Smurfs Stun Splott

Smurftastic Smurfs began their new life in Division One with an excellent 3-0 victory over Splott Rovers. Splott began well but Rodney Shuttlewood missed an early chance while Winston Badger fared no better with his header. Smurfs would then take the lead from their first chance as Iain Emery slotted home nicely from a breakaway while big-money buy Ernie Ormondroyd headed wide with his first sight of goal. Paul-Phillip Ravage would waste another headed chance for Splott and they would go in at half-time a goal down. The second-half would prove a chastening experience for the visitors as Smurftastic found their attacking rhythm. Emery had a lobbed effort tipped over by Ghostrider before the ‘keeper denied him again from a header. Ashton Crosby would also be denied by Ghostrider but a free-kick by Ormondroyd made it 2-0 on 74 minutes. Denilson Pereira Neves saw red for the visitors before Rory Derek hit a super volley against a post as the home side continued to dominate. Emery would strike a shot inches wide before Ormondroyd was denied by the bar from a power strike. Ormondroyd would find the net with a chip, though, but had it disallowed for a foul in the build-up but the third goal was duly added on 89 minutes as Emery shot home from inside the area. Thesmurf will have been delighted with a strong opening day performance and the fans will be optimistic of a bright new era under their manager. Splott News said the side had ‘learnt a harsh lesson about how hard (Division One)’ will be but Carbonmonoxide will be determined his side bounce back quickly.

Padston Villa enjoyed a good start to the campaign as they saw off Portsmouth 2-0 at The Paddy Dome. Portsmouth saw Max Jekyll waste their first chance by striking straight at Handez in goal while a free-kick at the other end saw Luigi McKeever blast the home side in front. Raimundo Tena would test the handling of Handez again with another tame effort and the home side took their one-goal advantage into the break. Arsim Kule came within inches of levelling for the visitors who then saw Leroux Calabuig have a shot held by the ‘keeper as they started the second-half in positive fashion. However, this positivity would come to an end when Mart Rosbottom saw red for elbowing to hand the initiative back to the home side. Savo Milosevic had a header saved by Peyton while the ‘keeper also denied McKeever from a set-piece as Padston began to press. McKeever would hit another free-kick over the bar but Padston would get their second goal as Faustino Asprilla lobbed in a quality finish. A penalty gave them a chance to make the win more emphatic but Asprilla was denied by Peyton. Nevertheless, they had done enough for the win which Paddy described himself as ‘delighted’ with before adding that they would ‘be the team to fear’ this season. Jocee1977 will have seen positives in the game and if the team finds a striker to put away their chances they should find success this term.

Pahang United enjoyed a winning start to the season as they overcame AC Milan 2-0. Romeo Hogg wasted the first chance for the hosts before Kilian Strongbow hit a poor free-kick at Hindle. Milan did respond with an Andrea Pirlo header but it was misdirected and the sides went in deadlocked at the break. The second-half opened up with Strongbow having a free-kick saved before Hogg powered in the opener from inside the area. Strongbow would be denied by Hindle once more from a curled shot before Bernard Lormor nearly levelled for Milan; his steered shot hitting the woodwork before going safe. Tom Hording then made it 2-0 with an excellent chip on 78 minutes to give Pahang an extra cushion. Hogg did make them sweat by receiving his marching orders for handball but they still nearly made it 3-0 as Hording had a lob punched away. Milan enjoyed a couple of late chances but Savino Piovanelli’s header was denied while Lormor’s fine strike was excellently saved by Hussain. Despite the win MrT wasn’t too confident and admitted he wasn’t sure where they will be ‘at the season’s end.’ Xmensch will be confident his side can recover from this defeat and he will hope for three points against Portsmouth on Tuesday.

Bumerang produced an excellent away performance to defeat Carthage 2-1 at Carthage City. They received a boost when Rikard Lind hit the net from distance after only four minutes. Lind might have added another but was wayward from a free-kick but they would add a second on 32 minutes when Shinosuke Isimaru shot home from inside the area. Ad Herbal did breathe new life into the hosts before the break by doing likewise at the other end but they would still go in behind. Carthage would push for an equaliser in the second 45 minutes but Hamilcar Barca put a diving header over before seeing a lob saved by Stancu. Coolboy will be in positive mood after this win against a strong side and if they can back it up against Splott on Tuesday they will be in fine fettle for the season ahead. Blakey admitted that ‘this will be our hardest season yet’ in the build-up to the campaign but he has the tools and knowledge to make sure his side bounce back from this defeat.

AJ Rovers fought out a tough win over Kensington Boys Club to secure three points on opening day. In a tight game the visitors had the first chance but Niles Worthington lobbed over the bar. Rovers’ response was an off-target shot by Taylor Grape and the half-time whistle would arrive with no further chances. Rovers would go close through Mercourios Simos while a header by Maurice Jacobs would go high at the other end as the game remained balanced. However, the decisive moment came on 77 minutes as Gordon Hogg placed beyond Lorentzen for the winning goal for Rovers. Rothion’s side will undoubtedly be tight all the way through the season and if they can find goals to go with their play will be a threat to anyone. Patrik will be less pleased with his side’s start but has already alluded to ‘the bigger picture’ and with ‘most of (his) players in this plan’ he will expect them to respond from this opening day defeat.

In the other game Bonkers and F.C. Greatness fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Crazy Town. The game would be full of chances with both sides finding their way through the opposition defence with ease. Agostino Filippinetti shot wide while Fabio Cannavaro had a powerful strike gathered by Hawke as the visitors began on the front foot. Martinus Benfari would see a diving header go over and Cannavaro have another shot saved as Bonkers struggled to get to grips with the contest. However, as the half progressed the home side would improve with Edip Bayrak demanding a save from Calvert from a lobbed effort. Joel Weymouth would also have a chance but misdirected his header and the game would be goalless at half-time. A free-kick by Alvaro Recoba brought the best out of Hawke at the start of the second-half as the chances kept coming. Fabrizio Colluato would then open the scoring with a scorcher from distance and a lob by Paolo Serena then put Greatness firmly in control. Cannavaro hit the bar with a chip which would have sealed the win and Bonkers gained confidence from this. Usain Bolt hit a free-kick straight at Calvert while at the other end Faust Baronchelli got his effort all wrong. Bolt would again be denied by Calvert from a set-piece but a volley from Garry Maynard had Bonkers back in the contest on 79 minutes. Three minutes later and they would be level as Bayrak thumped home a penalty after some poor away defending. Both sides had late chances to win the game but Recoba was denied by the ‘keeper before Maynard’s curled shot was punched away at the other end. Recoba did have one final free-kick but hit it straight at Hawke and the sides had to settle for a point apiece at the end of a pulsating encounter. GarethLloyd might be concerned with the chances his side conceded but he will have been delighted with their fighting spirit and this will ensure they have the chance to enjoy success this term. Darren Calvert will be disappointed that his Italian side couldn’t defend better when they had their two-goal lead but was more than happy to praise Colluato who he declared ‘a world-class athlete’ on the eve of his 100th appearance for the club.