Delight for DD

Santos FC and West Brom Strollers were involved in a five-goal thriller which eventually saw the Strollers emerge victorious. The opening 45 minutes was a rollercoaster ride as the sides attempted to gain control of proceedings. An injury to Fredrick Winnerljung seemed to knock Santos’ rhythm and confidence and gave the Strollers the platform to take a grip of the game. Bobby Taylor duly broke the deadlock on 10 minutes by heading home a Johnston centre. Richard Sneekes then capitalised on home uncertainty by doing likewise after Cyrille Regis had produced some fine wing play. Santos seemed stung by the deficit they found themselves facing and were quick to do something about it. They too found joy out wide and a cross from Raffaelli gave Adriano Ribeiro the simple task of heading home on 15 minutes. Patricio Bento was the next to try his luck with his head but couldn’t convert. There was to be another headed attempt, however, and it would bring Santos level. Yogender Pragurd was the instigator as he centred for Richardo Ferrari to speed in and place his header past Godden to level the scores. The second-half didn’t see as much action but Asmar Golkas was unfortunate not to see his effort give Santos the lead, instead he was disappointed as it struck a post. They were made to pay as Cyrille Regis produced a top class finish to lob Rodenas with time running out. Asmar Golkas couldn’t save Santos with a free-kick and the Strollers had their first win back in the top flight. DD was pleased saying they ‘made hard work of it but managed a win.’ Sean is seeing his side start much as they did last season and will be keen to get three points against Hun Haters on Tuesday.

Also picking up their first win of the season were Three Lions FC who edged out Yorkshires Amateurs 1-0. The goal came as early as the first minute as Lions won a penalty which was despatched well by Izu Casillas. The first-half was a disjointed affair with a rash of bookings for the Amateurs and an injury to Zlatan Izuhimovic for the hosts to deal with. Gabriel Mohan had the only other chance of the half but couldn’t make it count for the visitors and they were to go in behind. The Amateurs could count themselves unlucky with their first effort of the second 45 minutes with Vince Brightwell hitting a superb free-kick but being denied by the woodwork. Fred Franklin then had a toe-poke which needed dealing with by Casillas but he did so with no drama and the Amateurs challenge was over. Robin van Izu saw an effort brush a post and Luis Carlos Almeida and Izuael Clichy also had late chances as the Lions finished the stronger of the two teams. While Izu will be happy his side have got a win under their belts, Danlufc will be keen for his Amateurs side to pick up their form before it turns into an early season crisis.

AFC Stanley continued to signal their intent for the season with a strong 3-0 away defeat of Hun Haters. A Garry Molseley shot went close to set the tone for the evening as Stanley were always a threat. Hun had their moments too, not least when Craig Elliston hit a free-kick just wide on 16 minutes. Two more chances were shared as Molseley and Caird went close with moments of each other. Olli Kaskinen eventually broke the deadlock on 28 minutes as he hit an unstoppable effort from distance. Molseley continued to be denied a goal as Boruc produced a good save from a side-footed shot before Kaskinen nearly doubled his tally before the break. Molseley duly got his goal a minute after the restart, again from distance as Hun gave the Stanley players too much room to fire in their shots. Injuries disrupted the feel of the game before Kaskinen finished the scoring somewhat fortuitously with a miss-hit shot which deceived Boruc. There were late chances for both sides but no more goals were added, leaving Stanley sitting proudly at the top of the table. Stanley have shown an eye for goal and defensive soundness in their opening games, traits which Markham33 will want to keep going moving into their next match with Tranmere. Celticchris will look to put the first two games out of the minds of his players as they look to kick-start their season in the next outing.

F.C. Greatness put in a dominating display in seeing off AC Milan 2-0. They were buoyed by a superb start which saw Faust Baronchelli shoot home in the penalty area on three minutes. They were then let off as a brilliant Kaka goal was chalked off due to a spot of shirt pulling moments later. Bernard Lormor went close for Milan before Greatness assumed control. Baronchelli nearly pulled off the spectacular with a bicycle kick and Fabrizio Colluato placed a header off the angle as they finished the half well on top. Lormor was to force a save from Rachao before Greatness, once again, assumed control after the break. Martinus Benfari went close and a free-kick from Baronchelli narrowly missed. Baronchelli had another chance before he finally added his second by heading home on 73 minutes. Milan never looked like getting back into things and Baronchelli saw Hindle thwart his hat-trick attempt as time ran out. The shy and lacking in confidence Greatness manager, Darren Calvert, claimed his side would be putting the ‘RM Trophy on our mantle where it belongs.’ He also added he lets his team’s football do the talking....really Darren? Milan manager MarkieRich will be looking for a better showing from his team in the coming weeks but won’t be too disappointed with three points from his opening two matches.

ThunderCats F.C continued to show that they would defend their title strongly as they saw off New York City 2-1 at Thundera Grounds. Demetrio Delpiano nearly stunned the hosts with a low drive which hit a post and Elivs MacCaran also went close with a strike as New York started brightly. City then had a goal rightly chalked off for offside as ThunderCats struggled to get out of the blocks. MacCaran had another effort before the hosts finally clicked into gear. Amazingly, they would net from their first shot as they broke away through Paulinho Ornelas and had Nelson Queimado on hand to net comfortably. Leonardo Borja forced a good save from Sattler before Carlos Magro scored confidently from the penalty spot to give the home side a 2-0 half-time lead. With their confidence up after taking a hold of the game they might have added an early goal at the start of the second-half as Queimado and Borja had attempts. It would be New York, though, who would score the third goal of the game as MacCaran finally got his name on the score-sheet with a fine header. However, they couldn’t force the pace to bring themselves level and ThunderCats finished strongly with Borja hitting the angle of post and bar. Meelas went on record as being ‘pleased with the successive home victories’ but wants his forwards to sharpen up in the coming weeks. Jimmy will want his side to tighten up defensively as they have shown they pose enough of a threat going forward to challenge any side.

Tranmere Rovers got their season underway with three points in a 2-1 home victory over Totaalvoetbal. The first-half saw Totaal get off to a strong start as Edwin Hayter narrowly missed with a shot before Johan Juffing headed an effort off a post. Tranmere responded and saw Iwelumo force Rimmer into good handling before Christiano Olias hit a free-kick straight into the ‘keeper’s arms. Juffing twice might have scored as the second-half began and Horacio Metelo brushed a post as Totaal tried to open the scoring. Gabriel Dolff responded but once more found Rimmer well-placed. Juffing missed another opportunity before Metelo misfired from a free-kick. He was to be given a second chance, however, and curled a beautiful strike beyond Onyszko to give Totaal the lead. Totaal then seemed to stop playing and allowed Tranmere to strike straight back. A cross of quality by Zack Whittall was headed in by Dolff and you sensed the momentum was now with the home side. Indeed, Tranmere would deliver the killer blow in injury-time. A shot in the penalty area by Olias was allowed to squirm in by Rimmer and Tranmere had pinched the victory. Baz78 will be happy with his side’s first points and their resilience in coming back from a losing position. ‘Disappointed,’ was Meeblind’s word of the day although he did add that his players would be going in for some ‘finishing practice’ as they had enough chances to ‘win three games.’