Tag: 7-a-side

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 3rd May 2019

LEAGUE NEWS

With the Premier League and 11-a-side seasons coming to an end, we have two new leagues starting in the coming weeks.

The BRAND NEW MONDAY LEAGUE will be kicking off on 27th May, though you may have to hope we have a space come up if you want to join as we are currently full. There’s also the option of us adding extra teams to divisions if that works……

The BRAND NEW SUNDAY LEAGUE kicks off on 2nd June, and with pitch space relatively unlimited we can add to what is already our biggest league night. If your 11-a-side season is done and you want to keep playing through the summer, this could be for you.

We also currently have one space on offer in our Tuesday league for an immediate start….

For more information or to register a team, call or text 07809252658, or fill in a ‘Join A League’ form from the homepage.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

We’re really hoping that the battle to avoid 4th place between United and Chelsea was the reason for the number of teams we had missing this week, or we might be in trouble…..! Only one game took place in the top division, and Beercalona took advantage of the lack of other games to go 8 points clear at the top as they beat Kipsta Cobras 6-3 with doubles from Luke Warburton and Jay Ratcliffe cancelling out Kieran Mills trio for Kipsta. Others have games in hand on the leaders so this race is far from over.

CHAMPIONSHIP

The Championship held itself together this week with a full house of games, and FC AOTS took another step towards the title as they beat Bangers & Pash 8-3. Paul Buckly got three and there were doubles for Adam Duty and Eoghan Scott as they retained their 7 point lead at the top. Nice Buns remained the team who were 7 points adrift as they beat Stockport Eagles 4-0, with the doubles from Charlie Williamson and Sean Cope all coming in the first half. They have a game in hand but it looks unlikely that AOTS will be dropping the points required to give Buns a sniff of the title. Sevilla Lacatalent are up to third following their second win, a 9-6 victory over The Veterans, who remain bottom. Tom Jackson scored 5 of their goals with David Witter grabbing two, while Andy Carrington and Nathan Wilkinson both grabbed two in reply for the Vets, who look League One bound.

LEAGUE ONE

The McMuffin Men look destined for the Championship as they made it 6 wins out of 6 this week with a second straight win over Fat Boys Run Wild. Luke Braden scored three, but there were also doubles for Charley Eyre, Sam Delgado and Daniel Havern in an 11-6 win. The only game in League One this week……

LEAGUE TWO

League Two followed suit as several teams continue to struggle for numbers, but the only game that took place this week provided a minor shock as Pathetico Madrid inflicted SK Six’s second defeat of the season to damage their title prospects. Carl Reynolds scored three and James Norton two as Pathetico scored three late goals to turn a 2-2 scoreline into a 5-2 win that lifts them up to 4th.

FRIENDLIES

MONDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

With Expected Toulouse missing again this week, Grand Street Wanderers would have been expecting to take top spot with a win over Cheadle FC, who were struggling to find their feet back in the Ballers leagues. GSW threw away a two goal lead to go into the break at 2-2, but three goals in the first 7 minutes of the second period, including Alex Jones’ second of the game, looked to have put them well in control. Cheadle weren’t for giving it up though, and turned the game on it’s head as two McAuley Forman goals and Evan Farrell’s second of the game helped them fight back to win 6-5, their first Ballers win. The other Premiership game was a mini classic between chamions Netsix & Chill and Kinky Slipper, as a highly competitive game headed into the final 15 minutes at 1-1. It was goals in those final 15 from Wes Harney and Rob Cresswell that gave Kinky a 3-1 win that continues their decent start to life in the Monday league.

Ruby Kazan are strolling to the Chamionship title, and Athletico Pathetico were unlikely to stand in their way this week on current form. The form guide proved to be accurate as doubles from (deep breath) Jahid Hussain, Jordan Cunningham, Josh Hargreaves, Josh Welsh and Howie Thomas-Leech helped them to a comfortable 11-1 win that sees them sit 9 points clear of the pack. It’s been a tough few weeks for Delph & Safety who had started life at Ballers like a house on fire. It was another disappointing week for them this week as they were hammered 8-0 by Phantom Brazilians, Paul Wilkinson with three of those goals, and this result sees Phantom go second while Delph drop from that position all the way down to 5th place. On a technicality Diva Fever have now left us, but a split in the squad meant that the remaining lads have kept the team going. While we wait for them to give us an alternative name, we christened them Buff Daddy FC for this week, but the name didn’t seem to inspire them as they lost the 100% record they had had since their return to the Championship. They remain undefeated though, as they were involved in a thrilling 6-6 draw with Unprotected Cesc, who also leapfrog Delph in the table into 3rd place. Mike Cocks and Jake Edge grabbed a couple each for Buff, while Nathaniel Kingsley scored three and Fidelis Eberegbe two for Cesc, who are finding that things are falling into place for them ahead of the new season.

CHAMPIONSHIP

TUESDAY LEAGUE

There was a big one at the top of the Tuesday league as we approach the split at the midway point of the season, with leaders Club Tropicana taking on For Fuch’s Sake, who only had one defeat to their name so far this season. This was a rare off night for the leaders, as they quickly found themselves 3-0 down and never really recovered. In the end a pair of hat tricks from Liam Paull and Tom Smith were enough to see FFS to an 8-4 win that sees them leap into second place. The reason for their rise was partly down to Gangstas Allardyce’ inability to field a team, and the surprising dropping of points by Sons FC who were involved in a rip snorter of a game with Stroke Titty. Stroke were looking to bounce back from last weeks heavy defeat to Gangstas and this one was end to end from the get go, and Joe Lailey’s 4 goals and two from Sam Tattersall helped them take a point from an 8-8 draw, with Matt Peck and Reece Jeffs both grabbing three each for Sons, who now sit third.

Unfortunately we lost both Ballotellitubbies and Bandit Athletic this week, but immediately replaced them with two new teams who got started this week. The first of them, Snorting Lisbon, proved to be too strong for Michu At De Gea Ba in the end as they scored 5 goals in the final 20 minutes to turn a 3-3 scoreline into an 8-3 victory, with Kris Fawcett scoring 5. Speshull City had a much more comfortable opening night as they stormed to a 16-3 victory over Leavemyarsealona, who couldn’t recapture the decent form from last week. Nicky Stokes got 5, with Niall Brooks and Luke Walker grabbing three apiece.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

Out Of Shape and Exeter Gently went head to head for the second time in the early stages of the season, and the result from the earlier game was repeated this time around. Karol Olszewski was the difference as his three goals helped them to a 7-3 win that sees them claim top spot in the early Wednesday league table. Wellspring finally got their season underway with a few new players, and their game with FC Rhino Ket this week was a belter. Mike Devitt’s second goal in the final minute of the first half edged them into the break with a 2-1 lead, and the second half was end to end until Lewis Arden scored with the last kick of the game to give Wellspring a 3-1 win to start their title defence.

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 26th April 2019

This won’t take long……

LEAGUE NEWS

We’ve still got some stuff going on in the background that we’re getting pretty desperate to tell you about, but we can’t just yet, so with no league spaces to offer we don’t have a huge amount to say.

If you don’t currently play in the league you might want to get in touch about joining our waiting list so we can let you know when any spaces come up!

SUNDAY LEAGUE

It was a Easter Sunday, so we took the Sunday off this week and watched United get hammered 4-0 by Everton. Good times…..

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL – GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

MONDAY LEAGUE

One league game, one friendly this bank holiday, and for the second week in a row an encouraging first half from Cheadle FC fell apart in the second period as Nice Buns scored 7 goals without reply to pick up a 10-1 win. Tom Hall scored 4 and Charlie Williamson three as Cheadle attempt to get up to speed on their return. Stockport Eagles came in to give Diva Fever a game, and Ray Donnelly’s 5 goals were the main difference as Eagles ran out 6-4 winners.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL – GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

The first Tuesday in what seems like forever where neither United or City were playing, but we didn’t get a full house of games due to rearranged 11-a-side games. We did get 4 games on though, and the pick of them was Gud Vybz intruiging looking clash with Club Tropicana FC. Tropicana were let down by their keeper at the last minute so had to take on the challenge of taking on a team with a 100% record since joining with 5 men, but they went into the break all square at 2-2. Things looked to be heading Vybz way as Callam Smith’s second of the game 9 minutes from time gave them a 5-3 lead, but two last gasp goals nicked a hard fought 5-5 draw for the league leaders. Jago Stackhouse grabbed a double for Vybz but that was matched by doubles from Ben Cunliffe and Danny Moss. Gangstas Allardyce are one of the teams who’ve been awol over the recent period, but they were back this week with a few new players as they looked to recover from their only defeat last time out. They had a comfortable return to form this week as 5 goals from Ryan Usher and 4 from David Crozier helped them to a 12-2 win over Stroke Titty, who drop into the bottom half of the table.

Sons FC moved into third place as they also returned this week, and while Matt Peck scored 6 of their 9 goals in a 9-5 win over FC AOTS, he still wasn’t given the MOTM award! James Raynor scored a couple more for them on his Ballers debut as they eased to victory with a couple of late goals. Alex El-Borai grabbed a couple for AOTS as they kept in touch until the latter stages. Leavemyarsealona were back for their second game this week, and took on Michu At De Gea Ba who had dragged themselves off the foot of the table with their first win last time out. This one shifted one way then the other, but in the end 4 goals from Scott Stokes for Leavemy and three from Ryan Greenwood for Michu saw the teams share the spoils from a 6-6 draw.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL AS IT STANDS. GET IN TOUCH TO ADD YOURSELF TO THE WAITING LIST!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

United v City wiped us out this week, with out Of Shape FC the only team who would have been able to field a team. Given the numbers they had in recent weeks they proabably could have fielded two teams, but they chose to join everyone else in the Manchester area by watching the game……

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL – GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 19th April 2019

LEAGUE NEWS

Nothing major to talk about this week, even though we might be on the brink of something quite big to announce in the coming days. The big news for us was United and City both going out of the Champions League this week! Now maybe everyone can get back on the pitch on a Tuesday and Wednesday night. For the Wednesday teams it might be the weeks after given that United play City this week…..

SUNDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

Despite last week’s first loss of the season, Beercalona went into this week’s games still top of the Premiership. It may well be in weeks to come that they are glad they played the still to be properly named KR FC this early in their time in the league, as the new boys put up a decent fist of it, but a hat trick from James Davies and a double from Reece Wheddon weren’t enough to get them anything as hat tricks from Luke Warburton and Tykio Williams saw the champs pick up a 9-5 victory. Following on from last weeks win over Beercalona, Morning Glory struggled to put 6 players out this week. Fortunately, so did Duno, so both teams played this as a game of 5’s. The Glory were looking to build on last weeks win, and started well, but three of Jake Humphries 5 goals came in the final 10 minutes to give Duno a 7-6 win, leaving Glory 5 points behind Beercalona in second place, with a game in hand. The Kipsta Cobras v Gangs Of Dwight Yorke game looked to be going to the wire as Gangs lead 4-3 heading into the final 12 minutes. A flurry of late goals for Gangs, including three of Chris Singleton’s 4 gave them a 12-4 victory that looks more comfortable on paper than it was.

CHAMPIONSHIP

FC AOTS took a massive step towards a fairly surprising Championship win as they saw off second placed Nice Buns B 7-5 in a highly entertaining game. Debutant Robson Smith was the key man as his 4 goals made all the difference. Bangers & Pash bounced back to form as they comfortably saw off The Veterans 10-4 to move into third place. Chris Carroll top scored with 4 of their goals, while Olly McDonagh legitimately scored two and Rory Kelly staked a claim to an own goal, Harry Kane-esque, to also end the game with a double. Stockport Eagles had to start their game with Sevilla Lacatalent with 5 players after the no show of a couple of their regular lads, but they went into half time all square at 3-3. With a full second half with a full squad, they couldn’t build on that promising first period, and Jake Riley’s second of the game secured a 5-3 win for Sevilla

LEAGUE ONE

The McMuffin Men doubled up this week in an attempt to catch up from previous missed weeks, and it was a profitable week for them as they picked up a pair of comfortable wins. In their first game, hat tricks from Mark Bailey and Daniel Havern were enough to see them beat FC Stront Bakken 7-2, while Bailey added a second hat trick alongside another treble from Charley Eyre as they hammered Fat Boys Run Wild 9-0. Team Tom‘s 100% record for the season is over as they were beaten 3-1 by Polish Army in a highly competitive game. Goals in the final 5 minutes from Michal and Mateusz helped the Army to a second half comeback win as they join this weeks opponents and The McMuffin Men on 12 points. The other game was more about escaping the bottom half of the table before the league splits, and Inter Your Sister came out on top against Step Brothers as Chris Murray scored three and Steve Johnson two in a 7-2 win that sees them go fourth.

LEAGUE TWO

Just one game survived in the basement this week, and another team who were let down by lads at the last minute were ManTun FC, who had to rope lads in at the last minute for their game with Pathetico Madrid. They were still able to pick up the win as Charlie Williamson scored 4 and Andy Carrington three in an 8-6 win, with consolations from Adam Norton and Carl Reynolds.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL, BUT IN A FEW WEEKS TIME WE’LL BE ABLE TO ADD MORE TEAMS FOR THE NEW SEASON!

MONDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

It would seem that Netsix & Chill‘s time as reigning Monday Premiership champions will be ending in the next few weeks, but they pulled an all to rare performance out of the bag this week to beat third placed Nice Buns 4-2 and move themselves into 4th place. James Bamgbose grabbed a brace as they picked up a third win of the season. We welcomed Cheadle FC back to Ballers this week, and they looked like being involved in a tight game on their return as they went into half time 2-1 down to Kinky Slipper. They ran out of steam in the second period though as 5 goals from Joe Lailey and three from James Radcliffe gave Kinky a 9-2 win.

CHAMPIONSHIP

What are we meant to do with Diva Fever? After struggling horribly in their first few games in the top division, we’ve dropped them back down and now they can’t stop winning! They inflicted a first official defeat on leaders Ruby Kazan this week as doubles from Mike’s Devitt and Cocks, and Lewsi Arden gave them a 6-4 win, with Jordan Cunningham scoring of Kazan’s total. The wheels have slightly fallen off for Delph & Safety after a bright start and they were joined on 10 points by Unprotected Cesc after a 6-3 defeat to the aforementioned Cesc. Josh Armitage and Fidelis Eberegbe grabbed two each for Cesc, with Mitch Massa matching that in a losing effort for Delph.

FRIENDLIES

Neither Phantom Brazilians or Expected Toulouse had league opposition this week, so faced off in a friendly with the odds heavily stacked in Toulouse’s favour as Premiership leaders. In the end it took a couple of late goals for them to scrape a 6-6 draw after second half doubles from Andrew Shaw and Daniel Clayton had given Phantom a 6-4 lead heading into the final three minutes. Waz Akram grabbed three and Liam Mottram two for Toulouse as they escaped without defeat.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE IS FULL AGAIN! LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SPACES

TUESDAY LEAGUE

Another week where just the solitary game survived in the Tuesday league, but luckily it was between two teams who had games to catch up in Stroke Titty and Michu At De Gea Ba. Stroke seemed to be the more affected in terms of player availability, and their patched up team fell to a second straight defeat as doubles from Alex Brady and Adam Porter helped Michu to a 6-2 win that drags them off the bottom of the table.

EVEN THOUGH THERE’S HARDLY ANY GAMES GOING ON AT THE MINUTE, THE TUESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

Despite City being in action, two games survived this week. The now not particulalry new New Team have taken top spot in the early stages despite having missed a week, as they comfortably beat Out Of Shape FC 7-2. Rob Elliott just edged it in terms of individual scoring, grabbing three to Chris Elliott and Adam Murphy’s two. The other game was much more nip and tuck, but Stockport Eagles eventually picked up a 6-3 over Exeter Gently that they deserved., with Ben Waugh top scoring with three goals.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS ALSO FULL – IT’S SUNDAY OR NOTHING AT THE MINUTE!

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 12th April 2019

LEAGUE NEWS

In case you missed it, we have agreed to trial the CrowdScores App for the duration of our current Wednesday season. If you haven’t seen it, go and check out our article about it from earlier this week. We think it looks pretty cool…..

In terms of league spaces we only have the one space to offer in our Monday league, for now…. We are hoping to have some pretty big news about some new leagues coming up in the next couple of weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

SUNDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

The only two unbeaten Premiership teams put their records on the line as Morning Glory took on Beercalona, with the reigning champions looking to go 8 points clear with a win. It was the Glory who had the better of the opening half as they went into the break 4-2 in front, and despite a second half improvement from Beercalona it was a Jevon Smith hat trick that proved the difference as Morning Glory held on for a 6-5 win. Whoever could pick up a win in the game between Gangs Of Dwight Yorke and Duno FC would see themselves eased back into the title race with games in hand on the leaders. Early on it looked odds on to be Gangs as they cruised into a 5-2 half time lead. Duno are still trying to finalise a settled team, and they made a game of it in the second half, closing the scoreline down to 6-5 , before a couple of late goals sealed an 8-5 Gangs win with Demell Cumberbatch claiming three of their goals.

CHAMPIONSHIP

FC AOTS are halfway towards a spot in the Premiership next season (which we’re sure they are desperate to claim…..), and they had to work very hard this week for a 7-5 victory over Sevilla Lacatalent who were returning to the Championship. Adam Duty scored 5 of their 7 as they held on after a spirited Sevilla comeback, with Tom Jackson’s 4 goals counting for nothing in the end. Nice Buns B are clear in second spot and maintained that position with an 8-3 win over Bangers & Pash, who were back following their recent break. Hat tricks for the Williamson’s of Charlie and Jimmy did the majority of the damage, with Paul Cheetham adding their other two. At the other end, Stockport Eagles picked up their first win of the campaign which actually moves them into third place. They saw off The Veterans 9-4 this week, with Aden Jones and Mark Carruthers grabbing three goals each.

LEAGUE ONE

Team Tom made it 4 wins out of 4 to start their season as they eased away from FC Stront Bakken in the second half after a tight opening 25. Chris Philpott was again the main man for them as he scored all 5 in a 5-1 win. Their lead is now three points over Polish Army after the Army were beaten 12-5 by The McMuffin Men. They stretched a two goal half time lead into a 7 goal win thanks to 4 goals apiece from Rob Cresswell and James Radcliffe, and with games in hand they could be a team to watch. Inter Your Sister have crept into the top half of the table as 5 goals from Scott Norris were the difference as they eased to an 8-6 win over Fat Boys Run Wild, with Aaron Donville’s Fat Boys hat trick meaning very little in the end.

LEAGUE TWO

Only one game survived in the Sunday basement, and it was a competitive, tetchy affair that Deportivo Lack Of Talent finally, narrowly came out on top of. 4 goals from Scott Norris and two from Jordan Ellwood gave them a 7-5 win over ManTun FC, for whom Sabri Salemi scored a hat trick.

FRIENDLIES

A couple of friendlies rounded off the fixtures this week, with SK Six and Step Brothers playing out a competitive 2-2 draw, and new team KR FC showing they will need to go in at a high level as they beat League Two side Pathetico Madrid 15-3, with Jake Dean scoring a third of their goals. For those of you without a calculator to hand, that’s 5.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE IS FULL AGAIN! HAPPY DAYS! MONDAY IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY NIGHT WITH A SINGLE SPACE

MONDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

An unfortunate late cancellation from Expected Toulouse meant we only had the one Premiership game last night, as Kinky Slipper looked to make it three wins from three, but a win for Grand Street Wanderers would see them take top spot. Three quickfire goals late in the first half gave GSW a 3-1 half time lead, and three Jay Bebbington goals helped them ease to a 7-3 win. They go three points clear of Toulouse, but there’s a couple of games for them to make up.

CHAMPIONSHIP

A full house in the Championship and Ruby Kazan were looking to take another step towards the promised land of the Premiership. They looked well in control at 4-0 in their game with Phantom Brazilians this week. Phantom put up a spirited second half showing, but Jordan Cunningham’s third of the game three minutes from time clinched a 7-6 win, with hat tricks from Matt Barton and Daniel Clayton eventually counting for nothing. Diva Fever‘s return to the Championship seems to be showing that they are effectively in limbo, as their desperate struggles in the top flight have been mirrored in their first two games back at the lower level. Shane Bridges scored another 4 this week as they beat Delph & Safety 9-1, with a double from Kurtes Curran and a couple of own goals not helping the Delph cause. Two teams who continue to try and find a settled line up went after some rare points this week as Unprotected Cesc took on Athletico Pathetico. Cesc always just had the edge in this one, and Fidelis Eberegbe’s hat trick was the difference as they ran out 6-3 winners, with Nathaniel Odysseus-Kingsley grabbing a double, while Ant Callaghan did likewise for Athletico.

THERE IS ONE SPACE AVAILABLE IN THE TOP DIVISION OF THE MONDAY LEAGUE – GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

The Tuesday league was pretty much obliterated this week by a combination of Champions League and midweek rearranged 11-a-side games, meaning just the one game took place this week. It was a tough ask for new boys Leavemyarsealona in their first game as they took on a Club Tropicana side who were looking to go7 points clear at the top of the table. Having gone in at the break at 3-0 down, Mark Markwell claimed the honour of scoring their first Ballers goal, before Danny Moss aded to his first half hat trick with 4 more in the second period as the leaders picked up a 9-1 win. It should get easier from this point for the new boys….

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL! KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR ANY UPCOMING SPACES

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

One league game and one friendly this week which was probably more than we expected with United v Barca causing a disruption for 4 of our league teams The league game was a belter (and also the first one to use our new CrowdScores App that we are experimenting for the season). Out Of Shape were looking to make it two wins from two to start the season against Stockport Eagles who started off with a loss last week. Out Of Shape were never behind in this one, but Dawid’s 4 goals weren’t enough to give them the win as three from Ryan McAndrew helped Eagles take a point from a 6-6 draw. A quickly thrown together Random Team gave Exeter Gently a decent game, with Brad Robison’s 4th of the game 5 minutes from time the catalyst for a crazy end to the game as Exeter scored 5 in the last 5 minutes to pick up a 9-5 win.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL – CAST YOUR EYES ELSEWHERE FOR SPACES!

by Mike Birchall

CrowdScores Trial Starting Now!

We are delighted to announce the start of our partnership with CrowdScores! We are currently running live scores as a trial this season from our Wednesday League!

In partnership with SK Ballers, CrowdScores are giving you the opportunity to view your performances alongside the professional players! Compare yourself with your rivals and your teammates in the CrowdScores app to check up on the latest scores, goalscorers and where your team stands.

Within the app, you can also favourite your own 6-a-side team, as well as the team you support. You can then set up alerts for your own games, as well as Premier League teams.

So you can get a notification for Aguero scoring and then five minutes later an alert for your own team scoring.

Referees are able to use the app to input the scores as the goals go in. This means that you will receive goal notifications instantaneously to your phone. So you can keep track of your team, even when you are not playing!

Why not contribute to your own player? Add to your profile, view your statistics and compare yourself to your teammates and the superstars for the elite leagues.

Download today and try out CrowdScores: https://crwd.sc/SkBallers

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 5th April 2019

LEAGUE NEWS

So our being completely and totally full was never going to last forever, so here’s where we have spaces:

SUNDAY LEAGUE: PREMIERSHIP

MONDAY LEAGUE: PREMIERSHIP

And that’s it! We’re obviously hopeful these spaces won’t be around long, so if you’re wanting to get going you best get in touch.

We’re still running our Ballers survey and would really appreciate as many players as possible taking part. It’ll take no time at all, so just click on the link and quickly answer the questions. Thanks!

https://bit.ly/2uuXpE5

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Mother’s Day gave us a minor kicking this week as very few teams were able to play the early games due to other commitments, but we had a full house in the later scheduled games to make up for it.

PREMIERSHIP

We finally had a full turnout in the top division for the first time this season, and there was a battle between current and former champions as Beercalona took on Duno. Duno struck first through Ste Nevins early goal, but Beercalona were in control at 4-1 at the break. Tykio Williams top scored with three as they made it three wins from three to start their title defence with a 6-2 victory. Kipsta Cobras finally made their first start of the season against an impressive looking Morning Glory. An even first half turned into a one sided second period as Morning Glory turned 1-1 into 6-1 with Jack Taylor grabbing 4, as the Glory pick up their second win. This week marks Sevilla Lacatalent‘s second and final Premiership game, as Demell Cumberbatch scored 8 of Gangs Of Dwight Yorke‘s 18 goals in an 18-4 win. We’ll find Sevilla a space in the Championship for next week…..

CHAMPIONSHIP

The only Championship game saw a repeat of last week’s game as FC AOTS took on Stockport Eagles. Last week’s game finished as a draw, and this one looked to be heading the same way before Paul Buckley’s 5th of the game in the final minute gave AOTS a very hard fought 8-7 win, meaning Paul Waugh’s 4 goals for Eagles counted for nothing.

LEAGUE ONE

The game between Team Tom and Pique Blinders wasn’t as close as we were anticipating, as two teams who we’d expect to be in the top 4 at the split were miles apart on the score card this week. Chris Philpott’s finishing was the key difference, as he scored 9 of Team Tom’s 10 as they ran out 10-2 winners. Polish Army have bounced back from an opening night defeat to win their last three, with Step Brothers their latest victims as Dawid scored half of their goals in an 8-4 win. FC Stront Bakken won a mini classic against Inter Your Sister this week, and while Lukas Voveris might have topped the scoring list with 4 of their goals in a 6-4 win, it was Shaun Jemison’s goal in his final Ballers game before he joins the Navy that caught the eye, described by some (one) as the best goal ever scored at Ballers…..

LEAGUE TWO

SK Six made it three wins from 4 to start their season, with Steve Blunsten scoring a brace in a hard fought win over CA FC, who are slowly becoming more competitive at this level. There were more goals in the other game from this division this week, as ManTun FC returned after missing the last couple of weeks to claim a point as they shard 16 goals with Pathetico Madrid. Michael Winn with 5 and Adam Norton with three scored all of Pathetico’s goals, while Sabri Salemi scored three as ManTun shared the goals around a little more.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE NOW HAS ONE SPACE IN THE TOP DIVISION – GET IN TOUCH TO REGISTER YOUR TEAM TODAY!

MONDAY LEAGUE

As we approached the mid point of the Monday season, we had a little reshuffle of the divisions to ensure that everyone was getting the kind of game they would want, so Kinky Slipper and Diva Fever switched positions for the remainder of the campaign. Unfortunately, and a little out of the blue, we lost Pathetico Madrid which was a tough one to take as they were proving to be a decent side in a decent top division. Hopefully at some point they will be back.

PREMIERSHIP

Netsix & Chill bounced back to form with a shock victory over league leaders Expected Toulouse last week, but they were unable to build on that win against Grand Street Wanderers this week as GSW moved into second place in the table with a fairly comfortable 8-3 win. Joe Bowden grabbed three of their goals and Mark Harrision a brace as Grand Street always kept this game at arms length. Kinky Slipper went kicking and screaming into the top division, claiming they were too old and too fat to be able to compete at the top level, but they lead 3-0 at the break against Nice Buns, and Rob Cresswell’s second of the game in the final few minutes helped them to see out a 5-2 win that confirms they will be staying right where they are. At least Buns had their nice new shirts to celebrate…..

CHAMPIONSHIP

After a period of time to settle, Ruby Kazam looked destined for a place in the Premiership next season, and they ended Unprotected Cesc‘s recent improved form in some style as Josh Welsh, Howie Thomas-Leech and Jahid Hussain all scored trebles in a comfortable 13-3 win. Delph & Safety looked to have their game with Athletico Pathetico wrapped up by half time last night as two goals each from Mitch Massa and Aaron Widdowson saw them take a 5-1 lead into the break. They ended up hanging on though as Chris Brown’s double meant Pathetico had 10 minutes to nick a draw, but they couldn’t find the leveler as Delph return to winning ways to stay second. Diva Fever‘s return to the Championship showed that they have potential to become a bit of a yo-yo side, as they picked up an 11-8 win over Phantom Brazilians in a game that they were always in reasonable control of. Shane Bridges pipped Joe Dodd in the scoring efforts, scoring 4 to Joe’s three, while Matt Barton’s 4 for Phantom were in a losing effort.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE NOW HAS ONE SPACE IN THE TOP DIVISION – GET IN TOUCH TO REGISTER YOUR TEAM TODAY!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

Three games survived this week while United were stuttering at Wolves, but the top two at the start of play were both in action this week. Club Tropicana were in action first, and took the chance to go 4 points clear at the top as they eventually saw off a spirited effort from Ballotellitubbies. Three goals from Danny Moss and two from Ben Cunliffe were enough to help them turn a two goal half time lead into an 8-3 victory. On paper the game of the night involved two teams who were unbeaten since joining as Gud Vybz took on For Fuch’s Sake. A topsy turvy first half saw Vybz lead 4-2 at the break after a couple of late goals, and they proved to be the stronger team in the second period as doubles from Jack Clayton, Danny Hargreaves, Jordan Young and Harry Partridge eased them to a 9-3 win. Bandit Athletic and Michu At De Gea Ba were involved in the most closely fought game of the week, with Connor Harding scoring the only goal of the opening period for Bandit. His second in the second period ended up being the decisive goal as Bandit held on for a 3-2 win that sees them jump to third.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL – SUNDAY OR MONDAY ARE THE NIGHTS FOR NEW TEAMS!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

The opening night of the new Wednesday league saw us having to turn Wellspring away as all 7 teams were ready to go, despite City being at home. With the champs absent, the still relatively new team, New Team would be looking to continue their 100% start to Ballers life against Stockport Eagles. There was little doubt that would be the case when they went into the break 5-0 up, and 4 goals from Matt Brown helped them see out an improved Eagle second half performance as they start the season with a 9-4 win. Last season’s bottom two faced off on the opening night, and new boy Mateusz Szymborski was the difference with a hat trick as Out Of Shape FC got off to a winning start, beating Exeter Gently 6-4. On The Beach FC made their league debut, but had teething problems as three of their lads didn’t turn up, and as a result they were hammered 12-2 by FC Rhino Ket, Sam Roberts grabbing 4 and Louis Moore three.

THERE’S NO SPACES TO BE HAD IN THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE – LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SPACES!

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 29th March 2019

LEAGUE NEWS

Still not a lot to ‘sell’ in terms of new leagues or vacancies at the minute, so we’ll just give everyone a quick reminder of our BALLERS SURVEY that we would really like as many teams as possible to complete. It will only take about 30 seconds to complete, so please click on the link below:

https://bit.ly/2uuXpE5

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Out of the blue, and for no particular reason, we seemed to have a larger than normal amount of teams struggling this weekend, so this won’t take long….

PREMIERSHIP

Literally not a solitary game to report on in the top division this week, as Kipsta Cobras, Gangs Of Dwight Yorke and Sevilla Lacatalent were all unable to field a side.

CHAMPIONSHIP

FC AOTS were three from three heading into their rearranged game with Stockport Eagles. They looked like making it 4 in a row as Paul Buckley’s 4 goals saw them head into the final stages with a 5-4 lead, but Paul Waugh’s last minute leveler, his second of the game, added to Michael Winn’s hat trick, meant that both teams shared the points. It was a week to forget for The Veterans as 5 goals from Tom Hall and doubles from Williamson’s Charlie and Jimmy gave Nice Buns B a very comfortable 9-2 victory in their game this week.

LEAGUE ONE

League One looks like anyone’s this season, and Polish Army took top spot this week after Mateusz scored three and Sebastian two as they picked up a 5-1 win over FC Stront Bakken to pick up their second win of the season. Team Tom are up into second after their second straight one goal victory. They came back after trailing 2-1 at the break to Fat Boys Run Wild to win 3-2 with Tom Hornsby scoring the winner 4 minutes from time. The McMuffin Men finally got their campaign up and running at the third time of asking and started off with a comfortable 10-4 win over Step Brothers. Daniel Havern was the main man as his 5 goals proved to be the difference.

LEAGUE TWO

New team NHTMD FC had the chance to take top spot from SK Six this week if they could pick up their second three pointer since joining, and that’s what they did as Ryan Conway scored three of their 5 in a fairly comfortable 5-1 win. Deportivo Lack Of Talent are finally off the mark at the third attempt as they picked up a 5-3 win over Pathetico Madrid, Rhys Moult grabbing tow of their goals as they leapfrog this weeks opponents and climb out of the bottom two.

FRIENDLIES

Neither CA FC or Pique Blinders had league opposition this week, so we decided any game was better than no game. The game was played in the right spirit, but the Blinders are clearly at least a level above this weeks opposition, and they won this one 17-2 with Chris Sinclair scoring 7, Cameron Higginbottom and Connor Ferguson both grabbing three apiece.

ONE SPACE HAS BECOME AVAILABLE IN THE SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP – GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS!

MONDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

Expected Toulouse looked to be in cruise control on the way to claiming the Monday Premiership title this season, and would have anticipated another three points against struggling champions Netsix & Chill. Netsix didn’t get that memo though, as two goals each from Chris Murray and Jimmy Leeson saw them lead 4-1 at the break, and though Waz Akram pulled two back for Toulouse in the second half, a late brace from Mike Pinder sealed a shock win for the champs. The other Premiership game played this week was a cracker as Grand Street Wanderers and Nice Buns went at it. Jay Bebbington can feel unfortunate to have ended up on the losing side as his brilliant hat trick wasn’t enough to stop Nice Buns claiming a 5-4 win, with Charlie Williamson and Paul Cheetham grabbing two each for them.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Kinky Slipper joined us in the Monday league this week, but they probably won’t be sticking around in the Championship for long as they ended leaders Ruby Kazam‘s 100% start to the season. Wesley Harney grabbed three, James Radcliffe and Rob Cresswell two each as they started off with a 9-5 victory. Unprotected Cesc‘s improvement continued as they picked up a first point from a hard fought 4-4 draw with Delph & Safety. Late goals from Pete Tickle and Fidelis Eberegbe, their second each of the game, claimed the point for Cesc after Andrew Harrison’s double had helped Delph to a 4-2 lead heading into the final stages. It was one of Athletico Pathetico‘s bad weeks this week, as Phantom Brazilians picked up the most comfortable of 12-1 victories, with Daniel Clayton grabbing half of their goals and Matt Barton picking up three for himself.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE IS FULL! GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN OUR WAITING LIST

TUESDAY LEAGUE

We had a feeling that the game between unbeaten Gangstas Allardyce and new boys Gud Vybz would be a good one, and it looked like being a belter when Vybz went in at half time with a narrow 2-1 lead. no one could have predicted that the second half would become so one sided as Declan Hince added three more to his first half goal, with Lewis Settle and Callum Bullock grabbing three each as the new team romped to a 14-3 win. This meant that we would have new league leaders if either Club Tropicana or For Fuchs Sake could pick up a win, and Club Tropicana did their work early by heading into half time of their game with previous unbeaten Stroke Titty 5 goals to the good. Nick Goodwin got three of their goals as they saw out the second half to claim a 7-3 victory. Fuchs looked to be fluffing their lines as they trailed against struggling Only Kruls & Horses 4-2 with 12 minutes to go, but they maintained their unbeaten record as Alex Amidulla scored three late goals to add to a brace from Tom Smith to give them an unlikely looking 7-4 win. Sons moved into 4th place with a surprisingly comfortable 9-3 win over Bandit Athletic, with Asa Melville pipping Matt Peck on the score card as he grabbed 5 to Peck’s 4, with Bandit dropping into the bottom half.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE IS FULL! GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN OUR WAITING LIST

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

We closed out the final couple of fixtures of the Wednesday league season this week, and the champions Wellspring FC finished off their campaign by proving to be stronger at the long game against FC Rhino Ket. They scored 5 in the last 15 minutes to run out 12-6 winners, with Shane Bridges scoring 4 and Mike Cocks three, while Louis Moore scored 4 of his own in a losing cause. The still relatively new team New Team ended up finishing second, despite only playing 6 games, and they also finished strongly with 4 goals in the final 11 minutes to turn a closely fought 2-1 scoreline into a 6-1 win over Exeter Gently, John Shaw scoring twice. A genuinely new team with a link to New Team joined us for a first game this week, but it was a less than gentle introduction for On The Beach FC as fitness and rustiness went against them as Tomasz Glebiowski scored 5 goals in an 11-1 win for Out Of Shape FC. We’re sure things will get better over time….. With teams falling over each other to get a game this week, we even threw Stockport Eagles and Netsix & Chill into the cage for a 5-a-side game, and a late burst of goals gave Netsix a 9-5 win.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS FULL! GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN OUR WAITING LIST

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 22nd March 2019

It’s been a little while, so we’ll be dishing a load of trophies out this week to all those teams who have been due following the recent completion of some of our leagues. Hopefully the photos will be taken in front of our brand new media board…..

LEAGUE NEWS

The only new league we have starting in the near future will be the Wednesday league which kicks off on 3rd April, but as there isn’t likely to be any spaces for that, we’ll just suggest you can ask to be put on a waiting list for now, as you would with ALL of our current leagues!

If you are a current Baller, we would really appreciate you getting involved in our BALLERS SURVEY. We aren’t looking for compliments, we are just after some basic information to help us put our future plans into place which will hopefully improve the service we can provide for all of our teams. Please click the link below to take part, it will take about 30 seconds and involves typing no more than 2-3 words!

https://bit.ly/2YdXXMf

SUNDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

As well as the points being at stake at the start of a new Sunday league season, the Beercalona v Gangs Of Dwight Yorke game also doubled as a play off to decide last season’s title. This game had a bit of everything, and with Beercalona needing the win to take the title, hat tricks from Jay Ratciffe and Tykio Williams, his third two minutes from time looked to have given them the win at 10-8. Gangs also had trebles from Aden Jones and Ray Donnelly throughout the game, and Callum Jones last minute penalty made it 10-9, but Beercalona held on for the final few seconds to claim the three points and the title. The other Premiership game gave us less tension, as Morning Glory picked up their first three pointer of the new season by seeing off Championship winners Sevilla Lacatalent 11-1 with 4 goals from Scott Norris, and two each from Jack Taylor and Tom Hockley.

CHAMPIONSHIP

FC AOTS are the only side on 6 points after two weeks as three goals from Eoghan Scott and Adam Duty helped them pick up a 9-2 win over Nice Buns B. An unusual looking Stockport Eagles side fell to a second straight defeat as The Veterans picked up a first win with Dean Minshull scoring three of their goals in a 7-4 win, moving them up to third in the early league tables.

LEAGUE ONE

There was no surprises as to who the MOTM was in Pique Blinders 12-2 win over FC Stront Bakken this week, as Josh Borthwick was almost single handidly the difference between the teams, scoring 8 of their goals as they go top after their first game of the season. The game between Team Tom and Inter Your Sister was also decided by a single player as Chris Philpott scored all 4 of Team Tom’s goals as they held on for a 4-3 win in their first game of the season too. Polish Army were also first time winners at the second attempt this week, as Mateusz scored two of their goals in a 6-2 win over Fat Boys Run Wild

LEAGUE TWO

SK Six are the early leaders in league two after a very hard fought 3-1 win over Deportivo Lack Of Talent, with Harry Bridge scoring a goal in each half to clinch their second straight win to start the season. New team NHTMD FC started Ballers life with a win over Pathetico Madrid. They had 5 different scorers but Ryan Conway was the only one to score more than one as he helped himself to 4 as they go into second place with an 8-3 win. It’s a FIRST LEAGUE WIN for CA FC as Jonny Barton scored three of their goals in a 6-3 win over Las Vegas Dragons.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL, BUT A COUPLE OF TEAMS LOOK TO BE STRUGGLING. SO IF YOU ENQUIRE NOW YOU CAN BE FIRST ON THE WAITING LIST FOR A SPACE….

MONDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

Two teams with very different expecation levels faced off this week as Expected Toulouse looked to maintain their 100% start against Diva Fever, who were 0 from 1 to start the season. It quickly became apparent that this was going to be a one sided affair, and 4 goals each from Liam Mottram and Ryan Dolan helped them to a very comfortable 14-1 victory. The rest of the division looks much more competitive, and Pathetico Madrid v Grand Street Wanderers showed that. A 4-1 GSW half time lead became a 5-4 lead with 10 minutes to go, but Bevan’s second of tha game 7 minutes from time clinched a 6-4 victory, with Jack Pogson also grabbing a double for Grand Street and Darren Fleury scoring a brace in reply for Pathetico, who suffer their first defeat of the season.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Two 100% records went up against each other at the top of the Championship as Delph & Safety took on Ruby Kazam. After falling behind to Mitch Massa’s early goal, Ruby took control and three Jahid Hussain goals, along with two each from Chris Wellings and Josh Welsh helped them to an 8-2 vicotry, with Massa getting his second for Delph as a consolation. Unprotected Cesc seem to be getting there in terms of match fitness as they ease their way into Ballers life, but it was another defeat this week as three goals from Daniel Clayton and two from Matt Barton helped Phantom Brazilians ease to an 8-4 win wich gives them their first points of the season. Josh Greaves repleied with a couple for Cesc, who continue to show steady signs of improvement as the weeks go on. New team ‘The Albo‘ came in to give Athletico Pathetico a game with a view to taking the space we currently have in the Championship, and this was a good, competitive game to start with as they played out a 6-6 draw with Dan Dignam and Callum McGlynn grabbing a hat trick for either side.

THE MONDAY LEAGUE IS NOW FULL!! GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN OUR WAITING LIST AND GET SOME FRIENDLIES UNDER YOUR BELT WHILE YOU WAIT FOR A SPACE

TUESDAY LEAGUE

One in, one out this week as the Tuesday league remains full, with just one team missing this week. With Gansta’s Allardyce missing an opposition this week, other sides had the chance to close the gap at the top, and Club Tropicana FC took full advantage against a Sons team who were short a couple of regulars, winning 5-0 with Danny Moss scoring three of their goals. New boys Gud Vybz look likely to be a handfull for the other top teams as they started off with a comfortable 12-3 win over FC as Harry Partridge grabbed 5 while Jordan Young helped himself to three. Michu At De Gea Ba have had a very tough run of fixtures to start the season, and that continued this week as they faced For Fuchs Sake, who raced into a 6-2 half time lead in this one. A much tighter second half finished 1-1, meaning Fuchs move up to 4th with Tom Smith scoring three and Liam Paull grabbing a crucial late first half double. Bandit Athletic look like being a team who will be on the border of top half / bottom half when the league splits, and they moved into the top half with their second win of the season over a struggling Only Kruls & Horses who haven’t picked up a point since the opening day. Kyle Clarke top scored with 5 of Bandit’s goals as they won 10-7, despite 4 goals in reply from Jack Mullern. FC AOTS recent grim form looked set to continue this week as they trailed 4-1 at half time against Ballotellitubbies, but a second half fightback which saw Callum Jones score 7, the last of which being a last minute winner, saw AOTS pick up a 9-8 win to secure their second win of the season.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL. TO JOIN THE CURRENTLY NON-EXISTANT WAITING LIST, GET IN TOUCH!

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

Wellspring could have expected a guard of honour before tonight’s game with Exeter Gently as we finish up the final fixtures for another Wednesday season. This was a much better performance from Exeter this week after last week’s hammering, but they still came away with nothing as a hat trick from Mike Devitt helped the two time champions to a narrow 7-5 win. Stockport Eagles were in danger of losing second place as New Team were quickly making up the ground having joined late, and they would have lost it this week but for two goals in the final minute from Paul Waugh gave them a point from a 4-4 draw with Out Of Shape FC, with Ryan McAndrew also grabbing two for them while Milosz Zawila had earlier struck a double for the Shapers. New Team closed the gap on Eagles with an 8-4 win over FC Rhino Ket, with the goals being equally shared between John Shaw and Rob Elliott, while Dave Peters struck three for Rhino Ket

THE NEW WEDNESDAY SEASON STARTS ON 3RD APRIL. FOR MORE DETAILS GET IN TOUCH!

by Mike Birchall

Weekly Round Up – 15th March 2019

Well, we’re desperately looking forward to the Champions League draw so we know which Tuesday and Wednesday league night will be getting ruined in the next few weeks. It’s an absolute guarantee that United and City will be on different nights, causing absolute chaos…… And the weather has gone rubbish again…..

LEAGUE NEWS

No real league news to bring you this week, as three of the 4 leagues have just restarted, while the other one remains full with a couple of teams on a waiting list!

One thing we will be doing over the next few weeks is asking all of our customers to take 30 seconds of their time to fill in a quick customer survey. We will be using the data received from this survey to try and put a plan in place that will improve everything we have to offer within our leagues, so if you could take that small amount of time out your day to fill it in, it would be appreciated. The whole thing is made up of tick boxes, and you’ll only be asked to type two or three words……

SUNDAY LEAGUE

Our brand new, bigger than ever Sunday league kicked off this week, but that pesky Arsenal v United 4.30pm game meant that we weren’t able to have a full night of fixtures. Here’s what happened….

PREMIERSHIP

Only one game took place in the top flight on the opening night as Gangs Of Dwight Yorke were left high and dry by the cancellations from Beercalona, Kipsta Cobras and Sevilla Lacatalent. The one game that went ahead saw Duno FC minutes away from a win on their return to the Sunday league, but they threw away a three goal lead in the final 6 minutes as a Scott Norris hat trick rescued a 4-4 draw for Morning Glory.

CHAMPIONSHIP

There was a full house in the Championship with three very close games played out. The biggest win saw FC AOTS pick up a 7-4 victory over The Veterans, with Eoghan Scott helping himself to three of them, Steve Whittle and Adam Duty grabbing a brace each. Bangers & Pash dropped into the Championship this season, and will start as one of the favourites for an immediate return to the top flight. They beat Murder On Zidane’s Floor 5-3 with Rhys Clooney claiming three. The other relegated side, Stockport Eagles, didn’t have a good start to Championship life as they lost 5-4 to Nice Buns B, with Williamson’s Jimmy and Charlie both netting twice.

LEAGUE ONE

Polish Army would have been hoping for better times this season after they struggled through most of last season’s Championship campaign, but despite 4 goals from Bania they were beaten 11-8 by Inter Your Sister this week, with Scott Norris notching 6 of their goals, and Leigh Edwards three more. FC Stront Bakken returned to the full league after joining our mini league towards the end of last season, and they got off to a winning start, narrowly beating the returning Step Brothers 7-6 with Ryan Stringer scoring three and Dylan Marginarisa two. Jordan Simpson and Chris Moore both scored doubles for Step Brothers, but their return ended in defeat.

LEAGUE TWO

Carnage in the game between new team Las Vegas Dragons and SK Six as Vegas weren’t able to provide the required number of players at kick off time. No real surprise that SK were comfortable 6-1 winners with Harry Bridge and Henry Cooke both claiming two goals each. Pathetico Madrid picked up a first win since their return, beating CA FC 6-3 in the last game of the night, John Lodge and Michael Winn both scored twice for them. Another first time winner were ManTun FC, who beat Deportivo Lack Of Talent 6-5 with Mike Devitt scoring two, meaning doubles from Jamie Berrisford and Rob Parker were in vain.

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL!

MONDAY LEAGUE

PREMIERSHIP

Expected Toulouse look to be up for making amends after narrowly missing out on last season’s title, but looked to have a tricky task this week against a Grand Street Wanderers side who cost them the title last season. Two goals each from Liam Mottram and Waz Akram allowed them to recover from going behind early to pick up a 6-3 win that sees them make it two wins from two to start the new campaign. Champions Netsix & Chill and this weeks opponents Nice Buns were both looking to bounce back from opening day defeats , and it was the newly promoted side that came out on top here as doubles all round from Paul Cheetham, Jimmy and Charlie Williamson saw them run out 6-4 winners, with Wayne Reeves hat trick counting for nothing.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Delph & Safety look to be leading contenders for promotion after they pikec up a second successive comfortable win, beating Athletico Pathetico 9-1, with Mitch Massa scoring 4. Ruby Kazam are also looking good after a second straight win to start the season, 10-3 over Unprotected Cesc, with Jordan Cunningham and Howie Thomas-Leech both grabbing hat tricks.

FRIENDLIES

Phantom Brazilians and Diva Fever were both let down by their respective oppositions late on this week, so a hastily arranged friendly meant they both still got a game. It was a pretty decent one too as Paul Wilkinson’s 5 goals were the difference as Phantom ran out 7-5 winners.

WE CAN FIND SPACE FOR ONE MORE NEW TEAM IN THE MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP – GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS!

TUESDAY LEAGUE

Only two games survived as City strolled into the next round of the Champions League, pretty much guaranteeing us further disruption in the coming weeks. Yay. The big game of the night saw Gangstas Allardyce and Club Tropicana put their unbeaten starts on the line, and this one was as close as we expected it to be. In the end three goals from Adam Needham were enough to give Gangstas a narrow 4-3 win, with Ben Cunliffe’s double for Tropicana not enough for them to get anything from this one. FC proved to be the stronger side in the final straight against Bandit Athletic this week, turning a 3-3 scoreline into a 10-3 win as Nicky Edwards scored three, Jay Willingham and Liam Booth two apeice.

THE TUESDAY LEAGUE REMAINS FULL! SUNDAY AND MONDAY ARE THE BEST BETS FOR LEAGUE SPACES

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

The title would be just about done and dusted it Wellspring FC could see off second placed Stockport Eagles this week, and 6 goals from Mike Cocks ensured they did that, winning 8-4 to pick up a second straight Wednesday league title. They will be sure to face a stiff challenge from New Team next season, who continued their 100% start to Ballers life by beating a spirited Out Of Shape FC 8-2, having scored late in the first half to lead 2-1 at the break . Adams two goals for the Out Of Shapers weren’t enough as three from Phil Franklin and doubles from Adam Murphy and Matt Brown saw New Team to the win. Exeter Gently struggled to field a side this week, and when they eventually did that side found themselves 10-0 down at the break against FC Rhino Ket. A more ‘competitive’ second half saw a final score of 15-2 in Rhino’s favour, with Jack Kerton scoring 5, Dave Peters and Bevan Hibbert both claiming hat tricks.

THE WEDNESDAY LEAGUE IS CURRENTLY FULL! SUNDAY & MONDAY ARE YOUR BEST BETS….

by Mike Birchall

Ballers Blog – The Beginners Guide….

As we’re now two and a half years into Project Baller, we have a number of teams who’ve been with us for a while who have been able to establish their own way of playing. While we have divisions on each night to allow new teams to come in at a standard that hopefully suits them, any team that is brand new to the 6-a-side game will find themselves playing catch up in terms of how to best set themselves up. If you’re looking to get the lads together this year to get your first small sided team set up, or if you’ve played before but have a new set of lads, here’s some pointers that should hopefully allow a team of average players to get themselves set up to be competitive right from day 1…..

In the early days it is probably best to channel your inner Mourinho, rather than your inner Pep….

THE BASICS

Get behind the ball

While you are trying to work out your teams best way to play, the best way to start is to plan to concede as few goals as possible. An ideal start point is to go with the basic idea that when you give the ball away, immediately get as many players back behind the ball as you can. If you can avoid giving your opposition the time and space to play in your half of the pitch, you give yourselves the best chance of being competitive in those early games

Stick with your man

6’s is a lot different to 11’s, you can’t carry too many players who aren’t willing to do the work, so when you’ve picked up your man you need to stick with them. None of this zonal marking nonsense, pick your man, stick with them, and work your backside off to get back to them if they get away.

Split from the keeper

This is small sided 101. When your keeper has ball in hand or a goal kick, you need players to split either side of the goal area to give the keeper options of playing the ball out from the back. The opposition will probably retreat back towards their own half at this point, but if they leave players up to stop you from playing the ball out this way, it’s best that you DON’T PLAY A SHORT PASS OUT INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE PITCH! If you try a short pass to a player inside your own half and that player loses the ball, the two defenders being split either side of the keeper will leave the opposition player with a free shot on goal. If the short pass is cut off, it’s best to go long.

Have an ‘out’ ball

It’s likely that every team you play against will leave someone at the back at all times, so you have the option of leaving someone up (this player still needs to be able to track the oppositions ‘last man’ if and when he gets the ball). When your team is under pressure it’s important that this player takes up a position where he is at least able to make life difficult for the opposition when the long ball gets played out. This means working across the width of the pitch depending on where the ball is in order to offer up the option of a ball being played down the line.

COMMUNICATION

Have a ‘talker,’ preferably someone at the back with a full view of everything. Ideally, the keeper is best placed to do this as they really can see everything, but if they aren’t the loudest or the most talkative, it is probably best being a defensive outfield player. The nominated player needs to be talking almost non-stop, keeping players on their toes and letting them know where the opposition players are going, who should be picking up who, and generally encouraging their players to keep going. Individually everyone needs to be talking to each other as well, it maybe that you need to ‘hand a player over’ to one of your team mates while you go and pick up someone else. Make sure you tell your team mates what you’re doing, otherwise it looks like you’re just going for a wander!

BE SUPPORTIVE

I’m not sure I’ve ever known any player get considerably better by having his team mates giving him a load of grief every time he gives the ball away. You’re all part of the same team and should all want the same thing. The early days are likely to be the most difficult, and also the time where players decide it might not be for them, so treat these early games as the learning curves they are, be positive and support each other when players make mistakes, and remember the chances are that the team you’re playing against have been doing this a lot longer than you! If you’re wanting to join a league for a new season, you’re best off taking up the option of any friendlies that might come up in the meantime, so you can get the team used to the style of 6’s before the real thing kicks off!

DON’T OVERPLAY

Unless you actually have your own David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne, chances are you’re going to want to throw Pep’s philosophy out of the window in your early days. An insistence on passing the ball around at the back is likely to see you giving the ball away in dangerous areas, so as soon as you’re in trouble you’re best off sending the ball down the line or putting the ball out of play so you can regroup, rather than trying a risky back pass to your keeper. You’re much better off making yourself hard to beat in the early games, as setting up to be destructive is a lot easier than going all out to play a peak Barca style game.

DON’T GIVE UP!

The first few weeks are going to be the most difficult, and as long as you realise that before you start you should be ok. What you don’t want to do in those early weeks is let a 4-5 goal deficit turn into a 9-10 goal defeat. If you’re 4-5 goals down with 10 minutes to go, it’s fair to say that the game is lost, but with 6-a-side football requiring a very specific type of fitness, you can at least work on that fitness by keeping on going right until the final whistle.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD? ANYTHING YOU THINK WE’VE MISSED? IF SO, LET US KNOW.