Stanley Making Mark

AFC Stanley maintained their title challenge at the top of the RMI as they saw off Tranmere 3-1 at Prenton Park. Stanley made light of a tricky looking encounter by taking the sting out of the crowd with an early long range strike by Jon MacClintock. They could have added more goals in the opening half as they largely subdued the home side. The visitors paid for their first-half profligacy, though, as Rex Victory headed in a corner to give the hosts parity at the beginning of the second. Stanley took a little while to regain their composure but they pushed forward in the last 15 minutes to win the game. A penalty by Enrico Fuentes re-established their lead and, with time running out, Matts Wallman thrashed in a free-kick to put the icing on the cake for visiting side. Stanley remain three points adrift of top spot but with every win belief will grow at the club that they can claim their first RMI title. Tranmere remain in eighth, three points above the relegation places but will recognise they have plenty of work to do to retain their top flight status; manager Baz illustrating this by capturing an experienced forward for to bolster his options.

Santos are also in hot pursuit of the title after securing a 3-0 win at Marseille. In truth, the score looked slightly flattering due to Santos taking every chance they created while Marseille missed both of theirs. Once more Marseille made life difficult for themselves by not naming any substitutes and then immediately suffering an injury to Bernardo Almeida which meant he had to leave his side playing with 10-men. That was the only talking point of a slow first-half but the Brazilians kicked into gear after the break. Richardo Ferrari opened the scoring by netting from distance on 53 minutes and only five minutes passed before his namesake, Cesar, scored the second with a clinical strike in the penalty area. Rogerio Franca rounded off the win with a calm penalty but the game ended on a sour note for Santos as Cesar Ferrari was sent-off, leaving him facing a one-match ban. Sean7 must be delighted with his troops after watching them secure their seventh-straight win and will be hoping their dream run can continue for a little while longer. Marseille are looking destined for relegation unless Cathal can spare a few minutes to select a proper side and, as the very first champions of the RM Invitational, it would be a shame if they were left to ruin.

The side both are trying to catch are ThunderCats and they returned to winning ways with a comprehensive 5-0 defeat of St Omer. The hosts put in a dominating opening 45 minutes but couldn’t make their chances count. Finding themselves with six sights on goal, they only managed to take a 1-0 lead into the break. The goal came from a breakaway which ended with Fabricio Cidade easily beating Hamshaw. Nelson Queimado didn’t take long in adding a second after the break when he rifled in a shot from distance. ThunderCats showed a much better finishing touch after the break and were aided further when Kamol Jitbut was sent-off for the visitors on 76 minutes. The hosts netted three times in the five minutes which followed that incident and the score had a more realistic look to it. Matias Rascao headed in for 3-0 and Cidade and Queimado both added their second goals of the contest to placate a demanding home crowd. Meelas will have been pleased his side got back on the winning trail following a tough week and the boost in goal difference might also prove invaluable. CT had explained that he wasn't expecting anything other than ‘defeat for his boys’ and nothing much has changed at Five Percent Stadium as they prepare for Season 4.

Reggae Reggae Sauce kept themselves in touching distance of the top three with a 4-1 home victory of Yorkshires Amateurs. The home side flew out of the blocks to establish a 3-0 lead after 13 minutes. Derek Acorah set the ball rolling with two carbon copy headers after two corners on three and eleven minutes. Jonny Sorensson added a third from distance which left an already less than confident Amateurs shell-shocked. A penalty miss by Amadeo Caviedes didn’t help their cause as they also lost Simmons and Davis to injury in a disastrous opening 45 minutes. Conceding an early goal at the start of the second-half won’t have been part of the Amateurs' half-time team-talk but John Part didn’t let this worry him as he shot home after a corner. Credit to the away side, though, as they created several chances in a decent end to the game. They were rewarded with a goal by Yogender Amarparm but this will have proved little consolation for a troubled Danlufc13. His side occupy the last of the relegation spots but their poor run of form will surely turn round and, with so much quality in the squad, they will have every chance of escaping the drop. RRS sit second in the recent form table and Xpertelevener will be delighted that his side are challenging at the top end of the table rather than their opening two seasons.

Totaalvoetbal overcame Hun Haters at Scotlands Shame to keep their season progressing in the right direction. A first-half goal from Pierre van Diemen was all that was on offer during a quiet opening half which saw both sides feel the other out. The second-half was an entirely different affair as Alexandr Prohazska brought HH level on 56 minutes. Johan Juffing put the visitors back in front with a beautiful lob and when Horacio Metelo drove in a shot a minute later the game seemed over for the hosts. Ibrahim Sasanian restored some hope for them with a shot after a corner but they were to waste a last gasp free-kick and succumbed to a 3-2 defeat. Meeblind called the win a ‘professional job’ but warned against complacency in their upcoming matches. A slide down the table has left HH in ninth and Celticchris will be keen his side pick up some points in the coming matches to avoid any long-running relegation battles.

F.C. Greatness made light of being reduced to 10-men to defeat AC Milan 2-1 at Cedar Road. Justin Thyme had already booked three Milan players before Fabrizio Colluato put the hosts in front on 36 minutes with a clinical strike in the penalty area. With the lead taken and in control of the match the sending-off of Agostino Filippinetti will most definitely not have been in the Greatness script. When Ricardo Kaka equalised from a free-kick after 54 minutes, Darren Calvert might have been thinking the worst. He needn’t have worried, though, as Alvaro Recoba smashed a free-kick into the net to restore their advantage on 69 minutes and leave Milan beaten and frustrated. With Milan in poor form they will need to get their players into training if they are to avoid a relegation battle. Greatness, meanwhile, delighted their boss who acclaimed the young Recoba for getting the winning goal when they needed it most. With the side just six points away from ThunderCats, Calvert may yet have ideas of greatness in the coming weeks of the season.