Are you ready?
The biggest game of the summer is here!
After 12 weeks of hard tackles, glorious goals, painful penalties and plenty of lost balls, we have what is pretty much a title decider in our penultimate week.
Reigning champs and current leaders, Crowninthians, face off against Olden But Golden tomorrow night at 8.15pm, and with a current 2 point lead over their fellow title chasers (and a massive goal difference advantage), they will clinch their second title in succession with a draw or victory.
After an early season blip – losing to Honey Badger in week 2 – the champions have been in ruthless form and have won every game since, including an impressive 4-1 victory over tomorrow’s foes OBG. But, save for that earlier fixture and a draw against Celtic HSOB when short of players, Olden But Golden have been just as impressive in sweeping aside every other opponent. Add in the fact that OBG beat Crowninthians in a double pointer last year, and we should be in for one hell of a game.
Just like last year, OBG have picked up numerous narrow victories with their trademark possession football and it will be interesting to see, should they take the lead, if the Crowninthians attack – which currently boasts 3 of the top 5 goal scorers – can break them down.
If OBG are to win, then the title won’t be decided until Week 14, where they will need to win against Scouting for Goals to seal their triumph, while the Crowninthians will look for 3 points against bottom team Celtic HSOB, and with the reigning champs currently boasting both the meanest attack and defence, it’s hard to look past them not doing so.
The Park Arabs, who have again been impressive when they get a full compliment of players show up, are guaranteed to finish in 3rd spot (earning the £50 prize in the process) and will look to cement their status as clearly the 3rd best team with their last 2 fixtures agains Honey Badger and The Vaders. Once again, Lewis Kingdon has been their go-to-guy when they’ve found it difficult to get ahead in games, but this year has also seen very impressive performances from Dan Rees, Tom Whelan (who has kept 3 clean sheets) and Lee Jones, who has delighted spectators with brilliant turns, flicks and hold up play.
Below the top 3 there is still plenty to play for. With just 5 points separating Team Snorkel in 4th and The Vaders in 7th, I’m sure the 4 teams involved will be hoping to finish as high as possible.
Team Snorkel, who had the worst start possible, have grown each week and have really learned how best to play the format of the tournament since their early struggles. Nathan Carter has done a great job directing the team from goal and Nathan Smith has provided a constant physical and goal scoring threat up top. Thomas Morgan has worked brilliantly off Smith and scored some cracking long range efforts as well as providing most of the creativity for the team. Solid at the back, with Morgan Rees being particularly good, they have been very hard to beat and have picked up wins against some good football teams. Luke Howells has kept them ticking over in midfield and they could have faired even better had he featured every week. And who can forget #colinthekeeper.
Honey Badger have been a mixed bag. After beating Crowninthians in week 2 there was a fair amount of optimism of them doing well, and with Dylan Llewelyn and Lloyd Jenkins leading their attack they could be a threat to anyone. However, a poor run in the middle of the season and a surprising lack of goals scored has meant they can finish 4th at best (which would still be a great return). Seemed to lose some of their better players from early weeks but have still proved difficult to beat for everyone.
Similarly to last year, Scouting for Goals started brightly but have faded down the stretch. Always tough to beat and with the constant threat of current top scorer Geraint Mizen, who it seems can score from almost anywhere on the pitch, they have picked up some good wins but have also taken a couple of beatings. Another team who seem to have lost some of their better players in recent weeks, they still put up a great physical challenge and will hope to match last year’s 4th finish with a couple of wins in week 13 & 14. Kurt Parsons has been a great addition for them, scoring a good share of goals and picking up 3 man of the match awards so far, but ultimately they will be disappointed to find themselves down the table again after starting so well.
It’s been another frustrating competition for The Vaders, who have struggled with getting players together each week and lost a few close games, giving away a fair amount of penalties along the way. One bright spark has been Kieran Miller, who has managed to shine despite the poor results and currently finds himself as one of the players in the running for Player of the Year. Lacking a focal point in attack like many of the other teams, they looked better when Gareth Hanbury was available to fill that role but it was ultimately to few and far between. Still with an outside chance of finishing 4th, The Vaders will fight on until the end.
New team Celtic High School Old Boys, entered the tournament with some expectancy given the members of their squad, but have really not managed to perform to their potential. A lot of that is owing to the fact that they have not had a settled side each week and have lacked any threat in front of goal, despite having seasoned goalscorer in their team. Kieran Power offered them a good outlet up top for a few weeks, but since his and Luke Richards’ departure they have been even more toothless in front of goal. Ryan Phillips has been their most consistent performer, he’s been like a bull and has got the scars to prove it (I think he’s bled every week), and they could have done with more of Ieuan Morris and Stephen Gould. They will be happy with their draw versus Olden But Golden and victory over Scouting for Goals, though.
Finally, I have had loads of people requesting this write up and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to do a weekly one like I did last year, but that’s not to say they won’t be returning in future. The league has been great again thanks to all the players involved, I think it has been even more competitive this year and there’s been some great matches.
I hope you’ll all hang around next Thursday until after the final match so you can see the winners lift the Jay ‘Elvis’ Thomas Memorial Shield. And we’ll all have a beer together soon to celebrate too. Thanks again, and good luck to everyone in the lat 2 weeks.