Haters Find Joy

Hun Haters found their scoring boots to leave Milan pointless after a 3-1 defeat. Craig Elliston showed promise of better things to come for the home side as he fired a free-kick close after 13 minutes. Milan had chances of their own but Ron Aldinho and Jonte Sandholm struggled to find the target and the game remained goalless. This wouldn’t last for long, though, as Don MacArthur struck from inside the penalty area to give the Haters a goal advantage. Ashton Crosby flicked a header at Speroni before the home side doubled their lead courtesy of a brilliant Iain Emery header which the ‘keeper couldn’t get to. Things would get even better for HH as MacArthur hit a stunning volley from distance to put them 3-0 ahead. Victor Moses couldn’t bring the visitors back into it with a header and Milan would go in at half-time with it all to do. To be fair they were much improved in the second-half and Andrea Pirlo gave them hope with a fine lob on 51 minutes. Jonte Sandholm couldn’t get his bicycle kick beyond Boruc and Ron Aldinho also found the ‘keeper well-placed as Milan couldn’t pull the Haters back. Paulo Maldini completed their misery after he received his marching orders for use of the elbow. Celticchris will be more hopeful of getting out of the relegation zone following this victory and with another home match coming on Friday they will look to make it back-to-back wins. MarkieRich will want to address his side’s poor form as they also look to navigate themselves away from the bottom three.

ThunderCats F.C remained on course for a second successive title with a 1-0 away win at struggling Totaalvoetbal. Things had started promisingly for Totaal but a volley by Pierre van Diemen was disallowed and things began disintegrating with an injury to influential midfielder Johan Juffing. A driving shot by Leonardo Borja flew past Ard Leemans to put ThunderCats 1-0 up and despite an injury to Silvio Falcao they were firmly in the box seat. Totaal did keep plugging away, though, but would find their luck out in the second-half. A fine breakaway saw Horacio Metelo lob the ball over Magro but rebound off the bar and a side-footed shot on goal by van Diemen hit a post as destiny deserted the second season champions. Meelas was pleased with what he described as a sign of ‘how great’ his side can be while Meeblind bemoaned his side’s misfortune while also crediting his opposite number. ‘To be fair we’ve done enough for at least a point but Meelas is the champion manager at this point and always finds a way.’

AFC Stanley and Santos lost ground on ThunderCats as they played out a 0-0 draw at Garden Street. Torbjorn Alshammar nearly gave Santos the perfect start but his shot hit a post and Stanley survived. Alshammar would then have a header saved by Hessbo who also denied him late on in the half with a brave save at the forward’s feet. Stanley created a chance at the beginning of the second-half but Thorbjorn Lind’s header couldn’t find a way into the goal and the rest of the half was a battle for possession. Markham33 will look for his side to create more openings as they travel to ThunderCats for a crucial match on Friday. Sean7 will be pleased with a solid away performance and as the season reaches the midway point can also be satisfied with his side being within striking distance of the top.

West Brom Strollers also lost ground on ThunderCats as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Yorkshires Amateurs. The Amateurs got off to a great start as a precise header by Micky Cox found its way past Godden for the opening goal. However, the lead wouldn’t last long as Bryan Robson mishit his shot beyond Bicanco nine minutes later. Billy Bassett and Vinnie Churchill missed a chance for their respective teams as the sides would remain deadlocked at the interval. The second-half would be a very cagey affair although West Brom would be unlucky not to snatch all three points as a Bassett lob hit the crossbar and went safe. Dinky was disappointed that his side had ‘the majority of possession’ and had ‘done nothing with it.’ Danlufc13 will see this result as a turning point as they look to move away from the foot of the table.

New York City put in an adventurous away performance to defeat F.C. Greatness at home by a 4-2 score-line. Greatness had an early chance through Agostino Filippinetti but Sattler saved. It wasn’t long before they had taken the lead, though, as Paolo Serena put a powerful long range shot beyond Sattler. Martinus Benfari might have given Greatness more to cheer about but his chip hit the bar and they had worse luck when a Fabrizio Colluato header was chalked off for handball. City were a much tougher proposition after the break and levelled with their first chance; Benjamin Foran connecting brilliantly with a bicycle kick to delight the visiting fans. A Ralf Kron shot was well-saved by Calvert who also denied Eugene Kameni Idriss from a free-kick minutes later. Elvis MacCaran did put the visitors in front, though, as he put a header beyond the ‘keeper. Shinosuke Isimaru swiftly made it 3-1 as he connected sweetly with a powerful shot and Greatness were shell-shocked. Despite this, they did manage to grab a lifeline as Filippinetti steered the ball home from inside the area after 65 minutes to reduce the deficit to a goal. They wouldn’t be this close for long as Idriss curled a free-kick home to put City out of reach once again. Greatness, to their credit, did try to get back into the game but Faust Baronchelli’s free-kick was saved by Sattler who also saw Fabio Cannavaro hit a penalty wide. MacCaran took some of the gloss off the win as he was sent-off for stamping and Isimaru wasted a late chance. Jimmy declared himself ‘very happy’ with the result and his side’s ambitions for the season might be increasing after an impressive run. Greatness manager Darren Calvert is rumoured to be at a loss to explain his side’s recent run but will undoubtedly be working hard to turn it round.

Three Lions would also be victorious in a high-scoring game at home to Tranmere. They were indebted to Casillas in the early stages as the ‘keeper saved a free-kick from Jari Sjoholm. Three Lions took advantage of this by scoring with their opening chance; Cristiano Izuldo placing the ball beyond Onyszko. Zlatan Izuhimovic missed a headed opportunity before Robin van Izu doubled the home side’s advantage with a calm penalty. Raymond Jillhed tried in vain to bring the visitors back into the contest before a back-heel by Cesc Izukas nearly made it 3-0. Manuel Bonda was denied by Casillas before half-time as Tranmere faced up to a two-goal deficit going into the second-half. Onyszko was busy in the early stages of the second-half as he saved well from Kaka and van Izu who also put a header wide. Luis Carlos Almeida then demanded more excellence from the ‘keeper before Tranmere managed to bring some life back to the contest. Adam Mlynarz placed a header beyond Casillas to halve the deficit although the Lions immediately regained the initiative. Izuhimovic struck a post before Henning Bade shot home from inside the penalty area to restore the two-goal cushion. Rovers did think they had responded through a Bonda header but it was disallowed for shirt pulling and although Bonda did flick another header in moments later time ran out on their hopes of a comeback but not before Mlynarz had been sent-off for a crude tackle. Izu will be pleased with a victory which sees them open up a four-point gap on the relegation spots while Baz will be hoping his new signings gel quickly before they have a relegation battle on their hands.