Matchday Ten of the 2027-28 Fleftic Premier League season begins on Friday night at Oubie Park, where Xemlice Rovers are up against Fleftic Air Force. And if anyone thought that this mid-table clash would not produce any result of note then they would be proven to be sorely mistaken. The game got off to a very quick start, with the Air Force's Yutaro Shigemitsu headed the ball straight into his own net just two minutes in, and Xemlice doubled their advantage seven minutes later with a deftly taken goal with the wickedest of curls to leave Ikram Aybar absolutely clueless and absolutely defenseless against the goal. But for all that though, nothing much else happened in the first half except for Kiel O'Hara scoring a penalty that Xemlice conceded after Alfonso Hernandez barged into Monad Murad without even bothering to pretend to play for the ball. But fans of frantic attacking football that takes both teams all over the place will have nothing to fear as Corey Wheeler made sure everyone got back on the program, and Monad Murad was the first player to get the memo as he slammed the ball with absolute intent, to hell with anybody who tried to get in the way. 3-2 the score would remain until the final eleven minutes, and Corey Wheeler's second goal of the night was the match that lit the fuse. The Golden Eagles, even though they were two goals down with ten minutes (plus time added on) to go, had the belief and confidence to go for broke, and soon they were rewarded by Kiel O'Hara finding the back of the net for the second time, this time from a bullet header from Lee Joon-ho's corner. That being said, the Air Force were caught on the counterattack and Alfonso Hernandez finished them off in the second-to-the-last minute of regulation.
The action returns to Filibusters' Street for the early Saturday game as Admiral Porcusces host Gyouza Young Lads. The Foxes were feeling quite confident going into this game, but judging by how the game went you could be excused for thinking that Gyouza were the ones on good form at the moment. Teenaged midfielder Blue Malayang makes his first start for the Lads and he repaid his coach's confidence in him with a banger of a goal in the 14th minute, and with that goal came the momentum of the game which was cemented by Georges Edgar scoring the penalty that he got out of Nebega Zidatse. Percy Filkins scored Gyouza's third of the afternoon, and the manner in which Ricky Bryan scored Admiral's consolation goal had the feel of a person who had already lost an argument coming back and retorting "And another thing..." Just give it up, Admiral. It's no longer going to happen.
There are no real upsets to report on in the 3 PM games but there are some surprising draws, notably Thereisnogodistan coming from behind to take a point over current league leaders Ludogorets Markovsky and Sporting Ceneisis forced to settle for a draw after having to come from behind against Niraza Rovers. WHat a team for Cheong Young-nam to score both his and Niraza's first ever Premier League hat trick though. Rosenpfelblatz City and Athletic Dorfdifving were the late fixture, and after a cagey first half the Citizens eventually settled in and walked away with a routine 2-0 win over the Canaries, Mosi Okoye scoring in the 53rd minute and Buddock Mawla netting in the seventh minute of time added on to the ninety. The reason for that vast block of time added on was because a number of City fans had decided to storm the pitch and make known their grievances about their team's current form. This mini-pitch invasion was exactly what Joe Churchill and the Citizens didn't need given that Rosenpfelblatz actually had a one-goal lead at the moment the fans set foot on the field, but the fans resisted the stewards' efforts to get them off, which resulted in the long block of time tacked on to the end of the ninety.
Only one Premier League game for Sunday because of the new TV deal with the FNLAF, and that game is Arsenal de Releinthi against Bananas. A shadow has been hanging over the Monsanto Stadium since the start of the season and a sword over Emilio Caravaggio's head. This has been the worst start to a season for the Gunners since the 2022-23 season when they eventually finished 9th, and the fans in Releinthi have made it clear that they will not tolerate any more slipups even if the board seemingly will. But things went off-script pretty early on for the Arsenal as Bryan Hale evaded his marker and pickled off a shot at Miles Hurst's far post, a shot which bounced off the woodwork and into the back of the net. Jake Pimentel did equalize just five minutes later, but the Bananas offense have shown that the Arsenal defense is very much vulnerable and ripe for the taking. Arsenal seemed to have intercepted that memo though, and they locked down and showed the fans what could have been as that defensive line remained rock-solid for the majority of the next 75 minutes. In the meantime, Will Newman scored early in the second half to give the home side a 2-1 lead, but for all their newfound defensive organization Arsenal would not be able to keep hold of all three points as thy were caught sleeping during a late corner kick, and Artyom Kharchenko found himself relatively unchallenged when he rose up to head the ball into the net. A timer has been set in Releinthi, and now it's a question of when, not if, time runs out for Caravaggio.
How Emilio Caravaggio has remained in the dugout of Arsenal de Releinthi is a complete mystery, especially to Gunners fans. Arsenal had a golden quality to get their season back on track as they paid a visit to fellow strugglers Locomotive Imgortur at the New Locomotive Stadium and they let it slip. But we are getting ahead of ourselves a little bit here as we are about to play the first midweek matchday of the Premier League, and Locomotive and Arsenal aren't set to play each other until Wednesday evening.
Matchday Eleven started off on a cool Tuesday evening in Niraza where the Rovers hosted high-flying Sarvusdalamoive. Both teams heavily rotated their sides as they had both come from Saturday afternoon games, and it was soon obvious that these "B sides" have not played together many times as both teams suffered communications breakdowns and misunderstandings. Both sides were unable to take any real advantage of the various mistakes that they made in the first half, and it was only Conrado Azucarrera stepped on to the pitch in the second half that the game truly began to liven up. Azucarrera had been on the field for barely a minute when Jarrett Hext barged into the back of him and brought him down inside the box, forcing a penalty kick from which Azucarrera would not miss. That being said, the real action would not occur until the last ten minutes, when both Vernon Harland and Denise Crawford had brought on some of their heavy hitters for one final push for the three points. Sam Racanelli would pop out of nowhere to score Niraza's equalizer in the 82nd minute, but only five minutes after that Sarvus would break the deadlock once again through their new Oontaznik winger Calisto Oliveira. Oliveira, signed from Botafogo de Maranao earlier this season, was released on the counterattack by Thorben Benz and struck home powefully past Hugo Henkel to send the new boys of the Premier League further down the table.
At the same time as all the late drama in Niraza, Wanda Island Wanderers were playing up Xemlice Rovers, and Riuwiee United and Sporting Ceneisis were embroiled in a titanic clash at the capital. Corey Wheeler would emerge as Xemlice's hat trick hero, spearheading the Gamekeepers' efforts to keep ahead of the Wanderers, at least in terms of the actual score board. Wheeler netted his first goal only seven minutes in via the penalty spot after Victor Crabshaas was cynically chopped down by Wachaya Danudo. Wanda Island's response to that came a little bit late; sometime into the second half to be exact, and it was Fionntan Breen who was on the end of Petro Zhdanov's cross. Wheeler's response to Breen was much quicker than that. Immediately after the kickoff, in fact. Wheeler received the ball from Yuruze Cuboldo, ran with it to the edge of the Wanda Island box, pickled off a shot, and wheeled away to celebrate. Wheeler then capped off what was an impressive night both for him and for Xemlice with a free kick that is currently in the running for FPL goal of the season, the ball seemingly curving for the far post before going back to the near post and making Psiquiq look like a complete fool. Leigh Oswald made things look less embarrassing for his side with four minutes to go but really, by that point it was an exercise in futility for the Wanderers. They knew they were not going to get any points out of this contest; they just wanted to get the last word in.
Riuwiee United versus Sporting Ceneisis. The rivalry that defined the the late 2000s and early 2010s in Abanhfleft, at least in terms of footballing history. Maksim Shinkarenko and Vaughn Palladino will both be forever linked to this period in the FPL, and the mere mention of their names already brings up images of tough tackles and midfield tussles between these two, a microcosm of both clubs' clashes with each other, and now they are both about to do battle again at the May 26 Stadium. This game was expected to be epic due to the history between both the teams and the managers themselves, and boy did they live up to the hype. This was truly an end-to-end game, both sides barely able to get any breathers, and the fans were kept on the edges of their seats, if they could even sit at all what with the tension and excitement in the air. Ulysses Santos scored the first goal of the game with a bullet header from Tariq Abdul-Farid's free kick, and everyone just knew that there was no way that this would be the only goal of the night. And they were right. Hamish Muir equalized for the Blue Tribesmen just ten minutes after Santos, only for Abdul-Farid to restore Ceneisis' advantage seven minutes later. The battle continued deep into the second half, and the Blues finally appeared to have broken United's will when Isaac Georgiadis inadvertently steered Christian Vacek Jr.'s cross past Orestes Katsouranis III. Or at least that's what Ceneisis fans thought. Instead it turned out to be the signal for Riuwiee to initiate the comeback as first Rory Edwards and then Isaac Reyes found the back of the net, and now it was Ceneisis' turn to play catch-up. The comeback from 3-1 down to 3-3 gave United a second wind, and they always appeared to be the ones more likely to score in the last ten minutes of play, but in true Ceneisis fashion they scored on the counterattack against the run of play and Tariq Abdul-Farid earned his man of the match award by scoring his second goal of the night, the eventual game winner, in the first minute of stoppage time. Two goals and one assist. Truly a landmark game for Abdul-Farid.
On to Wednesday evening, where the vast majority of Matchday Eleven's games were played. Rosenpfelblatz City seem to finally be on the up following another victory, this time away to Bananas. Ludogorets Markovsky appear to have stagnated though as they drew a blank against Paulsen, and it was much the same story at Fleftic Air Force versus All-Inclusive Haranguer. Gyouza Young Lads and Malabon have also shared the points, but only after scoring one goal apiece. Thereisnogodistan picked up an easy win over bottom side Athletic Dorfdifving even though the Canaries ended up providing the Atheists with a nervy finish, and Admiral Porcusces routed Tefel 5-2, a game which featured the first time in a few seasons that two players had scored an own goal in the same game. Nilton Cordeiro Vaz and Dennis Schultz will not look back on this night with any fondness, especially Schultz, who nows holds the dubious distinction of being one of only five players in the history of the FPL to score at both ends of the pitch in one game.
And now we can talk about what happened in the Monsanto Stadium. As had been stated earlier, this was the perfect chance for Arsenal de Releinthi to get another win under their belts given that Locomotive Imgortur are also struggling to string together results that will propel them away from the wrong end of the table. Instead it went completely the other way around; Locomotive took the lead just eight minutes in through Filipp Dykhovichny, who starts the night despite having played against Malabon last Saturday, and then he doubled both his own and his team's advantage with another set piece header that had become his trademark this season. Diederick Prinsen would give the home side lots to smile about as he turned their two-goal lead into three after he latched on to the rebound from Dykhovichny's saved shot, and only 18 minutes have alapsed. Elliott Henry would immediately reduce the arrears almost after the restart, but the fact is that the Gunners have given themselves an unnecessary mountain to climb, and given their form they're not ones for mountaineering. Yet slowly but surely they clawed away at Locomotive's lead; Jake Pimentel scoring a banger to give the Gunners a glimpse of hope and Charlie Lester netting a rare goal (For him) in the second half to make things all square and hand Arsenal fans a renewed sense of purpose. Which would be all for naught when Dykhovichny finally got that hat trick that he had been threatening to get and which he so richly deserved. Arsenal fans demanded Emilio Caravaggio's head on a platter after this game, but the board seemed to imply that because the team managed to level things before the inevitable collapse, they still trusted Caravaggio to know what he was doing. To which many of the same fans making all the noise disagreed, but for the moment they are powerless to watch their manager run their club into the ground.
Finally, even the Arsenal de Releinthi board has had enough. It's curtains for Emilio Caravaggio as he is the first manager to get the sack this season, beating out other underperformers such as Dorfdifving's Takehiko Ikeda, Locomotive's Klearchos Kazantzakis, and even the man that beat Caravaggio on Saturday night, Joe Churchill. Caravaggio and Arsenal have fallen to Churchill's resurgent Rosenpfelblatz City, but before that, let's take a moment to process the rest of Matchday Twelve's matches before getting on to the main event.
No games either on Friday night or early Saturday because of the midweek fixtures, meaning that Matchday Twelve actually begins at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon. Admiral Porcusces and Fleftic Air Force played out a scoreless draw, which would turn out to be the only draw on Saturday. Riuwiee United nicked all three points at Sarvusdalamoive thanks to Mohammed Abdul-Hassan Ghaly's lone goal, and Xemlice Rovers have broken into the top four after a routine 2-0 victory over Niraza Rovers. Wanda Island Wanderers rebounded from their midweek loss against Xemlice with a thumping win away to All-Inclusive Haranguer, while Locomotive Imgortur continued their slow drive away from the relegation zone with a 3-2 win against Gyouza Young Lads. Thereisnogodistan prevailed over Bananas by the same scoreline, and Arthur Supratno bagged a hat trick to help Malabon triumph over Tefel 4-3.
Now on to Saturday night where Arsenal de Releinthi hosted Rosenpfelblatz City. The beginning was slow; both sides seemed either unable or unwilling to commit bodies forward, at least until Arsenal surged in the final five minutes of the first half and Jake Pimentel earned himself a penalty after tangling legs with Lyle Vintner. In hindsight though, maybe Pimentel and Arsenal shouldn't have gone 1-0 up at half time because in the second half, Rosenpfelblatz really got going. Judas Neres equalized for the Citizens five minutes in, and then true to form Kareem Dagen reemerged to put the pain on Arsenal fans. Dagen would put both the team and Emilio Caravaggio to the sword in the 64th minute with a silky smooth run into the box where the Gunners defense were just simply unable to touch him, let alone get him off the ball. Once Dagen stroked the ball past Miles Hurst's gloved fingertips, everyone knew the game was over. Jake Pimentel et al did try to get a comeback going, but passes were going awry and everyone wearing a red shirt seemed to be all over the place both literally and figuratively. The Arsenal board announced Caravaggio's dismissal just hours after the game against Rosenpfelblatz, but there were no celebrations from the fans despite their near-incessant clamor in recent weeks for just exactly that. There was no denying that Emilio Caravaggio was a good manager, but it was now blindingly apparent that he had taken this squad as far as he could, and it was now time for new ideas. No word on who the Gunners could be tapping up for their new manager, but in the meantime assistant coach Rodolphe Mathieu will take the Arsenal hot seat on an interim basis.
Sunday afternoon begins with Vaughn Palladino's Sporting Ceneisis hosting Miles Bennett's Ludogorets Markovsky, and while on paper the resulting draw looks a fair result for both sides Forester fans will be looking at this with a little more concern than usual. It's now been three draws on the trot for the green side of Mezaladbyi Province, and it might be a sign of underlying troubles. For the moment though, Ludogorets are top of the table, but any lead they'd had at the start of the season is now being chipped away by the likes of Ceneisis and Admiral Porcusces. But before moving on, a look at the game itself. Nothing much of note happened in the first 40 minutes, but then DeAngelo Levin got on the end of an AP Kelly free kick to give Ludogorets a 1-0 lead coming into half-time. Which would have been fine if it weren't for the fact that 1-0 leads at half-time scored within the last five minutes of the first half have become the most dangerous lead to have. Brian Whiteley equalized for the Blues with a thumping strike following a rare foray forward, and then Paul Robert Gonzalez managed to slip past the offside trap and nutmeg Peter Chek for the go-ahead goal. This resulted in Ludogorets throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at Ceneisis, but it wouldn't be until the fifth minute of stoppage time, in the very last act of the game, that they would get anything out of it. Ivan Coldman, who had made the start to give Kezeko Chuhuto a break following the midweek game, applied just a glancing touch with his forehead to the free kick from Pereira, but that light touch was enough to take the sphere past Carlos Cohen and give Ludogorets the point. It could be a point with massive consequences for the title race.
And now time for a late Sunday game that involves teams at the bottom of the table. Paulsen square off against Athletic Dorfdifving, with one side at the bottom of the table up against another which appears to have gotten on the long slippery slope downwards. The Blacksmiths, at one point, have been near the summit of the Premier League but now they are down in 11th. Dorfdifving, meanwhile, have lost seven and drawn four games after winning their very first game of the season, and now they have become rooted to the bottom of the table. Both sides know that if they are to maintain their top flight status, they have to get all three points here. But that didn't happen, not really. Vladimir Krupin gave the Canaries the lead with only fifteen minutes elapsed in the game but Paulsen came out swinging in the second half and, within five minutes, had turned things on their head and taken a 2-1 lead thanks to Wallis Walliams and Sven Dimmock. Dorfdifving, knowing that things could get from bad to worse if they didn't get at least a point out of this contest, responded in kind, and eventually they were rewarded by Basilio Calupid, who earned a penalty out of Archie Randall's hurried challenge. And even though Calupid was only 19 years old, he struck the penalty with the strength and confidence of a senior veteran striker. That was how things would end, 2-2, and while that may have helped arrest Paulsen's descent a little, this is not the result that Dorfdifving wanted or even needed. Any more of this and the Canaries will not be long for the Premier League.
Thirteen. Unlucky for some, but not for others. It may be lucky thirteen for Bruce White and Admiral Porcusces as they finally edged out Ludogorets Markovsky at the top of the table, but it's definitely unlucky for Takehiko Ikeda who is the second manager to get the chop after Athletic Dorfdifving came up just short of Sporting Ceneisis. Before that though, let us wind back the clock to Friday night, which was when Matchday 13 started. It's a sort of Friday the 13th, but then again, it's not really. Wanda Island Wanderers opened the doors of the IKEA Arena to Admiral Porcusces on Friday night but they may be wishing that they hadn't done so as the Foxes left Wanda City with all three points, all thanks to Arkady Rozier and Wadusa Himanek scoring within three minutes of each other. It's the perfect game for Bruce White's Foxes because this win sees them leapfrog Ludogorets Markovsky at the top of the table, and if Ludogorets' form continues and they draw yet another game, Admiral could stay at the top. Which is indeed what will happen, but more on that later.
Saturday noon sees Thereisnogodistan taking on Rosenpfelblatz City at the Aeroflot Stadium. To the neutral observer it seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Rosenpfelblatz to continue the recent upsurge in form that they had experienced, but as was often the case in the FPL with perfect opportunities, the Citizens have let this one slip. It's easy to simplify this result as Rosenpfelblatz relaxing before the final whistle had been blowing, which many a Fleftic fan will tell you is the single worst thing you can do in Fleftic football. Tumbran Oliver Ganson opened the scoring only six minutes into the game itself, and it would take Thereisnogodistan 31 minutes after that to formulate a reply in the form of Gejus Welcker heading home from Johnathan Ayala's corner. Maël Royer restored the Citizens' advantage four minutes after that via a Max Fetfatzidis free kick. and Ganson thought that he had sealed the deal in the 65th minute with his chip shot over Samwell Crownover. The three points appeared to be well and truly in Rosenpfelblatz's bag until the 90th minute when Spencer Blair, who had come on in Welcker's place after 75 minutes, nicked the ball off of Ulaka Opote and lobbed it over Brad Dennison's head after Blair had found the Rosen goalkeeper off his line. Blair then sparked off a bit of a commotion by celebrating in front of the West Wall, the section for Rosenpfelblatz ultras, and they didn't like it one bit. They showed their displeasure by throwing trash onto the pitch and setting off flares. This resulted in a stoppage of play and eventually the addition of eight minutes to the ninety. Thereisnogodistan sensed blood in the water, and in the fifth minute of the eight added on, made their move and pounced. Johnathan Ayala had gotten a free kick on the corner of the penalty box and, after some deliberation, sent the ball towards the far post. Brad Dennison thought thad he had it covered as he slapped the ball away from his net, only to see the referee point to his watch and the center circle. Goal line technology had seen what Dennison hadn't, that the ball had crossed the line (just barely but still enough for the technology to give it) before he had made the "save". This resulted in more pyrotechnics from the West Wall, but the Atheists didn't care. They had put a stop to the Citizens' rise, even for just a moment, and if that ended up playing a role in the title race then all the better because Thereisnogodistan might just end up calling themselves kingmakers of the Premier League.
There was some excitement to be had in the afternoon games. Arsenal de Releinthi hoped that the new manager effect would be upon them when Rodolphe Mathieu took charge of his first game of the Gunners away to Gyouza Young Lads, but it was a case of very recent history repeating itself as Arsenal went 3-1 up in the first half only to be pegged back 3-3 at the end of the ninety. Tefel and Locomotive Imgortur shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw while Fleftic Air Force beat Malabon 2-1. Bananas and Paulsen both also got one point apiece after they came to a 2-2 result, while Ludogorets Markovsky dropped the chance to regain top spot thanks to Sarvusdalamoive and Megaduta Bhave's 71st minute header. And it was Christian Vacek Jr. who effectively signed the termination of employment notice for Takehiko Ikeda thanks to him scoring the one and only goal in Sporting Ceneisis' victory over Athletic Dorfdifving. Ikeda's assistant Ryan Willian Calderon will temporarily take over training and management duties for the Canaries while they search for their next manager, with some pundits bravely suggesting Emilio Caravaggio as a plausible choice. However, given how Caravaggio had been treated by football fans in recent weeks, it seems understandable if he stays away from any sort of managerial job in Abanhfleft or even the rest of the APOC Coalition in the near future.
Saturday night has been scheduled for Niraza Rovers versus All-Inclusive Haranguer. Since both were newly promoted teams, the networks had assumed that this would be a relegation six-pointer when they drew up the TV schedule, but following All-Inclusive's impressive return to the top flight so far, this fixture has become (near the) top versus (almost rock) bottom. The Niraza fans still come to the Pixylight Stadium in droves (even though some of them, especially the older ones, stubbornly continue to call their home ground Clifton Park) and they still the songs celebrating their club legends and history, but they also admit that life in the Premier League has been a hard and bitter adjustment that the team, at the moment, seem unable to make. Things were already looking bad for the Rovers, and it was about to get worse thanks to Katarina Dana Bonner. The former Anglatian international on the 12th minute curled home a long shot from outside the D that went straight and true for goal until the last second when it swerved to the right and caught Hugo Henkel completely off guard. Yolanda Bastos doubled the Sand Tigers' advantage in the 34th minute with a bouncing header from Billie Lawson's corner which bamboozled Henkel yet again and left him jumping into the air when he should have stayed on the ground. Niraza offered little in the way of threat against the Haranguer defense, and the away side were content to plod along before Jourdain Bonnay scored in the 73rd minute, completely against the run of play, from a corner that had come about thanks to an unexpected Niraza counterattack. But Haranguer hadn't even had time to be worried about their lead slipping before Yolanda bagged her brace two minutes after to restore the Sand Tigers' two-goal cushion, a lead which would then remain until the final whistle. Vernon Harland may have been Niraza's manager for five years running, and he may have led them to promotion to the Premier League, but if results don't pick up then he might very well be the next manager on the chopping block.
Only one game in Sunday in the Premier League thanks to the FNLAF deal, and it's the marquee match-up between Riuwiee United and Xemlice Rovers, although United fans may have been hoping that people would forget about this game, and quickly at that because it just doesn't make for good viewing if you happen to be a Blue Tribesmen fan. If you're a neutral or a fan of Xemlice though then you might have watched the match highlights of this game quite a few times already. For lack of a better term, this United team were a complete shambles. Xemlice appeared like they could pass through the Riuwiee defenders like they weren't even there, and if it weren't for a combination of poor finishing and Orestes Katsouranis III's goalkeeping ability, this could have been an even worse result for the Blue Tribesmen. As it stands though, four goals is still a hell of a lot to concede, even in the Fleftic Premier League where eight-goal games are not that uncommon. And it all began thanks to Platon Giannopoulos, who was getting that rare start because of Ulrich Millerson suffering an injury in training. Giannopoulos, known more for his heading ability than anything else, ended up being in the right place at the right time, and he scored what fans and pundits like to call a "striker's goal" following a sort of organized chaos in the Riuwiee penalty area, and the Fhulghamousian defender swung at the ball and it somehow ended up in the back of the net. Giannopoulos and Xemlice still celebrated it anyway because a goal is a goal no matter who scores it or how it comes about. Ewald Schwinghammer then slotted it in from a tight angle ten minutes later, leading to the away fans singing about Ewald and his hammer and the manner that he "schwings" it. The second half was more of the same, except this time Alfonso Hernandez scored both of Xemlice's goals this side of half-time. Oleg van der Beek did find the back of the net, but by then it was literally too little too late as he did it literally at the last minute, and all he ended up doing was deny Geoffrey Pagan the clean sheet. That normally wouldn't be a matter of real consequence, but after having had literally nothing to do for 89 minutes, Pagan must be surely beating himself up for letting one slip against a team that the Gamekeepers had so thoroughly dominated.
Unbelievable. IT seems like only days ago that the new season of the Fleftic Premier League had begun, and now we are already one-third of the way through it. It's been a season of thrills and spills so far, and by the looks of things this is not likely to change at all, which is a good thing. What good is a league where there is no excitement at all? Getting back on track now, and Matchday Fourteen starts off at Friday night yet again at Imgortur as the Fleftic Air Force pay Locomotive a visit. On paper, both sides appear to be equally matched, but on the table Air Force are right in the middle thanks to a string of good results early on, but regression have caught up to them and now they could consider themselves struggling. Locomotive themselves are in a similar boat except the other way around: they got off to a poor start but now they've picked up a good run of results, which they hoped to continue against their visitors. And that was exactly what would happen; Filipp Dykhovichny banging in a goal in the 18th minute and Quintrell Lidgley scoring a direct free kick with one minute to go in the first half. Fleftic Air Force offered little in the way of coming back against the Engineers, and it was even a Locomotive player who gave the Golden Eagles a way back, although Lungile Montanari certainly didn't intend to do that. He intended to clear the ball for a throw-in or, worse case, a corner. What he didn't intend to do was nutmeg Romolo Pangallo and watch the ball roll into the net. And yet that's exactly what happened. Montanari must be feeling relieved that Fleftic Air Force were unable to really build upon the lifeline that had been for all intents and purposes handed to them.
Sporting Ceneisis and Bananas squared off in the early Saturday game, and the Blues went in knowing that a win would take them two points clear at the top, even if it could very well be temporary. But as was often the case in the Premier League, Ceneisis saw the opportunity but couldn't take it, even if they had wanted to. Bananas had decided to start with Harit Almelor up front, a striker who had found the back of the net only once in fourteen games this season, so the home side had every reason to feel confident about getting a win. But what was it that people said about taxis or buses or other modes of public transportation? You wait for one for a very long time, and then two come along at the same time. That was exactly what happened to Harit Almelor. After going goalless for five games, he suddenly goes and scores a brace. Two goals in ten minutes, scores in the 27th and 37th minutes. Fantasy football players must be shaking their heads about not putting Almelor in their teams. Ceneisis scrambled around, searching for a goal or two, but to the casual observer it must have looked like headless chickens running around. Then again to the trained footballing eye it also looked like headless chickens running around, so the conclusion has to be that Sporting Ceneisis played like headless chickens trying to score two goals that would just put them back on equal terms with their visitors. Naftali Singerstein did eventually score for the Blues, but with it being in 84th minute it was yet again too late to make any difference.
The afternoon games have proven to be interesting reading. Arsenal de Releinthi have finally got that new manager bounce going as they collected a much-needed 3-1 win over Thereisnogodistan; Jake Pimentel netting a first half hat trick as a gift to the fans and Rodolphe Mathieu for their patience. Rosenpfelblatz City have similarly gotten their campaign back on track with a battling 3-2 win against Paulsen, and Vernon Harland has kept his job (at least to the next week) after a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Admiral Porcusces. Only one goal apiece between Sarvusdalamoive and Athletic Dorfdifving but it's the same end result: one point for each team. Both Riuwiee United and Wanda Island Wanderers have picked up away wins over All-Inclusive Haranguer and Malabon respectively, and the Blue Tribesmen have kept a rare clean sheet, rare both for the team itself and the league in general.
And now for the big one: Xemlice Rovers versus Ludogorets Markovsky. It's difficult to say if now is a good time for both teams to face each other; Xemlice have been on a winning streak while Ludogorets are on a drawing streak; four draws on the trot now for the Foresters. This run had caused the team in green to lose their place at the top of the Premier League pile, and they must be itching to get that one win that gets them back. But the way Xemlice have been going at it, they are the absolutely last team in the league that Markovsky look capable of taking three points from. And it was indeed the case, at least in the early minutes of the game, with Alfonso Hernandez breaking the deadlock twenty minutes in. Markovsky responded soon enough through Damian Selikov, and then AP Kelly and Selikov combined to score two more goals in the 41st and 45th minutes to seemingly take the game away from Xemlice. Ludogorets were secure and they finally appeared to be on their way to bucking their recent trend of four consecutive draws until Xemlice made a number of late substitutions, most notable among them Massoud Sitangkay. Sitangkay, who had not provided much in the way of either goals or assists, would get the chance to preserve the Gamekeepers' winning run. Zhou Dianrong got things going in the 76th minute with a header from Sitangkay's corner, and then in the last minute of added time Sitangkay himself found the back of the net although he didn't really look like he was trying to at the moment. He wanted to cross the ball but he applied so much curve into it that it ended up going into the far post of Romolo Pangallo. Admiral Porcusces were the ones most delighted by this result.
The final game of Matchday Fourteen, as well as this part of the 2027-28 Fleftic Premier League season review, is at the Minchev Automobiles Field in Gyouza where the Young Lads are up against the Devil Dogs of Tefel. On the surface there doesn't appear to be much at risk in this game but a win for either of these teams could very well determine how their respective seasons will turn out. And both teams went at it like it was a relegation six-pointer, with Tefel drawing first blood through Muhsin Hakim only seven minutes in. Gyouza fought for an equalizer, and they got it three minutes after the half hour thanks to Noé Samuel's instinctive swing at the ball after Calvin Dosch had parried away Georges Edgar's attempt. The game continued at a frenetic pace throughout the rest of the ninety minutes, but even eighty minutes in things were already beginning to peter off because there's just no way that people, even top football players, can keep up the intensity for ninety minutes. Yet sometimes it's not about the intensity itself but when to use it as Hakim called upon his last remaining reserves for a final run at the goal. Tired legs were simply unable to keep up, and Hakim slotted home to take all three points back to Tefel.
Fleftic Premier League Table After Matchday Fourteen Premier League Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Admiral Porcusces 14 7 5 2 29 19 +10 26 Champions' Cup qualification
2 Sporting Ceneisis 14 7 4 3 31 26 +5 25 Globe Cup qualification
3 Ludogorets Markovsky 14 6 7 1 27 22 +5 25 Globe Cup qualification
4 Xemlice Rovers 14 7 3 4 35 26 +9 24 Globe Cup qualification
5 Riuwiee United 14 6 5 3 22 20 +2 23
6 Rosenpfelblatz City 14 6 4 4 33 29 +4 22
7 Wanda Island Wanderers 14 6 3 5 27 20 +7 21
8 Sarvusdalamoive 14 6 3 5 24 24 0 21
9 All-Inclusive Haranguer 14 6 2 6 27 25 +2 20
10 Gyouza Young Lads 14 5 4 5 27 26 +1 19
11 Fleftic Air Force 14 5 4 5 20 21 −1 19
12 Bananas FC 14 4 6 4 20 19 +1 18
13 Paulsen FC 14 4 5 5 25 27 −2 17
14 Thereisnogodistan 14 4 5 5 26 30 −4 17
15 Tefel FC 14 5 2 7 33 38 −5 17
16 Locomotive Imgortur 14 5 2 7 25 32 −7 17
17 Malabon SC 14 4 3 7 26 33 −7 15
18 Arsenal de Releinthi 14 3 5 6 31 30 +1 14 Relegation to Unang Liga
19 Niraza Rovers 14 1 7 6 27 35 −8 10 Relegation to Unang Liga
20 Athletic Dorfdifving 14 1 5 8 15 28 −13 8 Relegation to Unang Liga
The end of Matchday Fourteen sees Admiral Porcusces now on top of the table, helped in part by Ludogorets Markovsky's inexplicable slide in form (five draws in five games). Hot on the Foxes' heels are their provincial rivals Sporting Ceneisis though, and as always it's a matter of pride about who sits higher on the table. Xemlice Rovers have been impressive, and a run of four straight wins has put them in fourth place, but the likes of Riuwiee United and Wanda Island Wanderers are still very much in the conversation. Rosenpfelblatz City have stunned everyone with their incredible turnaround and the Citizens are now firmly back in the conversation for the title. At the wrong end of the table, Athletic Dorfdifving remain firmly rooted to the bottom, and helping them prop up the rest is new boys Niraza Rovers. The team occupying the relegation place, surprisingly enough, is Arsenal de Releinthi. Though they may have gotten their first win under interim manager Rodolphe Mathieu, they've still got a long, long way to go before they can get back to where they feel they belong on this table.
Race for the Golden Boot1. Jake Pimentel (Arsenal de Releinthi) - 14 goals
T2. Arthur Supratno (Malabon SC) - 10 goals
T2. Corey Wheeler (Xemlice Rovers) - 10 goals
T2. Filipp Dykhovichny (Locomotive Imgortur) - 10 goals
T2. Hamish Muir (Riuwiee United) - 10 goals
T2. Kareem Dagen (Rosenpfelblatz City) - 10 goals
T2. Yolanda (All-Inclusive Haranguer) - 10 goals
What a sequence of games this has been for Jake Pimentel. The results may not have gone in his team's favor but he's doing his very best to keep Arsenal de Releinthi on the winning side; unfortunately, it's that part of the plan which hasn't quite worked out yet for the Gunners. And Pimentel's hat trick over Thereisnogodistan sees him secure a healthy lead in the race for the Golden Boot, but below him are a helluva lot of competitors. Arthur Supratno, Filipp Dykhovichny, Hamish Muir, Kareem Dagen, even Yolanda Bastos; any of them on a really good day can overturn that deficit quickly, but only as soon as someone figures out how to keep Pimentel quiet on the pitch.FPL Player of the Month: Jake Pimentel (Arsenal de Releinthi)
Things may not be looking good at the moment for Arsenal de Releinthi, but at least they know they can rely on at least one person to do the job, and that is Jake Pimentel. With seven goals and four assists to his name this month Pimentel has made watching the Gunners just that little bit more bearable for the fans, and judging by his current form and the recent upswing in Arsenal's fortunes, more may be in store for him.FPL Manager of the Month: Desmond Lewis (Xemlice Rovers)
All things considered, only two managers were being considered for the Manager of the Month award this month: Desmond Lewis of Xemlice Rovers and Joe Churchill of Rosenpfelblatz City. It was yet another close vote, and history may have favored Churchill, but on this occasion the fact that Xemlice have been a little more consistent across the season so far has given Lewis the edge. It is very much a deserved award for the young manager, and both he and Xemlice will hope that it is the first of many to come.