Goals Aloud Finally Make Some Noise

Goals Aloud won their first match of the season at home to Tropical Thunder as Round 6 of Division 1 took place. They were to take the lead on 12 minutes as Dan Ruffer ensured they had something to protect for the remainder of the match. This was the confidence boost they needed after suffering a troubled start to the season and despite an injury to ‘keeper Rowan Butcher they remained in determined mood. Thunder were to have chances of their own, most notably in the second-half, but they didn’t bring with them their shooting boots and as such were to suffer their first defeat of the season. This was confirmed on 90 minutes when Srebrenko Cacic rose to head home a corner and send the home fans away happy for the first time in Season Three. Ocs18 will surely be delighted that his side have picked up three priceless points which sees them climb off the foot of the table but will also be keen to emphasise the importance of building on this victory. Jamesfreeman had spoken before the game of his desire that he didn’t ‘want a loss’ and it will be interesting to see how he prepares his side as they seek to bounce straight back.

Mexican Mafia sit at the top of the table following a 3-1 win at Juventus. Restricting the home side to a couple of chances the Mafia also enjoyed an early lead as Elvis MacCaran scored from the spot. With the first-half being a relatively quiet affair it was unexpected when Juventus grabbed an equalising goal; Claude Blanquet heading in an Orlan Canito cross to ensure parity at the interval. The second-half saw the visitors do much of the pressing and they were swiftly back in front; a move of high class ending when Lukas Buhr found Ralf Kron who, in turn, produced a neat finish. Juventus were struggling to impose themselves on the match and were to go a further goal behind as MacCaran headed in his second and his team’s third. Jimmy was pleased with ‘a good result’ although admitted that Delpiano being suspended does give him ‘problems up front’ for his next game. Juventus slip to ninth as a result of the contest.

Level on points with the Mafia are West Brom Strollers who kept up their fine start to the season by beating Kirkbride Strollers 2-1. Lawrie Cunningham suffered a nasty injury for the Strollers as they had to reshuffle at the beginning of the match. It didn’t appear to have a negative effect on the team, however, as Darren Moore headed the opening goal on 26 minutes. Eleven minutes later and the hosts were 2-0 ahead thanks to Bobby Taylor who rounded off a breakaway move in style. Kirkbride weren’t without chances in the game and did manage to pull one back through Dennis MacAvery on 79 minutes but it wasn’t enough to bring them any reward from a tight encounter. Dinkydave was already looking ahead to the 28th April when his West Brom Strollers take on the Mafia in what he described as ‘the most anticipated match in Division 1.’ Jazza will be looking for his side to pick up swift points as they sit bottom following this result.

Liverpool are Kirkbride’s next opponents and they won’t be going into the game with much confidence either after they were thumped 5-1 in Viking Land. The Vikings produced all the attacking football in the first-half and were rewarded with two goals for their efforts. Clint Bonavia was the hero of the day and set the wheels in motion for the triumph by scoring on 10 minutes with a clinical strike in the area. Bonavia added the second goal on 36 minutes with another calm finish as Liverpool struggled to come to terms with The Vikings penetrative football. Colin Crouch added a third for the hosts after the interval but Liverpool were to strike back through Robbie Keane in an act of defiance. That was all it proved to be, though, as The Vikings re-established their three-goal lead with an Anastasios Tassiopoulos penalty kick. The final say, quite rightly, belonged to Bonavia who fired in his hat-trick goal with time running out to bag himself the match-ball and put the exclamation mark on a super performance. Eagles was relieved his pre-match tinkering worked or in his words at least ‘it didn’t backfire!!’ Much more tinkering like that and a championship challenge will most definitely be on whereas Buttons looks to have a much more sombre relegation battle as the table settles down.

Manchester United bounced back from their last outing with a 2-1 win over Three Lions FC. The game was set alight with a penalty from Eric Cantona but the United lead wasn’t to last long. Cristiano Izuldo finishing a Luca Tonizu cross with the minimum of fuss as both sides struggled for supremacy. The second-half saw more chances created but one goal was to prove decisive. Owen Hargreaves produced some fine wing play to deliver a cross which was inch-perfect for Wayne Rooney to head home and give United a very impressive three points. The result did not impress Izuka, though, as he pondered the tactics before saying, ‘this makes absolutely no sense.’ Pakya will be delighted United have kept themselves in the comfort of mid-table ahead of a massive test against West Brom.

Newry City were in buoyant mood following their trip to Pahang United after producing a superb 2-0 victory. Pahang got off to an uncomfortable start as Till Gloden had to be replaced at the heart of the home defence. Newry were showing just as much attacking intent as the home team as the half progressed and managed to take the lead when Antony Cowdrey shot in after a corner. The second-half was an equally well-contested 45 minutes but it would, again, be Newry who would strike the decisive blow. The ever-reliable Muharem Husic ran quickly onto a Veevo Ulpre pass to beat Hussain and give Newry an unassailable 2-0 lead. The result will have come as a shock to TrueBlueFC as he had his side in good form. Newry will be happier with their eighth place following the win and will think if they can win in Pahang there aren’t many places that should hold fear for them.