Division One Finale

West Brom Strollers completed their title winning season by going down 2-1 at Pahang United; a result which saw the hosts retain their Division One status. Things had started well for the champions as Bobby Taylor converted a penalty easily after four minutes. From this point on, though, it was to be all Pahang as they set about the Strollers with great passion as they sought to avoid relegation. They had already threatened to equalise by the time Franck Saur shot home in the penalty area on eleven minutes. Further chances arrived in the first-half with Avishai Beniesh hitting the point of post and bar. The second-half continued in the same fashion as they took the lead on 54 minutes. Jeremias Lindeman rose highest to head past Godden and give Pahang a season-saving lead. Despite an injury to Boris Richert they never looked like giving up their advantage and, indeed, could have added further goals through Benjamin Johannsen and Holger Pfitzner. West Brom’s unsuccessful evening ended on a downer when Bryan Robson finished his season being helped off. The result will give Pahang a fresh chance at Division One success next season and they will go into their cup match with Belly Tubbies in good heart. West Brom and player of the season, Darren Moore, take their title winning side into the cup in confident mood despite the defeat and Dinkydave will be hoping to add further silverware to the cabinet in the coming weeks.

New York City finished the season in second after a 5-1 thumping of Goals Aloud. Both sides would score early goals as Shinosuke Isimaru gave the visitors a lead with a shot in the penalty area before a Frank Nyberg penalty levelled matters. City took control from this point on, though, as they cut open their hosts at will. Elvis MacCaran put them back in front on 24 minutes, finishing well in the area, before they put in a dominating second-half display. Rufus Bignell carried on the fine work on 53 minutes with a sumptuous free-kick which left Butcher stranded and Lukas Buhr completed a breakaway move on 58 minutes to extend the lead to 4-1. An injury to Graham Rush didn’t help the Aloud cause for the final ten minutes as they had to survive with 10-men. This proved beyond them as City added a fifth goal on 84 minutes courtesy of a Henk van Huijksloot header. Despite finishing in second Jimmy was already focusing on next season, admitting he was ‘worrying’ about having ‘very little cash, poor youth prospects’ and a potential ‘poor CR.’ He will put this to the back of his mind, though, as he takes his side to take on Kensington in the first round of the cup. Depending on the comings and goings during the off-season, Goals Aloud may find themselves no more as the new season approaches.

Three Lions FC finished their promotion winning season with a 2-1 home success over PSV Eindhoven. However, the Lions were lucky to escape a first-half performance which saw PSV create five chances while restricting the home side to just one. Albert Riera had already fired a headed warning in the first minute before PSV took the lead with a clinical Fabio Aurelio strike in the penalty area after 15 minutes. Robin van Izu did come close to equalising as his header struck the bar but PSV regained the initiative and had efforts from Nanmeng and Jose Fonte before Riera also had an effort hit the woodwork. Fonte also wasted a free-kick effort after the interval as the visitors would pay for their profligacy. Zlatan Izuhimovic brought the home side level with a spectacular effort from distance on 56 minutes and Cesc Izukas nearly turned the game on its head moments later but was denied by Reina. Both sides had a chance to win the match but while Fonte again saw his effort come up short, Ben Dover made no mistake with time running out to give the home side three unlikely points. Despite the defeat, Kadri was able to complete the great escape with a PSV side who were down and out when he arrived. They can now look forward to the new season without having to catch up any ground due to a mismanaged start. Izuka, meanwhile, has taken his team to the top table and will get a taste of the competition in the first round of the cup on Friday against Yorkshires Amateurs.

Manchester United finished their season in style with a 5-1 home victory over Kirkbride Strollers. They produced a first-half which will have their fans wanting the new season to start tomorrow as they created eight openings to leave the visitors in tatters. They would score four goals in this blistering spell, starting with a shot from Darren Fletcher after a corner was delivered by Carlos Tevez. More expert crossing led to the other goals as Kirkbride’s defence couldn’t find an answer. Darren Gibson played a big part in the next two goals as he crossed for Owen Hargreaves to head home on 28 minutes before heading in a Giggs cross himself just a minute later. The first-half demolition was completed with an Eric Cantona header on 40 minutes following another dangerous Tevez corner. The second-half settled down and saw just a few chances. Kirkbride made a dent in the score on 55 minutes with a well-taken penalty by Jamie Cole but this was to be, effectively, cancelled out at the other end as Cantona scored his second of the game, also from the spot. The win caps a good season for Pakya’s United, with fans hoping they can take one step further next season and claim a top three spot. Kirkbride can also be happy with their season and will now focus on a clash with The Vikings in the first round of the cup on Friday.

Newry City confirmed their survival in Division One with an away performance of some assurance at S.S. Manfredonia. Newry started swiftly but Kian Dadashi couldn’t beat Ikhala with a side-footed effort. They did suffer an injury to Veevo Ulpre but this didn’t stop them going close again, this time through Muharem Husic. Shaan Mohsin had a near-miss as Manfredonia couldn’t cope with the visitors who would inevitably take the lead before half-time. Husic found his range from a free-kick opportunity to leave Ikhala grasping at thin air and Newry celebrating. Husic was proving a real thorn in the side of the home team and would double the advantage just after half-time. Antony Cowdrey provided some width before delivering a telling cross from which Husic headed home. Cowdrey, Mohsin and Woodlands all had efforts to extend the lead but couldn’t find any quality in front of goal. Despite this Newry were left celebrating their survival with their travelling support and will go into their cup match with Los Samgeles with renewed confidence. Manfredonia, meanwhile, will have already begun preparing for life in Division Two and will surely bring in some reinforcements when the transfer window opens again.

Juventus were the side left with that sinking feeling as they were out-gunned at home to The Vikings. The visitors would suffer injuries to Murray Irwin and Justin Portway during the course of the game but it wouldn’t detract from a solid performance which left their opponents unable to cope. They dominated the opening 45 minutes in terms of possession and duly took the lead with one of their two chances. The goal came on 23 minutes as Lewis Branston headed home from a Tassiopoulos cross. Juventus were strangely subdued given the magnitude of the game and found themselves firmly up against it at the start of the second-half. Branston slipped in Portway for the forward to finish with some class before succumbing to his injury. Juve would only get one sight of goal during the second-half but they made it count to put the game back in the melting pot. A corner was forced and a Chacros delivery was headed home by Claude Banquet. Despite getting to within a goal of their opponents they never looked like completing the comeback and The Vikings finished one of their many chances when Tassiopoulos poached a goal from a Colin Crouch corner. The win leaves Eaglesrjh well-placed for a promotion push next season given a favourable change report and he will be gunning for a good cup run also. SuperJuve will hope for a change of fortune in the cup before turning his attentions to a shot at the Division Two title.