Rovers Win to Keep Splott-light

Splott Rovers struck a vital blow in the race for the title as they edged out F.C. Greatness 1-0 at Cedar Road. With Greatness boasting a fine home record, Splott knew they had their work cut out but they dug in for a fine victory. The game had a fractious opening with the first chance not coming until 44 minutes when Martinus Benfari was denied by a brave save from Ghostrider. Benfari would try his luck once more before the break but Ghostrider was well-placed to make the save and the sides went in deadlocked. Mario Balotelli ensured that Greatness started the second-half on the front foot but he couldn’t net from a headed chance before Alvaro Recoba hit a tame drive at the ‘keeper. Splott would create their first chance on 76 minutes and Paul-Phillip Ravage showed great composure to loop in a header to put them in front. Ted Tolley would then put a precise header too close to Rachao while Reed Fantastic’s free-kick was also saved. Greatness would have a late chance to pinch a point but Benfari’s driving shot went well-wide and they had slumped to a disappointing defeat. Darren Calvert will be wanting his side to show a more clinical nature in front of goal in their next game as they look to regroup and go for promotion. Carbonmonoxide will have been delighted with the win at such a tough place and they will have the title very much in their sights.

Smurftastic Smurfs remained in touch at the top with a 2-1 home success over Kensington Boys Club. With Club looking nervously over their shoulder they knew they had to dig deep to get something from the contest but they wouldn’t quite be able to manage it. Seymore MacRanald endured a nightmare moment on 21 minutes as he deflected the ball into his own goal to gift the Smurfs a 1-0 lead. Adrian Gray would look to level on 37 minutes but saw his header strike a post and they would go in behind. The Smurfs enjoyed the first chance of the second-half but Craig Elliston put his header wide although they did make it 2-0 when Ernie Ormondroyd drilled in a free-kick on 81 minutes. KBC did pull a goal back shortly afterwards as Guy Dalton powered in a header but it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback and the points belonged to the home side. Thesmurf will have been happy with his side’s response to his tough words and he will be hopeful they can now go on and clinch promotion and maybe even push Splott for the title. Patrik admitted he hoped his side ‘make it’ to safety but admitted that ‘we don’t deserve’ to.

Pahang kept a firm grip of third with an exciting 4-2 home victory over African Imitators. With the Imitators needing the points to make ground on Pahang an exciting contest was expected but the home side proved too strong. Romeo Hogg had the hosts in front in the very first minute as he executed a super lob to leave Handez comfortably beaten. He would then try to repeat the dose on 10 minutes but Handez managed to punch the ball away. Ray Eastwood would strike the angle with a fine free-kick before Holger Pfitzner drove in a powerful low shot to make it 2-0 as the game continued in one-sided fashion. Dirk Heller might even have added a third but saw his header strike the woodwork and the score remained 2-0 at the break. The second-half began quietly but Ray Eastwood did see a header saved before Heller then lobbed over the bar. The Imitators would then stun their hosts as Luigi McKeever curled home a free-kick to reduce their deficit from their first sight on goal. However, Heller would quickly restore the advantage with a side-footed shot following a corner on 81 minutes and Kilian Strongbow secured the win with a clinical header five minutes from time. The Imitators did get a consolation courtesy of a Ronald McDonald penalty but in the end they were well-beaten. MrT will be delighted with his side’s performance and will be confident ahead of their trip to Bumerang on Tuesday. Gravitons will want his side to produce better at home against AJ on Tuesday and the outcome of the game might dictate where their focus lies for the remainder of the season.

Cardiff City picked up an important three points at the bottom of the table defeating Bonkers 3-2 and swapping places with them in the process. Both sides knew the importance of the contest but you wouldn’t have guessed due to the openness of it. Bonkers enjoyed the better of the first-half and saw Neo Clemence head wide early on. Edip Bayrak would give them the lead with a powerful strike on 23 minutes and some 18 minutes later Garry Maynard placed home an accurate shot to double their advantage. Albert Scully did see a chip saved at the other end and this would give an indication of what was to come at the start of the second-half. Leroux Calabuig would power in an excellent effort on 48 minutes to halve the deficit and just a moment later he had levelled the score with a brilliant diving header. Incredibly, two minutes later and Cardiff were in front as Marco Busquets thumped home from inside the area to stun the hosts. Henrik Larsson did try to respond for the hosts but saw his lob hit the bar before Chris Sutton looped a header over. Bayrak would waste a free-kick chance on 82 minutes while, at the other end, Calabuig had a shot saved when looking for his hat-trick. Bonkers still had the chance to pinch a point but Larsson missed by fractions and they had fallen to a heart-breaking defeat. Bonkers News reported that ‘the owner has declared that there will be a major shake-up’ in the hope of survival. Uwfb has seen his side give themselves a lifeline but they will need those resilient qualities on Tuesday as they travel to Splott.

At the very bottom of the table AC Milan and Bumerang drew 0-0 as neither side massively boosted their chances of survival. Both would have been hoping to steal a march on their rivals but, in truth, a draw was a fair result. Bumerang had the first chance but Rikard Lind’s free-kick lacked accuracy while Vittorio Cornacchini would also miss the target from a set-piece at the other end. Yves Vairelles did have the ball in the net before half-time for the visitors but it was rightly chalked off for offside and the sides went in deadlocked. A free-kick greeted the start of the second-half but Lind was wayward once more before Carsario De Franceschi saw a shot saved at the other end. Milan would have one final chance to win the game but Bernard Lormor’s drive was held by Stancu and the sides had to settle for a point apiece. Xmensch explained that his side are ‘having a terrible season’ but also added that they would have ‘some chances’ to escape the bottom three. Coolbooy will need his side to find their scoring boots if they are to survive and a win against Pahang on Tuesday would give them the perfect tonic.

Carthage and AJ Rovers were involved in a 0-0 draw at Carthage City as neither made a decisive move up the table. With only three points separating the sides they knew this was the sort of game they needed to win to make a move as the season reaches its decisive period. In truth, it would be a quiet game with the only openings falling to the home side. They would both come in the second-half with Hannibal Barca volleying straight at Hodges before Ad Herbal flicked a header on target only for the ‘keeper to pull off a brilliant save. Blakey will be frustrated by his side’s inability to take one of the chances and will still think his side need a couple of wins to guarantee safety. Rothion, meanwhile, will still be hopeful of making the top three but a win against African Imitators looks essential to that plan.