Oz-guns Amateurs to Crucial win

Yorkshires Amateurs picked up a vital three points in their battle to beat the drop as they defeated Santos FC 2-1 at Estadio do Deus. With the Amateurs sitting seven points from safety at the start of the contest, Danlufc13 realised his side needed to start winning and quickly. They would make a bad start, though, as Asmar Golkas headed the hosts in front but this would only serve to inspire the Amateurs. Derek Naples lobbed them level three minutes later and he might have had them in front but put a header well off-target. The second-half began with the hosts on the front foot but Torbjorn Alshammar couldn’t direct a volley onto the target before Adriano Ribeiro was denied by a brilliant Bicanco save. The Amateurs would tighten up after this and created a late chance for themselves. It would fall to Ozgun Dolutas and his chip cleared Lukic to find the net and deliver a crucial three points to the Yorkshire side. Yorkshire News wasn’t getting carried away with the win, though, saying ‘a win of this magnitude gives (YA) a glimmer of hope......but more of the same will be required in their remaining fixtures.’ Sean7 sees his side in this battle as only two points keeps them from safety and a positive performance at Madrid will be the order of the day on Tuesday.

White Hawk couldn’t help themselves at the foot of the table as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Kirkbride Strollers. Hawk were rock bottom but could draw heart from their recent victory over the Strollers although this proved to be a very different contest. Urby Jerome might have had Hawk ahead on 18 minutes but his lob smashed against the bar while Malcolm Graham headed poorly off-target at the other end. Graham would do better with his next header which unfortunately came back off the angle before Hawk suffered some misfortune of their own with Adan Donahue’s free-kick smashing off the bar. The second-half saw more chances with Charly Chan Jet Soe firing off-target for Hawk before Graham, again, headed wide. Mark Blacklock would force Dankoi into a fine save from a free-kick but the visitors were also proving dangerous with Ryan Dharmsingh toe-poking at Hill at the other end. However, it would be Kirkbride who would find the crucial breakthrough with Andrew Harrison powering in a shot to give them a lead on 71 minutes. Jerome missed the chance to level by shooting against the bar and the Strollers could relax when Graham slotted home for a goal his effort deserved. Matts Perman headed too close to Hill as Hawk wasted their chance to get back into the contest and although Richard Weston had a shot denied for the home side they had done enough to record a fine victory. Jazza will be relieved with the victory which moves them out of the bottom three and he will be keen for his side to show their true worth over the coming weeks. Hooraymee’s side are nine points from safety and defeat against Pop Punk could signal the beginning of the end on Tuesday.

AFC Pop Punk would drop into the bottom three following a close 2-1 home defeat against Totaalvoetbal. With the sides involved in a tight 0-0 draw only a few matches ago, this contest had all the makings of another hard one to call. Micah Richards would have the first chance for the hosts but couldn’t direct his header while Jean Luc Picard was theatrically denied by Leemans as Pop Punk made the better start. However, they could have found themselves behind as Pierre van Diemen’s mishit shot found the net only to be disallowed for a dubious offside call. Zlatan Izuhimovic would waste Totaal’s only other chance of the half by firing wide and the sides would go in with nothing to separate them. Pop Punk would strike a big blow on 50 minutes, though as Habib Bowser headed home accurately to put the hosts ahead. Totaal wouldn’t dwell on this setback and were instantly level as Izuhimovic found his range from distance. Ramiro Verona would then transform the match by lobbing home on 66 minutes and things might have been better for Totaal had Izuhimovic managed to keep his lob down. They would also see van Diemen head wide before Pop Punk rallied late on. Tony Adams put a lob over the bar before Virgil Beckham’s injury-time shot was saved by Leemans as Totaal held on. Paddy said he thought he ‘had edged the tactical battle’ before calling the game ‘really close.’ Robin Meeblind was ‘relieved to come to a tough place and pick up the points’ as they maintain their ability to grind out results.

Despite Totaal’s win they would still be playing second-fiddle to The Vikings as they defeated West Brom Strollers 3-2 to maintain first. With The Vikings the form team in the league at the moment they were happy to welcome all-comers to Viking Land and West Brom proved no different. The Vikings flew out of the blocks and Fedar Pecar placed home a header on 16 minutes to put them 1-0 ahead. Aris Almanidis would quickly make it 2-0 with a thunderous free-kick before Vassilis Papakostas had a header saved by Valdezuka. Brendon Baston did power in a shot for the Strollers from their first chance to give them hope going into the break but they had looked second best. The Vikings would begin the second-half just as positively as the first with Pecar heading against a post before Papakostas did steer in the third from inside the area. West Brom again tried to fight back but Kevin Phillips shot wide before Valdeuzka had to save from a Papakostas toe-poke at the other end. Jesse Pennington did pull a goal back for the champions on 81 minutes from a free-kick but The Vikings would finish the better and Justin Portway came close to making it four from a diving header; Valdezuka making a fine stop to deny him. Despite sitting first Eagles explained that he had ‘told the squad to ignore the league table and focus on the tricky away fixture at Kirkbride.’ Meanwhile, DD will want his side to pull clear of the bottom three as quickly as possible so they can focus on being a force once more next term.

Arsenal DB and AFC Stanley were involved in an ultra-competitive 0-0 draw at The Emirates. With both sides still harbouring title ambitions an exciting contest was expected. The first chance didn’t arrive until the half-hour but Faustino Asprilla’s chip unfortunately struck the bar for the home side. Aaron Ramsey would then see a powerful low shot chalked off for offside moments later before Darren Gibson’s free-kick went wide just before the break. Stanley would emerge as an attacking force on 63 minutes but Matts Wallman couldn’t direct his free-kick accurately enough and Jon MacClintock fared little better with his low strike which went wide. Stanley would keep pressing, though, and Wallman’s next free-kick needed saving by Kuszczak. At the other end Asprilla missed with a curled shot before Wallman skimmed another free-kick over the bar for the visitors. Arsenal would have the chance to pinch victory in injury-time but Asprilla couldn’t make it count from the spot and the spoils were shared. Arsenal News called it ‘a shocking display from the Arsenal strikers’ and Brown will be hoping for better in the next round of matches. Markham explained that ‘things are looking good’ in the Stanley camp as they plan for the future as well as now.

Real Madrid and ThunderCats F.C also cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw at Santiago Bernabeu. With only a point separating the sides both were looking to steal a march on the other as they seek a high-placed finish. The first chance fell to the hosts with Guit Hernandez having a free-kick saved by Magro before a set-piece at the other end saw Placido Polo hit a strike too close to Adan. Ruben de La Red had the next chance for the hosts but his curled shot was saved by Magro while Polo had another shot go over for the visitors. The final chance fell to the hosts with de La Red lobbing over the bar as the sides went in deadlocked. The second-half saw further chances at both ends with the first falling to Raul Gonzalez but his diving header couldn’t be put on target. ThunderCats responded with a Nelson Queimado shot which went over before Polo also missed the target with a chip. With both sides struggling with their finishing it came as no surprise when Magro denied Fernando Hierro late on and the sides took away a point each. Fred Rizzo will be positive about his side’s display and if they can add goals to their play then a surge back up the table shouldn’t be too far away. Baz has his side well-placed in third but a tough trip on Tuesday awaits them as they travel to West Brom.