Sid Spurs Arsenal

DomBrown continued his impressive form as manager of Arsenal UK with a textbook 2-1 away win at wortley afc. For a large part of the first-half it looked like the game would be a particularly dull affair. However, both sides would fashion a late chance each as the attacking players came to the fore. Samir Nasri was close to giving the visitors a lead with a powerful header but Perry Gareth produced a good save. This would spark the home side into life and a brilliant free-kick by Paulinho Santos was only denied by the crossbar and the teams would go in level. Santos would make the most of his second free-kick on 47 minutes as he left Almunia sprawling and wortley 1-0 up. Arsenal, though, had the perfect response to this setback. Andrey Arshavin is establishing himself as an excellent free-kick taker and what Santos did for wortley he would do for Arsenal to beat Gareth and level matters. It looked like Arsenal would then hit the front but Robin van Persie saw his penalty saved by Gareth and wortley escaped. Ultimately, this reprieve was short-lived with Sid Peyton hitting a stunning volley beyond the cat to give Arsenal their first lead of the day. Arsenal would look to add to their advantage but van Persie’s frustrating day continued as he had a header disallowed for shirt pulling before putting another one wide. Mikael Silvestre saw a shot saved before wortley missed a late effort to level matters as Ray Cooper was thwarted by Almunia. Arsenal are three points behind the third promotion spot on the back of this win with DomBrown admitting it ‘was a good day for us’ although he is still in two minds about the a promotion tilt saying that his team ‘would benefit more from remaining in this league for another season.’ Thegreatlordbags will want his side to return to winning ways quickly to avoid falling into mid-table mediocrity.

Carthage maintained their momentum with a tight 2-1 home victory over Chester United. Amin Mansourian chipped an effort over the bar before David Smythe brushed a post with a nice strike as Carthage started the stronger of the two sides. Ad Herbal also attempted a powerful effort but got it all wrong and Chester emerged as an attacking force at the end of the half. However, they would struggle with their accuracy as Andreas Iniesta was defeated by a tight angle before Benos Hardinho couldn’t get his lob right and the sides would go in at 0-0. The home side nearly had the perfect start to the second-half but Raberg saved bravely at the feet of Samuel Hawkes. The goal came shortly afterwards, though, as Eric Fray connected sweetly with a powerful strike from distance to put them 1-0 ahead. Arsenal looked to respond through Duncan Graeme but his header hit a post. They would level as the game went into its final ten minutes with Kyle Lang shooting home in the penalty area following fine work by Hardinho. Carthage responded to being brought level by pressurising the visiting goal. Guido Eliseo hit the corner of post and crossbar with an excellent lob while Eric Fray curled an effort wide. Graeme nearly made their job more difficult with a powerful effort at the other end but the home side would not be denied. Paul Glimsjo getting his head to an Ad Herbal corner to put them back in front. Samuel Hawkes narrowly missed making it 3-1 but the leaders held on regardless. Blakey still has his side looking in excellent form and in the perfect place for the turn of the season. Jimbob can be proud of how competitive his side were against such accomplished opposition and will look ahead with confidence.

Still leading the chasing pack are The Champs but they were held to a 1-1 draw at Alsancak F.C. The Champs would miss early chances as neither Burt Chenery nor Seth Alker could test Cirkovic in goal with decent opportunities. They would fare much better with their next opportunity, though, with Said Qahbadaik steering a shot past the ‘keeper following a dangerous corner from Isac Duveborn. Jeff Speakman would then fire wide as the visitors kept up their dominance of the game. However, Alsancak, to their credit, fought their way back into the contest and would equalise with their first effort on goal; Andrew Taylor blasting in a free-kick on 33 minutes. John Burston had a flicked header saved by Irving as the home side continued their improvement before the break. The second-half brought with it fewer openings but both sides might have nicked a winner. Burt Chenery failed to get his header into the net on the hour-mark but Alsancak couldn’t make them pay as Taylor smashed a free-kick into the bar with Irving beaten. Wylie might be concerned with his side’s dropping form but can be more than happy with a six-point cushion they have over fourth. Wienersnitzel continues to guide his young side through the season with some excellent displays and the development of his side will be one of the most interesting aspects of future RMI seasons.

Dream Team put in the performance of the day to dismiss Wiltshire Warriors 5-0 at the Stadium of Dreams. The home side dominated from the moment Gianmarco Siligardi placed his header perfectly beyond Mark Moore to give his side a sixth-minute lead. Adem Tumer quickly made it 2-0 with a brilliant finish from a breakaway move and it might have been 3-0 had Kenneth Caster got his powerful shot on target after 14 minutes. Siligardi would make it 3-0 with a clinical diving header from a Caster cross on 21 minutes and a chip by Warren Dillin came within centimetres of making it 4-0. Siligardi narrowly failed to net a first-half hat-trick when his shot brushed a post and went safe. The Warriors enjoyed some brief respite but Robert Merson had nothing but bad luck as his shot hit a post with Williamson beaten. DT started the second-half in quick fashion as Milorad Gavrancic showed great technique by volleying home on 46 minutes. Siligardi would then have his special moment by racing onto a Lupatelli pass and slotting through Moore’s legs for his third goal and his team’s fifth. Caster did waste a penalty by hitting it straight at Moore but it wouldn’t spoil a brilliant afternoon for MrJames’ side. With his side in third and in good form MrJames was plotting a route to promotion shortly after this breathtaking result while Big K was ‘fuming’ with the lack of ‘fight’ put up by his side. Sweeping changes may indeed be in the offing at The Fortress.

Glory Hornets also enjoyed a big win as they eased past Grey Area by a 4-0 score-line. The Hornets actually didn’t start too well with the only chance in the first 21 minutes falling to Calvino Baraja of Area who was unfortunate to brush a post with a quality free-kick. However, a side-footed effort by Paolo Ballotta beat Kerrigan on the half-hour and the home side would not look back. Their cause would be aided by some brutal play from Gianluigi Isolini who saw red on 34 minutes to give Hornets the numerical advantage. Toma Popadic missed the resulting free-kick and a flick header by Lionel Monk was well-saved as the home side upped the pace. The second goal was still proving elusive as half-time approached with Popadic smashing a penalty against the crossbar. Popadic would suffer further frustration before the break as his free-kick was tipped over by Kerrigan and the Hornets would have to settle for a 1-0 half-time lead. However, where the Hornets were profligate in the first 45 minutes they were just as deadly in the second as they scored from all three of their openings. Popadic would score his side’s second goal on 64 minutes as he side-footed beyond the ‘keeper and it would soon be three thanks to a well-placed header from Monk. The fourth goal duly arrived on 73 minutes as Popadic teed up Paolo Ballotta from a free-kick and the midfielder lashed home to complete a miserable day for Area. The result will have come as a pleasant surprise to GregPerkins who had feared that his ‘lack of tactical knowledge’ about them might lead to his side’s downfall. However, the result was emphatic and the Hornets can look up to as far as third-place as only six points separates them. Trecool will rue the red-card and be realistic enough to know that this will have had a big impact on the result.

The other game in the division saw Morley Town come away from Spartans with three points following a 1-0 victory. The game had a quiet opening but Angres Kafka did go close with a free-kick as the visitors signalled their intentions. Morley would continue to be the more progressive side and following a corner by Mitchell Pennock, Florian Arnautu headed home with some accuracy to give them a vital one-goal lead. Zacharias Ashe might have given them the comfort of a two-goal advantage but his toe-poke was saved by Neuer and Spartans improved. Marcelo da Silva enjoyed their first opening but couldn’t time his run properly and was flagged offside despite finishing well. John Obi Mikel would also go close with a header as Spartans sought an equalising goal. They would continue this momentum into the second-half but Bojan Krkic’s shot was saved by Gaughan and Morley managed to grow from this moment. The visitors stifled the Spartan forward play and were unlucky not to score again themselves as Kafka hit a free-kick off the bar. Leeg21 has his Morley side within three points of a place in the top three and will undoubtedly be focusing on a promotion push. Tomsayshii might be moving his attention onto next season as his side sit four points adrift at the foot of the table.