Strolling to Promised Land

West Brom Strollers won promotion to the RM Invitational with a 1-0 away success at S.S. Manfredonia. West Brom had to withstand several second-half chances to secure the three points which will, ultimately, see them return to the top flight next season following just one season in Division One. The opening half saw Willie Johnston go close before putting the visitors in front. A Derek Statham pass found him in space and the midfielder beat Ikhala with the minimum of fuss. Manfredonia had an immediate response but Tryggvi Valsson’s effort was stopped well by Tony Godden. Pasquel Arellano had an eventful second-half as he led Manfredonia’s charge to bring themselves level in the game. Twice he came within inches of netting a crucial equaliser as West Brom found themselves defending against a determined home team. Unfortunately, Arellano was then to be forced off with an injury but, despite this, Manfredonia remained the dominant side. Tomas Tiribochhi missed the target on 90 minutes but was to have one final chance from a free-kick to give the hosts what would have been a deserved point. As it turned out his effort struck the woodwork and Manfredonia had fallen to a somewhat harsh 1-0 defeat. Dinkydave beamed, ‘I’m chuffed with the outcome’ before adding that his team would ‘remain professional’ in the three games left as other issues get decided. Manfredonia find themselves two points adrift of safety but will be buoyed by the impressive performance of his team and will hope they can repeat them, albeit with some goals added on, in the three remaining games.

New York City produced a solid home performance to defeat Kirkbride Strollers 2-0 to strengthen their grip on second-place. They nearly got off to the perfect start but Lukas Buhr was foiled by an excellent Ally McLoud save in the very first minute. Eugene Kameni Idriss was the next to test McLoud as New York continued their strong start to the game but, once more, the 'keeper was equal to the test. Despite this start, the Strollers did give them a mighty scare when Cristian Trifan hit the bar with a powerful header. Two injuries then marred the remainder of the half as Rufus Bignell was replaced for City and McLoud had his excellent game cut short. The second-half saw the power of City take its toll. They had gone close through Henk van Huijksloot before taking the lead courtesy of a Peng Man header from a Zenon Zagajewski cross on 61 minutes. A free-kick on 75 minutes saw the lead doubled as Idriss found his range to crack an effort past Potter. This proved more than enough to see off Jazza’s Strollers and put New York five points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United. Jimmy was happy with his side’s win and admitted he thought it would be a ‘closer match’ before turning his attentions to Dinkydave who he claimed was ‘very lucky.’ The Strollers remain comfortable in mid-table and will be looking towards next season as their time to stake a claim for a place amongst the elite.

Three Lions FC moved into third with a 1-0 away win at The Vikings. With both sides still harbouring hopes of promotion it was the home side who started the better. Forcing two early free-kicks, Aris Almanidis brought two saves out of Izu Casillas as The Vikings looked for an early goal. Three Lions would also serve early warning of what they are all about as a breakaway move led to Fernando Mello rounding the ‘keeper and slotting home but he was rightly brought back by an offside flag. Justin Portway then went within inches for the hosts as The Vikings reasserted themselves. However, it would be the visitors who would take the lead. A lobbed effort from Izu Kaka on 34 minutes saw Lees beaten in goal and the Lions with a 1-0 advantage. Lewis Branston headed straight at the goalkeeper to keep the frustration mounting for the home side and this didn’t improve in the second 45 minutes. Justing Portway thought he’d equalised for them on 73 minutes but his beautiful strike was called back for an offside which was, at best, doubtful. This would be their final chance and it would be the Lions who would take a step nearer promotion. Izu was quick to praise Eaglesrjh who he called ‘an excellent manager’ and then added his team are ‘in a good position to win promotion’ with three games remaining. Eagles congratulated Izu on a ‘good victory’ before saying his season was now all about ‘a good change report.’

PSV Eindhoven continued their upward momentum with a 2-1 win against bottom club Goals Aloud. Aloud shocked the visitors with an early goal as Furgill Bhagirath headed home a Dustin Digby corner on two minutes. However, the lead wasn’t to last long with Kenny Dalglish finishing in identical fashion for the visitors on nine minutes. Dalglish then went on to put PSV in front. Rory MacFinlay found him in space some twenty-five yards from goal and the midfielder unleashed a superb effort which left Butcher with no chance in goal. PSV had chances to extend their lead with Frans Haggbring and Albert Riera both going close in an excellent spell of pressure. In fairness, Aloud themselves had chances but were to find Pepe Reina well-placed and in good form to repel them. The second-half saw PSV edge it but, despite chances for Reiera and Nanmeng, they couldn’t extend their lead. It wasn’t to matter, though, as their 2-1 lead was enough to take the three points which takes them up into eighth-place, two points above the last relegation place. It continues a remarkable turnaround for Kadri who came into the job with the side at the bottom of the table and looking like they were heading down and quickly. If they manage a win against Pahang in their next match they will be as good as safe. Goals Aloud, meanwhile, look destined for the drop and with Popepius struggling to make an impact the club will be hoping for better things next season.

Also showing tremendous fighting spirit at the bottom end of the table are Newry City who put in a superb display to defeat promotion hopefuls, Manchester United, 2-1. Despite giving up the majority of possession in the first-half it was Newry who looked the more dangerous in possession. Raimundo Solari went close as early as the fifth minute and a free-kick from Santino Petsiara brushed the post as Newry pushed for the opening goal. Manchester United briefly went forward with Eric Cantona forcing a save out of Wellens in goal. The pattern of the half quickly re-established itself, though, as Newry attacked once more and, this time, managed to take the lead. A cross from Antony Cowdrey was met by the head of Petsiara and he made no mistake in guiding it past Kuszczak. Newry shot themselves in the foot at the beginning of the second-half to put the visitors right back into the contest. Ljubisa Novak was overcome with panic in front of his own goal and placed the ball beyond Wellens to bring parity back to the game. United nearly capitalised on this when Darren Fletcher headed in but the referee, rightly, spotted a handball. This seemed to breathe new life into the hosts and there was no mistaking their goal with Petsiara notching his second with a fine strike in the area. This proved too much for United and saw them drop out of the top three. Pakya will be looking for an instant reaction when his side visit Juventus next; with only three games to go they cannot afford many more slip-ups. Newry have given themselves a good chance of survival and will travel to Kirkbride in good spirits on Tuesday.

Pahang United dropped into the relegation zone despite a hard-fought point in a 1-1 draw with Juventus. The first-half saw both sides create three chances each but only one of those was taken. Pahang went close through Benjamin Johannsen, Kilian Strongbow and Rudi Steffens but some wayward finishing and decent ‘keeping from Fuentes kept them scoreless. They would go behind to a 29th minute strike from Adalberto Di Cintio as he ghosted in unmarked from a corner to beat Hussain. Juventus had further chances to extend their lead, with Alberto Morante and Mairthin Foley going close but they had to settle for a 1-0 half-time advantage. The second-half was quieter in terms of chances but the one which did come Pahang’s way was buried. A Calus-Dieter Eilts cross was met perfectly by Steffens and his header proved too much for Fuentes. This proved to be Eilts’ last action of the game as he was forced off through injury and Pahang had a let-off when Foley struck the post from a free-kick. Ultimately, both sides took a point out of a contest when they might have wanted more. The result sees TrueBlue’s side slip a point behind Newry with a massive clash against PSV coming up on Tuesday. SuperJuve’s side are still flirting with danger after being sat in mid-table for most of the season. With a home match against Manchester United to come the task won’t get any easier for the Italian side.