OBG hit the Crown for six!
Olden But Golden with huge win in front of a great crowd.
Week 9 was one which might prove to be the most significant of the whole season, and certainly the one with the most drama. We kicked off with Scouting for Goals v Borussia Maestegladbach, and with both teams missing a couple of regular players it was a very tight fixture for the most part. SFG finally broke the deadlock but BMG pulled one back not long after. There were plenty of chances but nobody could make the most of them. The second half opened up a bit and Geraint Dyment bagged 2 more goals to take him to an impressive 14 in 4 games for SFG. Those, and another goal for SFG were enough to take the points, despite a BMG goal later on making it 4-2. SFG seem to be back in the groove and they are looking strong in 2nd place. BMG will hope to get back to winning ways next week.
Game 2 saw the Park Arabs keep up their good run of results as they saw off Sports Centre United 5-2. The Arabs are still firmly in the title race as they go joint 4th and have a big chance to make another statement next week when they face Olden But Golden. A win there will give them their best chance of success but a loss could see the end of their challenge baring a lot of favours in other games. Sports Centre United remain in 7th and will hope to win a game or two more before the end of the season, their biggest game probably being the clash with bottom team The Rebel Alliance. Man of the match awards went to Johnny McNamara and Ieuan Thomas.
Game 3 was the big one. A 6 pointer between Olden But Golden and Crowninthians FC. The winners would go top and be sitting in a very good position with just 5games left. There was a great crowd gathered, made up of players from other teams who had either come early or stayed behind to watch, and friends of both teams there to get behind the players. The game started off predictably tense, Olden But Golden looking to control possession while Crowninthians looked to break fast. Both defences were holding out well and it was a goalkeeping error which saw the deadlock broken. Dai Jones hit a fairly weak shot at the far post and Ben Kehoe went to pick it up but decided it was going wide so left it, only for it to crawl in the bottom corner. The intensity of the game creeped up as Crowninthians tried to get an equaliser but Olden But Golden stole another goal on the break, Alun Morris benefitting from another unfortunate bit of keeping. The Crowninthians threw everything at OBG and were finally awarded a chance when they got a penalty with a few minutes left. Jack Thomas converted it under pressure and the game was on! The last couple of minutes were chaos, Niki Puleio and Damian Howells both seeing yellow for OBG as the ref tried his best to offer a draw, but the 6 men held out for a hard earned and priceless 2-1 win. The cheers at the final whistle confirming how important the victory was. Crowninthians now find themselves in 4th but not all hope is lost but they will need favours from other teams to beat OBG, who are now 4pts clear at the top. Great game.
Our final fixture was The Vaders v The Rebel Alliance, and this one also didn’t disappoint. Despite only 2 goals in the whole game, it was so evenly matched that every ball was fought over and the goalkeepers made sure the score stayed low with some impressive saves. The Rebels will feel a little aggrieved not to have collected their first win as they had the better and majority of the chances, while The Vaders clearly missed marksman Robbie Walters. It may prove a costly 2pts dropped for The Vaders who are still in a healthy 3rd but could be much closer but for 2 poor results in a row. They will need to beat both Scouting for Goals and Olden But Golden to stand a chance of lifting the shield at the end of the season. The Rebels can take some positives but their first win stays ever elusive.
See you all next week!