ThunderCats Move Clear

ThunderCats F.C opened up ground at the top of the RM Invitational as they defeated Hun Haters 1-0 at Scotlands Shame. ThunderCats enjoyed a lot of the ball throughout the game and as such it was surprising that HH managed to create as many chances as the visiting side. Neither side looked at ease as far as taking one of the chances went and it looked every inch a stalemate. Indeed, it even looked as though it might be HH, if anyone, who would nick the points as Nelson Queimado was sent-off for the visitors. This just toughened their resolve, though, and they grabbed all three points when Paulino Ornelas shot in to silence the home crowd. Meelas declared himself ‘justified with the win’ as he saw his side go five points clear at the top of the table. Hun Haters drop to third and will need to hit the winning trail again in their next few games to redress the balance.

AFC Stanley moved into second courtesy of a 2-0 home win over AC Milan. Stanley looked the superior side and also the more confident as they set about the task at Garden Street. It would take them until the stroke of half-time to take the lead as Matts Wallman hit a free-kick directly into the net. A couple of minutes into the second-half and it was to be 2-0 as Olli Kaskinen finished off a Wallman corner to leave Milan deflated. Milan did have a couple of chances but it was never going to be enough to trouble a very impressive Stanley side who may have their eyes on the major prize after last season’s promotion. They remain five points behind ThunderCats but with over half of the season left there is plenty of time to make inroads into that lead. Milan have now lost four on the spin and will look to address that against F.C. Greatness in their next match.

This will be no easy task after Greatness gained confidence in a routine 3-0 victory at St Omer. Young starlet Mario Balotelli opened the scoring with a header and not even an injury to Faust Baronchelli threatened to slow Greatness down. Basillo Bettella made the most of his chance by scoring the second goal before half-time and the second-half was to see Greatness remain on top. Omer were not helped by an injury to Franco Zoppetti and CT will surely want the seasons to pass for him to get his side where they need to be. At the moment he has to pay for other manager’s sins. Ruggaro Tangorra added the third for a Greatness side maturing with every match they play in the top level. Tangorra spoke of it being a ‘good result’ while he also warned the league that their young players will ‘haunt teams for years to come.’ Greatness are in fourth following the win and may even like their chances of mounting an unlikely title challenge while Omer look for crumbs of comfort on the long road to success.

Continuing their recovery from a slow start to the season are Santos FC who recorded an impressive 2-1 win at Tranmere Rovers. It was a fully merited win for an adventurous side who always look dangerous. They took the lead on 25 minutes with a swift breakaway leading to a Rogerio Franca finish which showed real class. Tranmere had their moments and managed an equaliser through a Victor Duviver header but that was the peak of their evening. Shortly into the second-half Torbjorn Alshammar scored his eighth goal of a brilliant season and put Santos into a lead they would never let go of. Ray Hearts was sent-off late on to compound the home teams’ misery and they slip back into the relegation zone on the back of the loss. Sean will be positive about where his team is going and with a couple more victories they maybe troubling the likes of the ThunderCats rather than looking over their shoulder.

Reggae Reggae Sauce defeated a poor Marseille side 1-0 to give themselves a much needed boost. After a tight first-half you could see RRS grow into the game as they realised the much-vaunted Marseille were somewhat toothless. Even so, they had to wait until the 80th minute and a penalty to grab the winning goal as Noel Mawson made no mistake from the spot to give his side three massive points. Xperteleven pronounced himself ‘relieved with the win’ which sees his side up to eighth and joining a bunch of sides on twelve points. Marseille are one of those sides and are free-falling down the table and in need of some real leadership skills over the coming weeks.

The other game saw Yorkshires Amateurs and Totaalvoetbal play out a 0-0 draw which never really looked like finishing anything other than that. The Amateurs did have the only chances in the opening half but Hans Riegler met a determined foe in Robert Keizer. The second-half was a more even affair with Totaal twice going close before the home side threatened to win it in injury-time. As it turned out neither side would find a cutting edge in front of goal and a point apiece was the best they could do. Meeblind was pleased with a point he described as ‘a massive positive.’ The Amateurs will be looking to get their players in top form so they can try and close the seven point gap on ThunderCats F.C.