Sunday, 27 November 2011

Week 11 Results

Only one of the top five manage a win this week.

Claymore Athletic FC 3 v 0 Athletico Phoenix
Final Fantasy XI 2 v 1 The Fabulous Artisans
Mega Buck Bandits 1 v 3 The Cheese Makers
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 3 v 2 York’s Returning Glory
Real Muppets 2 v 4 You Know Your Boston Rock FC
The Cow-Faced Juniors 2 v 0 Fred West Landscape Gardening XI
The Dead Parrots 0 v 3 Aardvark Abacus
Trusted By Millions 1 v 1 San Dimas High School

Does anyone else love weeks like this where many of the top several are left with their tails between their legs? The Fabulous Artisans had won six league games in a row but were humbled by Final Fantasy. Seb Larsson smashed Ceri ahead on eight minutes after a goalkeeping fumble and a controversial penalty award allowed Demba Ba to make it two just after the hour. Ben's hopes of getting something out of the game were damaged by Mario Balotelli's red card which meant the Leighton Baines clean was just a consolation. Ben's lead is three points as Trusted were held by San Dimas. An early sending off for David Wheater put my team on the back foot. A lucky ricochet off Javier Hernandez just after the break looked like giving Beef the points but Neil Taylor's clean got me something out of the game.

The Aardvarks are up to third after brushing aside the Parrots 3-0. Two more for Emanuel Adebayor putting him on seven for the season. It's six defeats in a row in all competitions for Dean's team. The Cheese Makers have Caerphilly made their way back up the table after a confident win over struggling Mega Bucks. Dave's team took the lead on 14 minutes when Russell Martin hooked in from a corner but goals either side of half time from Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini turned the game in Matthew's favour and Franco Di Santo came off the bench to round off the win in injury time.

Athletico Phoenix and Fred West suffered setbacks after their recent good runs. Brian's team went down at Claymore. Youssuf Mulumbu opened the scoring with a glancing header on 10 minutes and with Robin van Persie shackled by Clive's defence cleans from Branislav Ivanovic and David Luiz gave the score a lop-sided look. The CFJs had picked up only one win in 11 attempts but had too much for Fred this week. Grant Holt was on as sub for the injured Danny Graham when he bundled Chris ahead on 73 points and another quiet outing from Fernando Torres meant Chris could confirm the win with a Richard Dunne clean.

The Muppets are making life difficult for themselves at the bottom. Two own goals were the difference in a 4-2 defeat to Boston Rock. It was four minutes after Daniel Sturridge had cancelled out John Terry's opener that Joleon Lescott deflected a shot in put Sheriff ahead. Half an hour later it was 3-1 when Thomas Vermaelen slid an attempted clearance into the far corner of his own net. Boston Rock are now seventh and only eight points behind the Artisans. Three cleans gave Nil Satis their first win since September. Luke Young and Peter Crouch had York's 2-0 ahead before Paul's clean sheet onslaught meaning it's seven defeats out of eight for Julian.

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

League Week 10 and PCMT QF Replay Results

League Week Number: 10, W/C 19 November

Aardvark Abacus 4 v 1 Mega Buck Bandits
Athletico Phoenix 3 v 2 Trusted By Millions
Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 3 v 1 Claymore Athletic FC
San Dimas High School 4 v 2 The Dead Parrots
The Cheese Makers 2 v 1 Real Muppets
The Fabulous Artisans 3 v 0 The Cow-Faced Juniors
York’s Returning Glory 2 v 4 Final Fantasy XI
You Know Your Boston Rock FC 2 v 0 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

Here we are then, a third of the way through the league season. You'd think some patterns might be emerging by now. Ben will hope so as his Artisans are four points clear at the top. They did the business with a comfortable 3-0 win over the CFJs with the goals coming in identical circumstances to the PCMT semi-final win. Chris, more than most, will be after a striker when the transfer window opens. The gap is increased because Trusted suffered only their second league defeat at Athletico Phoenix. Javier Hernandez opened the scoring for Beef but guess who scored for Brian? That's right Ivan Klasnic who got the equaliser from the spot. Robin van Persie got another two to make it 3-1 and although Ryan Shawcross pulled one back the Phoenix hung on and are now only a point behind Trusted in third.

Fairly routine wins from the teams in fourth and fifth. Fred West did need three cleans to overcome Claymore who had taken the lead through Sergio Aguero's 10th in the league. The champions are warming to the task of defending their title while in contrast Clive's team, who were sweeping teams away in a tide of goals in the early part of the season are down to eleventh. Ady showed Dave no mercy in the battle of the Bevan Brothers. The revitalised Emmanuel Adebayor struck twice before half-time and Phil Jagielka added a thumping header to ensure that the Aardvarks shocking defending that let in Steve Morison was forgotten.

Matthew's Cheese Makers have struggled recently after a great opening month and he was delighted to be back to winning ways when Brede Hangeland and Benoit Assou-Ekotto got the cleans to beat the rock bottom Muppets. Ryan's team had taken the lead through Danny Sturridge but like the CFJs they'll be in the market for more fire power if they can offload Carlos Tevez. San Dimas make one of their occasional excursions into the top half with a 4-2 win over the Parrots. Yakubu got both Dean's goals against his former club but I'd plucked Heidar Helguson from the obscurity of the pool and he also struck twice. A Stephen Hunt penalty and Kyle Walker clean brought me the points.

Final Fantasy were also 4-2 winners, at York's. This one was settled by clean sheets from Mark Schwarzer and Angel Rangel from the bench after four goals were shared and has put Ceri into the top ten. Boston Rock are up to ninth after notching a third straight league win. Sheriff's team saw off Nil Satis with goals at the end of either half. Micah Richards profited from some poor defending on 44 minutes while Glen Johnson finished things off after 87.
plus PCMT QF Replay

The Fabulous Artisans 3 v 1 Claymore Athletic FC

The league-leading Artisans complete the PCMT final four after a controversial win over Claymore. Mario Balotelli's supercool penalty had Ben one up at the break but things went crazy in the last half-hour. Junior Hoilett nodded in from close range to double the lead but the quickly taken corner that led to the goal was shown by TV footage to be well... completely illegal! Clive recovered from this setback and Sergio Aguero pulled one back from the spot after his marauding fullback had gone to ground perhaps a tad too easily. There was still one penalty to come and Leighton Baines confirmed the Artisans victory after a push by the Claymore defence. The semis of both of our Cup competitions are set for 10th December so I'll get the draw done over the next week.

Saturday, 19 November 2011

New faces at San Dimas

San Dimas High School boss Peej has been busy in the market as we spring back into league action.

Midfielder Joe Allen has joined from Swansea while the High School's attacking options have been bolstered by QPR's Heidar Helguson. Injury woes have struck the San Dimas keepers this season so Kieren Westwood has been added to the ranks too

The three players leaving are Connor Sammon, Sylvain Marveaux and Haris Vuckic. San Dimas wish thems all the best in the future WSFFL careers.

Sunday, 6 November 2011

Consolation Cup quarter-final results

Mega Bucks beating the CFJs perhaps the biggest shock here but it's hardly seismic.

Aardvark Abacus 3 v 1 The Cheese Makers
Athletico Phoenix 4 v 1 York's Returning Glory
Mega Buck Bandits 3 v 2 The Cow-Faced Juniors
San Dimas High School 3 v 1 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

The Abacus are having a bit of a patchy campaign but have picked up a good signing in Anthony Pilkington who curled in an unstoppable free-kick against the Cheese Makers on 25 minutes. Jamie O' Hara slammed an equaliser shortly afterwards but Abacus cleans from Szczesny and Alex settled the tie. The Phoenix are flying high in the league and nearing a Cup Final too. Robin van Persie rammed home a rebound to put Brian ahead although a thumping header from Jay Bothroyd restored parity for York's shortly after. Ben Watson struck through a penalty rebound to restore Brian's lead before half-time and cleans from Lindegaard and Jenkinson put a gloss on the result.

Best Consolation Cup game of the week (or ever if you look at it like that!) saw Mega Bucks edge out the CFJs. Chris's team had led twice through Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon but Ryan Taylor's superb strike from outside the box and Steven Ward's one from closer range left the game at 2-2 and then Steven Morison squeezed home a back-post headerto win the game for Dave. Last team through to the semis are San Dimas who got a helping hand when Nil Satis defender Johnny Heitinga poked into his own net early doors. Jack Rodwell escaped from his marker to score a near-post header just before the break and although Mikel Arteta pulled one back for Paul, David Wheater's clean made the game safe.

PCMT Quarter-final results

Can anyone stop Boston Rock in this competition?

Claymore Athletic FC 0 v 0 The Fabulous Artisans
Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 3 v 1 The Dead Parrots
Trusted By Millions 1 v 2 Real Muppets
You Know Your Boston Rock FC 7 v 1 Final Fantasy XI

Boston Rock are two wins away from a fifth PCMT in a row after their demolition of Final Fantasy. Chris Eagles and Darren Bent were the headline makers with two goals each but I had to admire Frank Lampard's goal which was one of the lowest headers you'll see. My goal of the week award goes to David Silva who scored Fred's goal in the win over the Parrots. The way he plays the ball into his own path taking two defenders out of the game is a joy to behold. Fred still needed a couple of cleans to see off Dean after an unlucky deflection off Younes Kaboul leveled the scores.

Real Muppets might be at the foot of the league but a win over Trusted could do Ryan's team the world of good. Beef went ahead just before the break through Edin Dzeko but a defensive error let in Gaby Agbonlahor to equalise not long after the re-start. A Laurent Koscielny clean was the ultimate difference between the two teams. The Claymore/Artisans game was a cagey affair but a fit Hugo Rodallega might have settled it in Ben's favour rather than miss a few good chances. 

Monday, 31 October 2011

Week 9 Results

The top two continue on their merry way but five of the bottom six all win to really compact the table.

Claymore Athletic FC 1 v 3 The Fabulous Artisans
Final Fantasy XI 5 v 0 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Mega Buck Bandits 3 v 2 San Dimas High School
Real Muppets 2 v 0 Aardvark Abacus
The Cheese Makers 1 v 4 You Know Your Boston Rock FC
The Cow-Faced Juniors 7 v 3 York’s Returning Glory
The Dead Parrots 1 v 3 Athletico Phoenix
Trusted By Millions 3 v 2 Fred West Landscape Gardening XI

The Artisans will hold the top spot through the Cup weekend and then the international break. Clive must have thought he'd grabbed a share of the points as the Artisans defence backed away from Moussa Dembele and allowed him to shoot home with three minutes left but Adam Johnson's stoppage time goal and Martin Skrtel's clean keep Ben's team on the top of the pile. Trusted remain a single point behind after beating Fred by the odd goal in five. Hernandez 19th minute opener was equalised by Rafael van der Vaart, Edin Dzeko put Beef in front again but Alex Kolarov got Fred back on terms for a second time. This match also appeared to be drifting to a draw but Stephane Sessegnon was Beef's unlikely hero, heading home with a minute left.

There's a four point gap from second to third and that third-placed team is...Athletico Phoenix. Brian has hit these giddy heights on the back of Robin van Persie being the first player to 10 goals this season. A hat-trick from the dutchman too much for the Parrots this week, an industrial order of cotton wool has been delivered to Kingham to keep RVP wrapped up between games. Another lacklustre performance from the Aardvarks hold them back from a run on the top two. Two cleans brought a welcome win for the Muppets who are struggling to deal with the Carlos Tevez fallout. Ryan's team are still bottom but are only five points off the top half.

The CFJs hadn't won since week one but exploded this week and put seven past York's. With eight minutes to go it was balanced at 4-3 but Richard Dunne, Danny Graham (who'd also scored at the other end) and Grant Holt finished the job for Chris. Boston Rock are off and running now with a second straight win. This week's victims were the Cheese Makers with Juan Mata getting his first goal for Matthew after old stagers Terry and Lampard plus young guns Carroll and Sinclair had scored for Sheriff.

Mega Bucks picked up their second win of the season by holding off a San Dimas fight back. Dave was 3-0 to the good eight minutes into the second half and despite Theo Walcott and Stephen Hunt pulling goals back for me it wasn't enough. Our second hat-trick hero of the week was Demba Ba for Final Fantasy. Ceri's team put Nil Satis to the sword with two clean sheets added to Ba's contribution (the Frenchman is up to seven for the season). Paul had only conceded 11 times before this match and now only has Ryan below him.

Sunday, 23 October 2011

Week 8 Results

The Artisans were fabulous and are our new leaders...

Aardvark Abacus 0 v 2 The Cheese Makers
Athletico Phoenix 3 v 0 Mega Buck Bandits
Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 3 v 0 The Dead Parrots
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 2 v 2 The Cow-Faced Juniors
San Dimas High School 3 v 1 Real Muppets
The Fabulous Artisans 4 v 1 Trusted By Millions
York’s Returning Glory 4 v 2 Claymore Athletic FC
You Know Your Boston Rock FC 2 v 0 Final Fantasy XI

The Fabulous Artisans take over at the top for the first time since week 13 in the 2009/10 season. Ben's team were two up inside 27 minutes thanks to Mario Balotelli's slide-rule finish from the edge of the area and Gervinho springing the Trusted offside and scoring from close range. Dedryk Boyata had added a clean and Balotelli a second goal before Stephane Sessegnon got Trusted's consolation. Beef left Edin Dzeko out this week but will be thankful it didn't make a difference to the result. Fred's up to third and getting a sniff of back-to-back titles after dismissing the Parrots 3-0. Rafael van der Vaart struck twice and the little genius that is David Silva got the third.

The Aardvarks lost a small bit of ground with a disappointing performance against the Cheese Makers. Matthew's team left it late but Jamie O'Hara's goal and Tim Krul's clean put his side back in the right direction after four straight defeats in all competitions. York's had lost three in a row but QPR cleans gave him a victory over Claymore. Peter Crouch's tap-in and Craig Bellamy's strike came either side of Jonas Olsson's header for Clive. Sergio Aguero slid in his ninth of the season with 20 minutes to go to level the scores but Luke Young and Anton Ferdinand cleans gave Julian the win.

Mega Buck Bandits kept Athletico Phoenix quiet until late on but Robin van Persie scored another brace from close range and an unmarked Nicklas Bendtner rounded out the 3-0 win as time ran out. San Dimas left it late as well to add to the Muppets' woes. Paul Scharner reacted first to a knockdown from a corner to fire me ahead just before the hour but Darren Fletcher hit one of the goals of the week with ten minutes to go to square the match. Jack Rodwell's long range grubber on 90 minutes and a Simon Mignolet clean gave me the points and keep the Muppets bottom.

Boston Rock have a win though. It wasn't Sheriff's most convincing performance and Final Fantasy were only behind to Darren Bent's early penalty for much of the game but Steven Taylor's clean finished the match in Boston Rock's favour. (He's only 11 points behind!) The  CFJs haven't picked up a win since week one and Chris was held by Nil Satis this week. Chris was two up inside half an hour through Danny Graham and Mauro Formica and must have thought he was laughing all the way to three points when Bobby Zamora blazed wide on 89 minutes. He wasn't laughing when Louis Saha pulled one back a minute later and John O'Shea got the equalising clean.