Omer End Record

St Omer claimed the two season unbeaten record of champions Totaalvoetbal with a highly impressive 2-0 victory at MVB Arena. Totaal wasted a few chances before Sebastiano Sablone stunned the home crowd by putting the visitors ahead with their first attempt. An injury to Alexij Ogliarki caused further pain after the interval and with Dante de Matteo making it 2-0 the champions were firmly on the rack. Franco Zoppetti was also taken off with a serious looking injury but Totaalvoetbal never seriously looked like capitalising and they got the defence of their crown off in the worst possible way. Robin Meeblind indicated that it might be a ‘tough season’ ahead as they lack strength in depth and ‘don’t have much money’. The win will come as a massive boost for ConyTottee who had said that he is ‘rebuilding the squad’ and thought they might get ‘stuffed every week.’ On this showing there is plenty of hope for Omer fans.

Champions of Season One, Marseille showed that they might be ready to challenge again with a 1-0 win at newly promoted F.C. Greatness. Marseille put in a textbook away performance to limit their hosts to just one chance while they countered superbly. The goal came after 13 minutes when the excellent Sid Peyton found Cal Beardsley for the latter to finish well. The performance was dampened for Cathal as Peyton then went off with a bad injury that will force him out for a fortnight at least. Home woes were compounded when Martinus Benfair was sent-off and they will have to improve if they are to make an impact in the top division. Darren Calvert was in furious mood, claiming his new signing Baronchelli was ‘crap’ while bemoaning the fact he will ‘have to play him in the next game’ because of the sending-off. Cathal had a feeling of déjà vu as his ‘team have won 1-0 away from home in the first game of all the three seasons.’ The question for Marseille fans being, will it end like Season One or Two?

Yorkshires Amateurs and AFC Stanley clashed in one of the more eye-catching opening round fixtures at The Thorp Arches. It was to be a tight affair with one goal settling it. New big money signing Amadeo Caviedes instantly made himself a hero with Amateurs fans by unleashing a stunning long range shot which beat Hessbo in the away goal. Stanley fought hard and had a lot of the ball but could not create enough chances with their possession to force a way back into the game although they did strike a post late on. Both managers were seemingly in agreement that there wasn’t much in the match afterwards. Dan was quick to point out he thought Stanley had ‘every chance of challenging for honours’ while suggesting they should have earned a ‘share of the spoils.’ Markham spoke of how his players ‘can be proud of themselves’ and thought they ‘deserved the draw.’

Last season’s nearly men, Hun Haters, flew out of the blocks in disposing of Santos FC 3-0 at Scotlands Shame. Finlay MacCleir was back on the scoreboard, netting 14 goals in his HH career so far. His opening goal came after only three minutes and when he added a second with a neat finish just past the half-hour you sensed the game was already over. These fears were confirmed with a third before half-time, Craig Elliston unleashing a beautiful long range effort to leave Santos feeling more Barnsley than Brazilian in their RM Invitational debut. To be fair to the newcomers they did have chances but will need to be more ruthless at the top table. Celticchris had already stated he would continue to ‘build for the future’ during the season but given their proximity to the top in the previous two seasons a title challenge is most definitely on the cards.

ThunderCats F.C were also back on the winning trail with a determined 2-1 triumph at Reggae Reggae Sauce. The visitors were always on top in the game and made their mark early with a goal from prolific midfielder Nelson Queimado. Despite always keeping a firm grip on the game it took until the 65th minute for ThunderCats to double their advantage, a free-kick from Leonardo Borja proving far too good for Reggae-Sauce in goal. The home side kept plugging away throughout and got some reward for their work when Walter Axford headed in during injury-time to give them hope for brighter times in the weeks to come. ThunderCats will have one thing in their sights for Season Three and that’s the RM Invitational title after coming so close last season.

Two renamed sides met at San Siro as AC Milan beat Tranmere Rovers 2-0. The game started off at a ridiculous pace with Gavin Hawthorn suffering a bad injury for the visitors while Humphrey Biehn missed a penalty for the hosts. Milan took the lead not long after the penalty miss with Ricardo Kaka heading in a fine Sean Derry cross. Paddy McCarthy suffered an injury for the home side as the action continued. Milan always remained the dominant force and it was somewhat surprising they would only add one more goal through Biehn. MarkieRich was happy with the ‘nice’ start to the season and even more pleased with his ‘new signing’ who ‘bagged a goal.’ Tranmere Rovers will be looking to improve on this showing after never really getting into gear at the start of the new season.