Sportingnews.kalactin.com

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD2 NKSL

Ballina FC	Griffin City	4	0
Joe Russell 31’, 45+1’, 89’
Vaarin Detkov 68’

Blue Town	Toureres	1	0
Tony Phelps 61’

Salmon Head	Ballina RD	1	0
Benjamin Thomas 31’

Harbor City	Purple Town	1	2
PT: Jack Butler 6’
Ben Ramirez 71’
HC: Todd King 34’

GCCFC	Yamba FC	2	0
Emanuel Nissan ‘81
Harry Ramirez 87’

Kempsey United	Glen Innes	5	0
Luke Dillan 6’ 54’
Irving Murphy 21’
Dan Guidry 36’
Bennik Hreidarsson 82’

Week Stats
Goal Leaders: Joe Russell (3)
Luke Dillan, Roy Rivera, Bruce Johnson (2)

Team of the Week:
GK: Neil Scott
D: Bennik Hreidarsson, Edward Nelson, Harry Ramirez, Nicolas Lebaume
M: Okyanus Batur, Emanuel Nissin, Dan Guidry, Todd King
ST: Joe Russell, Irving Murphy

Player of the Week: Joe Russell

Well, what a week that was. There where quite a few games where the offense was very clearly present, such as the Kempsey United game. Kempsey started out with a rough week 1, but this game certainly proves that they still have that magic in them from last year. Ballina FC, Kempsey’s bridesmaid last year in the table, also was out with their offense, scoring 4 goals on the Audioslavian keeper Luca Zanardi. The Ballina Red Devils started out with a great Week one performance, but we didn’t see anything notable from the, this week, and their horrendous offensive performance against Salmon Head wasn’t good to watch. Yamba FC is still yet to score a goal 2 weeks into the season, while their defense may have been horrible last year, this year their offense isn’t showing. Joe Russell put on the highlight performance of the week, with 3 goals in a 4-0 win for Ballina FC. Just off of his 3 goals this week, Joe is already the leading scorer so far this season in the NKSL. Nicolas Lebaume is the first player this season to have 2 ratings in a row that over 9.00, congrats Nicolas!

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD3 NKSL

Ballina FC	Blue Town	2	1
BT: Tony Phelps 33’
BFC: Joe Russell 13’
Andrew Fields 27’

Toureres	Salmon Head	3	0
Shannon Schmidt 13’
Steve Gilbert 48’
Frankie Summers 59’

Ballina RD	Harbor City	4	0
George Taylor 36’, 71’
Juan Campbell 41’
Jason Bailey 57’

Purple Town	GCCFC	0      2
Steven Adams 81’
Jim Hallet 13’

Yamba FC	Kempsey United	0	2
Aldir Pahlke 8’
Luke Dillan 39’

Griffin City	Glen Innes	1	1
GI: Joseph Faragò 64’
GC: Jason Stewart 61’

Week Stats
Top Scorers so far: Joe Russell (4)
Luke Dillan, George Taylor (3)

Team of the Week:
GK: Brian Hall
D: Aldir Pahlke, Joseph Faragò, Carlos Carter, Keith Price
M: Jason Stewart, Steven Adams, Tony Phelps, Bradford Holt
ST: George Taylor, Jim Hallet

Player of the Week: Aldir Pahlke, Kempsey United

Well, that was an exciting week in the NKSL. Ballina FC and GCCFC, both coming into this season with outside shots at the title, remain the only 2 teams to have not lost or tied a game. The Ballina Red Devils absolutely blew out their opponent, revealing the weak defense behind Harbour City’s strong midfield core. George Taylor went on to score his second and third goals of the season today, with a stellar performance that included 2 goals in that match. Joe Russell on the other hand, extends his scoring lead to 4 on the season, netting a goal in the 13th minute to send Ballina FC out to an early lead. Kempsey United seems to be rebounding from their poor first week performance, as Luke Dillan scored another goal that would put insurance on the 1-0 lead for Kempsey. Joseph Faragò came in as a substitute, and netted a surprise goal in the 64th minute as a response to the Jason Stewart goal by Griffin City. This week, as the news of Prime Minister Jason Mitchell resigning and leaving to Delaclava shocked the nation, along with all the other protests, riots and violence, the league is a getaway for many during these turbulent times.

Quarter-Season Table

#	Team	Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
Ballina FC	9	3	3	0	0	7	1
GCCFC	        9	3	3	0	0	6	0
Kempsey United	7	3	2	1	0	7	0
Ballina RD	6	3	2	0	1	7	1
Salmon Head	6	3	2	0	1	4	4
Toureres	3	3	1	0	2	3	2
Purple Town	3	3	1	0	2	3	6
Blue Town	3	3	1	0	2	2	5
Harbor City	3	3	1	0	2	2	6
Griffin City	2	3	0	2	1	1	5
Glen Innes	1	3	0	1	2	1	8
Yamba FC	0	3	0	0	3	0	5

Ballina FC and GCCFC seem to be off to an obvious early lead. They will very much be teams to watch in the first division after the league splits and teams separate into 2 separate divisions. Toureres only won their first game today, and they could be in trouble with the quick season going on, and could possibly miss out on a top seed in the divisional split.

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL MD4

Blue Town	Griffin City	2	2
BT: Jesus Weber 67’
Santos Holloway 79’
GC: Billy Johnson 28’
Kevin Garcia 31’

Salmon Head	Ballina FC	1	1
SH: Harry Cook 51’
BFC: Jackie Smith 87’

Harbor City	Toureres	0	4
Frankie Summers 19’
Simon Griffith 31’
Cody Dixon 56’ 78’

GCCFC	Ballina RD	4	1
GC: Jim Hallet 6’
Emanuel Nissan 13’, 45+2’
Harry Ramirez 81’
BRD: George Taylor 63’

Kempsey United	Purple Town	3	0
Ed Smith 21’
Dan Guidry 31’, 56’

Glen Innes	Yamba FC	2	2
GI: Scott Murphy 28’
Perico Santos 42’
YFC: Chris Anderson 13’, 82’

Week Stats:
Top Scorers: George Taylor, Joe Russell (4)
Luke Dillan (3)

Team of the Week:
GK: Brian Hall
D: Guillermo Harrison, Travis McCoy, Harry Ramirez, Kevin Garcia
M: Perico Santos, Dan Guidry, Emanuel Nissin, Simon Griffith
ST: Cody Dixon, Chris Anderson

Player of the Week: Emanuel Nissin

This week was one full of high scoring matches and lots of fun for the players. Easily the most anticipated match was that of GCCFC and the Ballina Red Devils, both teams with some of the best records in the league right now, and looking to gain an edge on one another. GCCFC would end up coming out the winners at the end of the match, and it was clear who was the better team out there today, with GCCFC being able to hand it to the Red Devils. Toureres seems to be getting back on their footing again, and are now tied for 5th place a third through this season. GCCFC got scored on for the very first time this season, and they now have a +9 Goal differential. That total it topped by Kempsey United, who have managed an amazing 10-0 goal differential! Yamba FC still sits at the bottom of the league table, although they gained their first points today, earning a tie against Glen Innes, one of the other teams that has been struggling greatly so far. Salmon Head was able to pull a very unexpected win against Ballina FC, and showed people what they were capable of in beating one of the power teams in the league. Brian Hall, a second week in a row, came out with stellar performances, earning him another spot on team of the week.

Table

#	Team	Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
GCCFC	        12	4	4	0	0	10	1
Kempsey United	10	4	3	1	0	10	0
Ballina FC	10	4	3	1	0	8	2
Salmon Head	7	4	2	1	1	5	5
Toureres	6	4	2	0	2	7	2
Ballina RD	6	4	2	0	2	8	5
Blue Town	4	4	1	1	2	4	7
Griffin City	3	4	0	3	1	3	7
Purple Town	3	4	1	0	3	3	9
Harbor City	3	4	1	0	3	2	10
Glen Innes	2	4	0	2	2	3	10
Yamba FC	1	4	0	1	3	2	7

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD5

Blue Town	Salmon Head	1	0
Lorenzo Bowman 41’

Ballina FC	Harbor City	4	1
BFC: Joe Russell 16’
Jackie Smith 46’, 90+1
Alan Frazier 56’
HC: Rick Reynolds 75’

Toureres	GCCFC	2	0
Frankie Summers 11’, 45’

Ballina RD	Kempsey United	1	1
BRD: Okyanus Batur 68’
KU: Irving Murphy 87’

Purple Town	Glen Innes	2	0
Jack Butler 46’
Ilinx-Ibilx Tla 76’

Griffin City	Yamba FC	2	2
YFC: Eugene Green 67’ 75’
GC: George Brooks 23’
Dennis Ross 78’

Week Stats
Goal Leaders:
Joe Russell, Frankie Summers (5)

Team of the Week:
Luca Zanardi-Fred Williams-Wayne Collins-Nicolas Lebaume-Jack Burrell- Jackie Smith-Okayanus Batur-Ilinx-Ibilx Tl-George Brooks-Frankie Summers-Irving Murphy

Today had a series of huge matches happening in this week of the NKSL. First of all, the most anticipated match was the Ballina Red Devils versus Kempsey United. A clash of possible the 2 best teams in the league this year was very fun for everyone to watch. Another great match came in Toureres versus Gold Coast Capital, which showed 2 recently rising teams play against each other and Toureres came out with the victory in the end. That win wouldn’t have happened without 2 goals by Frankie Summers that puts his total on the season up to 5, already showing that he could possible make the NT soon. As we near the midway point of the season coming next week, we need to ask, what teams can we look to do well during the split? Well for one, Ballina FC may be one of the best teams to watch this year, and as of now, are still undefeated in regular season play. They also sit atop of the league table right now, and have a clear shot at winning the title if they make it to the split. A small statistical fact, Kempsey United has now given up their first goal of the season, being the only team to make it this far.

Team	        Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
Ballina FC	13	5	4	1	0	12	3
GCCFC	        12	5	4	0	1	10	3
Kempsey United	11	5	3	2	0	11	1
Toureres	9	5	3	0	2	9	2
Ballina RD	7	5	2	1	2	9	6
Salmon Head	7	5	2	1	2	5	6
Blue Town	7	5	2	1	2	5	7
Purple Town	6	5	2	0	3	5	9
Griffin City	4	5	0	4	1	5	9
Harbor City	3	5	1	0	4	3	14
Yamba FC	2	5	0	2	3	4	9
Glen Innes	2	5	0	2	3	3	12

[Northwest Kalactin]

Kalactin Gridiron League Preview
The Kalactanian Gridiron League has undergone a large transformation since many last saw it, now with rich being able to dominate, and no salary cap, the League has shrunk to 8 teams, all from many of the largest cities in the nation. Players are now earning exponentially higher contracts than before, as wealthy businessmen try to grab the best players. The College draft system does still exist, 10 rounds and 80 players are drafted into the league each year.

Team Ratings Pre Season:
1. Coffs Harbor: 92
2. Murwelldobah: 91
3. Kyater: 86
4. Gold Coast: 85
5. Yamba: 85
6. Ballina: 83
7. Toureres: 81
8. Kempsey: 78
As you can see, there are 4 main tiers for teams here:

Championship Caliber
Coffs Harbor
Murwelldobah
These are the 2 teams to watch the most this season, with both of them having shots at putting up championship performances. Outside of these 2, it is a mystery who else could challenge for the title, these 2 teams just have such good rosters, that will be extremely hard to match at the end of the day for other teams.

Playoff Contenders
Kyater
Gold Coast
Yamba
These are all teams that have a shot at going out and making the playoffs, and maybe even pulling a small upset on the teams ahead of them. If any of these teams end up to make the playoffs and play in the Kalactin Bowl, it will be very interesting to watch how they end up doing, as, with some luck, any of them can beat another team in this league.

On the Bubble
Toureres
Kempsey
Ballina
With only 8 teams, there is only so much that can happen in one season. These are all teams that can and will try to steal the 4th playoff spot from the Contenders. Many of these teams don’t have as much money and power as the other teams, but if they do have any good breakout seasons, than look for some of these teams in the playoffs.

Rating Fun Shit
Best Quarterbacks
1. Jack Russell, Coffs Harbour
2. Timothy Howard, Kyater
3. Wayne Parker, Yamba

Best Coaching Staff
1. Coffs Harbor
2. Gold Coast
3. Murwelldobah

Best Rush Offenses
1. Murwelldobah
2. Ballina
3. Kyater

Best Defenses
1. Murwelldobah
2. Yamba
3. Coffs Harbour

Best Offensive Players
1. Paul Ward, WR, Kyater
2. Jack Russell, QB, Coffs Harbour
3. Mark Price, OT, Ballina
4. Mark Bruner, TE, Yamba
5. Timothy Howard, QB, Kyater

Best Defensive Players
1. Todd Cook, CB, Coffs Harbour
2. Jason Sanders, DT, Murwelldobah
3. Ben Nelson, OLB, Murwelldobah
4. Keith Brown, MLB, Yamba
5. Johnny Bryant, DE, Gold Coast

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL MD6

Salmon Head	Griffin City	0	0
Harbor City	Blue Town	0	1
Jesus Weber 16’

GCCFC	Ballina FC	1	1
GCCFC: Harry Ramirez 13’
BFC: Wilfred Kelly 47’

Kempsey United	Toureres	3	0
Irving Murphy 28’
Kelly Stevens 42’
Ed Smith 78’

Glen Innes	Ballina RD	1	2
BRD: Lamar Snyder 34’
George Taylor 83’
GI: Aaron Griffin 56’

Yamba FC	Purple Town	0	2
Jesse Bennett 67’
Eric Robinson 78’

Week Stats
Leading Scorers: Irving Murphy (6)
Joe Russell (5)

Team of the Week: Nifea Sitrembel-James Jackson-Wayne Collins-Eric Robinson-Kelly Stevens-Ed Smith-Jesse Bennett-Lamar Snyder-Jesus Weber-Irving Murphy

Player of the Week: Irving Murphy

As we come up on MD 6 there is much to watch. This marks the halfway point of the league, and there are a few clear favorites. The GCCFC v. Ballina FC game was the one to watch this week, but it didn’t necessarily overshadow the Kempsey United v. Toureres game, that ended in a crushing for Toureres. The GCCFC v. Ballina FC game would go onto play out to a draw, a defensive battle it was, but one that had an absolute highlight goal in the 54th minute by Harry Ramirez, the GCCFC midfielder. The Kempsey United match had another great performance from the star forward Irving Murphy, who could very well be making a case for a national team start in the future. Jesus Weber had a possible goal of the year for Blue Town today, as he sent a booming 35 yard kick into the top corner of the net, over the shoulder of Harbor City keeper Roger Flores. Ballina FC, despite their defensive touch, but they keep on scoring goals, now second in the league in goals. There is a clear cut between the top 3 teams in the league and the rest of the pack, all being at least a win ahead of everyone else.

Team	         Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
Kempsey United	14	6	4	2	0	14	1
Ballina FC	14	6	4	2	0	13	4
GCCFC	        13	6	4	1	1	11	4
Ballina RD	10	6	3	1	2	11	7
Blue Town	10	6	3	1	2	6	7
Toureres	9	6	3	0	3	9	5
Purple Town	9	6	3	0	3	7	9
Salmon Head	8	6	2	2	2	5	6
Griffin City	5	6	0	5	1	5	9
Harbor City	3	6	1	0	5	3	15
Yamba FC	2	6	0	2	4	4	11
Glen Innes	2	6	0	2	4	4	14

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL MD7

Salmon Head	Harbor City	2	0
Edward Nelson 56’
Eric Clark 83’

Blue Town	GCCFC	0	2
Jim Hallet 18’
Lawrence Brooks 90+1’

Ballina FC	Kempsey United	1	1
BFC: Joe Russell 44’
KU: Courtney Stewart 67’

Toureres	Glen Innes	4	0
Cody Dixon 16’, 78’, 89’
Simon Griffith 41’

Ballina RD	Yamba FC	2	0
Mark Martinez 34’
Carlos Carter 62’

Griffin City	Purple Town	2	0
Dennis Ross 47’
Alan Reed 76’

Week Stats
Leading Scorers: Joe Russell, Irving Murphy (6)
Cody Dixon (5)

Team of the Week: Luca Zanardi-Nicolas Lebaume-Carlos Carter-Simon Griffith-Henry Moore-Alan Reed-Courtney Stewart-Edward Nelson-Mark Martinez-Cody Dixon-Joe Russell

As another match day goes by in the NKSL, we have exciting news from all around the league. Gold Coast Capital has taken the league in the league table, although nothing matters until the split happens. The entire IFCF field will be determined by the placing of each teams during the second stage of the season, which is a 5 MD Round Robin between the teams that end up in your half during the first stage. The Kempsey United v. Ballina FC game was by far the match of the week to watch, and it ended in a low scoring draw, one that had the defenses out there between the 2 top scoring teams in the league. With just 4 match days remaining we can clearly see who the best teams in the league are at this point, with that e top 3 or 4 teams having a clear lead in the league. In the MVP race, a poll published by Sporting News Kalactin Polling revealed that writers think that Joe Russell may be a leading player for the award, with Emanuel Nissen and Nicolas Lebaume close in second and third respectively.

#	Team	Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
GCCFC	        16	7	5	1	1	13	4
Kempsey United	15	7	4	3	0	15	2
Ballina FC	15	7	4	3	0	14	5
Ballina RD	13	7	4	1	2	13	7
Toureres	12	7	4	0	3	13	5
Salmon Head	11	7	3	2	2	7	6
Blue Town	10	7	3	1	3	6	9
Purple Town	9	7	3	0	4	7	11
Griffin City	8	7	1	5	1	7	9
Harbor City	3	7	1	0	6	3	17
Yamba FC	2	7	0	2	5	4	13
Glen Innes	2	7	0	2	5	4	18

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[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL MD8

Harbor City	Griffin City	3-2
HC: Fisher Hilton 16’
Donald Davis 40’
Bruce Diaz 65’
Ben Edwards 68’
GC: Dennis Ross 34’
Roger Cox 65’

GCCFC	Salmon Head	2-0
Steven Adams 32’
Richard Wright 75’

Kempsey United	Blue Town	4-1
KU: Luke Dillan 16’, 43’
Kelly Stevens 73’
Pynla Yarrow 81’
BT: Troy Cohen 4’

Glen Innes	Ballina FC	0-3
Arturo Maldano 11’
Andrew Fields 37’
Joe Russell 56’

Yamba FC	Toureres	0-2
Ninian Lechleiter 13’
Mike Gordon 48’

Purple Town	Ballina RD	0-2
Juan Campbell 44’, 65’

Week Stats
Leading Scorers: Joe Russell (7)
Irving Murphy, Luke Dillan (6)

Team of the Week: Mikey Johnson-Ninian Letcher-Troy Cohen-Kelly Stevens-Richard Wright-Juan Campbell-Andrew Fields-Pynla Yarrow-Steven Adams-Joe Wright-Luke Dillan

Player of the week: Juan Campbell

Write Up
Well, unlike many weeks that we have endured of the league so far, we don’t have many huge games going on. You can defiantly see that until the final week of the season, there won’t be a ton of huge games going on in the league. Because of this news, it looks like the top teams will be the ones that are able to survive the stretch and make it through the rest of the season, into the top division during the split. The split will be on MD 11, and a 5 MD Round Robin will take place between the top teams from each division. Kempsey United and GCCFC both survived their matches, and they remain atop of the NKSL table, for now. Toureres and Ballina FC have been closely trailing behind them as they secure wins against weaker sides of the league, and are trying to edge out one another for the top seed before the split. A small contest between Blue Town, Salmon Head, and Purple Town seems to be taking place right now, with one of those teams looking to secure a spot in the top division during the split.

Game of the Week, Ballina RD-Purple Town
This match was a closely contested one that took place between 2 teams that both look to grab a spot in the top 6. Juan Campbell took the game into his own hands, scoring 2 goals that would be the deciding factor in this match. Despite winning the match, the Red Devils only had a 46% possession rate, and almost gave up a few on defense.

#	Team	Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
GCCFC	        19	8	6	1	1	15	4
Kempsey United	18	8	5	3	0	19	3
Ballina FC	18	8	5	3	0	17	5
Ballina RD	16	8	5	1	2	15	7
Toureres	15	8	5	0	3	15	5
Salmon Head	11	8	3	2	3	7	8

Blue Town	10	8	3	1	4	7	13
Purple Town	9	8	3	0	5	7	13
Griffin City	8	8	1	5	2	9	12
Harbor City	6	8	2	0	6	6	19
Yamba FC	2	8	0	2	6	4	15
Glen Innes	2	8	0	2	6	4	21

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL, MD 9-11
MD 9

Harbor City	GCCFC	0	3
Jim Hallet 5’
Emanuel Nissin 14’, 67’

Salmon Head	Kempsey United	1	0
Harry Cook 11’

Blue Town	Glen Innes	0	2
Perico Santos 54’
Steve Rivera 78’

Ballina FC	Yamba FC	3	0
Joe Russell 31’, 43’
Andrew Fields 76’

Toureres	Purple Town	1	2
TU: Mike Gordon 39’
PT: Jack Butler 61’
Benjamin Ramirez 84’

Griffin City	Ballina RD	1	1
GC: Alan Reed 54’
BRD: Bruce Taylor 25’

MD 10

Griffin City	GCCFC	0	2
Richard Wright 37’
Fred Martin 69’

Kempsey United	Harbor City	2	0
Pynla Yarrow 31’, 82’

Glen Innes	Salmon Head	0	1
James Jackson 11’

Yamba FC	Blue Town	2	4
YFC: Jack Washington 56’
Steven James 87’
BT: Amos Wallace 26’
Rick Reynolds 33’
Nicolas Harrington 51’, 76’

Purple Town	Ballina FC	2	3
BFC: Arturo Manalado 20’
Andrew Fields 61’
Vaarin Detkov 74’
PT: Jesse Bennett 43’, 90’

Ballina RD	Toureres	1	0
Juan Campbell 65’

MD 11

GCCFC	Kempsey United	1	1
GC: Irving Murphy 67’
KU: Pynla Yarrow 34’

Harbor City	Glen Innes	1	0
HC: Fisher Hilton 77’

Salmon Head	Yamba FC	0	2
William Foster 44’
Chris Anderson 59’

Blue Town	Purple Town	1	2
BT: Tony Phelps 54’
PT: Ilinx-Ibilx Tla 23’, 69’

Ballina FC	Ballina RD	1	2
BFC: Alan Frazier 55’
BRD: Juan Campbell 51’
Brian Wood 78’

Toureres	Griffin City	1	0
Mike Gordon 54’

The Ballina Rally, GCC-KU and the Color War write ups coming soon


Table

#	Team	Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
GCCFC	        26	11	8	2	1	21	5
Ballina FC	24	11	7	3	1	24	9
Ballina RD	23	11	7	2	2	19	9
Kempsey United	22	11	6	4	1	22	5
Toureres	18	11	6	0	5	17	8
Salmon Head	17	11	5	2	4	9	10

Purple Town	15	11	5	0	6	13	18
Blue Town	13	11	4	1	6	12	19
Griffin City	9	11	1	6	4	10	16
Harbor City	9	11	3	0	8	7	24
Yamba FC	5	11	1	2	8	8	22
Glen Innes	5	11	1	2	8	6	23

Well, there we have it folks! That’s is the end of the first stage of the NKSL season. These first 11 weeks have been so exciting for the league, but we aren’t done yet, not even close. We still have 5 MDs left of the season, and these will be ones that determine everything. The split will take place, and the 5 teams that go to the championship division will not have an easy route to an IFCF spot, as the top 6 must compete for 4 spots. This is the first season that we have not seen Kempsey United absolutely dominate, and it has been very interesting, with a few new teams emerging. Salmon Head looks to be a very improved team this year, while Toureres and Griffin City seems to be falling off quite a bit. The lowest finishing team in the no-championship division will go onto get relegated to the NKSL 2, and Yamba FC and Glen Innes look to be front runners for that spot. Kempsey United has always been the team to beat in the NKSL, but is this end of the season crash and burn that they endured starting to tell us something different? Pynla Yarrow had a very promising final stretch of the season, but that may not tell us that much. Their aging roster is looking to start to cause some trouble for the club, and if they don’t do well in the Championsip division, then they may start to fall off quite a bit. The Championsip Division will be played at Gold Coast International Stadium. The home field of GCCFC. The non-championship division will be played at The Purple Dome, where Purple Town plays the majority of their games. Goodbye, we will see you soon for the start of the second round!

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL Championship Division 1-3
MD1

Kempsey United	Ballina RD	1	0
Irving Murphy 52’

Ballina FC	Toureres	2	0
Vaarin Detkov 67’
Travis McCoy 93’

GCCFC	Salmon Head	4	0
Carl Collins 6’, 78’
Fred Marin 51’
Jim Hallet 71’

Not many supremes here. The top 3 teams in the championship division go into blank the so called “bottom half” of the league today. The stellar performance of GCCFC’s Carl Collins was one to watch today, as he put opus a near perfect performance that was earned by 2 goals and an assist.

MD2

Ballina RD	GCCFC	1	2
BRD: Andrew Fields 29’
GCC: Emanuel Nissin 37’
Lawrence Brooks 82’

Toureres	Kempsey United	2	2
T: Nicolas Leabaume 62’
Cody Dixon 89’
KU: Dan Guidry 21’
Bennik Hreidarsson 55’

Salmon Head	Ballina FC	0	0

Another da, another win for GCCFC. It is honestly getting very hard to slow down this monster of a team, and with the way that they have been playing lately, it will be hard to stop. Salmon Head got a good draw against Ballina FC, defiantly unexpected for a club of their caliber.

MD 3

Ballina RD	Toureres	2	1
BRD: Okyanus Batur 14’
Mark Martinez 67’
T: Ninian Lechleiter 23’

Kempsey United	Salmon Head	0	0

GCCFC	Ballina FC	1	2
GCC: Lawrence Brooks 43’
BFC: Bradford Holt 55’
Joe Russell 45’

Well, it can be done guys. GCCFC has lost their first match after the split. It has been proved hard to beta the, on their home turf so far this year, and they have gone undefeated for 453 days! at Gold Coast International. Salmon Head is out there again with another lucky draw.

#	Team	Points	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GC
Ballina FC	7	3	2	1	0	4	1
GCCFC	        6	3	2	0	1	7	3
Kempsey United	5	3	1	2	0	3	2
Ballina RD	3	3	1	0	2	3	4
Salmon Head	2	3	0	2	1	0	4
Toureres	1	3	0	1	2	3	6

Well, based on what we have seen so far, there are a few clear favorites. Toureres and Ballina Red Devils have shown to be very much out of their regular groove, and if Salmon Head continues with their play right now, they could grab a IFCF spot over one of these teams. GCCFC can be beaten at GCIS, and this was proven. They had not lost a game since week 5 of last season at the GCIS, and this could prove to be a very rare occasion. Kempsey may be on the way out of the top end, but they still have 2 more games to prove everyone wrong, it will be a tight race.

[Northwest Kalactin]

My League Simulator File for the NKSL Championship Division is lost. I am scoring the rest of the games using NSFS 2.07 Custom Fixture and generating tables using the Casaran Scheduler generator.

NKSL Championship Matchday 4-5

MD4
Ballina FC 3–2 Kempsey United
BFC: Bradford Holt 16’
Joe Russell 56’, 91’
KU: Pynla Yarrow 21’
Courtney Stewart 43’

Salmon Head 0–0 Toureres

GCCFC 1–2 Ballina RD
GCC: Fred Martin 16’
BRD: Bruce Johnson 11’
Jason Bailey 67’

Kempsey United looks to be falling more and more behind their opponents by the day, and currently are stuck with 2 points in fifth place. If they don’t turn this around quickly, we could even be looking at no IFCF competition for them. Another great performance for Pynla Yarrow would not cut it for them, and with one game left, they are staring to get desperate.

MD 5
Kempsey United 3–1 Toureres
KU: Stephan Parker 16’
Ed Smith 56’
Luke Dillan 89’
T: Frankie Summers 45’

Ballina FC 3–0 Ballina RD
BFC: Joe Russell 54’, 78’
Wilfred Kelly 21’

Salmon Head 1–1 GCCFC
GCC: Harry Ramirez 56’
SH: Edward Nelson 46’

Another great performance by Joe Russell showed everyone why he should be voted as the MVP this season. In the Ballina rally, Ballina FC was able to beat their rivals very easily in a beat down, that would in the end clinch them the league title. Salmon Head gets their third surprised draw, and the Kempsey United win pushed them over the edge and in to an IFCF spot.

.................G W L D PF PA PD SoS SoV Pts
1     Ballina FC 5 4 0 1 10  3  +7  22  60  13 IFCF Champions League
2     Ballina RD 5 3 2 0  8  8  +0  36  45   9 IFCF Challengers Cup
3          GCCFC 5 2 1 2  8  4  +4  29  44   8 IFCF Challengers Cup
4 Kempsey United 5 1 2 2  8  9  -1  34  16   5 IFCF Challengers Cup
5    Salmon Head 5 0 2 3  2  7  -5  44  23   3
6       Toureres 5 0 3 2  4  9  -5  35   8   2

Welp folks! That concludes the NKSL Championship Division for us! Ballina FC was able to win in the end, for their very first league title and the first time ever that Kempsey has finished below the third position. The wonderful play of Ballina FC striker Joe Russell throughout the season could very well give him a good shot at the league MVP. The 28 year old Russell has proven to be one of the leagues best players, with his shifty offensive play behind able to help him score the most goals this season.

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL Awards Show

All NKSL Team

GK: Luca Zanardi, Griffin City
DL: Bennik Hreidarsson, Kempsey United
DC: Nicolas Lebaume, Toureres
DC: Travis McCoy, Ballina RD
DR: Aldir Pahlke, Kempsey United 
ML: Emanuel Nissen, GCCFC
MC: Okyanus Batur, Ballina FC
MR: Pynla Yarrow, Kempsey United
ST: George Taylor, Ballina RD
ST: Joe Russell, Ballina FC
ST: Irving Murphy, Kempsey United

MVP Voting

Joe Russell         53  78  100
Emanuel Nissen      31  22  X
George Taylor       16   X  X

Joe Russell of Ballina FC wins the MVP.

Rest of Awards

Golden Boot: Joe Russell, Ballina FC
Silver Boot: Irving Murphy, Kempsey United
Bronze Boot: Luke Dillan, Kempsey United
Golden Glove: Luca Zanardi, Griffin City
AO Player of the Year: Emanuel Nissen, GCCFC, Audioslavia
Esportiva Player of the Year: Jim Hallet, GCCFC, Xanneria
Rushmori Player of the Year: Ilinx-Ibilx Tla, Purple Town, Qusmo 
Young Player of the Year:  Travis McCoy, Ballina RD
Writers Player of the Year: Joe Russell, Ballina FC

[Northwest Kalactin]

Kalactanian Youth League Seeding Tournament
These 4 groups will decide where each teams ends up in the seeding of the Kalactanian Youth Cup, the premier competition for Kalactanian Youth Teams.

Group 1
1  Fountain of Youth Coffs  FOY   6  4  0  2  18   9   9  12 *    -     3-0    3-2    4-0  
2  Jersey City U17          JER   6  4  0  2  11   9   2  12 *   5-2     -     1-2    2-1  
3  Toureres U17             TOU   6  3  0  3   9   9   0   9     1-0    0-1     -     2-1  
4  Kempsey U-18             KEM   6  1  0  5   7  18 -11   3     1-6    1-2    3-2     -   
Tie broken by head to head goals scored away from home

Group 2                                                         
1  AFC GC Youth             GCY   6  3  2  1  10   7   3  11 *    -     0-2    2-0    2-2  
2  Ballina RD Youth         BRD   6  3  2  1   9   7   2  11 *   2-4     -     2-1    1-1  
3  Glen Innes Youth         GIY   6  2  0  4   6   8  -2   6     1-2    0-1     -     2-0 
4  Ballina FC Juniors       BFC   6  0  4  2   5   8  -3   4     0-0    1-1    1-2     -   
Tie broken by head to head goals scored away from home

Group 3
1  FoY Gold Coast           FOY   6  4  1  1  12   9   3  13      -     2-4    3-2    2-1  
2  GCCFC Youth              GCC   6  3  1  2  11   9   2  10     0-0     -     1-2    0-2  
3  Harbor City 18U          HAR   6  3  0  3   8   8   0   9     0-1    1-3     -     1-0  
4  Murwelldobah Youth       MUR   6  1  0  5   7  12  -5   3     2-4    2-3    0-2     -   

Group 4                                                           
1  FoY International        FOY   6  3  3  0  12   6   6  12      -     1-1    5-2    1-0  
2  Salmon Head Youth        SHY   6  2  4  0   9   7   2  10     1-1     -     1-1    3-3  
3  GCCFC Youth              GCC   6  0  4  2   6  10  -4   4     0-0    1-2     -     0-0  
4  Griffin City U17         GFC   6  0  3  3   7  11  -4   3     2-4    0-1    2-2     -

As we can see, the 3 fountain of youth club dominated, as they have gained 3 of the 4 spots in the top tournament, and there will be the FoY Gold Coast v. FoY International showdown that will be one to watch. Another fun fact here is that 3 of the 4 teams advancing will be from Gold Coast or Coffs Harbour, so we may see some rivalries stem between those 2 cities via talent in the youth leagues.

Teams Playing for a spot in the Rising Stars Cup
GC AFC Youth v. Fountain of Youth Coffs
FoY International v. FoY Gold Coast

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKBL Results

                        Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Murwelldobah           42   33   9  4060 3572 +488    99
2 Coffs                  42   33   9  4128 3681 +447    99
3 Yamba                  42   32  10  4104 3684 +420    96
4 Gold Coast             42   17  25  4005 3931  +74    51
5 Ballina                42   17  25  3835 3899  −64    51
6 Kempsey                42   15  27  3803 4073 −270    45
7 Purple Town            42   12  30  3647 4174 −527    36
8 Lismore                42    9  33  3650 4218 −568    27

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL 2                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 River City               22   14   4   4    53   36  +17    46
 2 Murwelldobah FC          22   14   3   5    50   33  +17    45
 3 Coffs Harbour            22   13   5   4    56   35  +21    44
 4 Jersey Killers           22   13   3   6    51   41  +10    42
 5 Basepoint Kyater AC      22    9   5   8    40   40    0    32
 6 Brenleigh FC             22    8   7   7    49   41   +8    31
 7 South City               22    7   6   9    35   43   −8    27
 8 AFC Eumbrai              22    7   3  12    43   51   −8    24
 9 AFC Gold Coast           22    6   6  10    39   48   −9    24
10 Jarrbergen Football      22    6   6  10    29   40  −11    24
11 Taree United             22    4   4  14    32   48  −16    16
12 Kendall                  22    4   2  16    31   52  −21    14


Kalactin Ligue 3      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Byron Bay              27   15   4   8    41   34   +7    49
 2 Wingham                27   14   6   7    36   22  +14    48
 3 Mineral Point          27   10  10   7    43   34   +9    40
 4 Okaye                  27   11   6  10    28   29   −1    39
 5 Robina                 27   12   3  12    40   42   −2    39
 6 Narribri               27   11   6  10    34   38   −4    39
 7 Ormeau                 27    8  10   9    32   30   +2    34
 8 Ashfield               27    8  10   9    37   38   −1    34
 9 Darwin                 27    7   7  13    30   41  −11    28
10 Varsity Lakes          27    5   6  16    24   37  −13    21

[Northwest Kalactin]

It’s that time of year again
NKSL Previews, Part 1


Credit to rzn grfx for this great logo

Ballina Red Devils
Starting XI
GK: Jimmy James
D: Wayne Collins-Juan Campbell-Mohan Thakshak (BUS)-Carlos Carter
M: Lamar Snyder-Mark Martinez-Trevor Bryant-Okyanus Batur (TMR)
ST: Bruce Johnson-George Taylor-Juan Campbell

History: One of the long standing powerhouses of the league, Ballina Red Devils have always been the dark horse to challenge for the title. They are huge rivals with Ballina FC, their crosstown rivals that always put on a spicy show for the fans when they play. One thing though about this squad is they always seem to be doing worse than they were expected to, and this had had many sports magazines put them down below where most think they will be. They are one of the 3 “Kalactin’s Teams”, along with Yamba FC and rivals Ballina FC. These are clubs that always tend to have the best Kalactanian players playing for them, although the domestic player bias can definitely disadvantage them in the long run.
Players In: Mohan Thakshak (BUS), Trevor Bryant (NWK)
Keys to Winning: Pounding on the offense: Ballina RD has always been a team that likes to go hard on offense, and this year that will be as important as ever. Returning stars like Bruce Johnson and George Taylor will be stars of the team this season, and could be some of the most important guys on the team.
Manager: Willie Flores
Outlook: Well, another season, another failed shot at the Champions League? This seems to be the motto that the Ballina Red Devils live by, although we see a different vision for them this season. They are a team that like we said earlier, if they are able to do well on offense, will be a force to be reckoned with this year. Incoming transfer from the Busoga Islands Mohan Thakshak will definitely improve the quality of the defense this year, a place that they lacked in last year. With many stars returning on offense for the Red Devils, and many of them entering their primes, we think it will be a matter of “when” and not “if” at this point. We think the Red Devils will finish 1st. Willie Flores comes in with an improved squad that is coming off an injury plagued season, but if these guys are healthy, they are a great team.

GCCFC
Starting XI
GK:Neil Scott
D: Gustafe Wright (SNL), Fred Martin, Harry Ramirez, Keith Price
M: Manik (TEQ), Konstantin Nikolov (STL), Emanuel Nissen (AUD)
ST: Tyrone Michaels, Jim Hallet (XAN), Carl Collins

History: One of the most successful clubs in the league, GCCFC had very humble beginnings, barely avoiding relegation in their first years in the league. That all changed when they finished 1st in the NKSL, and gained much international recognition due to their UICA performances. One of the richest clubs in the league, they always look to spend more, and win more than everyone else. These guys are not an easy team to beat, and never have been. They are one of the team that has always been a power team since they became good, and being easily the most successful team from the largest city in the nation, they have always had some good money to spend. Lawrence Brooks has been one of the best players in the league since it started, and is a GCCFC legend, that retired last year.
Players In: Manik (TEQ), Konstantin Nikolov (STL), Gustafe Wright (SNL)
Keys to Winning: Using their midfield: Anyone who watched the transfer window unfold knows that coming in this year, GCCFC will have an absolutely loaded midfield to play off of. Both Manik and Nikolov will be new to the midfield this year, and they will be guiding forces towards a possible IFCF run this year.
Manager: Joseph Wilcox
Outlook: Yeah, we expect these guys to be a pretty good team this year. Bringing in players at their weakest points will definitely let them build up what could be one of the their most successful teams ever. Even though they don’t have the striker that Lawrence Brooks was last year, Jim Hallet will come in, and this stacked midfield will be able to provide a huge amount of support to a team that will live off of them. In fact, it is hard to find a weak spot on this team, they have a great quality defense with South Newlandian defender Gustafe Wright coming in, and they already had a great defense last year. The only thing keeping us from putting them at first is the weak offensive end that could ultimately cost them a title this year. We expect them to finish second

Kempsey United
Starting XI
GK: Brian Hall
D: Conlon Fry (TKT)-Aldir Pahlke (SRS)-Kelly Stevens-Bennik Hreidarsson (SEM)
M: Dan Guidry-Courtney Stewart-Mikhael Gerardo (AUD)-Pylna Yarrow (SRS)
ST: Carl Mangum-Irving Murphy

History: The most successful team ever, a Kempsey United has literally been the centerpiece of pretty much every season of the NKSL so far. Having a top 2 finish in everyone of them, and winning all of them except for one. Luke Dillan was a longtime player there, and is part of a long and storied history that is Kempsey United. They are famous for being the best at everything, winning, scoring, defense, but over these past few years their charm has seemed to faded away a bit, and with Star striker Luke Dillan retiring, their history may not look so good in a few years. Nevertheless, this team has such amazing history to go along with their success, all the way from 3 straight championships to making the playoff round of the IFCF, this club sure has a rich history.
Players In: Conlon Fry (TKT), Mikhael Gerardo (AUD), Carl Mangum (NWK)
Keys to Winning: Keeping the Offense Alive: Thus will be by far the hardest thing for the team to do this year, but in the end it may be the most important one for them to do. They have always had a very powerful offense, but now, without Luke Dillan on the field for them, they need players like Irving Murphy to step up and answer the call.
Manager: Luke Dillan
Outlook: Well, well, well. Kempsey United. What a team. Losing Luke Dillan on the field will certainly be a rough thing for them, but in the end it may help them, as Dillan steps aside to the bench now by taking the head coaching job. He will be coaching players that he played with, and that he knows. In Dillans place at striker will be the unknown Carl Mangum, who came out Fountain of Youth International this past season. They will have trouble with a very old squad, and they may just be starting to fall out of favor. Some say the dynasty is over. The additions of Conlon Fry and Mikhael Gerardo will help the team in the short term, but these guys are both older players, and it is only a matter of time before they fall out of favor. We expect Kempsey United to finish 3rd, and end up with a Challengers Cup birth.

Ballina FC
Starting XI
GK: Mikey Johnson
D: Travis McCoy, Alan Frazier, Arturo Maldonado, Andrew Fields
M: Tyrone Baughn (TKT), Jackie Smith, Vaarin Detkov (SRS)
ST: Joe Russell, Mitchell Dukakis, Travis Holter (CHD)

History: Here we are with the other end of the Ballina duo. Despite being, one of the most successful clubs to ever hail from the nation, Ballina FC is short on silverware, only having won 1 title, which was last season. They always seem to be the bridesmaid to a club like Kempsey United, Gold Coast Capital, or, their own rival, Ballina Red Devils. They are however, one of the most consistent teams in the league, earning UICA placement every year of their storied history. Despite this, they are the most successful Kalactanian club in IFCF play, when last season they managed to reach a miracle group stage finish in the challengers cup, which no Kalactanian team had ever done before. They are one of the clubs that always seems to have a huge number of Kalactanian players on it, which they somehow do great with despite not having the money to pull in the best international guys.
Players In: Tyrone Baughn (TKT), Travis Holter (CHD)
Keys to Winning: Joe Russell Keeping the Dominance up: Love him or hate him, we all know him. Joe Russell. One of the best players in the entire league last year, getting some of the top number of goals in the league out of a defensive team. This year they are more offensive, so they will need Russell to keep up the good work, and keep grabbing the goals.
Manager: Jamarcus Point
Outlook: Well. You know who these guys are. Challengers Cup Group Stage. Last year champions. Home of Joe Russell. This team is one to be reckoned with, like they have been year after year in this league. They will always be one of the toughest teams to face in the league, and that challengers cup group stage proves it. But this year, with new management coming in and trying to make something of what they have, it will be tough for a young Ballina FC team to replicate the amazing run that they put up last year. This, along with the manager taking a new offensive approach, which they players may need some extra time to sink into, is the reason why they are lower than expected. We expect Ballina FC to finish 4th. Don’t let this take away from what this team has potential to accomplish though, if they are able to put up insane offensive production while keeping a strong defensive line, then there is nowhere they can’t go.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Toureres
Starting XI
GK: Granit Peden (SRS)
D: Guillermo Morrison, Willis Mccormick, Nicolas Lebaume (KSK)
DM: Ninian Lechleiter (NPH)
M: Steve Gilbert, Mike Gordon, Joguós Korou (TIO)
ST: Frankie Summers, Cody Dixon, Patrice Langlier (KSK)

History: They where once a team that struggled year after year to even stay at a mid table position in the league, but then a great season 2 years ago changed that, and now they have 2 straight IFCF appearances. Mark Romero was a rising star at the club, and the recent transfer to CF Bondstad shocked many of the teams loyal fans. Toureres has always been a very weird team though. Over the years that have made many jumps and falls throughout the ranks of the NKSL. Once they were a team that was just barely avoiding relegation, and in recent years they have been a team in IFCF contention. They aren’t from the biggest city, but they have one of the best fanbases in the entire NKSL, with thousands of loyal followers across the nation.
Players In: Graint Peden (SRS), Jogòus Korou (TIO), Patrice Langlier (KSK)
Keys to Winning: Harnessing the International Players: This team has some of the most players from foreign leagues in the NKSL. Their high amount of foreign players does mean that they have to adapt. They have a strong defense built off of them, and that could be one of their main ways to win this year.
Manager: Todd Evans
Outlook: Through the editions of Patrice Langlier, Jogòus Korou and Graint Peden, Toureres will have a large number of players to build on this year, and will have many guys that can help restart what they had a few years ago. Despite this, last year was a bad year for the team, even with stars Nicolas Lebaume and Cody Dixon on the team. This year will be a good chance for them to challenge for a spot in the Challengers Cup, even with the rumored large disparity in skill between the top 4 teams and the rest of the pack. A very strong front offensive end is a major talking point for the team, and the starting 3 may be one of the toughest ones in the league to hold back. This team does not have a lot of weak points, but their relative inconsistency will probably hurt them very much in the end. We expect them to finish 5th, but look for them to push for a CC spot

Salmon Head
Starting XI
GK: Nifea Sitrembel (HIN)
D: Benjamin Thompson, Fred Williams, James Jackson, Basheer Colins (EFL)
M: Eugene Campbell, Sean Simmons, Roy Rivera, Harry Cook
ST: Eric Clark, Deshaun Williams

History: One of the newer teams in the league, Salmon Head has quickly arisen to the occasion of being the strongest team from the Coffs Harbour Area. They are known for always playing on the defensive side harder than anywhere else, and not giving up many goals. They have been owned from the same ownership group since their start, and have a large and loyal fan base. Much money has come into the club in recent years, as being the premier club in the Coffs Harbor area has huge benefits to the marketing. Along with this, the rivalry with River City, one of the other Coffs Harbour clubs, has been revitalized, as River City has gotten themselves into the first division again. This will surely make a difference for the club, and they may be looking to make a major IFCF run soon.
Players In: Basheer Colins (EFL)
Keys to Winning: Grabbing Points: The best way for Salmon Head to win will to be to grab points against top end sides. They successfully did this a few times last year and found themselves within points of IFCF contention. If they can do this, they may be able to steal an IFCF spot from one of the top clubs.
Manager: Leland Cromartie (TKT)
Outlook: These guys are in close contention for IFCF placing. They could very well take a spot from one of the top teams, if they get lucky. They have one of the best mainly Kalactanian based rosters, which has proved to make them one of the most popular clubs in the league. The addition of Basheer Colins from Eastfield Lodge will be an interesting one, as he will step in as one of the best defenders in the league, even if he is a free transfer. This club also seems to be running a more offensive approach this year, although it seems like they will till remain as one of the most defensively sound players in the league. Nifea Sitrembel, the goalkeeper from Kita-Hinode, will be one of the leaders of the team this season, and will be one of the best players on the team this year. We expect them to finish 5th or 6th, but with some good luck and strong play, they could very well be 3rd or 4th in the league.

[Northwest Kalactin]

NKSL Previews Part 3

Purple Town
Starting XI
GK: Úna MacMurchadh (SCT)
D: Martin Brown, Eric Robinson, Jimmy Russell, Vobe Vatsu (KOR)
M: Clark Wishart (TKT), Abu Tiyana (BNJ), Ilinx-Ibilx Tla (QUS)
ST: Phillip James, Benjamin Ramirez, Roy Adams

History: Back many years ago, Purple Town was literal bullshit. They couldn’t even win enough games to stay in the third division of the Kalactanian system. Then, they started to become better and better, they finally made it to the first division, but was one of the worst teams. After many years of struggling, Purple Town has finally become one of the more respectable teams of the NKSL. Their fierce rivalry with Blue Town has intensified over the years as the 2 color themed teams have had their own battles together trying to stay out of the relegation cellar. Their historically dirty type of play has been described as “disgusting” and a “disgrace”, but it seems to help them do ok, as they have been using it to avoid relegation for multiple years.
Players In: Clark Wishart (TKT), Abu Tiyana (BNJ), Vobe Vatsu (KOR), Una Macmurchadch
Keys to Winning: Scoring Lots of Goals: One of this teams strategies has always been to score lots of goals on the other teams. Their 3 striker form and high defensive line will be helping them achieve this goal this year. Look for these guys to score a lot of goals.
Manager: vacant
Outlook: Building on the 7th place finish that they managed to grab last year will be one of the main goals of this team. Despite a long shot at the CC, this team will be looking to grab a good number of points against top teams and other team in their group of contention. The new Schottian goalkeeper Úna MacMurchadh will have large effect on this team, as they will be one of the most experienced players on the team in international play this year. Purple Town went very hard in the transfer market, which allowed them to grab players like Abu Tiyana from Banija, and Clark Wishart from Tikariot. Their offense will be another very strong one this season, and they may be putting up some of the highest goal totals in the league. We expect them to put up a performance near 5th-7th, but they could very well finish far higher than this

Griffin City
Starting XI:
GK: Luca Zanardi (AUD)
D: Anthony Gray, Samuel Perry, Kevin Garcia, Stephen Cumming (AUD)
M: Xilgorio Caldeira (KOR), Alan Reed, Benjamin Todd (TKT)
AM: Billy Johnson, George Brooks
ST: Dennis Ross

History: Griffin City have been a mainstay if the mid-table for many years now, but are very consistent. They always tend to finish in a spot that isn’t to high, or not to low. They are one of the 4 teams to have never been relegated, an accomplishment that is very hard to do. But, despite this they only have 1 IFCF berth in their history, last year. It is possible we may never see the days of back when they finished second and were close to winning the NKSL, although you can never rule things out with this team, as they always seem to be one of the most unpredictable teams in the league. Always brewing one of the poorer teams in the league, however this usually does not stop them from putting on a good show for loyal fans year after year. They are in one of the smallest cities to even yield a soccer team, which is Kyater. A small stadium doesn’t add to this at all, but it is just another part of their history, it may be small but it is legendary.
Players In: Xiligorio Calderia (KOR), Benjamin Todd (TKT)
Keys to Winning: The Midfield: This team has one of the toughest midfields in the league to play against, with multiple international players on it. It will be key for them to use these players to help win this year, as this could be their key to making a run at a mid table spot.
Manager: vacant
Outlook: We defiantly don’t expect these guys to make a run at the title this year, but don’t rule them out on an IFCF spot totally. Even though the odds are low, they have always been able to find a way to put out strong performances near the end of the year, especially when they have a possible shot at high placing. Definitely look for these guys to be amid table team this year. Players like Benjamin Todd from Tikariot are still very unproven, but they can definely make an impact on this team, in a good way. They bring back the Audioslavian keeper Luca Zanardi for another season, who despite many think they overpaid for, was an instrumental part in putting up the mid table finish last year. They are one of the most defensive teams in the league, which could definitely make it so they are able to do well this year. We expect them to grab a mid table position, even though the odds are low, they have a slim chance at IFCF Placement

Blue Town
Starting XI
GK: Hibaan al-Shareef (BUS)
D: Amos Wallace, Troy Cohen, Chester Daniels
M: Tony Phelps, Rick Reynolds, Santos Holloway, Kenneth Lindsey
ST: Jesus Weber, Nicolas Harrington, Ryan Clements (TKT)

History: Always being a small town-small money club, Blue Town was mostly a mainstay of the NKSL 2 up until they became relevant 2 years ago. They have never been able to sign the best players, so they have always relied on the youth academy to produce players for them. Ironically, they have a rivalry with the similarly named Purple Town, which has lasted for many years. Their lack of ability to sign international players has always been a large issue for the club, but one that is dealt with by producing huge number of players in the nation. Their small youth academy tends to produce some of the best players in the nation, and has been a building ground for managers. They have been known to drop absolutely dominating performances in the NKSL 2 if they are down there, one time putting up a 10-0 record with a 30-4 goal differential.
Players In: Hibaan Al-Shareef (BUS), Ryan Clements (TKT)
Keys to Winning: Scoring a lot: This is another team that has one of the strongest offenses in the league, despite having a rough defense. Import from Tikariot Ryan Clements will be an instrumental part in putting up a good offensive performance this year, who will be playing with Jesus Weber and Nick Harrington.
Manager: Joe Carter
Outlook: With new manager Joe Carter stepping up to the rough job at Purple Town, this will be a very interesting season for this Blue Town team. A new goalie will also be a key part in this team, they spent far above their budget and grabbed Hibaan Al-Shareef from the Busoga Islands for 1 million Kalactanian dollars. This was by far the biggest amount they have spent on a player, and he is 37 years old, which is far above what would be considered as a prime player in the Kalactanian league. Ryan Clements will also play a key spot on the team, although it is unsure how good he is. With a new lineup, and a new manager, it will be interesting to see how this season plays out for Blue Town. We expect them to finish 9h in the league.

[Northwest Kalactin]

River City
Starting XI
GK: Jerry Lemmi (CMT)
D: Larry Collins-Kevin Cook-Billy Henderson-Christopher Lee
M: Conner Wimble (KSK)-Louis Washington-Markus Schoenauer (NPH)
ST: Alphonse Zsosz (FFD)-George Hernandez-Ramonet Navaro (TEQ)

History: Well, we come to our next team here, and we have the youngest members of the NKSL here. River City was a longtime mainstay of the NKSL 2, and are already one of the richest teams. Their dominance of the NKSL 2 last year brought them much popularity throughout the league, and brought a large pack of investors to come and help the club build on their budget to help them compete. After being bought by a new owner, they decided to start investing their money in foreign players that could bring a new beginning to the club. The team is looking to build on a history that they soon hope to be one of winning and trophy’s. They are the new kids on the block for now, but that could change soon.
Players In: Alphonse Zsosz (FFD), Ramonet Navaro (TEQ), Markus Schoenauer (NPH), Conner Wimble (KSK),  Jerry Lemmi (CMT)
Keys to Winning: Getting the Foreigners Ready: Many of the foreign players are young or inexperienced at top level clubs, so they will need to teach them team chemistry. Many of these guys have great skill, but it will be a large matter on how coach Joe Schworznowski is able to harness their skill
Manager: Joe Schworznowski
Outlook: These guys are a new team to the league, so it will be very exciting to see how they are able to play this season, especially with a very new lineup and a new Kalactanian coach. This team has a huge number of young and much older foreigners, who will try to fit in on a team that is new to their division. These players will be their best way to win games this season, and many of them have great skill. One of the key players will be Alphonse Zsosz from Farfadillis, who may come out as one of the best strikers in the league this season, if he is able to tap into his potential for the seasom. New coach Joe Schworznowski will try and pull some upsets this season and pull out some miracle wins, and maybe just try and pull out for a top 5 or 6 spot. We expect them to finish in the 8th-10th position in the league, although with some good wins, they could finish much higher.

Yamba FC
Starting XI
GK: Charles Reed
D: Steven James, Michael Mitchell, Hollin Spicer (NPH), Clarence Thomas
M: Jack Washington, William Foster
CAM: Chris Anderson
ST: Eugene Green, Kenneth Barnes, Carl Wright

History: Yamba has always been a team that struggled to stay in the top pack of teams. They have never been a team in contention for IFCF or UICA play, and have always had a horrendous defense. Their Starting 11 never has any big names on it, and you never really can expect them to do anything. They have classically had a low amount of money in their banks, and have always had bringing in players from the international stage to play there. They come from a smaller city, that is growing fast, as their fan base is growing, so are their chances of maybe actually making a good run in this league.
Players In: Hollin Spicer (NPH)
Keys to Winning: Having a Good Defense: Like we will mention 50 times in this preview, Yamba has always had a terrible defense. This season they may definitely struggle back there, but if they are able to improve it, there is a chance they could be a team that actually stays and competes.
Manager: Joseph Fernandez
Outlook: The new Nepharan player Hollin Spicer may be what this defense needs to finally become good enough to compete at the top level. Their terrible defensive track record will made it so that they have always had a tough time competing at the top level with teams that put up great offenses. Players like Kenneth Barnes have been strong mainstays of the team and have always helped them build up a strong offense, but they always lack on the back end of the field. Joseph Fernandez will be back for another season, and we will see if he is finally able to break a team through and help them do better. He is a good manager, but he needs to make his lineup mesh well. We expect them to finish in the 11th position this year, but this will vary based on their defensive play.

Harbor City
Starting XI
GK: Roger Flores
D: Jiawei Chuan (YZH), Bruce Diaz, Brandon Lewis
M: Benjamin Edwards, Russell Carter, Todd King, Duncan Waller (TKT)
ST: Fisher Hilton (BRE), Adam Moore, Craig Young

History: Another new team to the league, Harbor City has been hovering around the second division for many years now, on the edge of promotion. Roger Flores was there for 15 years and most players saw him as a sort of player-coach, with much wisdom and smarts. Them being from one of the largest cities in Northwest Kalactin does still not seem to help the fact that they find a way to be terrible year after year, even though they sign a good number of transfers. They have never been to CL or CC play, and have never finished above 9th in the Kalactanian First Division. Their rivalries with teams such as Coffs Harbour and Salmon Head does bring them some clout sometimes, but other than that, they are one of the least noteworthy teams in the league.
Players In: Jiawei Chen (YZH), Duncan Waller (TKT)
Keys to Winning: Magic: Yea no, these guys will not be winning this year. The only way they even finish in the top half of the league is if the Big 4 ends up having their entire team arrested and killed, while Harbor City makes some Magik transfers and somehow win a ton of games.
Manager: Roger Flores
Outlook:  Well, we admit that the outlook for this team isn’t exactly a great one. This will probably be the year that they finally go back to where they belong, the Kalactanian Second Division. These guys have a rough roster, and players like Jiawei Chen and Fisher Hilton may be the only bright spots on the team. Having a new manager in Roger Flores definitely does not help them with their case, and he will likely not last long there, unless a miracle ends up happening for them. We expect them to finish in the last spot in the NKSL, and end up getting relegated to the NKSL 2 this season. Poor Roger.

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD1
Ballina FC 5–0 Harbor City
Ballina Red Devils 5–0 Yamba FC
GCCFC 5–0 Blue Town
Kempsey United 4–1 River City
Toureres 0–2 Griffin City
Salmon Head 1–0 Purple Town

Folks! We are back to the NKSL, and we look to have the best season we have ever had! The first match day of the season looks like it started with a large number of blowouts, especially with the teams that performed well last year. River City, who came in with the forces of Markus Schoenauer from Nephara and Alphonse Zsosz from Farfadillis, were not able to harness their firepower up on offense, as they lost 4-1 to a Kempsey United team that came in with very high hopes this season.

GCCFC was lead by the midfielder from Siovanija and Tuesland Konstantin Nikolov, who managed for 3 goals in his first NKSL game. Toureres put up a rather surprising loss to a Griffin City squad that did not improve much over the offseason, because of this, many Toureres fans are starting to cast doubts on the work of longtime manager Todd Evans there. Ballina FC’s thrashing of Harbor City just out into perspective the different between the two squads this season, as one will be contending for IFCF contention, while the other seems like a sure lock for relegation.

MD2
Harbor City 0–4 Purple Town
Griffin City 0–1 Salmon Head
River City 3–0 Toureres
Blue Town 0–3 Kempsey United
Yamba FC 1–3 GCCFC
Ballina FC 3–1 Ballina Red Devils

Wow! A Ballina rally this early into the season! We certainly will be getting a nice treat this weekend, as both squads are among the best teams in the league, and both will be trying to grab that sweet spot in the IFCF Champions League that is up for grabs this season. Harbor City once again looks in poor form as they suffer another 4+ goal loss against a team that they should certainly be able to contend with season. Todd Evans suffers another loss, and his job may be in jeopardy this season, despite the high expectations coming in.

Salmon Head walks out with a strong win against Griffin City, this is how they get their points, by beating the teams that are also mid table. Kempsey United gets out to another classically strong run at the start of the season, which they have had many times as of late. It will just be a matter of wether they can hold onto their strong performances again this season, we saw them lose it at the end of last season, will we see it again?

Ballina Rally
The atmosphere in the Ballina Stadium was extremely loud as the match started up, it would be the biggest game of the early season, the Ballina Rally. A goal by George Taylor would get the Red Devils started very early, although FC would strike back soon with a pair of goals from Jackie Russell and Travis Holter. In the end though, a goal by the Squonshelean midfielder Vaarin Detkov would be the deciding force, as it put the game out of reach for the Red Devils, and into the hands of FC. FC hold the series 1-0, although there are still 2 games left in the series this year.

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD3
Ballina Red Devils 4–0 Harbor City
GCCFC 1–1 Ballina FC
Kempsey United 5–0 Yamba FC
Toureres 3–0 Blue Town
Salmon Head 4–3 River City
Purple Town 3–2 Griffin City

Well, the game of the week was certainly a highly contested Ballina FC v. GCCFC match, both teams were able to fight it out until the end, when a goal by the Audioslavian Emanuel Nissen went into the net to tie it up, and the score would stay that way til the end of the game. Kempsey United crushed another one of their opponents, which may start taking us to wonder what else they could be capable of this season, despite losing multiple players that could take away from their play this year.

Ballina Red Devils cashed in another win, which will definitely help them in the tables as their top 2 rivals for the title this year, seem to be dropping some points. Salmon Head grabs 3 points for a third week in a row, so they are one of the few teams that remains with only wins this far into the season. Purple Town was barely able to sneak out a win against Griffin City, who seems to be putting out some relatively strong play so far this season.

MD4
Harbor City 0–3 Griffin City
River City 1–0 Purple Town
Blue Town 3–4 Salmon Head
Yamba FC 1–2 Toureres
Ballina FC 1–0 Kempsey United
Ballina Red Devils 0–0 GCCFC

Well, Griffin City rebounded quite quick from that 2 loss streak now did they? They put up 3 goals on a bad Harbor City team, but it is nevertheless, still a 3 goal win. Conner Wimble managed a 11th minute goal, which would put River City out for the win in their best game of the year so far. The (second) biggest story of the night was a 1-0 Ballina FC win over Kempsey United, which knocks Kempsey down with their first loss of the season. The lone goal of the game was scored by last seasons MVP, Joe Russell.

Now, the biggest game of the week was Ballina RD, GCCFC. The game remained scoreless for the entire time, as both keepers played superb matches that were the highlight performances of the week. Manik came close to scoring a goal for GCCFC, but keeper Jimmy James sent the ball right back at him, and was deflected out of bounds. Toureres also barely escaped with a win tonight, as they almost lost to the notoriously terribly defense of Yamba FC.

MD5
GCCFC 7–1 Harbor City
Kempsey United 1–1 Ballina Red Devils
Toureres 1–3 Ballina FC
Salmon Head 5–0 Yamba FC
Purple Town 3–1 Blue Town
Griffin City 4–1 River City

Well, today was certainly an interesting day. The games started off in the morning with a 7-1 win for GCCFC, which included 3 goals from Manik, the new midfielder from Tequilo that looks to be one of the stars of this GCCFC Team. Harbor City could simply not stop that great attack from the Gold Coast Strikers and Midfield, which definitely points to good signs for GCCFC in the future. Kempsey United was able to play the Ballina Red Devils to a draw, which some have highlighted as one of the largest games in the early season, despite struggles from Ballina RD.

It also looks like that Salmon Head cannot be stopped easily, as they grab a 5 goal win over the awful Yamba FC defense that is certainly struggling this season. Three teams are now at an 0-0-5 record, which 2 seasons ago, only one team, Coffs Harbour was able to manage. The breakout play of Salmon Head star striker Deshaun Williams looks very promising so far, although the main question across the NKSL will be of he is able to keep that up.

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA     Avg   GD   Pts 
 1 Salmon Head              5    5   0   0    15    6   2.500   +9    15
 2 Ballina FC               5    4   1   0    13    3   4.333  +10    13
 3 GCCFC                    5    3   2   0    16    3   5.333  +13    11
 4 Kempsey United           5    3   1   1    13    3   4.333  +10    10
 5 Griffin City             5    3   0   2    11    5   2.200   +6     9
 6 Purple Town              5    3   0   2    10    5   2.000   +5     9
 7 Ballina Red Devils       5    2   2   1    11    4   2.750   +7     8
 8 River City               5    2   0   3     9   12   0.750   −3     6
 9 Toureres                 5    2   0   3     6    9   0.667   −3     6
10 Blue Town                5    0   0   5     4   18   0.222  −14     0
11 Yamba FC                 5    0   0   5     2   20   0.100  −18     0
12 Harbor City              5    0   0   5     1   23   0.043  −22     0

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD6
Harbor City 0–0 River City
Blue Town 1–0 Griffin City
Yamba FC 4–4 Purple Town
Ballina FC 3–1 Salmon Head
Ballina Red Devils 3–0 Toureres
GCCFC 1–2 Kempsey United

Well, we certainly had some nice games to come out and watch today. The highlight of the week was a Kempsey United 2-1 win against GCCFC that forced a GCCFC team into a tailspin over the past week. Keith Price and Mark Ramirez openly criticized GCCFC coach Joseph Wilcox over his poor decisions to sub out his players early during the game. Salmon Head finally lost their first game of the season, and that leaves no team in the league with all of their games won so far.

The Ballina Red Devils put on a very impressive show for the rest of the league, as they scored a 3 goal win over Toureres, while they look like they are finally getting their handle back on top of the league. Toureres has fallen down, and they may even be in the R-word talk right now (relegation). Yamba FC pulled off a tie against Purple Town as they finally grab their first points in the season, as did Blue Town against fast starters Griffin City.

MD7
Kempsey United 1–1 Harbor City
Toureres 1–2 GCCFC
Salmon Head 2–1 Ballina Red Devils
Purple Town 0–0 Ballina FC
Griffin City 3–1 Yamba FC
River City 1–0 Blue Town

Really , Toureres, really? This horrible run of form seems to be lasting into the season, and IFCF play may not even be in the question for them anymore. Goalie from the Squornshelous Remenant States, Grant Peden has been the only saving grace for the team lately, as he has been having shot after shot being put on him because of the very poor play by the Toureres defense. GCCFC is a tough opponent, sure, but this poor run for Toureres may just the start of their downfall from IFCF contention.

Clubs like Salmon Head on the other hand, are still riding very high, as they beat preseason favorites Ballina Red Devils in a thriller match today, that included amazing goals from star striker Eric Clark. Their lack of international players does not seem to be hurting them, as they have gotten many of the best Kalactanian players on the block to step up and help them win.

MD8
Harbor City 5–0 Blue Town
Yamba FC 1–3 River City
Ballina FC 0–0 Griffin City
Ballina Red Devils 2–0 Purple Town
GCCFC 2–4 Salmon Head
Kempsey United 3–1 Toureres

Well, the reign of Todd Evans at Toureres is finally over, and he has been replaced. Another loss last weekend put Toureres at a 2-0-5 record, and that was the last straw for the angered Toureres ownership. Hired in his place is the Havyish footballer, Francis Sutherland. Sutherland is looking to expand his horizons beyond a small club in Havynwilde, and he will be taking the job at Toureres effective immediately. This news was expected, but nobody thought that Sutherland would take over instead of a Kalactanian coach.

Coaching Profile
Name: Francis Sutherland
Info:  Most famous player in Havyish history, in Audioslavia for the Shamrocks, retired after career-ending injury at 24; since 30, he's manged in the Havyish second-tier with Bøltklub Fiera Kiojaleit in Tri-Cities 1div, managed two seasons with a seventh place and third-place finish. Also was a midfielders coach on the national team during IAC-11
Age: 32

In different news, Salmon Head has beat GCCFC 4-2 in what looks to be another day in the rampage of Salmon Head this season. Goals by Roy Rivera and Deshaun Williams put Salmon Head up 4-0, and then 2 goals by Konstantin Nikolov gave GCCFC some respect from the Salmons toward the end of the game, however it would not be enough, as Salmon Head would grab 3 points from the favorites GCCFC.

MD9
Toureres 6–1 Harbor City
Salmon Head 1–1 Kempsey United
Purple Town 2–1 GCCFC
Griffin City 2–2 Ballina Red Devils
River City 4–4 Ballina FC
Blue Town 3–1 Yamba FC

Well, looks like that Sutherland got started quite quickly at Toureres. In his first ever game in NKSL management, his team put up 6 goals, and they only gave up 1 in an impressive win. Sure, Harbor City definitely isn’t the standard for teams in the league, but here, scoring 6 goals in 1 game is an achievement that not many can do. A pair of goals by both Patrice Langlier and Jogòus Korou put them up 4 goals at the start of the game, then 2 more goals sealed the deal for Toureres.

A tie for the incoming favorites Ballina Red Devils against mid table squad Griffin City was a surprise to many, as Ballina Red Devils goalie Jimmy James allowed 2 shots past him during the game that many thought he should’ve saved. GCCFC also got upset today, as Purple Town was able to break down their very skilled midfield and get some poachers behind the defense to score 2 goals and win. Salmon Head pulls a draw, and they are just looking better and better as they tied Kempsey United today.

MD10
Harbor City 1–1 Yamba FC
Ballina FC 5–3 Blue Town
Ballina Red Devils 4–1 River City
GCCFC 1–1 Griffin City
Kempsey United 1–0 Purple Town
Toureres 2–4 Salmon Head

Welp, Salmon Head is back at it again with the winning, another win over another strong team just keeps proving that these guys are legit contenders, and that they can punch in the high weight classes. Basheer Colins from Eastfield Lodge came out and had 2 assists and a goal from the defensive end of the field, which undoubtedly helped Salmon Head. They are now first in the league by 3 points, and have the most goals scored so far, good or bad, who knows? All we know is Salmon ahead, are legit.

On the other side of the table, Blue Town got blasted by a strong Ballina FC team, who definitely have potential at the top spot in the league, as they come out of this week at second in the league. An 80th minute goal from the Audioslavian, Mikhael Gerardo, put Kempsey United on position to beat Purple Town, and is helping them build a strong season, where they look in striking distance of the championship once again.

 

NKSL                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA     Avg   GD   Pts 
 1 Salmon Head             10    8   1   1    27   15   1.800  +12    25
 2 Ballina FC              10    6   4   0    25   11   2.273  +14    22
 3 Kempsey United          10    6   3   1    21    7   3.000  +14    21
 4 Ballina Red Devils      10    5   3   2    23    9   2.556  +14    18
 5 GCCFC                   10    4   3   3    23   13   1.769  +10    15
 6 Griffin City            10    4   3   3    17   10   1.700   +7    15
 7 Purple Town             10    4   2   4    16   13   1.231   +3    14
 8 River City              10    4   2   4    18   21   0.857   −3    14
 9 Toureres                10    3   0   7    16   22   0.727   −6     9
10 Blue Town               10    2   0   8    11   30   0.367  −19     6
11 Harbor City             10    1   3   6     9   31   0.290  −22     6
12 Yamba FC                10    0   2   8    10   34   0.294  −24     2

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD11
Salmon Head 5–1 Harbor City
Purple Town 1–1 Toureres
Griffin City 3–5 Kempsey United
River City 1–3 GCCFC
Blue Town 0–3 Ballina Red Devils
Yamba FC 6–1 Ballina FC

Looks like that Yamba FC had a nice week, not many teams can go out and score 6 goals on Ballina FC without some shenanigans. Nepharan Defender Hollin Spencer came out of the backfield to score 2 goals and assist 1, which would end up winning him the Man of the Match award. In fact, there were a lot of goals today, Salmon Head scored 5 goals on an increasingly getting worse Harbor City team, that is looking more and more like they will get relegated flowing this season.

The Ballina Red Devils are on another run, which will definitely put them in a strong position following this week. Toureres coach Francis Sutherland was only able to tie against a weak Purple Town team, who actually had a decent start, but has been falling off a lot lately. Salmon Head stays on their streak of good form, and they may actually have a legit shot at a title this year, but only time will tell for the Steelheads.

MD12
Harbor City 0–5 Ballina FC
Yamba FC 1–2 Ballina Red Devils
Blue Town 1–1 GCCFC
River City 1–5 Kempsey United
Griffin City 0–1 Toureres
Purple Town 0–0 Salmon Head

I guess you could say that Blie Town came out of the Blue this week, right? Enough dad jokes, but the Blue Town win was certainly one that we didn’t except to happen. Most experts were in agreement that the tough GCCFC midfield would absolutely plow through a Blue Town midfield that doesn’t have much of an identity yet. Despite this, the experts were wrong, and the Blue Town team was able to win, as star of the team Ryan Clements plowed through the defense of GCCFC to make a game saving shot in the 74th minute.

The Ballina Red Devils, despite some early struggles, were able to handle the Yamba FC team with ease, which just puts into perspective what they have compared to Yamba. Ballina FC also took on the weakest team in the league, who appears to have been getting whipped by each and every opponent that they have been facing this year. Kempsey also put up 5 goals of their own, on a River City team that actually looks decent, players like Zsosz and Schoenauer are coming through and playing.

MD13
Purple Town 6–2 Harbor City
Salmon Head 2–1 Griffin City
Toureres 0–1 River City
Kempsey United 3–0 Blue Town
GCCFC 4–1 Yamba FC
Ballina Red Devils 3–3 Ballina FC

Well, that River City prediction certainly came true, even against a Toureres team that has been looking increasingly better, they still were able to pull out a victory off of a Alphonse Zsosz goal. The Ballina Rally had its second meetup of the year also today, and it was certainly an interesting offensive battle, as they both had the game play out to a 3 goal draw, in which Travis Holter scored a goal to tie it up in the 85th minute, and it would hold that way.

Kempsey has been on a very impressive high scoring run as of late, as they have been able to manage 13 goals in he last 3 games, many of which have came off of the very special foot of star player Pylna Yarrow. Yarrow has had 4 goals in the last few games, and a hat trick in the game that they won 5-3 against Griffin City. Salmon Head picked up another win in their very own rampage across the league this season, and regain first place in the league once again.

MD14
Harbor City 0–1 Ballina Red Devils
Ballina FC 1–5 GCCFC
Yamba FC 4–1 Kempsey United
Blue Town 1–0 Toureres
River City 3–5 Salmon Head
Griffin City 1–1 Purple Town

GCCFC once again shows their great performances to the league, as they killed the slight favorites Ballina FC by 4 goals today in a great game for the squad, as players such as Manik and Konstantin Nikolov. Manik, the skilled Tequiloian Midfielder, managed to play his part in the game today when he threw up 3 assists, including 2 to the Siovanijan star Konstantin Nikolov. This GCCFC midfield has really come together to play great this season, it will only be a matter of time before we see them help the team really break out.

Also, another huge upset! An aging Kempsey United team got beat by Yamba FC, who is known for their disastrous defense and their unsuccessful squad. Despite that, they came in with a strong team and beat Kempsey United 4-1, in a win that nobody expected. Toureres also got beat by Blue Town, who is a team that we didn’t expect much from this season, although they seem to be turning out a bit better than expected.

MD15
Griffin City 5–1 Harbor City
Purple Town 1–1 River City
Salmon Head 1–1 Blue Town
Toureres 3–1 Yamba FC
Kempsey United 3–1 Ballina FC
GCCFC 1–1 Ballina Red Devils

Well, as we hit near the halfway point of the season, we have many talking points to go over. Salmon Head has somehow decided to dominate, although nobody knows if they will be able to keep it up. Troy Johnson’s squad is currently 1st in the league table, and they don’t look to be stopping any time soon, as they have pulled away with a win or a tie in every one of their last 5 games. This is very impressive, although only god knows if these guys can keep it up.

Kempsey United pulled a very impressive win against Ballina FC, who was one of the best teams in the league coming into this year, but they seem to be rather dissatisfying this season. Their defense has definitely been below par, to say the least, and we may even see them miss out on an IFCF placing for the first time in a while. Kempsey is in a comfortable position at the moment, although with a tough part of their schedule coming up, only time will tell for United.

 

NKSL                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA     Avg   GD   Pts 
 1 Salmon Head             15   11   3   1    40   21   1.905  +19    36
 2 Kempsey United          15   10   3   2    38   16   2.375  +22    33
 3 Ballina Red Devils      15    8   5   2    33   14   2.357  +19    29
 4 GCCFC                   15    7   5   3    37   18   2.056  +19    26
 5 Ballina FC              15    7   5   3    36   28   1.286   +8    26
 6 Purple Town             15    5   6   4    25   18   1.389   +7    21
 7 Griffin City            15    5   4   6    27   20   1.350   +7    19
 8 River City              15    5   3   7    25   35   0.714  −10    18
 9 Toureres                15    5   1   9    21   26   0.808   −5    16
10 Blue Town               15    3   2  10    14   38   0.368  −24    11
11 Yamba FC                15    2   2  11    23   45   0.511  −22     8
12 Harbor City             15    1   3  11    13   53   0.245  −40     6

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD16
Harbor City 0–4 GCCFC
Ballina Red Devils 3–1 Kempsey United
Ballina FC 5–7 Toureres
Yamba FC 1–4 Salmon Head
Blue Town 1–0 Purple Town
River City 1–4 Griffin City

And, this may just be the start of lots of high scoring in the NKSL. Everyone knows that this league has high scores, and high powered offense, but even in a league like this, you don’t tend to see scores like these often. A 7-5 was managed between Ballina FC and Toureres, which has been the highest scoring match all season between any 2 teams. 3 Goals from Patrice Langlier would allow Toureres to steal a decisive match from the competitive Ballina FC, although this match may have been only half the story from Toureres today.

Key defender for Toureres Willis McCormick has been ruled out for the rest of the season. This definitely sets the Toureres team back a bit on the defensive end, although they can hope that players like Jogous Korou and Langlier come through for them this season. In other news, Ballina Red Devils won a much needed match against Kempsey United, which now puts them within striking distance of Salmon Head for the top spot in the league during the next few match days.

MD17
River City 5–7 Harbor City
Griffin City 5–2 Blue Town
Purple Town 3–1 Yamba FC
Salmon Head 0–3 Ballina FC
Toureres 0–3 Ballina Red Devils
Kempsey United 5–0 GCCFC

Another 7-5? My, my. The best part of this game is that, River City came in as heavy favorites this game against a weak Harbor City team. River City hasn’t been as good as expected, but they certainly have lots of potential to grow in the following seasons, especially players like Alphonse Zsosz and Marcus Schoenauer up front. Harbor City on the other hand, isn’t great, to say the least, although this game certainly helps their battle to stay out of the relegation chamber.

Kempsey United and Griffin City also both scored 5 goals, this is certainly a high scoring week. Griffin City went out of a game against Blue Town tonight riding high, as one of their best strikers, Dennis Ross, managed for 3 goals tonight, all coming in the second half when Griffin city shot ahead. Mikheal Gerardo of Audioslavia certainly played his part in the strong match for Kempsey United today, as he lent a helping hand with 2 assists, and also managed a goal of his own in the 63rd minute.

MD18
Harbor City 0–1 Kempsey United
GCCFC 2–1 Toureres
Ballina Red Devils 7–1 Salmon Head
Ballina FC 5–0 Purple Town
Yamba FC 1–0 Griffin City
Blue Town 3–0 River City

What is this random high scoring run we are seeing out of all these teams? That is the third week in a row where a team has scored 7 goals in a game, and it certainly was a good game. George Taylor returned to the same glory that he saw this season, as he scored 2 goals and managed for 2 assists against Salmon Head goalie Nifea Sitrembel, including one in which he hit a 38 yard free kick to sneak the ball past Sitrembel. This game may be a key turning point in the league this season.

As of late the Ballina Red Devils have been winning many big games, so it will be a major story over these next few games to see if they can keep this very strong run of form up. Toureres has been less than impressive lately, as the Havyish coach Francis Sutherland has been struggling to keep team morale up because of the poor form. Kempsey United had a very close call against Harbor City today, and they may have to win the next few games if they want to maintain their shot at another title this season.

MD19
Blue Town 5–1 Harbor City
River City 1–1 Yamba FC
Griffin City 1–3 Ballina FC
Purple Town 7–1 Ballina Red Devils
Salmon Head 3–0 GCCFC
Toureres 3–3 Kempsey United

I give up at this point. Another 7-1, and it was an upset also! This is starting to get a bit insane, so we should probably tell the squads to bring down the heat a bit. Of course, high scoring games are always encouraged, especially in a league like NKSL, where nobody wins without a good offense, although running up the score on your opponents is no way to make friends in the league as a coach, especially against one of the most respected teams of all time.

Kempsey United dropped another 2 points to a Toureres team that is looking relatively weak right now, so it may be in question weather they are ready to contend for a top IFCF spot or not. Obviously, they are the greatest team of all time in the NKSL, and they will always be respected, although who knows if they are able to maintain that after weak seasons. GCCFC got blown out of the water by a tough Salmon Head team today, although some may say that was expected with the Salmon Head run of form as of late.

MD20
Harbor City 3–4 Toureres
Kempsey United 0–0 Salmon Head
GCCFC 0–0 Purple Town
Ballina Red Devils 3–0 Griffin City
Ballina FC 7–0 River City
Yamba FC 5–1 Blue Town

Are you joking. That is a 5 game stretch, in a small league I remind you, where a team has managed for a 7 goal game. This time in was Ballina FC, who were able to beat out a weak River City defense, who wasn’t able to contain the combined power of the midfield and attack of FC. Once again, Kempsey settles for another tie, and now are tied with Ballina Red Devils in the league table, and are beat out on goal differential, this season may very well come down to the wire.

GCCFC drops out of IFCF contention for one of the first times this season, as they are forced to settle for a tie after a poor game from their top midfielders, who are used to being the stars of this skilled squad. Yamba once again shows off their offense, but oh, only if they are ever able to field a good defense, that would actually help them. And the Ballina Red Devils come out and pound out a win that they didn’t have to work very hard for, after 2 goals in the first ten minutes by their offense.

NKSL                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA     Avg   GD   Pts 
 1 Salmon Head             20   13   4   3    48   32   1.500  +16    43
 2 Ballina Red Devils      20   12   5   3    50   23   2.174  +27    41
 3 Kempsey United          20   12   5   3    48   22   2.182  +26    41
 4 Ballina FC              20   11   5   4    59   36   1.639  +23    38
 5 GCCFC                   20    9   6   5    43   27   1.593  +16    33
 6 Purple Town             20    7   7   6    35   26   1.346   +9    28
 7 Griffin City            20    7   4   9    37   30   1.233   +7    25
 8 Toureres                20    7   2  11    36   42   0.857   −6    23
 9 Blue Town               20    6   2  12    26   49   0.531  −23    20
10 River City              20    5   4  11    32   57   0.561  −25    19
11 Yamba FC                20    4   3  13    32   54   0.593  −22    15
12 Harbor City             20    2   3  15    24   72   0.333  −48     9

[Northwest Kalactin]

MD21
Yamba FC 7–0 Harbor City
Blue Town 0–5 Ballina FC
River City 2–1 Ballina Red Devils
Griffin City 3–2 GCCFC
Purple Town 0–1 Kempsey United
Salmon Head 0–1 Toureres

Well, I don’t know what to say at this point. I guess we should just accept our fate as the high scoring league that everyone hates. Also, what the hell is Yamba FC doing shutting out their opponents, I get they have a decent offense, and their defense has made multiple improvements from last season, although, still, they have one of the bottom 3 defenses in the league, and can be argued as being one of the worst teams in the league. Them dropping 7 goals on Harbor City isn’t terribly surprising, although maintaining no goals in their net is certainly something new.

Griffin City pulled a rather magical upset on this GCCFC team, who as of late, has really been struggling to win games and pull them out at the end, as they gave up 2 goals in the last 20 minutes to blow their lead against Griffin City and ultimately lose the game. The Ballina Red Devils also got out on display, as River City’s star keeper, Jerry Lemmi from Chromatika, played stellar between the posts and helped them beat Ballina RD in one thriller of game that went down to the wire.

MD22
Harbor City 0–4 Salmon Head
Toureres 0–3 Purple Town
Kempsey United 0–0 Griffin City
GCCFC 1–1 River City
Ballina Red Devils 3–0 Blue Town
Ballina FC 6–0 Yamba FC

The streak has finally been broken, but it was certainly a close one, as Ballina FC came within striking distance of burning Yamba FC’s defense for 7 goals, however Charles Reed made a beautiful save against striker Mitchell Dukakis. Travis Holter also played a very strong game for FC today, as he contributed 1-1, along with 3 shots on goal, which helped Ballina FC create many key chances for them to score on. Tyrone Baughn of Tikariot finally had the breakout game that FC coaches were looking for, and he won man of the match in the Ballina FC/Yamba FC game.

River City has very much been showing off their strong play as of late, as they manage to surprise GCCFC and hold them to a tie. Jerry Lemmi of Chromatika, especially has been a defining factor for River City, and has had a very strong run of form lately. Also, Kempsey coming out and tying Griffin City certainly isn’t a good look for them, especially when as of late they have been struggling to stay afloat in the race for a position good enough to qualify for IFCF competition.

MD23
Ballina FC 11–0 Harbor City
Ballina Red Devils 3–0 Yamba FC
GCCFC 7–0 Blue Town
Kempsey United 1–1 River City
Toureres 7–3 Griffin City
Salmon Head 0–1 Purple Town

Holy. Fucking. Shit. It rained goals today. It rained, and when it rains, it pours. Let’s start off with what some may call the most “modest” blowout of the day, as GCCFC came out and scored a mind boggling 7 goals, as players such as Emanuel Nissin and Gustafe Wright both had more than 3 points. This game could’ve been predicted sure, although 7 goals is definitely something that you don’t expect, from any team.

Now, on to Francis Sutherland’s win over Griffin City. Toureres is finally deciding that they want to play offense again, as the Havyish coach who is known for his great offensive ability, has his team drop 7 goals on Griffin City. Those 3 goals by Griffin though, are concerning for Toureres, even when their roster seems to be more defensive minded than not, there are still major concerns, and legit ones, about their defense. Only time will tell when it comes to Toureres.

11 Goals. You heard that right, 11. Ballina FC came out this season with a very strong striker core, and many could see why. Travis Holter of Choudal seems like a very legit youth from the nation, and strong foreign midfielders add a good secondary option to that. And you though that a hat trick was good? Cody Dixon, the National Team backup, scored SIX goals today. You heard that right, six. Dixon managed today, what some might call a “sock trick.” This is the first time this has ever happened in NKSL history, but the last? Doubtful.

MD24
Harbor City 1–0 Purple Town
Griffin City 4–1 Salmon Head
River City 5–0 Toureres
Blue Town 1–5 Kempsey United
Yamba FC 1–3 GCCFC
Ballina FC 4–4 Ballina Red Devils

And coming off that amazing week we just had, we top it off with a nail biting, back and fourth Ballina Rally match for everyone. That’s right, right after a week where 3 teams combine for 25 goals, you get a 4-4 game in the much anticipated rivalry. First, let’s get to our other matches. River City is coming out again with some very impressive results, as they beat Toureres, and pretty much knock them out of IFCF contention at this point, it is safe to say, they are dead. Both Kempsey and GCCFC pick up much needed points, as it looks more and more likely they will continue their strong runs.

In the rally, Ballina FC came out with a strong offensive game at the start, even showing some flashes from last week. Vaarin Detkov contributed in 2 goals that put them ahead, but the Ballina Red Devils would be very quick after halftime, scoring 3 unanswered goals that put them ahead. Just as it seemed out of reach, Cody Dixon scored an equalizer, and 2 more goals followed. The game was capped off by a Frankie Summers fee kick goal from an astounding 32 yards out, to tie this game up.

MD25
Ballina Red Devils 5–3 Harbor City
GCCFC 1–0 Ballina FC
Kempsey United 1–0 Yamba FC
Toureres 5–0 Blue Town
Salmon Head 1–1 River City
Purple Town 0–1 Griffin City

Today, Kempsey United took the lead in the league table for the first time possibly since last season. However, their performance was not a strong one, as they just barely handled the extremely weak Yamba FC, and only managed to get 1 goal on their atrocious defense. Salmon Head has been putting out an extremely slippery run of form lately, and they now drop to 4th place in the table, just 4 points over GCCFC, with only 8 matches to go in the NKSL season.

GCCFC won a very important game against Ballina FC, and despite being in 5th place in the table, they are as close as anyone else for a shot at that Challengers Cup spot, or maybe, just maybe, even a title. Toureres seems to have random offensive bursts, and they had one today, as they put up a very good match on the weakened Blue Town squad. Harbor City has by far the most goals against this season, and today just adds to it, as they almost reach their end goal of 100. Congrats Roger!

 

NKSL                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA     Avg   GD   Pts 
 1 Kempsey United          25   15   7   3    56   24   2.333  +32    52
 2 Ballina Red Devils      25   15   6   4    66   32   2.062  +34    51
 3 Ballina FC              25   14   6   5    85   41   2.073  +44    48
 4 Salmon Head             25   14   5   6    54   39   1.385  +15    47
 5 GCCFC                   25   12   7   6    57   32   1.781  +25    43
 6 Griffin City            25   10   5  10    48   40   1.200   +8    35
 7 Purple Town             25    9   7   9    39   29   1.345  +10    34
 8 Toureres                25   10   2  13    49   53   0.925   −4    32
 9 River City              25    7   7  11    42   61   0.689  −19    28
10 Blue Town               25    6   2  17    27   74   0.365  −47    20
11 Yamba FC                25    5   3  17    40   67   0.597  −27    18
12 Harbor City             25    3   3  19    28   99   0.283  −71    12