Boys to Men as Kensington Rule

Kensington Boys Club produced a resolute performance in beating AJ Rovers 3-2 to return to the top of Division 2 standings. AJ themselves needed the points for concerns at the bottom of the table and their first-half display showed urgency and desire to get them. They got the goal their play merited on 21 minutes as Elling Jarnoy struck from distance. The second-half, in contrast, was a show of strength by the Boys Club and they produced a five-minute spell which simply blew their hosts away. Dorian Rooney fired them level on 70 minutes and two minutes later Max Myer put them in front with a shot in the penalty area. Not resting on their laurels they hit a third, and what proved to be decisive, goal when Maurice Jacobs found enough space from a corner to shoot home. AJ did defiantly hit straight back courtesy of Gordon Hogg but they couldn’t find enough of a foothold in the game to bring themselves level. The result sees Kensington sit proudly on top of the league while AJ Rovers sit in last although will recognise that a win will see them shoot up the table.

Sitting in second place are Real Madrid FC after they handed Kroklund Kings their first defeat of the season. In a match which saw Madrid dominate the chances the only surprise was that just one goal would separate the teams. The goal was to come from their only chance in the opening half with Kevin Gabriele grabbing the headlines with a long range strike of quality. The second-half saw Madrid create no fewer than six chances but, try as they might, they couldn’t find a clinical edge in front of goal. Kroklund never made any sort of impact on the game despite an adventurous 4-2-4 formation and may well need to reassess ahead of their next match-up. Despite the result there is only one point between the two sides and with the division looking extremely close there is plenty to play for in the coming weeks as everyone jostles for positions.

Los Samgeles Kings and Charlottenburg FC played out a largely forgettable encounter at the Staples Center but the home side won’t care one iota as they recorded a 1-0 victory. The game never really got started with both sides seemingly cancelling each other out. There was only to be two chances in the 90 minutes, both of which fell to the home side. While they wasted their one opportunity of the first-half they weren’t to make the same mistake after the interval with Alexander Frolov heading the home fans into a frenzy with a goal eight minutes from time. Charlottenburg also suffered a minor injury to key midfielder Alan Thompson and it remains to be seen whether Potsdamerplatz will risk his fitness in their next match. Charlottenburg did receive a boost with the youth signing of Jamie Redknapp who brings with him a host of special skills although the manager did calm excitement by saying ‘his average form is 8’ before building it back up by adding ‘wouldn’t be the first time i’ve double jumped a player though.’ Watch this space. Stripy8 meanwhile has moved his side into third and continues to progress his side at an impressive speed.

Belly Tubbies produced what was, arguably, the performance of the day in defeating White Hawk FC 4-1 at Flabbyland. The first-half is best consigned to the dustbin as both sides struggled for any rhythm or fluency but the game improved significantly after the break. Two goals in two minutes sparked it; Jules Vallade shooting the hosts in front from distance only for Adan Donahue to equalise a minute later from a corner forced straight from the restart. Belly Tubbies clearly looked the stronger side as time began to ebb away and Stuart Kendrick proved the match-winner. He was to put the Tubbies back in front on 80 minutes with a fine breakaway goal before netting a carbon-copy a minute later to give them a crucial two-goal advantage. Jules Vallade put the final gloss on the score with a header on 94 minutes as Tubbies ran out deserving 4-1 winners. The win saw them move up to eighth with White Hawk dropping out of the promotion spots and in unfamiliar territory in fifth.

Another side picking up their second win of the campaign were Morley Town who edged out Southampton. The game was short on excitement but, in fairness, Morley did just about merit their victory. They had to wait until late for the winning goal as Sten Koll played a major part in awarding the hosts a penalty. Suffering no nerves Christopher Love slotted home the spot-kick and Southampton found themselves defeated. This was, perhaps, unsurprising following Hardinho’s revelation that he ‘forgot my bloody tactics.’ Morley won’t be complaining and Leeg21 will be hopeful his side’s uninspiring start to the season can now be put firmly behind them as the season moves forward.

The other winners on the day were Internazionale who returned from Carthage FC with three points thanks to a 1-0 score. The game itself saw a handful of chances created for both sides but two men swung the tie in Inter’s favour. Benjamin Hawke remained cool and composed to give reassurance to the rest of the Inter side in goal and Henrik Larsson provided a cutting edge at the other end on 72 minutes to head home the winning goal. The result was slightly harsh on a competitive Carthage outfit and leaves them in the relegation zone as a consequence. Inter themselves move up to seventh but there is plenty still to be played for as the season warms up.