheldon pulled one back for them on 15 minutes, but it was 5-1 at the break as Paul Waugh scored three minutes before the interval. The Brothers chances of a second half comeback ended in the opening 7 minutes of the second half as McAndrew and Donnelly added to the Inter total, and though Tom Cioffi pulled one back with 16 to play, Inter fired in another 4 goals in 4 minutes, two from McAndrew and one each from Jack McDonagh and Donnelly. Dom Cioffi grabbed the Brotherhood’s third of the game 6 minutes from the end, but this one was long over and Waugh made it 12-3 to Inter in the final minute to send Inter three points clear in second place. The McMuffin Men went looking for their first win of the season at the 8th attempt against Wellspring FC, despite sitting on 4 points after drawing 4 of their 7 games so far this season! Wellspring hit the front through Jay Berrisford’s 4th minute goal, but Tom Collins put McMuffin Men in the familiar position of being level a minute later. Callum Wilkinson restored the Wellspring lead in the 8th minute, and goals from Lewis Arden and Collins meant it was 3-2 Wellspring after just 10 minutes. Berrisford and Mark Bailey both scored in the space of 60 seconds to keep the Wellspring lead at one, but Bailey, Collins and Charley Eyre scored in the space of 60 seconds to put McMuffin’s in front for the first time at 6-4. That lead was 8-4 at the break as Sam Delgado and Calan Sherer scored in the final 5 minutes of the half, but Mike Devitt pulled one back for Wellspring two minutes into the second half. Eyre edged McMuffin 4 goals up again, before Jack Kerton scored two and Berrisford another to bring it back to a one goal deficit. McMuffin Men ended the stronger though as they went in search of that elusive first win, and goals from Delgado, unnamed scorer and two more from Collins gave them the ‘W’ for the first time this season.

Pat’s Giants have settled into Ballers life very well in their first season, and went into this week’s game against FC AOTS on top of the League One table. AOTS are one of those teams who can be good one week, not so good the following week, and after going two down to goals from Jack Emmerson and Fred Winterbottom, they hit back with two of their own from Eoghan Scott and Adam Duty. Paddy Bannister quickly put the Giants back in front, but that lead also didn’t last long as Duty made it 3-3 5 minutes before half time. The Giants had the lead at the break again as Emmerson grabbed his second, and they were back in control of the game as Bannister and Winterbottom added two in the first 5 minutes of the second period. The game drifted away from AOTS as Bannister, Emmerson and Danny Brookes added three more to make it 9-3 heading into the final 10 minutes. Winterbottom added two more, Emmerson joined him on 4 for the game by adding another and Joe Marsland got his name on the score sheet, while Duty and Carl Buckley grabbed a couple of late consolation goals for AOTS, who had one of their bad weeks. Stockport Eagles looked to keep pace with the Giants as they took on a patched up Veterans side. The Eagles quickly took advantage of the weakened Vets team as Michael Winn and Lee Bridge(?) put them two up in the opening 5 minutes, before Paul Waugh put them three up 8 minutes from the break. Andy Carrington pulled one back for The Vets two minutes later, but Waugh’s second of the game made it 4-1 before half time. His third and 4th, either side of goals from Ray Donnelly and Ryan McAndrew in the first 8 minutes of the second half pulled Eagles clear, and though Simon Grainger pulled one back for The Vets they were never going to produce any kind of comeback as two more from Waugh and two more from McAndrew gave the Eagles a more than comfortable victory.

FC Stront Bakken’s promotion push this season has been based on solid defence as they they had conceded just 11 goals in 7 games ahead of this weeks game with Deportivo Lack Of Talent, who’ve picked up two wins from three games since dropping back into the Ballers Sunday basement. This one always looked like being tight as we approached half time with just Declan Matthews 15th minute goal separating the teams. Lukas Voveris struck their second on the stroke of half time to double their lead with what was remarkably the final goal of the game, as the Bucket Boys move onto 8 wins from 8, with ‘keeper Benjamin Dean picking up his second clean sheet of the season. SK Six may not quite have had the results to back up their improvements since returning to Ballers, but they went again this week against Inter Your Sister who are looking to secure second spot and a return to League One for next season. SK went in front through Henry Cooke’s 10th minute goal, but we were level at the break as Max Liversedge drew Inter level 6 minutes later. Harry Bridge restored SK’s lead inside the opening minute of the second period, but within three minutes they were behind for the first time as Aaron Crook and Gaz Sumner gave Inter a 3-2 lead. Crook grabbed his second 4 minutes later, and there was no way back for an SK team who don’t always find goals easy to come by. Liversedge got his second three minutes from time to seal the win for Inter, who sit three points clear in second place, but they won’t be catching the leaders any time soon.

Rooneytunes and Wellspring stepped foot inside the cage for a 5’s friendly with the main pitch being full, and it was Rooneytunes who ran out 6-4 winners, Chris Sinclair and Ashley Taylor with two each for them.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL, BUT THAT DIVISION 5 WILL BE HOPEFULLY MORE THAN JUST A PIPE DREAM AS THE 11’S SEASON’S HEAD TOWARDS THEIR CONCLUSION.

MONDAY LEAGUE

The opening night of the new Monday league season saw two new teams join the Premiership and some new faces in the Championship as we got ourselves back to the two full divisions. Expected Toulouse picked up a perfect 10 on their way to their first Monday Premiership title last season, including a pair of wins over this week’s opponents Not A Chance. The Chancers were hammered in their final match of last season but they got off to a flyer here as James, Callum Wild and Phil Carroll all scored in the opening 10 minutes to put them three up. Any expectation that this would fire Toulouse into life didn’t surface, and Carroll and James added two more before the quarter hour mark. Waz Akram did eventually get Toulouse on the board a minute later, but an own goal two minutes before half time sent Not A Chance into the interval with their 5 goal lead back. The first goal of the second half took 11 minutes to arrive, and when it did it went to Dom Andrew to put the Chancers 7-1 up with 14 to play. Expected finally sprung into life as Niall Hillen, Jack Grundy and Akram grabbed three quick goals to make it 7-4 with 6 minutes left. We looked set for a big finish, but all we got was Not A Chance seeing the game out to claim a massive win on the opening week. AC Milmanchester had the chance to steal an early march on Toulouse if they could see off a team they had also beaten twice last campaign, Phantom Brazilians. Phantom had given Toulouse a run for their money last week, but they went behind to Jason Singleton’s third minute goal, before they hit back with three of their own, two from Matt Barton and another from Robin Hulme. A Simon Hackney strike for ACM and a ‘ghost goal’ that’s not noted on the score sheet saw us level at 3-3 as we headed into the final 15 minutes before Ballers debutant Matt Haley scored his first Ballers goal to put Phantom back in front. Barton’s third of the game in the dying minutes secured an impressive win for Phantom as the final league table from last season was turned on it’s head on opening night!

Netsix & Chill fought hard to not have to go into the Premiership for the new season, so immediately started the new Monday season as potential favourites to win the Championship title. The newly renamed Migg FC were playing their first Ballers league game, having also joined the Championship when they could have been going straight into the top flight, and they started strongly when Josh Meehan and Matty Gillings put them two up in the opening 10 minutes. Joe McDonald added a third on 12 minutes, before Meehan added two more to make it 5-0 a couple of minutes before the end of a very one sided first half. Matty Aked pulled one back for Netsix just before the break, but Meehan’s 4th of the game two minutes into the second half effectively ended this one as a contest. Aked got his second 4 minutes from time, but it was just a consolation as we start the conversation with Migg FC as to whether we’ve put them in the wrong division……. Jeremy Cheadle won the three games they played in the Championship last season, but the couple of games they missed being the reason they remain in the Championship, while Nice Buns had a solid start with a couple of wins from their three games. Charlie Williamson gave Buns the lead in the third minute, and last (half) season’s top scorer Jimmy Williamson doubled that lead on 10 minutes. The first half was an end to end affair, and Phil Monaghan pulled one back for Cheadle two minutes later, and while chances came and went at either end Nice Buns ended the half with a three goal burst, one each from Tom Hall, Paul Cheetham and Jimmy Williamson to give them a 5-1 half time lead. The second half was much more one way traffic as Buns didn’t seem to know whether to stick or twist, and Monaghan got his second 4 minutes after the restart. Alex Whelan pulled another back with 17 to play, and it was a one goal game when Monaghan got his third a minute later. Buns were holding on and continued to hold on into the final 5 minutes, but as time looked to be running out for Cheadle Whelan got his second three minutes from time to make it 5-5, which is how it stayed as both teams start the season with a point apiece.

In the one friendly of the evening, Diva Fever celebrated taking Pique Blinders league space by winning their first Ballers game 5-3 against a scrambled Stockport Eagles team. They spread the goals around as Craig Madden, Bevan Southward, Des Savage, James Gandy and Kev McCreavey all got on the mark ahead of their league debut next week.

THE MONDAY 6-A-SIDE LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL, BUT WE HAVE SECURED THE MUGA PITCH TO ALLOW US TO GET FRIENDLY 5-A-SIDE GAMES ON FOR ANYONE WAITING TO JOIN A LEAGUE. GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

The conclusion of the 11’s season both in the pro and amateur game has meant midweek games are currently a thing, and this is causing some of our teams problems. We did eventually get 4 league games and a friendly on this week as team scrambled around for players, two of which were Oooze FC and Only Kruls & Horses, who went up against each other. Brad Gilman gave Kruls the lead in the first minute, and Jack Mulhern doubled that lead with only 4 minutes on the clock, but Oooze had turned this one around before the break as Jago Stackhouse, Adam Corr and Phil Parker scored in a 15 minute spell to send them into half time 3-2 up. Parker’s second in the first minute of the second half, and Tom Galbraith’s goal 6 minutes in put Oooze 5-2 up, and it was 6 with 15 minutes to go as Corr got his second of the game. Seb Etchell’s pulled one back for Kruls with 10 minutes still to play, but there was to be no late comeback for them as Oooze made it two wins from two while Kruls continue to look for their first point. Gangs Of Dwight Yorke started their title defence at the third attempt against another of the teams who’d had to scramble for players this week in Inter Row Z. Their scrambling still left them with a pretty strong looking team, but that team went behind when Wez Barker scored in the second minute. Inter controlled most of the rest of the half and they scored 4 in a 6 minutes spell before we’d reached the 10 minute mark, two each from Callum Donnelly and Kyle Clarke. The teams shared 4 goals in the final 6 minutes of the half, as Chris and Jason Singleton both scored for Gangs, with Jack Cope and Steven Whetham responding each time to keep Inter three clear at the break. Connor Harding’s goal in the opening minute of the second period looked set to fire Gangs into life, but Donnelly’s third of the game a minute later restored Inter’s three goal lead again. Jason Singleton pulled one back again with 20 minutes to play, and this time Gangs did put their foot down as within 4 minutes they were in front as Harding and Jason Singleton added to an own goal to give Gangs an 8-7 lead, and despite numerous chances at either end there were no more goals as Gangs get their defence off to the narrowest of winning starts.

Both Turkish Delight and Stroke Titty had looked impressive last week as they showed their promotion credentials, and having drawn 2-2 in a tight friendly at the end of last season we were expecting another close one this week. Sam Tattersall gave Stroke the lead in the first minute, and an otherwise tight first half saw just an own goal give Stroke a two goal half time lead. Goals from Ryan Stevens and Jay Willingham in the opening 8 minutes of the half eased Stroke 4 goals clear and set for a third straight win, and Willingham went on to add three more in the final 15 minutes to absolutely kill this one off as Stroke go 6 points clear at the top of the early Championship table. Both Black Jack and Wellspring were looking to pick up their first points of the season, granted it was only at the second attempt for both sides! We were level at 1-1 just three minutes in as Joe Dear cancelled out Nathan Wilkinson’s opener, but a quieter middle spell of the first half followed before it all went off again in the final 10 minutes of the half. James Davies grabbed two in two minutes, Wilkinson pulled one back another minute later, but the final three minutes of the half were enough time for Black Jack to add three more as Davies got another two and Jack Roberts the final goal of the half as Black Jack went in with an unlikely looking 6-2 lead. Another one from Davies followed a minute after the break, and though Wellspring quickly pulled two back through Wilkinson and an own goal, Pat Bradshaw nicked another goal for Black Jack before a second own goal kept Wellspring just about in it at 8-5. Black Jack were able to secure a first win of the campaign as Dear and Roberts scored in the final 11 minutes to give them a 10-5 win which sees them go into second place for now.

The only two teams without a league game, Inter Mi Van and Beercalona, played out a friendly that went the way the form book would suggest as Inter Mi Van shared the goals about with Karl Robins, Ryan Andres, Simon Royle and Ross Gaskell all scoring two each to put them 10-0 up going into the final 5 minutes, before Tom Ratcliffe scored a late hat trick to at least mean that Beercalona weren’t white washed!

THE TUESDAY EVENING LEAGUE REMAINS FULL. SUNDAY AND MONDAY ARE YOUR BEST BETS FOR A FAIRLY IMMEDIATE START! 

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

It would appear that Duno came in, caused havoc, then left within two weeks, the little pests, so just a couple of games took place this week. Michu At De Gea Ba were 10 from 10 on their way to a second straight title success last season, but squad numbers have been an issue so far this season so their game with Stockport Eagles looked like a tough one to call. A manic first 6 minutes saw 4 goals fly in, two for each team as Ryan McAndrew scored two for Eagles in between Michael Jennison and Matt Barton grabbing one each for Michu. Somehow after that start the score remained the same at the break, but Warren Yeo put the Eagles in front 4 minutes after the break and Ray Donnelly gave them a two goal with 16 minutes to play. McAndrew’s third of the game 8 minutes from time looked to have ended this one, but the champs hit back with two Nathan Brammer goals to make it 5-4 with a couple of minutes still to play. The Eagles just about held on pick up the win and go top of the table, while Michu suffer their first defeat for as long as any of us can remember. A few weeks ago we thought the Polish Derby was consigned to the history books as Mapgie attempted to escape the Ballers grip, but they are back again and the Polish Classico continues. As per the last games between these two Polish Army looked to be well in control at 3-0 with a couple of minutes of the first half to go as Michal’s opener was added to be two Bania goals, but Milosz Zawila ensured that Magpie did something that they couldn’t manage in their last meeting, scoring a goal just before half time. Mateusz struck first for the Army 4 minutes into the second half, and the game looked over at 5-1 15 minutes from time as Michal got his second. Adrian Hulicki quickly pulled one back for Magpie from the penalty spot, and Karol’s goal 4 minutes from time meant they trailed by just two, but Michal grabbed his third a minute later to put the result beyond doubt. Mariusz Koszla did grab a late consolation for Magpie, but it’s good to at least see them being competitive again after a miserable second half to last season.

WHISPER IT, BUT WE MAY HAVE A SPACE IN OUR WEDNESDAY EVENING LEAGUE. FIRST ONE IN GETS IT!

Looks like summer has already been and gone…..

LEAGUE NEWS

There’s only one place to look at the moment if you want to get some immediate Ballers action, and that’s the SUNDAY EVENING LEAGUE, where we are looking to add a 5TH DIVISION when the new league starts in May.

All of our other league nights are currently full, but if Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the only options for you, feel free to get in touch and we’ll look to try and arrange friendlies for you while we wait for a space to come up.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Insole weren’t playing this week as Kipsta Cobras couldn’t field a side, so Kinky Slipper and Insole were playing for the chance to join them on 12 points at the top of the table. Kinky have generally got the better of the two sides in this game and they struck first through Wesley Harney’s 7th minute goal. Duno were level three minutes later, and went in front 11 minutes before the break through Jack Cope’s finish. James Radcliffe pulled Kinky level for all of 60 seconds before Calvin Alexander restored Duno’s lead, but Kinky blitzed the Duno goal with three goals in as many minutes as Joe Lailey, Jordan Hutchinson and Radcliffe ensured they had a two goal lead at the break. Duno had arguably been the better side in the opening half, and Kinky ‘keeper Luke Braden had done his share to ensure they took that lead into the break, and the champs dominated the second half as Lailey and Radcliffe struck early to ease them 4 goals in front. Three more in the final 11 minutes, one from Harney and two from Hutchinson gave Kinky a comfortable looking 10-3 victory in the end. Team Tom already seem to be counting down the days until they are playing Championship football again, but they continue to field a side and went into the unknown this week against new boys Bangers & Pash, who put up a fairly decent showing in defeat to Duno last week. We looked like heading into half time with Bangers leading by a solitary Rory Kelly 11th minute goal, but a flurry of action before the break saw Matt Sheehan grab two and Kelly another while James MacDonald pulled one back for the Tommers. Matt Toft and Kelly scored in the opening 5 minutes of the second period to put Bangers out of sight, Robbie Fallon made it 7 with 18 minutes remaining, and he added a second alongside a Chris Carroll goal in the final 5 minutes to give Bangers a comfortable first Ballers win.

Real Maskid came closer than ever to losing their 100% record with us last week as McMuffin Men ran them close, but previously Inter Row Z had been the team team who’d challenged them in the opening half of the season. It looked likely that there wasn’t going to be a repeat of this when Jack Wilson and Kieran O’Connell put Maskid two up in the first three minutes, but Inter hit back to level things up through goals from Ryan McAndrew and Brandon Byers-Wilkes with 15 minutes on the clock. Jack McConnell put Maskid back in front on the stroke of half time, and the same player added his second two minutes after the break to restore their two goal lead. Alecs Pattison made that three a couple of minutes later before Michael Winn pulled one back for Inter. McConnell looked to have killed the game off by making it 6-3 12 minutes from time, with Byers-Wilkes goal three minutes from time proving to be just a consolation for Inter. El Caliente had the chance to take second spot from Inter if they could pick up the points against Wellspring this week. Given how well grouped the teams below Maskid are, a win for Wellspring would see them remain in the promotion chase, and they lead 2-1 after 10 minutes when James McGrail and Nathan Wilkinson scored to cancel out Nathaniel Odysseus-Kingsley’s 5th minute opener. Lewis Arden edged them 3-1 in front three minutes before the break, but Jay Berrisford quickly replied for Caliente to make it 3-2 at the break. The second period started slowly before 4 goals in 4 minutes, one for Arden, one for Wilkinson, one for Murray Tupman and an own goal, all in Wellspring’s favour, put them well in control at 7-2. O-K pulled one back with 6 minutes left, and though Berrisford and Kyle Sparked also got on the score sheet for Caliente, it was too little too late, and Wellspring close to within a point of second place with a game in hand on those above them. Step Brothers and The McMuffin Men could yet make a play for the promotion places as the Brotherhood started the night three points off second place and McMuffin Men 5 after drawing three of their 6 games. McMuffin started like a house on fire as they went two up in the first 5 minute through goals from Maison Heywood and Sam Delgado. Chris Moore’s reply for the Brothers a minute later was met with a swift response from Heywood to restore McMuffin’s two goal lead before we’d reached the 10 minute mark. This remained the score at the break, and Step Brothers went chasing the game in the  second period. It took until 11 minutes from time for Josh Armitage’s finished reduce the McMuffin lead, and two minutes later Moore produced a moment of magic to draw the Brothers level. That ended up being the final goal of the game, as McMuffins make it 4 draws and no wins from their 7 games, while Step Brothers drop a place to second from bottom but remain two points off second.

Pat’s Giants had had a good run of it since they took over from SK Dons in the early stages of the season, but they faced a tough one this week against Murder On Zidane’s Floor, who’d picked up a win over FC AOTS in their first game last week. The Giants got off to the better start as two goals from Jordan Pryce put them two up after 11 minutes, and Fred Winterbottom made three 4 minutes before the break. Mark Bailey did pull one back for Murder two minutes later, but Pat’s all but killed the game off with two Paddy Bannister goals in the opening 4 minutes of the second period. Dan Havern got Zidane’s second with 15 minutes remaining, but there was no way back for them as the Giants saw the game out to go level with Stockport Eagles on 12 points ahead of Eagles game this week. AOTS provided Eagles opposition this week with a stronger looking squad than they were able to field last week, and that proved to be the case as three goals from Adam Duty and two from Eoghan Scott gave them a 5-0 half time lead. On what was proving to be a miserable evening for the league leaders at start of play, Charlie Hutchinson made it 6-0 4 minutes after the break. Paul Waugh gave them a glimmer of hope when he scored two in 4 minutes, one of them a spectacular overhead kick, to reduce the arrears to 4, but Duty added two more for AOTS in the final few minutes to give them a surprisingly comfortable win. They move onto 9 points, three behind Pat’s and Eagles in the race for promotion.

FC Stront Bakken look to be strolling towards the League Two title, so if Inter Your Sister were to hold out any hope of making up the 9 point deficit at the start of play they were going to need to beat them this week. Declan Matthews put the leaders in front on three minutes, but Max Liversedge quickly drew Inter level. A tight first half edged the Bucket Boys way as Lukas Voveris restored their lead 8 minutes before the break, before two Brandon Byers-Wilkes goals either side of Matthews second of the game meant we were level at 3-3 with 17 minutes left to play. Matthews third put Stront Bakken in front for a 4th time, but Craig Johnsno looked to have snatched a point for Inter with the 4th leveler three minutes from time. There was a final twist though, as Voveris got his second in the final minute to maintain Bakken’s 100% record for the season. They will guarantee the League One title with two games to spare if they win this weekend. Deportivo Lack Of Talent looked to continue their recovery against SK Six this week, but didn’t get off to the best of starts as Harry Bridge put SK in front in the 11th minute as they went looking for their second ever Ballers win. Ben Proctor leveled things up for Deportivo 6 minutes later as we went into the break all square. Brad Peet put Deportivo in front for the first time two minutes into the second half, and two goals in three minutes from Ashley Ellwood and Gaz Sumner looked to have secured the win with 9 minutes to play. Brad Bent pulled one back for SK two minutes later, but two Rob Parker goals in the final 5 minutes secured a second win for Deportivo since they took the drop. Beercalona were fresh off the back of their first Ballers win, and went up against a Rooneytunes team who were back after their issues of last week. This one was tight from start to finish, and the only goal of the first half was scored by Scott Williams of Beercalona. Rooneytunes drew themselves level through Chris Sinclair’s goal 4 minutes after the break, and as the game looked to be heading for a draw, Ashley Taylor grabbed a winner for Rooneytunes two minutes from time.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL, BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO ADD THAT 5TH DIVISION IN FOR THE NEW SEASON IN MAY. GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS. 

MONDAY LEAGUE

The final night of the Monday league came and went this week with not a massive amount to play for in all honesty, but that didn’t stop a lot of the games that were played from being competitive. Not A Chance and Phantom Brazilians had Premiership third place to play for, with Phantom in the box seat due to their superior goal difference, and while that in itself might not be much it still meant these two were likely to be involved in a tight game, and a goalless first half backed up that theory. The deadlock was finally broken 6 minutes after the break as Matt Barton put Phantom in front, and when he doubled that lead 10 minutes from time the three points and third place looked secure. Phil Carroll pulled one back for the Chancers with three minutes left, and out of nowhere Chris Priestley made it 2-2 a minute later to mean a share of the spoils and third place for Phantom.

Jeremy Cheadle were looking to make it three wins out of three since rejoining, and they got off to a quick start against struggling Pathetico Madrid as Kieran Monaghan’s two goals and an own goal put them three up in the opening 10 minutes. The rest of the first half didn’t go much better for Pathetico as Alex Whelan and Phil Monaghan grabbed two apiece to make it 7-0 at the break. That break didn’t help Pathetico’s cause as Adam Whelan added two in the opening 6 minutes of the second half and Alex and Phil another one each to make it 11-0 with 14 minutes remaining. Joe Bates pulled one back in a rare high moment for Pathetico a minute later, but Mike Astley and Phil Monaghan scored in the final 10 minutes to ease Cheadle to a 13-1 victory. The game between Netsix & Chill and Nice Buns was likely to be much closer, but it didn’t seem that way as Buns raced into a three goal lead in the opening 9 minutes with two goals from Jimmy Williamson and one from Charlie Williamson. Netsix whittled away at that lead as the half went on, and goals from Calvin Alexander and Phil Carroll saw them go into the break just one goal behind. The lead had disappeared completely when Liam Atkinson scored 6 minutes after the break, and goals from Kurtes Curran, Atkinson and Alexander saw them take a three goal lead into the final 12 minutes. This time it was Nice Buns turn to hit back, as Jimmy Williamson scored a minute later, and ‘un-named scorer’ reduced the deficit to one goal with 9 still to play. That same mystery man completed the second three goal comeback of the game to make it 6-6 with three minutes left, but it was all in vain as Carroll popped up with the winner in the dying second to make it three straight wins for Netsix going into the new season.

In friendly action this week, Red Hands FC (who will be known as Pink Panther FC going forward) took on the possibly soon to be renamed NG Bailey FC in a game between two teams who could have both been going into the Premiership for the new season. It looked like being both early in the second half as a close game was sat at 5-4 in Pink Panthers favour, but they ended up running away with it as 4 goals each from Ray Donnelly and Mike Dolan saw them run out 12-6 winners. Diva Fever joined us for a first game this week as they looked to ease back into the small sided game with a friendly against Exeter Gently who kindly stepped in for a game. It was a good one too which looked to be heading comfortably Exeter’s way as they sat 4-1 up with less than 10 minutes remaining. Late Bevan Southward, Des (just Des) and Kev McCreavey goals weren’t enough for them to take a draw as Kristian Igo’s second of the game gave Exeter a narrow 5-4 win. Pique Blinders let the side down late on this week, so a scratch team made up of Netsix and Pink Panther players gave FC Rhino Ket a game. It was a pretty decent one too, as Rhino Ket eased to a 6-3 win against their fatigued opposition.

THE NEW MONDAY LEAGUE STARTS NEXT WEEK AND IS FULL! WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF TEAMS ON STANDBY, SO YOU CAN EITHER WAIT FOR A SPACE OR ASK ABOUT ANOTHER NIGHT! 

TUESDAY LEAGUE

With mancunian interest in the Champions League ended last week, we had a better turnout for our Tuesday league this week. Two games took place in the Premiership as 4 teams got their season up and running at the second attempt. Only Kruls & Horses faced Inter Row Z as two of the teams who were scrapping out for second place looked to get three points on the board early doors. Steven Whetham gave Inter the lead in the third minute, but Only Kruls were ahead within 6 minutes as Seb Etchells and Reece Douglas scored to turn things in their favour. Liam Watson brought Inter level half way through the period, but Douglas’ second put Kruls back in front 7 minutes from the break. Watson turned the game on it’s head with two goals in the last two minutes of the half to give Inter a 4-3 half time lead, but Kruls bounced back to go back in front with goals from Dan (just Dan) and Douglas in the first 4 minutes of the second period. They held onto that lead until 12 minutes from time when the game turned again as two goals in three minutes from Watson put Inter back in front again. This time there was no way back for Kruls as two in quick succession from Callum Donnelly and a 6th of the game from Watson put the seal on an impressive win for Inter to get their season off to a winning start. The other two teams who were in the mix for second place last season went head to head as Inter Mi Van faced Oooze FC with both teams missing several regular players. Oooze got off to the better start, going two up through goals from Adam Corr and Gaz Sumner before Karl Robins pulled one back for Mi Van before we’d reached the 10 minute mark. Three Oooze goals in 6 minutes in the run up to half time put them in control, one from Phil Parker and two from Tom Galbraith, but Lee Boshir’s goal on the stroke of half time kept Inter just about in contention. In a tighter second half, Inter’s chances were damaged by Jay Roddis’ goal 7 minutes in, and the game was up when Corr got his second 5 minutes from time. Lee and Blake Boshir did grab a couple of consolation goals which may prove vital to their goal difference if this season is anywhere near as close as last season was.

Stroke Titty won the only game of the opening night last week and were looking to continue what looks like being a promotion push against Beercalona. Ross Graham gave Stroke the lead in the 8th minute, and his second 6 minutes later had them looking good for maintaining their good start to the season. Jay Willingham and Ryan Stevens added two more before half time to leave Stroke in comfortable control, and in a game that wasn’t as one sided as the scoreline suggested further second half goals from Joe Lailey, Willingham, Graham and Sam Tattersall gave Stroke an 8-0 win that unsurprisingly sees them sit top of the table as the only team to have played two games! Turkish Delight played their first Championship game having failed to pick up a point in the second half of last season’s Premiership despite always being competitive. There’s looked to be a good game this week against Black Jack who finished second in the feeder Championship last season, and it got off to a flyer as Veysel’s third minute opener for Turkish was leveled up by James Corser’s rocket a minute later. Veysel put Turkish back in front on 8, and two more goals in the latter stages of the half put them three up at the break. They killed the game off in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as Veysel added his 5th, Deigo became the first player who isn’t Veysel to score, and they even had the lucky break of a heavily deflected goal to put them 7-1 up. The final 15 minutes remained goalless as Turkish Delight also look set to have a bash at a top two finish this season.

Shaka couldn’t field a team this week, so Inter Row Z stopped on to give Gangs Of Dwight Yorke a game. Despite leading throughout the game, Inter ran out of gas and Gangs ran out 11-9 winners.

THE TUESDAY EVENING LEAGUE IS FULL! FRIENDLY MATCHES CAN BE ARRANGED FOR ANY TEAMS WANTING TO GET INVOLVED WHEN A SPACE COMES UP 

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

Champions Michu At De Gea Ba struggled to field a side again this week, meaning our ‘7th’ Wednesday team, Wellspring, filled in to make sure we had another full Wednesday of Ballers action. Stockport Eagles lost a hard fought game with Duno last week, but were looking to get back to winning ways against Exeter Gently, who are unrecognisable from the team that struggled so badly at the start of last season. The only goal of the opening 10 minutes went the way of the Eagles as Shaun Mather put them in front, but the final 15 minutes of the half were painful for Exeter as Eagles pretty much wrapped up the game before the break. Connor Harding got an 8 minute hat trick to go alongside Paul Waugh’s goal to see the Eagles soar into a 5-0 half time lead. The second half was tighter, and Exeter wasted their chance to get a foothold in the game as Lee Bridge saved a penalty on the way to a clean sheet that sees him climb the Golden Gloves chart. Waugh and Ray Donnelly scored two in a minute as we went into the final 10 minutes to complete a comfortable win for Eagles as they go to the top of the table having played more games than others around them. Duno just about managed to field a side this week, meaning their game with Polish Army looked like it could go either way. Aaron Owens gave Duno the ideal start with two goals in the opening 8 minutes to put them in early control, but Bania pulled the Army level with two goals in 4 minutes of his own. Marcin put the Poles in front 7 minutes from half time, but three goals in as many minutes, two more from Owens and one from Regan Mannion looked to have given Duno a two goal half time lead. Bania got his third of the half on the stroke of half time to make it a one goal game again, but Jack Cope eased Duno two goals up again three minutes after the break. Bania’s 4th kept the Army in touch heading in to the final 10 minutes, but Joe Owens grabbed the final goal of the game to make it two wins from two for Duno. 7th team Wellspring took on a Magpie side that were looking back to healthy squad numbers this week having tried to leave us a few weeks ago, and a really good, tight first half saw us go in level at the break as Karol canceled out Mike Devitt’s 16th minute opener for Wellspring. It was more of the same in the second half, but Magpie looked to have won it through Stanislaw Cierpiatka’s 35th minute goal before Callum Wilkinson grabbed a last gasp leveler for Wellspring to give both teams a point.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS FULL, AND WE EVEN HAVE OUR RANDOM 7TH TEAM TO FILL IN IN CASE OF OTHER TEAMS MISSING! SUNDAY IS YOUR BEST BET IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP NOW! 

 

We don’t want to really be overloading people with a 20 page list of playing rules, so we’ve always stuck to the idea that our rules are basically 11-a-side rules, with no sliding and kick ins instead of throw ins.

In recent weeks we’ve had a few players questioning various aspects of the playing rules, which is fine. Following discussions with our referees we are happy to hopefully clear some of these up.

PENALTIES

The referee will place the ball down for penalties, which should be taken one referees stride (approx one metre) inside the penalty area. Players can take a maximum of two steps before striking the penalty, and it must be one fluid motion. There will be no retakes if the penalty taker fails to adhere to these rules.

KICK OFFS

From a kick off the ball can be played in any direction, it does not have to be played backwards. If you shoot and score from a kick off the goal counts, if you play the ball backwards and it goes directly into your own goal, it counts.

KICK INS

Players need to be a minimum of 6 feet away from the ball at kick ins. In order to get the ball back into play quicker the kicker may take the ball back up to 6 feet from the touchline, while all other players must remain on the pitch.

Of the ones we’ve been asked about recently this pretty much covers everything. If you have any other questions about the playing rules, feel free to ask.

 

I thought the big hat was going to be put away for 6 months or so when the sun came out on Sunday, but it was back on by Wednesday……

LEAGUE NEWS

Whisper it, but at this precise moment in time we are FULL! But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still on the lookout for new teams……..

With the 11’s season approaching it’s conclusion, we want to get the SUNDAY LEAGUE up to 5 DIVISIONS for the summer (at least). We don’t actually know how we’d fit all these in, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it……

While there are no spaces on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, there isn’t a massive waiting list of teams, so if you want to register your interest we can try and get you some friendlies on the go while we wait for a slot to become available.

For any information on the above, complete a form on the ‘JOIN A LEAGUE’ section of the homepage, call or text 07809252658, or email [email protected].

SUNDAY LEAGUE

We unfortunately (and hopefully temporarily) lost Dench FC from the Ballers league this week, partly as a result of the struggles of being in the top flight, but fortunately we had a new team all set and ready to take on the challenge. Firstly though, leaders Insole were looking to consolidate their lead at the top as they took on struggling Team Tom. That struggle continued for another week as Insole poured forward relentlessly from the off, and two goals each from Jack Atkinson and Kyle Clarke, along with one each for Brad Street, Jordan Cunningham and Matthew Atkinson gave the leaders a 7-0 lead at the break. They didn’t let up much in a second half that provided a level of symmetry as Street, Clarke and Cunningham added further doubles and Jack Atkinson another as they ran out 14-0 winners. Such was their dominance, the man of the match was actually given to Tommers keeper Rob Longworth, who did his best to keep the scoreline that low. Kinky Slipper needed a win over Kipsta Cobras to keep themselves in touching distance at the top, but after a slow start they fell behind to Wayne Reeves 8th minute opener. They turned it around by the quarter hour mark as Joe Lailey and James Radcliffe scored to put Kinky in front, but it was all square again with a minute as Warren Yeo made it Desmond. Jordan Hutchinson scored two minutes before the break to send Kinky in with a half time lead, and two more from the same player either side of Lailey’s second put them firmly in control half way through the second period. Yeo grabbed his second to give Kipsta a glimmer of hope at 6-3 with 11 to play, but Kinky eased to victory through a goal from unnamed scorer and a third from Lailey. We were joined by Bangers & Pash this week, and they were thrown in fairly deep as they took on the third of the title contenders in Duno. They held their own for the opening quarter of an hour before Liam Watson put the challengers in front, but they swiftly leveled things up as Chris Carroll scored the Pash’s first Ballers goal. Duno went into the break with a narrow lead as Jack Cope scored a minute before the break, but Bangers were level again three minutes after the restart as Matt Sheehan drew them level for a second time. Stevie Whetham put Duno in front for the third time a minute later, and they had a two goal lead for the first time two minutes after as Cope got his second. There was no looking back from this point as Duno finished the stronger with Watson and Calvin Alexander adding two more each in the final 10 minutes to give Duno a comfortable looking victory.

Real Maskid had played in, and won the Reddish North End fundraising tournament during the day, and went straight into their league game with The McMuffin Men still confident of maintaining their 100% record so far this season. That looked to be on the cards as Kieran O’Connell and Jack McConnell gave them a two goal lead in the opening 8 minutes with the only two goals of the half. In the reverse fixture earlier in the season Maskid had run away with it in the second half, but it looked less likely this time around and Sam Delgado pulled one back for McMuffins with 19 minutes left to play. The 100% record looked in real danger when Jack Searle leveled up for McMuffin 8 minutes from time, but McConnell got his second of the game 60 seconds later and Maskid held on to record their 6th straight win. Inter Row Z and El Caliente went into this week’s game level on points in the race for second place, with a superior goal difference placing Inter in that prized position at start of play. This one was a topsy turvy game from start to finish, and it began with Ray Donnelly giving Inter the lead in the 4th minute before Nathaniel Odysseus-Kingsley leveled up three minutes later. Callum Donnelly restored the Inter lead on 10 minutes, but this time they only held the lead for a minute as O-K drew Caliente level for a second time. Caliente went in front for the first time as Jay Berrisford scored in the 15th, and again in the 17th after Brandon Byers-Wilkes had briefly drawn Inter level again in the 16th. We were level at 4-4 at the break as Byers-Wilkes got his second on the stroke of half time, and we remained level when Callum Donnelly and Berrisford scored within a minute of each other 9 minutes after the restart. Jack McDonagh nudged Inter in front again, but again this lead didn’t last long as Berrisford scored again to make it 6-6 with 13 minutes left. All that was left was two late goals in the dying seconds, and fittingly it was one for either side as Ray Donneelly got his second and Berrisford his 5th as a pulsating game ended in a 7-7 draw.

A full house of game in League One, in stark contrast to last week’s none, meant things were shaken up at the top of the table again in a tight looking league. Stockport Eagles took on Polish Army for the 401st time in what must be the most played Ballers game in Ballers history. This chapter started with the poles getting off to the better start as Piotr and Mateusz gave them a two goal lead in the opening 11 minutes, but that lead was gone within 6 minutes as Paul Waugh grabbed himself a double. His third meant that Eagles went into the break in front, and in a tight second half his 4th of the game eased the Eagles two goals up with 13 minutes left. Ryan McAndrew grabbed himself a goal 4 minutes from time to confirm the result in Eagles favour, and they soar to the top of the table as we reach the half way point of the season. Pat’s Giants, under their previous guise of SK Dons had thrown away a 3-0 half time lead in their first game of the season against this week’s opposition The Veterans, so they were looking to right those early season wrongs. While The Veterans finished that game strongly, they started this one as they ended that one, as goals from Paul Atherton and Steve Wally gave them a two goal lead in the first 4 minutes. Paddy Bannister pulled one back for the Giants on 9 minutes, and two goals in three minutes from Danny Brookes and Jack Emmerson gave Pat’s the lead 9 minutes before the break. Bannister got his second in the 21st minute, but The Vets remained in contention at the break as Atherton got his second to make it 4-3 at half time. Emmerson got his second early in the second period to ease Pat’s two goals up again, but Ben Mercer and Dean Minshull scored two quick goals to make things level again with 19 minutes to play. Pat’s looked to have made the decisive move when Bannister added two more either side of Emmerson’s third to move them three goals up for the first time, but Wally got his second 4 minutes from time to make sure it wasn’t cut and dried just yet. Bannster and Max Bradwell ended any doubts with a goal apiece in the last minute to give the Giants a 10-6 win that sees them take second spot. Murder On Zidane’s Floor join us for the second half of the season, replacing Deportivo Lack Of Talent who’ve dropped back into the bottom division, and they faced an FC AOTS team who had struggled for numbers this week. That didn’t stop them from taking the lead here as Scott Robinson put AOTS in front in the 12th minute, but Murder turned it around before the break as Sam Delgado, Josh Flynn and Logan Sherer gave them a 3-1 half time lead. Zidane killed the game off in the opening 12 minutes of the second half as Flynn added two, Dan Havern and Delgado others to move them into a 7-1 lead. Charlie Hutchinson pulled one back for AOTS, but Ellis Stelfox and Flynn added to the Murder total before Adam Duty scored a late consolation for an AOTS team that will be hoping to be back to full strength next week.

Deportivo Lack Of Talent looked to continue their Ballers recuperation this week, but it was a tough task against table toppers FC Stront Bakken. It looked like being even tougher as Declan Matthews gave the Bucket Boys the lead in the first minute, but in a tight first half Brad Peet’s leveler for Deportivo was the only other goal. The second half was equally tight, and we headed into the final 10 minutes still level at 1-1, but Matthews second of the game restored the Bakken lead with 9 minutes left to play, and Lukas Voveris completed a hard fought win for the leaders with their third 4 minutes from time. Inter Your Sister needed a win against Beercalona to remain in contention for the title, but that didn’t look likely at half time in this one. It started off looking like being a close game as Callum Jones and Scott Williams twice gave Beercalona the lead, only for Brandon Byers-Wilkes and Max Liversedge to peg them back both times. When Williams gave Beercalona the lead for the third time they pulled clear with three more before the break, two more from Williams and another from Jones. Liversedge pulled one back for Inter three minutes after the break, but Ste Bowler and Williams ensured that Beercalona went into the final 20 with a 5 goal lead. Byers-Wilkes and Matt Kealy reduced that to three with 14 to play, but Williams 6th of the game with 10 minutes left looked to have eased any concerns of an unlikely comeback. Gaz Sumner and Liversedge scored in the final 5 minutes, but it was too little too late for Inter, and they fall 9 points behind the leaders. For Beercalona, this was their first Ballers win since joining!

THE 4 DIVISIONS OF THE SUNDAY LEAGUE ARE FULL. JUST THE 5TH DIVISION TO GO NOW……   

MONDAY LEAGUE

It seems like forever since we had an actual full house of games on a Monday evening, but the introduction of a new side playing their first game with us meant we had 6 games to cover this week. Things are already done and dusted in terms of a title race in the top division, but Expected Toulouse had one final game against a Phantom Brazilians team who’ve found things to be a struggle recently but picked up a win a couple of weeks ago in a friendly with another of our new teams. They started well in this one as Mike Jennison and Ryan Clayton put them two up inside the opening 10 minutes. Toulouse aren’t the champs for nothing though, and they pulled one back through Jordan Milne 4 minutes before the break. Barely a minute had passed before Matt Barton restored the Phantom two goal lead, and they held onto that at the break. Things changed in the blink of an eye at the start of the second period as Milne got his second before Liam Mottram and Jack Grundy scored to put Expected in front for the first time just 8 minutes into the period. Surprisingly, and despite the best efforts of both teams, this was the final goal of the game as Expected finish the season with a perfect 10. AC MIlmanchester will be looking to take back the title they have just lost next season, and they faced a potentially tricky final game of the season against a Not A Chance team who’d run them close in the reverse fixture at the start of the season. This one didn’t look like being anywhere near as close when Simon Hackney and Martin Gordon put them two up in the first 6 minutes, and despite Phil Carroll pulling one back on 8 minutes it was 6-1 at the break as Hackney added two more, Gordon his second and the ironically named Sunny scoring his first Ballers goal in the pouring rain. The second half didn’t get much better for the Chancers, but the half was scoreless for the first 11 minutes before a late flurry of goals from Gordon (2), Billy Gallagher, James Elmore and debutant Daniel Flyer eased the runners up to a comfortable 11-1 win.

Jeremy Cheadle have been a little hit and miss since they singed back up, but they took their 100% record (from one game) into a fascinating looking game with FC Rhino Ket who look set for a spot in the top division next season. They also started the better here as rustiness may have been a factor for Cheadle who hadn’t played for the last couple of weeks, and Louis Moore put Rhino Ket two up in the first 6 minutes. Cheadle pulled themselves together and were back on level terms at the break when Phil Monaghan scored twice in the last 5 minutes of the half, and they went in front for the first time when Jack (just Jack) scored (probably) his first Ballers goal 6 minutes after the restart. When Jack Whelan scored with 10 minutes to go the result looked in the bag, but Moore quickly pulled one back for the promotion chasers. In a frantic final 10 minutes there was time for two more goals, and Alex Whelan’s goal for Cheadle gave them the win despite Moore’s 4th of the game meaning they had to hang on for the final few minutes. Netsix & Chill were looking to join Cheadle on 6 points as they went into their game with Pathetico Madrid as heavy favourites. The tag of favourites was justified as Connor Harding’s opening goal on 4 minutes was followed by two each from Matty Aked, Matthew Atkinson and Warren Yeo. with Joe Bates scoring the solitary Pathetico goal of the half. Pathetico put up a bit more of a fight in the second half but Netsix remained well in control despite Craig Moss scoring for Pathetico in the first minute of the half. They quickly regained control with two more from Atkinson and Harding, and one from Mike Pinder before Pathetico rallied with three unanswered goals of their own, one from Bates and two from Nathan Thomson. Netsix finished this one with a flourish with 4 more goals in the final 5 minutes, two each again from Atkinson and Harding to make it two straight wins. Pique Blinders haven’t picked up a win since their opening day victory over Netsix (granted they had only played one game since then), and if they were to hold out any hopes of promotion they really needed to pick up a win over Nice Buns, who we think will settle for a full season in the Championship as they continue to adapt to the 6’s game. Charlie Williamson put Buns in front in the first couple of minutes, and they doubled the lead through Dale Kirkham’s 14th minute goal. Kieran Norris pulled a goal back for Pique two minutes later, but Williamson scored a crucial double, one either side of the break to give Buns a 4-1 lead. Nathaniel Odysseus-Kingsley reduced the deficit with 17 to play, but it was Buns night as Jimmy Williamson scored their 5th and final goal of the game 6 minutes from time. We now have 4 teams on 6 points heading into the final couple of games.

We welcomed potential new team Red Hands FC down for their first game this week, with the always keen Wellspring stepping in to give them a game. It’s always nice when a new team can start with a win (always makes them more likely to come back!), and that’s what Red Hands got as three goals from Connor Morrissey and two from Mike Dolan gave them a comfortable 5-0 win. Hopefully they will be back again next week!

THE MONDAY LEAGUE IS NOW FULL! WE EVEN HAVE A TEAM ON STANDBY! FEEL FREE TO ENQUIRE ABOUT SIGNING UP BUT FOR A MORE IMMEDIATE START SUNDAY WILL BE THE NIGHT TO GO FOR 

TUESDAY LEAGUE

While every Ballers league, including Tuesday, maybe full, it doesn’t mean that big Champions League night’s involving Manchester clubs isn’t going to affect turnout. Just one game survived this week on what was the big opening night of the new season, with Stroke Titty taking on Wellspring in the first game of the new Championship campaign. Unfortunately the score card from this game has gone awol, so all we can say is that three pot shots from Conor Dolan, two from Jay Willingham and one each from Ryan Prestwich and Ryan Stevens were enough to see off Wellspring for this week despite three goals from Callum Walmsley, who was proud to tell us that he hadn’t scored a Ballers goal since last summer! Hopefully everything will be back to normal next week.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE IS ALSO FULL. GET IN TOUCH ABOUT SIGNING UP FOR SUNDAY IF THAT’S OF ANY GOOD TO YOU!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

The returning Magpie FC were the final piece of the jigsaw in terms of league spaces, so it was back to a normal Wednesday night of three games. Duno doubled up and joined the Wednesday league, with a first game against some familiar faces in Stockport Eagles lineup. Goals from Calvin Alexander and Connor Harding saw us all square at 1-1 after the first 10 minutes. Jack Cope edged Duno in front and ‘Danny’ made it 3-1 before Ben Waugh and Warren Yeo scored a couple of quick goals to bring Eagles back level again. Duno were in front again by the break as Alexander got his second, and they were two goals up again when Cope also got his second two minutes into the second period. Harding’s second kept Eagles in contention, but three goals in 6 minutes from Stevie Whetham, Liam Watson and Michael Winn put Duno well in control. Waugh got his second half way through the period, but a shared flurry of 4 goals in as many minutes, an own goal and Winn’s second for Duno, Waugh and Harding for Eagles, were the final goals of the game as Duno start their Wednesday league campaign with a win. Polish Army picked up an impressive win on opening night against a recently improved Exeter Gently, but they faced two time winners Michu At De Gea Ba this week. It was a Michu side missing a couple of regulars, and the Army got the first goal through Slawek’s 6th minute finish. One of the Michu debutants got their leveler on 13 minutes as Nathan Brammer got his first Ballers goal, and despite Dominik restoring the the Army’s lead a minute before the break they couldn’t make it to half time in front as Brammer scored within seconds to make it 2-2 at half time. Matt Barton put Michu in front for the first time 9 minutes after the break, but Mateusz’ leveler 10 minutes from time had us looking set for a point apiece. Michael Jennison ensured that all three points headed Michu’s way with the winner in the last minute as Michu carry on where they left off last season. Magpie’s return started against Exeter Gently, but their form didn’t look like improving from where they left off as Mehrad Torkian and Mike Belshaw gave Exeter a two goal lead inside the first 10 minutes. Another Ballers debutant Adrian Hulicki pulled one back for Magpie, but Belshaw and Brad Robison added two more for Exeter to put them 4-1 up. Another new boy, Karol (no surname as yet) pulled one back for Magpie, but Exeter added two more before the break through Robison and Tom Harrison. Magpie did pull another back three minutes after the break, but despite there still being 22 minutes remaining there were no more goals as Exeter pick up a first win of the season at the second attempt.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE, LIKE ALL OTHER LEAGUES, IS FULL! SUNDAY IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY NIGHT WHERE WE CAN FIND SPACE FOR NEW TEAMS.

The start of April came around and to be perfectly honest there was nothing that was pecking my noodle that I thought I wanted to talk about, so there was a doubt as to whether I’d be able to keep our run of monthly blogs going, but then on Tuesday night something magical happened.

Our leagues became officially FULL!

Now I know I need to get this blog out there quickly as you never know if a team is going to drop out tomorrow, but if they dropped out of Sunday, Monday or Tuesday we even have the start of a waiting list of teams ready to take a space! On a technicality we probably do have 6 spaces available as we want to get that 5th division in on a Sunday by next month, but for now the existing league spaces we have are all taken.

The mantra we have worked to over the majority of our 18 months in existence has been to make sure not to get carried away when things are going well, but also to try not to get too down when things weren’t. Sometimes in both cases it’s hard to stick to that, we could have one good week where we thought we’d cracked it, followed by a week where we’d want to jack it all in. Obviously at the minute things are going pretty well, but we know we have to continue to try and keep doing the right things otherwise we know that things can quickly change.

March 2017 was the month where I really started wondering whether this was really going work out. Looking back now it’s ridiculous to think that, as we were barely 6 months into something we knew would take time to take off, but I’m impatient and didn’t want to wait for the work we were putting in to pay off! Any time a team looked like dropping out of the league there was internal panic, as we were at a point where losing just two or three teams on each of our league nights could have caused major damage. The reputation of the business and our leagues is at the forefront of our thinking at all times, so to have had leagues dropping numbers at that time would have damaged the reputation. The bank balance too…… It started to turn around this time last year as we approached the end of the 11’s season and the lighter nights came into play.

By the time we got to May, June and July we were in a financial position to start looking at the idea of the shirts for the teams who’d been with us a year, and fortunately we’ve been able to continue doing that as we promised. In some cases the shirts have been cursed and the teams that were given them quickly ran into problems.

We still don’t have a team photo of Deportivo Lack Of Talent, who’ve had their shirts for months as they’ve not had their full team out in all that time, Pathetico Madrid unfortunately left us after a struggle to continue to field a team having been with us from week 1, and El Caliente’s head honcho picked up an injury recently that has meant the team has had an overhaul which has rendered the named shirts mostly redundant. Strikeforce got their shirts, ordered two more for a couple of lads who were looking to get back into it, then folded a few weeks later, while more recently Kipsta Cobras were another team who made the decision to have names put on their shirts, only for two of the lads to then leave and set up a new team! At least Dench and SK Dons made their decision to drop out just before they were due, but being the awesome kind of company that we are, as soon as those two teams decide they are ready to come back in we will honour the offer and sort out shirts for them. If we can find them a space……

We’ll just settle with the knowledge that those lads who have shirts but aren’t currently playing probably have those shirts hanging in a frame from their bedroom wall……

Before we know it we will have been going for two years (hopefully) and we’ve already started the thought process as to how we can top or even match the idea of giving teams shirts. Chances are this year it will be a combination of things, maybe with teams having a certain choice over what they receive, maybe we can offer extra shirts for teams who have added players in over the past 12 months? We’ve got a few ideas up our sleeve, but within reason we wouldn’t mind hearing what people think.

With pitch space at the club currently limited, any further growth within the current Ballers set up would probably involve finding another venue that could house a potential Ballers Thursday league, or increase the size of one of our existing league nights. Even if we could find somewhere that could do that there is no guarantee that all of the teams would be happy with a shift of venue, while adding a 5th league night would be a massive decision. We’ve made no particular enquiries into making that happen as of yet, but we quite like having the 4 nights we have that can house up to 60 league teams as this allows us to maintain the close communication we have with our teams which we wouldn’t want to lose by diluting our time. Anything more than this would more than likely be too much for the current regime to cope with, would probably involve extra staffing being required with the training needed to run things the way that we do, hence it becomes a far from straightforward decision.

Maybe in a few months time our blog might be spelling out the exciting future plans going into the tricky third year…….