Brazilians Beat Amateurs

The Brazilian beat was in fine fettle once more as Santos FC put in an outstanding display of attacking football to leave Yorkshires Amateurs shell-shocked in a 5-0 win. Santos never let their opponents settle and were 1-0 up on 6 minutes when Richardo Ferrari shot past Vadge in the area. Amateurs struggled to feed their front players and as a result found themselves under constant pressure. Cesar Ferrari followed his namesake onto the score-sheet with a well-taken goal from a corner and the hosts went in with a 2-0 advantage. The misery for Amateurs was to continue during the second-half as they shipped more chances to their on-form hosts. Adriano Ribeiro was to be the hero for the Brazilian wizards as he helped himself to a hat-trick as the visitors wilted. His first two goals came in quick succession from corners on 62 and 63 minutes as Santos took a 4-0 lead. He finished his treble with the best of the lot on 80 minutes as he beat Vadge spectacularly from distance. Sean7 explained how ‘the boys are enjoying working together, and the results are showing’ as they recorded their fifth consecutive victory which keeps them in third but now only six points from the top spot. Danlufc13 was honest in his appraisal, saying that he was ‘at a loss as to what to do next’ but the determined manager will keep working as he looks to arrest a worrying slide which sees his side just two points above the cut at the bottom of the table.

ThunderCats F.C were held at home by Totaalvoetbal to give the chasing pack some hope of catching the pace-setters. ThunderCats were the dominant side throughout the game but paid for a lack of a finishing touch and also ran into a fine ‘keeping performance by Ard Leemans. Injuries were also at the forefront of the game due to Totaal’s robust approach. Leonardo Borja and Fabricio Cidade of the home side both picked up slight injuries while Alexis Barrere and Horacio Metelo suffered the same fate for Totaal as the fourth official was kept busy with his board. Silvio Falcao opened the scoring during a strong first-half showing for the hosts as he hit an unstoppable shot past Leemans. The second-half had less goalmouth action but Johan Juffing made the home side pay for missing their first-hald chances by rifling in on 79 minutes to earn a point for the reigning champions. Meelas will be slightly disappointed as he spoke of ‘widening the gap’ between the top two but will be pleased that his side still have a six point buffer at the top. Meeblind spoke of the point being just ‘reward for perseverance and guts’ before speaking admiringly about Meelas who he called ‘a top class manager.’ Totaal remain in mid-table some nine points behind the leaders but with young blood being played fielded, Meeblind will be satisfied at this point of the season.

AFC Stanley remain in second but have closed two points nearer ThunderCats with a 4-0 thumping of Marseille. Thorbjorn Lind gave the visitors an early boost by shooting home in the penalty area. Stanley went on to play confidently during the remainder of the half and received another advantage when Marincic could not continue playing for Marseille, the lack of substitutes meant they had to play with 10-men for the rest of the game. Lind shot home for 2-0 on 41 minutes and when Kirk Armitage completed a fine breakaway with a clinical finish Stanley had a 3-0 half-time lead. Stanley put in a solid second-half display, the highlight being another breakaway goal, this time finished off by Halldor Valporsson. The win moves Stanley to within six points of the leaders and Markham33 will be delighted where his team is placed at the halfway stage of their first season in the RM Invitational. Marseille find themselves embroiled in a relegation scrap but have assured manager Cathal that the job is his as he completes the more important task of sitting his exams.

Tranmere Rovers moved up the table thanks to a solid 1-0 home victory over F.C. Greatness. The margin of victory would have been greater, however, but for some relatively poor play by their forward line. The winning goal was to come on 19 minutes when the superb midfielder Rex Victory headed in a cross delivered by Karsten Seibert. Further chances came for Tranmere but they were unable to take them and, as such, endured a much nervier evening than they, perhaps, should have done. Greatness manager Darren Calvert will be disappointed by his side’s performance but has so far remained tight-lipped on events, maybe indicating, his annoyance at a below-par effort. The result drops them to eighth and they will want to set the record straight in the return match-up on Tuesday. Rovers, meanwhile, move up to fourth and if they can add a few more goals to their play will be realistic title contenders at the back end of the season.Reggae

Reggae Sauce also made a move up the league ladder by disposing of Hun Haters by an impressive 3-0 score at Sauce Bottle Arena. It was based upon a worth ethic which prevented Hun Haters from having a single chance in the game as RRS put in one of their most accomplished displays to date. Terry Jenkins opened the scoring with a shot after a corner on 10 minutes and the home side never looked back from this moment. Playing with unlimited confidence they added a second goal through Derek Acorah on 24 minutes as he finished unerringly past Boruc. The second-half saw RRS play the ball around nicely and completed the scoring on 68 minutes when John Part found room in the area to net easily. An injury to Noel Mawson took some of the gloss of the performance but Xpertelevener remained delighted as he stated, ‘my teams finally getting a bit of form together.’ The win sees them leap to fifth and they will now be hopeful of moving upwards instead of having to look over their shoulder. Hun Haters slip into seventh but are on the same total of points and will remain confident that they can turn this slump around soon.

AC Milan recorded a much needed win in a 2-1 success over St Omer. Things hadn’t started well for the home side as they struggled to find a way through a spirited Omer side. Indeed, Omer were to take the lead when Gary Stamps combined with Carlton Bruce to fire the visitors in front on 31 minutes. It was a lead they would keep until midway through the second-half when disaster struck. Captain Eurico Reinaldo unfortunately gave Milan a helping hand by beating Frost in his own goal. This seemed to lift the entire ground and when Ricardo Kaka was given the opportunity to take a free-kick on 80 minutes he was to make no mistake by curling an effort into the top corner to deliver three priceless points. MarkieRich was delighted with the win and stated, ‘about time’ in reference to the poor run they have been on lately. They remain in the relegation zone but only two points from safety. St Omer continue to struggle at the bottom but with the squad in decent form things may well be going according to plan for CT.