Yellow Peril for United

Villarreal produced an outstanding home performance to leave Manchester United defeated by the odd goal in five. The home side would start fast but neither Errol Beddoe nor Jonathan Boulding could hit the target with early chances. They did take a lead before half-time, though, as Alejandro Junior placed a precise header beyond Ben Foster to open the scoring. This lead would quickly be doubled at the beginning of the second-half as Ritchie Morgan produced an opportunist finish after a Petter Lundin corner wasn’t cleared. Morgan forced Foster into neat work with a header with their next chance and they would make it 3-0 as United struggled to make an impact. The third goal came via the penalty spot as Morgan netted his second of the game. Amazingly, United would have a quick response; Owen Hargreaves lobbing over Abrey with the visitor’s first chance of the game. Beddoe and Morgan would have further efforts saved before United caused a few moments of unrest as Darren Gibson rasped a free-kick into the net. It still couldn’t prevent Villarreal from picking up the points and Cathal exclaimed, ‘We can still return to the top division this season.’ The defeat didn’t remove United from top spot but Pakya will want to keep a closer eye on things in the coming weeks as the chasing pack close.

The Vikings moved level on points with the leaders as they took advantage of a Reggae Reggae Sauce side in disarray by defeating the strugglers 7-0. In a supreme display of finishing The Vikings scored seven out of nine chances to leave their hosts stunned. Vassilis Papakostas served notice of what was to come as he went close with an eighth minute header. The Vikings would continue to press with Lewis Branston bringing the best out of Phil Taylor to deny him a goal. They would take the lead on 26 minutes as Papakostas slid the ball home before a more powerful effort made it 2-0 two minutes later. Their third goal was slightly more fortunate with Anastasios Tassiopoulos connecting poorly with his shot only for it to deceive Taylor and end up in the back of the net. The Vikings were now dominant and a powerful header by Paraskevas Maladenis made it 4-0 and left RRS with a miserable second-half to look forward to. Their worst fears were realised as Damon Strachan made it 5-0 with a powerful long range shot and number six arrived with a flicked header from Branston just after the hour-mark. The scoring was completed on 80 minutes with a Ted Tolley strike as the home fans started heading for the exit in their droves. Eagles was a contented man with the victory and added that his lads were ‘professional’ in the face of playing a ‘disorganised team.’ Xpertelevener now has a massive job on his hands as he looks to overcome a poor points tally and inferior goal difference to keep his side in Division One.

Kirkbride Strollers produced a strong away performance to beat Kensington Boys Club and move into third spot. An excellent first-half showing in which they kept their hosts chanceless while creating five of their own laid the foundations for the win. They would strike with their first chance as Mike Bell showed great technique and composure in lifting the ball over Gardiner for the opening goal. Ian Irvine missed the goal by some distance a minute later and Stephen Robinson hit straight at the ‘keeper as the Strollers kept up the pressure. They would double their lead on 31 minutes as Bell, once again, showed a cool head in sliding the ball past Gardiner for goal number two. James Wilde nearly made matters worse for the home side as he misdirected his kick in front of his own goal but the ‘keeper bailed him out with some fine positioning. Despite their first-half woes KBC came out a determined outfit after the break and got an early reward; Aubrey de Vere powering home a shot in the area to halve the deficit. The Strollers were still creating chances of their own, however, and El Lapinho and Bell forced Gardiner into alert work. A free-kick by de Vere was saved by Orr as KBC missed their final opportunity although Keith Ellison couldn’t make the margin of victory any bigger as he mishit his shot horribly. Jazza has led his side into third spot on the back of the ‘awesome’ win and claims to be ‘the engine behind the team.’ Patrik will need his side to recover quickly as they go into a crunch match in their next outing at Eagles’ Vikings side.

Pahang United put on their shooting boots to defeat PSV Eindhoven 6-0 to keep focused on the top echelons of Division One. A toe-kick on goal might have given Pahang the lead had it not been for Reina’s good positioning and PSV had reason to thank their ‘keeper moments later when he saved Tom Hording’s powerful shot. Eindhoven briefly found some respite and created an opening at the other end which ended with Hussain saving from Daniel Agger. The opening goal did arrive on 20 minutes with Jeremias Lindeman producing a volley which had too much power and accuracy for Reina. With PSV reeling the home side struck again courtesy of a long range fire-cracker from Holger Pfitzner on 23 minutes. Hording would narrowly fail to give his side a 3-0 lead but they went into their half-time break in a healthy position. Pahang effectively sealed the game on 48 minutes as a Kilian Strongbow header powered into the net to leave PSV 3-0 down and with a mountain to climb. Hording made it 4-0 with an accurate strike in the penalty area and a Simun Kilp header made it 5-0 after an excellent corner. With PSV struggling, Pahang would score their sixth as Strongbow added his second with a quality strike from a tight angle. PSV had a late chance but Rene Maslovsky couldn’t hit the target and his side ended well-beaten. Kadri was honest in admitting they ‘were outclassed’ and added that ‘it is part of the learning process.’ MrT has his side three points behind third spot and in good attacking form as they visit Belly Tubbies next.

Newry City and AJ Rovers fought out a 1-1 draw at Ramston but the away side might wonder how they didn’t make more of their opportunities. Rovers would enjoy the game’s first chance but a shot from a tight angle by Mercourios Simos was beaten away competently by Wellens. Newry would shock their visitors by taking a 23rd minute lead; a penalty by Ljubisa Novak leaving Mortimer with no chance in goal. The remainder of the half was incredibly tight but Newry might have taken a lead into half-time but for Mortimer who saved from Max Challis. The second-half saw the visitors on top throughout as they searched for goals. An early chance was wasted by Calvin Bentley before a Byron Simon free-kick was easily caught by Wellens. They would suffer serious misfortune on 78 minutes as Gordon Hogg’s shot beat Wellens but hit a post en route to safety. As time ran down it looked like they would go down to an unfortunate defeat but Sonny Vickerman had other ideas as he powered in a shot inside the penalty area on 89 minutes. The point keeps both sides well-placed in the middle of the table but while Rothion might feel frustration at not taking all three points Newry will be keen for Ramsay to return to his post after a few days away.

Belly Tubbies registered a welcome triumph with a routine 3-0 away win at St Omer. Omer did start the game well but Lucas Ravelli received no fortune as his shot hit a post on four minutes. The Tubbies would take advantage of this as Gary Lineker connected well with a header which beat Rain two minutes later. Lineker got his next chance all wrong as his volley sailed over but the Tubbies would score again via a toe-poke from Graeme Sharp. Sharp then forced Rain into an excellent save before the break as the visitors kept up their dominance. The forward would start the second-half in bright fashion too but his shot missed the target by some distance as Omer escaped. The home side would see a lob by Dennis Bogarde saved by Fitzsimmons before Sharp flicked a header home at the other end to seal a 3-0 win. The win was important for Fitzy’s side as it keeps them in touch with the sides above the relegation zone while Omer won’t be too downhearted as they keep their long-term plans at the forefront of their minds.