Title for DD

West Brom Strollers clinched the title as they defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-0 at Philips Stadion. With the hosts still needing to secure their place in Division One for next season there was plenty at stake for the two teams. That being the case it was no surprise to see the first-half a cagey affair with only one chance being created. The chance came for the home side but Jeremiah McNally couldn’t keep his lob down. This capped a frustrating half for the hosts who had also seen Frans Haggbring hobble off during the early stages. The second-half also started with a McNally chance. This time he was to get his effort on target but he found Tony Godden well-placed to make the save. West Brom punished Eindhoven for these misses by scoring with their first effort. It came in the 72nd minute as Bryan Robson showed his class by netting from a free-kick. The lead was then doubled just five minutes later as Bobby Taylor finished off a nice through ball by Brendon Batson with a cool finish. Eindhoven were stung by this and completed their frustrating evening in front of goal when Jose Fonte struck a half-volley over the bar. Dinkydave spoke of it being ‘a great day for the club’ as they were awarded the title before adding that they’ll ‘be fair to everybody in the league’ as they face a Pahang side still in relegation trouble in their last game. This will have been appreciated by Kadri and Eindhoven who still need another point for their own safety.

New York City sealed their promotion with a tough 3-2 victory over manager-less S.S. Manfredonia. With Manfredonia knowing they also needed victory to keep their survival hopes alive both sides were to create chances in an open encounter. It was to be City who got off to much the better start as they took an early lead through Demetrio Delpiano. A cross by Elivs MacCaran was met perfectly by the experienced forward to leave Ikhala with no chance. It was to be 2-0 on 18 minutes as the same two players combined again. This time it was a cross from Delpiano as he returned the favour for MacCaran to head in. With a two-goal deficit it would have been easy for Manfredonia to fold but they showed great resolve in trying to play their way back into the contest. They were to be rewarded for their efforts after Eugene Kameni Idriss had gone off injured for the hosts. The goal came on 35 minutes as Bertrando Baiocco found a way through the home defence with a nice pass and Ghita Ahmataj made no mistake with a cool finish. The second-half continued in an entertaining fashion with both sides enjoying a couple of chances each. However, it would be City who would double their lead once more as MacCaran continued the excellent wing play for the hosts with another superb cross. Zenon Zagajewski was on hand to nod in and put them 3-1 up. Just as they were relaxing, though, Manfredonia came back at them once more. It was their turn to cause mayhem out wide and when Carasario Falcioni had crossed in, Douglas Wallberg headed home with a minimum of fuss. Despite bringing themselves back into the game they couldn’t force an equaliser and, due to results elsewhere, were confirmed as relegated. It wasn’t all bad news for Manfredonia, though, as Villan_RAS was appointed their new manager in the early hours. Jimmy and New York, meanwhile, can now start planning to take on the big boys as they celebrate their promotion to the RM Invitational.

Also celebrating promotion are Three Lions FC who thumped Goals Aloud 4-1 to confirm their second promotion in three seasons. In truth, the game never looked in doubt from the moment Robin van Izu headed in a cross by Izu Kaka on 19 minutes. Although Aloud did enjoy a couple of openings themselves in the first-half they couldn’t make them count and looked all-at-sea against an impressive Lions side. Luis Carlos Almeida doubled the visitors’ advantage on 56 minutes with a fine strike in the penalty area only for Dan Ruffer to shoot home after Aloud had forced a corner from the restart. However, with the Lions forcing numerous chances it was only a matter of time before they secured the win and so it proved. On 76 minutes Cristiano Izuldo headed in a cross from Henning Bade to stretch their lead to two once more and they then added some gloss in injury-time. Izuldo produced some fine approach play to find van Izu in the area and the forward made no mistake in finding the net from close range. The win took Three Lions five points clear of fourth and manager Izuka can now plan the next stage of his side’s development as a top division club; a fine achievement for a manager who has been here from the outset and had to start off in the bottom division. The future is not so clear for Aloud who have been playing players out of position and with form and morale low it remains to be seen how they bounce back from this.

Manchester United saw their promotion hopes disappear as they lost 2-1 at home to Pahang who boosted their survival hopes with the victory. In an open game there was no less than 13 chances created between the two teams. United made a fast start as Ronaldo twice went close with free-kicks. They did open the scoring as Federico Macheda stroked home a penalty on 12 minutes. However, the lead would only last until the 28th minute as Pahang were awarded a penalty of their own; Benjamin Johannsen making no mistake to level the game. Pahang went on to finish the half the stronger of the two sides as Otto and Lindeman caused some uneasy moments in the home defence. The second-half didn’t start any better for the home side as they lost Berbatov to injury before seeing Pahang create some good openings. Otto and Johanssen both went close with the latter having his effort chalked off for offside. With Pahang still forcing the pace a second goal seemed inevitable. On 86 minutes a corner delivered by Johanssen found Henning Gassner and the forward made no mistake in rifling past Foster to give them a crucial lead. Both sides had chances as they game entered injury-time but neither could find a clinical touch and Pahang held on for a priceless win. TrueBlue sees his side one point above Juve with one game to go and after this win they will take confidence into their all-important clash with WBS on Tuesday. United will now look to go again next season.

Slipping into the relegation zone with just one match to go are Juventus who went down 3-1 at Kirkbride. The game started in lively fashion as a header by Sinoda narrowly missed for the hosts before Chacros hit the bar with a fine lob for Juve. This reprieve didn’t last long for the hosts as Juve took the lead on 22 minutes. After the award of a free-kick, Mairthin Foley stepped up and struck a beautiful effort past McLoud and into the corner of the net. However, this lead wasn’t to last long as the home side hit straight back through a free-kick of their own. Fraser Symington was the scorer as he took a more powerful route by blasting his effort through the wall. Symington nearly turned the game right round before half-time but his effort struck a post. Both sides shared early chances at the resumption; Proctor having a near-miss for the Strollers with Di Cintio responding with a header of his own for Juve. The home side were gradually getting on top, though, and you sensed Juve’s lack of confidence coming into play. This manifested itself into the score when, on 77 minutes, Kirkbride struck the lead. A fine cross by Trifan was met well by the head of Jordan MacIan, leaving ‘keeper Fuentes with no chance. Only one side were looking threatening by this stage and despite an injury to David Proctor the hosts would double their lead in injury-time. It was Symington who would seal it with a stunning long range strike to leave Juventus in real trouble at the bottom end of the table. With a home match against The Vikings they will need to pick up some sort of positive result and hope that results elsewhere go in their favour as well. Kirkbride bring down the curtain on a positive season with a trip to Manchester United as they seek a good change report and then a fresh assault next term.

Newry kept their heads above water with a 1-1 home draw against The Vikings. With the visitors having little to play for, Newry might have fancied their chances of picking up a crucial win. They were to go close on ten minutes when Husic struck a post with a fabulous free-kick. However, this sparked an immediate response with Ahlm tasting wood for the visitors with a cracking header. The Vikings then stunned the home crowd by taking a 17th minute lead. A corner by Evstathios Gourmas wasn’t dealt with properly and Lewis Branston took advantage by poking home. Newry, to their credit, were still playing their part in an open game and, again, had a near-miss when Petsiara struck wood with a precision lob which left Lees beat in goal. Amazingly, the frame was rattled once more as, this time, The Vikings responded. An Almanidis free-kick looked to have done for Wellens in goal but he was to become the next victim to the curse of the frame. The game continued in its end-to-end fashion after the break as Husic and Branston traded chances. Almanidis then missed the chance to double the visitors’ lead and they were to rue this as Newry found the equaliser. Antony Cowdrey took matters into his own hands with a speculative long range strike on 73 minutes which left Lees grasping thin air. Fittingly, the game ended with the side’s trading injuries as well with Wellens and Gourmas suffering unfortunate knocks. A win for Newry against Manfredonia will see them safe but they will know any slip-ups and they might be facing final-day heartache. Eaglesrjh bemoaned his side’s misfortune saying ‘yet another smegging injury!’ He will be hoping his side get through their final game with no further scares.