Dinky Delight at Title Triumph

West Brom Strollers finally clinched the title with a 4-1 home victory over Manchester United but they had to overcome some early jitters to do so. A thumping Micky Wyatt free-kick in the very first minute gave United a 1-0 lead and allowed a pin-drop to be heard in The Hawthorns. Lee Hughes wasted a quick chance to draw level as Kuszczak saved at his feet. Willie Johnston would volley in the equaliser on 28 minutes to bring relief to the fans but Enzo Maresca couldn’t put them in front with a shot before the break. United would suffer the sending-off of Fabio da Silva on 48 minutes for fouling as the last defender and Billy Bassett then made matters worse for them by drilling in a free-kick to put Strollers 2-1 ahead. Eric Cantona had a steered shot saved by Godden before Hughes powerfully curled home a third for a more confident home side. Maresca would then make it four by defeating Kuszczak with a clever finish and the title party had started. Cristiano Ronaldo defiantly had a couple of free-kick chances for the visitors but he blasted one wide while Godden produced an excellent save to deny him from the other. Justin Thyme would then blow for full-time to joyous scenes from everyone connected with West Brom. Dinky was delighted to become ‘champions at last’ but offered congratulations to Kirkbride who he said ‘would be the team to beat next season.’ Pakya will be satisfied with United’s first season in the top flight but will expect even more progress from the maverick side next term.

Kirkbride were ultimately disappointed in their battle for the title but still managed to finish on a high with a 4-1 success over AFC Stanley. Strollers began strongly and took the lead courtesy of a Stephen Robinson penalty on 11 minutes. Robinson would continue his fine form three minutes later by defying a tight angle to shoot past Hessbo and make it 2-0. Garry Molseley had a chance to respond for the visitors but put his header off-target while Billy Maneater had a shot punched away by Hessbo as Strollers remained dangerous. Maneater would put a header well-wide but it still remained a successful half for Jazza’s side. Stanley would shock their hosts by pulling a goal back on 47 minutes as Cal McMac shot through the legs of Hill. However, this would only be a minor irritant to the home side and they soon reasserted themselves on the contest. Keith Ellison powered in a header to make it 3-1 on 82 minutes and five minutes later Robinson completed his hat-trick with a fine header of his own. Robinson might have added another goal but put a tame header too close to Hessbo although the damage had already been done by the mercurial midfielder. Jazza can be very proud of his side’s season despite coming up just short and with his squad looking strong they should go very close again in Season 6. Markham will now see how his youngsters respond in the change before deciding where he needs to strengthen ahead of the new season.

The Vikings and ThunderCats had a cracking end-of-season showdown which the home side took by the odd goal in five. Alirio Ramalhao gave The Vikings an early boost by deflecting the ball into his own goal to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Aris Almanidis then doubled that lead with a superb free-kick to leave the visitors with it all to do. Thorbjorn Lind hit a curled effort just wide before Jake Sephton had the visitor’s first chance but put his header wide. Lind would do likewise with a header of his own for the hosts but Ramalhao did make amends for his earlier mishap by bringing ThunderCats back into the contest with a powerful low drive. The second-half saw Sephton hit a post with an early mishit shot and the ThunderCats would continue to press. Sephton would finally get his goal by powering in a drive from distance on the hour to level the game. The retiring forward would continue to look to go out on a high but his brilliant volley was denied cruelly by the angle of post and bar. The Vikings then recovered and Anastasios Tassiopoulos steered in a beautiful strike to regain the lead for the hosts. ThunderCats’ bad luck continued when Leonardo Borja struck the bar with a fine lob on 78 minutes and this signalled defeat for the reigning champions. Eaglesrjh was ‘delighted’ with his season and will look for further development next season. Baz will have been happy with how the start of his managerial reign began with ThunderCats and he will be hoping they can challenge for honours again next season.

Santos secured fifth courtesy of a 4-1 away victory at Hun Haters. Hun wouldn’t be without chances in the game and Iain Emery put a powerful shot wide on four minutes. However, Santos would carry the greater threat and Boruc had to be alert to punch away Robbie Mitchell’s first free-kick of the afternoon. Mitchell would float his next free-kick onto the head of Adriano Ribeiro and the forward was unlucky not to open the scoring as his header came back off the angle. Hun responded with an Alexandr Prohazska header but it didn’t trouble Valdez while Mitchell had a shot kicked away by Boruc at the other end. Santos would take the lead on 29 minutes as Cesar Ferrari placed a shot into the far corner. Rogerio Franca might have made it two but his powerfully curled shot was saved and the half-time score would remain 1-0 to the Brazilian side. Santos would be more clinical with their chances after the break but it would be Hun who levelled matters; Prohazska lashing home after a clever set-piece move. Asmar Golkas quickly tried to put Santos back in front but his toe-poke crashed against the bar although he did have them back ahead with a header on 54 minutes. Panu Sarapaa would then volley the visitors into a 3-1 lead although Fanuco Ufarte would be grateful for Valdez’s intervention as he nearly gifted Hun a way back in by almost putting through his own goal. Franca would see red for arguing but Santos wouldn’t be denied a fourth as Ribeiro headed home his first goal of the day. Sean will be happy his side responded to their blip by finishing fifth but a title challenge will be the only thing on his mind for next season. Celticchris will be hoping Division One is more suited to his players following a tough campaign at Scotlands Shame.

Totaalvoetbal moved up to seventh in the table but once again were scoreless in a 0-0 draw with Bryan Adams Athletic. William Ralph Dean had an early free-kick turned away by Sapienza before Edwin Hayter saw a diving header also saved by the ‘keeper as Totaal enjoyed the better of the opening half. The second-half would see Athletic create more but the game remained dour. Christiano Olias nearly put through his own net but Sapienza saved him and Athletic would improve on the back of this let-off. Manuel Bonda hit a half-volley which needed saving by Leemans before a diving header from Leroy Upson went wide of the target. Ultimately a disappointing game wouldn’t find a goal as both sides finished their season in low-key fashion. SLS was in confident mood after the game saying he thinks he will ‘challenge regardless of the change report.’ Robin Meeblind, meanwhile, was happy to have the season finished and looked forward to ‘getting down to some transfer business during the silly season.’

There was another goalless draw at Darkdale as Sanity Clause and Underdogz United fought out a tough contest. A free-kick on 28 minutes saw Nemanja Vidizuka fail to open the scoring while a diving header by Cristiano Izuldo went just wide. Luis Carlos Almeida had a precise header saved by Stancu as Underdogz remained on top for the whole of the first-half. Sanity would be stronger after the break, however, and created most of the chances. Zlatan Izuhimovic would put a side-footed shot over for United before Sten Stille nearly gave Sanity the lead from their first chance as a powerfully curled shot struck a post. Boguslaw Stanczuk had a powerful header saved by Casillas while Joseph Heffer also saw a shot saved by the cat as Sanity improved. They would also have the last chance of the game but Eugene Kameni Idriss couldn’t make his free-kick count and the sides finished the season with a 0-0 draw. Izu was happy with the MOTR award but will be now looking at where to improve his squad ahead of a tough-looking Season 6. Crismorena can now start afresh in Division One after making his side tough to beat in the latter half of the season. With a good change report there may well be a more confident mood in Darkdale ahead of the new season.