Carthage Crack CM

Carthage won the battle at the top with Splott Rovers thanks to a powerful first-half showing. Kenneth MacKenna hit a post with a powerful low shot before they also saw Rhys Gregson go close with a half-volley. They took the lead they craved on 23 minutes as Eric Fray headed past Ghostrider in the visiting goal. It was 2-0 ten minutes later as Quincy Lansbury also found aerial dominance over the Splott defence to head in. The second-half saw the visitors respond and the only chances of the half would come their way. Indeed, an Eddie Venom lob brought them back into the contest on 52 minutes. They would have a late chance to level matters but Bruce Hulk could only head wide and the points would see Carthage leapfrog them at the top. Blakey was in fine form after the game and boasted that ‘no other team can compete’ at ‘Fortress Carthage.’ Carbonmonoxide not only saw his side drop from first but they fell out of the top three following the defeat to illustrate just how tight the section is. A rebound victory will be the only thing on the minds of the Splott players for Friday’s clash with Kroklund.

Futsal moved into second as they showed their strength in a 2-0 away success at Los Samgeles Kings. The first-half saw only the one opening which fell the way of the visitors; Mirciulica Bardes firing in from a free-kick move to give Futsal a 1-0 half-time lead. Rowley Forrester would hit a free-kick straight at Ersberg after the break while Alexander Frolov had a header saved by Roberts at the other end. Futsal’s free-kick bombard continued with Forrester firing an effort just over the bar while a mishit shot by Luciano Salvatori gave them the second goal they craved. Torben Kummel could only place his free-kick into the grateful arms of Roberts at the other end as the home side crashed to a 2-0 defeat. Jake’s side are in an excellent position ahead of their massive double-header with TCM and the young manager will be hopeful of a happy ending to an impressive campaign thus far. The Kings fell into the bottom three on the back of the defeat and now face a crunch few days as they meet the team in direct opposition to them; Juventus.

Juventus warmed up for that clash with a 4-2 home victory over the plummeting Reggae Reggae Sauce. Juve would waste a host of first-half chances with Mullen punching away a volley by Jorn Fruh before Kristoffer Lindfors lobbed over. A free-kick by Jacobo Chacros was easily saved by Mullen while a header by the forward also went over the bar. Lindfors would power a shot straight at the ‘keeper before Juve eventually took the lead; Lindfors this time shooting through the legs of Mullen on 35 minutes. Lindfors would also see a shot go over in an eventful first-half for him personally. Joaquin Messi quickly made it 2-0 after the break with a smart toe-poke while a free-kick from Obadele Eliakwu needed saving by Mullen. A curled effort from Lindfors defeated the ‘keeper on 53 minutes to make it 3-0 and James Wade nearly made it 4-0 by heading close to his own goal. It would be 4-0 shortly afterwards as Fruh lobbed over Mullen. Sauce did find some pride in the closing stages and Declan McManaman headed in to make it 4-1. Lindfors missed a hat-trick chance for the hosts and Leroy Nugent would make the score even more respectable with a fine strike deep into injury-time. It’s now three wins in a row for SuperJuve and if the boss can make it five over the coming week then they will be in a very decent position for the second-half of the campaign. Xpertelevener was busy in the transfer market after the game as he sought to bring some excitement to the long suffering fans of RRS.

Back at the top end of the table Belly Tubbies kept up their recent progress with the expected win over St Omer by the score of 4-1. Gary Stevens went close with a header on three minutes and they would be in front shortly afterwards; Paul Bracewell shooting home from inside the area on nine minutes. Peter Reid forced a fine save out of Hamshaw from a chip before Adrian Heath made it 2-0 with a beautiful header on 23 minutes. The second-half opened with Omer pulling a goal back courtesy of a powerful strike by Jorn Schone. However, Tubbies would be dominant from this point on and increased their lead thanks to an accurate Beach Ball shot on 65 minutes. Stevens lobbed in the fourth on 83 minutes and only an excellent save from Hamshaw denied Pat van de Hauwe from an exceptional free-kick. Fitzy’s side are now tucked into third spot and two clashes with RRS give them the opportunity to strengthen their position over the next seven days. Omer maintain excellent form despite their woes and CT will be counting down the weeks to the next change report.

The Lone Wanderers kept themselves in touch with a breathtaking 4-3 triumph over Arsenal UK. A penalty on eight minutes gave Evandro Lemos the perfect opportunity to put the hosts 1-0 ahead and he made no mistake. Stephen Julius would hit a free-kick straight at Fabianski before Theo Walcott responded for Arsenal by lobbing a header over. Arsenal would level, though, on 28 minutes as Eduardo da Silva headed home with some precision. The forward would then see a flick header warded off by Peyton before Abou Diaby put a header off-target as the visitors finished the half on top. The second-half saw Diaby power in a brilliant shot to put Arsenal in front before William Gallas lobbed a header just over. However, the hosts would hit back strongly towards the end of the game and Julius might have levelled with a thumping free-kick which hit the woodwork. They would draw level on 81 minutes with Chano Paya curling in beautifully but just a minute later they would be behind again; da Silva poaching a goal after a corner was delivered dangerously by Diaby. The Lone Wanderers didn’t let this goal deflate them much to their credit and a Paya toe-poke swiftly had them level. Then on 90 minutes a dramatic shot from Frans Fleischer defeated Fabianski to leave Arsenal heartbroken and the home fans celebrating wildly. HH will have been over the moon with the victory which leaves them just three points off first while DomBrown admitted his side’s ‘defence could not handle the 4 strikers of the Wanderers.

These Charming Men might be rueing missed chances as they came away from Kroklund with a point following a 1-1 draw. There would be only one chance in the first-half as Chano Delgado got his shot all wrong and missed by some distance. Bosse Bong stunned the visitors early in the second-half with a coolly taken free-kick which left Derksen helpless. Gerard Caffrey saw a powerful shot go within inches of levelling as TCM hit back strongly. A free-kick by Tord Jakobson was saved comfortably by Kangashaka but there was nothing the ‘keeper could do about a diving header by Delgado deep into injury-time to salvage a point for the visitors. RDCM will hope for better finishing in his side’s two clashes with Futsal but will be pleased with how his side is performing generally. Bossebong also has a tough double-header with Splott and how many points they gain from these contests will determine their ambition for the rest of the season.