Rovers Romp

Tranmere Rovers put in a brilliant second-half performance to come away from AFC Stanley 4-1 victors. The first-half gave no indication of what was to come as Stanley controlled things. Garry Molseley and Alan Martindale fired early warnings for the home side although Raymond Jillhed did have a goal chalked off for Rovers in a dubious offside call. However, Stanley re-emerged as the dominant force as Jon MacClintock hit a post with a header before Martindale hit a quality long range strike to give them the lead. What followed was a stunning turn-around as Rovers hit back in some style. Rovers were level with their first effort of the second-half; a driving shot on goal by Karsten Seibert which would prove unstoppable. Stanley then suffered a blow with MacClintock going off injured before Thorbjorn Lind was unlucky to see his shot from a tight angle hit a post. Terrence Talbot forced a good save from Hessbo before Molseley also found the post in his way. Rovers would then produce a devastating display of football to win the contest. Raymond Jillhed headed home a fine centre and Seibert shot home in the penalty area after being put through by Mlynarz. With Stanley shocked, Tranmere would add a fourth goal with a Seibert header beating Hessbo to complete the home team’s misery. The win sees Tranmere move up to second and looking one of the more confident sides in the section. Markham will be looking for his side to forget about this game and put their season back on track in their next match-up.

ThunderCats F.C moved into familiar territory at the head of the table with an impressive 3-1 at West Brom Strollers. West Brom looked like they had got off to the ideal start when Bobby Taylor shot home from a tight angle but it was disallowed for a foul. ThunderCats took full advantage of this reprieve by taking a 13th minute lead when Silvio Falcao headed in a corner. Another header might have given them the lead to take into the interval but Izet Hadzic missed the target and they had to settle for a one-goal half-time lead. Taylor would eventually get his goal as West Brom were awarded a 50th minute penalty; making no mistake he beat Amarante easily. Despite losing Cyrille Regis they looked the stronger side at this stage but Jeff Astle had a shot blocked and their impetus seemed to disappear. ThunderCats then re-took the lead when Fabricio Cidade found a well-placed finish on 64 minutes to defeat Carson. Silvio Falcao curled an effort over before Leonardo Borja sealed the win with an accurate header as time ran out. DD was not too down after the defeat saying that he was ‘pleased with the way we played today.’ Meelas was excited by the form of his forwards adding ‘I said for us to win this game my strikers had to score’

Three Lions overwhelmed New York City at Emirates Stadium as they beat their fellow promoted side 2-0. The Lions cheekily took the lead when Robin van Izu netted with a cheeky back-heel which left Sattler somewhat embarrassed. The chances kept coming for the visitors but neither van Izu nor Luca Tonizu could add to their lead. New York tried to hit back but Eugene Kameni Idriss hit a free-kick straight at Casillas and the Lions assumed total control. Tonizu forced the best out of Sattler with a fine volley before he planted a header past the cat only for it to bounce back from the foot of the post. The second goal did arrive in the early stages of the second-half with van Izu powering in a header from a Ben Dover corner. The Lions then seemed content to play out time whilst keeping City at arm’s length at the other end. They did miss a chance through Izuldo but a 2-0 success had their fans celebrating wildly at the end. Jimmy was left frustrated with the defeat and when asked whether there was such a thing as a decent loss he said firmly, ‘not in my books.’ His players may have a tough week in store. Izu will be more than happy with the start to life in the top flight his side have made and a clash at Greatness next up will be one he will relish.

Greatness warmed up for that particular match in uninspiring fashion as they were defeated 1-0 at Yorkshires Amateurs. The first-half’s main talking point was a shocking challenge by Fabio Cannavaro which left Amadeo Caviedes needing to be replaced. The half didn’t have much in the way of chances but Angelo Foggia might have done better with a driving shot on goal. The Amateurs would move into the lead with the first chance of the second-half. A beautifully worked free-kick ended with Abraham Alejo defeating Rachao to give the Amateurs a big confidence boost. Paolo Serena attempted a lob to bring Greatness back into the contest but it proved too high and they might have paid a price had Davis’ header not been punched away at the other end. Faust Baronchelli and Fred Franklin missed chances for their respective teams in the final moments but it was Amateurs who were left celebrating the points from a solid performance. Danlufc13 will have been relieved that his side got off the mark with this win and will be hopeful it instils enough confidence in them so they can go onto greater things. Darrencalvert will be disappointed in his troops after declaring his side were after the title, that being the case they will need to produce better finishing than this in the coming weeks.

Totaalvoetbal got back to winning ways but left it late against a tough Milan side at the MVB Arena. Milan brushed off an injury to Roy Summerville to take the lead on seven minutes. A looping header by Victor Moses left Leemans flat-footed and the visitors celebrating. The sides would then trade chances as Shivan Preetnav headed at Speroni while Moses hit a sweet volley which Leemans did well to smoother. Pierre van Diemen forced Speroni into more smart work while Shirsh Vajpayee got his effort horribly wrong as Totaal finished the half on top. Vajpayee began the second-half with a better effort but again the visiting ‘keeper was well-positioned to make the save. The game entered a quiet phase which was only interrupted by injuries to either side. Despite this, though, the game would have a dramatic ending. Alexis Barrere would be pushed up from the back as the home side looked for an equaliser and would produce a perfect diving header on 86 minutes to level matters. A minute later and some fine wing play by Vajpayee was met expertly by van Diemen and the game was turned on its head. Still, Milan might have had a point but a diving header by Moses hit a post and their chance was gone. MarkieRich was understandably disappointed with what he called a ‘harsh’ defeat and Totaal boss Robin Meeblind agreed by saying he thought ‘a draw would have been more than fair.’

Santos picked up their first win of the season and left Hun Haters rooted to the foot of the table in the process. The game took a while to get going but Torbjorn Alshammar brought an acrobatic save from Boruc direct from a free-kick. Jimmy Meire responded at the other end with a precise header but again the ‘keeper was equal to the test. The second-half saw Santos take control from the moment Alshammar headed home on 48 minutes. Alshammar missed with a further effort but HH responded with a stunning Craig Elliston free-kick which left the bar rocking for moments after the impact. This seemed to spark Santos into more determined action and a clever Marcelo Afonso finish went just wide. Asmar Golkas would then seal the win with two goals in succession with time running out. His first was a lovely header on 79 minutes after a corner before he shot home in the penalty area on 81 minutes to deliver the three points to Santos. Sean7 will hope the win sparks a rise up the table similar to last term while Celticchris will be looking for three points as soon as possible before his side becomes cemented in the bottom three.