RM Invitational Finale

Meelas finally got his hands on the RM Invitational trophy with a 2-0 home victory over Reggae Reggae Sauce. They showed no signs of pressure as they flew out of the blocks to take a fifth minute lead courtesy of a Fabricio Cidade strike in the penalty area. They nearly added a second goal through Nelson Queimado and Cidade as they laid siege to the visiting goal. Sauce did come back into the game to their credit but efforts from Terry Jenkins and Christiano Torres couldn’t find a way into the net. Paulino Ornelas cracked a volley off the woodwork before the home side finally added a second goal. A free-kick from Leonardo Borja was thundered into the net and the celebrations began in the stands. Cidade hit the bar but the half finished on a downer as both he and Juliano Leite had to be withdrawn through injuries. The second-half saw the home side play out the game with ease without really threatening to add to their tally. The whistle brought with it wild scenes on the pitch with Meelas claiming his side had ‘deservedly and comfortably’ won the title. They will look to add the cup to their trophy cabinet in the coming weeks before setting about defending their crown next season. RRS now have to rebuild in Division One following a bad end to the season but they will also welcome the relief a good cup run might bring, starting with a home match against Morley on Friday.

Santos FC’s dreams of the title were ended as they were held at home by Hun Haters. Despite having more of the ball and creating the better chances, Santos were to go in at the break behind. The damage was done by Ted Caird as he shot home in the penalty area after being released by Iain Emery on six minutes. Santos missed chances through Torbjorn Alshammar as they went in at the break 1-0 down. The second-half saw Santos press despite an injury to Adriano Ribeiro. Benicio Correa and Fredrick Winnerljung both missed late chances before Alshammar finally made one of his count with a classy finish in the area on 92 minutes. The point wasn’t enough to bring any joy to Santos but there was nothing they could have done with ThunderCats winning their game. Sean7 can now reflect on a super first season in the RM top division and look to go one better next term. After drawing with second-place Santos, Hun Haters will now look to defeat the new champions in the first round of the cup on Friday. Celticchris will then look to prepare his side for a return to the heady days of the first two seasons, following a struggle this time round.

AFC Stanley completed their impressive first season in the top league with a 1-1 home draw against Yorkshires Amateurs. Stanley enjoyed much the better of the first-half with several chances. Enrico Fuentes and Jeffrey Entwhistle saw efforts go close before they took the lead on 27 minutes. Amateurs defence had been forced to reshuffle following an injury to Raymond Simmons and they were left pointing the finger of blame at each other as Marcelino Montez shot home in the area following a corner. Amateurs, somewhat remarkably, would equalise with their first chance of the game. A corner was taken by Yogender Amarparm and Fred Franklin benefitted by poking the ball past Hessbo in goal. A powerfully curled shot by Kirk Armitage threatened to put Stanley back in front but the sides were destined to go in level at the interval. The second-half saw the game wind down with the sides looking ready for the cup season to start. Franklin might have won the game for the visitors but that would have been harsh on a good Stanley side. Markham33 will now enjoy a well-earned break and look forward to pushing his side onwards again during the fourth season of the RM Invitational leagues. Danlufc13 has said that ‘next season has to be better’ as he looks for the missing ingredient that will push his side into the top three.

Totaalvoetbal secured fourth-place in the RM Invitational with a 4-1 away success at St Omer. A fast start yielded no reward as Pierre van Diemen and Shivan Preetnav couldn’t convert chances while Luz got away with a poor back-pass. Omer, meanwhile, went and scored with their first chance of the half as Lucas Ravelli flicked a header past Leemans for the opening goal. Totaal recovered from this setback, though, and a powerful header from Preetnav levelled proceedings on 31 minutes. Horacio Metelo quickly put the visitors in front as he shot home after being put through by his midfield partner Johan Juffing. The second-half saw Jerry Hamshaw go off injured for the hosts before they squandered their only chance as Garry Stamps headed straight at Leemans. Totaal got control late in the half and Shirsh Vajpayee doubled their lead with a flicked header from a Metelo cross on 78 minutes. The victory was complete with another header as Metelo added his second goal of the game. The win saw Totaal move into fourth and Meeblind proclaim himself ‘satisfied with a season of restructure at the MVB.’ Omer and ConyTottee will be happy to see the end of phase one of their own rebuilding campaign and will look to be competitive in the cup following the upcoming change report.

AC Milan finished their season on a high with a 4-2 win at Tranmere in a game full of chances. Both sides enjoyed fine openings in the first 45 minutes but it was Milan who would take a lead into the half. Damian Tkacz gave them a headed lead on three minutes before Rovers suffered further pain with an injury to Uilliam Flanagan. Ron Aldinho didn’t help their cause as he shot home after a corner on 25 minutes to put Milan 2-0 up although Akinlabi Iwelumo did pull one back before half-time with a neat finish in the penalty area. Leroy Upson was the next Tranmere player to go off injured on 49 minutes as the second-half started unfortunately for the hosts. Victor Moses wasted a chance from the spot on 64 minutes for the visitors but they did manage to double their lead three minutes later courtesy of a Brando Pisano header. Cristian Campagnolo pulled one back from the spot as the chances continued to flow but Milan would seal the win on 76 minutes. Some fine approach play by Andrea Pirlo allowed Tkacz the opportunity to notch his second in the area to give Milan an impressive 4-2 win. Milan and MarkieRich will now look to add some defensive stability to a very good attacking side to make further progress next season. Tranmere and Baz are in a similar position and will also be looking to improve upon their 30-point campaign.

Marseille ended a season of turmoil with a 1-0 win over F.C. Greatness to hint at what might have been. Greatness will have counted themselves unlucky not to have taken an early lead as Martinus Benfari twice hit the woodwork in the first 18 minutes. Marseille responded to their good fortune by coming more into the game and Sid Peyton twice worried the Greatness backline before the half-time interval. Greatness thought they had taken the lead in the early stages of the second-half but some shirt pulling led to the goal being chalked off. This would be Greatness’ last attempt as Marseille seized the initiative. Ritchie Morgan would put them in front from a breakaway move and it would be a lead they would comfortably hold for the remainder of the game. What the future holds for Marseille remains to be seen but the undoubted potential is there. Darrencalvert, meanwhile, is looking forward to a positive change report before giving his charges a well-earned break before the start of season four. Whether they can make the step up to become title challengers is the next question awaiting his side as they deal with some key defensive retirements.