A-League Newswires (Brenecia Domestic Football)

by **A-League** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:59 pm

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Halholzer United        38  27   5   6  70  26  +44  86
  2 Kingsgrove              38  22  13   3  72  37  +35  79
  3 Northern Union          38  21   6  11  57  31  +26  69
  4 Harmonica Tundra        38  21   3  14  51  43   +8  66
  5 Rozelle                 38  19   7  12  62  47  +15  64
  6 Pilgrimage              38  18   8  12  44  35   +9  62
  7 North Hall              38  15  13  10  40  31   +9  58
  8 Falkner United          38  16  10  12  61  54   +7  58
  9 Bellight FC             38  15  11  12  60  54   +6  56
 10 Bellight Wanderers      38  15   7  16  41  37   +4  52
 11 South Rathia            38  12  13  13  35  41   -6  49
 12 Rozelle United          38  13  10  15  44  52   -8  49
 13 Francisca Orient        38  13   7  18  42  54  -12  46
 14 Guilder                 38  10  12  16  35  50  -15  42
 15 Lotus Park              38   9  12  17  38  53  -15  39
 16 Cape of Hope FC         38  11   4  23  39  62  -23  37
 17 Marque                  38  10   7  21  43  67  -24  37
 18 SWU FC                  38   7  14  17  33  49  -16  35
 19 Saint Alexander         38   7  13  18  28  48  -20  34
 20 Rosbank Town            38   8   7  23  39  63  -24  31

  1 Westpike United          38  25   8   5  78  29  +49  83
  2 Pikemouth                38  22   9   7  68  33  +35  75
  3 Halholzer Sundays        38  22   7   9  61  44  +17  73
  4 Sciongrad Rovers         38  22   5  11  74  48  +26  71
  5 Gentlemen's Club         38  21   7  10  82  59  +23  70

TOP SCORERS
22 - E. Charlestown (HHU)
19 - G. Urrunaga (HHU)
18 - E. Killanen (KNG)
17 - S. Adelardi (BFC), A. Sandro (FLK)
16 - N. Gardella (KNG), E. Ashworth (ROZ)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Ezekiel Charlestown (HHU)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Eoin Killanen (KNG)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Eoin Killanen (KNG)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Jakob Cornwall (HMT)
Team of the Year: Clarke (HHU); Molina (KNG), O’Hara (HHU), Gillard (NTH), Branagh (NTU); Blackslate (HMT), Moss (ROZ), Lund (FLK); Charlestown (HHU), Urrunaga (HHU), Killanen (KNG)
Manager of the Year: Brian Ashgrove (HHU)

League Finish: 9th
UICA Run: Globe Cup Playoff Round
Stadium: Crop of Rock Stadium (7,500)
Nickname: The Reds
Manager: Jack Bolton
Captain: Vina O’Hara
Top Scorer: Somni Adelardi (17)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Lillehammer; 2 - Park, 6 - Frostmarris, 5 - Benbow, 18 - Duffy; 13 - Camero, 15 - Mulberry, 4 - O’Hara (c), 18 - Asher; 9 - Adelardi, 10 - Birikaitis
In: Diedrich Frostmarris (Cranequin City, loan), Lufus Aurora (returns from loan)
Out: Corentin Jack St. John (Violence Chariots, 8.5m), Osmond Eben (Halholzer United, 1.2m), Declan Costa (released), Bill Ride (retired)
Promoted: Glenn McTaggare (GK, 20)

Bellight, it has to be admitted, weren't quite where they should be last season, finishing in a disappointing 9th. But their familiar high-octane, blood-and-thunder approach to the attack is sure to light up the league as always - hopefully with better results this time. That said, it's a worry that they've had to sell two of their best players - St. John, in the most expensive A-League transfer of the window, leaves for the Premiership as Osmond Eben skips across the country to Halholzer United. Combined cost: almost 10 million. Meanwhile, they've signed a (highly promising) teenager on loan from Cranequin City. Not exactly ideal.

"Somni! Somni, Somni! Somni, Somni! Somni Adelardi!"
"Guru! Guru, Guru! Guru Guru! Guru Birikaitis!"
In such a simple, addictive call-and-response chant the all-conquering Bellight strike partnership is venerated on a weekly basis within the stadium. But that isn't the be-all-and-end-all, and the Reds are a very good team. Thorgen Lillehammer in goal is a catlike presence, prowling and leaping and saving almost everything that comes his way. Frostmarris will partner the experienced and canny Benbow while Gerry Duffy hangs out at leftback making constant surging runs up and down. Vina O'Hara is still the heart and soul of the team in midfield, inevitably behind pretty much everything good that ever happens at the club and still going strong at 34, while Keating Asher is regarded as a promising one to watch. And, well, the big men up front. Mere journeymen at the league's outset, they've formed a fantastic partnership with one another.

Bellight are good... but diminished. They'll come 7th, comfortably in the Globe Cup spots but in need of more time for a serious assault on the Champions' Cup places.

League Finish: 10th
Stadium: New Ground (3,000)
Nickname: the Wanderers
Manager: Hans Jelico
Captain: Iero Boldface
Top Scorer: Gaston (12)
Likely Starting XI: (5-4-1) 1 - Rojas; 2 - Boldface (c), 5 - Revue, 19 - Scrivenor, 4 - Mitchell, 3 - Michaels; 6 - Angryndar, 25 - Stortford, 7 - Mortlock, 11 - Hughes; 9 - Gaston
In: Galila Hedley (Halholzer Sundays, 1.2m), Bartolomej Paulissen (Union FK, 750k), Isidora Reynder (Sciongrad Rovers, 500k)
Out: Sam Holden (Cape of Hope, 400k), Sarah Tremorebridge (Arbour Lights, free), Paige Turner (Teol United, free), Clarice Morce (retired), Virgee O'Cleary (retired), John Harper (retired)
Promoted: Filbert Usman (LB, 17), Fred Mortlock (CM, 20)

If you were to list all A-League, and only remembered 19 of them, Bellight Wanderers might be the one you leave out. That said, there's some optimism coming into this campaign - they've finally gotten rid of Sarah Tremorebridge, after all, with two exciting players from the second tier bulking up the squad. In all, a thoroughly unremarkable window. But that's fine - the status quo is good enough for the Wanderers.

Hans Jelico's lads play a back five that suits their safety-first inclinations, with veteran rightback Iero Boldface the leader of an inexperienced back line - 23-year old Scrivenor is a classy and refined centre-half, probably the best of the unit. A young midfield core of the destroyer Mortlock and the incisive, decisive Stortford - both 20 - have a strong pair of wingers in support. The wonderfully-named Angryndar of Dainer is a ferocious, barbarian presence on the right, Jack Hughes an excellent orthodox winger on the left, while two options present themselves to spearhead the charge. Typical Islander Gaston's silky feet and youth have been preferred of late, but the typical Nepharim Crane, burly and dedicated to winning at all costs, is capable of making a powerful impact on any game.

So all in all, the Wanderers are a decent side, and they'll get a decent finish. 10th would suit them fine.

League Finish: 16th
Stadium: Hope Stadium (4,000)
Nickname: the Seekers
Manager: Richard Babcock
Captain: Jasper Richmond
Top Scorer: Oblong Itsasontzigintzantailerra (11)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Richmond (c); 2 - Readdie, 5 - Quirk, 4 - Lachlan, 3 - Ivers; 6 - Reagan, 8 - MacFarland, 7 - Dark’oak, 11 - Asquith; 9 - Vixen, 10 - Itsasontzigintzantailerra
In: Alex Huff (Pilgrimage, 500k), Aline Ivers (Halholzer United, 400k), Sam Holden (Bellight Wanderers, 400k)
Out: Rufus Haul (Halholzer Spitfires, 500k), Howard Harlow (Newtown, free), Emma Harper (retired), Ethel Sheehan (retired)
Promoted: Alastair Crumplehorn (GK, 20), Kuno Gostislav (CM, 18)

Patchy; that's the word that springs to mind. Rock-bottom at the season's halfway mark, the Cape finally got it together and fought their way to safety. Just, they're skint, and couldn't afford any good players in the offseason that might uplift them from a relegation scrap. Ivers and Holden were surplus to requirements at better clubs, and the side, well... there's just as much of a gaping void of depth as ever. Babcock likes to play an attractive, forward-going style in a 4-4-2, and on the whole it deserved to stay up last season. But being skint is hard.

There are a lot of bad players at the Cape who get entirely too many minutes, and signing two more players who aren't very good hasn't really helped the problem. Richmond was probably their best player last season, and when a goalkeeper is your standout player, that isn't a good sign. Eabha Quirk adds some solidity to a vulnerable back line, while the young blood in midfield offers the greatest cause for optimism. 20-year old Odin Breckinridge on the left is the great bright spot while 19-year old Tittensor and 22-year old MacFarland offer a solid midfield base, while understudies like Dark'oak and veteran former Brenecia international Asquith will fill in as needed. Up front, Oblong Itsas- Up front, their bruising Audioslavian striker is partnered by the somewhat delicate but reasonably capable Donna Vixen, just that they're backed up by Hugh Peacock, who is one of the worst players in the league.

Things don't look too healthy in the Cape, though they should be good enough to stay up this season... in 18th.

League Run: 8th
Cup Run: Semifinals
Stadium: Hunter Hall (32,000)
Nickname: the Hunters
Manager: Blake Lawless
Captain: Rickard Lund
Top Scorer: Anderson Sandro (17)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Pence; 2 - St. Mellion, 6 - Ramundo, 22 - Espinosa, 3 - Murtagh; 8 - Lund (c), 13 - Farrier, 14 - Luevano; 7 - Paracoilson, 12 - Kellow, 10 - Rafferty
In: Colm Farrier (Sharrow, 1.6m), Paracoilson (Sokabachi, free)
Out: Anderson Sandro (Cazadores Cathair, 5m), Aphrodite Whitesmith (Rozelle United, 1.6m), Helen Vickers (Tyrysier, 500k), Catherine Graves (Golden Eagles FC, free), Axe the Dominant (retired)
Promoted: Caolan Coveny (RW, 19), Jancis Adrian (GK, 19), Judith Russell (ST, 19)

Who'd have thought it? Anderson Sandro actually paid off. He showed up, scored 17 goals, provoked a fistfight with most of the Saint Alexander defence and was sold on at a more-than-fourfold profit. Falkner in general played very exciting, attack-minded football with plenty of goals at both ends and a lot of running. Unfortunately, profit doesn't play centre-forward. Nor does it play right wing, and Falkner sold both of its recognised right wingers - Whitesmith was snapped up by an aspirational Rozelle United, Catherine Graves was released. Axe the Dominant, meanwhile, was retired. Helen Vickers, meanwhile, moves to chase the thought of a career revival yet again. They've brought in young Colm Farrier from Sharrow, a redoubtable holding midfielder, as well as the unknown free agent Paracoilson. Judging by pre-season, he doesn't have much to offer rather than a few flashy tricks.

The result is a very strange team. International quality takes the form of former Brenecia international Pence and Mareibat fullback St. Mellion, while Rickard Lund has been a consistently excellent driving force from the midfield. Christine Kellow up front has run hot and cold, seemingly unhappy with last season's bit-part role and, it has to be said, looking demotivated and overweight last season. The 31-year old will need to kick it back up a gear. She'll have the help of the dynamic 20-year old left winger Patrick Rafferty, and there's a lot of trust in youth in general - four teenagers in all are first-team players, as well as 22-year olds in Farrier and backup striker Bittencourt and a couple more in their early twenties. Veterans like Rochford, Cunningham and Neil Musni will offer cooler heads on the bench. It's a blend that Blake Lawless has always been fond of, and if he can keep this increasingly temperamental team from imploding, who knows how good they might be?

The problem is... that's a big if. They look likely to manage about 12th.

League Run: 11th
Cup Run: Champions
CWC Run: Third Round
Stadium: Forharrow (21,000)
Nickname: the Jacks
Manager: Conrad Lauren
Captain: Kurtis Burgundy
Top Scorer: Chandler Southwick (11)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Larsson; 19 - Rossini, 2 - Burgundy (c), 6 - Bondfield, 18 - Kipling; 7 - Farkanhan, 8 - Bolton, 4 - Docherty, 11 - Carter; 10 - Garrard, 9 - Southwick
In: Blake Carter (Holdenberg City, 1.6m), Ina Kipling (FC Endeavour, 1.5m), Konnor Rossini (Project +90, free)
Out: Alexis Woodgate (Saint Alexander, 800k), Paul Ulster (Southside Wanderers, 750k), Kirsten Keohane (North Rathia, 700k), Hartley Espinosa (Gallant Cross, loan)
Promoted: Priscilla Maitland (LM, 19), Alexis Harlan-Tracey (ST, 19)

Francisca Orient continue to be a midtable side shuffling around in quality. But, well, this time they managed to take home the Cup. For the second time in a row, no less! Not bad for a side traditionally striving for the title of Marque's second team, and they're now far and away its first - thanks in no small part to the fact that while Marque are dysfunctional from the boardroom to the pitch, Orient have built in small, measured steps and kept financially stable at all of them. They've gone for experience on the left wing with their main transfers - Kipling from Endeavour and Carter from Holdenberg, both in their early 30s. Konnor Rossini, on a free from the Project, is a typically frugal option at rightback.

What this leaves is one of the oldest sides in the league, with an average age of 28.5 in the expected first eleven and just three people below 28. Greig Larsson (one of those people, at 25) is an excellent reflex goalkeeper and not for nothing a fringe international, while captain Kurtis Burgundy (formerly of Treason) is a redoubtable stopper centre-half, converted from rightback as his pace left him. He's gone above and beyond for Orient, excelling every single season and, as designated penalty taker, is yet to miss. Carter and Kipling will provide plenty of guile down the left wing, while a straightforward pair of finishers in Southwick and Garrard will finish what the wingers start. Docherty and Bolton in the middle are there to run and hit people, not to make the play - Orient are solid at the back, play fast down the wings and hit hard on the counter. Simple, but undeniably effective.

While it's hard to see Orient bringing international Cup Winners' Cup glory back to the A-League, they can't be faulted for that. They should be in line for a comfortable 11th-place finish.

League Run: 14th
Cup Run: First Round
Stadium: Riverside Stadium (13,000)
Nickname: the Phoenices
Manager: Judith Keller
Captain: Isadora Bergman
Top Scorer: Miriam Spitfire, Wren Gallagher (9)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Boston; 13 - Waters, 5 - Pritchard, 19 - Arena, 18 - Adnansen; 11 - Fallon, 4 - Bergman (c), 22 - Fallon; 7 - Rieher, 9 - Crowther, 15 - Spitfire
In: Daniel Pritchard (Raven River, 1m), Elfleda Arterberry (North Rathia, 850k), Justine Draper (Chafford, 700k)
Out: Anaximander Scrivener (Halholzer United, 6.5m), Wren Gallagher (Mabel Wigglytuffs, free), Nikita Clohessy (New Island, free), Miriam Spitfire (retired)
Promoted: Oneida Kerr (CM, 18), Astrid Tennison (ST, 18)

Guilder are broke. Well... were broke, since they managed to sell their star man Anaximander Scrivener for six million pounds. That's one tragedy - the other is the retirement of international legend and local hero Miriam Spitfire, whose technique and poise will be missed. You could make a reasonable argument that those two were their best players last season, key to reaching a safe 14th place. The problem with Guilder, at the moment, is they don't have any good players. That's a bad problem to have. Still, with their shoestring budget and defensive, reactive style of play, they've done well for themselves purely through sheer stability. Most years, at least two A-League clubs tend to implode in spectacular fashion, and that tends to get them relegated.

That in mind, Daniel Pritchard was an excellent recruit for the defence. A steady 33-year old veteran centre-half with extensive Premiership experience, Pritchard will be an excellent leader and defender at this level. Rightback Lena Waters, formerly of Kingsgrove, offers similar class both going forward and tracking back, while the hard-working and hard-running midfield unit of Fallon-Bergman-Hartley chokes things down nicely. Most of the Phoenices' threat comes either from set pieces (Hartley is a budding specialist) or from rapid counter-attacks executed by a lightning-quick front three. While Varmelle international Reiher has generally been reliable for them, Crowther is a true confidence striker who can let her side down through inconsistency. These stocks have been reinforced through the acquisition of Arterberry and Draper from the second tier (the latter with a few games of A-League experience under her belt), but neither is truly proven.

It's going to be a rough season for Guilder, albeit one they ought to survive. Such is their existence. 16th would do them.

League Run: Champions
UICA Run: Globe Cup Playoff Round
CEDC Run: Quarterfinals
Stadium: Hope Ground (20,000)
Nickname: the Golds
Manager: Brian Ashgrove
Captain: Roger O’Connor
Top Scorer: Ezekiel Charlestown (22)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Clark; 15 - Bergman, 5 - O’Hara, 6 - Scrivener, 3 - Eben; 7 - Abbriacciabene, 16 - Grinish, 10 - von Maelstrom, 11 - O’Connor (c); 8 - Charlestown, 9 - Urrunaga
In: Anaximander Scrivener (Guilder, 6.5m), Osmond Eben (Bellight FC, 1.2m), Kyo Arai (Project +90, free), Ozaria Gandhi (FC Endeavour, loan)
Out: Timwise Clerkens (Drundelle Wolves FC, 500k), Aline Ivers (Cape of Hope, 400k), Mikkel Enevoldsen (released), Sieghard Salomon (released), Magnus Ericcson (released), Anjelica Donohue (retired)
Promoted: Yorin Voeller (ST, 17), Alex Hunt (CM, 17)

There was a popular point of view at the beginning of the united A-League where Brenecian sides wondered precisely what it was that their counterparts from Mareibat could accomplish. Fast-forward to today and Halholzer United are standout favourites to retain their title, fresh off spending 6.5 million pounds on Brenecia's best young centre-half to reinforce an already rock-solid back line. And Mareibat's first-choice leftback, to boot. Oh, and loaning Ozaria Gandhi, the younger sister of Apox international and blossoming world-class striker Alpha Gandhi. And shifting out some dead wood. Tremble, in other words, for United are coming.

An experienced core is at the heart of Halholzer United, but there's enough young blood to give them a core for the future. Arthur Clark is probably the league's best goalkeeper, a perfect shot-stopper who almost never makes an error. Rhys Bergman, formerly Sabrefell Athletic captain, is a diligent presence at rightback while Eben is more of a charger, with Finbar O'Hara's guile and wisdom offset by the murderous cinderblock that is Scrivener, a player who almost single-handedly dragged Guilder to midtable safety. Abbriacciabene and O'Connor on the wings offer yet more international talent that utterly tear up A-League fullbacks while combining nicely with their own, as rehabilitated former Brinemouth midfielder von Maelstrom offers the main touch of class in midfield. Up front, they have Ezekiel Charlestown - a charging stallion blatantly too good for this level - and Gaizka Urrunaga - a ruthless poacher probably too good for this level. Ozaria Gandhi, 20 and dynamic, will get plenty of time as well, while the likes of Baars and Mustard are seasoned enough to start for most teams in the league.

There's no real room for doubt. The Gold-and-Whites are in a Golden Age, and they should retain their title.

League Run: 4th
UICA Run: Champions Cup Playoff Round; Globe Cup Second Knockout Round
CEdC Run: Second Round
Stadium: The Old Shipyard (3,500)
Nickname: Tundra
Manager: Roy Tobin
Captain: Jack Morriston
Top Scorers: Gustaf Kolehmainen (15)
Likely Starting XI: (5-4-1) 1 - Ralaanen; 2 - Moses, 6 - Latsft, 20 - Constantini, 17 - Bentha, 3 - Mulgood; 7 - Monteforth, 8 - Morriston (c), 10 - Blackslate, 11 - Lionheart; 9 - Brêgoô
In: Alice Monteforth (Gwinevra Barbarians, 4m), Sê Brêgoô (Utica United, 2.5m), Jacob Hunter (Teol United, 1.25m)
Out: Jakob Cornwall (Molsbik Arkjet, 8.5m), Ethan Kuhlmann (Athletique Vaumont, 1m), Travers McNaughton (Scaffield, 300k), Gustaf Kolehmainen (Wofford Town, free), Allen Bauer (released), Mitchell Hearn (retired), River Babcock (retired)
Promoted: Ambrosio Constantini (CB, 19), Valentin Cowden (LB, 19), Alex Ockburn (LM, 17), Umbar Richards (CB, 17), Jolie Lowe (GK, 19), Alan Eustis (GK, 20)

It's hard to say exactly why or how, but Tundra have moulded themselves into a very good side, bit by bit and piece by piece. Last season saw them manage to go deep into the Globe Cup as well as coming fourth in the league, and they've only strengthened since in an extensive squad overhaul. Kolehmainen is the only departure who ever really meant anything to the club, as the immortal Valhallan striker heads to the ANL2 - but as youth products flood into the first team, veteran winger Alice Monteforth arrives from the ANL1 as the clever Brêgoô is snapped up from Utica.

They have quality all over the pitch as a result. Buyan international Finn Ralaanen is an excellent goalkeeper with catlike reflexes, and he's ably supported by a disciplined back five - there's high hopes for Constantini, but Samphis Bentha is the real leader of the centre-halves, while Moses and Mulgood are hard-running wingbacks (and, yes, the backups are quality too). Morriston and Blackslate are hard-working box-to-box midfielders who also boast silky technical skill, while the former Apox international Monteforth is best suited as a set piece/long ball specialist par excellence, with the hard-running and incisive Lionheart a natural foil. Up front, Brêgoô is desperate to stand out after a deeply frustrating stint at Utica, and his ruthless finishing and clever movement make him well suited to this team and this league.

As a result, Tundra look pretty well-placed to repeat the feat this season, and look by a distance the second-strongest Mareibat side. They'll come 6th, at least.

League Run: 2nd
Cup Run: Runners-up
UICA Run: Globe Cup Second Knockout Round
Stadium: Royal Park (42,000)
Nickname: the Royals
Manager: Gabrielle Hourihane
Captain: Miriam Portadown
Top Scorer: Eoin Killanen (18)
Likely Starting XI: (4-2-3-1) 1 - Knight; 2 - Molina, 16 - Kelly, 5 - Bologna, 3 - Portadown (c); 6 - Fife, 4 - Crowley; 7 - Portsman, 8 - Killanen, 11 - Carroll; 10 - Scherzer
In: Cheney Scherzer (Wye United, 3.5m), Catheline Portsman (Marque, 1.5m), Emma Kelly (Halholzer Spitfires, 1.25m)
Out: Robin Hendrickson (Pikemouth, 1.6m), Rowena Stamper (Rozelle United, 1m), David Rowe (Sutcroft, free), Niccolo Gardella (retired), Jill Goodman (Gallant Cross, loan)
Promoted: Roisin Carroll (LAM, 19)

Close. Kingsgrove were beaten just three times all season... but they had thirteen draws, and were ultimately pipped to the title by a fairly decisive seven points. This season, though, they look better than the last in what is set to be a very tight battle at the top. Exhibit A - Cheney Scherzer, Brenecia's top international goalscorer to date and proven in the Premiership with Crisisbless and the ANL with Wye. At 31, his pace is entirely intact. Another international in Kelly was brought in for the defence, a bit of a gamble with nothing to lose, and Portsman offers a good option on the right wing. But it has to be said that some of the losses will hurt. Stamper, their captain, was snapped up across the city. Gardella, their flamboyant, incisive Ossadiacquan forward, who was by a reasonable margin the league's best player for at least a couple of years, retires. Hendrickson, a youth academy graduate, is sold, and another veteran in Rowe is released.

The side itself has plenty of international class. Knight, Kelly, and the slick holding midfield pair of Fife and Crowley have all won a smattering of caps for Brenecia, while ball-playing Loris Bologna has been a stalwart for Felix over the years. Former Raven River defender Portadown, the new captain, also stands out at leftback, and should be set to lead by example charging down the left flank. 65 caps and 6 goals is no mere smattering. Portsman is set to bolster an already potent attacking midfield with young gun Roisin Carroll out on the left, a pace-setting playmaker who has terrorised the B-League for the past two years, while Eoin Killanen is the team's beating heart in the attack. His quick, one-touch passing alights the attack and he's always a threat when bearing down on goal. Cheney Scherzer, meanwhile, and his 48 international goals offers a pace that has only just started to flag a little. It's still enough to tear down defences. He's lethal, as well - if given half a chance, which he will be given, he will finish it. Further young blood such as Lovelock and Gardot are more feathers in the cap for the Royals and their reputation of blooding young talent.

But blooding young talent is one thing. Winning the league is another, and the depth of the side (and their central defence) isn't quite good enough for that. They'll come 4th, or thereabouts.

League Run: 15th
Cup Run: First Round
UICA Run: Globe Cup Second Preliminary Round
Stadium: Lotus Park (31,000)
Nickname: the Foresters
Manager: Maxine Saunders
Captain: Rook Harrington
Top Scorer: Kristopher Nilssen, Kyron Everdale (10)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 12 - Breen; 19 - Bueskens, 6 - Chilton (c), 5 - Colback, 3 - Thames; 7 - Eizenhart, 8 - Bellamy, 4 - Shorten, 11 - Everdale; 10 - Nilssen, 9 - Guthrie
In: Chaim Eizenhart (Stoneshore United, free), Leo Graves (Project +90, free)
Out: Remy Sutton (Evenfar FC, 800k), Fernando Cleto (released), Rook Lundgren (retired)
Promoted: Roisin Fairbairn (LB, 18), Fionn Lynch (ST, 18)

Lotus Park are an enigma. There's no real reason why they should be as poor as they are, and yet, well, they are. Or at least they've been playing like that, amidst rumours of a deep-seated drinking culture at the club (just rumours, of course). Maxine Saunders has kept her job for the time being, amidst promises that, yes, she can turn this ship around. The transfer window has been largely inactive, seeing only a couple of free agents brought in - Eizenhart from Cosumar and one of the Brenecians in Project +90. Is it just a matter of stability?

There are a few good players, of course. Cheney Breen, for example, has the distinction of being one of the most confident goalkeepers in the league, even if it's sometimes unwarranted. Chilton and Colback in the heart of defence are both Brenecian internationals, while Russ Shorten is an ideal enforcer in midfield, the former Chenoworth Harrier a diligent, physical and uncompromising holding player. Up front, while Shaun Guthrie is one of the worst finishers in the league, Kris Nilssen's a far cooler head who generally puts his chances away. Redoubtable veterans like Harrington, Acronius international Campbell and backup goalkeeper Bullard offer their experience as well, while highly-rated young blood like Fairbairn, Lynch and the younger Chilton are capable of stepping in when needs must.

Overall, Lotus Park are recovering, but slowly. They should manage 13th.

by **A-League** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:59 pm

League Run: 17th
Cup Run: Semifinals
Stadium: Privateer Arena (28,000)
Nickname: the Privateers
Manager: Eleanor Lingard
Captain: Luciana Camargo
Top Scorer: Pamala Croft, Rachel Byrne (9)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Ralston; 2 - Orizaga, 5 - Killenhall, 6 - Milliner, 3 - Malone; 7 - Siers, 4 - Levy, 8 - Devine, 13 - de Valle; 15 - Croft, 9 - Camargo (c)
In: Kenneth Milliner (Northern Union, 800k), Iapheth Devine (Snowden River, 750k), Devin De Valle (free agent)
Out: Catheline Portsman (Kingsgrove, 1.5m), John Arrowsmith (retired), Karsten Kellard (retired), Euan MacEighan (retired)
Promoted: Jack Mainehill (RM, 18), Gordon Kellond (ST, 18)

Okay, surely this time Marque are dead and buried, having been dead and buried for much of last season (including ten consecutive defeats that saw them outscored 6-31). The new tactics of Lingard and Lingard (yes, the manager and her assistant are sisters) and the nous of Kellard and MacEighan kept them up. The latter two have retired and the former's honeymoon is over. Oh, and they sold their best player. And their captain retired. And they replaced them with Union's fourth-choice centre-half, a 23-year old from the second tier and a free agent from Audioslavia who was signed up on the promise of his highlights reel. Oh, dear...

Marque's squad isn't pretty viewing. Ralston's reflex saves generally make up for her litany of routine errors over the course of a season, while Orizaga, Killenhall, Milliner and Malone is a pretty average defensive line. Ronan Levy is one of the few redeeming graces of the team, having a good line in the process of hacking midfielders to pieces, but the weakness of the rest of the midfield is alarming. As for their Islander strikers, Project +90 graduate Croft is quick enough to finish a few decent chances and Camargo is lanky and awkward enough to start some, but one of the few decent players of the club, Rachel Byrne, has been banished for the most part to the bench. The 32-year old striker is devoted to the club and utterly disgusted with the way it's being run, and whenever the press wants a juicy quote they turn to her and she's fined and banished to the reserves for a couple of matches. But she has goals in her, and they can't quite force her into a release. An awkward and shambolic situation for an awkward and shambolic club.

And yet, a few decent players is a few more than SWU. They should be good for a mighty 19th.

League Run: 7th
Cup Run: Second Round
UICA Run: Champions Cup Third Preliminary Round; Globe Cup Group Stage
CEdC Run: First Round
Stadium: Fenbrook Stadium (26,500)
Nickname: the Northerners
Manager: Jon Slatesaver
Captain: Rachel Prowse
Top Scorer: Seth Montague (12)
Likely Starting XI: (4-2-3-1) 1 - Fairhall; 2 - Kirill, 5 - Melendez, 18 - Gillard, 15 - Bowyer; 4 - Prowse (c), 21 - Lucassen; 7 - Strachan, 12 - Riel, 11 - Montague; 9 - dos Santos
In: Darwyn Lucassen (Century Mertagne, 5m), Juancarlos de Sierra (Cazadores Cathair, 4.25m), Beibhinn Harlech (Platwood, 1.75m)
Out: Chris Ravenhorst (Vermillion Wanderers, 1m), Bridget Sturrock (Armstrong, 750k), Reinhard Falkirk (Scaffield, free), Achilles Mikkelsen (retired), Luke November (FC Matovallanen, loan)
Promoted: Czeslawa Szukala (RB, 18), Sienna Fallon (LAM, 19)

Jon Slatesaver's last season before retirement, and he has not set a high bar for himself to exceed - seventh place and just 40 goals as Chris Ravenhorst's decline as a line-leading striker reached critical decline. The management has splashed out accordingly. Cosumar international Darwyn Lucassen was attracted from the LigAnaia (according to rumour, on the promise of being able to explore the many and rich mines of northern Brenecia in the offseason), as was Juancarlos de Sierra (somewhat more conventionally attracted to promises of first team football). Beibhinn Harlech, meanwhile, is more of a gamble, but she's excelled in the second tier for the past three seasons. Older stalwarts depart, as Luke November is loaned out to the Repechage49 in a decidedly COCANEFA-tinted transfer window.

What this results in is a quietly excellent side that is going to be pushing hard for a top-four finish. Seven internationals are in the first team, among them Sara Fairhall - one of the league's most reliable goalkeepers. Kirill on one wing is an excellent player getting better by the season while Premiership-seasoned Bowyer on the left is a long throw specialist as well as a strong all-around player. Blood-curdlingly violent Nepharim centre-half Marko Gillard gives most strikers pause. Lucassen is a silky operator on the ball with the steel of Prowse alongside him, while a solid set of attacking midfielders (Riel the best or the worst of them, with a tendency to float in and out of matches) spear-tipped by de Sierra, a typical Audioslavian centre-forward. Plenty of blood, sweat and tears, and a lethal finish. On the bench, the likes of Hart and Wyght (another international) have plenty left to offer, but the most excitement is reserved for Szukala and Fallon, both tipped to be international class.

On the whole, well, they're quite good, and the squad's increasingly classy. But they aren't world-beaters just yet. 5th would do them, and Slatesaver.

League Run: 3rd
Cup Run: Quarterfinals
UICA Run: Globe Cup First Knockout Round
Stadium: Union Park (36,000)
Nickname: Union
Manager: Althea Reader
Captain: Candace Rivers
Top Scorer: Dani Pendragon (15)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Shazib; 17 - Mariconda, 23 - Monroe, 5 - Rubio, 3 - Branagh; 8 - Rivers (c), 4 - Fengouli, 7 - Camden; 21 - Foran, 10 - Bellerose, 11 - Pendragon
In: Melinda Rubio and Emmeline Mariconda (Hastmead Diamante, 4m), Eden Finley (Snowden River, 1.4m)
Out: Brooke Searle (Firewood City, 2.5m), Amanda Halloran (Pikemouth, 1m), Kenneth Milliner (Marque, 800k), Mick Hadley (Saint Alexander, free), Seth Greig (retired), Mathis Woodgate (FC Matovallanen, loan)
Promoted: Aleksandra Skorupska (CM, 18), Coretta Corcrain (RW, 18), Max Thickett (GK, 18)

Perennial favourites Union have been left rather in the dust of the Gold-and-Whites of late, and it has to be admitted they haven't really made a stab at a proper marquee signing. Two capable Osarian defenders, a B-League centre-half and only one genuinely exciting player from the academy. The retirement of fiery centre-half Seth Greig will hurt, too... though the sky-high-rated Mathis Woodgate, it seems, will be given his chance on loan to the Repechage49. Not particularly exciting off the pitch.

It's always exciting when Shazib's on the pitch, though, and not always in a good way - a recent player of the season, but notoriously unreliable and probably needs to stop trying to do scissor kicks when he gets bored during a match. The pressure's eased on him though Rubio and Mariconda, both former squad players for Diamante, with the seasoned Brenecia internationals Monroe and Branagh completing the back four. Rivers, Fengouli and former Brenecia captain Camden forms a slow midfield, but one with plenty of guile (as well as Camden's set piece expertise). The directness of Pendragon and the irrepressible Foran on the wings can count on Bellerose to have the finishing touch up front. It's a veteran first-team lineup with an age of 29.3 when you discount the 20-year old Karena Foran (a distinct outlier), and they'll definitely have the experience to lift Union to glory. They just seem to be lacking... sparkle. After this season's clear-out, the depth is somewhat patchy (especially in midfield, though Skorupska might be ready to make the step up against A-League opponents already), which might be problematic when fighting on multiple fronts.

But... they're Union. And it's hard to bet against a second-place finish.

League Run: 2nd (B-League)
Cup Run: Third Round
Stadium: Seacastle (18,000)
Nickname: the Kingfishers
Manager: Bethany Donnell
Captain: Rebecca Milligan
Top Scorer: Rebecca Milligan (19)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Waterdown; 17 - Halloran, 5 - Seckerson, 21 - Bradden, 19 - Cunningham; 20 - Giraun, 15 - Hendrickson, 8 - O’Byrne; 13 - Bailen, 9 - Milligan, 14 - Tariff
In: Robin Hendrickson (Kingsgrove, 1.6m), Amanda Halloran (Northern Union, 1m), Fiona Tariff (Rozelle United, 900k), Yennifer Giraun (Morponte Fief, free), Ricardo Bailen (free agent)
Out: Jack Massey (Scaffield, 300k), Justinian Lotus (South Parrhesia, free), Cory Holmwood (Southside Wanderers, free)
Promoted: Victoria Brittain (ST, 19)

Pikemouth look steady. Not fantastically great, but a steady team buying the right players from the right teams. Promoted in spectacular fashion last season - needing to beat the Sundays away on the last matchday to leapfrog them into second and promptly doing so 2-0 - Pikemouth's management have figured you have to spend big to win big, splashing decent sums on squad players from good teams and a seasoned head in Tariff. A couple of free transfers round out the squad, Cosumar (Olympic women's) international Giraun and Ricardo Bailen bulking up the team.

Pikemouth, generally playing a fairly conventional and balanced style, have the advantage of a fairly young squad, but not exactly a pack of kids. Waterdown has proven to probably be the B-League's best goalkeeper last season, quick on her feet and fairly reliable. Halloran bolsters a defence which already featured rising stars Bradden and Cunningham, both of whom were linked with moves between seasons. Bradden, especially, is a pure bastion of strength. Midfield was a weakness last term aside from the tidy O'Byrne but should be up to scratch in light of its improvements. Attack might be a concern, with Tariff the primary source of end product - Bailen, a typical Audioslav with grit and pace to spare, should offer something different down the right. Some players on the bench are good, like veteran defender Ulster or various promising young forwards (Wakefield and Brittain). Others, like Nicolson, would be complete liabilities if called upon.

Overall, a good side with plenty to offer the top flight. 15th, and they might be around for a while.

League Run: 6th
UICA Run: Globe Cup First Knockout Round
Stadium: The Promised Land (4,000)
Nickname: the Pilgrims
Manager: Alice Jasgall
Captain: Lochlan Haeding
Top Scorer: Swag Vilhajalmsson (14)
Likely Starting XI: (4-1-4-1) 1 - Walker; 2 - Broadbent, 20 - Lenox, 6 - Scrivens, 3 - Holler; 4 - Karjaleinen; 8 - Akekunde, 7 - Mackinolty, 15 - Jones, 10 - Haggelund; 9 - Vilhajalmsson
In: Susan Endicott (AC Izotz Zubia, 1.3m), Joachim Elden (returned from loan)
Out: Alex Huff (Cape of Hope, 500k), Lochlan Haeding (Arbour Lights FC, 500k), Jack Holler (Sciongrad Rovers, free), Drew Karjaleinen (released)
Promoted: Ben Portents (RB, 20), Ralf Klerken (DM, 19)

Pilgrimage aren't always pretty, but they get results. They might be broke, but they have plenty of heart, plenty of discipline, and, well, they came sixth. With extensive experience with both Dwile Warriors and Izotz Zubia, the signature of veteran leftback Susan Endicott was a genuine coup who should seriously bolster an already formidable defence. Unsurprisingly, Endicott’s given the armband straight away, as the incumbent Haeding (as well as former number 3 Holler) are cut loose. Karjaleinen, meanwhile, goes off to seek opportunities abroad.

The squad still has a Townsend-shaped hole in it, but it's hard to see any real holes in the lineup - particularly with the indomitable Tregatta Walker between the posts. Endicott leads a defence shielded by young Ralf Klerken, a 19-year old with high hopes on his slim shoulders, and a very solid team in front. The intense speed of Akekunde offers a significant outlet to them going forward, with Haggelund an older, more physical presence, while Toma Ulysses might just be the creative X-Factor the Pilgrims need. Up front, Swag Vilhajalmsson has not always been consistent, but by the end of the season the numbers usually tell a good story. A number of serviceably squad players line the bench, the sturdy winger Corwin Byrd probably the best of them.

8th would be good enough for them, you'd fancy.

League Run: 5th
Cup Run: First Round
UICA Run: Champions Cup First Knockout Round
CEdC Run: Runners-up
Stadium: Rosary Stadium (38,000)
Nickname: the Saints
Manager: Raven Cullen
Captain: Justin Vauxhall
Top Scorer: Elsa Ashworth (16)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Nkutu; 2 - Báez, 5 - Rosseau, 6 - Kilcane, 3 - Henry; 8 - Galloway, 4 - Moss, 11 - Charing (c); 7 - Swain, 15 - Lilley, 10 - Volker
In: Tevin Lilley (Blacklake Blues, 6.5m), Matilda Farrell (Gallant Cross, 1.7m), Adán Báez (Avenida Principal, undisclosed)
Out: Robin Audrey (Westpike, 1m), Rook Milligan (Coret Rovers, 1m), Alisander Tynesman (South Rathia, 650k)

Narrowly pipped to the post for the regional championship in extra time. By a brace from their own former player. Thus ended a bittersweet campaign for the Saints, with plenty of turnover culminating in a slightly inconsistent team that ultimately made it to fifth. Further reinforcement, however, has been quick to follow - most hearteningly, Cosumar international striker Tevin Lilley should return pace and penetration to the front line. Baez will be a strong replacement for the stalwart Milligan (who leaves for the Nepharim First Division) while 20-year old winger Matilda Farrell has shown immense promise in the second tier for a couple of years. Dead wood in Aubrey and Tynesman are removed.

What is left is a good squad with plenty of bite in attack and enough nous in defence. That defence is undermined somewhat by the fact that leftback Cory Henry loves to bomb forward and Baez is, well, Farfish - need anyone say more? - but Nkutu has proven himself an excellent goalkeeper with remarkable powers of distribution. Rosseau and Kilcane are strong centre-halves shielded expertly by the Valhallan Niko Moss, while Galloway and Charing are both known for their extensive passing range and ability going forward. Lilley's support in attack comes in the form of the extremely orthodox Swain - speedboat, no engine, but a good enough boat to thrive in this league - and Kurtis Volker, a veteran of this league and the Premiership whose quick feet, light touch and vicious finishing make it somewhere between bad timing and a sheer miracle that he's never been capped. Farrell will be expected to perform when called upon, while other veterans like Vauxhall and Ashworth are also more than capable. Depth elsewhere, however, is hard to find - a trend with the league in general.

The Saints should be able to go in all guns blazing, and reach the Champions’ Cup places - let’s say 3rd.

League Run: 12th
Cup Run: Third Round
Stadium: Violet Park (22,000)
Nickname: United
Manager: Arran Mensah
Captain: Julia Stockinger
Top Scorer: Ronan Bowditch (14)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Najdorf; 2 - Dravinovic, 5 - Stockinger (c), 16 - Radbury, 3 - Senterekoesima; 8 - Calypso, 21 - Barker, 14 - Stamper; 7 - Whitesmith, 12 - Ingolfsson, 18 - Silvennsson
In: Aphrodite Whitesmith (Falkner United, 1.6m), Senter Senterekoesima (Saint Alexander, 1.5m), Emma Keohane (Saint Alexander, 1.2m), Rowena Stamper (Kingsgrove, 1m), Mauricio Larkspur (free agent), Kazil Dravinovic (Salvador FC, free)
Out: Ronan Bowditch (Real Azuris, 4.8m), Victoria Hemingway (Rosbank Town, 750k), Diandra Costell (Evenfar FC, 600k), Chris Dalton (Westpike, 550k), Anna Lineker (Platwood, 500k), Malachi Sheridan (Scaffield, free), Roy Redruth (Nomad Brotherhood FC, free)
Promoted: Paul Osbourne (CB, 19), Shanna Donachy (CM, 18)

Rozelle United have steadily got something going here, making the move up from perpetual relegation battlers through plucky underdogs to the present day, in which they've become a respectable middle power of the league. One with a policy, it seems, of dealing with Cosumar - Real Azuris surprisingly beats all other interest in Bowditch (from Hollybrent in Osarius and within the league itself) to snap the winger up for themselves, and the money is immediately reinvested in six signings. Four of which will be expected to start. The result is a genuinely impressive side that might be ready to stop looking over their shoulder and start thinking of Globe Cup finishes.

Arran Mensah's squad plays quick, counter-attacking football that relies on fluidity and pace. In goal, the league's oldest player - Cillian Najdorf, 38-year old Audioslavian. The qualified astrophysicist Senterekoesima at leftback is by far the best of a rather fragile back four, a Cosumar international who offers real energy to the side, excellent for relegated St. Alexander last season in his first season as a professional. Another Cosumar international (albeit not for a few years) in Thaddeus Barker anchors a midfield which boasts former Kingsgrove captain Rowena Stamper, and really her and Portia Knight are the same kind of player - a veteran with a smattering of caps and a wonderful passing range, aged 32 and 34 respectively. Calypso does the water-carrying. Up front, the conventional wingers Whitesmith and Silvennsson add dimension to the attack while lightning-quick Kirum 'Golfi' Ingolfsson has been getting better and better, season by season. The likes of Keohane and Larkspur can light up the attack when called upon.

Now, it might be a bit controversial… but we’re tipping United for 9th.

League Run: 11th
Cup Run: Third Round
UICA Run: Globe Cup Third Preliminary Round
Stadium: Southfield (16,000)
Nickname: The Lions
Manager: Phoebe Osbourne
Captain: Tamara Lynn Rhodes
Top Scorer: Tanith Bryson, Zeke (9)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2 diamond) 1 - Bruhn; 13 - Rhodes (c), 4 - C Pascuale, 6 - P Pascuale, 3 - Fletcher; 17 - Halberdian; 7 - Webber, 8 - Keller; 10 - Ruskin; 9 - Zeke, 11 - Cromwell

Almost twelve million in net profit amidst rumours that all is not well behind the scenes at South Rathia. It's even been said that they might be set for a merger with similarly dire-straitsed North Rathia, but no official source has backed that up. And, to be fair, they have a good first-team. Just nobody backing them up. And also selling some of their best players. Journeymen in the form of Tynesman, Webber and Bruhn won't make up for the loss of one of Brenecia's most promising players in Gryphon, two fringe internationals in Cannon and Curtin and the retirement of former international Tanith Bryson.

Not an inspiring side, nor one playing an inspiring brand of football - preferring sweat, graft and hard work to flair and keeping a narrow line that's hard to break through. So what's left? Besides Bruhn, a complete unknown from Audioslavia, his countrymen in the form of brothers Castor and Pollux Pascuale have formed a redoubtable centre-half partnership with the reliable Halberdian shielding them, though none of the three is overly blessed with pace. Nor, for that matter, is Tamara Lynn Rhodes, now weeks shy of her 31st birthday. She was a player signed many seasons ago in a far different league, and it's suspected she isn't quite keeping up. Webber and Keller are both 31-year old midfielders with extensive experience both in A-League and Premiership, both the driving box-to-box midfielders that this side needs, while the clinical Zeke and Lachlan Cromwell are a good strike partnership. But who do they have in reserve? Fallon and Bader, maybe... but most of the bench and reserves aren't good enough.

They should make it to 14th by season's end. They're an injury crisis away from a relegation battle, but it's one they'd probably win if worst came to worst.

League Run: Champions (B-League)
Cup Run: Quarterfinals
Stadium: Fisherking Road (17,000)
Nickname: The Pikemen
Manager: Ellison Taggart
Captain: Johan Curtin
Top Scorer: Danica Farrier (30)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 20 - Merchant; 13 - Peacock, 5 - Craddock, 18 - Brandt, 3 - Hitchcock; 23 - Milligan, 21 - Bittner, 8 - Locke, 11 - Avery; 9 - Curtin (c), 15 - Farrier
In: Bram Merchant (Saint Alexander, 1m), Bram Locke (Sharrow, 550k), Sebastian Brandt (Southfeld Wanderers, free), Byron Johansson (Sporting Solsholm, free)
Out: Patrick Sturrock (Southside Wanderers, 500k), Nicole McKay (North Rathia, 450k), Oralie Creery (Platwood, 300k), Rachel Stokes (retired)

Rampaging close to unchallenged to the B-League title, Westpike United were simply a complete side and better than anyone else in the division. They're just... good, and they've been managed capably by counter-attacking maven Ellison Taggart. United are, however, tight on the purse-strings, and have been frugal. While three of their weaker players are sold on and Stokes retired, they only spent a million and a half between the two Brams, Merchant and Locke. Two journeymen join the team on free transfers in big striker Byron Johansson and unproven but talented centre-back Brandt. The latter, surprisingly, seems to be expected to start.

Bram Merchant showed flashes of genuine promise in the tail end of last season when he was preferred in goal for Saint Alexander, though the capable Claudia Kelly will be starting for the first couple of months as Merchant waits out a suspension for hitting Anderson Sandro. Jess Peacock returned to her hometown club last season by way of a stint with Augustinople Saints, and she looks revitalised in a career that had threatened to spin off the rails for good. She's the best of their defenders. Her partner on the right, Kurtis Milligan, offers plenty of bite in attack, while Nepharim midfielder Bittner's craft combines with the grit and muscle of B-League stalwart Bram Locke, making his first step up at 31. Curtin's a decent striker, but Danica Farrier alongside him is very quick, brimming with confidence and a joy to watch in the past few seasons. Unsurprisingly, she was the top scorer in the B-League last season.

17th would be just fine for them. They’ll be looking over their shoulders, but they’re good enough to stay up.

by **A-League** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:08 pm

And it kicks off - maybe not with a bang, but not exactly a whimper, either. Most eyes turn to Bellight, as its two sides host the newly-promoted Brenecian clubs. Pikemouth defend well but play uncharacteristically within themselves in a scoreless draw, while Westpike United go ahead twice through Danica Farrier, but lose 4-2 thanks to their inability to understand well-executed counterattacks. Kingsgrove and Pilgrimage seem to cancel each other out in a dull game, but it’s enlivened as Roisin Carroll’s flashy throughball sets Cheney Scherzer up to roll the ball through Walker’s legs into the net. An assist on her debut, and a goal on his return.

A mixed vintage for A-League clubs, which is to say that no team actually won and the two teams that did at least manage draws were at home at the time. A number of difficult second legs beckon.

Oh, Westpike are going to have an exciting year - this time they’re swept away 5-3 by Bellight FC. Danica Farrier is the league’s top goalscorer, already having four to her name… but weak defending, and a couple of goalkeeping errors from Claudia Kelly, sinks the Brenecians. There’s yet more bad defending in Marque, as they host Lotus Park in what turns into a drunken slugfest ending 4-3 to the visitors - they had fewer chances, but Kris Nilssen was nothing short of clinical, while Marque were characteristically wasteful. Rozelle pummel Guilder 5-1 - the Phoenices looked so comfortable in the first match, but look aimless without Spitfire in attack or Scrivener defence today. Hopefully they can patch themselves back together.

Well, three clubs fall short at the final hurdle - North Hall in spectacular fashion, done 4-0 at home after Marko Gillard’s bonecrunching challenge in the 12th minute had him sent off. But a thriller in Zwangzug finally saw Tundra take it home thanks to a late brace in the last five minutes from Jack Morriston, Halholzer United make themselves at home in Kernansquillec and dispatch easily of Rennes du Nord - entirely subverting how nervy they were at their own home.

Westpike United’s defence is officially so bad that Eino Green can score a brace against it. Bram Merchant’s suspension can’t run out soon enough for them, Kelly’s confidence is nonexistant and Craddock and Brandt are both terrible. And yet, it’s all clicking up front - Karena Bittner sashays around Betjemen and then rockets the ball past Zelah for an incredible 89th-minute consolation. South Rathia seem to have it sorted out in their first team, at least - Lachlan Cromwell’s been in good form so far, and it looks like Konrad Webber’s a useful addition to the midfield. He scores one and lays on an assist in a 3-0 win over Pikemouth, and in the midst of it all, another bargain basement buy - Audioslav goalkeeper Bruhn - saves Milligan’s penalty. Might they just keep it together this season?

Well, well - a perhaps season-defining performance from the rampant Lions, inspired from midfield by Cheney Keller. But the simple fact is that Zeke and Cromwell up front are in great form, and both manage hat-tricks today (Castor Pascuale managing the spare in a 7-2 win off Rhodes’ corner). They’re good, but, well, Cape of Hope look dismal. At least they scored - Rozelle’s dominance of Pikemouth is so complete as to make one wonder if they were playing professionals or a pub team. Tevin Lilley’s taken a while to get off the ground in the league, but here it seems to click for him, and he manages a brace here in a dominant and energetic performance.

It’s not as tight as the scoreline suggests - an end-to-end affair that sees both sides miss chances, and both goalkeepers have good games… and, critically, Cheney Scherzer is hacked down in the 34th minute. It looks pretty bad, and is later confirmed to be enough to put him out for a couple of months. Oof. Eoin Killanen gets the goal in the end, and it’s a good win for the Grove.

Halholzer United make a real statement with a bruising, dominant victory in Farfadillis, and Scrivener makes his mark on several of their players. Charlestown, inevitably, notches up a brace. Rozelle could stand to have some of their backbone, as they slump to a 1-0 defeat at Reichton. Harmonica Tundra faces the same Heidelstadt side that utterly destroyed North Hall, so perhaps they can be forgiven for a defence-first approach. A scoreless draw might be okay. In this situation.

Oh, Tundra… they’ve looked so good so far this season. But Halholzer United decide that that isn’t a tolerable situation and utterly merk them. Finbar O’Hara smashes home from a corner to put them ahead at the break, but they’re still relatively on level pegging… until the floodgates just seem to open in the second half. O’Connor doubles the advantage before dropping a cross onto Urrunaga’s head that is flicked past Ralaanen, before the normally-excellent Buyan international is beaten by Erik Abbriacciabene at his near post, and just like that, a close match becomes a rout. Cape of Hope somehow bounce back from their 7-2 thrashing to beat an out-of-sorts Rozelle 3-2, their first win all season and Oblong Itsasontzigintzantailerra’s first two goals.

Everyone in the first round - time to see who gets scalped. Well… nobody, actually. But Francisca Orient’s defence literally ends at the first hurdle, though they’ll feel aggrieved to have been drawn away against Lotus Park. Falkner United face off against Rozelle and put the Saints through their paces, goals from Lund and Kellow enough to give them a 2-0 lead at halftime while Catheline Petterson in the Saints’ goal looks decidedly shaky under crosses. But a good double save from Rafferty early in the second half brings her confidence, and Rozelle strike back with a vengeance - Elsa Ashworth getting her first goal of the season and Farrell her first goal with the club, before extra time sees the match decided by a terrifyingly powerful Hecate Charing free kick that leaves Lineker floundering.

A cagey day that sees clean sheets all round, it seems. But Cape of Hope’s revival continues in some style - Northern Union lead most of the game through Erin Camden’s coolly dispatched penalty, but a late surge from the plucky Seekers in the last ten minutes - just as Union had put their foot off the gas - gives them the three points. Althea Reader complains that there was too much added time given for Donna Vixen to score in, but she would, wouldn’t she?

Kingsgrove, still missing Scherzer, try and hit the Metropolis on the break. They can’t quite get their finishing boots on, Gardot playing up front and guilty of spurning a couple of golden opportunities, but Emma Kelly redeems so many years of lost promise in a single-handedly heroic performance at centre-half to keep the game scoreless.

Halholzer breeze past Royal Crystal Palace but a second defeat for Rozelle against weak opposition is unforgivable. Jack Morriston leads by example for Tundra, a driven performance that sees him at the heart of everything and put two goals past Crisisbless goalkeeper Marciak. In fact, there’s a couple of interesting contexts for the match. With rumours of a Buyan refugee select entering the next World Cup, a direct battle between its two pre-eminent goalkeepers was a decisive victory for Ralaanen. Another winner on the night was Blackslate, as she and Crisisbless midfielder Kilbane compete for basically the same position on the Brenecian national team.

Northern Union away? No problem for Cape of Hope. Marque at home? Um… it’s one of those matches where Rachel Byrne is thrown into the fight again (Pamala Croft has nothing to show for six starts so far), eats up a Camargo knock-down and a de Valle cross, becomes Marque’s top scorer (with… two) and then, as she’s interviewed as player of the match, makes a number of scathing comments about the board’s incompetence and its sievelike tendency to set money on fire. Only two days later, Byrne’s pictured training with the reserves. What a league this is.

North Hall and Rozelle United are probably two of the most changed sides in the league and it’s perhaps understandable that neither of them have really gelled… until now, that is. Rowena Stamper dominates the game from midfield while Prowse can’t find a grip on her, Senterekoesima, Ingolfsson and Larkspur off the bench manage three goals while Juancarlos de Sierra lurks in their box, quietly awaiting service but never getting it. It’s a tighter affair in a bigger fixture featuring the same two cities - Rozelle look dead and buried at halftime against Union until Shaheer Shazib fumbles Galloway’s long shot into the net. It’s the last kick of the first half, and by the end of the match Union are fortunate to have a point - Volker’s equaliser the only further goal of the match, but Union were under the pump for 45 minutes.

A tight, but ultimately comfortable 1-0 victory over Spatula City puts Kingsgrove in a great position - 7 points from 3 matches! They clinch this one late - Lyn Crowley blasts in from outside the box in the 82nd minute - but it’s just reward for a match that Kingsgrove dominated.

The less said the better. At least Halholzer United manage a creditable scoreless draw against Medoria, but Harmonica contrive to lose to a Holy Nation side at home and Rozelle are utterly pumped by Real Chinchinhua, and having lost all three of their group matches so far, they absolutely need to win all their remaining fixtures.

Francisca Orient cope with the pressure that comes with visiting the Holy Nation… or, at least, their attack does. But Kurtis Burgundy misses through a minor injury and it’s felt hard by the side. What emerges is a bloodbath, both in goal and physical stakes, but Chandler Southwick’s brace helps the Jacks to a victory.

Halholzer United are in a pulverising mood, it seems - Cape of Hope are the latest team to suffer the treatment, utterly pasted 5-0 at home. Westpike and Guilder play an utterly desperate six-pointer at the foot of the table that looks and feels like it - Guilder manage a single goal as Crowther is played through by Fallon and slots neatly past Julia Taylor (Kelly’s been dropped, Merchant is still suspended). Westpike United make plenty of opportunities, but Guilder are solid at the back (Pritchard, in particular, has been excellent) and hold out for a vital win.

In a mostly-rested side, Kingsgrove can call upon Cheney Scherzer to return off the bench in the 62nd minute! He scores… an equaliser, against a Norbyrne side that aren’t going down quietly, and ultimately thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Martyn Cuthbury, they win on penalties. Scaffield take Rozelle to penalties, too - they grind the match to a halt in the 90 minutes before Bastian Sparrow surprisingly manages to open the scoring in injury time. But in the 116th minute, Rozelle finally open the score through the rarely-seen Frey Clare’s header, and Scaffield’s lack of accuracy from the spot costs them dearly in the shoot-out. Kingsgrove aside, all the A-League sides stay in the tournament - and at least Westpike United can take solace in a 6-0 annihilation of semi-professional D-League side Stourhead.

No contest. Take their overbearing dictatorship from the Coastal Soccer Club and it seems like they melt away in the face of Francisca’s imperious wingers. Kurtis Burgundy even manages to score from the penalty spot on his return from injury - twice.

Cheney Scherzer makes his starting return just in time for the Rozelle derby. The impact is close to immediate in a free-flowing affair as he drifts out to the left before crossing to the far post for Portsman to stab in. But Rozelle take the game to Kingsgrove after that, and hard. Knight makes a few good saves but Emma Kelly is caught in possession by Lilley, who rounds Knight and rolls in. In the second half, Rozelle dominance continues, particularly across the wings, and it’s Swain’s cross that is turned in by Volker at the far post to seal a 2-1 win. Northern Union snap a four-game winless run in some style, snapping Marque with four goals - Karena Foran rampaging down the right with intimidating diagonal runs to secure two of them. Bellerose has been quiet all season, and he’s replaced by big Otto Lund in the 49th minute - who lumps Pendragon’s cross into the net and secures Union’s fourth. Francisca, impressively, repeat a 5-1 scoreline against a very accommodating Cape of Hope, while Guilder’s scoreless draw with SWU FC makes up for all this excitement by being the dullest match in the history of football worldwide. The Shipwrights’ PR have a field day, making a 30-second highlights reel that goes from lineup to kickoff and cuts straight to the final whistle.

Kingsgrove lead most of the game through Carroll and Killanen, who have both been fantastic so far - but they’ll be disappointed at wilting near the finish line, conceding to a corner in the 55th minute before, in injury time, a low, dangerous cross is turned by Bologna into her own net. Still, a decent enough away result.

Impressive wins for Halholzer United and Harmonica Tundra. While United keep it tidy and professional, Tundra go 2-0 down within the first ten minutes. Instead of crying about it, they fight back - 3-1 down at half-time before goals from Brêgoô, Blackslate and Barton secure a vital win. Rozelle look abject against Real Chinchinhua, but they get away with it. Still, a scoreless draw is really not good enough to salvage things.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Halholzer United       10  6  4  0  19   4  +15  22
  2 Bellight FC            10  6  3  1  16   8   +8  21
  3 Rozelle                10  6  2  2  22  12  +10  20
  4 Lotus Park             10  5  3  2  19  13   +6  18
  5 Francisca Orient       10  4  4  2  12   6   +6  16
  6 Bellight Wanderers     10  4  4  2  16  11   +5  16
  7 Kingsgrove             10  4  4  2  12   9   +3  16
  8 Northern Union         10  4  3  3  17  11   +6  15
  9 North Hall             10  3  6  1  11   8   +3  15
 10 South Rathia           10  4  2  4  14   8   +6  14
 11 Pilgrimage             10  4  2  4  12  13   -1  14
 12 Harmonica Tundra       10  3  3  4  10  14   -4  12
 13 Rozelle United         10  3  2  5  11  12   -1  11
 14 Falkner United         10  2  5  3  12  14   -2  11
 15 Cape of Hope FC        10  2  3  5  13  29  -16   9
 16 Marque                 10  1  5  4   9  15   -6   8
 17 SWU FC                 10  2  2  6   9  17   -8   8
 18 Pikemouth              10  1  5  4   9  17   -8   8
 19 Guilder                10  2  2  6   5  14   -9   8
 20 Westpike United        10  1  2  7  15  28  -13   5

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Scaffield               10  7  3  0  13   2  +11  24
  2 Sciongrad Rovers        10  6  3  1  13   6   +7  21
  3 Halholzer Sundays       10  6  1  3  19  11   +8  19
  4 Gallant Cross           10  4  5  1  12   6   +6  17
  5 Arbour Lights FC        10  4  4  2  22  13   +9  16
  6 Gentlemen's Club        10  4  4  2  22  13   +9  16
  7 Halholzer Spitfires     10  3  6  1  16  13   +3  15
  8 Union FK                10  4  3  3  16  15   +1  15
  9 Teol United             10  3  5  2  11  10   +1  14
 10 Scraglet Rovers         10  4  2  4  14  23   -9  14
 11 Newtown                 10  3  4  3   7   9   -2  13
 12 Snowden River           10  3  3  4  10  10   +0  12
 13 North Rathia            10  3  3  4   8  12   -4  12
 14 Sharrow                 10  3  2  5  15  22   -7  11
 15 Saint Alexander         10  2  4  4   9  10   -1  10
 16 Rosbank Town            10  2  4  4   8  12   -4  10
 17 Southside Wanderers     10  3  1  6   8  13   -5  10
 18 Westpike                10  1  4  5   5  11   -6   7
 19 Mount Roland            10  1  4  5   7  15   -8   7
 20 Platwood                10  0  3  7   8  17   -9   3

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                  P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Chafford             10  7  2  1  18   4  +14  23
  2 Hooker Ridge         10  7  0  3  15  10   +5  21
  3 Thrush               10  6  2  2  24  10  +14  20
  4 Sutbyrne             10  6  2  2  23  12  +11  20
  5 Fort Keller          10  5  5  0  12   4   +8  20
  6 Proudcastle          10  5  2  3  15   8   +7  17
  7 Ridgeway United      10  5  2  3  13   8   +5  17
  8 Crest                10  4  3  3  12  10   +2  15
  9 Rushden              10  4  2  4  17  14   +3  14
 10 Saint Wessex         10  3  3  4   8  10   -2  12
 11 Dalgallen            10  3  3  4  14  18   -4  12
 12 Gallow Park          10  4  0  6  10  20  -10  12
 13 Swayback             10  2  4  4  11  13   -2  10
 14 Marque Rovers        10  3  1  6  13  19   -6  10
 15 Arkwood              10  3  1  6   8  18  -10  10
 16 Glassfields          10  2  3  5  12  17   -5   9
 17 Pikemouth United     10  2  3  5  10  18   -8   9
 18 Garfield             10  2  3  5   7  16   -9   9
 19 Norbyrne             10  1  5  4  18  25   -7   8
 20 Highden              10  1  4  5   8  14   -6   7

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                       P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Saint Essex               10  8  1  1  23   6  +17  25
  2 Hammerton                 10  7  2  1  29  12  +17  23
  3 Shenworth                 10  6  2  2  12   4   +8  20
  4 Corder Town               10  6  1  3  16  14   +2  19
  5 Falkner Wanderers         10  5  3  2  14  11   +3  18
  6 Fentonbridge              10  5  3  2  17  16   +1  18
  7 Greater Snowden           10  5  2  3  16  12   +4  17
  8 South Ridgeway            10  4  3  3  13  12   +1  15
  9 Rooke and Knightstone     10  4  2  4   9   9   +0  14
 10 Monastery Park            10  4  2  4   6   7   -1  14
 11 Stourhead                 10  3  4  3   7   9   -2  13
 12 Spearcove Mariners        10  3  3  4  12  10   +2  12
 13 Rathia Wanderers          10  4  0  6  14  15   -1  12
 14 Caybrooke                 10  3  3  4  10  15   -5  12
 15 Brookden                  10  2  4  4  12  11   +1  10
 16 Reave City                10  3  1  6  10  18   -8  10
 17 Myhill                    10  3  0  7   7  14   -7   9
 18 Region                    10  1  5  4   3   7   -4   8
 19 Thriss Valley             10  1  2  7   7  22  -15   5
 20 Pryde Wanderers           10  0  3  7   4  17  -13   3

by **A-League** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 2:22 am

Action at the top and at the bottom. The top sides, however, underwhelm in a couple of slightly dull clashes. Halholzer stop a dejected Rozelle from playing before Gaizka Urrunaga smashes home a winner late in the match, while Northern Union never seems to get going against Kingsgrove - Cheney Scherzer stabbing home from eight yards. But at the bottom, the newly-promoted sides fight and, well, Pikemouth asserts their dominance. O’Byrne runs the show from midfield and notches up two assists, Robin Hendrickson shuts down everything Westpike throw at them, Waterdown makes a number of good saves before Mairin Wakefield comes off the bench to slot home her first goal of the season… beating Taylor at her near post. Pikemouth haven’t done great so far, but there’s optimism there - as there is at Cape of Hope, where they crush Bellight Wanderers 4-1 thanks to their dashing wing play. Donna Vixen notches a brace against her former club, too, showing frankly uncharacteristic ruthlessness in front of goal.

And… last match’s trends are taken up to 11. Halholzer United and Northern Union crash into each other like two great phalanxes, neither side able to penetrate the other’s defence… until Monroe rashly hacks down Gaizka Urrunaga in the box. The referee waves off his inexplicable protests to award a rightful penalty, and O’Connor whips it into the top corner with genuine venom. There’s no talk of concepts such as ‘defence’ in Westpike, as goals from Farrier, Bittner and Milligan are rendered utterly meaningless because horrible errors at various times from Brandt, Hitchcock, Kelly (she’s back!) and, uh, Bittner, all contribute to a 6-3 thumping to Cape of Hope.

Alianza are yet to not lose a game, and sadly it’s the Royals who collapse to them. They’re the better team in the second half, 2-1 and passing the ball around at will. But at some point in the second half, the pressure seems to tell, and it’s former Rozelle striker Marcia Danmark ready to punish them - first, squeezing a shot past Knight at her near post, before missing from twelve yards when totally open. She makes up for it, though, in spectacular style - with a half-volley stubbed into the ground and past a floundering Knight, and suddenly Kingsgrove need a result against the top seeds to ensure progression.

Rozelle’s failings are nothing new, while Harmonica Tundra are just that little bit of quality away from a credible away draw. Halholzer United hold the fort against the Novans, keeping calm under heavy pressure and hitting hard on the break. Gaizka Urrunaga only had two shots all match, and both were goals.

Bram Merchant’s suspension expires, and not a moment too soon. He’s a stabilising presence behind the defence (now bolstered by 33-year old Bonds, as Sebastian Brandt is dropped from the entire matchday squad) and although his distribution is certainly rusty he holds South Rathia to a 1-1 draw - Danica Farrier, of course, scoring at the other end. Has Farrier noticed that the rest of her team is terrible yet? Rachel Byrne is conveniently excused from training and playing with the reserves just in time to hand Marque their second victory of the season… and Halholzer United’s first defeat. While von Maelstrom scores early, Ralston makes a number of great saves to keep the Pirates in the game before Byrne slots home, low and hard, from de Valle’s cross. This is celebrated by a veritable storm of flares in the stands, and it’s through this orange haze that Byrne notches a brace six minutes later - Clark, understandably, furiously protesting he couldn’t see a thing through the fog. Marque won’t care, though.

Westpike United are a genuinely terrible side, stranded on six points, and Ellison Taggart becomes the first managerial casualty of the season - the highly-rated assistant Genova Conrad takes over for the rest of the season. Admittedly, Rozelle are a good team, and an excellent performance on the right wing by Adelaide Swain was the catalyst for a 3-1 victory. Falkner United haven’t really made many headlines this season, but they’ve continued being themselves - Paracoilson might have been one of the worst signings of any club all season, generally spending the match off in his own personal corner of the field doing sick tricks and failing to make Hollywood passes before being kicked to death by the resident leftback. But here, he manages to flamboyantly dive over Bowyer’s leg, somersaulting and holding his head in agony. His head. Somehow, the referee buys it, a penalty is given (which Kellow scores), Bowyer is sent off and, for dissent, Rachel Prowse follows him in one of the league’s most bizarre and fortunate 1-0 wins.

The kick in the teeth that is a second consecutive defeat sends Kingsgrove crashing into the Globe Cup. They’re valiant, and after a first-half lead won by Roisin Carroll as a number of other chances only barely miss or are saved by Espinel, they’re confident. But yet again, they falter late on and an error puts the Metropolis back into the game, Loris Bologna passing straight to Pablo Scotti who chips an unprepared Knight before Scotti completes his brace seven minutes later - and, in doing so, dooms Kingsgrove to third.

Halholzer’s second string manage an entirely ornamental away draw against the Crystal Palace - they’ve long been qualified, and with ease. Their 14 points is fully twice as many as Crystal Palace in third.
Rozelle’s dismal draw with the equally dismal FC 17 June doesn’t help either of them - they both crash out. Rozelle, somehow, only scored once the entire group stage, and managed just two points. Harmonica Tundra overpower Crisisbless 3-1 - another dismally underperforming top seed - to secure second place for themselves.

A tough assignment for Francisca Orient, and they wilt under the pressure of the first 30 minutes - Marsari the provider for Negri to fire past Larsson before turning goalscorer herself, blazing a freekick over the wall and almost through the net itself. Francisca fight back, but seem a little shellshocked, and smart saves from Vanlond (including from Kurtis Burgundy’s bullet header off a well-weighted corner which was a save of the tournament contender) denied the Jacks so much as an away goal for solace.

Calamity in the Falkner derby as Lotus Park secures a 1-0 victory through Guthrie’s goal - but perhaps more significantly, Falkner United are somehow down to eight men by then, Murtagh, Rafferty and Luevano all seeing red during a hot-tempered match. Rozelle United, meanwhile, make their mark on South Rathia, who are utterly crippled by resting Terry Ruskin for Gustav Fandrich. Essentially, they play with ten men, but at least take a 1-1 draw into half-time… until Halberdian, on a yellow card and pushing his luck, is taken off for Alisander Tynesman. Almost immediately, United start overrunning the midfield, Rowena Stamper runs the game and sets up two assists for Silvensson and an extra goal for herself. The Lions should at least get a late consolation but by now Raven Streeton’s on the pitch, and she crashes a shot against the bar from four yards out.

Not a good day for believers in the mercy rule, as Pikemouth pummel lowly Brookden 9-0. Brenecia U18 international Victoria Brittain manages her first goals for the club… four of them, in fact. Norbyrne are also annihilated at their home ground, the highlight of the evening being a spectacular chip from just inside the halfway mark by Czeslawa Szukala who spots Norbyrne goalkeeper Erin Pendredge off her line and lets fly a beautiful, drifting shot. South Rathia and Marque both get into the spirit of the occasion and each plays a strong team, but a tight match is only resolved by Konrad Webber’s thunderbastard from 28 yards. Lotus Park beat Northern Union in extra time as Rozelle United take out Westpike United, but there’s still a place for the minnows - a late header from Bryce Carrickan takes C-League midtable side Fort Keller to the quarterfinals.

Get this - Westpike United win a match! An important one, too, as Marque are a definite relegation battler, and they spend most of the match infighting. So it’s easy enough for Milligan to skirt around the edges, cut inside past Orizaga, nutmeg Killenhall and stab past a helpless Ralston, and really the normally-ruthless Farrier should have buried a goal or two herself. A Rozelle derby - the Kingsgroveless one - ends in a draw, and it’s largely because of an inspired performance in goal by 39-year old Cillian Najdorf. Beloved by the fans, Najdorf’s set to reach 40 by the end of the season and will be the oldest A-League player ever - which, well, he already is. Can anyone catch him?

Oh, hold on - is something on here? Westpike United win a second match! In a row! Against Kingsgrove! Yet again, it’s their three good players - Milligan, Bittner and Farrier - getting the goals, while an inspired performance between the posts from Bram Merchant keeps out all but a single Scherzer goal. There’s life in the Workers’ Union, too - Marque do score twice, Luciana Camargo breaking a long drought and Own Goal getting a nice run-out, too, but SWU simply dominate the midfield and work from there. Bailey snaps a 9-game dry spell with a brace as Green and Barker complete a rout of Marque, whose defensive discipline on the day was, well, nonexistant.

Northern Union do a professional job of FC Nassau, a brace for Bellerose hopefully proving some respite from a somewhat dry spell. Newfield FC score two, too - just, sort of leaking seven at the other end, Sê Brêgoô as happy as a pig in mud thanks to great service and compliant defending, enough to give him four. It’s the return of the Coastal Soccer Club, and you have to be slightly nervous as Kingsgrove only manage a 2-1 win at home. Halholzer United, meanwh- wait, there’s a club called Smegwud? … Really? Anyway, they do a professional job, rest a couple of players, and win 2-0 through their trademark brutal efficiency.

A dull, scoreless affair as Francisca’s Achilles heel - a lack of genuine creativity - comes to bite them. There simply isn’t anything they can do to really threaten a Hondo side happy to sit back and lurk on the counterattack. And so, they crash out.

There’s plenty of momentous occasions in a league season, but not really here. So sometimes you sit back and enjoy a routine 2-0 victory for Bellight Wanderers over a Francisca Orient side that has been getting steadily more aggressive over the years, and that comes to a head here - Michaels, Mortlock, Hughes and Gaston are all sidelined, and, yes, that is four injuries for three substitutions. But two of those substitutes - Hedley and Crane - are the goalscorers in the end as some enforced rotation leads to some genuine spark. Rather self-defeating, from Orient.

Northern Union concede early from Red Tyler’s whipped header, and that ensures a nervy and uncomfortable trip to Omerica. But they hold firm, Shazib has an increasingly rare good day at the office and young Aleksandra Skorupska ghosts into the middle of the box to find Pendragon’s cross and slides the ball into the net for her first Union goal. Tundra’s reserves, unsurprisingly, don’t lose 6-0 at home - 17-year old Umbar Richards enjoys a solid 90 minutes at the back while Alex Ockburn provides the assist for Keswick’s goal on his 18th birthday. Kingsgrove don’t panic against Coastal away, hog the ball and play defensive possession for 90 minutes - Carroll only needs to release Scherzer once and the former international gleefully seizes upon it before smashing home. And… and Smegwud exist. They don’t win, but they exist, and we love them for it. Whoever they are.

Rehearsal day for the finale of the season and there’s a few six-pointers here. Wespike United, for instance, might actually be have been able to drag themselves off the bottom of the table… but instead Francisca rips them to shreds 4-0. Sarah Bonds, who had at one stage proven a reassuring veteran presence at the back, is too slow for Garrard time and time again, and when even Bram Merchant is making errors… either way, Guilder can’t score against Cape of Hope. They’ve scored nine goals all season, and sit second-last. Cape of Hope, despite conceding 40 goals, are in 11th! Somehow, Rozelle are top without ever really having convinced, and fittingly it’s secured with a 1-1 draw with Lotus Park, while Bellight FC pass up the chance to draw level with them on points as their rivals’ late winner courtesy of Ulrich Crane pips them out. Jon Slatesaver’s North Hall win their own derby, Juancarlos de Sierra having finally kicked into gear in the past couple of months with a real vengeance… while Northern Union, toothless against Hall’s packed defensive unit, languish in 8th.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Rozelle                 19  12  4   3  35  17  +18  40
  2 Halholzer United        19  11  6   2  27   9  +18  39
  3 Bellight FC             19  11  4   4  31  19  +12  37
  4 North Hall              19   9  7   3  25  15  +10  34
  5 Lotus Park              19   9  5   5  28  24   +4  32
  6 Kingsgrove              19   8  7   4  24  21   +3  31
  7 Pilgrimage              19   9  2   8  25  25   +0  29
  8 Northern Union          19   8  4   7  25  16   +9  28
  9 Bellight Wanderers      19   7  7   5  23  19   +4  28
 10 Falkner United          19   7  7   5  23  20   +3  28
 11 Cape of Hope FC         19   7  5   7  31  40   -9  26
 12 Francisca Orient        19   6  7   6  19  15   +4  25
 13 Harmonica Tundra        19   5  7   7  21  26   -5  22
 14 Rozelle United          19   5  6   8  24  23   +1  21
 15 Marque                  19   4  8   7  20  25   -5  20
 16 Pikemouth               19   4  6   9  19  30  -11  18
 17 South Rathia            19   4  5  10  20  22   -2  17
 18 SWU FC                  19   4  3  12  17  30  -13  15
 19 Guilder                 19   3  5  11   9  25  -16  14
 20 Westpike United         19   3  3  13  24  49  -25  12

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P  W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gentlemen's Club         19  9  6   4  37  22  +15  33
  2 Halholzer Sundays        19 10  3   6  35  23  +12  33
  3 Sciongrad Rovers         19  9  5   5  30  21   +9  32
  4 Halholzer Spitfires      19  7 10   2  32  22  +10  31
  5 Gallant Cross            19  8  6   5  21  17   +4  30
  6 Sharrow                  19  9  3   7  37  36   +1  30
  7 Scaffield                19  7  8   4  17  12   +5  29
  8 Teol United              19  7  8   4  23  19   +4  29
  9 Arbour Lights FC         19  7  7   5  34  25   +9  28
 10 Rosbank Town             19  7  5   7  26  27   -1  26
 11 Scraglet Rovers          19  7  5   7  29  42  -13  26
 12 Mount Roland             19  6  7   6  18  21   -3  25
 13 Saint Alexander          19  5  9   5  17  16   +1  24
 14 Westpike                 19  6  6   7  16  18   -2  24
 15 Union FK                 19  6  6   7  28  31   -3  24
 16 Southside Wanderers      19  6  3  10  17  23   -6  21
 17 North Rathia             19  6  3  10  19  26   -7  21
 18 Snowden River            19  5  5   9  16  23   -7  20
 19 Newtown                  19  4  5  10   9  20  -11  17
 20 Platwood                 19  1  6  12  12  29  -17   9

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Chafford              19  12  3   4  30  13  +17  39
  2 Thrush                19  11  3   5  42  23  +19  36
  3 Ridgeway United       19  10  5   4  24  13  +11  35
  4 Crest                 19   9  5   5  27  18   +9  32
  5 Sutbyrne              19   9  4   6  34  26   +8  31
  6 Hooker Ridge          19   8  7   4  24  19   +5  31
  7 Fort Keller           19   8  6   5  19  12   +7  30
  8 Rushden               19   8  5   6  27  22   +5  29
  9 Dalgallen             19   7  5   7  25  26   -1  26
 10 Glassfields           19   6  7   6  39  27  +12  25
 11 Proudcastle           19   6  7   6  22  19   +3  25
 12 Saint Wessex          19   7  4   8  20  22   -2  25
 13 Marque Rovers         19   7  3   9  22  36  -14  24
 14 Gallow Park           19   6  5   8  21  29   -8  23
 15 Highden               19   5  6   8  25  24   +1  21
 16 Swayback              19   5  6   8  23  29   -6  21
 17 Garfield              19   4  7   8  13  27  -14  19
 18 Norbyrne              19   4  6   9  28  44  -16  18
 19 Pikemouth United      19   4  4  11  15  31  -16  16
 20 Arkwood               19   3  4  12  16  36  -20  13

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                        P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Saint Essex                19  15  2   2  39  10  +29  47
  2 Falkner Wanderers          19  11  5   3  29  15  +14  38
  3 Hammerton                  19  10  7   2  41  17  +24  37
  4 Fentonbridge               19  10  6   3  33  26   +7  36
  5 Greater Snowden            19   9  5   5  33  26   +7  32
  6 Shenworth                  19   9  4   6  20  16   +4  31
  7 Corder Town                19   9  4   6  30  29   +1  31
  8 South Ridgeway             19   8  3   8  20  26   -6  27
  9 Rooke and Knightstone      19   7  5   7  17  16   +1  26
 10 Monastery Park             19   6  8   5  10  10   +0  26
 11 Caybrooke                  19   6  6   7  20  22   -2  24
 12 Spearcove Mariners         19   5  6   8  28  24   +4  21
 13 Brookden                   19   5  6   8  21  24   -3  21
 14 Reave City                 19   6  3  10  23  32   -9  21
 15 Myhill                     19   5  5   9  17  25   -8  20
 16 Thriss Valley              19   5  5   9  18  30  -12  20
 17 Stourhead                  19   4  7   8  10  25  -15  19
 18 Region                     19   3  6  10  12  19   -7  15
 19 Rathia Wanderers           19   4  2  13  22  34  -12  14
 20 Pryde Wanderers            19   3  5  11  14  31  -17  14

by **A-League** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:17 am

Bellight FC miss another chance to make up ground on the top of the table as they can’t do it on a windy, rainy Sunday night at Westpike, in which the incessant crossing of Tariff and Cunningham wreaks havoc in the box that Bailen and Milligan each profit from once. Despite Adelardi and Asher both getting goals of their own, the draw does them no favours, and Jack Bolton launches an extremely assertive tirade at the press about how the match should have been cancelled. But no, as Rozelle succumb to a late Sê Brêgoô strike to slump to a 2-2 draw of their own, it’s Halholzer United’s bruising approach that seals the day in a strange match against Rozelle Untied. The first half is dull as anything, neither side realising that when two teams lurk to try and play on the break, nothing happens, and then the visitors took the fight to their hosts in the second half… and were promptly hit on the counter by Ingolfsson. Still, they eventually punched through Najdorf’s goal thanks to Charlestown and Ozaria Gandhi, and they take the top spot.

Sebastian Brandt, back in Westpike United’s starting lineup, comes up with a goal of the season contender in the match against Bellight FC. The cross comes in and with a careless backheeled volley he loops it over the goalkeeper. The problem is; it’s Asher’s cross, it loops over Merchant, and it ends up in the wrong net. It’s insult to injury at 4-1, though Johan Curtin breaks a 9-match drought with a neatly flicked header to add a late consolation. Their win, and Rozelle’s draw, leaves them two and three points off Halholzer in first, who are held to a scoreless draw with relative ease by Pilgrimage’s traditional away ‘safety first’ performance. This season is crying out for a genuinely dominant team...

The Pikemen can’t buy a win. Even the Shipwrights are conclusively outplaying them, and eventually break Bram Merchant’s one-man resistance. Rozelle arise from their torpid performances of late in conclusive fashion, though it’s yet another 2-2 scoreline at half-time. The difference, after the interval, is Tevin Lilley - two goals of his own and an assist for young Ross Hearkener off the bench, while Niko Moss gets a grip of the midfield. As Halholzer United and Bellight draw again, there seems to be nothing splitting the top teams. Plenty, evidently, splits Pikemouth and South Rathia - the former team managing a thumping 4-0 away win that puzzles the bookies.

Lotus Park’s determined away performance in Halholzer is capped off when a mishit Shaun Guthrie shot is good enough for Chaim Eizenhart, who busts a gut to slide in on the end of it and drag it into the net. Rozelle smash five past Pikemouth without answer as Rozelle United do the same to Westpike United (who are cut apart by the counterattack again and again and again and…) while Bellight FC breeze 4-1 past SWU, putting them level on points with Rozelle at the top. Any bid North Hall had to steal a march on those at the top is swept under the carpet as Francisca Orient overpower them on the flanks and bomb in enough crosses to fill a graveyard, 3-0 somehow the final result against one of the league’s most proficient defensive outfits.

An all A-League clash! What fun! Or, alternatively, a waste of the infinite possibilities of international (or at least the expanded possibilities of regional) football. Whatever you think of it, the first leg is won by Union through Karena Foran’s diagonal run and elegant first-touch finish to beat a stranded Ralaanen. Kingsgrove experience the cruelty of facing top-calibre strikers as they fail to make their dominance pay in the first half, and indeed go into the break down a goal thanks to the opportunism and finishing of Curio. But they make their advantage tell in the second half, though it takes a touch of fortune for Portsman’s winner to barely ricochet off the crossbar and only just over the line. Halholzer United hold firm in Alianza’s huge stadium packed full of homicidally-inclined fans, and when Ozaria Gandhi comes off the bench to slot home a goal on the counterattack, it’s a great advantage for them to take home.

Kingsgrove must have been studying the tapes of Guilder’s last game, a match in which the Phoenices weathered a bombardment of poor finishing from Marque, had three shots, one on target, and won 1-0. They’d have no such luck here, as Killanen and Carroll carve the pink-and-black defence apart with a distinct feeling of routine - Pritchard turns the ball into his own net in the 13th minute and it already feels like game over, even before Scherzer’s brace or Crowley’s powerful shot lashed in from just outside the box. Rozelle, meanwhile, seem to have worked their way into full world-beating mode, smashing Cape of Hope apart 3-0. Lilley, Farrell and Galloway each get a goal for a team unafraid to share the burden around.

It’s official - there will be an A-League side in this CEdC’s final, because three of the four semifinalists hail from the league. Tundra overcome Union’s slender advantage to win 2-1 on aggregate, while Halholzer United grind out a scoreless draw with Alianza. It’s a dicier affair for Kingsgrove, but the Moths can’t get more than a single goal despite their dominance, and a training-ground routine at an injury-time free kick turns the tables - Killanen, who’s found unmarked in the confusion of the box, lashing home past Peterson from 15 yards.

No mercy from Union, who smash Cape of Hope apart. Karena Foran has had a stop-start first-half of the season but it seems as though turning 21 a month and a half ago has flicked some kind of switch in her head that makes her destroy things. Here, she manages a hattrick of basically identical goals, making diagonal runs from the right wing that Rivers, Fengouli and Branagh each manages to find. She even manages to win a penalty that Erin Camden converts, and despite a consolation in some style from a looped Oblong Itsasontzigintzantailerra header, Pendragon knocks in a fifth not too long after.

Halholzer United dominate Nacional from the outset, Urrunaga’s brace capped off with a powerful Abbriacciabene drive that slips under the goalkeeper - though a late consolation for the hosts gives them some hope. Still a mountain to climb, though, needing a 3-0 scoreline away to win outright. Kingsgrove and Tundra have it decidedly less their own way, each distinctly outplayed by a side that just seems to have the technical edge on them.

Northern Union have conjured some dominant form, it seems - this time it’s South Rathia who are utterly pummelled, and, yes, Karena Foran picks up a brace. Surely an international sooner rather than later… though Brenecia truly does have an embarrassment of riches at right wing at the moment. Not an embarrassment of defenders, though, and perhaps a hockey scoreline in Marque is why - 5-4 the final score as Marque and Cape of Hope simply run forwards at each other for 90 minutes, people falling over and both goalkeepers making horrible errors. “Could’ve been eight-all given another half an hour,” Babcock told the press afterwards, not too upset with the proceedings.

Kingsgrove get the better of the Spiders this time around as Eoin Killanen pulls the strings for Carroll and Scherzer… but it’s all for nothing. The Royals tire in extra time, North Laithland clock up a few chances of their own until it finally comes to penalties. Killanen faces the ignominy of having the decisive penalty beaten away by Steed Corren and, as the Spiders celebrate, being presented with the man of the match award. Halholzer United finish the job against Nacional, and sadly, so do Directus unto Tundra.

Rozelle’s record of five wins in a row comes to a juddering, Union-induced halt. The Saints just don’t have an answer for Union’s defence, Shazib at one point making a brilliant double save from Volker, and Fengouli’s perfectly-weighted long ball over the top finds Pendragon in a world of space, and Pendragon in turn finds Foran’s far-post run, and Foran finds… well, the net. Union are now unbeaten in seven… are they reviving their season?

North Hall sweep Fort Keller under the sofa as Morgan Svenningsen, Harlech and Fallon all make their cases for selection in a first-team. Own Goal makes a neat cameo appearance too, an unfortunate Slavia Rooney catching a cross with her face and helpless to stop it bobbling over the line. Terry Scutlin in the Southside goal makes a number of good saves, but the breakthrough is inevitable and it’s Matilda Farrell who secures it - that said, it was a nervy performance from Rozelle. South Rathia just can’t escape the relegation battle and they rest a couple of players, and none of the replacements impress as Lotus Park breeze to victory. Rozelle United, meanwhile, have no trouble at all dispatching Pikemouth, putting them to the sword 4-1 through their dominance of the midfield and decisiveness breaking forward at pace.

A very tight couple of matches. Kingsgrove dominate Tundra but can’t quite seem to break through the defence until, very late on, Lara Bolingbroke manages her first goal of the season by just blasting at full power through a mass of bodies from just outside the box. It flies through all of them, and an unsighted Finn Ralaanen. Violence Chariots and Halholzer United are very similar sides in terms of being fast-paced, physical 4-4-2s, and it’s Mareibat international Corentin Jack St. John who forces the breakthrough, some neat interplay with Nate Walker the prelude to him slotting past Clark. But 1-0 is very reachable in Halholzer… it might yet be an all A-League final. Maybe even an all-Mareibat one.

Halholzer United pulverise Cape of Hope by the same 5-0 scoreline that they did in the last fixture. But Rozelle hold their nerve, put down a feeble South Rathia 3-0 and retain a six-point advantage at the top of the table. Northern Union have been in excellent form, and overtake North Hall to reach third thanks to a narrow win over Bellight FC (who are now 5th). Bailen’s last-minute goal for Pikemouth secures a 2-1 win over Francisca that drags them away from the relegation battle and above the point-per-game mark - South Rathia’s defeat drags them further into it. The bottom two sides face off, and despite an even first half, Guilder score twice off set pieces in the second half and keep tight at the back to triumph 3-1 and drag themselves above SWU out of the drop zone, level on points with Marque. Westpike United, and the 69 goals they’ve somehow conceded, are now seven points from safety, with far and away the worst goal difference in the league.

Sienna Fallon is yet again very impressive, albeit against third-tier opposition, and even forgotten woman Dacia Beck gets on the scoresheet for the first time all season (off the bench with a neat flicked header). 9-0 on aggregate, even against a third-tier side, is a statement. Yet again, Southside Wanderers don’t really ask any questions of Rozelle, just sit there patiently waiting to be broken down, which Galloway’s passing promptly does - Farrell (again) and Ashworth with the goals. South Rathia name a full strength side (bar Cup goalkeeper Besler) this time around and thanks to Lachlan Cromwell’s neat volley stubbed into the ground and past Bullard they get a goal back… but not a second. Mostly the match is memorable for the fact that the Pascuale brothers pair up at centre-half for the visitors and, from the 62nd minute onwards, the Chilton sisters at centre-half for the hosts. Pikemouth don’t exactly give up against Rozelle United, but the wind’s clearly out of their sales once Larkspur slots home an away goal to make it 5-1 on aggregate, and though there’s a late consolation from O’Byrne’s free kick there’s a sense of inevitability about it all.

Early goals from Carroll and, of all people, Lilith Fife all but kill the fixture for Kingsgrove, at least until Tundra pull one back in the 34th minute through Sê Brêgoô. But while Tundra strive for the two more they need, they struggle to break through the Royals’ lines, and ultimately succumb to defeat. Same scoreline for the other Mareibat representative, though achieved very differently. In the first half, O’Hara scores from O’Connor’s near-post corner, and there’s hope… hope that is dashed in the second half, as young Nepharim talent Szalai dominates Eben on the wing to set up Quinn before the Chariots’ captain, Jess Leinster, leads by example with a powerful drive from just outside the box. Gandhi flashes a late shot narrowly wide but ultimately, the Gold-and-Whites just didn’t quite have what it took. Will Kingsgrove, in the final?

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Rozelle                 28  18   6   4  59  27  +32  60
  2 Halholzer United        28  15   9   4  39  14  +25  54
  3 Northern Union          28  15   6   7  42  18  +24  51
  4 North Hall              28  13  11   4  37  23  +14  50
  5 Bellight FC             28  13   7   8  46  36  +10  46
  6 Pilgrimage              28  13   7   8  34  27   +7  46
  7 Lotus Park              28  11  11   6  37  31   +6  44
  8 Kingsgrove              28  12   7   9  40  35   +5  43
  9 Harmonica Tundra        28  11   8   9  34  34   +0  41
 10 Bellight Wanderers      28  10  10   8  30  23   +7  40
 11 Falkner United          28  11   7  10  37  35   +2  40
 12 Cape of Hope FC         28  10   7  11  48  64  -16  37
 13 Rozelle United          28   9   8  11  39  34   +5  35
 14 Francisca Orient        28   8   8  12  28  28   +0  32
 15 Pikemouth               28   7   8  13  31  48  -17  29
 16 South Rathia            28   6   8  14  27  39  -12  26
 17 Marque                  28   5   9  14  30  44  -14  24
 18 Guilder                 28   5   9  14  17  37  -20  24
 19 SWU FC                  28   6   5  17  24  45  -21  23
 20 Westpike United         28   4   5  19  32  69  -37  17

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gentlemen's Club         28  17   7   4  60  30  +30  58
  2 Sciongrad Rovers         28  14   9   5  40  25  +15  51
  3 Gallant Cross            28  13  10   5  34  23  +11  49
  4 Halholzer Sundays        28  14   6   8  46  29  +17  48
  5 Halholzer Spitfires      28  11  12   5  47  35  +12  45
  6 Rosbank Town             28  13   6   9  42  34   +8  45
  7 Teol United              28  12   9   7  33  26   +7  45
  8 Sharrow                  28  11   7  10  49  52   -3  40
  9 Mount Roland             28   9  10   9  29  29   +0  37
 10 Snowden River            28  10   7  11  30  32   -2  37
 11 Scaffield                28   9   9  10  23  23   +0  36
 12 Scraglet Rovers          28  10   6  12  39  62  -23  36
 13 Westpike                 28   9   8  11  23  30   -7  35
 14 Union FK                 28   9   7  12  36  40   -4  34
 15 Arbour Lights FC         28   7  11  10  37  34   +3  32
 16 Saint Alexander          28   6  14   8  29  30   -1  32
 17 North Rathia             28   7   7  14  27  38  -11  28
 18 Southside Wanderers      28   6   9  13  23  35  -12  27
 19 Newtown                  28   6   8  14  18  32  -14  26
 20 Platwood                 28   2   8  18  19  45  -26  14

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Chafford              28  16   5   7  39  17  +22  53
  2 Ridgeway United       28  15   8   5  37  16  +21  53
  3 Thrush                28  14   6   8  53  36  +17  48
  4 Crest                 28  13   8   7  42  27  +15  47
  5 Hooker Ridge          28  12  11   5  36  26  +10  47
  6 Dalgallen             28  13   7   8  37  28   +9  46
  7 Fort Keller           28  11   9   8  30  22   +8  42
  8 Saint Wessex          28  11   6  11  29  32   -3  39
  9 Sutbyrne              28  11   5  12  42  41   +1  38
 10 Rushden               28  10   8  10  35  35   +0  38
 11 Glassfields           28  10   7  11  51  45   +6  37
 12 Gallow Park           28   9  10   9  29  34   -5  37
 13 Marque Rovers         28  10   7  11  29  43  -14  37
 14 Proudcastle           28   9   9  10  32  29   +3  36
 15 Highden               28   9   8  11  31  30   +1  35
 16 Swayback              28   9   6  13  34  39   -5  33
 17 Norbyrne              28   6   9  13  36  56  -20  27
 18 Pikemouth United      28   7   5  16  22  42  -20  26
 19 Garfield              28   5  10  13  18  37  -19  25
 20 Arkwood               28   4   8  16  21  48  -27  20

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Saint Essex                28  19   4   5  55  23  +32  61
  2 Fentonbridge               28  16   7   5  50  36  +14  55
  3 Hammerton                  28  14  10   4  51  25  +26  52
  4 Corder Town                28  13   8   7  44  35   +9  47
  5 Shenworth                  28  13   6   9  29  21   +8  45
  6 Greater Snowden            28  13   6   9  44  37   +7  45
  7 Falkner Wanderers          28  12   8   8  38  31   +7  44
  8 Monastery Park             28  11  10   7  19  14   +5  43
  9 Caybrooke                  28  12   7   9  33  30   +3  43
 10 Rooke and Knightstone      28  11   7  10  28  25   +3  40
 11 South Ridgeway             28   9   9  10  26  34   -8  36
 12 Brookden                   28   8  10  10  34  38   -4  34
 13 Reave City                 28   9   6  13  31  45  -14  33
 14 Stourhead                  28   5  13  10  18  38  -20  28
 15 Spearcove Mariners         28   6   9  13  39  38   +1  27
 16 Region                     28   6   9  13  22  28   -6  27
 17 Thriss Valley              28   7   6  15  24  41  -17  27
 18 Rathia Wanderers           28   7   5  16  38  51  -13  26
 19 Myhill                     28   6   8  14  21  34  -13  26
 20 Pryde Wanderers            28   6   6  16  23  43  -20  24

by **A-League** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 3:08 am

Halholzer United subjugate Real Atlantea despite their underdog status, Eric Abbriacciabene chalking up a hattrick of assists in a 3-0 victory. Arthur Clark faces one shot on target all match, and this tie could be dead and buried already.

Oh, Kingsgrove will have liked the chance to knock Rozelle off their perch - well, they don’t quite manage that. But they do bloody the Saints’ noses a little bit with a 2-0 win that showcased a victory for patience and technique over all-out attacking. South Rathia scrape a point against Halholzer United through a late penalty, leaving Northern Union - who smash Marque 3-0 - to capitalise. SWU FC face Guilder with the chance to leapfrog them out of the relegation zone and the impetus of being at home, pressing the full duration of the match… without breaking through. The finishing of Green and Bailey is lamentable, Crowther catches them on the break and an injury-time corner is smashed in by an unmarked Daniel Pritchard.

A solid performance from United proves too hard to break through, and Charlestown flicks home a header at the other end from a perfect cross from O’Connor. Easy, in the end… but a rematch with Violence Chariots beckons in the quarterfinals.

Northern Union’s first defeat in 11. Kingsgrove - of course it was Kingsgrove - are the ones to haul their legs out from under them as they hold down the midfield, stay disciplined at the back (how has Emma Kelly rediscovered any form of competence?) and then, well, Lyn Crowley slipped a long ball along the ground through absolutely everyone. Scherzer glanced up and then effortlessly slotted it past Shazib. It blows their chance to steal a march on Rozelle, who hold second-place Halholzer United to a 1-1 draw away in Mareibat. No room for such tightness elsewhere, though - relegation battlers Marque and SWU are thumped 5-0 by Bellight FC and Falkner United respectively, as Guilder pinch a point in a dull scoreless draw with Rozelle United (who are left to ponder the question; how do you play on the break when your opponents don’t attack?)

Two top sides in one match, two middling ones in the other. Nice. Fair. But in all fairness, Rozelle United and Lotus Park don’t really have anything else to play for, and utterly go full throttle at each other. Lotus Park, though, are caught by that notoriously potent Rozelle United counterattack, marshalled by Rowena Stamper in midfield, to the tune of a 2-0 lead by the end of 90 minutes - but with the last attack of the game, Kyron Everdale hoofs the ball into the mixer and somehow Kris Nilssen finds his way onto it to scuff it in. The Saints, meanwhile, are choked down in the Lucassen/Prowse-dominated midfield and can’t break through the Northerners’ disciplined defence. Juancarlos de Sierra doesn’t see too much of the ball, but it’s his running that gives Sisann Riel space to run into the box and shoot past Nkutu for the winner. Still - with a second leg to come, it’s not too late yet. Might there be another Rozelle derby Cup final?

Kingsgrove, having beaten two strong opponents, face Marque, just beaten at home 5-0, and contrive to lose. C’est l’A-League. Unsurprisingly, Rachel Byrne (forgiven yet again because she can score goals) arrives, sees and conquers, taking the ball past Bologna and slipping past Knight. Luciana Camargo doubles her goal tally for the season with a bullet header, and Kingsgrove are down! Amazing! But the pressure is on elsewhere - SWU and Westpike United pick up draws, Guilder and South Rathia win, and Northern Union pick themselves up with a nailbiting 2-1 victory over Halholzer United...

The Chariots rely on their superior wingers yet again, Nate Walker eating up crosses and managing two first-half goals. They keep up the pressure, reluctant to give them the breathing room to manage an away goal, but they run a little out of steam in the last ten minutes of the match. United strikes. Ozaria Gandhi and her fresh legs off the bench burst into a packed defence and fires past Edelgrau, and suddenly United have an away goal on their side with a home leg coming up… 1-0 looks a very doable scoreline.

Here’s what mental strength in a team can do for you. Teemu Silvennsson lashes home a second-minute goal for Rozelle United and Lotus Park fold, submitting themselves to a 3-0 defeat. The Saints score in the sixth minute, drawing level with North Hall on aggregate. But Jon Slatesaver’s last ever team has been built masterfully in his image, and they withstand the rest of the first half onslaught before taking the fight to a weary Rozelle in the second half, de Sierra’s ceaseless running finally getting a reward as he slips off Rosseau’s shoulder to scrappily volley home a long ball from Lucassen. Rozelle press again, and press harder - now needing two goals - and yet when Montague is fouled when charging forward on the counterattack, Riel lofts the ball at the far post where murderous centre-half Gillard (exceptional all game) rips past the Rozelle defence to smash home a header from four yards.

South Rathia claw through Westpike United with nothing short of desperation, a scrappy game where they always seem to have the run of the green (and, to be fair, better players playing better football). Lachlan Cromwell scores a hat-trick, one goal truly remarkable, but credit is also due to Konrad Webber managing to score directly from a corner (and Bram Merchant managing to be beaten by it). No such luck for Marque, who are thumped 4-0 by Halholzer, and while Union win as well it’s bad news for Rozelle, defeated 1-0 by Bellight Wanderers after Gaston goes down suspiciously easily under Kilcane’s challenge. Despite all protests, Nkutu can’t stop the penalty arrowing in.

Four meetings with the Chariots… and four defeats by one goal. It’s a back and forth game, United scoring first and third but the Chariots always have an answer, and Paula Morgan secures the win late on. United did well, it has to be said - but they’ve got a touch of soul-searching to do.

Rozelle reassert themselves with a 5-1 thumping of Westpike United, by now pretty much certain to be going down, while Kingsgrove simply outplay Halholzer United in a 1-0 win where Cheney Scherzer applies the finishing touch. Northern Union have no trouble putting Bellight Wanderers down, particularly after Gaston’s retroactive one-match suspension for what was, upon replay, one of the most flamboyant dives in the league’s history against Rozelle. Saints manager Cullen is upset by the decision; “Too late to help us, just in time to help our rivals,” she grumbles.

What? Rozelle are breaking apart at the seams! The Shipwrights, battling desperately to avoid relegation, defend powerfully, rely on Zelah at the back and Betjemen breaking down the midfield and, inexplicably, a brace from Alisander Bailey - numbers 6 and 7 of the season. There’s a red card, but Rozelle can’t use that as an excuse, since it was Pat Welque’s - so SWU transitioned to an 8-1-0 formation, parked the bus and managed to release Nyx Acerbi on the break. She rounds Nkutu, rolls the ball in and completes a disaster for the title-chasing Saints.

Marque could really have pulled away from the relegation fight with a win over the sunk Westpike… and somehow manage to lose 4-0. 4-0. Enough is enough - banners are unfurled late on, declaring that a fan consortium is coming to take the club back and restore it to its glory days. Details, so far, are hazy. SWU’s players could be forgiven for feeling a little hazy themselves, smashed 5-0 by Northern Union, but Rozelle don’t buckle in the derby against United and claim a decisive 3-1 win.

Marque recover, SWU do not. Marque, with the crowd baying for blood and a crowd-pleasing attacking mindset, carve the Shipwrights up at will, and by now Rachel Byrne has been restored to the starting lineup on a permanent basis alongside Pamala Croft - Camargo’s played every minute up until now despite being basically useless. And, who’d have thought it - each scores a goal and the Union now essentially need victories in their remaining fixtures. Marque, meanwhile, are probably safe. Rozelle don’t learn the lesson that SWU themselves imprinted on them - Pilgrimage spring just one efficient counter and Swag Vilhajalmsson makes no mistake, chipping a despairing Nkutu. But they get help from an unlikely source… as rivals Rozelle United fight their way to a battling, breathless 2-1 win over Union! Rozelle retain a single-point advantage at the top of the table with two matches left to play!

North Hall just did their rivals a massive favour… but they won’t care about that. Well, they might, a bit, but they can at least be pleased with a win for their own sake… over Rozelle. An excellent chip over the top from Lucassen allowed de Sierra to run onto the end of it and just delicately loop the header over Nkutu for goal number 16 of his most prolific season ever. You’d suspect the lower standard of play compared to the LigAnaia has something to do with that, but still, he’s been a great acquisition for the Northerners. Rozelle strike back not long afterwards, Lilley hitting a post but Charing, decisively, crashing home a shot from just outside the box when nobody closed her down quickly enough, but there was nothing they could do when Sisann Riel slipped a diagonal ball through the Saints’ back four… and running onto it? Leftback Constantine Bowyer, smashing past Nkutu for his first goal of the season. What timing! Pilgrimage almost, almost ruin Union’s party… but in the 81st minute, Karena Foran ghosts through everyone to meet Mariconda’s near-post cross with her head, flicking it past Walker who could only get a hand to it. The linesman, in a league without goalline technology, takes a second… and then, yes, he flags for it. Union, with just one match to go, have seized top spot for the first time all season by two points.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          37  22   6   9  60  24  +36  72
  2 Rozelle                 37  21   7   9  71  39  +32  70
  3 Halholzer United        37  18  13   6  53  21  +32  67
  4 Kingsgrove              37  20   7  10  54  37  +17  67
  5 North Hall              37  18  12   7  49  32  +17  66
  6 Bellight FC             37  19   8  10  65  43  +22  65
  7 Lotus Park              37  15  14   8  49  39  +10  59
  8 Pilgrimage              37  16  11  10  41  33   +8  59
  9 Falkner United          37  15   8  14  48  43   +5  53
 10 Bellight Wanderers      37  13  13  11  37  31   +6  52
 11 Rozelle United          37  12  11  14  51  45   +6  47
 12 Harmonica Tundra        37  12  11  14  43  51   -8  47
 13 Cape of Hope FC         37  11   9  17  54  78  -24  42
 14 Francisca Orient        37  10  10  17  34  41   -7  40
 15 Guilder                 37   9  12  16  26  44  -18  39
 16 Pikemouth               37   9  12  16  41  60  -19  39
 17 South Rathia            37   9  11  17  38  46   -8  38
 18 Marque                  37   8  11  18  38  62  -24  35
 19 SWU FC                  37   8   7  22  30  63  -33  31
 20 Westpike United         37   5   7  25  42  92  -50  22

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gentlemen's Club         37  21   8   8  74  42  +32  71
  2 Gallant Cross            37  20  11   6  53  29  +24  71
  3 Sciongrad Rovers         37  18  11   8  52  39  +13  65
  4 Halholzer Spitfires      37  16  15   6  61  43  +18  63
  5 Halholzer Sundays        37  17  10  10  59  39  +20  61
  6 Teol United              37  16  12   9  45  32  +13  60
  7 Sharrow                  37  17   9  11  64  57   +7  60
  8 Rosbank Town             37  15   9  13  50  49   +1  54
  9 Snowden River            37  14  10  13  45  40   +5  52
 10 Mount Roland             37  13  10  14  36  41   -5  49
 11 Saint Alexander          37  10  18   9  42  35   +7  48
 12 Scaffield                37  12  10  15  31  32   -1  46
 13 Union FK                 37  12   9  16  46  53   -7  45
 14 Westpike                 37  11  10  16  28  40  -12  43
 15 Arbour Lights FC         37   9  15  13  49  50   -1  42
 16 Scraglet Rovers          37  11   8  18  52  81  -29  41
 17 North Rathia             37  10  10  17  40  48   -8  40
 18 Southside Wanderers      37   9  12  16  29  43  -14  39
 19 Newtown                  37   7  11  19  23  46  -23  32
 20 Platwood                 37   4   8  25  24  64  -40  20

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Chafford              37  22   8   7  52  22  +30  74
  2 Ridgeway United       37  17  13   7  45  21  +24  64
  3 Thrush                37  18   8  11  73  49  +24  62
  4 Hooker Ridge          37  16  14   7  49  33  +16  62
  5 Crest                 37  17  10  10  54  38  +16  61
  6 Sutbyrne              37  17   6  14  62  51  +11  57
  7 Dalgallen             37  15  11  11  47  42   +5  56
  8 Fort Keller           37  14  13  10  35  27   +8  55
  9 Glassfields           37  14   9  14  67  66   +1  51
 10 Swayback              37  14   9  14  52  53   -1  51
 11 Saint Wessex          37  13  11  13  41  43   -2  50
 12 Rushden               37  12  13  12  45  48   -3  49
 13 Highden               37  13   9  15  41  41   +0  48
 14 Gallow Park           37  11  13  13  41  47   -6  46
 15 Marque Rovers         37  11  10  16  33  54  -21  43
 16 Proudcastle           37  10  10  17  38  42   -4  40
 17 Norbyrne              37   8  14  15  49  66  -17  38
 18 Garfield              37   9  11  17  27  45  -18  38
 19 Pikemouth United      37   9   7  21  29  57  -28  34
 20 Arkwood               37   5  11  21  27  62  -35  26

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Saint Essex                37  25   4   8  72  36  +36  79
  2 Caybrooke                  37  19   9   9  51  33  +18  66
  3 Hammerton                  37  18  11   8  64  43  +21  65
  4 Fentonbridge               37  17  12   8  59  51   +8  63
  5 Falkner Wanderers          37  18   8  11  55  38  +17  62
  6 Greater Snowden            37  18   7  12  63  48  +15  61
  7 Corder Town                37  16  10  11  55  47   +8  58
  8 Monastery Park             37  13  14  10  25  21   +4  53
  9 Shenworth                  37  15   8  14  35  32   +3  53
 10 Rooke and Knightstone      37  13  11  13  33  32   +1  50
 11 South Ridgeway             37  13  11  13  39  48   -9  50
 12 Brookden                   37  11  13  13  46  48   -2  46
 13 Reave City                 37  13   6  18  47  68  -21  45
 14 Stourhead                  37   9  16  12  25  42  -17  43
 15 Spearcove Mariners         37  10  11  16  54  49   +5  41
 16 Thriss Valley              37   9  11  17  34  50  -16  38
 17 Region                     37   8  11  18  30  41  -11  35
 18 Pryde Wanderers            37   9   8  20  33  53  -20  35
 19 Rathia Wanderers           37   9   7  21  49  68  -19  34
 20 Myhill                     37   6  14  17  27  48  -21  32

by **A-League** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:04 am

FINAL MATCHDAY
Bellight Wanderers vs. Bellight FC
Pikemouth vs. Falkner United
Westpike United vs. Francisca Orient
Cape of Hope FC vs. Guilder
SWU FC vs. Halholzer United
South Rathia vs. Harmonica Tundra
Rozelle United vs. Kingsgrove
Rozelle vs. Lotus Park
Pilgrimage vs. Marque
Northern Union vs. North Hall

Well, well, well… it all comes down to this. With the SWU losing to Kingsgrove, the bottom two are locked in, and aside from a little jostling for Champions’ Cup places, it’s all about the title. Northern Union are poised to take it at the moment, two points clear at the top… but they’re facing their fierce rivals North Hall, who have a top four spot to play for and also just general hatred. Rozelle have a far more forgiving tie against Lotus Park, who have nothing at all to play for. If Union draw, they’ll stay in first… unless Rozelle can win by four clear goals.

The Saints get off to a bright start, moving the ball around quickly and putting Park under early pressure - Cheney Breen’s forced into a good save within three minutes, but Rozelle break through anyway in the seventh. Swain’s cross is perfectly weighted to meet Galloway’s well-timed run and the Saints lead. Northern Union and North Hall, meanwhile, are locked in brutal, man-to-man combat, three yellow cards handed out within the first fifteen minutes. The best chance falls early to Sisann Riel, who somehow slips past Union’s defence only to bottle the finish and drag it wide. Still… comfortable stuff for Union. Right?

Or… not, because Rozelle aren’t letting up. Lotus Park should be level when Shaun Guthrie breaks through in possession… and shoots straight into Nkutu’s midriff with the entire goal to fire at. What follows is a brutal crushing, as Volker, Lilley and… well, Volker again all get goals, Cheney Breen is under constant bombardment, and at 4-0? Rozelle are set to take the title! Northern Union shows just a little more urgency towards the end of the first half, but Hall holds firm and Sara Fairhall looks indomitable in goal.

Second half, and Lotus Park finds some determination to pull one back. Rozelle, maybe just a little complacent, are caught off guard as Kyron Everdale goes thundering past Adan Baez in the 47th minute and fires in a low cross across goal. Guthrie hurls himself at it and gets, somehow, a knee onto the end of it with a desperate swipe of the leg, and Rozelle need another goal. That re-energises North Hall to smash up their rivals a bit, and Strachan picks out Juancarlos de Sierra with a superb diagonal ball - the former Cazadores man, however, fires over from ten yards.

The Saints fight back. Volker compltes his hattrick and then, his replacement off the bench, Matilda Farrell sets up Hecate Charing to make it 6-1 with 20 minutes to play. Can’t possibly come back from this, right? And then… the unthinkable happens. Candace Rivers picks out Karena Foran with a perfect ball over the top and Elias Melendez scythes through her. It’s madness, it’s a red, and it’s a penalty that Erin Camden lashes past Fairhall with real venom.

News reaches the capital, and Rozelle’s fans are aghast… but what can they do? North Hall’s fans, meanwhile, bay for blood - they don’t want Union to win the title, let alone against them, right after they’ve shot themselves in the foot… and the players respond on the field, Svenningsen thrown up front alongside de Sierra and with his first touch of the game forcing Shazib into a great save. There is to be another goal… but it’s for Union, as they double their advantage in injury time, Karena Foran rising to nod in a cross at the far post as Rozelle players sink in despair as the final whistle blows. The Saints have fallen at the penultimate hurdle, and Northern Union - 8th halfway through the season, not reaching top until the second-last matchday - take the title.

A-League Final Results
Bellight Wanderers 5-1 Bellight FC
Pikemouth 0-1 Falkner United
Westpike United 0-2 Francisca Orient
Cape of Hope FC 1-0 Guilder
SWU FC 0-1 Halholzer United
South Rathia 2-1 Harmonica Tundra
Rozelle United 0-1 Kingsgrove
Rozelle 6-1 Lotus Park
Pilgrimage 4-0 Marque
Northern Union 2-0 North Hall

B-League Final Results
North Rathia 1-2 Halholzer Sundays
Scaffield 1-0 Teol United
Mount Roland 0-1 Snowden River
Rosbank Town 0-2 Union FK
Saint Alexander 1-2 Arbour Lights FC
Platwood 1-2 Scraglet Rovers
Southside Wanderers 2-0 Newtown
Halholzer Spitfires 0-0 Sciongrad Rovers
Gallant Cross 1-2 Gentlemen's Club
Westpike 2-1 Sharrow

C-League Final Results
Thrush 0-1 Saint Wessex
Rushden 2-3 Dalgallen
Norbyrne 3-4 Glassfields
Chafford 0-1 Fort Keller
Ridgeway United 2-0 Garfield
Marque Rovers 2-2 Arkwood
Pikemouth United 2-2 Gallow Park
Swayback 3-2 Hooker Ridge
Sutbyrne 5-0 Highden
Crest 1-1 Proudcastle

D-League Final Results
Monastery Park 0-0 Caybrooke
Region 1-1 Reave City
Greater Snowden 2-0 Brookden
Spearcove Mariners 0-1 Shenworth
Pryde Wanderers 4-3 Rathia Wanderers
Hammerton 1-0 South Ridgeway
Saint Essex 3-0 Rooke and Knightstone
Thriss Valley 1-0 Falkner Wanderers
Fentonbridge 1-0 Stourhead
Corder Town 0-3 Myhill

CUP FINAL
North Hall (4-2-3-1): 1 - Fairhall; 2 - Kirill, 6 - Hart, 18 - Gillard, 15 - Bowyer; 4 - Prowse (c), 21 - Lucassen; 7 - Strachan, 12 - Riel, 36 - Fallon; 9 - de Sierra
Bench: 20 - Leeds; 13 - Harlech, 14 - Kessler, 16 - Svenningsen, 19 - Sixpence, 23 - Yeats, 35 - Szukala

Rozelle United: 20 - Rohan; 2 - Dravinovic, 5 - Stockinger (c), 33 - Osbourne, 3 - Senterekoesima; 8 - Calypso, 21 - Barker, 14 - Stamper; 7 - Whitesmith, 12 - Ingolfsson, 18 - Silvennsson
Bench: 1 - Najdorf; 4 - Neilson, 9 - Keohane, 10 - Larkspur, 11 - Knight, 19 - Connelly, 36 - Donachy

Cup final time. North Hall in particular, you suspect, will be seething at their inability to deny their hated rivals the title, and will want to deliver Jon Slatesaver a title in his last ever match. But Rozelle United are no pushovers - as always, their finely-honed counterattacking game is hard for any team to handle. Both sides are missing players - an injury to Seth Montague means 20-year old Sienna Fallon is thrown into the fire as Melendez’s suspension means the veteran Olenna Hart will deputise, while equally-young Paul Osbourne is guarding the heart of United’s defence, while Andrea Rohan continues to be designated Cup goalkeeper. With Najdorf retiring after this season, she’s set to be just plain number 1 next season.

It’s a tight match, and Rowena Stamper is Rachel Prowse’s single focus in the midfield - without Stamper, United’s main supply line through the middle is gone. But they aren’t a one-man team, and whenever a stray pass or lingering in possession loses the ball, United are there, charging. The first-half is short of clear chances - most of the shots coming from a comfortable range - and neither side really takes the upper hand. In truth, it’s a dull match… until the hour mark.

Rozelle United begin to tire, their legs failing them from the relentless high-line pressing, and when Prowse forces Stamper off with injury (to be replaced by 35-year old former Brenecia international Knight) it’s the beginning of the end for Rozelle United. Without as much pressure, North Hall finally start to play, stringing together brutally effective passing movements and forcing Rohan into some decent saves. But the win seems inevitable - and it doesn’t come from the source most people expected. But when Constantinr Bowyer is handed the ball for a throwin and makes a long, javelineer’s runup to hurl the ball into the box, it’s havoc. Rozelle United’s discipline collapses for just a split second… and centre-half Olenna Hart, who wasn’t even meant to be starting, scuffs it in. Sixteen minutes left to play, but Rozelle United can’t get back into it - Slatesaver’s side is carved out perfectly in his image. They’re tight, they’re disciplined and they’re physical, and they almost score twice on the counter were it not for two great Rohan saves. In the end, the capital side can do nothing - and Jon Slatesaver, sometimes maligned but arguably Brenecia’s greatest ever manager, ends on a high… watching on as Rachel Prowse lifts a trophy in front of 55,000 people.

North Hall 1 - 0 Rozelle United

CEDC FINAL - Copied from Nephara’s overview, so don’t give RP bonus with it in mind.
Kingsgrove (4-2-3-1): 1 - Knight; 2 - Molina, 5 - Bologna, 21 - Hemingway, 33 - Lovelock; 6 - Fife, 4 - Crowley (c); 7 - Portsman, 8 - Killanen, 11 - Carroll; 10 - Scherzer
Bench: 20 - Pallister; 9 - Gardot, 12 - Kilroy, 13 - Lindegartner, 18 - Ansom, 22 - Plymouth, 24 - Foxstone

Violence Chariots (4-4-2): 1 - Edelgrau; 2 - Kellen, 20 - Hikari, 5 - Riviello, 19 - Röènôùjýâ; 22 - Szalai, 6 - Hearn, 11 - Leinster (c), 16 - St. John; 9 - Walker, 10 - Quinn
Bench: 12 - Miranda; 4 - Hancock, 7 - Morgan, 14 - Schuster, 15 - Voeller, 21 - West, 25 - Westmead

At the Estadio Cuscatlan of San Salvador, the regional championship had involved a Premiership side yet again - one that had beaten sides from Anglicana and Omerica to get there before casting down the defending A-League champions Halholzer United. What was worse for their opponents, the Chariots had a clean bill of health. Kingsgrove, for their part, had taken down Sabrefell Moths as well as Harmonica Tundra en route to the final, and would be no pushovers. Worthy of note, however, was the fact that they were missing former Brenecia international leftback Miriam Portadown, with 20-year old Ophelia Lovelock thrust into the hot seat. International defender Emma Kelly was also missing through an ankle injury sustained late in the season.

Kingsgrove waste no time and start pressing immediately - with a weak defence, standing still would be suicide. They keep narrow in midfield and dominate possession, but as long as the Chariots hold firm in defence, there’s nowhere to penetrate. Granted, they have players known to hit them from distance, but Hearn and Leinster do just enough to prevent the Chariots from being totally overrun and Edelgrau isn’t about to be beaten from distance. And whenever the Chariots do get the ball, they threaten. Kurtis Quinn rolls off Bologna’s shoulder in the seventh minute and fires his first touch of the game straight at goal, scrambled away by Olenna Knight’s legs and then cleared by Hemingway.

Things open up more cleanly in the second half, one that provides the key breakthrough. Crowley slides a pass through to Carroll who has slipped the attentions of Kellen, allowing her to slide the perfect pass in behind the Chariots’ line. Cheney Scherzer, 32 years old but still pretty quick, ruthless in front of goal and brimming with confidence, smashes past Edelgrau with his first-time shot. That, however, was all the excuse the Chariots needed. No more pretence of keeping solid at the back, the Nepharim had to pile forward, and within minutes of the goal they threatened an equaliser. Walker should have scored from twelve yards but Hemingway did just enough to put his header off while Szalai forced Knight into a good save which Quinn nearly turned in on the rebound, missing by inches.

This did not, however, survive contact with the enemy, as Killanen found an inch of space to weave past Leinster, pick his spot and curve the ball in from twenty-five yards, Edelgrau sprawling. Crisis for the Chariots - Kieran Hancock was thrown on to try and clamp down the midfield, which he did, young Gareth Westmead tracked down Carroll by means fair and foul (by which point none of the four players on that flank were older than twenty) and, through an intricate bit of play on the left flank, a charging run by Röènôùjýâ wasn’t picked up by anyone and he fired home from Hearn’s perfect pass. But an equaliser wasn’t forthcoming - and it was the Brenecians who picked up the trophy.

Kingsgrove 2 - 1 Violence Chariots

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          38  23   6   9  62  24  +38  75
  2 Rozelle                 38  22   7   9  77  40  +37  73
  3 Halholzer United        38  19  13   6  54  21  +33  70
  4 Kingsgrove              38  21   7  10  55  37  +18  70
  5 North Hall              38  18  12   8  49  34  +15  66
  6 Bellight FC             38  19   8  11  66  48  +18  65
  7 Pilgrimage              38  17  11  10  45  33  +12  62
  8 Lotus Park              38  15  14   9  50  45   +5  59
  9 Falkner United          38  16   8  14  49  43   +6  56
 10 Bellight Wanderers      38  14  13  11  42  32  +10  55
 11 Rozelle United          38  12  11  15  51  46   +5  47
 12 Harmonica Tundra        38  12  11  15  44  53   -9  47
 13 Cape of Hope FC         38  12   9  17  55  78  -23  45
 14 Francisca Orient        38  11  10  17  36  41   -5  43
 15 South Rathia            38  10  11  17  40  47   -7  41
 16 Guilder                 38   9  12  17  26  45  -19  39
 17 Pikemouth               38   9  12  17  41  61  -20  39
 18 Marque                  38   8  11  19  38  66  -28  35
 19 SWU FC                  38   8   7  23  30  64  -34  31
 20 Westpike United         38   5   7  26  42  94  -52  22

TOP SCORERS
24 - T. Lilley (ROZ)
20 - C. Scherzer (KNG)
18 - E. Charlestown (HHU), F. Bellerose (NTU), K. Volker (ROZ), D. Farrier (WPU)
16 - G. Birikaitis (BFC), J. de Sierra (NTH), K. Foran (NTU)
15 - G. Urrunaga (HHU), O. Itsasontzigintzantailerra (COH)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Candace Rivers (NTU)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Roisin Carroll (KNG)
Team of the Year: Clarke (HHU); Baez (ROZ), Rubio (NTU), Gillard (NTH), Endicott (PIL); Crowley (KNG), Lucassen (NTH), Charing (HHU); Charlestown (HHU), Lilley (ROZ), Carroll (KNG)
Manager of the Year: Jon Slatesaver (NTH)

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gentlemen's Club         38  22   8   8  76  43  +33  74
  2 Gallant Cross            38  20  11   7  54  31  +23  71
  3 Sciongrad Rovers         38  18  12   8  52  39  +13  66
  4 Halholzer Sundays        38  18  10  10  61  40  +21  64
  5 Halholzer Spitfires      38  16  16   6  61  43  +18  64
  6 Teol United              38  16  12  10  45  33  +12  60
  7 Sharrow                  38  17   9  12  65  59   +6  60
  8 Snowden River            38  15  10  13  46  40   +6  55
  9 Rosbank Town             38  15   9  14  50  51   -1  54
 10 Scaffield                38  13  10  15  32  32   +0  49
 11 Mount Roland             38  13  10  15  36  42   -6  49
 12 Saint Alexander          38  10  18  10  43  37   +6  48
 13 Union FK                 38  13   9  16  48  53   -5  48
 14 Westpike                 38  12  10  16  30  41  -11  46
 15 Arbour Lights FC         38  10  15  13  51  51   +0  45
 16 Scraglet Rovers          38  12   8  18  54  82  -28  44
 17 Southside Wanderers      38  10  12  16  31  43  -12  42
 18 North Rathia             38  10  10  18  41  50   -9  40
 19 Newtown                  38   7  11  20  23  48  -25  32
 20 Platwood                 38   4   8  26  25  66  -41  20

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Chafford              38  22   8   8  52  23  +29  74
  2 Ridgeway United       38  18  13   7  47  21  +26  67
  3 Thrush                38  18   8  12  73  50  +23  62
  4 Crest                 38  17  11  10  55  39  +16  62
  5 Hooker Ridge          38  16  14   8  51  36  +15  62
  6 Sutbyrne              38  18   6  14  67  51  +16  60
  7 Dalgallen             38  16  11  11  50  44   +6  59
  8 Fort Keller           38  15  13  10  36  27   +9  58
  9 Glassfields           38  15   9  14  71  69   +2  54
 10 Swayback              38  15   9  14  55  55   +0  54
 11 Saint Wessex          38  14  11  13  42  43   -1  53
 12 Rushden               38  12  13  13  47  51   -4  49
 13 Highden               38  13   9  16  41  46   -5  48
 14 Gallow Park           38  11  14  13  43  49   -6  47
 15 Marque Rovers         38  11  11  16  35  56  -21  44
 16 Proudcastle           38  10  11  17  39  43   -4  41
 17 Norbyrne              38   8  14  16  52  70  -18  38
 18 Garfield              38   9  11  18  27  47  -20  38
 19 Pikemouth United      38   9   8  21  31  59  -28  35
 20 Arkwood               38   5  12  21  29  64  -35  27

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Saint Essex                38  26   4   8  75  36  +39  82
  2 Hammerton                  38  19  11   8  65  43  +22  68
  3 Caybrooke                  38  19  10   9  51  33  +18  67
  4 Fentonbridge               38  18  12   8  60  51   +9  66
  5 Greater Snowden            38  19   7  12  65  48  +17  64
  6 Falkner Wanderers          38  18   8  12  55  39  +16  62
  7 Corder Town                38  16  10  12  55  50   +5  58
  8 Shenworth                  38  16   8  14  36  32   +4  56
  9 Monastery Park             38  13  15  10  25  21   +4  54
 10 Rooke and Knightstone      38  13  11  14  33  35   -2  50
 11 South Ridgeway             38  13  11  14  39  49  -10  50
 12 Brookden                   38  11  13  14  46  50   -4  46
 13 Reave City                 38  13   7  18  48  69  -21  46
 14 Stourhead                  38   9  16  13  25  43  -18  43
 15 Spearcove Mariners         38  10  11  17  54  50   +4  41
 16 Thriss Valley              38  10  11  17  35  50  -15  41
 17 Pryde Wanderers            38  10   8  20  37  56  -19  38
 18 Region                     38   8  12  18  31  42  -11  36
 19 Myhill                     38   7  14  17  30  48  -18  35
 20 Rathia Wanderers           38   9   7  22  52  72  -20  34

Region merges with North Rathia to form Northern Stallions.
Promoted: AFC Swanbridge, Chrysler Town

by **A-League** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 4:49 am

A-LEAGUE SEASON SIX PREVIEW

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          38  23   6   9  62  24  +38  75
  2 Rozelle                 38  22   7   9  77  40  +37  73
  3 Halholzer United        38  19  13   6  54  21  +33  70
  4 Kingsgrove              38  21   7  10  55  37  +18  70
  5 North Hall              38  18  12   8  49  34  +15  66
  6 Bellight FC             38  19   8  11  66  48  +18  65
  7 Pilgrimage              38  17  11  10  45  33  +12  62
  8 Lotus Park              38  15  14   9  50  45   +5  59
  9 Falkner United          38  16   8  14  49  43   +6  56
 10 Bellight Wanderers      38  14  13  11  42  32  +10  55
 11 Rozelle United          38  12  11  15  51  46   +5  47
 12 Harmonica Tundra        38  12  11  15  44  53   -9  47
 13 Cape of Hope FC         38  12   9  17  55  78  -23  45
 14 Francisca Orient        38  11  10  17  36  41   -5  43
 15 South Rathia            38  10  11  17  40  47   -7  41
 16 Guilder                 38   9  12  17  26  45  -19  39
 17 Pikemouth               38   9  12  17  41  61  -20  39
 18 Marque                  38   8  11  19  38  66  -28  35
 19 SWU FC                  38   8   7  23  30  64  -34  31
 20 Westpike United         38   5   7  26  42  94  -52  22

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gentlemen's Club         38  22   8   8  76  43  +33  74
  2 Gallant Cross            38  20  11   7  54  31  +23  71
  3 Sciongrad Rovers         38  18  12   8  52  39  +13  66
  4 Halholzer Sundays        38  18  10  10  61  40  +21  64
  5 Halholzer Spitfires      38  16  16   6  61  43  +18  64

TOP SCORERS
24 - T. Lilley (ROZ)
20 - C. Scherzer (KNG)
18 - E. Charlestown (HHU), F. Bellerose (NTU), K. Volker (ROZ), D. Farrier (WPU)
16 - G. Birikaitis (BFC), J. de Sierra (NTH), K. Foran (NTU)
15 - G. Urrunaga (HHU), O. Itsasontzigintzantailerra (COH)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Candace Rivers (NTU)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Roisin Carroll (KNG)
Team of the Year: Clarke (HHU); Baez (ROZ), Rubio (NTU), Gillard (NTH), Endicott (PIL); Crowley (KNG), Lucassen (NTH), Charing (HHU); Charlestown (HHU), Lilley (ROZ), Carroll (KNG)
Manager of the Year: Jon Slatesaver (NTH)

League Run: 9th
Cup Run: First Round
UICA Run: Globe Cup Second Preliminary Round
Stadium: Hunter Hall (32,000)
Nickname: the Hunters
Manager: Blake Lawless
Captain: Rickard Lund
Top Scorer: Rickard Lund (11)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Pence; 2 - St. Mellion, 6 - Ramundo, 22 - Espinosa, 5 - Marelana; 8 - Lund (c), 13 - Farrier, 14 - Luevano; 7 - Paracoilson, 12 - Kellow, 10 - Rafferty
In: Larissa Connolly (Brinemouth, 4m), Divock Marelana (FC Nuholm, free), Leith Carrasquillo (free agent)
Promoted: Paul Crossman (CB, 18)
Out: Neil Musni (Sutcroft, 750k), Catherine Frey (Scaffield, free)
Retired: Kurtis Rochford (CB, 36), Christine Kellow (ST, 33)

The Hunters managed a moderately successful season, exceeding most expectations by squeezing into the Globe Cup places. Their reward? Well, their striker Kellow retired citing to have 'fallen out of love' with the sport. Further veterans in Rochford, Musni and Frey also depart to leave a younger side. But they did manage to secure a return from Larissa Connolly, the 32-year old forward expected to play through the middle. Divock Marelana arrives after his release from the LigAnaia Nord - a time-honoured market for the A-League, while promising winger Leith Carrasquillo arrives from the lower tiers. On the whole it has to be said this is a stronger side than the year before.

It's not only the transfers that have added to this, but Blake Lawless' oft-forgotten vow to trust in youth has not been forgotten. Rafferty was an exciting, if raw winger on the left last term and Coveny looks to be even better on the right. Colm Farrier was a calming presence in a midfield that needed it with the hot-headed Luevano as its creative influence while captain Rickard Lund is now 34 but remains a classy technical player. Marelana is probably the strongest point of a sometimes fragile defence with two technically-gifted but flaky Osarians at its heart and Jayce Pence, a great shot-stopper but error prone and now 35 in its net. Connolly may be the jewel, with 21 goals and 58 caps at international level, but how well will the inverted winger convert into a striker? Promising striker Judith Russell on the bench is another of the young gems.

Playing a balanced 4-3-3 aimed to exploit that pace on the wings, Falkner are set for another fairly decent finish. 9th, for instance.

League Run: 14th
Cup Run: First Round
CWC Run: Second Round
Stadium: Forharrow (21,000)
Nickname: the Jacks
Manager: Conrad Lauren
Captain: Kurtis Burgundy
Top Scorer: Chandler Southwick (12)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Larsson; 19 - Rossini, 2 - Burgundy (c), 6 - Bondfield, 18 - Kipling; 7 - Farkanhan, 8 - Bolton, 21 - Underwood, 11 - Carter; 10 - Garrard, 9 - Southwick
In: Kurt Reichart (New Llama Gold, 2.5m), Morgan Underwood (Vermillion Rage, 1m), Kurtis Fischer (Brinemouth, free), Pierce Cort (Copenbrok Klub, free)
Promoted: Jacqueline Caldwell (GK, 18), Michael Cauley (ST, 18)
Out: Hartley Espinosa (Guilder, 500k), Cassandra Sutcliff (Chafford, 500k), Steed Bondfield (Ridgeway United, 500k), Lukas Scannell (Scaffield, free), Shay Pennant (Bruzundangas, free), Melissa Cleves (Willox Street Pirates, free), Marko Palos (released)

Wrestling with Bellight Wanderers for the label of the most boring A-League team, Francisca Orient continue to float around midtable much as expected. This time they don't have the Cup victory or UICA football to lean on, either. At least they've added two internationals to the mix in Reichart and the bloody-minded veteran Morgan Underwood, while Brenecia youth international rightback Kurtis Fischer might have been released by Brinemouth but there isn't really much shame in that. Journeyman Nepharim defender Pierce Cort will be able backup, as well. Out for either peanuts or nothing go Espinosa, Sutcliff, Bondfield, Scannell, Pennant, Cleves and Palos, none of them regular starters, and with the side as old as it is you'd suspect a similar amount of turnover for the forseeable future. Francisca produced Catherine Purrington and it seems like that was good enough for history.

Francisca Orient aim to be solid, well-disciplined and either grinding results out through passing or hitting the ball up the middle and letting Garrard pounce on it. They lean heavily on their veteran players - the starting lineup is a staggering 29.6 years old on average. Reichart is the youngest of them, partnering veteran defender Burgundy (a converted fullback) in the heart of defence while rightback Rossini adds some dynamism to the side at rightback. The creaking legs of Kestrel Bolton (33) in midfield complement physical box-to-box player Morgan Underwood (also 33), with Blake Carter (33) expected to provide more nous than pace on the left. Up front, Garrard's pace and heart stretches the defences for Southwick's thunderous left boot to pierce. Fortunately, Larsson in goal is an excellent shot-stopper to cover them at the back.

They should continue to do okay in a vaguely nondescript, profitable way. 14th seems right.

League Run: 2nd (B-League)
Cup Run: Second Round
Stadium: Cruxhall (12,000)
Nickname: the Knights
Manager: Adrian Coulton
Captain: Daniel Salinger
Top Scorer: Mhairi Rivers (16)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 13 - Merchant; 2 - Galway, 19 - Taylor, 6 - Gjallskald, 21 - Lindisfarne; 15 - Baeza, 4 - Foxstone, 10 - Salinger (c); 7 - Arrowsmith, 9 - Colchester, 16 - Rivers
In: Bram Merchant (Westpike United, 1.5m), Grettis Gjallskald (Crawford City FC, free), Simon Lindisfarne (Jansberg Laguna, free), Keith Baeza (1830 Cathair, free)
Promoted: Ross Gardyne (ST, 18)
Out: Paddy Carther (Chafford, 600k), Ruby Gillen (Northern Stallions, 350k), Joram Hogan (Sharrow, 300k), Josephine Bridge (Westpike United, loan)
Retired: Julian Neill (CB, 37)

Gallant Cross might be set for a chastening season back in the A-League. Though, of course, they've exceeded expectations before. One of them, in fact, came by outpacing a strong field of Mareibat clubs to get promoted in the first place, and they have made an effort to reinforce. A number of dead wood is shipped out, while in comes Bram Merchant (Josephine Bridge loaned the other way), an excellent goalkeeper. And, well, every other purchase is... free, is the thing. An average HarlighetLigan centre-half, an unremarkable left-back at Repechage49 level who played for the worst team in the (again, 49-strong) league that is roughly as strong as the A-League, and a 21-year old midfielder who never made a senior appearance for 1830 Cathair.

Okay, so that isn't particularly inspiring, and this Cross side isn't inspiring as a whole either. Outside of Merchant, a goalkeeper who had been linked to better things last season but has been relegated in his past two seasons, they boast the best rightback in the second tier last season in the industrious Geneva Galway, as well as a reasonably experienced leftback. Oh, and don't get too excited by Gjallskald - it's Kristian's younger sister, Grettis. Salinger has a certain creative touch that should complement Baeza's traditional Audioslavian muscle. Holly Foxstone, however, is a liability at this level. Their shining lights are up front. Mhairi Rivers on the left was terrifyingly quick on the left, Eoin Colchester down the centre was a wall of muscle and Steed Arrowsmith on the right was, well, both. Stretching and smashing through defences last season, they're set up perfectly to hit teams on the counter in the top flight.

On the whole, Cross are likely to struggle... but there's worse teams at this level. Two of them. Cross should come 18th.

League Run: 16th
Cup Run: First Round
Stadium: Riverside Stadium (13,000)
Nickname: the Phoenices
Manager: Judith Keller
Captain: Isadora Bergman
Top Scorer: Cassandra Kilgallon (8)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Boston; 2 - Waters, 5 - Pritchard, 19 - Arena, 18 - Adnansen; 8 - Payne, 4 - Bergman (c), 22 - Hartley; 13 - Bolingbroke, 9 - Crowther, 10 - Espinosa
In: Lara Bolingbroke (Kingsgrove, 1.25m), Harriet Payne (Southside Wanderers, 750k), Hartley Espinosa (Francisca Orient, 500k)
Promoted: Ingrid Trudgeon (GK, 20), Tara Hassett (RB, 18)
Out: Cassandra Kilgallon (Crisisbless United, 1.5m), Pavel Frost (Klyde Heritage, 1.3m), Christian Cale (Northern Stallions, 600k), Fran Chaplain (Mount Roland, free)
Retired: Isadora Clough (RW, 35)

Guilder continue to work on a shoestring, although they were able to spend actual money this offseason. Admittedly, this was due to selling players. New wingers Bolingbroke and Espinosa, both with league experience, join talented young playmaker Harriet Payne, while experienced winger Kilgallon and former Rozelle midfielder Frost are the two big sales - though the veteran Clough will be missed as well. It was an odd season for the Phoenices as they managed just 26 goals and 39 points... but finished eight points and fifteen goals clear of the drop in a season in which SWU and Westpike United were simply so bad as to let everyone else off the hook. Still, even SWU scored more goals than Guilder last term, and despite a reshuffle in attack you'd sense Guilder need more spark. Even so, they'll probably stay up.

They have some good players, but most are of unremarkable A-League grade. Malakai Boston, for instance, is an extremely unremarkable goalkeeper. The defence is the bright spot. Gotthold Arena is an experienced A-League centre-half who partnered 35-year old Premiership veteran Daniel Pritchard very well last season, while Lena Waters is a Brenecia international at rightback. The midfield is fairly mediocre, Bergman a veteran of the league and a lot of hope will fall on the slim shoulders of Harriet Payne, who is very quick, very good with her feet and has the ambition to attempt the spectacular. Bolingbroke and Espinosa - both tired of waiting for their chances at their parent clubs - are wingers in the same general mould, very quick with limited end product. Sadly, while Adrienne Crowther up front is a nice lass who means well and has a really good name, she's rubbish. But she's pretty quick as well, and it all suits a team that's at its best hitting teams on the counterattack.

Either way, it all evens out to 15th.

by **A-League** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 4:51 am

League Run: 4th
Cup Run: Second Round
UICA Run: Champions Cup Group Stage; Globe Cup First Knockout Round
CEDC Run: Champions
Stadium: Royal Park (42,000)
Nickname: the Royals
Manager: Gabrielle Hourihane
Captain: Miriam Portadown
Top Scorer: Cheney Scherzer (20)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Knight; 2 - Molina, 16 - Kelly, 5 - Bologna, 3 - Portadown (c); 4 - Crowley, 6 - Fife, 8 - O’Byrne; 23 - Rohan, 10 - Scherzer, 11 - Carroll
In: Kezia O'Byrne (Pikemouth, 3m), Esther Rohan (FC Endeavour, 2m), Jill Goodman (returned from loan)
Promoted: Tess Montrose (ST, 18), Hewett Lenighan (GK, 18), Mathew Evans (CM, 19)
Out: Eoin Killanen (Mâ lâmëómë, undisclosed), Merry Osbourne (Lammerton, 3.5m), Stein Foxstone (North Sabrefell, 1.4m), Lara Bolingbroke (Guilder, 1.25m), Catherine Hemingway (East Laithland Harriers, 800k), Jade Pallister (Chafford, free)

A season that the Royals can be reasonably proud of - the icing on the cake, of course, a real statement of intent that saw them lift the CEDC for a second time. An offseason, by contrast, that might prove painful. Individually, Osbourne, Foxstone, Bolingbroke, Hemingway and Pallister would be reasonably painless to sell. In combination, they gut the side of most of its depth. Which wasn't helped by the fact that the best player in possibly the A-League's history, Eoin Killanen, made the best move for his career (and by all accounts a lucrative one for the Royals) by travelling to Farfadillis. Good luck to him. Still, they've reinforced... just, with one good player and another unproven, as well as a pack of teenagers.

They still have a good side, just... one that looks alarmingly frail, and possibly unable to compete on two fronts. The Kingsgrove way is high-pressing, quick-passing, attractive... and exhausting. Olenna Knight in goal is one of the strong points, a good shot-stopper with excellent distribution and footwork to her name, while the slightly soft core of Kelly and Bologna are flanked by the captain, Portadown, and the only player not to be capped of the lot Molina (forgivable - she's Osarian). Two ball-playing centre-halves, two attack-minded and silky fullbacks. Judging by preseason the side looks set to play a more traditionally Brenecian 4-3-3, with the new midfield consisting of brawling harrier Fife alongside the technically talented Crowley and the dynamic, energetic new signing Byrne. Another new signing, Rohan, was brought in from FC Endeavour's youth team, and will offer buckets of pace as well as close control and passing range, much like the gifted and incisive Carroll on the left to form a fluid front three with Scherzer, Brenecia's record goalscorer, now 33 but still with 20 goals to his name last season, pace diminished but his sheer instinct for goal is timeless. It's telling that nine of the expected starting XI are Brenecian and eight of those (excluding only Rohan, made up for by the Felixan Bologna) are capped. That said, out of everyone else on the team, basically only Lovelock, Portsman, Gardot and, someday, Montrose genuinely convince. Kingsgrove's first team might be title challengers... but Rozelle's backups would paste Kingsgrove's 5-0, and with a Champions Cup qualification to fight for, only the most relentless optimist would try and maintain that the Royals' total absence of depth won't cost them over the season.

That said, they should at least have a decent grip on the league, enough for 5th.

League Run: 8th
Cup Run: Semifinals
UICA Run: Globe Cup Second Preliminary Round
Stadium: Lotus Park (31,000)
Nickname: the Foresters
Manager: Maxine Saunders
Captain: Kyron Everdale
Top Scorer: Kyron Everdale (11)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Breen; 2 - Ombudsman, 22 - Chilton, 5 - Colback, 3 - Thames; 7 - Eizenhart, 8 - Bellamy, 4 - Shorten, 11 - Everdale (c); 15 - Makasi, 21 - Lynch
In: Jorn Ombudsman (Mallox, 1m), Jeremiah Makasi (Arkrau Klub, free)
Promoted: Glenn Murnane (GK, 18), Bailey Watermill (RM, 19)
Out: Sigrid Freeman (Southside Wanderers, 500k), Sapphire Bullard (Saint Alexander, 250k), Spencer Campbell (Trojans, free)
Retired: Rook Harrington (RB, 36)

Coming eighth last season, Lotus Park have looked like they're recovering from the sins of the past, following the broad trend of the league by selling the old and bringing in new, young talent. Ombudsman took a million to coax away from Mallox, but Makasi, picked up on a free and with a reputation as a formidable impact substitute, might be the bargain of the season. Harrington, Bullard, Campbell and Freeman were all forces to be respected in their prime. All of them were well past their prime. On the whole, this Park side looks far better than the one that genuinely flirted with relegation a few years ago.

Maxine Saunders marshalls her side well to do the basics right, and gets them motivated. Most of their attacking comes on the wings, or in vicious counter-attacks. The side has a few stars mixed in with a solid core of decent A-League-level professionals, such as forgettably solid 33-year old Cheney Breen in goal or quick but rough young leftback Thames. Ombudsman on the right offers a lot, however, an above-average player in Cosumar who took his game to new heights last year and, at 26, has room to improve further. The side is spoiled for choice at centre-half between the Chilton sisters - both very intelligent, Merry the elder by ten years capped for Brenecia but Sandra seeming to be favoured in preseason - and the gangly, agricultural Colback, who is also capped. In the centre of the park, Bellamy and the veteran Russ Shorten, formerly of Chenoworth Harriers, anchor the side without offering too much going forward, while the aging Chaim Eizenhart on the right is just another decent player. Cosumar international Kyron Everdale, however, is the side's best player, genuinely capable of slicing open defences at will. The side is most exciting up front, however - Makasi, who has averaged a goal every other game in a career largely spent on the bench, finally has his time to shine, while 20-year old local product Fionn Lynch is similar in terms of pace and ruthless finishing. Llamanean international Kristopher Nilssen on the bench doesn't have the pace to join them at 34 but is a terrifying option on the bench, though aside from him, 21-year old Fairbairn, Bueskens and Merry Chilton Park's depth is fairly weak.

That will cost them, but it won’t derail their recovery. 11th.

League Run: 17th
Cup Run: Third Round
Stadium: Privateer Arena (28,000)
Nickname: the Privateers
Manager: Eleanor Lingard
Captain: Ronan Levy
Top Scorer: Pamala Croft (13)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Ralston; 2 - Orizaga, 5 - Strachan, 6 - Milliner, 3 - Malone; 4 - Levy (c), 21 - Mayes, 8 - Devine; 7 - Davies, 9 - Croft, 13 - de Valle
In: Boudewijn Mayes (Zakhoro Aces, 600k), Bethan Davies (Treftadaeth Alliance, free)
Promoted: Portia Flahavan (CM, 19), Esther Tavistock (LW, 18), Kimberlyn Rose (CB, 18)
Out: Harriet Killenhall (Westpike, 800k), Ash Chilton (Snowden River, 700k), Luciana Camargo (Chafford, 600k), Ambrose Siers (Sharrow, free), Gordon Kellond (Southside Wanderers, loan)

Marque continue to just about hang in there, on the precipice of a fiscal cliff and continuing to rely on a fairly reliable academy. And, this season, two journeymen from Cosumar - both experienced in all three of its divisions. There's promise in Flahavan and Tavistock, too, but the loss of Killenhall (despite her constant lapses in concentration, a decent defender), Chilton, Camargo and Siers will make a moderate impact in a significant reshuffle. In terms of last season, they were lucky to stay up with just 35 points, losing 4-0 on the last day but safe due to SWU and Westpike United being even worse than them. Will they be so lucky again?

Their complete absence of money or a manager capable of tactics aside, there's a few good players here. A few. Catherine Ralston is one of them, called up to although never capped for the Patriots, is still an acrobatic shot-stopper at 32. It's a shame that the defence in front of her is made of papier-mache - Milliner is glacial, Strachan seems in a constant competition to win the most yellow cards possible and both Malone and Orizaga, each 31, are primarily focused on the attack. Some calm should be restored to the midfield through the experienced head of Boudewijn Mayes, who has earned captain status for every club he's played for - he''ll have to wait behind Ronan Levy for the position here, a sturdy, physical midfielder. Iapheth Devine was a little bit lightweight at times last season but could be silky when given the space, and he should thrive with Mayes' support. All three of their best forwards were free transfers, and each has played in a third-tier somewhere. Davies on the right might still have a soft, gentle, puppy-fat look to her, but she's a vicious competitor on the pitch with an electric, incisive streak. But is she A-League quality? A question that could also be asked of Devin de Valle on the left, inconsistent last season and last released from the Audioslavian third tier. Pamala Croft, meanwhile, cut her teeth in the Nepharim Second Division for Project +90, but she's started to adapt well to the intensity of the A-League and started to let her technical skills and pace speak for themselves, complemented by increasingly good finishing. All three are very quick, which is perfect for Eleanor Lingard's favoured counter-attacking, quick-punching game. They will definitely get goals - just, for each one they score, will they leak three at the other end?

Yes. 17th.

League Run: 5th
Cup Run: Champions
UICA Run: Globe Cup Qualifying Round
Stadium: Fenbrook Stadium (26,500)
Nickname: the Northerners
Manager: Althea Chenoweth
Captain: Rachel Prowse
Top Scorer: Juancarlos de Sierra (16)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Fairhall; 2 - Kirill, 5 - Melendez, 3 - Gillard, 15 - Bowyer; 13 - Harlech, 8 - Riel, 21 - Lucassen, 17 - Fallon; 9 - de Sierra, 14 - de Cabanyas
In: Escobar de Cabanyas (KT Itzalovalle, 2.5m), Graciano Farina (Duodemoru, free), Arden Etxabeguren (free agent), Luke November (returns from loan)
Promoted: Joshua Harriott (ST, 18), Saoirse Hourihane (LB, 19)
Out: Emery Kessler (Rochford, 1m), Jayce Marlborough (Southside Wanderers, 1m), Gustav Leeds (Ridgeway United, 400k), Tanya Yeats (Port Patrick, loan)
Retired: Martyn Wyght (DM, 36), Olenna Hart (CB, 35)

A fairytale exit for Jon Slatesaver who bows out with a 1-0 victory in the Cup final. Into the management job comes Althea Chenoweth - one of his favourite players when he managed the national side and having made a name for herself in the B-League over the past few years. A dour midfield enforcer in her playing days, Chenoweth won’t exactly bring joy to the people with her football, but the scorelines will be reassuring. So will the Oceanic-heavy signings - de Cabanyas, occasionally on the fringe of the international thought process, is brought in as a strike partner for de Sierra, while Etxabeguren and Farina look like excellent players for the near future. Oh, and Luke November did reasonably well in the Repechage49 on loan. The retirements of two club stalwarts in Mertagne international Wyght and the powerful centre-half Hart will hurt, however.

What this leaves them with is a strong spine in an unfamiliar but traditional 4-4-2 formation, Sara Fairhall still going strong at 35 in goal, one of the league’s very few consistent and reliable goalkeepers. Melendez is fairly technical as a centre-half while Marko Gillard is, well, typically Nepharim insofar as being a thuggish marauder, but they form a solid partnership. More international talent on the wings, with the spiky Kirill on the right while long throw specialist Constantine Bowyer has a lot to offer defensively on the left but his pace may be a liability - good thing Hourihane is considered to be up to the task of deputising for him already. Riel, withdrawn into a deeper role alongside the more traditional holding midfielder Darwyn Lucassen, forms a graceful midfield partnership without a real… well, without an Althea Chenoweth type to destroy everyone in it, at least until captain Rachel Prowse comes in off the bench. Harlech on the right is a rough diamond, all lean muscle and lanky runs with a limited end product, but a lot is hoped of Sienna Fallon - who was captain of the Brenecia U18s, and is now at 21 ready to bear the torch for the Northerners. Up front, 25-year old Audioslav de Sierra and 25-year old Audioslav de Cabanyas both offer lethal finishing and boundless energy, though they won’t be the strongest aerially, while 25-year old Audioslav Morgan Svenningsen is ready to back them up off the bench. Between young guns like Hourihane, Farina and the glimmering Czeslawa Szukala, and experienced hands like Prowse, Strachan and former international Montague, Hall’s depth is a powerful asset for them.

They’ll come around 4th.

League Run: 3rd
Cup Run: Third Round
UICA Run: Champions Cup Playoff Round; Globe Cup Qualifying Round
CEDC Run: Quarterfinals
Stadium: Union Park (36,000)
Nickname: Union
Manager: Althea Reader
Captain: Candace Rivers
Top Scorer: Fiacre Bellerose (18)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 12 - Woodgate; 17 - Mariconda, 23 - Monroe, 5 - Rubio, 3 - Branagh; 8 - Rivers (c), 4 - Fengouli, 7 - Camden; 21 - Foran, 10 - Bellerose, 11 - Pendragon
In: Isabella Montanari (Fabrearea, free), Mathis Woodgate (returns from loan)
Promoted: Eoin Cascarine (CB, 18)
Out: Otto Lund (Azules de Feranda, 1m), Jade Oakley (Armstrong, 1m), Jess Merochite (Diamondqueen, 1m)

Northern Union's squad of aging veterans trundles on for one more season at least. Evidently, Althea Reader - out of contract at the end of the year - thinks they’re good enough for this last charge, and has done basically nothing to build for the new season. The only signing, Montanari, is a reasonably promising Osarian teenager that Reader rates highly, but at 18 she’s very much one for the future. Lund, Oakley and stalwart backup goalkeeper Merochite have all had their parts to play in past seasons, but right now they were only contributing to the squad’s general sense of… age.

In fact, the first thing that stands out about Union is age - their first XI is aged 29.4 on average, and that's driven down dramatically by the two 22-year olds, Woodgate and Foran. As a result, Union tend to play relatively slowly these days, relying on their superior technique and rock-solid defence to choke other sides into submission. Woodgate is fresh off an exceptional season in the Repechage49 on loan and is more than ready to replace the aging and flaky Shazib, already with Brenecia caps to his name and looking certain to be a mainstay for the Patriots going forward. Mariconda, Monroe, Rubio and Branagh are all fairly defence-first players that keep a solid, compact block across the defence, but Monroe excepted they’re all technically capable to keep the ball well enough and advance with it when they must. Fengouli is the anchor for the captain Candace Rivers, a galloping box-to-box midfielder with plenty of close control and technique, while 34-year old veteran Erin Camden - in her last season before retirement - is still the best set piece taker and best shooter from distance with one of the best passing ranges in the league, a dangerous combination for an at times criminally underrated player. Karena Foran’s not so subtle - she’s just sickeningly fast and physical, a recipe for goals. 16 of them last season, in fact, a tally that inconsistent but occasionally brilliant striker Fiacre Bellerose bettered by two. Out on the left, Dani Pendragon’s still going strong at 29, though her pace surely won’t be able to hold forever. She’s an excellent player who many are surprised has stayed in the A-League through her prime. On the bench, Skorupska is the shining light of a fairly reasonable set of squad players - just 20 and able to play in a variety of midfield roles, she’s expected to be thrown in for the veterans fairly often, and the sky is the limit for her future success.

On the whole? Union have one season before a major rebuild will be needed. They need to win the title this season… and they can, and they should.

League Run: 17th
Cup Run: Third Round
Stadium: Seacastle (18,000)
Nickname: the Kingfishers
Manager: Bethany Donnell
Captain: Rebecca Milligan
Top Scorer: Kezia O’Byrne (11)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Waterdown; 17 - Halloran, 5 - Seckerson, 21 - Bradden, 19 - Cunningham; 20 - Giraun, 15 - Hendrickson, 8 - O’Byrne; 13 - Bailen, 9 - Milligan, 14 - Tariff
In: Emerald Sheehan (Bishop, 2m), Kristian Melkmarsson (Sporting Solsholm, free)
Promoted: Shane Curtess (CB, 19), Brunswick Green (LB, 18)
Out: Rostyn Bradden (Lajuno, 4m), Kezia O'Byrne (Kingsgrove, 3m), Anna Marcher (Ridgeway United, free)
Retired: Felix Ulster (CB, 36)

Pikemouth did well enough to stay up, and should do the same again, establishing themselves in the top flight as... well, a top flight side. Significantly better than the Guilders and Marques of this world, certainly. That said, selling their two best players won't help, but they've bought very well to make up for it. Emerald Sheehan, Nepharim by birth but considered for Brenecia squads through her father’s birthplace, is an excellent midfielder with Premiership experience while Melkmarsson was a good defender at Repechage49 level, and it was a surprise at Solsholm when he wasn’t signed to a new contract. But Bradden and O’Byrne will hurt. The only surprise is not bolstering a lacklustre and ineffective front three, but it’s thought that Wakefield and Brittain within the club can do what it takes.

This leaves a good side of reasonably proven performers. Jess Waterdown, the goalkeeper, was one of the more frequently tested of them, but always proved up to the task of repelling the assaults - a good shot-stopper with a strong command of her area. Halloran at rightback, once of Northern Union, and Roxana Cunningham of the left were both good overlapping fullbacks who caused plenty of problems up front. Seckerson was a liability and hasn’t been replaced - Melkmarsson, while representing something of a coup, will have to perform strongly to make up for her weakness, much as the departed Bradden did. Hendrickson gave them cover from midfield, weak early on but growing stronger as the season progressed to eventually become a powerful midfield presence. Above him, Giraun is a decent player supplementing Sheehan, whose driving, direct runs will be expected to provide much of the attacking impetus for the side. 31-year old Fiona Tariff on the left wing will have to reclaim her best days, but Wakefield is a young gazelle with buckets of pace and energy and a taste for looping far-post crosses. Brenecia youth international Victoria Brittain, also quick, raw-boned and tall, will have a lot of learning to do at just 21 years of age, but signs seem to suggest she’s capable. Bailen and Milligan did at least combine to be mediocre last season, offering some attacking threat off the bench, but much of the other depth is either too old (Montague, Bolton in midfield), too young (Duffy and Curtess, the backup centre-halves, are 21 and 19) or just not good enough (like Iachin Nicolson, who was average back in the B-League).

On the whole, though, they should be set to continue on an even keel. 13th or thereabouts.

League Run: 2nd
Cup Run: Semifinals
UICA Run: Globe Cup Group Stage
Stadium: Rosary Stadium (38,000)
Nickname: the Saints
Manager: Raven Cullen
Captain: Niko Moss
Top Scorer: Tevin Lilley (24)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Nkutu; 2 - Báez, 24 - Brassfellow, 6 - Kilcane, 3 - Henry; 8 - Galloway, 4 - Moss (c), 21 - Stubbs; 7 - Swain, 15 - Lilley, 10 - Volker
In: Markus Stubbs (Crisisbless, 3m), Gareth Penrooke (Sabrefell Moths, 1m)
Promoted: Keogh Bolivar (ST, 19), Niko Szubanski (CB, 19)
Out: Merry Crane (Leichhardt, 1m), Ruby Shreveport (Associacao Bassuto, 900k), Frey Clare (Mount Roland, 750k)
Retired: Justin Vauxhall (DM, 35)

A very strong side coming off a very strong season - apart from the miserable failure of a winless Globe Cup campaign. Rozelle strengthened this season with two different Premiership-winning midfielders to boost the depth of their midfield to terrifying levels, Bolivar and Szubanski are both ones to watch for the future and, while heroic captain Vauxhall retires, it's a stronger side this time than last. It could have been stronger still - the Saints almost signed Rostyn Bradden before the talented centre-half opted for Lajuno in Eura instead. Rozelle are marked as favourites for the league by some, which might be a season too soon - but they're powerful, and only getting stronger year-by-year.

Rozelle play very good football, very aggressive and very fast - peak A-League at a high technical standard. As it stands, centre-half is the side's weakness, and not by a whole lot - Kilcane is a seasoned but injury-prone international, Rosseau and Brassfellow are both technically adept and Szubanski's promising. In goal, one of the league's best goalkeepers in fringe Semar international Nkutu, while on the wings Baez and Henry offer great width to the attack with their trademark bombing runs forward. Hanging back is Niko Moss, the quietly excellent Valhallan providing a platform for the central midfielders. Which ones? Who knows? Galloway is a relentless, driving creative influence, Charing a platform for an excellent passing range while new signing Stubbs is a very dangerous, very direct physical runner with great close control and shooting. Gareth Penrooke, now 33 and still festooned in Sabrefell Moths tattoos, is a powerful physical presence not to be ignored either. Up front, more options! The traditional unit is the relentless, pacey Swain - the fastest player in the league, but with questionable end product - the cunning veteran Volker, whose pace is falling but he still has the technique and close control to make up for it - and Tevin Lilley, who has thrived since moving from Taeshan and lashed 24 goals in last season. But promising winger Farrell and Premiership veteran Ashworth are both very strong options on a very strong bench. Rozelle's depth is unmatched in the league.

Another strong season is anticipated. Let’s say 3rd.

League Run: 11th
Cup Run: Runners-up
Stadium: Violet Park (22,000)
Nickname: United
Manager: Arran Mensah
Captain: Julia Stockinger
Top Scorer: Kirum Ingolfsson (13)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Rohan; 19 - Bridge, 5 - Stockinger (c), 4 - Radbury, 3 - Senterekoesima; 11 - Kjelsberg, 21 - Barker, 14 - Stamper; 7 - Whitesmith, 12 - Ingolfsson, 18 - Silvennsson
In: Garrett Bridge (Mount Roland, 800k), Soren Kjelsberg (FC Matovallanen, free), Caprice Martinelli (Junipa Athletic, free)
Promoted: Karen Reynolds (GK, 18), Art Shirriff (LB, 18)
Out: Portia Neilson (Cypher Town, 1.4m), Jayce Connelly (Vermillion Wanderers, 1m), Deuce Keller (Amici Llano, 1m)
Retired: Portia Knight (CM, 36), Cillian Najdorf (GK, 40)

Evidently United have run out of the Ronan Bowditch Fund - they’re right back to selling for a profit, somehow getting 3.4 million for three players who couldn’t break into starting for them, while Father Time finally catches up with Brenecia international Portia Knight and cult hero for the club Cillian Najdorf, who joins the coaching staff. But the recruits they have seem eminently sensible - Bridge, for example, perfectly good B-League fullback capable of making the step up. Martinelli, 18, one for the future (better than Reynolds or Shirriff). And Kjelsburg, whose club couldn’t afford a new contract for him - he did very well in the Repechage49 for them, and that form should carry on here.

Arran Mensah’s high-pressing hard-running counter-attacking game should continue as normal, even if some of the pieces have been shifted around. Andrea Rohan in goal for instance - excellent shot-stopper, great distribution, dismal in the air. The aforementioned Bridge on the right is far outshone by ‘Senter squared’, as the Cosumar international is affectionately known - a qualified astrophysicist, he’s a hell of a player on the pitch as well. Stockinger is losing her pace but the cinderblock of Radbury manages to cover for her, both strong and fast even if technically he, well, isn’t. Barker is the sensible and solid guardian for Kjelsberg and Stamper, both playmakers capable of great things although at 34 Stamper’s star is fading. On the wings, Whitesmith and Silvennson are slower (at 30) but more flexible and incisive wingers than the orthodox wide men fast as hell who you see in most A-League sides, though they’re definitely capable of sprints as well. As is Kirum Ingolfsson, 27 and with plenty of experience as a good, reliable A-League striker who gets you a goal every three games.

A perfectly good side that’s going to get a perfectly good finish. 10th, for example.

League Run: 15th
Cup Run: Quarterfinals
UICA Run: Globe Cup Third Preliminary Round
Stadium: Southfield (16,000)
Nickname: The Lions
Manager: Phoebe Osbourne
Captain: Tamara Lynn Rhodes
Top Scorer: Lachlan Cromwell (12)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-1-2) 1 - Bruhn; 13 - Rhodes (c), 4 - C Pascuale, 6 - P Pascuale, 3 - Glavan; 21 - Mirzayev, 17 - Halberdian, 8 - Keller (c); 10 - Ruskin; 9 - Zeke, 11 - Cromwell
In: Ekaterina Mirzayev (Augustinople Saints, 500k), Absalom Eberhardt (Martella Jazz, free)
Promoted: Tamara Glavan (LB, 20), Sander Balliol (AM, 19)
Out: Raven Streeton (Locksley, 1.25m), Elaine Fletcher (Diamondqueen, 1m), Gustav Fandrich (Dundee, free), Thomas Sunderland (Trojans, free)

Penniless but somehow still holding in there, the Lions’ search for new ownership continues. It’ll have to continue without Streeton or Fletcher, sold to the highest bidder, or Fandrich or Sunderland, who just weren’t that good. In fairness, they’re better this season than last, but it doesn’t speak volumes when their biggest signing is half a million on an Iskandervale international from Pravenna as well as a free agent Nepharim forward from the second tier. The true gems are from the youth teams - Glavan looks like a good fullback, while the extremely optimistically-named Alexsandr van Sorenson Balliol (understandably, he goes by Sander) is at least prophetically named in terms of being an attacking midfielder of some promise.

Balliol might not yet be needed - there’s still a good side in here. Or, well. A decent one, anyway. It might not be in Bruhn, who is an error-prone and otherwise mediocre goalkeeper brought in on a free from the Audioslav third tier to replace Brenecia international Sheila Cannon, a sign of the club’s malaise. Fallon on the right has earned his place over Rhodes, who finally looks as though she’s lost her edge at this level, while Glavan has done well on loan in the B-League and has earned her place in the side. The Pascuale brothers, bought for 6.5 million between them, are now 32 and 36 but still offer what is (as you might expect) the best chemistry of any centre-half pairing in the league. Defensive midfielder Halberdian, also 32, is a determined but somehow dignified scrapper, but his age does leave them vulnerable to pace down the middle. Keller, 33 and a former Brenecia international, doesn’t help that, but he can still provide a surprising burst of pace and has a lot to offer the side. Mirzayev, a dashing presence during the recent AOCAF in a surprisingly punchy Iskandervale side, lacks technique but has no little ambition and the physicality to ensure she’s often in the right place at the right time, but this is a big step up for her in level. Ruskin, still playing in the hole after however many years, has been a fixture without ever really establishing himself as exceptional - he’ll do the job just fine, though. Zeke burns hot and cold up front, and sadly it’s been cold for just a bit too long - Cromwell, faster and more consistent, will be expected to carry the side when things go wrong.

A trainwreck off the pitch. On the pitch, they should keep it together and limp to 16th.

by **A-League** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 9:28 pm

And the A-League’s off with… well, okay, there’s no real sensational first-round fixtures, sadly. Both sets of new blood visit Bellight and while Birikaitis secures a deserved win for the Reds, the Wanderers have to rely on Paulissen scuffing home a scrappy corner to get a point against the Club. Brenecia’s big names - Kingsgrove aside - are found wanting, with Rozelle looking off the pace against Tundra, Marque somehow managing to beat North Hall in Chenoweth’s first game in charge of the Northerners thanks to Pamala Croft’s well-taken shot from just inside the box while Jeremiah Makasi manages a debut brace to take down a Union side showing its age.

Two sets of Wanderers celebrate massive away wins - Bellight after conclusively outplaying Bayern-Algaer and Besmarlaltur after smashing Bellight FC 5-1. Good night to be a Bellight Wanderer in general, really. Pilgrimage and Kingsgrove both fight their way to creditable draws poised on a knife-edge.

Lotus Park continue to look a lot better in this season than they have for a while, though Marque open the scoring through an optimistic Devine shot from distance that Breen lets in at his near post. Park evidently aren’t a fan of that, though, and by the half-time whistle Makasi has a first-half hat-trick and Kyron Everdale has contributed to make it 4-1, a tally to which young Fionn Lynch adds one late on. Even more startling is Rozelle’s failure against Guilder, undone time and time again on the counterattack in an error-strewn 4-1 home defeat that sees boos ring across Rosary Park.

Kingsgrove were happy to take a 2-2 away draw last match and despite Theodora Covenant’s early goal putting them behind they fight back to win through O’Byrne and Carroll. Rostov need extra time to put away a valiant Pilgrimage, who scored early but went down to ten men by the 32nd minute and found it too hard to overcome. Bellight Wanderers thump Bayern-Algaer again while FC’s match in the Sunrise Islands is basically a dead rubber - key players are rested and a drab scoreless draw sends them out of UICA.

Gentlemen’s Club continue their undefeated start to the season with a third straight draw in an entertaining 3-3 draw with Cape of Hope, Rohan Cammers flying into the box to connect with Kiltroy’s cross for a sensational last-minute equaliser. Sadly, they celebrate this victory by… officially announcing their bankruptcy on Twitter. Already?! The MBC has rashly committed to at least trying to pay off Cammers’ contract, but one would suspect that maybe taking out a hit on the Club captain would be more cost-efficient. Gallant Cross remain without a point to their name as Lindisfarne’s terrible concession of the ball to substitute Absalom Eberhardt is followed up when the Nepharim forward slots the ball low and hard past Merchant. In injury time.

With just one point between them, Rozelle vs. Gallant Cross is an unlikely sort of crapshoot and even then is unusually close, though much of this is due to Bram Merchant’s work between the sticks for Cross. They open the scoring through Mhairi Rivers who curls a beautiful shot beyond Nkutu, but the impact substitution of Matilda Farrell for the strangely ineffectual Volker in the second half is the catalyst for a comeback, the Gallant Cross youth product classily not celebrating against her own team when she scores but unable to restrain herself when she puts up an easy tap-in for Lilley at the far post.

Halholzer United look disjointed at the back, an unusual defensive error responsible for the first goal and although Charlestown snatches one back the Panthers secure an entirely deserved win in injury time. Mercurier and Pentameter get goals late in the first half and then early in the second, but Union’s quality shows when a sweeping crossfield ball from Fengouli is swept in by the dynamic Karena Foran. In the end, though, the Warriors are just too good.

A poor start, as no side wins matches they’d expect to - Bellight Wanderers can at least be reasonably happy with holding Oceanside to a draw but even then, they were 2-0 up with fifteen minutes to play before a horrible Rojas error let the visitors back into the game before Xi Foureleven, as she always seems to do, curls a left-footed strike beyond him into the top-right corner to equalise.

Gentlemen’s Club, now officially broke and maybe even facing being folded, celebrate with their first win of the season owed to Max Power’s flicked header past Walker for an invaluable (or possibly useless) three points. Bellight FC are surprisingly crushed by South Rathia - who of course have money troubles of their own - as Sander Balliol comes on in the second half and turns the game around from the point of midfield, scoring his first senior goal. Mirzayev also gets her first Lions goal, Bruhn concedes and then saves a penalty before Eberhardt comes off the bench to score yet again.

All the A-League sides progress, though some are more comfortable than others. Gallant Cross, for one, were pressed hard by a resilient Westpike United who are pressing to win the second tier, but Steed Arrowsmith’s far-post header for an excellent Rivers cross seals an eventual victory. Other promotion aspirants Rosbank Town get less of a rosy reception as the Black Swans are thumped 5-0 by Marque, Pamala Croft with her first career hat-trick. Recently-rebranded Knightstone FC thump Myhill 4-0, and Northern Stallions, the phoenix club arising from the northern rural regions, run Rozelle close - 2-2 in the 80th minute before Tevin Lilley is finally brought off the bench to finish them with a brace.

Marque continue their unusually competent start to the season thanks to the continued good form of Croft and Davies, forming a formidable rapport up front. But not to be underestimated is the calming effect of Boudewijn Mayes in the heart of midfield who keeps things ticking over in a hectic match. When Levy is substituted off fifteen minutes of time for the promising teenager Flahavan, he tosses the armband to Mayes, ensuring that the Cosumarite midfielder’s run of captaining every side he’s played for continues.

Halholzer smash Crystopolis easily despite a couple of late consolations. Northern Union, by contrast, play it just a little too slow and cautious against a talented Koreana side. Mathis Woodgate is well-guarded by an experienced defence but the three saves he’s forced to make are all world-class, while substitute Barragan should have snatched a late winner for Union but hit the post from eight yards.

North Hall have their formative game under Althea Chenoweth. Determined, disciplined and physical, they dig in and hold out against the Alligators, and while Joel Sutton finally manages to beat Sara Fairhall the hosts are tiring by the hour mark. Hall strike, first from Bowyer’s long throw that’s ultimately scuffed in by the normally more dignified Riel before Fairhall catches a Metropolis corner and hits the ball long to de Sierra, who bursts past the scattered Metropolis defence, gets one side of the goalkeeper and passes for de Cabanyas to roll the ball into the empty net. Bellight Wanderers snatch a late equaliser against the Heretics through substitute Ulrich Crane, but Kingsgrove’s worrying start to the group continues with a home defeat.

Late drama in Pilgrimage as the Privateers get a late penalty through a disputed handball from Greg Scrivens. In the 94th minute of what was meant to be two minutes of stoppage time, elongated according to the referee by late substitutions and attempted timewasting (ironically, from Marque). Levy puts it away neatly, and Marque continue to look like a genuinely good side with a 3-2 away win to their name. Gentlemen’s Club deserve their strong start to the season even less, and yet they have absolutely no problems burying Lotus Park 3-0.

Many of the league’s big hitters have been struggling, especially a Bellight FC languishing near the foot of the table - Pilgrimage’s routine 2-0 win over them doesn’t help matters. Northern Union put down the Saints, who are struggling to find momentum - it could really have been three or four but Nkutu put his shaky start to the season behind him with an excellent performance that still meant nothing when Erin Camden’s free kick was tucked neatly away into the top corner. Halholzer United have struggled early on this season as well, and at home against a Gallant Cross side yet to pick up so much as a point this season they still need an 83rd-minute strike from Urrunaga to seal the points, enabled by an inexplicable header from Gjallskald back to Merchant that was intercepted easily by the Audioslavian poacher and chipped over the stranded goalkeeper.

Halholzer United shut down Brinemouth’s terrifying attack, thanks in no small part to Clarke between the sticks, but fail to score themselves. Union, by contrast, play an incredibly strong opponent and, well… win. In a very tight midfield battle, Sabata gets the first good chance of the game but shoots straight at Woodgate, who parries away, and Union are more clinical - Bellerose and Pendragon score their only two shots on target in the first half to put them 2-0 up. But the Blades fight back, Fengouli is forced off with an injury with 34-year old Christine Marr in her place, and while Blades’ ineffectual strikers can’t make Union pay, Dallara and, from the penalty spot, the veteran Smitt can. But just as everything’s unfurling around them, Woodgate pulls off an inspirational save to deny Dallara his second just a minute before substitute Aleksandra Skorupska tears past Smitt at just the right time to take on Pendragon’s cutback with her left boot, guiding it powerfully past Imaslavii for an unforgettable victory.

No such unforgettable victories here, however. Kingsgrove are outplayed by Bastion and Bellight simply made to look ridiculous by Forest Hill. Young Renzo Padrione scores within five minutes to threaten Hall with the same, but Fairhall saves an almost-identical attempt just minutes later, and eventually Hall find their way back into the game - of course it’s the Audioslavian strikers de Sierra and de Cabanyas who net one apiece.

The games are coming thick and fast for Hall, who have won their last few games and continue their good run of form despite an early César Mariano Silveira strike. As is their trademark under Chenoweth, they find their second wind in the second half, and de Sierra and Harlech claw back a vital away win for them.

Northern Union smash Bellight for five unanswered first-half goals, and boos ring out across the stadium accordingly. But at least they’ve got seven points to their name, which is seven more than a Gallant Cross side who let a very pedestrian Francisca Orient walk all over them, Farkanhan’s goal basically unopposed. It’s the end of the road for Adrian Coulton, who has inexplicably managed to lose the dressing room nine matches after promotion, and promising 36-year old Jonas Beckwith is promoted from the U21s to the main job. Beckwith, a player of some promise whose career was curtailed by injury, is thought to be a very intelligent and competent manager… but he has no actual experience in senior management.

Finally the big hitters start to fall - or, well, top-tier sides at least. South Rathia come close to losing to Sharrow, Sander Balliol running the show for the full 120 minutes and showing his worth with two assists to Absalom Eberhardt - one in the 23rd minute, the next in the 123rd minute. Sutbyrne, so recently in the top flight, are smashed to pieces by Lotus Park to the tune of seven unanswered goals, while aspirational part-timers Knightstone are hacked apart 5-0 by Rozelle United and Marque don’t even face a shot as their second-string crushes Monastery Park 4-0. Falkner have a hard time against their opponents, the financially struggling Hooker Ridge, until Desdemona Bittencourt is thrown in for extra time and notches a hat-trick over the 30 minutes. Just two A-League sides actually fall - Pikemouth are subjugated 5-0 by Northern Union in front of their own fans, while Adrienne Crowther powers home a header in extra time after a disciplined regulation time performance to get Guilder a 1-0 win to beat mighty Rozelle away.

The Northerners are tired and it shows in a sluggish scoreless draw that is, nevertheless, good enough. There’s really not much to say about the match itself.

North Hall are beginning to lose momentum among their hideous congestion over four tournaments, drawing the last two - even a heavily rotated side against a badly out-of-form Bellight FC looks tired, and only Sienna Fallon’s late piledriver gives them a share of the points that Bellight, it has to be said, really didn’t want to share - they’re now three points adrift in the relegation zone after a Lachlan Campbell brace sees South Rathia somehow beat Halholzer United (who are 11th) away. South Rathia in third-last are seperated from third by just seven points… a third place which is somehow occupied by the Gentlemen following a 3-0 away smashing of a shell-shocked Falkner United. Kingsgrove beats Rozelle in a tense match to leave the Saints only ahead of Rozelle United on goal difference, while the Royals are just three points behind Northern Union (who beat Marque (who are 10th) without too many difficulties) at the top of the table. But all these struggles pale in comparison to Gallant Cross. Beckwith gets them to at least look a little sharper against Bellight Wanderers but yet again a moronic error by Holly Foxstone delivers a fantastic throughball… past her own defence to Gaston, who slots past Merchant to leave Cross pointless.

Now it’s time for Halholzer United to have their heroic match against the odds - excellent all over the park, they boss the Dockers from kick-off to final whistle and find goals from Urrunaga, Abbriacciabene and former Brinemouth midfielder Maxwell von Maelstrom along the way. Union get a late equaliser - Skorupska making the impact off the bench yet again as she sets up Karena Foran - to get a deserved draw against the Blades.

Padrione yet again scores early against North Hall and this time there’s no answer forthcoming. Bellight Wanderers look far better this time around in their home fixture and avenge their defeat. Kingsgrove… don’t. They really, really don’t. Bastion destroy them in front of their own fans.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union         10  8  1  1  21   9  +12  25
  2 Kingsgrove             10  7  1  2  17  10   +7  22
  3 Gentlemen's Club       10  5  3  2  17  11   +6  18
  4 Bellight Wanderers     10  5  3  2  12   7   +5  18
  5 North Hall             10  5  2  3  13   9   +4  17
  6 Cape of Hope FC        10  5  1  4  18  17   +1  16
  7 Guilder                10  4  3  3  14  10   +4  15
  8 Harmonica Tundra       10  5  0  5  13  12   +1  15
  9 Francisca Orient       10  4  3  3   7   6   +1  15
 10 Marque                 10  5  0  5  14  19   -5  15
 11 Halholzer United       10  4  2  4  12  13   -1  14
 12 Pikemouth              10  4  1  5  12  15   -3  13
 13 Rozelle                10  4  1  5   9  12   -3  13
 14 Rozelle United         10  4  1  5  11  17   -6  13
 15 Falkner United         10  3  3  4  18  16   +2  12
 16 Pilgrimage             10  3  3  4   9   8   +1  12
 17 Lotus Park             10  4  0  6  17  19   -2  12
 18 South Rathia           10  3  2  5  16  15   +1  11
 19 Bellight FC            10  2  2  6   8  18  -10   8
 20 Gallant Cross          10  0  0 10   6  21  -15   0

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Westpike United         10  7  2  1  21   9  +12  23
  2 Halholzer Spitfires     10  7  1  2  23   8  +15  22
  3 Rosbank Town            10  7  0  3  21  12   +9  21
  4 Saint Alexander         10  5  4  1  14   7   +7  19
  5 Halholzer Sundays       10  6  1  3  13   8   +5  19
  6 Newtown                 10  6  1  3   9   6   +3  19
  7 Sharrow                 10  5  2  3   9   7   +2  17
  8 Snowden River           10  5  1  4  12   9   +3  16
  9 Westpike                10  3  5  2  11  10   +1  14
 10 Teol United             10  3  4  3  13  12   +1  13
 11 SWU FC                  10  4  1  5  10  10   +0  13
 12 Union FK                10  3  3  4   8   9   -1  12
 13 Sciongrad Rovers        10  3  2  5   9  11   -2  11
 14 Ridgeway United         10  2  4  4   3   7   -4  10
 15 Scraglet Rovers         10  3  1  6  14  21   -7  10
 16 Chafford                10  3  1  6   6  14   -8  10
 17 Southside Wanderers     10  2  3  5   8  14   -6   9
 18 Mount Roland            10  2  2  6   9  16   -7   8
 19 Scaffield               10  1  3  6   7  16   -9   6
 20 Arbour Lights FC        10  1  3  6   8  22  -14   6

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Stallions     10  6  2  2  23  11  +12  20
  2 Thrush                 10  6  2  2  22  14   +8  20
  3 Rushden                10  6  2  2  16   8   +8  20
  4 Sutbyrne               10  6  2  2  17  11   +6  20
  5 Proudcastle            10  5  4  1  15   6   +9  19
  6 Swayback               10  5  3  2  18   8  +10  18
  7 Crest                  10  5  2  3  12  11   +1  17
  8 Hooker Ridge           10  4  4  2  13  10   +3  16
  9 Saint Essex            10  4  3  3  15  15   +0  15
 10 Marque Rovers          10  4  3  3  11  12   -1  15
 11 Dalgallen              10  3  4  3  13  14   -1  13
 12 Hammerton              10  4  1  5  14  21   -7  13
 13 Fort Keller            10  2  5  3  11  11   +0  11
 14 Glassfields            10  3  2  5  15  26  -11  11
 15 Saint Wessex           10  2  4  4   8  13   -5  10
 16 Garfield               10  2  3  5  10  12   -2   9
 17 Norbyrne               10  1  5  4   5   9   -4   8
 18 Highden                10  1  3  6   7  13   -6   6
 19 Platwood               10  1  3  6   7  17  -10   6
 20 Gallow Park            10  0  3  7   7  17  -10   3

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Stourhead              10  7  2  1  18   4  +14  23
  2 Knightstone FC         10  7  2  1  20   7  +13  23
  3 AFC Swanbridge         10  7  1  2  30  13  +17  22
  4 Fentonbridge           10  6  3  1  18  10   +8  21
  5 Corder Town            10  5  2  3  12   7   +5  17
  6 Arkwood                10  5  2  3   9  10   -1  17
  7 Spearcove Mariners     10  4  3  3  20  12   +8  15
  8 Pikemouth United       10  4  3  3  13  10   +3  15
  9 Pryde Wanderers        10  4  2  4  13  13   +0  14
 10 Greater Snowden        10  3  5  2   9  10   -1  14
 11 Brookden               10  4  1  5  11   9   +2  13
 12 Falkner Wanderers      10  3  2  5   7  11   -4  11
 13 Myhill                 10  3  2  5   6  15   -9  11
 14 Reave City             10  3  2  5  16  26  -10  11
 15 Monastery Park         10  2  4  4   7  10   -3  10
 16 Chrysler Town          10  3  1  6   6  12   -6  10
 17 South Ridgeway         10  3  1  6  11  20   -9  10
 18 Shenworth              10  2  3  5   6  10   -4   9
 19 Thriss Valley          10  2  3  5   6  14   -8   9
 20 Caybrooke              10  0  2  8   0  15  -15   2

by **A-League** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:18 am

Yet more lurid allegations off the pitch dog the A-League’s footsteps, a damning report on the financial situation of Brenecian clubs broadly revealing that many lower-division sides are spending unsustainably, and the exact amount that South Rathia owe is, well, frankly disturbing. Most clubs are overspending in general, in fact, and the report concludes that it “appears that the A-League’s foundations are made of sponge cake and cellotape.” The BFA drops its rather paternalistic, smug line with regards to the MBC’s worsening financial problems after that, and pledges an investigation.

A fairly dull, grinding affair where the two sides struggle to gain any real traction. A lone goal from Somni Adelardi settles it in the 71st minute, beating Willox Street’s Brenecian goalkeeper (formerly of Francisca Orient) Cleves at her near post.

Well, Gentlemen’s Club might have been third before the matchday, but lowly Pikemouth show no respect for that, or really for anything with their fans chanting “We’re in the black” throughout the game. Which is true - the fan-owned club is genuinely sustainable, an increasingly rare commodity in the league. Victoria Brittain gets a brace on her 22nd birthday, the first and fourth of a 5-0 victory, and rattles the post late on. Halholzer United might be doing reasonably strongly abroad but in the A-League they’ve failed to live up to their lofty standards and never look like scoring against Northern Union - the defence is tight but it’s a when, not an if, Union will score, and as it happens it’s Pendragon in the 81st minute.

Halholzer United go from strength to strength - fresh off thumping Brinemouth away they crush Sonoma Center at home, and following a hat-trick here Gaizka Urrunaga has scored twice as many UICA goals as league ones. Kyo Arai, off the bench, finishes them off in the 88th minute with her first UICA goal. Northern Union hold firm against Dwile but were arguably too ponderous going forward, failing to punish them on the break. Still, 0-0 isn’t a bad result by any means.

North Hall need a powered header from the third of their Audioslavian strikers, Morgan Svenningsen, to put down a spirited SC Bremen. Bellight Wanderers pull out a perfect away performance, packed in defence before Stortford hit them on the counterattack late on, but following a home defeat to Somer City Kingsgrove’s international campaign is over.

Franz Mueller’s 30th-minute equaliser makes things awkward for Bellight, but pressure builds as the match goes on. Cleves does well to atone for her error in the first match but there’s nothing she can do when Lufus Aurora finds space and just smashes the ball past her five yards out from the penalty area.

Well, if that was supposed to offer respite… a crazy, crazy matchday, though you wouldn’t know it from the five drab 1-0s. All the confidence that scraping through the first round of the CEdC might have given the Reds evaporated as they simply collapsed against Kingsgrove, an unacceptable 7-1 in front of their own fans. The axe falls, at last, on Jack Bolton - responsible for so many of the good times, seemingly incapable of halting the bad - and the drastic measure of appointing 35-year old captain Vina O’Hara as interim player-manager is taken. Gallant Cross, who did of course narrowly beat Bellight FC to the sack race, manage their first win of the season… 4-0, away to Rozelle United. Finally, the side’s defence - Miriam Forde, a recent replacement for the shambolic Keith Taylor in defence, does well - holds firm. Finally the attack, constantly on the cusp of brilliance, finishes its chances. Finally Salinger in midfield shows his talent, finally Baeza alongside him shows the training 1830 Cathair’s academy gave him. The only question is… is it too late?

Rozelle United bounce back from a 4-0 home defeat against a poor club by crushing the reasonably mediocre Pikemouth 6-1 away. Rarely is the Jekyll-and-hyde split so pronounced. Gallant Cross are defensively solid but toothless against Pilgrimage, and it’s almost depressing how they simply lose a limp 1-0 immediately after seeming to return to life. Lotus Park smash through Guilder’s sturdy defence as Makasi and Lynch continue to be two of the league’s most lethal strikers, while Francisca Orient decisively takes the Marque derby for themselves thanks to a decisive 3-0 victory.

Halholzer United’s victory over group minnows Crystopolis City secures them top spot after winning their last three matches, and nobody can deny they have deserved it. Northern Union scrape through a dead even group with a victory over Montreal Koreana that starts out comfortable and then, when Renne Matunne smashes a long shot into the stanchion that left Woodgate helpless, turns decidedly nervy. But they hold out and retain their uneasy status, beneath Warriors on head-to-head with nine points to their name.

North Hall are fairly comprehensively beaten by Metropolis, but it doesn’t matter - Moreazura can only draw with SC Bremen, so the Northerners scrape through. It’s even tighter in Group E where Bellight Wanderers’ liberated 3-3 draw with Herritik sees them top the pile with 10 points… while Herritik beat Oceanside on head-to-head GD, both on 9, with Forest Hill FC on eight. Every team won exactly two games. A terrible group stage for Kingsgrove sees them double their points tally with a miserable, damp scoreless draw against Corona.

Blades again! Well, North Hall aren’t about to be shown up by their neighbours and prove that they’re just as capable of standing up to power. It helps that Sara Fairhall, now 36, has one of the best games of her career, but on the whole Hall deserve their draw with the second leg soon to come.

And now it’s Union’s turn to deliver a proper thumping. To… Gentlemen’s Club, as it happens, who are on a little swoon in form, and Union put them to the sword 6-1. The 1 was, at the time, an equaliser, but it really just seemed to make Union angry. There continues to be a league-wide lack of consistency, though with one exception Gallant Cross have at least been consistently awful, and they’re right back to their old ways in a 3-0 capitulation to North Hall.

Finally, pressure from the lower leagues pays off - Westpike’s push for promotion is given a boost when a resilient performance against Rozelle United is rewarded by two saves from Colette Bradford in the penalty shoot-out and, as Dorian Heffernan thumps home the winner, the first A-League team to have been taken out by someone below them has been, well, taken out by someone below them. On the same day, Lotus Park knock out Francisca Orient on penalties after a fantastic game, Gallant Cross and Marque are easily beaten by Kingsgrove and Northern Union, but yet again Guilder away manages to hold out and win in extra time against a stronger side - first Rozelle and now North Hall. Pikemouth United, the fourth-tier side to have come the farthest in the tournament, meet their inevitable end at the hands of Falkner United. Amidst all this, two midtable C-League sides are drawn against each other - Glassfields, in the event, cruise past Fort Keller to make it to the quarterfinals.

A bizarre matchday. Bellight Wanderers, generally solid to this stage (especially in the Globe Cup, where Kingsgrove were garbage) completely fall to pieces and get done 5-0 at home by the Royals, Kezia O’Byrne - who has had a not entirely consistent start to her Kingsgrove career - ripping them to shreds from midfield. That lets them ramp up the pressure on Northern Union after they’re defeated 4-1 by lowly Cape of Hope, simply falling to pieces after an entirely deserved Mariconda red card for a vicious sliding challenge. Marque have a 4-1 win of their own as Gentlemen’s Club continue their slide - it really must be said that the Privateers have recovered wonderfully under the Lingard sisters from the tailspin they were in. Rozelle United win the Rozelle derby in dramatic fashion, Kurtis Volker opening the scoring with an increasingly rare goal before a controversial and debatable Auburn Brassfellow handball gives Rowena Stamper the chance to level it up from the spot. She does, and shortly thereafter sets up Aphrodite Whitesmith to win the game, and the match dissolves into a brawl. Brilliant stuff.

Alright, well, Kingsgrove are in that kind of a mood it seems as they beat the Gentlemen into a damp red paste under their studs, 7-0 the final score and Cheney Scherzer chipping in with four of them. Brenecia’s record goalscorer is understandably slowing, and just turned 34, but he’s in ruthless form in front of goal nonetheless. The clean sheet’s nice to have as well, of course, and of the ten matches (and nine wins) eight teams manage clean sheets. The one draw - Rozelle United almost getting the three points against Northern Union, but the teenage Osarian striker Isabella Montanari levels a late equaliser with her first touch in senior Union colours.

Both Brenecian sides lose at home, both from Mareibat win. Union are undone on the counterattack by Leonardo Bregoo before Marcia Danmark, who seems to relish her returns to Brenecia, notched up an early-second half brace. Chase Pershing - not exactly the sort of impact substitute you want to have to rely on - came up with a late goal that gives them a fighting chance for the next leg. Lilley hits a post against the Moths as the Saints really press for a win, but can’t find it - instead it’s Aaliyah Johnson’s spectacular volley that puts them out of the game. Halholzer United beat Brinemouth yet again in a ruthless performance, three goals from four shots on target and 37% possession, while Vina O’Hara gets her first win as manager at last.

Hall hang on resolutely to their clean sheet, and a dogged performance is at last rewarded in the 79th minute when a Sienna Fallon cross is headed home by Escobar de Cabanyas. Two very dire matches, but you’d imagine Hall fans will take it.

Gentlemen’s Club, third until six straight defeats, choose to break that run with a 1-0 win over Halholzer United, Cammers smashing home a piledriving volley that is almost disturbingly against the run of play. This season… oh, and that’s not to discount Cape of Hope. Kingsgrove, when they score four against one of the quietly worst teams in the league, would expect to win. Instead, a match too insane to summarise in a short paragraph sees two defenders sent off on both sides, as well as Kingsgrove goalkeeper Knight and the scores end 7-4 to the Seekers.

No joy for Brenecian sides - Alianza FC finish the job on Union as Pendragon’s first-half goal just seems to make them angrier, while Jesper Lee Coleman’s strike is enough to put Rozelle down despite a late consolation from substitute Hecate Charing adding some late drama to the proceedings. Further east in Nephara, Brinemouth go ahead in the 17th minute as Juquinho’s shot squeezes underneath Clarke, but United hold firm where a second goal would knock them out on away goals, and they progress. Bellight FC have a nervy start but an ultimately comfortable finish against Soalara.

Well, in a break from all the utterly ridiculous results - though it’s worth pointing out that there were both Bellight and North Hall derbies, each ending 1-1 - there has been a leak of the MBC’s financial records. In short, they’re broke. And in debt. A lot of debt. Meanwhile, the investigation into Brenecian clubs was completed and, although it hasn’t been leaked, the results are disturbing in the extreme. “Heads will roll,” BFA Chairman Steven Pell pledged at the end of a promise to boot out uncaring, incompetent absentee owners and administrate clubs in trouble.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          19  13  3   3  39  20  +19  42
  2 Kingsgrove              19  13  1   5  49  22  +27  40
  3 Harmonica Tundra        19  10  2   7  28  21   +7  32
  4 Bellight Wanderers      19   9  5   5  22  20   +2  32
  5 North Hall              19   9  4   6  24  15   +9  31
  6 Pilgrimage              19   9  4   6  16  14   +2  31
  7 Halholzer United        19   9  3   7  24  20   +4  30
  8 Francisca Orient        19   8  5   6  19  15   +4  29
  9 Pikemouth               19   9  2   8  26  25   +1  29
 10 Guilder                 19   7  5   7  22  23   -1  26
 11 Marque                  19   8  2   9  23  32   -9  26
 12 Rozelle                 19   8  1  10  22  25   -3  25
 13 Lotus Park              19   7  3   9  30  31   -1  24
 14 Rozelle United          19   6  6   7  25  30   -5  24
 15 Gentlemen's Club        19   7  3   9  25  41  -16  24
 16 Cape of Hope FC         19   7  2  10  33  35   -2  23
 17 Falkner United          19   5  6   8  25  26   -1  21
 18 South Rathia            19   5  5   9  23  25   -2  20
 19 Bellight FC             19   4  6   9  19  36  -17  18
 20 Gallant Cross           19   2  2  15  14  32  -18   8

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Westpike United          19  13  5   1  42  16  +26  44
  2 Halholzer Spitfires      19  13  3   3  34  11  +23  42
  3 Halholzer Sundays        19  12  3   4  27  12  +15  39
  4 Saint Alexander          19  11  4   4  28  13  +15  37
  5 Westpike                 19   9  6   4  25  20   +5  33
  6 Rosbank Town             19  10  2   7  27  21   +6  32
  7 Snowden River            19  10  1   8  26  20   +6  31
  8 Newtown                  19   9  3   7  18  15   +3  30
  9 Sciongrad Rovers         19   7  3   9  21  18   +3  24
 10 Southside Wanderers      19   6  6   7  17  22   -5  24
 11 SWU FC                   19   6  5   8  19  21   -2  23
 12 Sharrow                  19   6  5   8  18  23   -5  23
 13 Union FK                 19   5  7   7  20  20   +0  22
 14 Ridgeway United          19   5  5   9  11  15   -4  20
 15 Scraglet Rovers          19   6  2  11  24  35  -11  20
 16 Teol United              19   5  5   9  21  34  -13  20
 17 Chafford                 19   6  2  11  13  27  -14  20
 18 Scaffield                19   4  6   9  18  29  -11  18
 19 Arbour Lights FC         19   3  5  11  15  36  -21  14
 20 Mount Roland             19   3  4  12  15  31  -16  13

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Proudcastle             19  12  6   1  30   9  +21  42
  2 Sutbyrne                19  12  4   3  33  19  +14  40
  3 Northern Stallions      19  11  4   4  42  23  +19  37
  4 Rushden                 19  11  3   5  38  24  +14  36
  5 Swayback                19   9  7   3  37  20  +17  34
  6 Thrush                  19  10  4   5  35  25  +10  34
  7 Crest                   19   9  4   6  26  25   +1  31
  8 Saint Essex             19   8  5   6  24  23   +1  29
  9 Dalgallen               19   8  5   6  27  27   +0  29
 10 Marque Rovers           19   7  7   5  26  24   +2  28
 11 Hooker Ridge            19   6  6   7  22  26   -4  24
 12 Platwood                19   6  4   9  22  24   -2  22
 13 Fort Keller             19   5  6   8  20  24   -4  21
 14 Saint Wessex            19   5  5   9  22  27   -5  20
 15 Glassfields             19   5  5   9  30  45  -15  20
 16 Highden                 19   5  3  11  20  27   -7  18
 17 Hammerton               19   4  4  11  27  51  -24  16
 18 Norbyrne                19   3  6  10  12  24  -12  15
 19 Garfield                19   3  5  11  15  26  -11  14
 20 Gallow Park             19   2  5  12  15  30  -15  11

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Stourhead               19  12  5   2  29   9  +20  41
  2 Knightstone FC          19  12  4   3  35  18  +17  40
  3 AFC Swanbridge          19  10  6   3  39  21  +18  36
  4 Corder Town             19  11  3   5  31  19  +12  36
  5 Fentonbridge            19  10  4   5  31  21  +10  34
  6 Greater Snowden         19   8  7   4  22  20   +2  31
  7 Spearcove Mariners      19   7  8   4  28  19   +9  29
  8 Arkwood                 19   8  5   6  21  21   +0  29
  9 Pryde Wanderers         19   8  3   8  26  23   +3  27
 10 Brookden                19   8  2   9  24  23   +1  26
 11 Pikemouth United        19   6  7   6  21  17   +4  25
 12 Falkner Wanderers       19   7  4   8  13  15   -2  25
 13 Chrysler Town           19   7  3   9  14  20   -6  24
 14 Myhill                  19   6  4   9  16  23   -7  22
 15 South Ridgeway          19   6  4   9  19  28   -9  22
 16 Reave City              19   4  6   9  27  41  -14  18
 17 Shenworth               19   4  4  11   9  23  -14  16
 18 Monastery Park          19   3  6  10   9  18   -9  15
 19 Thriss Valley           19   3  5  11   9  29  -20  14
 20 Caybrooke               19   3  4  12   6  21  -15  13

by **A-League** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 7:20 pm

Gallant Cross and Bellight FC sink to a poor scoreless draw, about expected for the two sides on the bottom of the pile. What even happened to the Reds? More revelations about the financial state, or lack thereof, of the MBC (particularly after they’ve committed to helping pay off Rohan Cammers, who scores twice against Bellight Wanderers today) has finally given rise to speculation about the elephant in the room - what if the A-League splits apart again?

Another dour performance from North Hall, but they can’t quite penetrate that last line of defence. Claes Mikkelstad smashes a shot into a stanchion late on to give Hondo a priceless away goal and a well-deserved advantage.

Guilder beat Rozelle for the third time this season thanks to a late Adrienne Crowther goal - the unreliable striker at last seems to be finding her feet to a degree - while Bellight FC vs. the Gentlemen is a flurry of bad defending, poor decisions and goals flying in at both ends, though in this case the disappointment of the season beats the surprise of the season 4-2. Falkner United edge past South Rathia in a tense 1-0 win in which Luevano gets himself pointlessly sent off for kicking out at Halberdian… twice. The Lions pummel Falkner’s goal but Jayce Pence, recently turned 36 and with her age really starting to show this season, decides to repel everything that’s sent their way before Larissa Connolly’s free kick rips past Bruhn at breakneck pace.

Hall need to be more decisive this match, and they are. It’s just not enough, even though Juancarlos de Sierra gives them hope early, even if Seth Montague comes off the bench after an injury layoff to set up an equaliser for de Sierra at 2-2, but Falladhan, Negri and Mikkelstad put the Northerners to rest.

Halholzer United are smacked down by North Hall in what seems like a confirmation that the Gold-and-Whites seem to be reserving their best performances for international competition - Hall are tough at the back and clinical going forward much as they failed to be against Hondo FC in the Cup Winners’ Cup. Althea Chenoweth looks to be doing decently in her first season but it remains a two-horse race at the top between Northern Union, who rely on a late Foran winner to take them past Guilder, and Kingsgrove, who can’t break down Lotus Park. Just like old times.

Gallant Cross’ nil-all draw with Rozelle is just depressing. It should have been a 6-0 win to the visitors but Bram Merchant has some sort of magnet power that makes it so that every Saint on the pitch can magically only shoot straight at him. Okay, so a couple of his saves were spectacular, too, and Cross reward his ability by managing to screw up a 5v3 counterattack in the 79th minute. Bellight FC aren’t quite there in the self-defeating stakes, but they come close - when Sam Benbow puts a little unnecessary backspin on a backpass to Lillehammer and it manages to curve away from the goalkeeper and to the forward lurking nearby. It’s an Eze finish indeed from the Semar teenager to give the away side a fortuitous point in a game the Reds dominated.

Both Mareibat sides are drawn against the sides that vanquished their Brenecian counterparts last round. That doesn’t bode well. There’s a goal flurry in Halholzer, and it doesn’t look favourable for United - it seems like Alianza have managed to turn financial muscle into on-field power, and you’d imagine the Gold-and-Whites aren’t about to beat them in the away goals stages. Bellight manage to hold out against Sabrefell Moths, leaving it all to play for in the home leg… but their form’s been so poor domestically that nothing can really be taken for granted.

Bellight FC’s trip to South Rathia looks increasingly like a six-pointer, though the Lions have far better goal difference. The first half favours the Reds, though, as the Lions’ porous defence parts before them like the red sea, but Lachlan Cromwell’s opportunistic 44th-minute strike takes some wind out of their sails. In the second half, the tide turns and the Lions build on their momentum, Castor Pascuale rising above everyone else to head home Mirzayev’s corner - when set pieces have been a weakness for Rathia throughout the season - before the veteran Cheney Keller times the right run at the right time for Sander Balliol’s through-ball and slots low and hard past Lillehammer. At least there’s a silver lining - a couple of consolation goals from Coveny and Lund can’t stop Falkner slumping to defeat against Marque, and Blake Lawless’ job hangs in the balance.

Alianza FC finish the job against Halholzer United, but it’s a close-run thing and despite scoring three Charlestown, Urrunaga and Voeller are left to rue their missed chances by the end of the game. A luckless Bellight open the scoring through Keating Asher, but the Moths finally remember who they are and put down the insurgency with brutal efficiency. The A-League involvement with the CEdC has been very decisively put to an end by just two teams.

Another statement of serious intent from Pikemouth - they somehow retain defensive discipline despite containing barely-proven 22-year old Roland Duffy in their back four against Northern Union, but it’s up front where Wakefield, Brittain and the recent gamble of putting Ricardo Bailen at left wing which is really punishing teams through pace and physicality, and Union’s slow, aging defence simply can’t cope. A rare error from Woodgate, who flaps at a Cunningham cross to let Bailen’s diving header get the ball into an empty net, helps, but there’s nothing he can do when left hopelessly exposed by his defence on the counterattack, rounded by Wakefield who just rolls the ball into the net.

A couple of dull, ugly matches against far more famous names. While Halholzer hold Gwinevra away, a remarkable feat, Union’s physicality eventually wins out over Jungle Strike as Monroe heads home an immaculate Erin Camden corner, while Woodgate has answers for everything Strike throw at him.

Ursula Rankin and Catherine Purrington enjoy their return to Brenecia with an early goal for each of them, but Hall assert themselves in the second half. De Cabanyas and de Sierra manage a goal each but it’s all undone when Purrington slips an excellent through-ball for Chiemaka past the flat-footed hall defence, and Chiemaka in turn rifles it past Fairhall. Bellight Wanderers have done so well to come this far, but it has to be said that Draig Goch hardly break a sweat in defeating them.

Falkner United can’t summon up any kind of spirit or fight against Halholzer United, and it really seems like Blake Lawless has lost control of a temperamental dressing room in a limp fourth straight defeat. Brenecia’s first manager of the WCC era is, yet again, sacked. Taking over is yet another young manager promoted from the reserves in Kildare Harper, 41 and highly regarded, with Titania Pratchett - a club stalwart as a goalkeeper - the new assistant manager.

Jungle Strike hammer on Union from the very beginning, hardly giving them the space to even counter-attack. The one shot they do manage, well, misses, when Bellerose should really have done better. It costs them in the second half, when finally Woodgate is beaten twice to put Strike through on aggregate. The Barbarians should really have beaten Halholzer United, but they don’t, and Palmisano’s pass straight to Charlestown in the 70th minute is the catalyst for the striker to race past the defence and smash a low, menacing, driven shot past Steele.

North Hall remarkably fight back away, two goals in the last fifteen minutes paving way for a breathless (literally - both sides are too exhausted to even really move) extra time, and from there to penalties. Of the two veteran international goalkeepers, Fairhall trumps Kirilaunen as after eleven penalties ranging from excellent through good enough to ‘lucky they went the other way’ (looking at you, de Sierra and Harlech), she tips Leanord’s onto the crossbar and away and is immediately mobbed by jubilant teammates. The Wanderers make a better fist of things at home, but they’re sunk in the worst possible way - by a late own goal from Alencon Mitchell.

South Rathia, when on song like this, can do anything they goddamn please. It helps that everyone’s finally fit, and five different goalscorers swamp Marque to make sure that Rosendo Bruhn’s howler between the posts is long forgotten by the end of the day. Not soon forgotten, however, will be another triumph of physicality and discipline from a hard-working Pikemouth to show Kingsgrove up, Emerald Sheehan finally starting to capture the public interest as one of the league’s best players driving forward from midfield chalking up a goal and an assist. Rozelle manage to scrape some pride with a 1-1 draw against Union, Lilley showing flickers of last season’s form again, but it’s still a torrid experience for them and a fairly cruisy life at the top for Union.

South Rathia and Lotus Park play out a tough, hard-hitting draw with a surprising amount of venom to it. Also surprising is the amount of trouble that third-tier Glassfields cause Kingsgrove, but with three away goals the tie’s probably still over. Isadora Bergman coolly slots home a penalty won by Bolingbroke to give Guilder an edge before Northern Union, in injury time, scuff home a corner that actually goes on off Daniel Pritchard’s knee, though the referees generously award the goal to Eden Finley anyway for the first of his Union career. Falkner United, meanwhile, make short enough work of Westpike at home - Harper’s realised that putting Connolly out of position down the middle just doesn’t work, and instead has done the strange move of putting the big star veteran left winger out on the left wing, with Russell down the middle. The result is that Connolly has two goals and an assist from the last two games, one of each coming here with Russell nodding home the second goal of the game.

It’s all set up for the home stretch. Bellight FC’s remarkable draw against Northern Union, thoroughly deserved, puts them… well, still five points shy of Cape of Hope in 18th, while Gallant Cross’ own draw still sees them 11 points away from safety and, realistically, they aren’t likely to make that up. Halholzer United are well-beaten by a disciplined Pikemouth side and have now lost more games than they’ve won - Pikemouth, meanwhile, sit pretty in fifth. Marque’s victory over Rozelle sees them leapfrog the Saints, who now languish in 13th in what has been, in all honesty, a terrible season. Kingsgrove and Harmonica Tundra both win fairly easily over relegation battlers to keep up the heat on Union, but both sides remain six points adrift. With midtable as congested as ever, this still seems like a season where some are decidedly more and less equal than others… just that the identities involved aren’t exactly normal.

South Rathia put their league struggles behind them to annihilate Lotus Park. Zoe Besler concedes a penalty early on but manages to tip it away from a corner and the hosts’ morale never really recovers, Balliol scores a wonderful goal (he’s now asserted his superiority over Ruskin), Shorten is sent off and all hell breaks loose, Zeke (twice) and Mirzayev erasing all doubt from the outcome. Kingsgrove, unsurprisingly, make short work of Glassfields at home, while Northern Union’s bit of quality eventually sees off a plucky but limited Guilder. Similarly plucky and similarly limited, Westpike have the bulk of the match against Falkner United but there’s little end product, and Falkner’s newfound defensive determination sees them keep a clean sheet in a textbook away performance.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          28  18  6   4  53  26  +27  60
  2 Kingsgrove              28  17  3   8  58  30  +28  54
  3 Harmonica Tundra        28  17  3   8  43  27  +16  54
  4 Pilgrimage              28  15  5   8  26  19   +7  50
  5 Pikemouth               28  15  3  10  38  35   +3  48
  6 Lotus Park              28  13  5  10  44  36   +8  44
  7 North Hall              28  12  6  10  36  25  +11  42
  8 Bellight Wanderers      28  11  8   9  29  32   -3  41
  9 Rozelle United          28  10  9   9  37  38   -1  39
 10 Halholzer United        28  11  5  12  31  31   +0  38
 11 Guilder                 28  10  8  10  32  33   -1  38
 12 Marque                  28  11  5  12  36  49  -13  38
 13 Rozelle                 28  11  3  14  34  34   +0  36
 14 Falkner United          28   9  7  12  34  37   -3  34
 15 Gentlemen's Club        28  10  3  15  39  62  -23  33
 16 Francisca Orient        28   8  8  12  22  27   -5  32
 17 South Rathia            28   8  6  14  37  40   -3  30
 18 Cape of Hope FC         28   8  5  15  41  50   -9  29
 19 Bellight FC             28   5  9  14  29  51  -22  24
 20 Gallant Cross           28   3  9  16  19  36  -17  18

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Halholzer Spitfires      28  20   3   5  54  19  +35  63
  2 Westpike United          28  19   6   3  59  26  +33  63
  3 Halholzer Sundays        28  19   3   6  40  15  +25  60
  4 Saint Alexander          28  15   6   7  37  23  +14  51
  5 Westpike                 28  13  11   4  39  27  +12  50
  6 Rosbank Town             28  13   6   9  40  32   +8  45
  7 Snowden River            28  12   5  11  37  31   +6  41
  8 Southside Wanderers      28  11   7  10  26  28   -2  40
  9 Teol United              28  11   7  10  38  41   -3  40
 10 Newtown                  28  11   5  12  23  27   -4  38
 11 Sharrow                  28  10   7  11  34  36   -2  37
 12 SWU FC                   28   9   7  12  27  29   -2  34
 13 Sciongrad Rovers         28   9   6  13  31  33   -2  33
 14 Union FK                 28   7   9  12  30  34   -4  30
 15 Ridgeway United          28   7   8  13  21  29   -8  29
 16 Scaffield                28   5  11  12  26  40  -14  26
 17 Arbour Lights FC         28   5  10  13  23  45  -22  25
 18 Chafford                 28   7   4  17  19  41  -22  25
 19 Scraglet Rovers          28   7   3  18  32  56  -24  24
 20 Mount Roland             28   5   6  17  22  46  -24  21

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Proudcastle             28  18  7   3  44  13  +31  61
  2 Swayback                28  17  8   3  57  25  +32  59
  3 Sutbyrne                28  16  7   5  46  29  +17  55
  4 Northern Stallions      28  16  6   6  60  38  +22  54
  5 Thrush                  28  15  5   8  53  33  +20  50
  6 Marque Rovers           28  13  7   8  39  33   +6  46
  7 Rushden                 28  13  5  10  48  36  +12  44
  8 Crest                   28  11  8   9  32  34   -2  41
  9 Platwood                28  11  6  11  36  35   +1  39
 10 Dalgallen               28  11  6  11  38  42   -4  39
 11 Saint Essex             28  10  7  11  31  38   -7  37
 12 Hooker Ridge            28   8 10  10  28  35   -7  34
 13 Glassfields             28   9  7  12  49  66  -17  34
 14 Saint Wessex            28   8  7  13  37  37   +0  31
 15 Fort Keller             28   7  9  12  30  34   -4  30
 16 Hammerton               28   7  6  15  35  72  -37  27
 17 Norbyrne                28   6  8  14  24  35  -11  26
 18 Highden                 28   7  5  16  29  41  -12  26
 19 Gallow Park             28   5  7  16  22  39  -17  22
 20 Garfield                28   3  7  18  17  40  -23  16

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Knightstone FC          28  19   5   4  54  24  +30  62
  2 Stourhead               28  16   7   5  41  21  +20  55
  3 AFC Swanbridge          28  14   8   6  54  31  +23  50
  4 Greater Snowden         28  12  12   4  37  25  +12  48
  5 Arkwood                 28  14   6   8  33  26   +7  48
  6 Corder Town             28  14   4  10  41  30  +11  46
  7 Fentonbridge            28  13   6   9  41  35   +6  45
  8 Pikemouth United        28  11  11   6  37  23  +14  44
  9 Pryde Wanderers         28  13   3  12  40  38   +2  42
 10 Spearcove Mariners      28   9  13   6  41  28  +13  40
 11 Brookden                28  11   6  11  41  38   +3  39
 12 Falkner Wanderers       28  11   5  12  25  28   -3  38
 13 Chrysler Town           28  11   4  13  23  29   -6  37
 14 South Ridgeway          28  10   6  12  34  41   -7  36
 15 Monastery Park          28   8   7  13  19  25   -6  31
 16 Myhill                  28   6   7  15  18  37  -19  25
 17 Thriss Valley           28   5   9  14  14  36  -22  24
 18 Reave City              28   5   7  16  34  67  -33  22
 19 Shenworth               28   4   8  16  15  38  -23  20
 20 Caybrooke               28   4   6  18   9  31  -22  18

by **A-League** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:31 pm

Well… there might not be a way past this as the sheer brilliance of Milena Kovacova seems to have an answer to every hurdle Hall’s packed defence presents her. She finishes the match with a hat-trick, Hall finish it with a mountain to climb.

A cathartic 5-0 thumping of a weak, disorganised and broke Gentlemen’s Club - an odd match with ten men on each side from the 16th minute when the combustible midfielders Rohan Cammers and Victor Luevano break out into a fistfight based on seemingly no provocation. Bellight FC take one important step to survival as they take full advantage of Beibhinn Harlech’s two yellows within two minutes to power home a 3-0 win.

Hall press early at home and look set to at least pull a goal back, but when Fallon’s amazing free kick is matched only by Thorsten Gerber’s amazing save in the 10th minute, well, it seems to take the wind from their sails. By the end of the match, Hrbacova and Pabst have finished off the plucky, but ultimately limited, Northerners. Still - they can be proud of how far they went.

Rozelle’s little bit of goodwill gained by at least beating Kingsgrove decisively, well… didn’t survive an annihilation at the hands of Urrunaga’s brace and Charlestown’s hat-trick, Swain’s late consolation only drawing sarcastic applause from the away end. Kingsgrove claw back some ground in what remains of the title race by being too quick and decisive for Union to handle, Cheney Scherzer ending a five-match goal drought in spectacular, overhead-kick fashion.

Is it set for a final between the two classic rivals of Brenecian football? Well, uh, apparently not, judging by the first leg - two sides scrambling to get clear of relegation get favourable results instead. South Rathia concede an early own goal to Pollux Pascuale - he’s 37 now, not exactly the quickest to get out of the way of a Rohan cross - but the Lions fight back, Mirzayev and Balliol running the show from midfield and it’s a cruisy 3-1 victory in the end. Northern Union get just the one goal past Jancis Adrian, who has only been handed her first senior starts in the Cup by Harper, and she rewards that trust with an excellent performance after two clean sheets against Westpike. Skorupska, who has been slowly breaking her way into the first team over the year, gets a goal for them, but it’s only after Larissa Connolly has continued her excellent vein of recent form by chipping Woodgate - expecting a shot at the near post, not being beaten at his far.

Marque have been quietly going under the radar this season, but Kingsgrove pump them 5-1 in an emphatic assertion of their title credentials - almost as emphatic as the shadow of a side calling themselves Halholzer United (In Domestic Competition) are destroyed 3-0 by Northern Union in a frankly sorry display. Bellight clawed their way closer to safety with a deserved 2-0 win over Lotus Park as Guru Birikaitis slowly lumbers back into form after a genuinely dreadful first half of the season, but South Rathia get a decent point against the Wanderers while Cape of Hope added to Cross’ woes.

Kingsgrove look likely to take the tie with two early goals against South Rathia, ahead on away goals, but in the 83rd minute Eberhardt slips away onto the far post unmarked to head home Tamara Glavan’s cross, giving South Rathia a thoroughly unexpected final berth. As for Falkner, the difference between them with Lawless and with Harper is like night to day - thoroughly disciplined and pressing high and hard as a team, and on the break it’s somehow leftback Divock Marelana ending up the furthest man forward. He doesn’t panic, though, and fires low past Woodgate to take Falkner through to the final.

Textbook Halholzer United performance from Halholzer United, hit decisively and ruthlessly going forward with two goals from six shots, Urrunaga coming up with both - one driven in from just outside the box, the second somewhat uglier just stabbed in at the near post from Bergman’s low deflected cross.

South Rathia, straight after the jubilation of making it to the Cup final, suffer the agony of being rigorously disembowelled by the Gentlemen, as yet again terrible players like Landsknecht, Brown and Jennings are coming together to ensure that at least the Club go out in a blaze of glory - 5-1 the score here, which is at least one better than relegation rivals Bellight FC, battered 5-0 by a rampant Kingsgrove. Harmonica Tundra keep up the pressure at the top with a 3-0 thumping of a Lotus Park side much-improved this season but evidently still not bulletproof.

It’s nervy, but Halholzer’s early O’Connor free kick sets them in good stead to withstand the coming onslaught. The Panthers, with full reign of the park, need to score four. They manage two, and United progress - though at the cost of Osmond Eben, sent off late on for a professional foul.

This week ripped up the formbook established last week - Tundra slump to a dull 0-0 draw with Bellight, Lotus Park light up Guilder 4-1, South Rathia’s six-pointer isn’t even close as they tear through the Cape of Hope while Rozelle annihilate the Gentlemen 5-0, with Rohan Cammers sent off for grabbing the vanishing spray off the referee and running off, trying to spray as many Saints as possible in what was somehow the lowlight of both club’s seasons.

And South Rathia are back to getting twatted again, this time Rozelle United (who have flown under the radar this season, just how they like it) with too much expansive forward play for their aging defence to deal with. Perhaps it isn’t a surprise that the side that most struggles to deal with pace did poorly against one of the quickest sides in the league. Gallant Cross manage an impressive but entirely futile 1-0 win over North Hall - their goose has been cooked for far too long by now. The Cape restores some Hope when Gostislav’s shot in injury time arcs past Jonah Nkutu to give them a vital three points against Rozelle.

Harmonica Tundra have picked a bad time to go all goalshy - after yet another resolute defensive performance from Falkner United, Tundra have scored just once in three matches and their title challenge is slipping away. Union don’t have that problem, of course, and they annihilate the Seekers 7-1 - Erin Camden, somehow, with five assists. Three come from her set pieces, as Cape of Hope realise that, yes, it is actually important to learn how to defend dead balls. A painful lesson, at that. Bellight FC’s dreary 1-1 draw with Guilder takes them close to Cape and Cup finalists South Rathia, who are beaten 4-1 by high-flying Pilgrimage.

Well, the loss of Eben hurts United - Schrijen has a field day against Vivian Mustard, setting up Emond to hit a post before just scoring himself. But Halholzer claw their way back, as they always do, and goals from Charlestown and, in spectacular fashion, the substitute Donagul Michigan leave the fixture finely poised indeed.

More papers are leaked, and it’s damning both to the BFA and the MBC. The merged league has been haemorrhaging money for six years, and Cammers’ contract is only the latest and most expensive farce of all. A private source from within the MBC admits that it’s starting to look likely that Mareibat do not have the money to compete with (and, at the international level, outshine) Brenecia. Cammers seems pretty oblivious as to the fact that he’s basically destroyed the A-League single-handedly, and scores two goals in a bizarre victory over Kingsgrove. And that victory, combined with Northern Union’s 3-0 thumping of Rozelle United, means that Althea Reader’s veterans defend their title.

Halholzer United cut it very, very fine indeed - after a hard-fought contest in which Halholzer tried to drag Tanrisal down with physicality and it almost worked, they’re undone by Emond’s strike in the 87th minute and the fixture’s set for extra time. At least until von Maelstrom’s powerful shot is tipped over by Hatlem, and O’Connor sends in a raking corner that Hatlem flaps at before Scrivener rises powerfully to head it home. Unbelievably, an A-League side has reached the Champions’ Cup final!

South Rathia snap a run of three straight defeats with a draw against Lotus Park, but Bellight FC’s victory over Falkner United pulls them level on points with the Lions and one adrift of Cape of Hope - who have worse goal difference than either of them as Kingsgrove smash them against the rocks 5-1. Halholzer United briefly channel the rage and frustration of the nation of Mareibat as they pump Gentlemens’ Club 9-0, exacting vengeance for what is very possibly the death of the unified A-League. It’s a sensation that’s only heightened as the travelling support are attacked by a giant mob of gold-clad home fans on their way out of the stadium. With the future of the league unclear as well as many of its clubs, and most importantly what anyone plans to do with the whole situation… nobody really knows what’s going to happen when the dust settles.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          37  24   8   5  74  32  +42  80
  2 Harmonica Tundra        37  23   5   9  54  31  +23  74
  3 Kingsgrove              37  23   3  11  81  39  +42  72
  4 Pilgrimage              37  19   8  10  38  26  +12  65
  5 North Hall              37  17   6  14  45  35  +10  57
  6 Halholzer United        37  16   7  14  55  40  +15  55
  7 Lotus Park              37  15  10  12  57  49   +8  55
  8 Pikemouth               37  16   7  14  51  51   +0  55
  9 Bellight Wanderers      37  13  14  10  38  41   -3  53
 10 Rozelle                 37  16   3  18  55  50   +5  51
 11 Guilder                 37  13  11  13  40  41   -1  50
 12 Marque                  37  13   9  15  48  64  -16  48
 13 Rozelle United          37  12  10  15  48  54   -6  46
 14 Falkner United          37  11  12  14  47  46   +1  45
 15 Gentlemen's Club        37  12   6  19  51  90  -39  42
 16 Francisca Orient        37   9  13  15  32  43  -11  40
 17 Cape of Hope FC         37  10   7  20  52  77  -25  37
 18 South Rathia            37   9   9  19  47  61  -14  36
 19 Bellight FC             37   8  12  17  38  61  -23  36
 20 Gallant Cross           37   5  12  20  27  47  -20  27

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Halholzer Spitfires      37  26   4   7  65  24  +41  82
  2 Westpike United          37  23   9   5  67  32  +35  78
  3 Halholzer Sundays        37  25   3   9  58  25  +33  78
  4 Saint Alexander          37  21   7   9  47  27  +20  70
  5 Rosbank Town             37  20   7  10  55  38  +17  67
  6 Teol United              37  17   9  11  53  47   +6  60
  7 Westpike                 37  16  12   9  44  38   +6  60
  8 Snowden River            37  16   7  14  48  39   +9  55
  9 Southside Wanderers      37  14  10  13  32  34   -2  52
 10 Newtown                  37  13   9  15  29  35   -6  48
 11 Sharrow                  37  13   8  16  43  50   -7  47
 12 Sciongrad Rovers         37  12   9  16  47  39   +8  45
 13 Union FK                 37  10  13  14  40  45   -5  43
 14 SWU FC                   37  11   9  17  32  37   -5  42
 15 Ridgeway United          37  10  11  16  27  34   -7  41
 16 Scaffield                37   8  12  17  32  48  -16  36
 17 Arbour Lights FC         37   8  11  18  33  57  -24  35
 18 Scraglet Rovers          37  10   4  23  39  76  -37  34
 19 Chafford                 37   7   6  24  20  54  -34  27
 20 Mount Roland             37   5  10  22  25  57  -32  25

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Proudcastle             37  21  10   6  51  19  +32  73
  2 Swayback                37  20  10   7  71  37  +34  70
  3 Northern Stallions      37  20  10   7  74  46  +28  70
  4 Thrush                  37  21   6  10  73  40  +33  69
  5 Sutbyrne                37  19  10   8  56  36  +20  67
  6 Rushden                 37  17   8  12  58  45  +13  59
  7 Marque Rovers           37  16  10  11  52  48   +4  58
  8 Crest                   37  14  12  11  43  43   +0  54
  9 Glassfields             37  15   8  14  77  73   +4  53
 10 Platwood                37  15   8  14  45  45   +0  53
 11 Saint Essex             37  14  10  13  47  45   +2  52
 12 Saint Wessex            37  12  10  15  44  44   +0  46
 13 Hooker Ridge            37  11  12  14  36  45   -9  45
 14 Highden                 37  13   6  18  43  53  -10  45
 15 Dalgallen               37  12   8  17  44  56  -12  44
 16 Fort Keller             37  11  10  16  39  43   -4  43
 17 Norbyrne                37   9   9  19  31  53  -22  36
 18 Hammerton               37   8   9  20  42  95  -53  33
 19 Gallow Park             37   5   9  23  30  58  -28  24
 20 Garfield                37   4  11  22  23  55  -32  23

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Knightstone FC          37  24   6   7  69  30  +39  78
  2 Fentonbridge            37  20   8   9  72  44  +28  68
  3 Pikemouth United        37  19  11   7  57  31  +26  68
  4 Stourhead               37  20   8   9  52  31  +21  68
  5 AFC Swanbridge          37  19  10   8  66  40  +26  67
  6 Greater Snowden         37  16  16   5  51  34  +17  64
  7 Arkwood                 37  17  11   9  44  35   +9  62
  8 Corder Town             37  18   5  14  51  45   +6  59
  9 Brookden                37  15   8  14  48  45   +3  53
 10 Spearcove Mariners      37  12  14  11  54  48   +6  50
 11 Falkner Wanderers       37  14   7  16  36  41   -5  49
 12 Pryde Wanderers         37  13   7  17  44  53   -9  46
 13 Chrysler Town           37  13   7  17  30  39   -9  46
 14 South Ridgeway          37  12   9  16  42  53  -11  45
 15 Monastery Park          37  10   9  18  25  34   -9  39
 16 Myhill                  37  10   9  18  28  46  -18  39
 17 Shenworth               37   6  13  18  27  49  -22  31
 18 Thriss Valley           37   6  11  20  21  50  -29  29
 19 Caybrooke               37   6   9  22  15  43  -28  27
 20 Reave City              37   5  12  20  46  87  -41  27

by **A-League** » Sat Apr 16, 2016 1:07 am

Things are oddly despondent ahead of the last match of the season - after all, nobody really knows for sure what it all means. Is this the last match of the unified A-League? Will anyone go down? Will any Brenecian sides fold? Do Gentlemens’ Club still exist? The only thing anyone can say for sure is that there’s normally two relegation spots and Cape, South Rathia and Bellight FC are fighting to avoid them. Oh, and that Union have won. There’s that - they’ll enjoy a victory lap in front of their fierce rivals North Hall.

When the dust falls, it becomes very quickly apparent that South Rathia don’t have what it takes to beat second-place Harmonica Tundra and, as Cape of Hope manage a draw against an almost entirely changed Halholzer United (saving themselves for the Champions’ Cup final to come) while Bellight FC claw their way over the Wanderers, they find themselves the odd ones out, at the bottom. They go down with Gallant Cross.

Right?

No. Three days later, the announcement is finally made - the MBC (now bankrupt - thanks, Rohan Cammers!) can’t sustain their involvement in a foreign competition, most of the finance holding most of the Mareibat clubs is nonexistant and six years of jolly cooperation comes to a sad end. One side will be relegated with four to come up and shuffling all across the board until there’s sixteen Brenecian sides in four Brenecian leagues. South Rathia puzzle through it before realising that, yes, they have survived! Their jubilance shows in the Crown Cup Final, an intense match between them and a resurgent Falkner, but Sander Balliol - the latest reminder of the academy that’s propping the side up - scores in injury time to secure a win at the depth, and it’s Cheney Keller lifting the trophy.

Halholzer United, meanwhile, have something bigger to contest. They stand alone as Mareibat’s one genuinely sustainable power, and despite a poor league season they’ve made it to the Champions Cup final against all the odds in what could be their last UICA match for a while. Plans are already made - maybe they can join another league as a standalone side? They just need to offload some of their current stars, raise some revenue, start from scratch… but they do at least have this one last charge.

Directus, however, have no such existential dread hanging over their heads, and are also better at football. Thus, they win 2-0... and the bizarre era of the unified A-League comes to a close, a story of ambition, excess and swag. Some might say it was always foolhardy to merge a tiny island state with a larger island state, both with money issues, and then load a football arms race onto it as well as ramping up costs of travel and making things in general as unsustainable as possible.

But isn’t reaching for the stars what football is all about?

A-LEAGUE RESULTS
Bellight Wanderers 1-3 Bellight FC
Gallant Cross 2-0 Falkner United
Gentlemen's Club 1-4 Francisca Orient
Pikemouth 4-0 Guilder
Cape of Hope FC 1-1 Halholzer United
South Rathia 1-3 Harmonica Tundra
Rozelle United 2-1 Kingsgrove
Rozelle 3-0 Lotus Park
Pilgrimage 1-0 Marque
Northern Union 1-0 North Hall

B-LEAGUE RESULTS
Teol United 2-2 Halholzer Sundays
Ridgeway United 1-0 Snowden River
Chafford 0-1 Union FK
Westpike United 1-0 Arbour Lights FC
SWU FC 0-1 Scraglet Rovers
Scaffield 0-0 Newtown
Mount Roland 0-2 Sciongrad Rovers
Rosbank Town 2-0 Sharrow
Saint Alexander 1-0 Westpike
Southside Wanderers 2-1 Halholzer Spitfires

C-LEAGUE RESULTS
Thrush 2-1 Saint Wessex
Dalgallen 1-2 Glassfields
Hammerton 1-2 Fort Keller
Saint Essex 2-0 Garfield
Platwood 3-0 Gallow Park
Northern Stallions 5-1 Hooker Ridge
Rushden 4-1 Highden
Norbyrne 1-3 Proudcastle
Marque Rovers 3-1 Crest
Swayback 1-1 Sutbyrne

D-LEAGUE RESULTS
Monastery Park 2-0 Caybrooke
Arkwood 3-1 Reave City
Pikemouth United 3-1 Brookden
Chrysler Town 1-0 Shenworth
Greater Snowden 1-0 AFC Swanbridge
Spearcove Mariners 1-0 South Ridgeway
Pryde Wanderers 0-1 Knightstone FC
Thriss Valley 2-2 Falkner Wanderers
Fentonbridge 1-1 Stourhead
Corder Town 1-0 Myhill[/spoiler]
A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          38  25   8   5  75  32  +43  83
  2 Harmonica Tundra        38  24   5   9  57  32  +25  77
  3 Kingsgrove              38  23   3  12  82  41  +41  72
  4 Pilgrimage              38  20   8  10  39  26  +13  68
  5 Pikemouth               38  17   7  14  55  51   +4  58
  6 North Hall              38  17   6  15  45  36   +9  57
  7 Halholzer United        38  16   8  14  56  41  +15  56
  8 Lotus Park              38  15  10  13  57  52   +5  55
  9 Rozelle                 38  17   3  18  58  50   +8  54
 10 Bellight Wanderers      38  13  14  11  39  44   -5  53
 11 Guilder                 38  13  11  14  40  45   -5  50
 12 Rozelle United          38  13  10  15  50  55   -5  49
 13 Marque                  38  13   9  16  48  65  -17  48
 14 Falkner United          38  11  12  15  47  48   -1  45
 15 Francisca Orient        38  10  13  15  36  44   -8  43
 16 Gentlemen's Club        38  12   6  20  52  94  -42  42
 17 Bellight FC             38   9  12  17  41  62  -21  39
 18 Cape of Hope FC         38  10   8  20  53  78  -25  38
 19 South Rathia            38   9   9  20  48  64  -16  36
 20 Gallant Cross           38   6  12  20  29  47  -18  30

TOP SCORERS
21 - K. Foran (NTU)
19 - C. Scherzer (KNG)
18 - F. Bellerose (NTU), J. Makasi (LOT)
16 - J. de Sierra (NTH), E. Charlestown (HHU), R. Carroll (KNG), T. Lilley (ROZ)
15 - F. Lynch (LOT), J. de Sierra (NTH), E. Sheehan (PKM)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Karena Foran (NTU)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Erin Camden (NTU)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Emerald Sheehan (PKM)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Roisin Carroll (KNG)
Team of the Year: Woodgate (NTU); Moses (HMT), Rubio (NTU), Gillard (NTH), Cunningham (PKM); O’Byrne (KNG), Morriston (HMT), Sheehan (PKM); Foran (NTU), Scherzer (KNG), Carroll (KNG)
Manager of the Year: Bethany Donnell (PKM)

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Halholzer Spitfires      38  26   4   8  66  26  +40  82
  2 Westpike United          38  24   9   5  68  32  +36  81
  3 Halholzer Sundays        38  25   4   9  60  27  +33  79
  4 Saint Alexander          38  22   7   9  48  27  +21  73
  5 Rosbank Town             38  21   7  10  57  38  +19  70
  6 Teol United              38  17  10  11  55  49   +6  61
  7 Westpike                 38  16  12  10  44  39   +5  60
  8 Snowden River            38  16   7  15  48  40   +8  55
  9 Southside Wanderers      38  15  10  13  34  35   -1  55
 10 Newtown                  38  13  10  15  29  35   -6  49
 11 Sciongrad Rovers         38  13   9  16  49  39  +10  48
 12 Sharrow                  38  13   8  17  43  52   -9  47
 13 Union FK                 38  11  13  14  41  45   -4  46
 14 Ridgeway United          38  11  11  16  28  34   -6  44
 15 SWU FC                   38  11   9  18  32  38   -6  42
 16 Scaffield                38   8  13  17  32  48  -16  37
 17 Scraglet Rovers          38  11   4  23  40  76  -36  37
 18 Arbour Lights FC         38   8  11  19  33  58  -25  35
 19 Chafford                 38   7   6  25  20  55  -35  27
 20 Mount Roland             38   5  10  23  25  59  -34  25

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Proudcastle             38  22  10   6  54  20  +34  76
  2 Northern Stallions      38  21  10   7  79  47  +32  73
  3 Thrush                  38  22   6  10  75  41  +34  72
  4 Swayback                38  20  11   7  72  38  +34  71
  5 Sutbyrne                38  19  11   8  57  37  +20  68
  6 Rushden                 38  18   8  12  62  46  +16  62
  7 Marque Rovers           38  17  10  11  55  49   +6  61
  8 Glassfields             38  16   8  14  79  74   +5  56
  9 Platwood                38  16   8  14  48  45   +3  56
 10 Saint Essex             38  15  10  13  49  45   +4  55
 11 Crest                   38  14  12  12  44  46   -2  54
 12 Saint Wessex            38  12  10  16  45  46   -1  46
 13 Fort Keller             38  12  10  16  41  44   -3  46
 14 Highden                 38  13   6  19  44  57  -13  45
 15 Hooker Ridge            38  11  12  15  37  50  -13  45
 16 Dalgallen               38  12   8  18  45  58  -13  44
 17 Norbyrne                38   9   9  20  32  56  -24  36
 18 Hammerton               38   8   9  21  43  97  -54  33
 19 Gallow Park             38   5   9  24  30  61  -31  24
 20 Garfield                38   4  11  23  23  57  -34  23

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Knightstone FC          38  25   6   7  70  30  +40  81
  2 Pikemouth United        38  20  11   7  60  32  +28  71
  3 Fentonbridge            38  20   9   9  73  45  +28  69
  4 Stourhead               38  20   9   9  53  32  +21  69
  5 AFC Swanbridge          38  19  10   9  66  41  +25  67
  6 Greater Snowden         38  17  16   5  52  34  +18  67
  7 Arkwood                 38  18  11   9  47  36  +11  65
  8 Corder Town             38  19   5  14  52  45   +7  62
  9 Spearcove Mariners      38  13  14  11  55  48   +7  53
 10 Brookden                38  15   8  15  49  48   +1  53
 11 Falkner Wanderers       38  14   8  16  38  43   -5  50
 12 Chrysler Town           38  14   7  17  31  39   -8  49
 13 Pryde Wanderers         38  13   7  18  44  54  -10  46
 14 South Ridgeway          38  12   9  17  42  54  -12  45
 15 Monastery Park          38  11   9  18  27  34   -7  42
 16 Myhill                  38  10   9  19  28  47  -19  39
 17 Shenworth               38   6  13  19  27  50  -23  31
 18 Thriss Valley           38   6  12  20  23  52  -29  30
 19 Caybrooke               38   6   9  23  15  45  -30  27
 20 Reave City              38   5  12  21  47  90  -43  27

by **Brenecia** » Fri May 27, 2016 4:37 pm

A-LEAGUE CYCLE 63 PREVIEW

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          38  25   8   5  75  32  +43  83
  2 Harmonica Tundra        38  24   5   9  57  32  +25  77
  3 Kingsgrove              38  23   3  12  82  41  +41  72
  4 Pilgrimage              38  20   8  10  39  26  +13  68
  5 Pikemouth               38  17   7  14  55  51   +4  58
  6 North Hall              38  17   6  15  45  36   +9  57
  7 Halholzer United        38  16   8  14  56  41  +15  56
  8 Lotus Park              38  15  10  13  57  52   +5  55
  9 Rozelle                 38  17   3  18  58  50   +8  54
 10 Bellight Wanderers      38  13  14  11  39  44   -5  53
 11 Guilder                 38  13  11  14  40  45   -5  50
 12 Rozelle United          38  13  10  15  50  55   -5  49
 13 Marque                  38  13   9  16  48  65  -17  48
 14 Falkner United          38  11  12  15  47  48   -1  45
 15 Francisca Orient        38  10  13  15  36  44   -8  43
 16 Gentlemen's Club        38  12   6  20  52  94  -42  42
 17 Bellight FC             38   9  12  17  41  62  -21  39
 18 Cape of Hope FC         38  10   8  20  53  78  -25  38
 19 South Rathia            38   9   9  20  48  64  -16  36
 20 Gallant Cross           38   6  12  20  29  47  -18  30

  1 Halholzer Spitfires      38  26   4   8  66  26  +40  82
  2 Westpike United          38  24   9   5  68  32  +36  81
  3 Halholzer Sundays        38  25   4   9  60  27  +33  79
  4 Saint Alexander          38  22   7   9  48  27  +21  73
  5 Rosbank Town             38  21   7  10  57  38  +19  70
  6 Teol United              38  17  10  11  55  49   +6  61
  7 Westpike                 38  16  12  10  44  39   +5  60
  8 Snowden River            38  16   7  15  48  40   +8  55

TOP SCORERS
21 - K. Foran (NTU)
19 - C. Scherzer (KNG)
18 - F. Bellerose (NTU), J. Makasi (LOT)
16 - J. de Sierra (NTH), E. Charlestown (HHU), R. Carroll (KNG), T. Lilley (ROZ)
15 - F. Lynch (LOT), J. de Sierra (NTH), E. Sheehan (PKM)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Karena Foran (NTU)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Erin Camden (NTU)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Emerald Sheehan (PKM)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Roisin Carroll (KNG)
Team of the Year: Woodgate (NTU); Moses (HMT), Rubio (NTU), Gillard (NTH), Cunningham (PKM); O’Byrne (KNG), Morriston (HMT), Sheehan (PKM); Foran (NTU), Scherzer (KNG), Carroll (KNG)
Manager of the Year: Bethany Donnell (PKM)

League Run: 15th
Cup Run: Third Round
Stadium: Forharrow (21,000)
Nickname: the Jacks
Manager: Conrad Lauren
Captain: Kurtis Burgundy
Top Scorer: Connie Garrard (10)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Larsson; 19 - Rossini, 2 - Burgundy (c), 6 - Bondfield, 5 - Pearce; 13 - Harper, 8 - Kirumsen, 21 - Underwood, 11 - Rivers; 10 - Garrard, 17 - Lindersson
In: Stefan Lindersson (SC Kiel, 1m), Mhairi Rivers (Gallant Cross, 750k), Kelly Harper (Centre for Excellence, free), Elevund Kirumsen (Heartwood FC, free)
Promoted: Rebecca Studden (CM, 19), Alastair Bramble (LB, 18), Evan Colvey (CB, 18)
Out: Sophia Corner (Northern Stallions, 500k), Joan Docherty (Depri Lanar, free), Kestrel Bolton (Depri Sanar, free), Kurtis Morvan (Liju, free), Pierce Cort (Helfin Fief, free), Blake Carter (released), Alexis Harlan-Tracey (Scaffield, loan)

The creaking limbs holding Francisca Orient together finally fell apart - six players were released, Sophia Corner sold at a pittance and a horde of cut-price replacements and fresh-faced academy youths stream in, and, yes, Orient are looking vulnerable this season. But at least next season they won't be the slowest team in the league - their new wingers, dynamic Mhairi Rivers and FC Endeavour-reared Harper being 24 and 20 as opposed to in their early-mid 30s, while Lindersson and Kirumsen are also noticeably younger than the players they're replacing.

So what does this all leave them with? Well, it's less technically capable but quicker than the last vintage, which should favour them in the league as it stands. Greig Larsson's a great shot-stopper, Burgundy and Reichart a rock-solid pair of centre-halves - though, admittedly, the former is 35 and glacial. Rossini on the right, a Project +90 graduate, has been excellent, but at leftback there aren't many options. Either Ina Kipling - 33, a winger for most of her career and not very good last seasons - Alaistair Bramble - 18 - or Samantha Pearce, a centre-half by trade, will slot in there. At least the story gets better in midfield, with Kirumsen a capable A-League-grade player supplemented by former Brenecia international and all-around veteran workhorse Underwood. On the flanks, Kelly Harper and Mhairi Rivers are both incredibly fast and are only a bit of polish away from being genuine terrors. Up front, Garrard is really quick but can't finish and Lindersson is an all-around physical presence with plenty of Valhallan experience. Long-standing manager Conrad Lauren favours solid, workmanlike football, and will have more of a counterattacking-down-the-wings emphasis this season in attack. They should do okay.

PREDICTION - 10th.

League Run: 8th
Cup Run: Quarterfinals
UICA Run: Globe Cup Playoff Round
Stadium: Lotus Park (31,000)
Nickname: the Foresters
Manager: Maxine Saunders
Captain: Kyron Everdale
Top Scorer: Jeremiah Makasi (18)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Breen; 2 - Ombudsman, 22 - Chilton, 5 - Colback, 3 - Thames; 7 - Eizenhart, 8 - Bellamy, 4 - Shorten, 11 - Everdale (c); 15 - Makasi, 21 - Lynch
In: Giacomo di Calania (FC Endeavour, 3.5m), Archimedes Johansson (Sporting Solsholm, 3m), Lucas d'Araby (Handon United, 1.5m), Jess Curtin (Utica United, free), Marcia Danmark (Alianza FC, loan)
Promoted: Angharad Northstead (ST, 17)
Out: Sherry Thames (Kingsgrove, 1.6m), Monica Pembroke (Northern Stallions, 800k), Leo Graves (Rozelle United, 750k), Cheney Breen (Proudcastle, free), Bailey Watermill (Swayback, loan)
Retired: Kristopher Nilssen (ST, 36)

Some purchases stand out from the crowd and scream out, "fuck you, buy me!" And, well, Lotus Park made about three or four of them, with two fringe Patriots actually coming in for free - Curtin released from Utica after a mixed spell in the LigAnaia, Danmark escaping San Jose Guayabal for somewhere where she'll actually be paid. Maxine Saunders has ridden through the rough times with Lotus Park, but amidst the controversy of Mareibat's withdrawal from UICA she and the Park board sniffed opportunity and sanctioned a hell of a shopping spree. They're a tough squad now, and deep, too - Schottic veteran d'Araby a safe pair of hands at the back, a rock-solid back four with fullbacks happy to overlap an incisive pair of wingers (including the key man, Kyron Everdale, who has taken on something of a playmaking role from the left wing). Curtin has established herself as a mediocre LigAnaia midfielder, which makes her a pretty damn good A-League one technically, and up front? Park are rich. The only issue is they have too many great strikers - Jeremiah Makasi's rebuilding his career, Marcia Danmark knows this league like the back of her hand and there's already talk of a Brenecia callup for 21-year old Fionn Lynch.

PREDICTION - 5th.

League Run: Champions
Cup Run: Semifinals
UICA Run: Champions Cup Playoff Round; Globe Cup First Knockout Round
CEDC Run: Second Round
Stadium: Union Park (36,000)
Nickname: Union
Manager: Althea Reader
Captain: Candace Rivers
Top Scorer: Karena Foran (21)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Urquhart; 2 - Fastolf, 23 - Monroe, 5 - Rubio, 19 - Murcutt; 7 - Kilbane, 15 - Gryphon, 18 - Skorupska; 21 - Foran, 9 - Maddon, 11 - Pendragon (c)
In: Catherine Gryphon (FC Brimstone, 8m), Diandra Kilbane (Crisisbless, 5m), Geneva Urquhart (SC Kiel, 5m), Sheila Maddon (Sabrefell Moths, 4m), Olenna Carrick (Sabrefell Moths, 3m), Nathan Musendo (Sporting Saint Adrensburg, part-exchange)
Out: Mathis Woodgate (Sporting Saint Adrensburg, 15m), Chase Pershing (Herzegovina Phoenix, free), Shaheer Shazib (Centralis 90, free), Coretta Corcrain (Swayback, loan)
Retired: Erin Camden (CM, 35), Christine Marr (DM, 35)

Oh, Union. Oh, God. If Althea Reader somehow fucks this up, it's the sack for sure. Okay, so they sell Mathis Woodgate, maybe set to be the best Brenecian player ever, and they get 15 million and a guy back. A guy who is maybe good enough to be an A-League number 1 himself in a few years. But not right now, because they buy basically everyone on the fringes of the Brenecian national team with the money - Geneva Urquhart, so often the hero at international level and only supplanted in the Patriots by Woodgate, returns to the A-League. The defence is untouched, but only because it was already so good. The midfield was getting on a bit, sure - and former Patriots Camden just retired - but they plumped for 30-year old Kilbane, you know, of the upper echelons of the Premiership, to replace her. Alongside 22-year old Gryphon, already a Brenecia stalwart, and 21-year old Skorupska, each wonderful footballers in their own right. Up front, it doesn't get much easier. Foran is a fantastic, terrifying presence on the right wing. Sheila Maddon has been a consistent threat in the Premiership, and should relish the step down in quality. Oh, and Pendragon's... well, she's been tearing up this league for Union for years. They will win the league. Anything else would be a massive choke on their part - and the only consolation is that their squad cannot possibly last. Some will stay, but they're aging - while it's only a matter of time until Skorupska, Gryphon and Foran make the big leap abroad.

PREDICTION - Champions.

League Run: 9th
Cup Run: Second Round
UICA Run: Champions Cup Second Preliminary Round; Globe Cup Playoff Round
CEDC Run: Second Round
Stadium: Rosary Stadium (38,000)
Nickname: the Saints
Manager: Raven Cullen
Captain: Niko Moss
Top Scorer: Tevin Lilley (16)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Nkutu; 2 - Báez, 24 - Brassfellow, 6 - Kilcane, 3 - Henry; 8 - Galloway, 4 - Moss (c), 21 - Stubbs; 7 - Swain, 15 - Lilley, 23 - Farrell
In: Sheila Connell (Project +90, free)
Promoted: Adelina Macbeth (LW, 17)
Out: Hecate Charing (Falkner United, 2m), Elsa Ashworth (Rochford, free)

This is Raven Cullen's last chance. She's done some great work for the club, but after failing on all four fronts last year she needs success this year, when all the chips are falling back into place. She'll continue to have her side play amazing football, of course - it just has to come off this time. She'll have to do it without Hecate Charing - dissatisfied at her failure to retain regular starts - and Elsa Ashworth, who heads to the Nepharim First Division. But she retains the service of many excellent players - okay, none of them play in the defensive half of the pitch, but captain Niko Moss is the steadfast anchor behind an excellent set of players in Markus Stubbs, an aggressive, hard-running midfielder, and Laura Galloway, a lovely natural playmaker. Up front, Adelaide Swain's time might be running out - 29 and she's never discovered 'decision-making skills' or 'end product', but God, she's fast. Matilda Farrell on the left is fast as well, and is also a good footballer, while up front Tevin Lilley's form regressed from 'utterly dominant' to merely 'usually explosive'. The Cosumar international will be hoping to return to his electrifying best this season, but, you know, somewhere in the middle would probably do just fine anyway. Oh, and making it through the academy this season? That's James Macbeth's daughter - yeah, that name's a blast from the past, isn't it? But early signs seem to indicate she'll outperform even her Baptism veteran father...

PREDICTION - 3rd.

League Run: 4th (B-League)
Cup Run: First Round
Stadium: Saint’s Row (16,000)
Manager: Andrew Clydesdale
Captain: Rowena Gowan
Top Scorer: Cullen Bray (17)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Merchant; 18 - Morningstar, 5 - Woodgate, 13 - Gowan (c), 3 - Wassail; 4 - Edgebaston, 6 - Rouphos, 15 - Diakhite; 7 - Bray, 9 - Chaucer, 10 - Bardsley
In: Bram Merchant (Gallant Cross, 1.5m), Mame Biram Diakhite (free agent), Erika Morningstar (CD Barrio el Nino, loan)
Promoted: Brett Halifax (CB, 18), Cherith Torrell (ST, 18)
Out: Matilda Cannon (Pria, free), Col Mullery (Willox Street Pirates, free), Curtis Hallissey (Ridgeway United, loan)
Retired: Sapphire Bullard (GK, 36)

One man's misfortune is another's gain - and Saint Alexander have benefited from plenty of misfortune. First and most obviously, the MBC withdrawal allowed Saint Alexander to promote despite being just fourth in the B-League last season. Bram 'the Relegator' Merchant's return to his hometown club was enabled by the fact that, yet again, he's gone down for the third successive season. Which might be a bad season, but moving on! Diakhite's just been released and finds himself playing for a team he admitted on Twitter he'd never heard of before (maybe not the best PR move) while the contract standoff in San Jose Guayabal enabled Saint Alexander to loan Chromatika international Erika Morningstar, a quality rightback. They have some decent players elsewhere, too - Woodgate and Gowan are strong in the centre of the park, Wassail's got genuine flair, Rouphos has been reinvented and rejuvenated as a holding midfielder while, in a fairly middling crop up front, the fierce, bearded right winger Cullen Bray's stage presence and physicality lends him a rare menace in front of goal. Saint Alexander will continue to play as they always have, with relatively young manager Irene Swain having far more A-League experience as a battling centre-half than as a manager. Still - most have them down to stay up. What's the motto for the new season? Wham, bam - Mame Biram.

PREDICTION - 14th.

by **Brenecia** » Sat May 28, 2016 1:53 am

The fixture list is kind - sure, there’s no Mareibat sides anymore, but Union vs. Rozelle is still Union vs. Rozelle. Today, it’s Union 2-0 Rozelle as the Saints worryingly never really threaten to stop Althea Reader’s side from running all over them, all the new signings excel and both Maddon and Kilbane score on their debuts. Rosbank, Saint Alexander and the Westpikes all enter with away fixtures and while all are hard-fought (United unlucky to lose to Kingsgrove) only Saint Alexander manage a point in a painfully drab scoreless draw with Guilder.

Pikemouth might hold high hopes of getting into UICA again, but they’ll need some defensive reorganisation if the fact that Guilder hit them three times on the break is any indication, though Lindbloom notched herself an early Goal of the Season contender. For all Falkner’s new glitz, Rosbank’s steady competence was enough to hold them to 1-1, wait for Victor Luevano to get wound up enough to punch Cavanagh Ryland and then smash three past Fairhall in the second half. Union are held by Hall in a trademark, grinding Northern derby, where on the evidence of Etxabeguren’s safe hands today Hall might just have known what they were doing when they replaced Fairhall.

And the chaotic nature of the Crown Cup already begins to tell. There’s a proper thrashing, as Rushden utterly crush Northern Fist 9-0 away while Francisca ease to a 7-0 annihilation of fourth-tier promotion hopefuls Falkner United. But the other new arrivals in the national leagues, Dannecliff Rovers, mount a come-from-behind 3-1 win over the more established Garfield. Meanwhile, ill signs for some of the A-League sides - okay, so South Rathia’s B-team is garbage, that’s part of their no-depth YOLO strategy, so Lotus Park beating them 1-0 is no disaster, and Pikemouth beat Kingsgrove by the same scoreline. But Highden, struggling to stay afloat in the C-League, somehow look almost comfortable beating Rosbank 2-1 - Rozelle, bizarrely, get done by lowly B-League relegation battlers Platwood. What exactly is wrong with the Saints?

#CullenOut starts trending on Twitter. 9th last season, failing in all competitions, and they’re already out of the Cup and Globe Cup now. And while defensively solid, they don’t offer enough up front - certainly not enough to put Jakk Winterfyll off his game, and it’s almost inevitable that Roisin Carroll finds the narrowest gap between Nkutu and his near post to win the Rozelle derby. Westpike United do a professional job on Rosbank Town, who have gone from spectacular in beating Falkner to terrible ever since.

A routine set of matches - Rozelle will welcome the floodgates opening at last, with Matilda Farrell finally flaring to life in a 4-2 smashing of Francisca Orient. North Hall and Kingsgrove find themselves deadlocked. No clear frontrunner thus far, not even Union.

Mostly routine stuff here, although Althea Chenoweth is decidedly displeased to see her squad beaten by lowly Westpike United at home, barely threatening in front of goal. “Some of our squad players were given a chance this match,” she concedes, before menacingly adding, “We’ll see when they come back.” Francisca are well-beaten by Pikemouth, so you’d imagine their season’s pretty much over. ‘Too good to go down’ can really be draining after a while.

What? Northern Union have stuttered a bit out of the gates, sure, but they’ve been against top opposition - now they’re set to play two of the newly-promoted sides back to back. It doesn’t go to plan - Polster excels smashing down the likes of Kilbane and Skorupska, Coletta Bradford’s impenetrable in goal and Faolain Madigan lights up an otherwise quiet game with the right pass to Chutzpah at the right time to see the Daineri striker squeeze a shot low past Urquhart for an unlikely 1-0 win. Falkner are prodded into action as they go 2-1 down at half-time - finally, things start to go right at the other end, the three-pronged attack of Coveny/Cullen/Connolly inspiring five goals without further reply.

From six goals to zero - Falkner are weird. Union play another newly-promoted side and surely they win, right? Nnno, actually, Saint Alexander cling onto their 2-1 deficit through Bram ‘the Relegator’ Merchant and it all pays off when Wassail’s corner is headed home by the hulking, yet somehow also quick Cullen Bray. Rozelle looked to be better, but are undone by Rosbank Town. The Black Swans have the unlikeliest pair of heroes - Phoenix Abernathy is vindicating Aisling Crowan’s faith in him with three goals to date while 19-year old Elsie Drover is running everything down the middle, with the streetwise veteran Rourke there to kick anyone who threatens her.

Well, that’s pretty much the tie over, then.

Well, fluky 1-0 wins over Union aside, Westpike might just be bad. Kingsgrove dismantle them, there’s no other word for it - two penalties flawlessly converted by Cheney Scherzer to mask how he looks just a bit like a spent force this season, the final score running up to 5-0. Union continue to not look leagues ahead of everyone else in the division - that, or maybe Pikemouth are just genuinely good.

As expected, Kingsgrove rested a few faces after a ridiculous overkill away leg. Chippenham do put a couple past backup goalkeeper Catherine Elbrook, highlighting the fact that Elbrook isn’t very good, but Gardot puts forward a compelling addition to be trusted ahead of Scherzer sooner rather than later.

Okay, what? How bad do you have to be to lose 5-0 to bloody Guilder? As bad as Rosbank Town, apparently - Melbourne getting himself sent off in the 16th minute doesn’t help, of course, but nothing Rosbank do helps themselves. Adrienne bloody Crowther manages a hat-trick, the same striker who earlier in her career managed four in an entire season while regularly starting for most of it. Pikemouth obliterate Marque, too, but they’re Marque. Marque are expected to implode like that - and they had two red cards. Hecate Charing might just be irritated at how she was shoved out (by her perception) of Rozelle, and drills two perfect free kicks into the top right to single-handedly make the difference for her new club in a 3-1 win.

  Group A                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts   RCU  NoU  RGS  Car
1 Raynor City United        VAL    6    3   2   1    13    6   +7    11    —   2–1  5–1  3–0
2 Northern Union            BRE    6    3   1   2    10    9   +1    10   1–1   —   3–1  2–0
3 RGS Athletic              EFL    6    2   1   3     9   14   −5     7   1–1  4–0   —   2–1
4 Carter FC                 JSY    6    2   0   4     8   11   −3     6   2–1  1–3  4–0   —

  Group D                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts   TuT  ALe  Flg  Ksg
1 Turoki Tide               VIL    6    3   2   1    10    5   +5    11    —   2–3  2–0  3–0
2 Avenida Leal              FFD    6    3   0   3     9   11   −2     9   1–2   —   2–1  3–0
3 Fligsive FC               MRT    6    2   1   3     4    6   −2     7*  0–0  1–0   —   0–1
4 Kingsgrove                BRE    6    2   1   3     8    9   −1     7*  1–1  5–0  1–2   — 
* Fligsive FC ahead of Kingsgrove on head-to-head away goals

The Brenecian sides dodged most of the world-wide superstars - it was enough for Union to get through in second despite the ignominy of suffering a 4-0 defeat to RGS Athletic, but Kingsgrove (despite a 5-0 annihilation of Avenida Leal of their own) are beaten to third by Fligsive on… head-to-head away goals. Which many people didn’t even know was a tie-breaker, let alone one before goal difference (in which Kingsgrove were superior), but there it is.

  Group E                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts   Pkm  WSP  Kgm  SwD
1 Pikemouth                 BRE    6    3   3   0    10    5   +5    12    —   1–1  4–1  0–0
2 Willox Street Pirates     PCR    6    2   2   2    11   10   +1     8   2–3   —   4–4  1–0
3 Kangemark Sport           SEM    6    2   1   3     8   13   −5     7   0–1  1–0   —   2–1
4 Sokojiwa Dosi CK          COM    6    1   2   3     6    7   −1     5   1–1  1–3  3–0   —

On the other hand, Pikemouth were a pleasant surprise, going unbeaten as they sailed more or less easily to first place in a group nobody expected them to make it out of.

The thing with the Cup Winners’ Cup is that sometimes your Cup winner is garbage. South Rathia fight hard, and yet again put Sander Balliol on the wishlist of better clubs, but the Lions were defeated 2-1 you’d fancy Mliona-Lpaka to finish the job on home soil.

Rosbank continue to be inconsistent - Westpike continue to be rubbish, as the former annihilate the latter 3-0. But there’s another even stranger result in the upper echelons of the league - the Saints suddenly flicker and roar back to life. Against, of all teams, North Hall - Tevin Lilley has been genuinely bad this season, seemingly shorn of his usual match-winning confidence, but with nothing to lose he goes for it from 30 yards… and utterly blats it into the top corner. He ends the match with a hat-trick, the hitherto error-prone Jonah Nkutu with a clean sheet. Go figure. Kingsgrove captain Lyn Crowley vows revenge against Pikemouth following their Cup defeat to them. She doesn’t get it.

It’s a time to reverse trends - Westpike win their derby against United largely against the run of play (Madigan the hero, United’s finishing going awry), South Rathia thump Guilder 3-0, both double their wins tally so far while Pikemouth remain top of the league as they cruise past a poor Francisca Orient. Sure, they’re kind of terrible at the back sometimes - they’ve conceded more than third-last Westpike United - but with all guns blazing they can apparently edge out anyone on their day.

Southside Wanderers are attempting to return to the top flight after a long absence and they’ll take heart from forcing Union to extra time, though they eventually did collapse at the back, concede a penalty and lose. Rozelle United are the latest A-League slide to slip out of the tournament, with backup goalkeeper Howson directly responsible for both goals, one of which was a frankly spectacular backheeled own-goal from 36-year old Polaa centre-half Thijs Lajunen. Guilder somehow find six goals in them to beast Rushden - maybe they’re actually quite a strong unit going forward once let off Judith Keller’s tight leash. Maybe Rushden scoring in the second minutes was the worst thing the second-tier strugglers could do.

Pretty much as expected - the spring-heeled Lachlan Cromwell heads home a glimmer of hope for the Lions on the stroke of half-time, but it’s snuffed out not long into the second half.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                  P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Pikemouth            10  6  2  2  21  14   +7  20
  2 Northern Union       10  5  4  1  17   7  +10  19
  3 Kingsgrove           10  5  3  2  15   8   +7  18
  4 Falkner United       10  6  0  4  18  13   +5  18
  5 Lotus Park           10  4  4  2  17  10   +7  16
  6 Rozelle              10  5  1  4  19  14   +5  16
  7 Rozelle United       10  4  2  4  13  15   -2  14
  8 Rosbank Town         10  4  2  4  13  15   -2  14
  9 North Hall           10  3  4  3  10  11   -1  13
 10 Guilder              10  4  1  5  13  15   -2  13
 11 Marque               10  4  0  6  13  20   -7  12
 12 Francisca Orient     10  4  0  6  10  17   -7  12
 13 Saint Alexander      10  2  5  3   9  10   -1  11
 14 Westpike United      10  3  1  6  11  12   -1  10
 15 South Rathia         10  2  3  5  12  17   -5   9
 16 Westpike             10  2  2  6   5  18  -13   8

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Southside Wanderers     10  8  2  0  19   5  +14  26
  2 Gallant Cross           10  7  2  1  30  12  +18  23
  3 Snowden River           10  7  2  1  19  12   +7  23
  4 Sharrow                 10  7  1  2  31  11  +20  22
  5 Ridgeway United         10  6  2  2  17   9   +8  20
  6 Scaffield               10  5  3  2  14   8   +6  18
  7 Proudcastle             10  4  2  4  14  11   +3  14
  8 Chafford                10  4  2  4  10   8   +2  14
  9 Rushden                 10  3  5  2  15  16   -1  14
 10 Marque Rovers           10  3  2  5  18  26   -8  11
 11 Platwood                10  2  4  4  11  16   -5  10
 12 Northern Stallions      10  3  0  7  13  27  -14   9
 13 Thrush                  10  2  2  6   9  14   -5   8
 14 Sutbyrne                10  1  2  7  15  24   -9   5
 15 Swayback                10  1  1  8   7  23  -16   4
 16 Glassfields             10  0  2  8   6  26  -20   2

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                  P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mount Roland         10  9  1  0  18   2  +16  28
  2 Saint Wessex         10  7  2  1  19   5  +14  23
  3 Saint Essex          10  7  2  1  19   6  +13  23
  4 AFC Swanbridge       10  6  3  1  17   8   +9  21
  5 Pikemouth United     10  6  1  3  16  11   +5  19
  6 Crest                10  5  3  2  13   8   +5  18
  7 Fort Keller          10  4  5  1  19   9  +10  17
  8 Stourhead            10  4  3  3  18  12   +6  15
  9 Fentonbridge         10  2  5  3  11  11   +0  11
 10 Knightstone FC       10  3  2  5  16  22   -6  11
 11 Norbyrne             10  3  1  6   6  14   -8  10
 12 Hooker Ridge         10  2  1  7  10  18   -8   7
 13 Dalgallen            10  2  1  7  11  23  -12   7
 14 Gallow Park          10  1  2  7   9  16   -7   5
 15 Highden              10  1  2  7   5  21  -16   5
 16 Hammerton            10  0  2  8   5  26  -21   2

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Spearcove Mariners     10  8  1  1  27   7  +20  25
  2 Brookden               10  6  2  2  22  13   +9  20
  3 Falkner Wanderers      10  5  4  1  12   3   +9  19
  4 Chrysler Town          10  5  3  2  26  18   +8  18
  5 Dannecliff Rovers      10  4  6  0  11   5   +6  18
  6 Corder Town            10  4  4  2  12   6   +6  16
  7 Northern Fist          10  5  1  4  22  26   -4  16
  8 Garfield               10  4  2  4  10  11   -1  14
  9 Greater Snowden        10  4  1  5  14  15   -1  13
 10 Thriss Valley          10  3  3  4   5   8   -3  12
 11 Arkwood                10  3  2  5   8  13   -5  11
 12 South Ridgeway         10  3  2  5  12  22  -10  11
 13 Shenworth              10  3  1  6   5   7   -2  10
 14 Pryde Wanderers        10  1  4  5   3  11   -8   7
 15 Myhill                 10  1  2  7   6  17  -11   5
 16 Monastery Park         10  1  2  7   5  18  -13   5

by **Brenecia** » Sat May 28, 2016 4:26 am

Okay, this is the big one - no, not the relegation six-pointer that sees Absalom Eberhardt slam a shot into the underside of the crossbar for a spectacular winner for the Lions over Westpike, but the classic Brenecian match. Northern Union vs. Kingsgrove, and unsurprisingly Union control large swathes of the game through their godlike midfield. But Maddon, as kept happening for the Patriots, didn’t have enough finishing for her buckets of pace, Winterfyll kept everyone at bay and just on the stroke of half-time, Rohan nips in and scores at the other end. And then, in the 58th minute, Lovelock’s cross is smashed home by Scherzer, a genuinely instinctive finish. Union do eventually score, but it’s not enough - Kingsgrove clinch the points.

The Guayabalense league has been overshadowed by contract disputes, but one way or another they’ve been keeping fresh. Northern Union edge a Danmark-less Alianza, but Kingsgrove have a lot of work to do to overturn a two-goal deficit once back home.

Rosbank, what even are you? Rozelle United give Elsie Drover too much respect on her 20th birthday. She chalks up three assists and a goal. Too early to think of a Patriots cap? Oh, and Rozelle are terrible again and lose, deservedly, to Westpike.

Union manage a strong away performance, dominating through midfield as goals through Skorupska and Kilbane carry them through. Kingsgrove, limply, collapse.

Fucking Rosbank. Northern Union just plow right on through the Black Swans. Everyone wants Drover to be an international. Drover will surely be an international. But Urquhart, Fastolf, Monroe, Gryphon, Kilbane, Skorupska, Foran, maddon, Pendragon, Fengouli, Rivers, Bellerose and Branagh actually are internationals, and some of those didn’t even make the bench tonight! 6-0 is the final score, and that’s even with a good performance from Bannatyne between the sticks.

Rosbank?? Why?? Infuriatingly, they get stomped by Marque, and the hype around Drover cools a little once she has a bad game. Yes, she is, in fact, mortal. Aisling Crowan openly pleaded with the press; “For Christ’s sake, this is a club, not one player! Elsie’s a fantastic talent, but anyone can have bad games or make mistakes.” So, of course, the tabloids seize on ‘fantastic talent’ and ignore the rest. Oh, well.

Rozelle derby, or well, one of them at least. It’s the Saints that win out this one - Cullen probably saving her job from it - as while Rozelle United are pretty good, the Saints just have that bit more quality and stay stable enough to guard counterattacks. Westpike lose their composure - first Polster’s sent off, then Dalton follows. Even so, they score early through (yet again!) Madigan, and somehow hold the line throughout the match. Still… next match might not be easy.

South Rathia are relegation battlers. They do not play like relegation battlers today on a day where Brenecians can be glad that, these days, young talent is given a chance to flourish with regular starts. Yet again, 20-year old Sander Balliol puts in a star turn even if he doesn’t score any himself, though the constant movement, darting runs and occasional screamers from Mirzayev are always threatening, and she scores two from outside the box. The final score’s 4-0, a sigh of relief and a job well done all around.

Diandra Kilbane’s former club conclusively outplays her current one, with her younger, flashier direct replacement Jevdjevic-Hadsic scoring one of the goals. By then, Igrene Cantor had already thumped one in from sixteen yards with unnecessary force, and it just never felt like it would be Union’s day.

What the fuck is this season? It’s like nobody in Brenecia knows what to do now that the MBC’s withdrawn! Marque recover from their 4-0 annihilation at the hands of South Rathia to render an identical annihilation unto… um, Rozelle. “There’s no excuse for that performance, none at all,” says a visibly shaken Raven Cullen after the match - has she lost the dressing room? Still, they don’t concede the most goals - that dubious honour goes to Lotus Park goalkeeper Lucas d’Araby, constantly left exposed by an overeager defence in a 3-5 bloodbath. Rozelle United are all too eager to punch through the gaps, and they’re far more clinical than Park on the day. Oh, and in the middle of all this, a Northern derby - on the day, Hall is victorious with a ferocious header from centre-half Marko Gillard in injury time. Union should really have won it, but thanks to Melendez, Gillard and Etxabeguren in goal, they… well, didn’t.

Union fight hard, they fight well, Skorupska gets a goal and they’re threatening the second right as Igrene bloody Cantor blasts another one in past a flat-footed Urquhart. This has not been a banner year for the A-League abroad.

Another Rozelle derby, and this time the Saints aren’t going to be denied - though there’s drama. Gareth Penrooke, off the bench in the 57th minute and a veteran of many heated Sabrefell derbies back in the day, is involved in elbowing Kingsgrove captain Crowley off the ball just eight minutes later. The referees somehow fail to notice, and who lumps the ball into the mixer for Swain to dash onto the end to and pump into the net? Yeah - Penrooke. Rozelle United just can’t stop scoring - so soon after putting five past Lotus Park, they beat Guilder 4-0. And speaking of Lotus Park, it finally all goes as planned for them - Jess Curtin finally asserts herself on Northern Union, the player of the match in a 2-0 away win. Park have been inconsistent, but, well… so has everyone. Can they still fulfil their lofty aims?

Maybe not - Marque were given far too easy a ride in the front of the pitch, and Croft, de Valle and Flahavan edges them into a 3-2 win over Park. Who were at home. Rozelle United suddenly stop scoring and lose 3-0 to Westpike. It’s enough to make a pundit snap his pen in half and retire.

A typical Union performance in the Champions Cup - sure, they’ve been known for more flair and attacking prowess at home but abroad, they’re still known as a tough place to go and an uncompromising opponent to try and break down. Turoki don’t manage it, and a diving header from Karena Foran in the 71st minute gives Union a narrow advantage.

Pikemouth are more open, for their part, though this probably has something to do with the fact that their centre-halves were both free. It looks dire for them, 3-0 down with 20 minutes left, but Emerald Sheehan is yet again their heroine - first a perfect pass lets Wakefield slip through the defence and slot home, before she takes it upon herself to smash a shot into the stanchion from twenty-five yards. They still lose… but manageably. You’d take a 3-2 defeat away.

The calls for Raven Cullen’s head mount after they let a 3-2 lead in the 80th minute slip to a 4-3 defeat, with Drover and the pretty bad but always willing striker Juliet Redruth turning the tables. Thing is, the Saints would have leapfrogged Union and Falkner into fourth even if they’d won, just a point off top spot - everyone has been terrible this season! Pikemouth are swanning their way into pole position by way of being consistently above-average, and even they’ve suddenly forgotten how to win games - three consecutive scoreless draws against weak opposition finally broken this week… as Falkner United beats them. North Hall can take first! Or not - Francisca Orient beats them 2-1. Kingsgrove, then, has a chance to- nope, 0-0 with Lotus Park. And it cuts both ways - Guilder are currently in the relegation zone with more than a point a game, while Saint Alexander could easily get themselves out of trouble even after eleven matches without a win…

Union are Union - 38% possession but they refuse to give up, Gryphon in particular with a truly heroic performance at the base of a 4-1-4-1 with Maddon a threatening lone striker on the break. Do they deserve it? Some might say no - but defence is a virtue too.

Pikemouth learn from their opponents - when they lead 3-0 with 20 minutes left, they hold off and wait out the win. Still need a couple of good Waterdown saves, of course, but they’re good value to go through.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P  W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Pikemouth             20 10  6   4  33  22  +11  36
  2 North Hall            20 10  6   4  23  17   +6  36
  3 Kingsgrove            20 10  5   5  28  15  +13  35
  4 Northern Union        20  9  6   5  30  17  +13  33
  5 Falkner United        20 10  2   8  29  20   +9  32
  6 Rozelle               20 10  2   8  37  32   +5  32
  7 Rozelle United        20  9  3   8  29  32   -3  30
  8 Marque                20  9  2   9  34  37   -3  29
  9 Westpike United       20  8  3   9  26  28   -2  27
 10 Rosbank Town          20  8  3   9  30  37   -7  27
 11 Lotus Park            20  7  5   8  29  25   +4  26
 12 Francisca Orient      20  7  2  11  21  32  -11  23
 13 Westpike              20  6  4  10  13  26  -13  22
 14 South Rathia          20  5  6   9  21  25   -4  21
 15 Guilder               20  6  3  11  19  30  -11  21
 16 Saint Alexander       20  2 10   8  14  21   -7  16

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Southside Wanderers      20  15  4   1  37  10  +27  49
  2 Gallant Cross            20  14  4   2  51  18  +33  46
  3 Snowden River            20  13  5   2  38  20  +18  44
  4 Sharrow                  20  12  4   4  52  26  +26  40
  5 Ridgeway United          20  11  4   5  35  19  +16  37
  6 Rushden                  20   7  8   5  27  28   -1  29
  7 Chafford                 20   7  7   6  20  14   +6  28
  8 Scaffield                20   7  7   6  25  21   +4  28
  9 Proudcastle              20   6  7   7  21  20   +1  25
 10 Northern Stallions       20   7  4   9  33  43  -10  25
 11 Swayback                 20   5  5  10  26  40  -14  20
 12 Thrush                   20   4  6  10  24  35  -11  18
 13 Platwood                 20   4  6  10  21  39  -18  18
 14 Marque Rovers            20   4  4  12  30  44  -14  16
 15 Sutbyrne                 20   3  3  14  26  45  -19  12
 16 Glassfields              20   1  2  17  14  58  -44   5

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mount Roland          20  15  3   2  34  10  +24  48
  2 Saint Essex           20  14  2   4  39  14  +25  44
  3 AFC Swanbridge        20  12  4   4  34  20  +14  40
  4 Crest                 20  11  6   3  25  12  +13  39
  5 Fort Keller           20  10  8   2  33  15  +18  38
  6 Saint Wessex          20  11  5   4  34  17  +17  38
  7 Stourhead             20   7  7   6  30  24   +6  28
  8 Fentonbridge          20   7  7   6  28  22   +6  28
  9 Pikemouth United      20   8  3   9  24  24   +0  27
 10 Gallow Park           20   5  5  10  21  26   -5  20
 11 Knightstone FC        20   5  3  12  24  42  -18  18
 12 Norbyrne              20   4  5  11  18  35  -17  17
 13 Dalgallen             20   5  2  13  26  45  -19  17
 14 Hooker Ridge          20   4  4  12  19  32  -13  16
 15 Highden               20   4  2  14  14  41  -27  14
 16 Hammerton             20   3  4  13  21  45  -24  13

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Falkner Wanderers       20  12  7   1  32   9  +23  43
  2 Dannecliff Rovers       20  11  7   2  40  15  +25  40
  3 Spearcove Mariners      20  11  5   4  38  16  +22  38
  4 Corder Town             20  10  7   3  23  13  +10  37
  5 Brookden                20  10  5   5  35  23  +12  35
  6 Chrysler Town           20  10  4   6  42  33   +9  34
  7 Thriss Valley           20   8  4   8  16  21   -5  28
  8 Garfield                20   7  6   7  20  20   +0  27
  9 Greater Snowden         20   8  3   9  25  32   -7  27
 10 South Ridgeway          20   7  4   9  27  34   -7  25
 11 Arkwood                 20   6  5   9  20  27   -7  23
 12 Shenworth               20   6  4  10  10  17   -7  22
 13 Northern Fist           20   6  4  10  33  48  -15  22
 14 Pryde Wanderers         20   2  8  10  13  29  -16  14
 15 Monastery Park          20   3  5  12  12  30  -18  14
 16 Myhill                  20   2  4  14  11  30  -19  10

by **Brenecia** » Sat May 28, 2016 10:58 pm

R o s b a n k . Not content with their current levels of inconsistency, the Black Swans opt controversially to both over- and underperform this week against North Hall - Elsie Drover Hype is back in force when she scores, sets up Sekulovski and is vaguely nearby when Cavanagh Ryland scores a third, but at the other end, six goals fly more or less unopposed past a helpless Marcia Bannatyne.

There’s one side outside the A-League still in the tournament. They’re drawn against Northern Union - well, that’s that, then. Westpike United smash four past Guilder with a deceptively flattering scoreline - in truth, they’re obligated to a strong showing from 18-year old Aidan Hartigan between the sticks. Marque, though, should probably have smacked in four or five against Saint Alexander were it not for poor finishing on their part - Gordon Kellond makes a rare start and proceeds to make very little case for why he should make another rare start anytime soon. If anything, the starts will only get rarer. Still - Davies and Tavistock ensure that Marque are reasonably comfortable going into the next leg. Falkner United, though, suffer the same lack of shooting boots - and they can’t get anything at all past the steadfast Samantha Armstrong. 30-year old Armstrong’s apparently tired of being a backup, and her showing here seems to indicate she’s of A-League standard.

A real six-pointer at the top of the league for Northern Union - in truth, Union should win. They go 2-0 up within thirty minutes before Emerald Sheehan ripples the net with a trademark strike outside the box - Sheehan genuinely is a fantastic player at this level - but when Maddon’s dragged down by Matsumoto, they have a perfect chance to lead. Maddon puts the ball on the spot… and smashes it over. Somehow, Union have missed all four penalties they’ve received this term, between three different takers, and it’s only exacerbated when Patrick Rafferty rounds Urquhart and rolls the ball into the net late on.

Guilder press hard to get back into the game against a comfortable Westpike United - but they don’t even manage a goal by the hour mark, start to slacken a little and just as there’s movement on the Phoenices’ bench Griffin Ascroft inconsiderately blasts one past Ingrid Trudgeon from the corner of the box. Saint Alexander take full advantage of a defensive error at the back, a horrible miscommunication between Tomas Caroco and Scott Strachan that sees the ball roll aimlessly between them, which Cullen Bray sweeps in and dispatches with ease. Trouble is, they need a second - they aren’t getting it. Pikemouth take the lead against a slumbering Falkner, but that just spurs the Hunters into action - they dominate the second half, with Cullen and Charing chalking up the belated goals they need to win. Marque Rovers can’t get into the game against Northern Union U21s, and the promising Isabella Montanari finally gets her first professional goal with a sparkling low drive.

A hard ask for Pikemouth, and on current evidence it might prove a step too far. But a 1-1 draw on home soil, albeit with plenty of help from Waterdown between the posts, is enough to give some hope for the next leg.

Marque show how far they’ve come. Facing an in-form, high-speed, low-drag Pikemouth, they set themselves up for a hard fight but are pleasantly surprised when Orizaga’s Hail-Mary to the back post somehow finds the technically poor but undeniably driven Devin de Valle, whose leap defies his 5’5” frame to nod the ball in. But five minutes afterwards, Rafferty criminally exposes the fact that Orizaga is, well, 34, and cuts inside. Orizaga is low, late and sloppy in dealing with it, hacking down Rafferty in the box and getting sent off for his troubles. Sheehan - take note, Union! - smashes the penalty home, but do the Privateers panic? No. They switch to 4-4-1, Clint Hampton thrown in out of position at rightback, stay tight, clear their lines when called upon and survive the match, even nearly snatching it at the death when substitute Esther Tavistock flies upfield on the counterattack and slams the ball against the foot of the near post. There was something wrong with Marque. The Lingard sisters appear to have rooted it out.

When Inyaki Ibarra scored in the third minute, it hardly seemed the end for Pikemouth - after all, well, Avenida are Farfish. It’s not like they’re renowned for clean sheets, right? Well… wrong. Still plenty for Bethany Donnell to be pleased with, and now she can focus on the league...

Saint Alexander’s winless run stops at… er, 14. Yeah, comfortably beating Francisca or not, they might be in trouble. Marque continue their good work against Rozelle United - with Orizaga suspended, backup rightback Damian Chainworth is thrown straight back in after ten months out with an ACL injury, and is more or less rock-solid for the 71 minutes he lasts. While this is happening, academy graduates Flahavan and Tavistock, both 20 and working their way further into the team this year, put Marque in an insurmountable lead. Might Marque be good again?

Everyone scores exactly one goal, and it has to be said that the semifinals are pretty heavily tilted towards one side of the equation. Westpike United and Marque have both slotted casually into lower midtable and it’s a lovely, pressure-free match they play against one another, with both teams’ goals coming against the run of play. Falkner United’s draw with Northern Union feels more like Helm’s Deep - Sara Fairhall as the gates, breaking only in the 90th minute with Brady Monroe’s powerful header but not before a string of 11 saves have enabled Caolan Coveny to give them a lifeline at the other end.

Relegation six-pointers abound. Rosbank Town hold out against Saint Alexander before Elsie Drov- wait, what? Rosbank have other players? Well, okay, apparently Ryland sets up Phoenix Abernathy for the winner, who’d have thought? South Rathia play out an exhilarating home draw with struggling Guilder, as all Keller (who is definitely past it by now, sadly) and Eberhardt’s good work is undone when Funke chops down Crowther and then stomps on her back. Christ, Funke, it’s not even like Crowther’s good! It has her sent off, of course, leaving the 35-year old Castor Pascuale to help face down the very quick, fluid Guilder attack. It’s only thanks to Rosendo Bruhn in goal that they get away with the 2-2 draw. The Westpike derby is the worst of the big relegation fixtures, dull, petty, blunt and pointless as Westpike themselves.

Unlike the first leg, Marque vs. Westpike United’s second go at it is a borefest. Both sides have plenty of energy and endeavour, and mostly clean bills of health. The only issue is that neither of them is actually any good at stringing passes together. Good enough for Marque - they win on away goals. They’ll be joined by Falkner United. God knows why - was it the stress of competing effectively on four different fronts that did for Union? Either way, they looked to be cruising (bar Fairhall’s interventions) but only had the one goal, thanks to Skorupska, which was levelled by Charing late on. And then, in extra time… they collapsed, barely holding on at first before in the second half of extra time Falkner just tear them to shreds, Coveny dealing the decisive blow before young Judith Russell off the bench finishes them off.

And more fun and games for Union - they perform below their own standards against an exceptional Aeropag, rare individual mistakes proving costly in defence and lucky to be taking Kilbane’s exceptional goal with them to the away leg.

Union get their shit back together just in time to hold out against the Royals - and yes, it is just holding out in the first half. In the second, they get back into it, Gryphon rattling Winterfyll’s post before Foran makes good on the threat. Mathew Evans, in for the injured Crowley, scores his first professional goal at the other end but Maddon’s in late to save the day. Rosbank, being Rosbank, beat Pikemouth comfortably, because Rosbank. Meanwhile, there’s a time and a place to sack your manager - Saint Alexander are desperate and hasty in axing Irene Swain, or possibly too late. Westpike United barely break a sweat in destroying them 4-1 away. Will Jade Farlane’s elevation have the desired shock effect?

Union try their best to stretch Aeropag and hit them on the break while keeping solid and compact, but Urquhart can’t keep them in the game forever. By the 40th minute, and the first goal, the game’s pretty much over.

Jade Farlane’s elevation does not have the desired effect. South Rathia convincingly outplay them with Violante Funke’s elbows limiting Francesca Chaucer’s impact on the match. At the other end, Lachlan Cromwell and Ekaterina Mirzayev do the damage. With the Priests stuck to the basement, it looks like the curse of Bram Merchant continues for a fourth consecutive season. Guilder, in a late bid for freedom, manage to beat North Hall in a dull match thanks to a proper training-ground set piece - everyone runs forward from the set piece at once, puzzling the defence and distracting them as Hartley chips it to the pocket of empty space that Crowther is running into. The 32-year old marks her birthday with a flying header that might just keep her side in the division.

Another impressive win for Guilder, who are very much the better side against Lotus Park, while Falkner’s season has well and truly withered away by the time Kingsgrove smash them 4-0 at home with young talent like Ruffan, Gardot and Evans putting in star turns. Hasn’t quite been the season they’d wanted, but at least the academy’s doing well as ever. Shame they’ll probably lose Carroll in the offseason, and maybe Lovelock as well. Saint Alexander’s relegation is confirmed with a confused, limp 3-1 defeat to Rozelle in which Cullen Bray does not hold back in his condemnation of Irene Swain’s shabby treatment at the hands of the board. “Four matches from the end of the season? It’s no way to treat a manager, certainly not one who brought the side up working on a shoestring.” Well, it’s a good thing he’s clearly A-League quality - you wouldn’t anticipate the 26-year old winger has a future left with the Priests.

Bray, unsurprisingly, is not in the matchday squad against North Hall. Hadley Slater takes his place, and proceeds to show why this is just his sixth appearance of the season and second start as North Hall are not even remotely threatened all match. Westpike and South Rathia are on the precipice of death. Both needs a victory here, desperately. So, predictably, Lotus Park ace the former 3-0 without facing a shot on target as the latter blow it against Rozelle United, sunk in the first 20 minutes and struggling the rest of the match to overcome it while the away fans call for the board to be sacked or, preferably, beheaded. Meanwhile, Northern Union smash Westpike United in mind, body and spirit, winning 8-2 as Sheila Maddon sets a new record with five goals in a single match. At least Westpike United striker Caitriona McCabe could draw a few smiles from the press with her comments; “I’m normally pretty happy if I score a brace, but today…” The Saints do themselves and Union a massive favour by hauling Pikemouth off the summit in a bloodthirsty 4-1 thrashing. It means that victory is within Union’s grasp, even a draw almost certainly enough to guarantee the trophy. But should they lose? It’s up to Rozelle, North Hall of Pikemouth, each two points behind, to overtake them. Even failing that, there’s the huge difference between a shot at the Champions’ Cup in 2nd, a Globe Cup group berth in 3rd and the total lottery of the Globe Cup preliminaries in 4th.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union        29  16   7   6  53  26  +27  55
  2 Rozelle               29  16   5   8  55  39  +16  53
  3 North Hall            29  15   8   6  39  25  +14  53
  4 Pikemouth             29  15   8   6  50  38  +12  53
  5 Kingsgrove            29  15   6   8  48  26  +22  51
  6 Marque                29  13   5  11  47  46   +1  44
  7 Falkner United        29  12   5  12  37  38   -1  41
  8 Rosbank Town          29  12   5  12  43  53  -10  41
  9 Rozelle United        29  11   6  12  39  44   -5  39
 10 Lotus Park            29  10   7  12  42  39   +3  37
 11 Westpike United       29  11   4  14  42  51   -9  37
 12 Francisca Orient      29  10   4  15  29  41  -12  34
 13 Guilder               29   9   5  15  30  42  -12  32
 14 South Rathia          29   7   8  14  31  39   -8  29
 15 Westpike              29   7   6  16  16  37  -21  27
 16 Saint Alexander       29   3  11  15  20  37  -17  20

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gallant Cross            29  20   7   2  79  29  +50  67
  2 Southside Wanderers      29  19   7   3  48  17  +31  64
  3 Ridgeway United          29  17   5   7  51  22  +29  56
  4 Snowden River            29  15   9   5  47  29  +18  54
  5 Sharrow                  29  14   8   7  63  37  +26  50
  6 Scaffield                29  13   8   8  36  26  +10  47
  7 Proudcastle              29  11   9   9  35  27   +8  42
  8 Chafford                 29  10  11   8  31  21  +10  41
  9 Rushden                  29  10  10   9  42  41   +1  40
 10 Thrush                   29  10   7  12  41  40   +1  37
 11 Northern Stallions       29   9   6  14  45  66  -21  33
 12 Swayback                 29   7   8  14  36  54  -18  29
 13 Marque Rovers            29   6   8  15  40  59  -19  26
 14 Platwood                 29   5   8  16  26  54  -28  23
 15 Sutbyrne                 29   5   5  19  39  69  -30  20
 16 Glassfields              29   2   2  25  21  89  -68   8

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mount Roland          29  20   5   4  48  14  +34  65
  2 Saint Essex           29  18   6   5  53  23  +30  60
  3 Fort Keller           29  17   9   3  52  23  +29  60
  4 AFC Swanbridge        29  17   6   6  48  28  +20  57
  5 Saint Wessex          29  16   7   6  48  23  +25  55
  6 Crest                 29  15   9   5  42  27  +15  54
  7 Pikemouth United      29  11   7  11  37  36   +1  40
  8 Stourhead             29   9  11   9  40  34   +6  38
  9 Fentonbridge          29  10   8  11  39  36   +3  38
 10 Norbyrne              29   9   7  13  33  42   -9  34
 11 Knightstone FC        29   8   6  15  42  65  -23  30
 12 Gallow Park           29   7   6  16  25  35  -10  27
 13 Hammerton             29   7   5  17  34  59  -25  26
 14 Hooker Ridge          29   6   6  17  25  46  -21  24
 15 Dalgallen             29   6   3  20  38  67  -29  21
 16 Highden               29   4   3  22  18  64  -46  15

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Falkner Wanderers       29  17  10   2  47  17  +30  61
  2 Dannecliff Rovers       29  17   8   4  56  25  +31  59
  3 Spearcove Mariners      29  16   5   8  51  27  +24  53
  4 Brookden                29  15   7   7  48  28  +20  52
  5 Corder Town             29  14  10   5  37  22  +15  52
  6 Chrysler Town           29  15   5   9  59  44  +15  50
  7 Greater Snowden         29  13   4  12  39  42   -3  43
  8 Arkwood                 29  11   8  10  39  35   +4  41
  9 Garfield                29  10   9  10  30  29   +1  39
 10 South Ridgeway          29  11   6  12  40  47   -7  39
 11 Northern Fist           29   9   6  14  44  62  -18  33
 12 Thriss Valley           29   9   5  15  25  43  -18  32
 13 Shenworth               29   8   6  15  18  34  -16  30
 14 Pryde Wanderers         29   4  11  14  25  44  -19  23
 15 Monastery Park          29   5   6  18  16  44  -28  21
 16 Myhill                  29   2   6  21  15  46  -31  12

by **Brenecia** » Sat May 28, 2016 11:48 pm

South Rathia at home, Northern Union away. Seemingly an easy win for Union, right? Their task is simple - blow the Lions away, and they win the title. Otherwise it will almost definitely be snatched up by Rozelle, and if Rozelle United snatch glory from their local rivals, then the winner of a direct clash between Pikemouth and North Hall. But it’s irrelevant, right? The Lions are terrible.

But the stakes are even higher for South Rathia. If they lose and Westpike win, they drop out of the league altogether. And Westpike only have to beat Guilder, who are safe, at home. The stage is well and truly set for drama - will the expected results hold, or can desperation and fear shake up the title race?

A-LEAGUE
Francisca Orient 2-1 Falkner United
Westpike 1-1 Guilder
Rosbank Town 1-2 Kingsgrove
Saint Alexander 1-1 Lotus Park
Westpike United 2-2 Marque
Pikemouth 2-0 North Hall
South Rathia 0-2 Northern Union
Rozelle United 0-2 Rozelle

Northern Union defy the narrative to beat South Rathia really comfortably, Sander Balliol unable to outfox Catherine Gryphon in the heart of midfield and Karena Foran and Dani Pendragon securing yet another title for Union. Rozelle manage to defeat their local rivals to secure the next Champions Cup spot, but Raven Cullen’s future hangs in the balance despite her having salvaged a season that looked pretty much dead. As for the Lions themselves, they were left to sweat in the stadium, and Union graciously put off their celebrations until the final result of the Westpike game was known - Guilder had notched up an early lead through Payne and then, despite no real incentive, clung grimly on. Faolain Madigan tried to pull Westpike out of the fire as she’d done so often throughout the season, but her one goal - this time - wasn’t enough. Rathians all over the pitch celebrated, and embraced the far better Union players who’d just rolled over them to win the title, the entire stadium in raptures for one reason or another, the bulk of the Southfield’s 15,070 fans staying behind to applaud Union’s lifting the trophy - a genuinely heartwarming scene to close out a strange, disjointed, low-quality but sincerely thrilling A-League season. The ultimate panacea to the confusion and heartbreak of yesteryear.

B-LEAGUE
Sharrow 1-2 Snowden River
Platwood 1-3 Southside Wanderers
Glassfields 2-3 Scaffield
Marque Rovers 1-1 Chafford
Rushden 2-1 Ridgeway United
Sutbyrne 2-2 Gallant Cross
Swayback 1-0 Proudcastle
Thrush 2-0 Northern Stallions

No matter what happened, Gallant Cross and, after a long absence, Southside Wanderers were going to return to the top flight in that order. But Cross aren’t complacent enough to give Sutbyrne the win they need to stay up - a late Ulrich Arrowsmith header enough to drag them down to the C-League.

C-LEAGUE
Fort Keller 1-2 Saint Wessex
AFC Swanbridge 2-0 Gallow Park
Stourhead 1-0 Hooker Ridge
Fentonbridge 0-1 Highden
Pikemouth United 0-3 Crest
Knightstone FC 1-1 Norbyrne
Mount Roland 0-2 Saint Essex
Dalgallen 0-4 Hammerton

D-LEAGUE
Monastery Park 0-4 Dannecliff Rovers
Garfield 3-0 Northern Fist
Arkwood 0-2 Brookden
Chrysler Town 4-1 Shenworth
Greater Snowden 0-2 South Ridgeway
Spearcove Mariners 0-1 Falkner Wanderers
Pryde Wanderers 2-0 Myhill
Thriss Valley 0-1 Corder Town

CUP FINAL
Not that the season’s over, of course! Marque hope to cap off an exceptional season with a trophy, after finishing 6th (!), while Falkner United have been mildly disappointing - especially up front, where 34-year old Larissa Connolly’s niggling injuries and Coveny’s rawness have failed to spark a much-vaunted attack. Even so, they’re slight favourites - in a campaign of fits and starts, they’re hoping for a start.

It begins breathlessly. Marque want that first goal, and they aren’t letting the fact that injuries have reduced them to allowing Jack Mainehill a spot on the bench stop them. The Privateers have been powered on by faith in young blood like Flahavan and Tavistock replacing the old guard like Levy (fantastic though he’s been, he’s now 33) and de Valle (who’s injured anyway), and they aren’t about to stop here - even allowing Tomas Caroco between the posts since he’s started every Cup match so far for them. They lace together pass after pass - the Hunters defend, stand back and lie in wait, threaten sporadically on the counterpunch but there’s nothing they can do in the 38th minute when Iapheth Devine, poor though he generally is, smacks one into the stanchion from midfield.

Second half, and it looks like more of the same - only poor finishing from Marque isn’t finishing the job. But on the turn of the hour, the Privateers begin to tire… and Kildare Harper finally hurls her substitutes into the fray. Russell comes on through the centre, Cullen moving to the right as Coveny comes off, while Marian Ironside injects fresh legs into the midfield for the not-tired-but-already-has-a-yellow-for-dissent-like-a-pillock Luevano. The tide shifts, and with the fullbacks finally shuttling forward Marque’s vulnerable fullbacks are being overrun and suddenly the entire box is crosses, and Judith Russell only needs to make one count. Her first goes straight at Caroco, her second drifts over the bar. Her third, though… her third is 1-1.

Triple substitution for extra time, a bold move from the Lingards who were gambling on not having lost it yet. Unfortunately, one of the substitutes is Mainehill, who is terrible, but the veteran Levy steps in for the 35-year old Boudewijn Mayes (out of contract at the end of the season) - he’s given a generous round of applause by the orange end of the stadium, just in case it’s the last time. And Malone, displaced by Greaves over the last couple months of the season, replaces her.

It doesn’t work. The Privateers valiantly throw themselves forward but there’s nothing valiant about the way that Colm Farrier slides in to dispossess Flahavan perfectly, then gets to his feet and slides Russell through the opposing defence. Even with Strachan attempting to drag her down, she manages to flick the ball across to Isadora Cullen just as he succeeds which leaves Caroco helpless, 1v1 against a national legend who has scored in a World Cup and has made her name by standing up to be counted. Here, she makes no mistake, low and hard into the bottom corner.

Larissa Connolly, retiring at the end of the season, is given a standing ovation by Falkner fans and the neutrals as she trudges off for Carrasquillo, and the game begins anew. This time, Fairhall is the star, making a great save from Tavistock, clawing Flahavan’s shot over the bar and standing still when Mainehill, under no pressure from anyone, shoots tamely into her chest from 16 yards. And as she hoofs the ball forward, the referee blows the final whistle - Falkner United have something to celebrate after a long, hard season. It’s been a long, hard road for them - but they’ve earned it.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union        30  17   7   6  55  26  +29  58
  2 Rozelle               30  17   5   8  57  39  +18  56
  3 Pikemouth             30  16   8   6  52  38  +14  56
  4 Kingsgrove            30  16   6   8  50  27  +23  54
  5 North Hall            30  15   8   7  39  27  +12  53
  6 Marque                30  13   6  11  49  48   +1  45
  7 Falkner United        30  12   5  13  38  40   -2  41
  8 Rosbank Town          30  12   5  13  44  55  -11  41
  9 Rozelle United        30  11   6  13  39  46   -7  39
 10 Lotus Park            30  10   8  12  43  40   +3  38
 11 Westpike United       30  11   5  14  44  53   -9  38
 12 Francisca Orient      30  11   4  15  31  42  -11  37
 13 Guilder               30   9   6  15  31  43  -12  33
 14 South Rathia          30   7   8  15  31  41  -10  29
 15 Westpike              30   7   7  16  17  38  -21  28
 16 Saint Alexander       30   3  12  15  21  38  -17  21

TOP SCORERS
17 - T. Lilley (ROZ)
15 - K. Foran (NTU)
14 - P. Croft (MAR), S. Maddon (NTU)
13 - E. Sheehan (PKM), M. Danmark (LTP)
12 - C. Scherzer (KNG), J. de Sierra (NTH), V. Brittain (PKM)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Emerald Sheehan (PKM)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Jakk Winterfyll (KNG)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Elsie Drover (RBT)
Team of the Year: Winterfyll (KNG); Berenger (PKM), Gillard (NTH), Rubio (NTU), Lovelock (KNG); Skorupska (NTU), Gryphon (NTU), Sheehan (PKM); Foran (NTU), Lilley (ROZ), Fallon (NTH)
Manager of the Year: Bethany Donnell (PKM)

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Gallant Cross            30  20   8   2  81  31  +50  68
  2 Southside Wanderers      30  20   7   3  51  18  +33  67
  3 Snowden River            30  16   9   5  49  30  +19  57
  4 Ridgeway United          30  17   5   8  52  24  +28  56
  5 Sharrow                  30  14   8   8  64  39  +25  50
  6 Scaffield                30  14   8   8  39  28  +11  50
  7 Rushden                  30  11  10   9  44  42   +2  43
  8 Chafford                 30  10  12   8  32  22  +10  42
  9 Proudcastle              30  11   9  10  35  28   +7  42
 10 Thrush                   30  11   7  12  43  40   +3  40
 11 Northern Stallions       30   9   6  15  45  68  -23  33
 12 Swayback                 30   8   8  14  37  54  -17  32
 13 Marque Rovers            30   6   9  15  41  60  -19  27
 14 Platwood                 30   5   8  17  27  57  -30  23
 15 Sutbyrne                 30   5   6  19  41  71  -30  21
 16 Glassfields              30   2   2  26  23  92  -69   8

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mount Roland          30  20   5   5  48  16  +32  65
  2 Saint Essex           30  19   6   5  55  23  +32  63
  3 Fort Keller           30  17   9   4  53  25  +28  60
  4 AFC Swanbridge        30  18   6   6  50  28  +22  60
  5 Saint Wessex          30  17   7   6  50  24  +26  58
  6 Crest                 30  16   9   5  45  27  +18  57
  7 Stourhead             30  10  11   9  41  34   +7  41
  8 Pikemouth United      30  11   7  12  37  39   -2  40
  9 Fentonbridge          30  10   8  12  39  37   +2  38
 10 Norbyrne              30   9   8  13  34  43   -9  35
 11 Knightstone FC        30   8   7  15  43  66  -23  31
 12 Hammerton             30   8   5  17  38  59  -21  29
 13 Gallow Park           30   7   6  17  25  37  -12  27
 14 Hooker Ridge          30   6   6  18  25  47  -22  24
 15 Dalgallen             30   6   3  21  38  71  -33  21
 16 Highden               30   5   3  22  19  64  -45  18

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Falkner Wanderers       30  18  10   2  48  17  +31  64
  2 Dannecliff Rovers       30  18   8   4  60  25  +35  62
  3 Brookden                30  16   7   7  50  28  +22  55
  4 Corder Town             30  15  10   5  38  22  +16  55
  5 Spearcove Mariners      30  16   5   9  51  28  +23  53
  6 Chrysler Town           30  16   5   9  63  45  +18  53
  7 Greater Snowden         30  13   4  13  39  44   -5  43
  8 Garfield                30  11   9  10  33  29   +4  42
  9 South Ridgeway          30  12   6  12  42  47   -5  42
 10 Arkwood                 30  11   8  11  39  37   +2  41
 11 Northern Fist           30   9   6  15  44  65  -21  33
 12 Thriss Valley           30   9   5  16  25  44  -19  32
 13 Shenworth               30   8   6  16  19  38  -19  30
 14 Pryde Wanderers         30   5  11  14  27  44  -17  26
 15 Monastery Park          30   5   6  19  16  48  -32  21
 16 Myhill                  30   2   6  22  15  48  -33  12
Promoted: Rozelle Alliance, Suttonstrand FC

by **Brenecia** » Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:27 pm

A-LEAGUE CYCLE 64 PREVIEW

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union        30  17   7   6  55  26  +29  58
  2 Rozelle               30  17   5   8  57  39  +18  56
  3 Pikemouth             30  16   8   6  52  38  +14  56
  4 Kingsgrove            30  16   6   8  50  27  +23  54
  5 North Hall            30  15   8   7  39  27  +12  53
  6 Marque                30  13   6  11  49  48   +1  45
  7 Falkner United        30  12   5  13  38  40   -2  41
  8 Rosbank Town          30  12   5  13  44  55  -11  41
  9 Rozelle United        30  11   6  13  39  46   -7  39
 10 Lotus Park            30  10   8  12  43  40   +3  38
 11 Westpike United       30  11   5  14  44  53   -9  38
 12 Francisca Orient      30  11   4  15  31  42  -11  37
 13 Guilder               30   9   6  15  31  43  -12  33
 14 South Rathia          30   7   8  15  31  41  -10  29
 15 Westpike              30   7   7  16  17  38  -21  28
 16 Saint Alexander       30   3  12  15  21  38  -17  21

  1 Gallant Cross            30  20   8   2  81  31  +50  68
  2 Southside Wanderers      30  20   7   3  51  18  +33  67
  3 Snowden River            30  16   9   5  49  30  +19  57
  4 Ridgeway United          30  17   5   8  52  24  +28  56

TOP SCORERS
17 - T. Lilley (ROZ)
15 - K. Foran (NTU)
14 - P. Croft (MAR), S. Maddon (NTU)
13 - E. Sheehan (PKM), M. Danmark (LTP)
12 - C. Scherzer (KNG), J. de Sierra (NTH), V. Brittain (PKM)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Emerald Sheehan (PKM)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Jakk Winterfyll (KNG)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Elsie Drover (RBT)
Team of the Year: Winterfyll (KNG); Berenger (PKM), Gillard (NTH), Rubio (NTU), Lovelock (KNG); Skorupska (NTU), Gryphon (NTU), Sheehan (PKM); Foran (NTU), Lilley (ROZ), Fallon (NTH)
Manager of the Year: Bethany Donnell (PKM)

by **Brenecia** » Fri Jul 15, 2016 9:52 pm

Summary of episode 1 of HEART OF A LION, the four-part documentary about South Rathia’s Cycle 64 season.

After the opening scene describes new signings Ashton, Mbomba and Zsuska, chairman Michael Cochran describes the stable state of the club’s finances after a number of seasons stripping down the club’s best assets and selling them. As he gives a monologue about how in these dark financial times it is simply unsustainable for the Lions to be as strong as they had been in the past, a camera pans across the squad as they jostle in the tunnel, preparing for the season opener against Marque. The monologue continues as the orange-clad hosts win effortlessly, 4-0.

The scene changes to Phoebe Osbourne’s press conference. The journalists want to know what she sees the aim as for the season. “Survival.” Can she achieve it? “Of course.” Treon Ashton goes down in training with a suspected broken leg.

The next match against Kingsgrove sees the Lions lose 4-0 yet again. After a hair-drier treatment at the end of the match, Osbourne checks her phone in the hallway and discovers that Marque thumped Rozelle away and Northern Union annihilated Hall in the derby. “At least that’ll take some of the heat off us,” she mumbles.

South Rathia’s side go out for a Cup match. The atmosphere on the bus is already dejected. Their hosts - Greater Snowden, a rural D-League team tipped for relegation - play in a 1,500-capacity ground in the middle of a woodland. The ground is filled with potholes, and Jasper Fallon rolls his ankle in one of them in the second minute. Regardless, Greater Snowden are utterly terrible opponents and Nathan Ward scores a brace, Leigh Coulson opens his account for the club before 16-year old Sarkozy Zsuska gets her first.

Zsuska comes up in a discussion between Cochran and the journalist. “Will Zsuska have a long future with this club, do you think?” “Well, I hope not, we have to sell her at some point.”

The table after four matches is revealed - South Rathia are yet to win a point. It’s time for their Second Round clash against Rozelle, for which Osbourne brings out her strongest possible team. As Cromwell and Balliol put the Lions in an early lead, Osbourne is shouting herself hoarse at the side to keep it together. Her mobile phone keeps ringing. She turns it off. Assistant manager Marissa Rathridge’s phone starts ringing. She answers dutifully and reports that the chairman wants to speak to Osbourne. Osbourne rips it from her hands and runs down the tunnel. The camera catches Osbourne’s side of the conversation as she hunches over, casting occasional pensive glances. The chairman is unhappy because he considers the Cup a ‘waste of time’ that risks the club’s funds by stretching their limited depth. Osbourne stands stubbornly behind her decision to pick a full-strength team. During the argument, Rozelle pull one back. Osbourne hangs up and strides back out.

Rozelle win on penalties.

The sixth match. The Lions are out of the Cup and have no points to their name. Totally under the pump, South Rathia scrape an early goal when Mirzayev’s long shot is deflected past Fairhall by Ramundo’s legs. Cullen equalises soon after but on the stroke of half-time, Bader heads home from an immaculate Sander Balliol corner. Against the odds, it seems like - as a montage of Falkner chances are wasted - they will hold out. Until in the 90th minute Funke hacks down Carrick for basically no reason, Charing converts from the spot and Osbourne kicks an esky of energy drinks over.

Regardless, it’s their first points of the season. The cameraman attempts to follow Funke down the tunnel, but gets shoved onto the ground and cannot get up until Falkner players Cullen and Farrier provide him assistance.

Osbourne is asked by the if Funke will return to the side after her suspension expires. “Off the record? Yeah, ‘course, she’s coming back as soon as she’s able, who the fuck else am I gonna pick?”

The next few matches are skimmed through, and as South Rathia slump to their eighth defeat in nine games, losing 3-0 to Lotus Park by half-time, the camera pans to a mostly-empty home crowd. Those few that are there are chanting for Cochran to leave the club. A few interviews of fans reveals that they don’t really blame Osbourne for the predicament the side is in - it needs investment, that’s all. “At least we should beat Guilder,” one says cheerfully.

The episode ends as it pans to an image of the Rozelle Observer’s back page - ‘South Rathia board gives struggling Osbourne vote of confidence’ The subheader reveals that the statement immediately followed Guilder’s 3-0 victory.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union          10  7  2  1  20   9  +11  23
  2 Kingsgrove              10  5  5  0  23  10  +13  20
  3 Rozelle                 10  5  2  3  27  16  +11  17
  4 Pikemouth               10  5  2  3  16   9   +7  17
  5 Rosbank Town            10  4  5  1  13  10   +3  17
  6 Southside Wanderers     10  4  4  2  11   7   +4  16
  7 Rozelle United          10  4  3  3  18  16   +2  15
  8 Westpike United         10  4  3  3  16  15   +1  15
  9 Marque                  10  4  3  3  19  19   +0  15
 10 Lotus Park              10  4  2  4  18  19   -1  14
 11 Falkner United          10  3  3  4  12  18   -6  12
 12 North Hall              10  3  2  5  12  16   -4  11
 13 Francisca Orient        10  3  2  5  11  19   -8  11
 14 Guilder                 10  2  3  5  10  12   -2   9
 15 Gallant Cross           10  1  2  7  11  20   -9   5
 16 South Rathia            10  0  1  9   6  28  -22   1

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sharrow                10  6  2  2  28  12  +16  20
  2 Northern Stallions     10  6  1  3  27   9  +18  19
  3 Snowden River          10  5  3  2  15   7   +8  18
  4 Ridgeway United        10  5  3  2  13   6   +7  18
  5 Scaffield              10  4  4  2  14   6   +8  16
  6 Thrush                 10  3  5  2  13   9   +4  14
  7 Chafford               10  4  2  4   9   9   +0  14
  8 Saint Alexander        10  4  2  4   6   8   -2  14
  9 Proudcastle            10  2  6  2  11   7   +4  12
 10 Westpike               10  2  6  2  10   8   +2  12
 11 Marque Rovers          10  3  2  5  10  21  -11  11
 12 Saint Essex            10  3  2  5   6  19  -13  11
 13 Swayback               10  2  4  4   7  17  -10  10
 14 Mount Roland           10  3  1  6   4  15  -11  10
 15 Platwood               10  2  3  5   8  22  -14   9
 16 Rushden                10  2  2  6   9  15   -6   8

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                   P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sutbyrne              10  8  2  0  31   8  +23  26
  2 Fort Keller           10  6  3  1  15   8   +7  21
  3 AFC Swanbridge        10  6  1  3  20  11   +9  19
  4 Dannecliff Rovers     10  6  0  4  14  11   +3  18
  5 Crest                 10  5  2  3  16   9   +7  17
  6 Stourhead             10  5  1  4  14   8   +6  16
  7 Saint Wessex          10  5  1  4  13  13   +0  16
  8 Falkner Wanderers     10  5  0  5   9   9   +0  15
  9 Hammerton             10  5  0  5  11  20   -9  15
 10 Glassfields           10  4  0  6  22  19   +3  12
 11 Norbyrne              10  4  0  6  12  26  -14  12
 12 Gallow Park           10  3  2  5  11  19   -8  11
 13 Fentonbridge          10  3  1  6  13  14   -1  10
 14 Pikemouth United      10  3  1  6  11  18   -7  10
 15 Knightstone FC        10  2  2  6  17  28  -11   8
 16 Hooker Ridge          10  1  2  7   8  16   -8   5

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corder Town            10  9  0  1  20   4  +16  27
  2 Highden                10  7  2  1  17   8   +9  23
  3 Spearcove Mariners     10  7  1  2  24   9  +15  22
  4 Chrysler Town          10  6  2  2  31  11  +20  20
  5 Dalgallen              10  6  2  2  18   8  +10  20
  6 Pryde Wanderers        10  6  1  3  16  12   +4  19
  7 Northern Fist          10  6  1  3  15  11   +4  19
  8 Brookden               10  5  3  2  15  11   +4  18
  9 Shenworth              10  5  1  4   9  13   -4  16
 10 South Ridgeway         10  4  0  6  13  16   -3  12
 11 Rozelle Alliance       10  3  1  6  12  16   -4  10
 12 Suttonstrand FC        10  2  1  7   8  22  -14   7
 13 Garfield               10  0  4  6   6  14   -8   4
 14 Arkwood                10  1  1  8   4  17  -13   4
 15 Greater Snowden        10  1  1  8   6  22  -16   4
 16 Thriss Valley          10  1  1  8   6  26  -20   4

by **Brenecia** » Fri Jul 15, 2016 10:12 pm

Summary of episode 2 of HEART OF A LION, the four-part documentary about South Rathia’s Cycle 64 season.

The episode starts with a chat to the physio, who reveals that the staff have more or less been stripped out over time. For his part, he is seventy-six years old and states proudly that he has outlasted five other head physios before becoming head physio himself. The camera pans to, and lingers on, a sponge in a jar, covered in leeches. The words ‘the magic spong’ [sic] are written in permanent marker on the jar.

Highlights of a match are played. It is Rosbank Town who strike a quick 4-0 lead. “‘Least Falkner put seven past Marque last match,” Diana Arbroath remarks on the bench. Another youth, Atha Troy, turns to her. “It’s basically like - since we drew the Hunters, and they beat Marque 7-0, it’s like we beat Marque 7-0, right?” Rosbank score their fifth. “You’re both idiots,” Osbourne snaps.

Osbourne is called into the office. She is asked to resign. She refuses, claiming she can turn this around. Cochran wheedles, threatens and flatters her, until Osbourne comes to a realisation. “You can’t afford to buy off my contract, can you? You - no, shut up, you literally cannot afford to sack me, can you?”After a fade-to-black, she walks out of the office, smugly.

Tamara Lynn Rhodes interviews a local radio station. After a long injury layoff, the 33-year old Islander is ready to make her return to the fray, even without an offseason, to replace the also-injured Fallon. She is optimistic of the Lion’s chances of survival. When Pikemouth winger Rafferty runs by her in the 35th minute of the match, her hamstring gives out and she is stretchered off. Substitutes Troy and Jarvis carry the stretcher, still in their jackets.

Cochran is delighted by the news that temperamental Mareibatian striker Zeke has skipped training. He summons him to the office and strips him of a month’s pay. As Cochran laughs about it, Zeke kicks a hole in the door to silence him, before storming off.

The caption reveals that it is time for South Rathia to visit Northern Union, by far the strongest club in the nation. They accept the documentary team’s request for a day tour. Everything is new, sparkling and wealthy. Union’s ambition is clearly to be a global superpower someday. The side is very strong and contains a number of internationals. The team talk is detailed and does not withhold a single detail about the Lions. The scene switches to the other change-room, where Phoebe Osbourne insists that the team must ‘fight’ and ‘win’.

On the pitch, highlights come of Union’s casual 5-1 disassembly of the Lions. The Rathian fans break out into a chorus of “Let’s Pretend We’ve Scored A Goal,” during which Absalom Eberhardt does, in fact, score the Lions’ goal. It was a blatant foot offside.

Matchday 19. South Rathia remain on one point. In the pouring rain at the small Nomad’s Rest, Southside Wanderers and South Rathia play what Osbourne idly describes as “the shittiest game of my life.” It ends scoreless, but not without Mirzayev and Cromwell being taken off with significant injuries. “Fuck it,” Rathridge mumbles, “I’ll take the point.”

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union           20  15  3   2  42  16  +26  48
  2 Rozelle                  20  12  3   5  49  26  +23  39
  3 Falkner United           20  10  4   6  33  25   +8  34
  4 Rozelle United           20  10  4   6  33  25   +8  34
  5 Kingsgrove               20   9  6   5  43  27  +16  33
  6 Rosbank Town             20   8  8   4  30  21   +9  32
  7 Marque                   20   9  4   7  34  37   -3  31
  8 Pikemouth                20   9  2   9  25  20   +5  29
  9 Lotus Park               20   8  5   7  32  31   +1  29
 10 North Hall               20   8  4   8  27  28   -1  28
 11 Southside Wanderers      20   7  7   6  15  21   -6  28
 12 Westpike United          20   7  5   8  24  26   -2  26
 13 Francisca Orient         20   6  3  11  20  36  -16  21
 14 Guilder                  20   4  5  11  18  28  -10  17
 15 Gallant Cross            20   4  3  13  22  38  -16  15
 16 South Rathia             20   0  2  18  13  55  -42   2

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Saint Alexander         20  13  3   4  23  11  +12  42
  2 Northern Stallions      20  12  3   5  49  19  +30  39
  3 Sharrow                 20  12  3   5  47  22  +25  39
  4 Scaffield               20  11  4   5  33  17  +16  37
  5 Ridgeway United         20  10  4   6  28  12  +16  34
  6 Snowden River           20   9  6   5  27  14  +13  33
  7 Westpike                20   7  8   5  24  20   +4  29
  8 Chafford                20   8  4   8  17  17   +0  28
  9 Thrush                  20   7  7   6  31  33   -2  28
 10 Proudcastle             20   6  7   7  20  18   +2  25
 11 Swayback                20   5  6   9  23  35  -12  21
 12 Marque Rovers           20   6  3  11  21  35  -14  21
 13 Rushden                 20   6  2  12  25  34   -9  20
 14 Mount Roland            20   6  2  12   9  27  -18  20
 15 Saint Essex             20   5  3  12  13  48  -35  18
 16 Platwood                20   2  5  13  10  38  -28  11

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sutbyrne               20  14  4   2  53  22  +31  46
  2 AFC Swanbridge         20  13  3   4  42  23  +19  42
  3 Saint Wessex           20  11  5   4  33  21  +12  38
  4 Fort Keller            20  10  8   2  30  18  +12  38
  5 Crest                  20  10  4   6  34  20  +14  34
  6 Dannecliff Rovers      20   9  3   8  25  26   -1  30
  7 Glassfields            20   8  4   8  34  29   +5  28
  8 Fentonbridge           20   8  4   8  32  27   +5  28
  9 Stourhead              20   8  4   8  25  20   +5  28
 10 Hammerton              20   8  2  10  24  39  -15  26
 11 Falkner Wanderers      20   7  3  10  16  22   -6  24
 12 Norbyrne               20   7  0  13  21  43  -22  21
 13 Knightstone FC         20   4  6  10  26  44  -18  18
 14 Pikemouth United       20   3  7  10  17  29  -12  16
 15 Gallow Park            20   4  4  12  20  36  -16  16
 16 Hooker Ridge           20   4  3  13  22  35  -13  15

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corder Town             20  14  2   4  32  14  +18  44
  2 Spearcove Mariners      20  13  4   3  44  19  +25  43
  3 Highden                 20  13  4   3  34  19  +15  43
  4 Chrysler Town           20  12  4   4  55  23  +32  40
  5 Northern Fist           20  11  3   6  34  21  +13  36
  6 Dalgallen               20  10  5   5  41  23  +18  35
  7 Brookden                20  10  4   6  33  23  +10  34
  8 Pryde Wanderers         20   9  3   8  27  24   +3  30
  9 Shenworth               20   8  5   7  18  21   -3  29
 10 Rozelle Alliance        20   7  4   9  28  31   -3  25
 11 South Ridgeway          20   7  1  12  24  36  -12  22
 12 Arkwood                 20   5  6   9  17  26   -9  21
 13 Suttonstrand FC         20   5  1  14  16  44  -28  16
 14 Greater Snowden         20   3  5  12  14  41  -27  14
 15 Garfield                20   2  7  11  13  23  -10  13
 16 Thriss Valley           20   1  2  17  13  55  -42   5

by **Brenecia** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 12:30 am

Summary of episode 3 of HEART OF A LION, the four-part documentary about South Rathia’s Cycle 64 season.

The episode begins with shaky smartphone camerawork as someone pulls one from a handbag. “Have you got it, Coral?” “Yeah, yeah…” The smartphone is lifted up to a pub stage, where a Nephara-accented man is singing ‘Ring of Fire’. Badly. “That’s Eberhardt?” “Holy shit.” “It really is, Christ…” It cuts to Phoebe Osbourne walking to her desk, glancing over the newspapers arrayed over it, staring at the front cover of the tabloid. Eberhardt is singing on it. Osbourne hurls it out the window.

Simple matches are losing their novelty by this stage, so the episode cuts straight to the chase. Osbourne gives a pumping, enthusiastic pitch to a silent dressing room. When the camera pans to her audience, there are just sixteen players present, two shy of a bench. A teamsheet reveals that, by this point, Fallon, Rhodes, Ashton, Mirzayev, Cromwell, Halberdian, Bruhn are out of commission and Funke is suspended again. Lotus Park destroy them 7-1.

Surprisingly, this result is followed up by their third-best result of the season, a scoreless draw against Guilder. Sander Balliol sees a harsh red card for a sliding challenge. As he goes down the tunnel, he calls his agent to ask how talks are going to get him “literally to any other club.”

The documentary switches focus to a tour of Northern Stallions, a merger club that counts North Rathia as its biggest former part. Their chairman simply states that in the economic climate, South Rathia are just sort of stranded where they can’t compete. The Stallions, meanwhile, have pooled together enough resources and fans to be a legitimate contender in the top flight. “The Lions should have joined us while they had the chance,” the manager says ominously.

Michael Cochran enters the field in the third-last match to present a parsimonious raffle prize to one of the fans. He asks them to come out of the stands. The entire away support dashes onto the pitch and charges him, and his two large bodyguards have to hold them back while Cochran literally runs out of the stadium. Both sets of players look on, bemused. Pikemouth wins 6-1.

Two days after the match, the team goes to watch Brenecia’s World Cup playoff against Jeruselem at Lachlan Cromwell’s house. At least they can celebrate one victory this year.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union           29  22  5   2  61  21  +40  71
  2 Rozelle                  29  18  4   7  67  37  +30  58
  3 Kingsgrove               29  14  9   6  61  36  +25  51
  4 North Hall               29  14  7   8  40  31   +9  49
  5 Rozelle United           29  14  5  10  44  38   +6  47
  6 Pikemouth                29  14  4  11  39  26  +13  46
  7 Falkner United           29  13  7   9  44  40   +4  46
  8 Lotus Park               29  12  8   9  48  38  +10  44
  9 Rosbank Town             29  11  8  10  44  39   +5  41
 10 Westpike United          29  11  8  10  37  34   +3  41
 11 Marque                   29  10  7  12  42  51   -9  37
 12 Southside Wanderers      29   9  8  12  21  34  -13  35
 13 Francisca Orient         29   7  6  16  28  49  -21  27
 14 Gallant Cross            29   6  7  16  33  56  -23  25
 15 Guilder                  29   5  8  16  24  40  -16  23
 16 South Rathia             29   0  3  26  22  85  -63   3

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Stallions      29  20   4   5  71  24  +47  64
  2 Sharrow                 29  18   5   6  66  28  +38  59
  3 Saint Alexander         29  17   5   7  29  21   +8  56
  4 Scaffield               29  13   9   7  42  25  +17  48
  5 Ridgeway United         29  13   8   8  39  20  +19  47
  6 Westpike                29  11  12   6  35  23  +12  45
  7 Chafford                29  13   5  11  31  24   +7  44
  8 Thrush                  29  12   8   9  45  48   -3  44
  9 Proudcastle             29  12   7  10  34  24  +10  43
 10 Snowden River           29  12   7  10  35  28   +7  43
 11 Marque Rovers           29   9   6  14  32  45  -13  33
 12 Swayback                29   8   8  13  34  44  -10  32
 13 Mount Roland            29  10   2  17  21  37  -16  32
 14 Saint Essex             29   6   5  18  19  68  -49  23
 15 Rushden                 29   6   3  20  28  59  -31  21
 16 Platwood                29   2   6  21  14  57  -43  12

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sutbyrne               29  18   6   5  77  37  +40  60
  2 AFC Swanbridge         29  18   5   6  57  31  +26  59
  3 Saint Wessex           29  17   6   6  49  28  +21  57
  4 Fort Keller            29  15  11   3  49  23  +26  56
  5 Crest                  29  14   7   8  47  26  +21  49
  6 Glassfields            29  13   6  10  55  37  +18  45
  7 Fentonbridge           29  12   5  12  40  31   +9  41
  8 Hammerton              29  12   5  12  37  50  -13  41
  9 Stourhead              29  11   6  12  33  29   +4  39
 10 Dannecliff Rovers      29  11   5  13  36  46  -10  38
 11 Falkner Wanderers      29  10   5  14  27  37  -10  35
 12 Knightstone FC         29   8   8  13  42  65  -23  32
 13 Norbyrne               29   9   2  18  32  62  -30  29
 14 Gallow Park            29   8   4  17  30  53  -23  28
 15 Pikemouth United       29   5   8  16  25  51  -26  23
 16 Hooker Ridge           29   5   3  21  29  59  -30  18

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corder Town             29  19   4   6  50  23  +27  61
  2 Spearcove Mariners      29  18   6   5  64  31  +33  60
  3 Northern Fist           29  18   4   7  59  29  +30  58
  4 Highden                 29  17   7   5  50  27  +23  58
  5 Chrysler Town           29  17   6   6  71  32  +39  57
  6 Brookden                29  17   5   7  53  31  +22  56
  7 Dalgallen               29  13   7   9  53  37  +16  46
  8 Rozelle Alliance        29  11   8  10  46  42   +4  41
  9 Shenworth               29  10   7  12  24  33   -9  37
 10 Pryde Wanderers         29   9   8  12  33  37   -4  35
 11 Suttonstrand FC         29   9   2  18  30  58  -28  29
 12 Arkwood                 29   6   9  14  22  44  -22  27
 13 South Ridgeway          29   8   3  18  33  60  -27  27
 14 Garfield                29   4  11  14  17  30  -13  23
 15 Greater Snowden         29   3   8  18  20  67  -47  17
 16 Thriss Valley           29   3   5  21  23  67  -44  14

by **Brenecia** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:08 am

Summary of episode 4 of HEART OF A LION, the four-part documentary about South Rathia’s Cycle 64 season.

“Today, we have a unique opportunity.”
The camera fades in. It’s not Phoebe Osbourne’s familiar voice - she’s lost her voice. It’s Marissa Rathridge, being sarcastic.
“We have the opportunity to play a team that has 68 more points than we do.”

Northern Union, unsurprisingly, dominate the unfortunate Lions all over the park. Rosendo Bruhn, in his last match for the club, makes a series of excellent saves to keep the score down and Balliol tests Urquhart a couple of times. With some players even looking match-fit, could this be a chance to go down with some dignity?

It’s the second half, and Union quickly go ahead as Maddon turns Bader inside out and fires past Bruhn for the opener. Pendragon nets their second not long after. But it stays 2-0. The side holds out for, at the very least, that much.
The match ends. Union’s players, standout champions of the league at a canter, are all willing to swap shirts with the Lions opposite them. And then the PA announces - in Michael Cochran’s voice - that Phoebe Osbourne is fired, effective immediately.

Osbourne cackles softly. “Of course. My contract expires in a week, doesn’t it? Now he doesn’t need a replacement, and only owes me what he’d pay me next Sunday anyway…”

After being fired - and surprisingly, finding a lot of support among the packed ranks of fans - Phoebe Osbourne settles down at her home, flicking on the television to watch a Rozelle derby in the room. “You know, it’s nice to be able to watch a match and not care who wins or lose.” Scoreless at the end of normal time, a captivating extra time sees Rozelle take the lead. This excites the former South Rathia manager - “hey, we took those guys to penalties!” - until Kingsgrove then put two past Rozelle’s Cup goalkeeper, Mirren. Osbourne smiles sadly, and turns off the television.

The final cut pans across several key members of the relegated side. The chairman is seeing them all in sequence, telling them what their fate will be. Ashton, who was only fit to play four matches all season, is gloomy about his prospects. “I’m stuck here for three more fucking years unless someone buys me.” After a quick discussion, the players realise that almost nobody still has a contract running into next season, and of those that do, Mirzayev and Balliol still emerged with enough credit last season to force transfers.

One by one the players filter in and out. The camera follows the last man in - it’s Absalom Eberhardt. Eberhardt has a straightforward way of contract negotiation. “Right, I can honestly tell you this club is a shithole and I’m on the first fucking plane back to Nephara. You’re never gonna hear from me again.”
He storms out, Cochran speechless. The door slams shut. The credits start to roll.

A-LEAGUE

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union           30  23  5   2  63  21  +42  74
  2 Rozelle                  30  19  4   7  70  39  +31  61
  3 Kingsgrove               30  15  9   6  64  36  +28  54
  4 Pikemouth                30  15  4  11  40  26  +14  49
  5 North Hall               30  14  7   9  40  32   +8  49
  6 Rozelle United           30  14  5  11  46  41   +5  47
  7 Falkner United           30  13  8   9  45  41   +4  47
  8 Lotus Park               30  12  8  10  51  42   +9  44
  9 Rosbank Town             30  12  8  10  48  42   +6  44
 10 Westpike United          30  12  8  10  40  34   +6  44
 11 Marque                   30  10  7  13  42  54  -12  37
 12 Southside Wanderers      30   9  8  13  21  37  -16  35
 13 Francisca Orient         30   7  7  16  29  50  -21  28
 14 Guilder                  30   6  8  16  26  40  -14  26
 15 Gallant Cross            30   6  7  17  33  58  -25  25
 16 South Rathia             30   0  3  27  22  87  -65   3

TOP SCORERS
19 - T. Lilley (ROZ)
16 - S. Maddon (NTU)
15 - J. Gardot (KNG)
14 - A. Skorupska (NTU)
13 - P. Croft (MAR), M. Farrell (ROZ), K. Ingolfsson (ROU)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Aleksandra Skorupska (NTU)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Soren Sinde (KNG)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Elsie Drover (RBT)
Team of the Year: Urquhart (NTU); Baez (ROZ), Sinde (KNG), Farina (NTH), Lovelock (KNG); Skorupska (NTU), Moss (ROZ), Sheehan (PKM); Coveny (NTU), Lilley (ROZ), Fallon (NTH)
Manager of the Year: Bethany Donnell (PKM)

B-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Stallions      30  20   5   5  72  25  +47  65
  2 Sharrow                 30  18   5   7  66  29  +37  59
  3 Saint Alexander         30  18   5   7  31  21  +10  59
  4 Scaffield               30  14   9   7  45  25  +20  51
  5 Ridgeway United         30  13   8   9  39  22  +17  47
  6 Chafford                30  14   5  11  32  24   +8  47
  7 Proudcastle             30  13   7  10  35  24  +11  46
  8 Snowden River           30  13   7  10  36  28   +8  46
  9 Westpike                30  11  12   7  35  24  +11  45
 10 Thrush                  30  12   8  10  47  52   -5  44
 11 Marque Rovers           30  10   6  14  36  47  -11  36
 12 Swayback                30   8   8  14  35  46  -11  32
 13 Mount Roland            30  10   2  18  21  38  -17  32
 14 Rushden                 30   7   3  20  30  60  -30  24
 15 Saint Essex             30   6   5  19  19  71  -52  23
 16 Platwood                30   2   7  21  15  58  -43  13

C-LEAGUE

Pos Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sutbyrne               30  19   6   5  80  38  +42  63
  2 AFC Swanbridge         30  19   5   6  59  32  +27  62
  3 Fort Keller            30  16  11   3  50  23  +27  59
  4 Saint Wessex           30  17   6   7  49  29  +20  57
  5 Crest                  30  14   7   9  48  28  +20  49
  6 Glassfields            30  14   6  10  57  38  +19  48
  7 Fentonbridge           30  12   6  12  40  31   +9  42
  8 Stourhead              30  12   6  12  34  29   +5  42
  9 Dannecliff Rovers      30  12   5  13  38  46   -8  41
 10 Hammerton              30  12   5  13  38  52  -14  41
 11 Falkner Wanderers      30  10   6  14  28  38  -10  36
 12 Knightstone FC         30   8   8  14  42  66  -24  32
 13 Norbyrne               30   9   2  19  33  65  -32  29
 14 Gallow Park            30   8   4  18  30  55  -25  28
 15 Pikemouth United       30   5   9  16  25  51  -26  24
 16 Hooker Ridge           30   5   4  21  30  60  -30  19

D-LEAGUE

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Spearcove Mariners      30  18   7   5  65  32  +33  61
  2 Highden                 30  18   7   5  51  27  +24  61
  3 Corder Town             30  19   4   7  50  27  +23  61
  4 Chrysler Town           30  18   6   6  75  32  +43  60
  5 Northern Fist           30  18   4   8  59  30  +29  58
  6 Brookden                30  17   5   8  53  32  +21  56
  7 Dalgallen               30  13   8   9  54  38  +16  47
  8 Rozelle Alliance        30  12   8  10  47  42   +5  44
  9 Shenworth               30  10   8  12  25  34   -9  38
 10 Pryde Wanderers         30   9   9  12  34  38   -4  36
 11 Suttonstrand FC         30   9   3  18  31  59  -28  30
 12 Arkwood                 30   6  10  14  23  45  -22  28
 13 South Ridgeway          30   8   4  18  34  61  -27  28
 14 Garfield                30   4  12  14  18  31  -13  24
 15 Greater Snowden         30   3   9  18  21  68  -47  18
 16 Thriss Valley           30   3   6  21  24  68  -44  15
Promoted: AFC Conomore, Pride of the South

by **Brenecia** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 6:10 pm

A-LEAGUE CYCLE 65 PREVIEW

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Northern Union           30  23  5   2  63  21  +42  74
  2 Rozelle                  30  19  4   7  70  39  +31  61
  3 Kingsgrove               30  15  9   6  64  36  +28  54
  4 Pikemouth                30  15  4  11  40  26  +14  49
  5 North Hall               30  14  7   9  40  32   +8  49
  6 Rozelle United           30  14  5  11  46  41   +5  47
  7 Falkner United           30  13  8   9  45  41   +4  47
  8 Lotus Park               30  12  8  10  51  42   +9  44
  9 Rosbank Town             30  12  8  10  48  42   +6  44
 10 Westpike United          30  12  8  10  40  34   +6  44
 11 Marque                   30  10  7  13  42  54  -12  37
 12 Southside Wanderers      30   9  8  13  21  37  -16  35
 13 Francisca Orient         30   7  7  16  29  50  -21  28
 14 Guilder                  30   6  8  16  26  40  -14  26
 15 Gallant Cross            30   6  7  17  33  58  -25  25
 16 South Rathia             30   0  3  27  22  87  -65   3

  1 Northern Stallions      30  20   5   5  72  25  +47  65
  2 Sharrow                 30  18   5   7  66  29  +37  59
  3 Saint Alexander         30  18   5   7  31  21  +10  59
  4 Scaffield               30  14   9   7  45  25  +20  51

TOP SCORERS
19 - T. Lilley (ROZ)
16 - S. Maddon (NTU)
15 - J. Gardot (KNG)
14 - A. Skorupska (NTU)
13 - P. Croft (MAR), M. Farrell (ROZ), K. Ingolfsson (ROU)

AWARDS
Golden Boot (Goals Scored): Tevin Lilley (ROZ)
Golden Ball (Player of the Year): Aleksandra Skorupska (NTU)
Golden Fist (New Player of the Year): Soren Sinde (KNG)
Golden Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Elsie Drover (RBT)
Team of the Year: Urquhart (NTU); Baez (ROZ), Sinde (KNG), Farina (NTH), Lovelock (KNG); Skorupska (NTU), Moss (ROZ), Sheehan (PKM); Coveny (NTU), Lilley (ROZ), Fallon (NTH)
Manager of the Year: Bethany Donnell (PKM)

League Run: 13th
Cup Run: Second Round
Stadium: Forharrow (21,000)
Nickname: the Jacks
Manager: Conrad Lauren
Captain: Samantha Pearce
Top Scorer: Stefan Lindersson (7)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - Larsson; 2 - Fischer, 18 - Muller, 6 - Bondfield, 5 - Pearce (c); 13 - Harper, 8 - Kirumsen, 21 - Underwood, 11 - Rivers; 10 - Garrard, 17 - Lindersson
In: Aron Benavente (Maximum City, free), Asaj Sotelo (Cypress Hill FC, free), Alexis Harlan-Tracey (returned from loan)
Promoted: Jarrod Dougan (GK, 18), Brenton Chilcott (CB, 18)
Out: Kelly Harper (Marque, 1.75m), Chandler Southwick (BSC Vargas, free), Tamsin Warne (Golden Eagles, free), Oliver Whitehouse (Armory, free)
Retired: Kurtis Burgundy (CB, 37), Morgan Underwood (CM, 36)

Huge turnover for Orient, and it's their favourite kind - no money sent bar signing-on fees for Premiership-seasoned midfielder Benavente and versatile journeyman Sotelo, while Harlan-Tracey returns from a decent loan spell. They sold one of their best players from last season in Harper, let go a couple of experienced international strikers while Brenecian veterans Burgundy and Underwood retire after capping off their careers in decent fashion. The implications are worrying for any fan of the Orient as a decently average side looks to be sliding into mediocrity, and they already flirted with relegation last season. Naturalised fringe Brenecia international Greig Larsson will be expected to get a fair workout while Kurt Reichart is the anchor of a weak-looking defence, though Kurtis Fischer can get results going forward from the right. In central midfield, Benavente is a traditional Audioslav workhorse supported by Kirumsen, who carries much of the technical burden - Sotelo's worked well with the overlapping Fischer in preseason while Rivers tends to go forward and cause problems herself. Up front, Lindersson - who scored just 7 goals last season - carries most of the goalscoring burden with Garrard and Harlan-Tracey battling to partner him - neither especially rated. All in all? Things could be tight in Marque.

PREDICTION - 13th.

League Run: 3rd
Cup Run: Champions
Stadium: Royal Park (42,000)
Nickname: the Royals
Manager: Gabrielle Hourihane
Captain: Lyn Crowley
Top Scorer: June Gardot (15)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Winterfyll; 2 - Molina, 21 - Woods, 5 - Sinde, 3 - Lovelock; 12 - Evans, 14 - Ruffan, 8 - O’Byrne (c); 23 - Rohan, 9 - Gardot, 11 - Braham
In: Clementine Raven (Project +90, free), Karena Braham (Depri Sanar, 'loan')
Promoted: Keith Carney (GK, 18)
Out: Roisin Carroll (CSKA Quebec, 9.5m), Ophelia Lovelock (Sabrefell Athletic, 7m), Catherine Elbrook (White Cliffs, free)

A disappointing league campaign - twenty points out of title contention! - redeemed by Cup glory against their second-fiercest rivals, Rozelle. That, in turn, has been followed by a... damaging transfer window. Losing their best two players to Quebec and Nephara, they thought they had a deal lined up for the return of Naphtali Thatcher until Union swept in and hijacked it. So they've been able to get a Project +90 Mertagnan on a free as a backup defender and secured the signature of Karena Braham in farcical circumstances - Braham being luckless enough to sign in Chromatika near the end of the transfer window, just a couple of weeks before the Chromatik government exiled all foreign players. Technically, she's here on a loan while the Nepharim Footballers' Union organises a lawsuit for mass breach of contract. Either way, Hourihane will make do with what she has - and what she does have going for her is arguably the league's best goalkeeper in Winterfyll, a young star in the heart of defence in Soren Sinde (with an able supporting cast), the bold decision to favour young homegrown midfielders Ruffan and Evans alongside O'Byrne and a dangerous attacking triad of direct, skilled wingers Rohan and Braham (who set Depri Sanar back four million pounds) and improvisational Islander international June Gardot at centre-forward. Not to be taken lightly... but any talk of a title challenge has been well and truly derailed.

PREDICTION - 4th.

League Run: 8th
Cup Run: Quarterfinals
Stadium: Lotus Park (31,000)
Nickname: the Foresters
Manager: Conrad Keane
Captain: Kyron Everdale
Top Scorer: Fionn Lynch (12)
Likely Starting XI: (4-4-2) 1 - d’Araby; 2 - Ombudsman, 22 - Chilton, 5 - Colback, 3 - di Calania; 13 - Johansson, 4 - Arroyo, 10 - Curtin, 11 - Everdale (c); 15 - Makasi, 21 - Lynch
In: Demetrio Arroyo (FC Kolberg, free), Bailey Watermill (returned from loan)
Out: Chaim Eizenhart (Na'Malsille Mariners, free)
Retired: Russ Shorten (CM, 36)

Can we just write off the Lotus Park Experiment right now as a resounding... not even a resounding failure. As just a damp squib? Spare a thought for Kyron Everdale, now entering his mid-30s and just shaking his head at the underperforming mediocrities around him. Maxine Saunders got the axe from the hot seat after another average season and Conrad Keane has taken over. Keane is a highly-regarded coach, recently Brenecia's assistant manager, and he has a reputation as a hard taskmaster who can whip a side into shape and get the fundamentals right. He's allowed Eizenhart to leave and the respected Shorten to become his assistant manager. Park should be doing better. 37-year old Lucas d'Araby's got the reflexes of a man ten years younger, and between the Chilton sisters and Gretchen Colback the defensive unit is rock-solid, though the fullbacks are average. Jess Curtin isn't the exciting young player who left Brenecia, and is a more seasoned, stable... slightly dull presence in the centre of midfield, with the burly, straightforward young Arroyo partnering her - Johansson will be looking to make a stronger impact on the league this time around while Everdale is the side's main creative impulse. The side's strong point is theoretically up front - Makasi runs white-hot and stone-cold and last season was far too much of the latter, while Fionn Lynch will be a little disappointed with 12 goals considering his hype. Either way... expect a solid season, but not a thrilling one.

PREDICTION - 8th.

League Run: Champions
Cup Run: First Round
Stadium: Union Park (36,000)
Nickname: Union
Manager: Althea Reader
Captain: Candace Rivers
Top Scorer: Sheila Maddon (16)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Urquhart; 19 - Given, 6 - Finley, 5 - Rubio, 3 - Murcutt; 7 - Kilbane (c), 15 - Gryphon, 14 - Kuralay; 10 - Coveny, 9 - Maddon, 16 - Thatcher
In: Marijana Kuralay (Chatswood, 8.5m), Naphtali Thatcher (Iskara Daii, 4m), Scout Given (Firewood City, 4m)
Promoted: Rosalind Buchanan (GK, 18), Gethin Quill (LB, 18), Meghan Hartsdown (CM, 18)
Out: Aleksandra Skorupska (Trothwands Evolution, 10m), Emmeline Mariconda (Northern Stallions, 750k), Max Thickett (Pikemouth, free), Johan Barragan (St-Renee, free)
Retired: Julia Fengouli (CM, 35), Diandra Branagh (LB, 34)

Well, Union are Union after sweeping the league in decisive fashion, the anti-South Rathia as it were. And they will continue to be Union, too. Okay, admittedly, they lost their best player - Skorupska - who felt her work in Brenecia was done, and lost a few other players as well. They just brought in a World Cup winner and 130 Brenecia caps - some of them belonging to Thatcher, who they fought off bids from Krytenian Ousevale Casuals and the Euraleague's Workers' Union to grab. No big deal. This season, Althea Reader has stated her aims as nothing short of a treble - league, Cup and UICA glory. She definitely has the tools for the job at home. Geneva Urquhart is arguably the league's best goalkeeper, and two of four very good centre-halves - Rubio and Finley given the edge in preseason - and rock-solid fullbacks in the seasoned veteran Given and the young, bullish Murcutt. A terrifying midfield sees playmaker Kilbane supported by the diligent, deft Kuralay - maybe the best player in the league - and with calm, collected Gryphon holding the line. Up front, the three forwards are all very quick and very good at finishing, with Thatcher the jewel in the crown. The entire bench can easily step in for A-League or Cup matches without skipping a beat, with veteran quality like Monroe, Rivers and Pendragon mixed with young guns like Montanari and Musendo - there are 12 capped Brenecia internationals in this side, for Christ's sake. Playing expansive, hard-hitting football at home and rock-solid, direct and ruthless counterattacking football in UICA, Union are set for success... but can they possibly live up to expectation?

PREDICTION - Champions.

League Run: 2nd
Cup Run: Runners-up
Stadium: Rosary Stadium (38,000)
Nickname: the Saints
Manager: Raven Cullen
Captain: Niko Moss
Top Scorer: Tevin Lilley (19)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Nkutu; 2 - Báez, 24 - Brassfellow, 19 - Szubanski, 3 - Henry; 8 - Galloway, 4 - Moss (c), 21 - Drover; 13 - Hearkener, 15 - Lilley, 10 - Farrell
In: Elsie Drover (Rosbank Town, 6m)
Promoted: Cassie Larquin (CM, 18), Chris Byrnford (GK, 18)
Out: Markus Stubbs (Southfell United, 1.25m), Roy Taggart (Pikemouth, free), Catheline Petterson (Sharrow, free)

Almost but not quite - despite losing Raven Cullen midway through the season to the Brenecian national job, the Saints ended up finishing second... thirteen points adrift. In a very quiet window in Brenecia, Rozelle's one huge marquee signing puts them a step above most of the rest. They might not have Cathy Purrington but they have the two women who've understudied her for close to a decade in the Patriots. They've released fringe players in Taggart and Petterson and sold Stubbs to relegated Nepharim side Southfell after it became apparent the former Crisisbless man was unlikely to start regularly, leaving them with a strong side as capable as any of breaking Union's hold on the title. They are still expected to play high-pressing, rough and ready attacking football but their goalkeeper is the no-nonsense fringe Semar international Nkutu, with Brassfellow and Szubanski a slightly fragile but talented and quick defensive partnership, Baez and Henry contributing heavily to the side's depth by bombing down the flanks. Galloway and Moss know their way around this league and back - a playmaker and a defensive midfielder to allow the destructive power of 21-year old Drover to do her thing. Up front, Ross Hearkener improved in leaps and bounds as the season went on and with last season's top goalscorer Lilley and the ever-lethal Farrell accompanying him up front, the Saints will back themselves to put goals past any team either at home or abroad. The most likely challengers to Union's throne, as things stand.

PREDICTION - 2nd.

League Run: 6th
Cup Run: Second Round
Stadium: Violet Park (22,000)
Nickname: United
Manager: Cillian Najdorf
Captain: Senter Senterekoesima
Top Scorer: Kirum Ingolfsson (11)
Likely Starting XI: (4-3-3) 1 - Rohan; 2 - Bridge, 5 - Rodriguez, 4 - Radbury, 3 - Senterekoesima (c); 11 - Kjelsberg, 6 - Martinelli, 15 - Donachy; 7 - Whitesmith, 12 - Ingolfsson, 10 - Larkspur
In: Ambram Salvai (Alexandria United, 3m), Béâúñîä Añdìsörì (free agent)
Promoted: Jill Flaxen (RB, 18), Harper Conroy (CM, 19)
Out: Kazil Drazinovic (Saint John Koreana, free), Teemu Silvennsson (AFC Shale, free), Aphrodite Whitesmith (Mount Roland, free)
Retired: Thaddeus Barker (DM, 36)

Rozelle United are strong and quietly building under the steady eye of Cillian Najdorf, a candidate for the best manager in the league last season and currently the only foreign one. He's improved the discipline of the back line and sharpened everything up at the top. As a result, United were a lethal counter-attacking machine and might well prove up to the challenge of the Globe Cup. But there's been casualties of this high-octane approach, and well-liked veterans Drazinovic, Silvennsson and Whitesmith were released while Thaddeus Barker hung up his boots after a strong final season. In goal, Andrea Rohan had her best season yet, a flying shotstopper with fantastic distribution and finally somewhat reliable in the air. Rodriguez turned back the years along with the big, clever Radbury to keep the defence secure while Bridge and the captain Senterekoesima were both redoubtable defenders and important going forward. Soren Kjelsberg is the jewel of the midfield, partnered by the razor-sharp Donachy with the holding role filled in preseason by 21-year old Osarian Caprice Martinelli, who impressed when called upon last season - clever, quietly technical and with the world at her feet. Up front, new signing Salvai is clearly skilled but inconsistent, with Ingolfsson and Larkspur less explosive at their best but reliable enough for A-League level. More intriguing is the signing of promising 16-year old forward Béâúñîä Añdìsörì, who's made the official list of senior players (though she'll be expected to play most of the season with the reserves). On the whole... more of the same, please?

PREDICTION - 6th.

A-League Newswires (Brenecia Domestic Football)

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