Insole took up the Tuesday challenge this week to fill our top division vacancy and went up against an Oooze team who often give teams a good game but don’t always get the positive results to match.

Without a completed team sheet we’ll have to work off guessing the Insole lads based on first names, but Kyle gave them the lead in the second minute before Oooze hit back through a pair of Adam Corr goals in the opening 5 minutes. Jordan Cunningham made it 2-2 with the 4th goal in the first 10 minutes, and they hit the front when Kyle Clarke (we assume) scored 5 minutes from the break. We were all square going into the interval as Tom Galbraith scored a minute later, and Insole knew they were in a tougher game than their one from the past weekend.

Clarke got his second 4 minutes after the break, but again the lead didn’t last long as Phil Parker drew Oooze level just a couple of minutes later. It remained all square heading into the final 10 minutes, but out of nowhere Oooze just fell apart! Cunningham put Insole back in front and added his third just after Aaron Campbell had also got his name on the score sheet. Matt Atkinson and another from Campbell made it 5 goals in 9 minutes as Insole picked up a win that ended up looking much more comfortable than it was.

After struggling for number for the last few weeks with a couple of lads lacking a commitment to the cause by going to university (how dare they?!), Cheadle FC were back with a couple of new players. For Caliente it has just been a general struggle being in the top flight altogether, and they were still looking for that first top division point at the third attempt.

It didn’t look like going well when Adam Taylor and Daniel Kitch scored to give Cheadle a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes, but a Ryan McAndrew hat trick before we’d reached the 20 minute mark had Caliente sitting on a surprise 3-2 advantage. We were level at the break as Taylor scored his second of the game two minutes from the interval.

Caliente edged ahead again three minutes into the second half as Gaz Sumner netted, but they held that lead for just a minute before Taylor grabbed his third to make it all square again. When Evan Farrell put Cheadle ahead with 15 minutes remaining the smart money would have been on them running away with it, but McAndrew grabbed his 4th a minute later and we were level yet again. Farrell put Cheadle ahead once again, and this time they didn’t let it go as Taylor and debutant Harry William scored to give them a three goal lead. Sumner grabbed another for Caliente in the dying stages, but it wasn’t enough, and Cheadle stay in touch with the leaders.

Despite going into this week’s games top of the table, Mirror Signal Malouda couldn’t really afford a defeat against J Stands Barmy Army as they had played more games than this week’s opposition who were carrying a 100% record for the season into the game.

As you’d expect from two of the top teams of the league it was a highly competitive opening half, and Malouda hit the front with goals from Callum Jones and Daniel Barrett in the opening 10 minutes. The Barmy Army weren’t for giving up their 100% record easily, and by the break they had turned this one around. Jamie Stokes pulled one back on 14 minutes before he added a second to make it Desmond 6 minutes before the break. Adam Hughes completed the turnaround on the stroke of half time to send J Stands into the break with a 3-2 lead.

We were all square again two minutes into the second period as Jones got his second to make it 3-3, and Malouda were back in front with 14 minutes left as Barrett also got his second goal. When Wez Barker made it 5-3 a minute later it looked like that might have been it, but we were in for a big finish when Scott Stokes made it 5-4 three minutes from time. Malouda held on for the win though, which throws things wide open again in the race for the title with every team in the division having lost on at least one occasion. Good stuff!