Week 29 Results - a fourth title for Fred

Aardvark Abacus 1 v 3 The Fabulous Artisans

Markian United 0 v 1 Cheese Makers

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 2 v 3 The Cow-Faced Juniors

Real Muppets 2 v 1 Wheel Madrid

San Dimas High School 2 v 4 Mega Buck Bandits

Stanley Athletic FC 0 v 2 Fred West Landscape Gardening XI

The Wateringhole Society 2 v 5 Trusted By Millions

YTFIB 1 v 0 Claymore Athletic FC

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	29	15	11	3	74	51	23	56
2	Trusted By Millions	29	15	6	8	57	45	12	51
3	The Fabulous Artisans	29	15	6	8	62	52	10	51
4	The Cow-Faced Juniors	29	15	4	10	68	47	21	49
5	Aardvark Abacus	29	14	7	8	61	51	10	49
6	The Wateringhole Society	29	12	5	12	78	58	20	41
7	Real Muppets	29	12	5	12	63	52	11	41
8	Cheese Makers	29	12	5	12	50	55	-5	41
9	Stanley Athletic FC	29	12	5	12	45	58	-13	41
10	Mega Buck Bandits	29	11	6	12	54	51	3	39
11	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	29	12	2	15	46	48	-2	38
12	YTFIB	29	9	8	12	49	53	-4	35
13	San Dimas High School	29	10	5	14	33	54	-21	35
14	Wheel Madrid	29	9	5	15	61	73	-12	32
15	Claymore Athletic FC	29	7	6	16	41	59	-18	27
16	Markian United	29	7	4	18	43	78	-35	25

It looked like we might go to the last game before the title was decided as Stanley Athletic v Fred was locked at 0-0 after ninety minutes. Sixty seconds later Gabriel Martinelli had got on to the end of a teasing cross and bundled Fred in front. Recent signing Paul Dummett added a clean to make the points safe and the title celebrations could begin. 

The battle for the runner-up place is very much on with four teams still in with a shout. Outgoing champions Trusted currently hold that spot after a 5-2 win at the Wateringhole Society. A spectacular Sergio Reguilon own goal put Beef in front on 20 minutes but Matheus Pereira equalised seven minutes later. Beef’s team took the game away from Kiran with three goals in five minutes around half-time. Joe Willock carried on his scoring run and Richarlison and Leandro Trossard were also on the scoresheet. The Artisans are on the same points but two goals worse off. Ben’s team beat rivals the Aardvarks 3-1. Level at the break, Patrick Bamford’s goal and Lucas Digne’s clean gave the Artisans the points. The result drops Ady to fifth. The CFJs are two points further back after a 3-2 win at Nil Satis. A stunning Edison Cavani goal (that shouldn’t have counted!) got the Cows off and running, Soucek and Burn got the other goals which were enough to hold off the Nil Satis clean sheet fightback.

The three final top half places could go to any of six teams. The Wateringhole Society, Real Muppets and Cheese Makers currently hold those positions, Stanley Athletic are on the same points total, Mega Bucks and Nil Satis could yet nick in.  We’ve already mentioned TWS so onto the Muppets who edged Wheel Madrid 2-1, Phil Foden and Kelechi Iheanacho getting Ryan’s goals. Cheese Makers are in the shake-up after beating Markian 1-0. Andy Robertson’s clean was the only score of the game. An action-packed last few minutes saw Mega Bucks beat San Dimas 4-2. I was one up until the 88th minute when Michail Antonio and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored in quick succession. Tyler Roberts grabbed his first WSFFL goal deep into injury time to level things but the Bandits took the points with cleans from Alisson and Ayling.

Bottom of the table still isn’t quite settled after Clive’s 1-0 to loss to YTFIB. Ilkay Gundogan’s second minute goal proving the winner for Julian. If Clive gets a point against the CFJs then Ian will need to win his game by 18 goals so he’ll be looking for a win and a Claymore loss on Sunday.

Week 28 Results - Fred a win away from the title

Claymore Athletic FC 0 v 3 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

Real Muppets 0 v 1 Aardvark Abacus

San Dimas High School 2 v 1 Markian United

The Cow-Faced Juniors 2 v 3 Fred West Landscape Gardening XI

The Wateringhole Society 3 v 1 The Fabulous Artisans

Trusted By Millions 1 v 2 Cheese Makers

Wheel Madrid 1 v 5 Mega Buck Bandits

YTFIB 0 v 0 Stanley Athletic FC

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	28	14	11	3	72	51	21	53
2	Aardvark Abacus	28	14	7	7	60	48	12	49
3	Trusted By Millions	28	14	6	8	52	43	9	48
4	The Fabulous Artisans	28	14	6	8	59	51	8	48
5	The Cow-Faced Juniors	28	14	4	10	65	45	20	46
6	The Wateringhole Society	28	12	5	11	76	53	23	41
7	Stanley Athletic FC	28	12	5	11	45	56	-11	41
8	Real Muppets	28	11	5	12	61	51	10	38
9	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	28	12	2	14	44	45	-1	38
10	Cheese Makers	28	11	5	12	49	55	-6	38
11	Mega Buck Bandits	28	10	6	12	50	49	1	36
12	San Dimas High School	28	10	5	13	31	50	-19	35
13	YTFIB	28	8	8	12	48	53	-5	32
14	Wheel Madrid	28	9	5	14	60	71	-11	32
15	Claymore Athletic FC	28	7	6	15	41	58	-17	27
16	Markian United	28	7	4	17	43	77	-34	25

At the top - It’s funny how quickly things can change. This week’s results took us from a five-horse race to Fred within touching distance of his third title in five years. The Gardeners saw off one of their chief rivals, the CFJs, 3-2. Fred’s strike force of Salah and Greenwood had him two up, the Cows hit back through their strike force of Joelinton and Welbeck. It was heading for a draw but ultimately settled in the leader’s favour with a Lloris clean. There were also defeats for Trusted and the Artisans. Beef went down 2-1 to Cheese Makers, Nathan Tella getting his first for Matthew to make it 2-0. The Artisans are now five points behind the leaders after going down 3-1 to the Wateringhole Society. Former Artisan Christian Benteke got Kiran’s goal and the Society added cleans from Holding and Reguilon to clinch the points. The Aardvarks are up to second and best-placed to deny Fred the crown after edging the Muppets 1-0 thanks to a great strike from Luke Thomas.

The rest - Stanley and YTFIB played out a goalless draw that keeps Aaron seventh and means Julian won’t finish bottom. A second successive 3-0 win for Nil Satis, this time over Claymore, gives Paul S a top half shot and keeps Clive looking over his shoulder at the foot of the table. Ian’s still occupying last place after a 2-1 defeat to San Dimas, a Pascal Struijk clean was the decider in my team’s favour. Mega Bucks were the week’s big winners, with a 5-1 scoreline at Wheel Madrid. A beautiful placed finish from John McGinn put Paul W ahead early on but it all changed after the break. Jack Harrison, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilf Zaha were all on target but keeper Alisson thought he’d go up for a late corner anyway and scored a terrific headed goal.