OBG steal early march

3 week update

After a great opening 3 weeks only one team remain unbeaten and are looking like early favourites. Olden But Golden have brushed aside 3 good teams so far and are looking even stronger than last year, having added a few more goal scorers to their lineup. A good opening week win versus a strong Park Arabs team set them on their way, and after demolishing The Vaders in week 2, 8-1, they beat fellow unbeaten team Honey Badger FC comfortably this week.

Keeping their possession based game from last year, they are proving to be more ruthless in front of goal and only time will tell if they can keep their run going, having fallen off towards the end of the season last year.

Hot on their heels are 3 teams who also led the charge last season – current champions Crowninthians FC, Scouting for Goals and Park Arabs – all of whom have won 2, lost 1 so far this season.

Crowninthians started their title defence in fine style, brushing aside new boys Team Snorkel 12-2 in week 1, but came unstuck against another new team in Honey Badger FC the following week. The result was a slight shock, but went to prove that this season’s league looks to be more competitive than last years already. And a nightmare start to week 3 saw them trail 2-0 early against up-until-then unbeaten Scouting for Goals. But the Crowninthians dug deep and pulled off a great comeback in a very tight match, finally picking up the 3 pts with a 3-2 win.

Mostly unchanged from the title winning squad, they have however added some new players and Paul Evans has shown his quality already, leading the scoring charts with 6 in 3. Despite 2 shaky weeks, don’t count them out defending their title just yet.

Scouting for Goals have made another strong start, just like last year, and their all action, determined style has seen them win 2 and just narrowly lose out in their third match. Geraint Mizen once again proving their talisman as the rest of the team work hard to provide him with shooting opportunities. Tough to break down at the back as always, they are definitely showing signs of contending again. Only a late season drop in form saw them fall away towards the end of last season, so they’ll be hoping to maintain it this year and make a push for the top. Their week 7 fixture with Olden But Golden is something to look forward to as they claimed a double over them last year, all but ending Olden But Golden’s title chances.

The Park Arabs had a tough start facing off with Olden But Golden in week 1 and lost out in a hotly contested match. But they have bounced back impressively in the following 2 weeks with wins over Celtic HSOB and Team Snorkel. It hasn’t been easy for them, though. Having recruited some new players to strengthen their squad, they haven’t quite got in their rhythm yet and last year’s top goalscorer and player of the year, Lewis Kingdon, has been largely frustrated so far. He did, however, make the impact they expect in week 3, as the Arabs struggled to break down a determined Team Snorkel and an inspired goalkeeper in Nathan Carter, Kingdon popped up with 2 crucial late goals to earn the 3 pts. Back on track, the Park Arabs are sure to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

New boys Honey Badger FC have proved a mixed bag so far. They will have been disappointed to concede their lead in their opening fixture against a watered down Vaders, with the game ending 3-3. But they came back firing in week 2 with a big win against current champs Crowninthians, impressively winning 5-3. With confidence high, they approached week 3 with a little cockiness and a bit of twitter banter but were soon quietened down by Olden But Golden, who took an early 2-0 lead. A fiery match saw both teams push hard but it was Olden But Golden who showed the quality, in the end running out 4-2 winners. Week 4 sees them face Scouting for Goals, both teams looking to get back to winning ways.

Sixth placed Vaders picked up their first win in week 3 after 2 disappointing opening weeks. A weakened side in week 1 battled to a good draw with Honey Badger and, what seemed like a stronger team on paper, got battered 8-1 by Olden But Golden in week 2. With a far better shape to their team in week 3, they never really looked in danger against Celtic HSOB as they run out comfortable 4-2 winners – Lloyd Ham, Kieran Miller and the calming Chris Boydell particularly impressive. Next week they face bottom of the league Team Snorkel and will hope to pick up another 3 pts and start to build a title challenge.

The 2 new teams – Celtic High School Old Boys and Team Snorkel – propping up the table at the bottom have struggled so far, although both have shown signs of improvement each week. Celtic HSOB have looked defensively sound but are struggling for goals so far, which is surprising considering some of the attacking talent they have in the team. It takes a while to get used to the format and competitiveness of the league, though, so we’re sure to see them get better in the coming weeks. They have the tough proposition of facing top of the league Olden But Golden next week, but what better way to kick off your season than wit ha win there!

Team Snorkel couldn’t have asked for a worse introduction, kicking off their league debut against the current champions and losing 12-2. A stronger team in weeks 2 and 3 have shown their improvement and they are proving to be no push overs despite 3 losses. Both of their last 2 games have seen them concede late winners after more than matching their opponents during the majority of the game. A few too many subs may have caused some of their problems and like Celtic HSOB they could do with working on their goal scoring, but they are looking better each week and a win is just around the corner.

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