PSV Foil Fitzy on Return

Fitzy’s return as manager of Belly Tubbies ended in defeat as PSV Eindhoven continued to punch above their weight with a 1-0 triumph. Tim Cahill looked to give Fitzy the perfect tonic on twelve minutes but saw his powerfully curled shot hit a post and bounce clear. An injury to Xavi Alonso didn’t stop PSV becoming more of a force and a well-flighted free-kick saw Jeremiah McNally force a save out of Fitzsimmons. The Tubbies’ keeper would be called into action early in the second-half as well with Warren Hibbitt side-footing an excellent effort on target only for Fitzsimmons to produce great agility in clawing the ball clear. The Tubbies would threaten at the other end but Peter Reid fired his free-kick just wide and they would pay the price. With the game deep in injury-time Rory MacFinlay produced a header with great power which left Fitzsimmons helpless and PSV celebrating three points. Kadri now has his youthful side on 9 points and the club must seriously be thinking about avoiding relegation in a season where development was the main agenda. Fitzy bemoaned his welcome back with a 93rd minute winner against him and added ‘damn’ to sum up his feelings.

The other youthful side in the division were on the wrong end of a hammering as Manchester United ran riot to hand St Omer a 6-1 home defeat. Darren Gibson had already forced Rain into an early save before United took a ninth minute lead. Some clever wing play from Rafael da Silva gave Darren Fletcher the opportunity to power in a header to give the leaders an early advantage. It soon became 2-0 as Ryan Giggs demonstrated his aerial ability to put a precise header into the corner of the net on twelve minutes. A hat-trick of headers was completed on 25 minutes when Michael Carrick ghosted in to flick a header beyond Rain and leave Omer with a mountain to climb. Carrick might also have added his second moments later but was denied by the crossbar after his steered shot left the ‘keeper beaten. Omer were not without their chances but Roberto da Luz could only hit his free-kick directly at Foster. United scored their fourth goal with the first chance of the second-half as Dimitar Berbatov broke away to beat Rain comfortably. Omer displayed great courage in the aftermath of this goal and responded through a Joe Radley shot to make it 1-4 and might have closed the deficit still further had Timmy Svenson not put his lob too close to Foster. United were to finish the stronger of the two sides, however, and a lobbed header from Darren Gibson made it 5-1 and the midfielder quickly added another after hitting through Rain’s legs following a swift breakaway. Giggs and Hargreaves had late chances to extend the lead but United were left delighted with the win which sees them three points clear of The Vikings. Pakya will also be delighted with how they are playing their football which reflects in a much superior goal difference to anything else in the division. For Omer nothing much has changed with Cony Tottee doing an excellent job of keeping form high in readiness of the next change report.

The Vikings edged out Villarreal CF in a hard-fought battle at Viking Land. The first-half’s main talking point was a serious injury to Sid Peyton when the midfielder seemed to fall awkwardly under a challenge. With no chances created, other than the injury things seemed to be going well for the visiting side. The Vikings would serve warning of their increased intent at the start of the second-half, though, and Damon Strachan was unfortunate not to give them a 56th minute lead as his lob hit the angle. Viking Land was stunned moments later, however, as Errol Beddoe broke onto a Marincic pass to chip the ‘keeper and give Cathal’s side the lead. Despite this setback, The Vikings never panicked and equalised through Evstathios Gourmas. He had an earlier chance go begging before cheekily back-heeling an effort past Abrey to level matters. Clint Bonavia nearly turned the match on its head but his well-placed shot hit a post and The Vikings were then stung by an injury to the forward. Just as Villarreal thought their game-plan would result in a point The Vikings produced a moment of brilliance. Ilmari Jukka had the home fans in awe as he met a corner with a stupendous bicycle kick which flew into the goal and won the game for Eaglesrjh’s side. Cathal was gracious in defeat as he said ‘well done’ to Eagles. Eagles responded by joking about Villarreal ‘throwing up the walls’ in a defensive formation before bemoaning the game’s injuries on a more serious note.

Kensington Boys Club responded to their heaviest ever defeat with a 3-1 victory over Newry City. They dominated from the outset and might have been ahead had Adrian Gray got his radar right in the opening 20 minutes; the forward missing the target with a flick header and lob when he might have done better. The forward then departed injured before Aubrey de Vere hit a free-kick just off target as the game reached half-time goalless. In contrast to the first-half, Newry would start the better after the break and shocked the home crowd by taking a 51st minute lead; Antony Cowdrey producing an accurate header to defeat Gardiner. If anything, though, this had a galvanising effect on the home side and Charles Tilly flung himself at a de Vere corner to plant a diving header past Wellens to square things up. The game would then turn round completely as de Vere toe-poked home after being set through by James Wilde to leave Newry reeling. Kensington completed their rich vein of form ass Tilly ran onto a Leroy Hepburn pass to chip over the advancing Wellens to double the lead. Newry tried to respond but Sebi Cizma could only hit a free-kick wide and they might have been further behind but for a good stop by Wellens from a de Vere effort. Cizma had another effort in injury-time but a fine stop from Gardiner prevented a goal and Kensington had a morale-boosting victory. Patrik will have been delighted with his side’s response to their awful defeat and has his side handily placed in third spot. Ramsay2009 will want his new side to show more in the coming weeks after this defeat leaves them in mid-table.

AJ Rovers continued to keep tabs on the leaders as they defeated Pahang United 1-0 in a tight encounter at the AJR Arena. Byron Simon forced Hussain into an early stop before the home side were hit by an injury to Phil Marsh. Pahang looked to take advantage of this misfortune but Tom Hording’s shot was saved by the legs of Mortimer. Both sides were enjoying spells of superiority and AJ had the next chance but Fedor Erastov drove his shot wide. Pahang would finish the half the stronger but they would also waste their chance with Romeo Hogg hitting a free-kick straight at the ‘keeper. AJ would claim the initiative in the early stages of the second-half as Daniel Tabaranu netted his first goal of the season when he looped a header over Hussain on 49 minutes. The visitors would respond but Hogg again wasted a free-kick by shooting straight at Mortimer and Tajo Cuevas’ diving header went just wide. AJ managed to take the sting out of Pahang from this point on and might have added a second goal but Sonny Vickerman missed the goal narrowly from a free-kick. Rothion will know this was a big win for his side as they look to keep pace with the leaders while Mr T would have wanted his side to take at least a point following on from their great win over KBC.

The division’s other game saw a routine victory for Kirkbride over Reggae Reggae Sauce. The home side started quickly with Stephen Robinson hitting a free-kick directly into the net in the first minute. It was 2-0 when Keith Ellison made no mistake from the spot and RRS were already looking at a long evening. El Lapinho had a chip hit the bar as Kirkbride looked for more goals and the visitor’s troubles worsened as Terry Jenkins suffered a bad injury to leave his side playing with 10-men. El Lapinho continued his misfortune as his powerful header hit the angle as the home side finished the half well on top. Billy Maneater won’t have pleased Jazza as he was dismissed for elbowing but Malcolm Graham made it 3-0 by finishing a breakaway move. Mark Blacklock would then force Phil Taylor into a fine save from a driving shot on goal before putting a flick header well over as the attacks kept coming. The fourth goal duly arrived when Ellison placed a brilliant header into the net but the Strollers did suffer some bad news with an injury to Ricky Taylor. Malcolm Graham saw a header punched away before Robinson went one better by heading home from a corner to complete a 5-0 triumph. Jazza’s side sit just outside the top three and look like having all the attributes to give promotion a real shot this season. Meanwhile, RRS supporters were protesting outside the club following this latest defeat with rumours abound that the pressure is beginning to tell on Xpertelevener.