Cats On Prowl at Top

ThunderCats continued to move their season in the right direction with an impressive 2-1 away victory over Santos. Silvio Falcao had already wasted a chance by chipping over before Paulino Ornelas shot home following a corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. It would only last a minute, though, as a penalty allowed Rogerio Franca the opportunity to level matters from the spot. Referee Sten Koll levelled the penalty count just three minutes later as Carlos Magro put the Cats back in front before the break. The second-half saw Leonardo Borja have a free-kick saved by Rodenas before the home side attempted to take a point from the game. Asmar Golkas’ powerful header smashed against a post while his next headed effort was held by Magro. Santos’ hopes would then take a nose-dive as Benicio Correa saw red for two bookable offences and they would slip to a 2-1 home defeat. Sean7 has now seen his side lose four on the spin and will be keen for them to respond in their home match against Manchester United on Tuesday. Meelas has his side in striking distance of top spot but face key matches in the coming weeks against top four sides AFC Stanley and West Brom Strollers.

West Brom still look strong in top spot after a 1-0 success at AFC Stanley. The first-half proved to be a cagey affair with neither side managing to find a way through the other’s rearguard. However, it would open up after the break as first of all Garry Molseley’s chip smashed against the bar for the hosts. Bobby Taylor put a header wide for the Strollers before Billy Bassett overcame a tight angle to give them a 73rd minute lead. Hessbo needed to be alert to stop Bassett from making it 2-0 with a fine header before the midfielder hit a free-kick wide. Taylor would shoot straight at Hessbo as the visitors continued to press and he would have another chance a minute later but couldn’t direct it on target. Stanley did have an opportunity to pinch a point but Alan Martindale mishit his shot onto a post. Markham33 quickly moved his attention to the next game following the defeat and said that he would ‘leave it to the last minute before naming his team.’ Dinky was happy with ‘2 fantastic wins’ recently and added that it ‘looks like we’re doing okay.’

Totaalvoetbal continued their fine home form with a 3-0 victory over Manchester United. William Ralph Dean gave them the perfect start by scoring from the spot on four minutes. The forward would then miss from a free-kick on nine minutes before he did double the lead on 17 minutes with a fine strike in the penalty area. United’s troubles increased when Irving Fieldwick received his marching orders for brutal play while Dean went close with another free-kick. Shirsh Vajpayee couldn’t overly test Kuszczak with his shot and Dean hit another free-kick wide as Totaal finished the half well on top. It was soon 3-0 after the break as Pierre van Diemen produced an excellent diving header to defeat the ‘keeper. United did try and fight back with a couple of chances of their own but Ulrich Kischko couldn’t match power and accuracy while Darren Gibson’s free-kick was saved by Rimmer. The rest of the game saw Totaal ease to victory but this wasn’t enough to completely appease Meeblind who explained that his side are going through ‘a difficult time’ regarding training and funds. The matches don’t get any easier for Pakya as United travel to Santos on Tuesday looking for a win to continue their progress.

Underdogz United recorded a welcome win as some clinical finishing saw them defeat Hun Haters 5-1 at Scotlands Shame. The Haters started positively and a header by Jeremy Cunning was disallowed for handball. Iain Emery placed a shot off-target while Zlatan Izuhimovic had a header turned round at the other end. Emery would waste another chance for the hosts and they would fall behind as Luis Carlos Almeida powered in a shot for United. Izuhimovic lobbed in the second after the break and a penalty by Izu Casillas soon had the visitors 3-0 up and cruising. The Haters responded with an Ashton Crosby header which went over and Luca Tonizu had a lob disallowed for United at the other end. The home side did pull a goal back when Emery shot home after a corner but United would re-establish their three-goal lead when Cesc Izukas powered in a shot. Cumming placed a shot wide for the hosts and the away win was complete with a precise finish by Robin van Izu on 88 minutes. Izu’s main aim is to ‘keep safe from relegation’ and they will look for another victory at home to Tranmere on Tuesday. Celticchris’ side look doomed already but they will look for their first victory against Sanity Clause in their next game.

Tranmere put in a resilient display to take a point from a 2-2 draw at The Vikings. The home side began by taking the lead as Anastasios Tassiopoulos stroked home a penalty on 16 minutes but the score would be levelled on 35 as Geomar Altieri netted from the spot at the other end. The second-half would see the home side create a lot of chances but find themselves ruing their finishing. Aris Almanidis hit a free-kick wide while Melker Ahlm had a shot easily caught by Sapienza. Almanidis would find no luck with his next set-piece effort while Manuel Bonda headed wide at the other end as the score remained 1-1. Vassilis Papakostas did force the away ‘keeper into a fine leg save from a mishit shot while Ahlm was also denied as Sapienza tipped his chip over the bar. Tassiopoulos would see a header go over and it looked like The Vikings would pay the ultimate price as Altieri curled in a powerful shot for the visitors to put them 2-1 ahead in injury-time. However, Tomas Master would provide the coolest of finishes with time running out to go past the ‘keeper and slot home to ensure both sides would take away a point each from an entertaining contest. After a busy time Eaglesrjh stated that ‘he will assess and decide how to move on over the next few days.’ Baz, meanwhile, will be looking for that elusive win on Tuesday at the side directly above them, Underdogz.

Sanity Clause and Kirkbride fought out a 0-0 draw in the divisions other game. Both sides would enjoy chances with Eugene Kameni Idriss nearly putting through his own goal early before Yves Vairelles headed at Hill at the other end. Boguslaw Stanczuk would shoot over and then see another effort chalked off for offside. The second-half saw more chances as the visitors improved their game. Billy Maneater had a header saved before Les Curran curled a shot straight at Widlund. Malcolm Graham wasted another chance by shooting wide and Mark Blacklock was denied by Widlund as the Strollers continued to be profligate in front of goal. Graham would see another chance come and go while a back pass by Thorbjorn von Konig nearly gifted them the lead. Idriss had an effort saved at the other end and would have a late free-kick held by Hill as the match finished in the inevitable deadlock. Jazza explained that he ‘messed about too much with the line-up’ and they will look to get back on track against Totaal. Crismorena will have been pleased with his side’s first point under his leadership but knows the team will take a lot of work to get where he wants them to be.