Cath Clips Kadri

Villarreal CF picked up their first win in Division One but were made to work hard by Kadri’s young PSV Eindhoven side. Alejandro Junior had an early effort saved by Reina but it was to prove a game of few chances. Junior was to be replaced following a dangerous challenge by Claudio Collauto before the visitors took the lead. A corner was delivered by Cal Beardsley and was to be swept home by substitute Jonathan Boulding. No more chances were to arrive during a half where Villarreal enjoyed the majority of possession and therefore assumed control over proceedings. Villarreal did receive a shock at the start of the second-half as Collauto’s shot beat Abrey but brushed the post much to Cathal’s relief. Villarreal regained some control following this incident and Johnny Douglas would go close with a volley. PSV’s hopes would then effectively disappear along with Frans Haggbring who was red carded for stamping. Cathal was seen pumping his first shouting ‘yay’ as his side recorded their first three point haul of the season and he will now look to build on this. Kadri was again proud of how his side coped with a more experienced side and said ‘we can’t be disappointed, instead we’ll learn from this.’ It all points to a successful future for PSV.

Manchester United continued to set the pace as they beat Newry City 2-0 in a game where they weren’t really tested. The early stages saw both sides attempt lobs with their first chances. Owen Hargreaves slightly over-hit his effort while Perry Gower, at the other end, caused a heart-stopping moment as his crashed back off the bar. United would assert their authority from this point on and a header from Wayne Rooney needed saving by Wellens. Wellens, however, could do nothing to stop Ronney’s next effort which flew into the goal after the forward was set-up by Ronaldo. Nemanja Vidic had a cheeky toe-poke saved before half-time but it was clear that United held all the aces. The second-half saw United start fast and a flick header by Michael Carrick doubled the lead. Darren Fletcher nearly, fortuitously, added a third but his miss-hit shot struck a post and Carrick would be thwarted with an injury-time header. All in all, though, it was a fine display by Pakya’s side and in the early season running they are beginning to emerge as title favourites in this section. While United move on impressively, Newry have just enjoyed the single success so far this season and will need more from their forwards to progress in the division.

AJ Rovers continued to adapt well to life in Division One with a comfortable 2-0 win over Reggae Reggae Sauce. They delivered a telling blow in just the second minute as a long range shot by Mercourios Simos defeated Phil Taylor and gave them a 1-0 lead. Simos narrowly failed to double their lead when his shot from a tight angle struck the bar but a minute later they had their second. Sonny Vickerman would be the scorer although he was somewhat fortunate to beat Taylor with a miss-hit shot following a corner. RRS immediately tried to get back into the contest but Torres’ goal was disallowed due to a doubtful offside. Woody Forrest then forced a decent save from Mortimer as Sauce continued to keep Rovers honest. Rovers would have the final say of the half, though, as a toe-kick on goal by Gibernaue struck a post and bounced to safety. Calvin Bentley went off injured for Rovers at the start of the second-half but they continued to be the dominant force. Vickerman would go close before Simos also had a goal disallowed for a doubtful offside. Vickerman and Phil Marsh would both narrowly fail to add to the 2-0 lead as Rovers ended in dominant fashion. Rothion has now steered his side straight from the top of Division Two to the higher echelons of Division One and might be plotting successive promotions. Xpertelevener took the blame for defeat on his shoulders when he admitted he ‘forgot to set tactics!!!!’

Walking the same path as Rovers are Kensington Boys Club who stayed unbeaten in their first season in Division One with a 2-1 home victory over Belly Tubbies. They nearly got off to the worst possible start, though, as Tim Cahill had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside in the first minute. KBC still seemed stunned by this and hadn’t properly started by the time the Tubbies did take the lead in the 20th minute. Kevin Sheedy was the scorer as he produced a lob out of the top drawer to leave Gardiner helpless. The home side did finish the half much better and had a chance through Aubrey de Vere who was unlucky to hit the crossbar. Adrian Gray had no such problems as he raced onto a May Myer pass to finish past Fitzsimmons and level proceedings. The second-half also started in spectacular fashion as de Vere finally got his goal with an emphatic finish in the area after being played in by Dorian Rooney. William Ralph Dean and Sheedy missed opportunities to bring Tubbies level before KBC reasserted themselves. They would strike a post through de Vere as they successfully ran down time on a hard-fought win. Despite the win the KBC squad may undergo some changes over the coming weeks with Patrik stating he ‘dislikes having more than eighteen players’ at his disposal. Things are not running as smoothly for Fitzy whose side will need to get up to speed with the division if they are to avoid a quick return to Division Two.

Kirkbride Strollers and The Vikings engaged in a tight battle at The Bush but it would be the home side who would emerge victorious. Fraser Symington gave the Strollers the perfect platform with a superb fourth minute free-kick which left Connely grasping at thin air. The Vikings’ troubled start to the game continued when Colin Crouch had to be replaced and it might have gotten worse had Symington converted another free-kick on 25 minutes. The Vikings emerged as an attacking force in the 57th minute and came within a whisker of levelling matters as a Tassiopoulos lob struck the bar. Unperturbed by this the Strollers marched down the other end to force a corner which resulted in Billy Maneater sweeping the ball home to double their lead. Despite Justin Portway going close for the visitors, Kirkbride saw out time on an important win against one of the favourites for promotion this term. The win will undoubtedly please Jazza but he will want his side to back it up and consolidate their place amongst the division’s elite. Eaglesrjh couldn’t hide his disappointment when he said, ‘bad loss, bad injury!’ before adding he ‘hopes it’s not an injury hit season again!’

Pahang United put together a solid performance to defeat St Omer 2-0 at Five Percent Stadium. Omer responded to losing Leopold Frost to injury by having the first chance of the game as Joseph Radders forced Hussain into smart work. Pahang worked themselves into the game with Benjamin Johannsen forcing Hamshaw to be alert in the home goal. United would take the lead moments later as Rano Pantow lobbed a header in after a fine cross by Franck Saur. The second-half took a while to heat up but it would be Omer, again, who would go close first; Cony Tottee curling a shot on target and testing Hussain’s reactions. Hamshaw found himself required at the other end as Johannsen and Pantow hit efforts on target but the cat was equal to them. He could, however, do nothing about Pahang’s second goal; a penalty that was dispatched by Avishai Beniesh. The win for Pahang will have been a relief for Mr T who had ‘told the players to pay more attention.’ The defeat won’t have surprised Cony Tottee but his side will continue to try and punch above their weight as the season moves on.