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The Licentian Isles
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sportsreport.co.li | Licentian Sports Newswires [CLOSED]

Postby The Licentian Isles » Mon Feb 15, 2021 1:33 pm

This thread will be used to post results from various sports leagues in the Licentian Isles.

Football:
RenewTec Licentian Premier League
Parish Senior Leagues and KickAdvisor Senior Parish Championship
Supercel FALI Cup

Hockey:
National Hockey Championship

Rugby Union:
Super Eight

Water Polo:
Licentian Premiership of Water Polo

If you have any questions regarding the contents of this thread, please do not post here, and instead contact me by TG.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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1SR Season Preview

Postby The Licentian Isles » Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:40 am

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1SR Season Preview

AFC Farnworth:

Stadium - Farnworth Municipal Stadium (36,000 capacity), Farnworth, Colesham Parish
Home kit - Red with black trim
Away kit - Solid black
Nickname - Reds
Preferred formation - 4-4-2

Team preview:
Once one of the most successful teams in Licentian football, the Reds have struggled in recent years, at least by comparison to their previous peaks. They spent a period of time in the second tier of Licentian football before acquiring new investment that allowed for major growth in the club’s academy, pushing them back into the Premier League three years ago. They have since built into a fairly consistent mid table side on the back of a talented group of young players, most of whom have remained rather than being tempted to larger clubs. Many talk about this resulting from the positive culture built by their manager, Kelvin Muir.

Notable player - Belle Fleming, CB, 23 years:
One of the younger captains in the RenewTec Licentian Premier League, Fleming is the perfect example of Farnworth’s growing reputation for producing talented young players with a passion for the club. A no-nonsense centre-half, Fleming plays with a wisdom beyond her years, and her leadership qualities are highly rated both within the club and across the Isles. Rumours linked her with Abingdon Celtic and Glenmount Town in the summer, but she committed to a long term deal with Farnworth instead.

Prediction - 9th


Abingdon Celtic:

Stadium - Gardiner-Stewart Stadium (62,000 capacity), Abingdon, Abingdon Parish
Home kit - Green with white sash
Away kit - White with green trim
Nickname - Celtic
Preferred formation - 4-4-2

Team preview:
Celtic have become a consistently strong club during the isolation of the Isles from the rest of the multiverse, despite the best efforts of their local rivals Gaelic Club to deny them many of their titles. The side from the West End of the second city have built an academy that draws in the best talents from across the parish, and that has propelled them to greater success than they’ve ever experienced before. However, there are many rumours of growing egos in the dressing room; maintaining the peace will be vital if Celtic are to win another title.

Notable player - Miles Henderson, LW, 25 years:
Since his move from Montfort University two years ago, Henderson has become a fixture of the Celtic side, regularly hitting the highlight reels with his skill and powerful left foot. One of many in Abingdon’s side tipped for a cap with the Cyan-and-Gold when they return to international football, Henderson has also made clear his desire to become one of the best. Whether his future development continues in Abingdon or somewhere else remains to be seen.

Prediction - 1st


Blackheath:

Stadium - Village Green (11,500 capacity), Blackheath, Montfort Parish
Home kit - Solid black
Away kit - White with black antlers
Nickname - Stags
Preferred formation - 5-3-2

Team preview:
The Stags have become a side famed for tough defence that often prompts fear in the hearts of any centre forward visiting Blackheath. They won’t win any awards for scoring the most goals or fair play, but there’s no doubt that it’s an effective strategy. They are a fixture of the mid-table of the Premier League, with the capacity to turn over the best teams when they have home advantage. Despite representing a small village just outside of the capital, they have amassed a high support, many of whom want to see the club continue to grow.

Notable player - Aaron Munro, CB, 35 years:
Aaron Munro is not a subtle defender; if he’s on the park, then you’ll know he’s there. Blackheath has been his home throughout his footballing career, and many believe he will continue to be revered in this part of Montfort Parish long after his retirement. He is a loud voice in his team’s defensive efforts, and isn’t afraid to get into a tussle in either penalty box, but is nonetheless a role model for many young Stags fans.

Prediction - 11th


Broadwood:

Stadium - Anderson Stadium (14,000 capacity), Broadwood, St Bart’s Parish
Home kit - Solid forest green
Away kit - Black with forest green horizontal stripe
Nickname - Foresters
Preferred formation - 4-3-3

Team preview:
Newly promoted to the Premier League, the Foresters represent one of the quieter parts of the island of St Bart’s. That has led to fierce rivalries with the major teams from the parish capital, Dutch and United, that many would classify as Broadwood feeling a little too much like the younger brother. Their highly attacking style won many plaudits in the second tier as they earned promotion, but there are questions over whether it will suit matches against larger, more well-drilled sides.

Notable player - Anne-Linde van Oers, CF, 21 years:
Van Oers is a player that many have described as a mercurial talent. She was the top goal scorer in the St Bart’s Parish Senior League last season, and has become one of the most important players for the Foresters despite her age. She still has moments where her lack of experience shines through, but there are many that hope that this season in the Premier League will allow to grow into a more rounded player, no matter where Broadwood end up come the end of the year.

Prediction - 15th


Colesham Rovers:

Stadium - Old Colliery Road (21,000 capacity), Colesham, Colesham Parish
Home kit - Navy blue with white arms
Away kit - White with navy blue pinstripes
Nickname - Miners
Preferred formation - 4-5-1

Team preview:
As Athletic, their cross-city rivals, fell from grace in recent years, Rovers have found themselves as the major side in the city of Colesham. Despite this, the Miners have found themselves dropping in and out of the Premier League; this is one of the seasons where they have found themselves in the top tier. They are expecting to find themselves in a relegation battle this season, and they’re hoping that their stalwart defence will keep them up in what could be a difficult season.

Notable player - Ethan Smith, HM, 28 years:
Smith is a player who brings talent on both sides of the ball for Colesham Rovers. In defence, he sits in front of the back four and manages to direct them in shutting down any attack. Smith also brings playmaking skill going forward, distributing the ball in attempts to quickly move it up to a centre forward, generally one who is tall and stocky. He will captain the Miners for the first time this season, and their fans will be hoping he can maintain his form from previous years with the added pressure of the armband.

Prediction - 14th


Gaelic Club:

Stadium - Coliseum of the Gaels (42,000 capacity), Abingdon, Abingdon Parish
Home kit - Green with gold vertical stripe
Away kit - White with green and gold vertical stripe
Nickname - Gaels
Preferred formation - 4-4-2

Team preview:
No side looks forward to travelling to the Coliseum in the East End of Abingdon. The fans of the Gaels bring a wall of noise that can intimidate any travelling team, and has motivated their own side to higher and higher peaks in recent years. While their rivals across the city have been more successful in terms of titles in recent years, Gaelic Club have continued to challenge at the top of the division, and all it will take is one good year to propel the club to their first title.

Notable player - Ruaridh Grant, CF, 24 years:
As the top scorer in the RenewTec Licentian Premier League last season, Grant has a reputation to uphold going into his second year with the Gaels. His flashy style won many fans in Abingdon Parish before his move to the Coliseum, and then in the Premier League he found himself doing the same as his club challenged for the title. However, some people are expecting that defenders will not be burned by Grant again, and that he will be targeted much more; that may stop him from continuing his growth in his second senior season.

Prediction - 4th


Garton Bay Pirates:

Stadium - The Anchor (22,500 capacity), Garton Bay, Montfort Parish
Home kit - Black and red hoops
Away kit - Red with black trim
Nickname - Pirates
Preferred formation - 4-4-2

Team preview:
Once a relatively unknown team outside of Montfort Parish, Garton Bay have grown into a consistent mid-table side over recent decades. However, they have found themselves in financial turmoil, with their previous owner, Duncan Morris, jailed over fraud charges independent from the club. While the core of their team has remained at The Anchor going into this season, they are expecting to see somewhat of a firesale come the end of the season. As such, many of their fans are hoping for one last hurrah before the club is forced to rebuild from the rubble.

Notable player - Scott McIntyre, RW, 26 years:
With the financial woes of the Pirates, many are seeing this as a season for their best players to put themselves in the shop window. Scott McIntyre is one of those players who will be looking to move on, barring a saviour appearing on the coast out of nowhere. A talented winger with a penchant for using skill to break his way past a defence, McIntyre has suitors already in the Isles, he may well look abroad if he can earn some more money for his services there.

Prediction - 8th


Glenmount Town:

Stadium - Market Street (19,500 capacity), Glenmount, Abingdon Parish
Home kit - Solid cyan
Away kit - Black with cyan sash
Nickname - Mountaineers
Preferred formation - 4-4–2

Team preview:
One of the three big clubs in Abingdon Parish who have dominated the Premier League in recent years, Glenmount Town are the biggest challenge to Abingdon Celtic this season. Another small club that have grown into one of the best in the nation, the Mountaineers will be hoping that the return of the Licentian Isles from isolation will allow them to continue to grow. As pretty much the only thing that anyone knows from the small town of Glenmount, the whole town will be shouting for their success this season.

Notable player - Caitlin Fraser, GK, 31 years:
Caitlin Fraser is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the Isles. She is a product of Glenmount’s academy, and has remained with the club since she was a teenager. For all the talent playing in cyan, there is no doubt that Town would be much worse off without her experience and leadership from between the sticks. She will play an integral role in any title challenge that her side pose this season, and in any Licentian side that returns to international football.

Prediction - 2nd


Houghton Rangers:

Stadium - Hilltop Stadium (31,000 capacity), Houghton, Abingdon Parish
Home kit - White with green trim
Away kit - Green with white trim
Nickname - Rangers
Preferred formation - 5-3-2

Team preview:
Rangers are the definition of a yo-yo team. They have regularly dropped down to the senior leagues before returning to the Premier League not long after, something that has become a source of frustration, both in Houghton and amongst the teams they beat in the Senior Parish Championship. This season does not look like it will be any different, at least at the outset, as Houghton have not managed to make much progress since their promotion from the Abingdon Parish Senior League. Their fans will be hoping for a change of fortunes at the Hilltop.

Notable player - Thomas Hughes, CM, 19 years:
One of the few acquisitions that Houghton have made since their promotion, and even Hughes only joins on loan for a season from Montfort Wanderers. He is a talented player who is expected to have a solid career, though his prospects at Wanderers may be limited by their current pool of talent. This then is an attempt for him to show his skill in the Premier League away from LTI Stadium; he is hoping he won’t be limited by a struggling Rangers side.

Prediction - 16th


Montfort University:

Stadium - University Stadium (20,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Home kit - Yellow and black stripes
Away kit - Black with yellow trim
Nickname - Scholars
Preferred formation - 4-4-2 diamond

Team preview:
The Scholars are one of a number of professional teams founded out of the major universities of the Isles, but by far the most successful. Montfort University have managed to remain within the Premier League for a number of years now, but have struggled to pull their way out of regular relegation battles. They have also struggled against the other teams from the capital, much to the frustration of their fans. While it doesn’t appear that this season is the year for them to break either of those ducks, they will be hoping to see growth compared to previous years.

Notable player - Phoebe Kelly, LB, 27 years:
Kelly has recently joined University from St Bart’s Dutch, having lost her place there amongst some tensions with the coaching staff. Despite her reputation as a firebrand in the dressing room, she was snapped up very quickly by the Scholars with the hope that that passion will help to drive the team forward. She has already shown her leadership in preseason friendlies, and many expect that any good season for University will require a good season for Phoebe Kelly.

Prediction - 13th


Montfort Wanderers:

Stadium - LTI Stadium (75,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Home kit - White with navy blue trim
Away kit - Navy blue with white sash
Nickname - Whites
Preferred formation - 4-4-2 diamond

Team preview:
For a long time, Montfort Wanderers were the best side in the Licentian Isles. When football turned professional on the Isles, their fortunes took a turn and the club have won very few titles since. Nonetheless, there is still a certain level of respect for the side that plays at the national stadium. The club’s new manager, Fabrizio Kaal, will be hoping to pull the club back towards the title fights that they used to be involved in, but the Whites are expecting it will be more like a marathon than a sprint.

Notable player - Arlo McGregor, AM, 22 years:
The Whites have an excess of talented young midfielders at the club on whom they hope to build new success under Kaal, and Arlo McGregor is the best of them. At the age of 22 he is already one of the most highly rated Licentian footballers, and the only way is up for McGregor. He clearly enjoys his role as the playmaker for Wanderers, and will be hoping to lead his boyhood club to the title in the not so distant future.

Prediction - 5th


SC Montfort:

Stadium - Adamson Park (55,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Home kit - Solid royal blue
Away kit - Black with royal blue horizontal stripe
Nickname - Royals
Preferred formation - 4-5-1

Team preview:
The club founded by the former royalty of the Licentian Isles, SC Montfort have had a similar amount of success to their biggest rivals, Montfort Wanderers, since the sport turned professional (which is to say, not very much). There has been a revolving door of managers in charge of the Royals in recent years; the latest fool in the hot seat is Mirren McDonald, who will be hoping that her experience with East Montfort United will help her with managing in the capital. The club is hoping that a new woman in the job will propel them forward, ideally ahead of their bitter rivals.

Notable player - Nick Reid, CF, 30 years:
When people ask about the stereotypical Licentian centre forward, the current example they point towards is Nick Reid. He isn’t afraid of a bit of pushing at a set piece, and regularly earns more yellow cards than any other players in the Premier League. However, he also draws a lot of fouls by pulling players into his style of play, and his teammates often take advantage of the resulting set pieces. That, amongst other things, is why Reid continues to be the first name on the team sheet for the Royals.

Prediction - 6th


St Bart’s Dutch:

Stadium - Abbey Road (17,500 capacity), St Bart’s, St Bart’s Parish
Home kit - Solid orange
Away kit - Blue with orange trim
Nickname - Helligens
Preferred formation - 4-5-1

Team preview:
The Helligens are one of the most successful teams from the outer islands of the Licentian Isles. Founded by the Cyborg Dutch minority of St Bart’s, the club draws many of the best players of that background to their academy. They will be relying on those younger players much more than usual this season, after some of their more experienced players, including Phoebe Kelly, left under a cloud of disagreements with manager Roselyn Bentum. Dutch fans will be hoping their young talents are enough to at least remain in the top four, if not to mount a title challenge.

Notable player - Wisse Tuininga, RW, 23 years:
Tuininga is the man entrusted with the captain’s armband after the departure of Kelly. Many have wondered whether Bentum has given the armband to a young player as they would be easier to influence. What is beyond a doubt is the talent that Tuininga has; he is an incredibly strong winger who is a shoo-in for a Cyan-and-Gold cap in the coming years. The question is whether he has enough leadership skills to wear the armband for the Helligens.

Prediction - 3rd


St Thomas:

Stadium - Recreation Ground (11,000 capacity), St Thomas, St Bart’s Parish
Home kit - Solid sky blue
Away kit - White with sky blue trim
Nickname - Sky Blues
Preferred formation - 4-4-2

Team preview:
For a long time St Thomas have been considered the second team of St Bart’s Parish, much like it is considered the second island. In recent years, however, there have been signs of growth in this quiet corner of the Isles. While for many years they were fighting to avoid relegation, they have spent recent years climbing the table, and even claiming the scalp of their biggest rival, St Bart’s Dutch, at home last season. They will be hoping that they will continue to grow this year, especially after a number of signings from larger clubs.

Notable player - Flora Watson, CB, 28 years:
Flora Watson is trying to regain the form she’s lost after a long period out injured. She previously played for Abingdon Celtic, before a knee injury kept her out of action for a year. While she did wear the green and white again, she did not show enough for her contract to be renewed. She has made the move to the Sky Blues in the hope of rebuilding her career on St Thomas, and will be vital to any forward progress they make this season.

Prediction - 10th


Stonehouse Athletic:

Stadium - Burnside (16,500 capacity), Stonehouse, Abingdon Parish
Home kit - Silver with black vertical stripe
Away kit - Solid black
Nickname - Latics
Preferred formation - 4-3-3

Team preview:
Stonehouse Athletic are another side whose growth has resulted from new investment; however, that growth has been far more dramatic than that of AFC Farnworth. They’ve expanded their stadium tenfold and have moved from relegation battles in the second tier to upper mid table Premier League finishes in just 5 years. While signing a number of big name players from other Licentian clubs, they have also developed their own young talent, and are hoping to maintain their current position in the league going into this season.

Notable player - Tom Johnston, CM, 33 years:
One of many big-money signings made by the Latics in recent years, Johnston traded the bright lights of the capital with Montfort Wanderers for a quieter life in Stonehouse. As the captain, he has held together a side made up of many egos and only enhanced his reputation for leadership. He has recently dismissed rumours that he is considering retirement at the end of this season; Stonehouse fans will be hoping that he stays at the club for quite a while longer.

Prediction - 7th


Waterfleet:

Stadium - Waterfront Park (8,500 capacity), Waterfleet, St Bart’s Parish
Home kit - Blue with white trim
Away kit - White with blue sash
Nickname - Fleet
Preferred formation - 4-5-1

Team preview:
Waterfleet are the smallest side in the Premier League; the town of Waterfleet is only just larger than the stadium the team plays in. Nonetheless, they have maintained their place in the top tier since their promotion three years ago. A mix of stalwart defence and possession play has made in incredibly difficult for teams to score against Fleet, which has helped them to stay up despite the struggles that many teams have when promoted. Another year of that will maintain the growing faith of their fans in the future of their team in the Premier League.

Notable player - Saul van Duuren, HM, 21 years:
Waterfleet have built their success on a surprisingly strong academy, of which Saul van Duuren is the latest product. Last season he made cameos and impressed with his playmaking and vision from the holding midfield position; this year he is expected to truly break through and start regularly for Fleet. He will however need to mature quickly to become the star that many expect he can be.

Prediction - 12th
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:34 am

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1SR Season - Part 1

Matchday 1:

AFC Farnworth 3–1 Abingdon Celtic
Broadwood 0–1 Montfort Wanderers
Colesham Rovers 1–2 SC Montfort
Gaelic Club 2–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Houghton Rangers 1–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Montfort University 0–1 Glenmount Town
St Thomas 1–0 Blackheath
Waterfleet 1–1 St Bart's Dutch

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 AFC Farnworth 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
2 Gaelic Club 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
SC Montfort 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
4 Glenmount Town 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
Montfort Wanderers 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
St Thomas 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
7 Houghton Rangers 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
St Bart's Dutch 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Stonehouse Athletic 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Waterfleet 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
11 Colesham Rovers 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
Garton Bay Pirates 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
13 Blackheath 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
Broadwood 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
Montfort University 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
16 Abingdon Celtic 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0


It’s a dreadful start to the season for title favourites Abingdon Celtic, as a red card for centre half Chris Thompson leaves them struggling and losing against Farnworth on the road. The other teams from Abingdon Parish aiming for the title both started off the season with a win, as Gaelic Club won a volatile fixture against Garton Bay, while Glenmount led from the very early stages of their trip to Montfort University. Waterfleet managed to hold St Bart’s to a well-deserved draw, while their neighbours St Thomas needed a Tiago Weiling penalty to triumph over Blackheath. The other two sides from the capital had more success away from home than the Scholars had at University Stadium; Montfort Wanderers could have scored more than the one goal they got at Broadwood, while SC Montfort came from behind to beat Colesham Rovers at Old Colliery Road. Houghton Rangers surprised many by managing to salvage a draw in the dying moments of their game against Stonehouse, and raised hopes amongst their fans that maybe they won’t continue their habit of being relegated straight back to the APSL.

Matchday 2:

Abingdon Celtic 1–0 St Thomas
Blackheath 1–2 Gaelic Club
Colesham Rovers 2–0 Waterfleet
Garton Bay Pirates 2–1 Broadwood
Montfort Wanderers 7–3 Montfort University
SC Montfort 2–5 Glenmount Town
St Bart's Dutch 0–1 Houghton Rangers
Stonehouse Athletic 2–0 AFC Farnworth

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Montfort Wanderers 2 2 0 0 8 3 +5 6
2 Glenmount Town 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 6
3 Gaelic Club 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2 6
4 Stonehouse Athletic 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4
5 Houghton Rangers 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
6 Colesham Rovers 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
7 AFC Farnworth 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
Garton Bay Pirates 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
9 St Thomas 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
10 Abingdon Celtic 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3
11 SC Montfort 2 1 0 1 4 6 −2 3
12 St Bart's Dutch 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
13 Waterfleet 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1
14 Blackheath 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
Broadwood 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
16 Montfort University 2 0 0 2 3 8 −5 0


The capital played host to an extraordinary amount of goals on the second weekend of the season, with 17 goals scored at LTI Stadium and Adamson Park. Montfort Wanderers thrashed their cross-city rivals University, with Arlo McGregor scoring a hat trick for his boyhood club, while the Royals could not mount a comeback against Glenmount Town, who scored four of their five goals in the first half an hour. Gaelic Club got their second win of the season away at Blackheath, with Ruaridh Grant getting a double. St Bart’s Dutch saw their start to the season go from bad to worse, as a Chloe Koppenol own goal gave Houghton Rangers a shock win away from home. Stonehouse Athletic picked up their first win of the season against AFC Farnworth, who perhaps came into this match a little over confident after their victory over Abingdon Celtic. Speaking of Celtic, they struggled to a 1-0 victory over St Thomas at Gardiner-Stewart Stadium, with a Miles Henderson free kick the only difference between the two sides. Elsewhere, Colesham Rovers and Garton Bay Pirates both picked up their first wins of the season.

Matchday 3:

AFC Farnworth 2–1 St Bart's Dutch
Broadwood 3–1 Blackheath
Gaelic Club 3–3 Abingdon Celtic
Glenmount Town 2–1 Montfort Wanderers
Houghton Rangers 0–1 Colesham Rovers
Montfort University 3–0 Garton Bay Pirates
St Thomas 2–0 Stonehouse Athletic
Waterfleet 1–0 SC Montfort

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 3 3 0 0 8 3 +5 9
2 Gaelic Club 3 2 1 0 7 5 +2 7
3 Montfort Wanderers 3 2 0 1 9 5 +4 6
4 Colesham Rovers 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
5 St Thomas 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6
6 AFC Farnworth 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
7 Stonehouse Athletic 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
8 Houghton Rangers 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
9 Abingdon Celtic 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4
10 Waterfleet 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 4
11 Broadwood 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
12 Montfort University 3 1 0 2 6 8 −2 3
13 SC Montfort 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3
14 Garton Bay Pirates 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3
15 St Bart's Dutch 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
16 Blackheath 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0


Glenmount Town gave us what may become the most defining moment in the early part of the season, as a previously unstoppable Montfort Wanderers fell 2-1 to the Mountaineers who moved to the top of the LPL table as a result. The Abingdon derby was at its most entertaining level in years, as a last minute Lucia Allan header salvaged a 3-3 draw for Celtic at the home of their biggest rivals. Colesham Rovers pulled themselves higher in the table with a 1-0 win away to Houghton, while St Thomas also find themselves higher in the league than expected; their 2-0 win over Stonehouse Athletic leaves them as the highest-placed team from St Bart’s Parish so far this season. Three teams that were hoping to challenge for international football are begging for quick turnarounds after disastrous starts to the season. SC Montfort were stunned away at Waterfleet, Garton Bay Pirates handed Montfort University their first win of the season with some disastrous defending, and St Bart’s Dutch lost to AFC Farnworth, showing early signs that Roselyn Bentum may have lost the dressing room. Meanwhile, Broadwood have their first win in the top tier of Licentian football, after a dominant performance at home to Blackheath.

Matchday 4:

Abingdon Celtic 2–1 Broadwood
Blackheath 4–1 Montfort University
Colesham Rovers 1–2 AFC Farnworth
Garton Bay Pirates 0–6 Glenmount Town
SC Montfort 3–1 Montfort Wanderers
St Bart's Dutch 1–0 St Thomas
Stonehouse Athletic 0–0 Gaelic Club
Waterfleet 3–0 Houghton Rangers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 4 4 0 0 14 3 +11 12
2 AFC Farnworth 4 3 0 1 7 5 +2 9
3 Gaelic Club 4 2 2 0 7 5 +2 8
4 Waterfleet 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7
5 Abingdon Celtic 4 2 1 1 7 7 0 7
6 Montfort Wanderers 4 2 0 2 10 8 +2 6
7 Colesham Rovers 4 2 0 2 5 4 +1 6
8 St Thomas 4 2 0 2 3 2 +1 6
9 SC Montfort 4 2 0 2 7 8 −1 6
10 Stonehouse Athletic 4 1 2 1 3 3 0 5
11 St Bart's Dutch 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4
12 Houghton Rangers 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 4
13 Broadwood 4 1 0 3 5 6 −1 3
14 Blackheath 4 1 0 3 6 7 −1 3
15 Montfort University 4 1 0 3 7 12 −5 3
16 Garton Bay Pirates 4 1 0 3 3 12 −9 3


Glenmount Town seems to be making a habit out of scoring a lot of goals away from Market Street. This time they scored six at the Anchor while conceding none, meaning that Pirates dropped to the bottom of the league. Farnworth came out winners between the two teams from Colesham Parish within the LPL, while Gaelic Club drew against another of their parish rivals, with Stonehouse holding them to a goalless draw. Waterfleet have started the season strongly, with their 3-0 win at home to Houghton Rangers putting them 4th, while Abingdon Celtic needed a last minute goal from Anna Findlay to beat Broadwood. Adamson Park was filled with joy as SC Montfort beat their most bitter rivals, Wanderers losing their second game so far this season. Elsewhere, both St Bart’s Dutch and Blackheath got their first wins of the season; Dutch only managed to put one goal past their biggest rival St Thomas, while Blackheath emphatically beat the struggling Montfort University after Gordon Hill was sent off in the first half for the Scholars.

Matchday 5:

AFC Farnworth 1–2 Waterfleet
Broadwood 1–2 Stonehouse Athletic
Gaelic Club 1–2 St Bart's Dutch
Glenmount Town 4–0 Blackheath
Houghton Rangers 1–1 SC Montfort
Montfort University 1–2 Abingdon Celtic
Montfort Wanderers 2–1 Garton Bay Pirates
St Thomas 3–0 Colesham Rovers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 5 5 0 0 18 3 +15 15
2 Waterfleet 5 3 1 1 7 4 +3 10
3 Abingdon Celtic 5 3 1 1 9 8 +1 10
4 St Thomas 5 3 0 2 6 2 +4 9
5 Montfort Wanderers 5 3 0 2 12 9 +3 9
6 AFC Farnworth 5 3 0 2 8 7 +1 9
7 Gaelic Club 5 2 2 1 8 7 +1 8
8 Stonehouse Athletic 5 2 2 1 5 4 +1 8
9 St Bart's Dutch 5 2 1 2 5 5 0 7
10 SC Montfort 5 2 1 2 8 9 −1 7
11 Colesham Rovers 5 2 0 3 5 7 −2 6
12 Houghton Rangers 5 1 2 2 3 6 −3 5
13 Broadwood 5 1 0 4 6 8 −2 3
14 Blackheath 5 1 0 4 6 11 −5 3
15 Montfort University 5 1 0 4 8 14 −6 3
16 Garton Bay Pirates 5 1 0 4 4 14 −10 3


Glenmount Town have brought their goalscoring habit home, with Mark McLean scoring two of their four goals against Blackheath, while Caitlin Fraser saved a 91st minute penalty to maintain her clean sheet. They are now the only team in the league not to lose a game so far this season, as Gaelic Club lost their unbeaten record with St Bart’s taking three points from the Coliseum. Waterfleet have continued their good run of form with a 2-1 win against AFC Farnworth, while Abingdon Celtic climb to third with a 2-1 win away to Montfort University, who remained pinned into the relegation places. The bottom side in the table is Garton Bay, who could not salvage a point against Montfort Wanderers despite some impassioned attacks in the final minutes at the national stadium. Broadwood are the other team to find themselves with four losses in five games to start the season, their inexperience in the top division showing as Stonehouse Athletic dominated throughout. St Thomas have kept themselves in the IFCF qualification places at this early stage of the season with a comprehensive performance to beat Colesham Rovers, while Houghton Rangers held SC Montfort to a draw to continue in their hopes of remaining above the relegation battle this season.

Matchday 6:

Abingdon Celtic 3–0 Glenmount Town
Blackheath 2–0 Montfort Wanderers
Colesham Rovers 0–3 Gaelic Club
Houghton Rangers 2–4 AFC Farnworth
SC Montfort 3–1 Garton Bay Pirates
St Bart's Dutch 2–2 Broadwood
Stonehouse Athletic 3–1 Montfort University
Waterfleet 2–2 St Thomas

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 6 5 0 1 18 6 +12 15
2 Abingdon Celtic 6 4 1 1 12 8 +4 13
3 AFC Farnworth 6 4 0 2 12 9 +3 12
4 Gaelic Club 6 3 2 1 11 7 +4 11
5 Waterfleet 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 11
6 Stonehouse Athletic 6 3 2 1 8 5 +3 11
7 St Thomas 6 3 1 2 8 4 +4 10
8 SC Montfort 6 3 1 2 11 10 +1 10
9 Montfort Wanderers 6 3 0 3 12 11 +1 9
10 St Bart's Dutch 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 8
11 Blackheath 6 2 0 4 8 11 −3 6
12 Colesham Rovers 6 2 0 4 5 10 −5 6
13 Houghton Rangers 6 1 2 3 5 10 −5 5
14 Broadwood 6 1 1 4 8 10 −2 4
15 Montfort University 6 1 0 5 9 17 −8 3
16 Garton Bay Pirates 6 1 0 5 5 17 −12 3


Abingdon Celtic may have fired the first real shot of their title challenge this season against Glenmount, handing the league leaders their first defeat of the season by three goals to none at Gardiner-Stewart Stadium, pulling them up to second in the league at this early stage. AFC Farnworth have kept themselves surprisingly high in the league after the first six games, their 4-2 win against Houghton Rangers helped by a brace from Eloise Walker. Gaelic Club and Stonehouse Athletic made sure that four of the top six are from Abingdon Parish, both scoring three as they defeated Colesham Rovers and Montfort University respectively. The battle of St Thomas ended in a draw at the Waterfront Stadium, with Waterfleet and St Thomas both scoring two. SC Montfort had to come back from a goal behind against Garton Bay Pirates to condemn them to continuing at the bottom of the table, while their city rivals Wanderers were shocked by strugglers Blackheath. Another battle between St Bart’s clubs saw Dutch’s woes continue as they had to come back from behind to salvage a draw against Broadwood.

Matchday 7:

AFC Farnworth 1–1 SC Montfort
Broadwood 1–4 Colesham Rovers
Gaelic Club 1–0 Waterfleet
Garton Bay Pirates 1–3 Blackheath
Glenmount Town 1–0 Stonehouse Athletic
Montfort University 0–1 St Bart's Dutch
Montfort Wanderers 3–2 Abingdon Celtic
St Thomas 1–1 Houghton Rangers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 7 6 0 1 19 6 +13 18
2 Gaelic Club 7 4 2 1 12 7 +5 14
3 AFC Farnworth 7 4 1 2 13 10 +3 13
4 Abingdon Celtic 7 4 1 2 14 11 +3 13
5 Montfort Wanderers 7 4 0 3 15 13 +2 12
6 St Thomas 7 3 2 2 9 5 +4 11
7 Waterfleet 7 3 2 2 9 7 +2 11
8 Stonehouse Athletic 7 3 2 2 8 6 +2 11
9 SC Montfort 7 3 2 2 12 11 +1 11
10 St Bart's Dutch 7 3 2 2 8 7 +1 11
11 Blackheath 7 3 0 4 11 12 −1 9
12 Colesham Rovers 7 3 0 4 9 11 −2 9
13 Houghton Rangers 7 1 3 3 6 11 −5 6
14 Broadwood 7 1 1 5 9 14 −5 4
15 Montfort University 7 1 0 6 9 18 −9 3
16 Garton Bay Pirates 7 1 0 6 6 20 −14 3


Despite suffering their first loss of the season last time out, Glenmount have established a gap at the top of the league with a 1-0 victory over their local rivals Stonehouse, meaning that four points separate them and second-placed Gaelic Club, whose own one goal victory over Waterfleet propelled them above Farnworth and Abingdon Celtic. The former club were held to a 1-1 draw by SC Montfort, with a penalty from Nick Reid saving a point for the Royals; meanwhile Celtic followed up their win over the table-toppers with a five goal thriller that was won by Montfort Wanderers. St Thomas also remain within a win of second place, despite being held to a draw by relegation favourites Houghton Rangers at the Recreation Ground. The two teams currently occupying the relegation places both lost once again, this time to clubs that have been frustrated in their own starts to the season. Wisse Tuininga scored the single goal that St Bart’s needed to beat Montfort University, while a Scott McIntyre free kick was not enough to save Pirates from a loss to Blackheath. Colesham Rovers managed to compound the struggles of Broadwood with a 4-1 thrashing on the road; the Foresters remain only one point above the bottom two at this early stage.

Matchday 8:

AFC Farnworth 1–1 St Thomas
Abingdon Celtic 1–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Colesham Rovers 3–4 Montfort University
Houghton Rangers 0–0 Gaelic Club
SC Montfort 2–2 Blackheath
St Bart's Dutch 0–2 Glenmount Town
Stonehouse Athletic 3–1 Montfort Wanderers
Waterfleet 0–0 Broadwood

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 8 7 0 1 21 6 +15 21
2 Gaelic Club 8 4 3 1 12 7 +5 15
3 Stonehouse Athletic 8 4 2 2 11 7 +4 14
4 AFC Farnworth 8 4 2 2 14 11 +3 14
5 Abingdon Celtic 8 4 2 2 15 12 +3 14
6 St Thomas 8 3 3 2 10 6 +4 12
7 Waterfleet 8 3 3 2 9 7 +2 12
8 SC Montfort 8 3 3 2 14 13 +1 12
9 Montfort Wanderers 8 4 0 4 16 16 0 12
10 St Bart's Dutch 8 3 2 3 8 9 −1 11
11 Blackheath 8 3 1 4 13 14 −1 10
12 Colesham Rovers 8 3 0 5 12 15 −3 9
13 Houghton Rangers 8 1 4 3 6 11 −5 7
14 Montfort University 8 2 0 6 13 21 −8 6
15 Broadwood 8 1 2 5 9 14 −5 5
16 Garton Bay Pirates 8 1 1 6 7 21 −14 4


Glenmount Town have continued to strengthen their position at the top of the Premier League with their seventh win from eight, this time taking three points home from Abbey Road as Caitlin Fraser kept yet another clean sheet against St Bart’s Dutch. The Mountaineers have seen their growing lead helped by the teams below dropping points on a regular basis; on this occasion, Gaelic Club were held to a goalless draw by Houghton Rangers, AFC Farnworth were held by St Thomas in a game that saw a red card handed out to both sides, and Abingdon Celtic looked likely to beat bottom club Garton Bay Pirates, until Grant Christie scored in the last second to salvage a draw. Stonehouse Athletic have pulled themselves into the mix at the top end of the table with a 3-1 win over Montfort Wanderers, helped by a brace of goals from Rachel Graham. At the other end of the table, Montfort University have clambered out of the relegation zone after coming out best from a match against Colesham Rovers that saw 7 goals. The team dropping into the bottom two is Broadwood, whose scoreless draw against Waterfleet wasn’t enough to keep them above the Scholars. The final draw of the five this weekend came at Adamson Park, with SC Montfort held by Blackheath after Aaron Munro scored in a rare sight for the centre half.

Matchday 9:

Blackheath 2–1 Abingdon Celtic
Broadwood 4–2 Houghton Rangers
Gaelic Club 4–0 AFC Farnworth
Garton Bay Pirates 2–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Glenmount Town 2–1 Colesham Rovers
Montfort University 2–1 Waterfleet
Montfort Wanderers 3–2 St Bart's Dutch
St Thomas 2–0 SC Montfort

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 9 8 0 1 23 7 +16 24
2 Gaelic Club 9 5 3 1 16 7 +9 18
3 St Thomas 9 4 3 2 12 6 +6 15
4 Montfort Wanderers 9 5 0 4 19 18 +1 15
5 Stonehouse Athletic 9 4 2 3 12 9 +3 14
6 Abingdon Celtic 9 4 2 3 16 14 +2 14
7 AFC Farnworth 9 4 2 3 14 15 −1 14
8 Blackheath 9 4 1 4 15 15 0 13
9 Waterfleet 9 3 3 3 10 9 +1 12
10 SC Montfort 9 3 3 3 14 15 −1 12
11 St Bart's Dutch 9 3 2 4 10 12 −2 11
12 Colesham Rovers 9 3 0 6 13 17 −4 9
13 Montfort University 9 3 0 6 15 22 −7 9
14 Broadwood 9 2 2 5 13 16 −3 8
15 Houghton Rangers 9 1 4 4 8 15 −7 7
16 Garton Bay Pirates 9 2 1 6 9 22 −13 7


Gaelic Club earned a dominant victory at home to AFC Farnworth, a Ruaridh Grant hat trick helping to ensure that Glenmount Town gain no further ground on their rivals. Town got another win of their own at Market Street, with strugglers Colesham Rovers the latest side to fall at the hands of the league leaders. Two teams sit one win away from the Gaels in second place; St Thomas defeated SC Montfort to climb to third position, while Montfort Wanderers sit behind the Sky Blues on goal difference, their one goal victory over St Bart’s enough to move them into the top four. Garton Bay Pirates managed to claim only their second win of the season after surprising Stonehouse, who weren’t helped by losing first choice keeper Elena McLean to an injury in the early stages of that fixture. While that victory was not enough for Pirates to climb off the foot of the table, Broadwood managed to escape the relegation zone after a dominant win over Houghton Rangers, who replaced them in 15th place. Abingdon Celtic are still without a win since beating the league leaders. This time, it was Blackheath who turned over Celtic, pulling themselves into the top half of the table. Montfort University managed to pull themselves slightly further out of trouble after their second win on the trot, beating Waterfleet who were passed by Blackheath in the table, but are still within touching distance of the top four.

Matchday 10:

AFC Farnworth 2–1 Broadwood
Colesham Rovers 3–1 Montfort Wanderers
Houghton Rangers 2–0 Montfort University
SC Montfort 2–0 Abingdon Celtic
St Bart's Dutch 2–2 Garton Bay Pirates
St Thomas 0–2 Gaelic Club
Stonehouse Athletic 1–0 Blackheath
Waterfleet 1–1 Glenmount Town

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 10 8 1 1 24 8 +16 25
2 Gaelic Club 10 6 3 1 18 7 +11 21
3 Stonehouse Athletic 10 5 2 3 13 9 +4 17
4 AFC Farnworth 10 5 2 3 16 16 0 17
5 St Thomas 10 4 3 3 12 8 +4 15
6 SC Montfort 10 4 3 3 16 15 +1 15
7 Montfort Wanderers 10 5 0 5 20 21 −1 15
8 Abingdon Celtic 10 4 2 4 16 16 0 14
9 Waterfleet 10 3 4 3 11 10 +1 13
10 Blackheath 10 4 1 5 15 16 −1 13
11 Colesham Rovers 10 4 0 6 16 18 −2 12
12 St Bart's Dutch 10 3 3 4 12 14 −2 12
13 Houghton Rangers 10 2 4 4 10 15 −5 10
14 Montfort University 10 3 0 7 15 24 −9 9
15 Broadwood 10 2 2 6 14 18 −4 8
16 Garton Bay Pirates 10 2 2 6 11 24 −13 8


The first third of the LPL season has ended with the league leaders dropping points for only the second time in their first ten games, as Glenmount were held to a draw by Waterfleet, who find themselves outperforming expectations in the mid table. Gaelic Club have taken advantage of this to draw closer in what now appears to be the battle to win the league, as their win against St Thomas closed the gap between the top two to four points. Montfort Wanderers joined the Sky Blues in falling out of the top four after being shocked by Colesham Rovers. AFC Farnworth climbed into the top four with a victory over Broadwood that pushed the Foresters back down into the relegation zone, while Stonehouse Athletic’s win over Blackheath pulled them up to third in the table. A battle towards the bottom of the table between Houghton Rangers and Montfort University saw the home side come out victorious, helped by a man of the match performance from Thomas Hughes, while Garton Bay could not take advantage of the teams above them losing, as they scraped a draw on the road at St Bart’s. Elsewhere, a match usually seen as one vital to the title battle was this time conducted in the mid table, as SC Montfort piled more misery on Abingdon Celtic, whose winless run stretches to four matches.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:58 am

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1SR Season - Part 2

Matchday 11:

Abingdon Celtic 0–2 Stonehouse Athletic
Blackheath 2–1 St Bart's Dutch
Broadwood 1–4 St Thomas
Gaelic Club 1–2 SC Montfort
Garton Bay Pirates 0–3 Colesham Rovers
Glenmount Town 2–2 Houghton Rangers
Montfort University 0–0 AFC Farnworth
Montfort Wanderers 2–1 Waterfleet

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 11 8 2 1 26 10 +16 26
2 Gaelic Club 11 6 3 2 19 9 +10 21
3 Stonehouse Athletic 11 6 2 3 15 9 +6 20
4 St Thomas 11 5 3 3 16 9 +7 18
5 SC Montfort 11 5 3 3 18 16 +2 18
6 Montfort Wanderers 11 6 0 5 22 22 0 18
7 AFC Farnworth 11 5 3 3 16 16 0 18
8 Blackheath 11 5 1 5 17 17 0 16
9 Colesham Rovers 11 5 0 6 19 18 +1 15
10 Abingdon Celtic 11 4 2 5 16 18 −2 14
11 Waterfleet 11 3 4 4 12 12 0 13
12 St Bart's Dutch 11 3 3 5 13 16 −3 12
13 Houghton Rangers 11 2 5 4 12 17 −5 11
14 Montfort University 11 3 1 7 15 24 −9 10
15 Broadwood 11 2 2 7 15 22 −7 8
16 Garton Bay Pirates 11 2 2 7 11 27 −16 8


Houghton Rangers have managed to surprise a number of teams despite their low expectations at the beginning of the season. The latest to be held are the league leaders Glenmount Town, who had to rely on an injury time goal from Mark McLean to claim a point. Thankfully for the Mountaineers, Gaelic Club were unable to take advantage, with a Phoebe Hay red card helping SC Montfort to triumph and pull themselves closer to the chasing pack. Stonehouse Athletic pulled themselves closer to the top two with a victory over Abingdon Celtic, who have now dropped into the bottom half after an impressive start to the season. St Thomas climbed into the top four with a dominant victory against Broadwood, condemning the home side to continue in the relegation places for now. Garton Bay Pirates remain at the bottom of the table after a frustrating loss to Colesham Rovers, one of the teams to climb above Celtic in the league. A Montfort Wanderers victory over Waterfleet means that they remain level on points with their biggest rivals, SC, while Farnworth also sit on 18 points after a scoreless draw away to struggling Montfort University. St Bart’s Dutch are under continuing pressure to sack manager Roselyn Bentum as their young guns struggle, the latest tough result being this weekend’s loss to Blackheath on the road.

Matchday 12:

AFC Farnworth 1–1 Glenmount Town
Colesham Rovers 1–3 Blackheath
Gaelic Club 3–2 Broadwood
Houghton Rangers 3–1 Montfort Wanderers
SC Montfort 2–1 Stonehouse Athletic
St Bart's Dutch 1–2 Abingdon Celtic
St Thomas 3–2 Montfort University
Waterfleet 3–3 Garton Bay Pirates

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 12 8 3 1 27 11 +16 27
2 Gaelic Club 12 7 3 2 22 11 +11 24
3 St Thomas 12 6 3 3 19 11 +8 21
4 SC Montfort 12 6 3 3 20 17 +3 21
5 Stonehouse Athletic 12 6 2 4 16 11 +5 20
6 Blackheath 12 6 1 5 20 18 +2 19
7 AFC Farnworth 12 5 4 3 17 17 0 19
8 Montfort Wanderers 12 6 0 6 23 25 −2 18
9 Abingdon Celtic 12 5 2 5 18 19 −1 17
10 Colesham Rovers 12 5 0 7 20 21 −1 15
11 Waterfleet 12 3 5 4 15 15 0 14
12 Houghton Rangers 12 3 5 4 15 18 −3 14
13 St Bart's Dutch 12 3 3 6 14 18 −4 12
14 Montfort University 12 3 1 8 17 27 −10 10
15 Garton Bay Pirates 12 2 3 7 14 30 −16 9
16 Broadwood 12 2 2 8 17 25 −8 8


The league leaders are now on a run of three draws on the trot, with the latest to claim a point being Farnworth, who managed to put a goal past Caitlin Fraser before she went off with a hand injury. This meant that Gaelic Club could pull themselves within three points of the top spot, with their 3-2 home win over Broadwood at home helped by two goals from Ruaridh Grant. St Thomas pulled themselves up to third with a win over Montfort University, which ensured that the Scholars remained just outside the relegation zone in 10th. SC Montfort climbed into the top four at the expense of their opponent at Adamson Park, Stonehouse Athletic, while Blackheath also pulled themselves into the mix by beating Colesham Rovers away from home. Broadwood were dropped to the bottom of the league as a result of both their loss to Gaelic Club, and Garton Bay Pirates managing to take a point away from a six goal thriller against Waterfleet. Abingdon Celtic have finally broken their losing run, and in the process they piled more misery on St Bart’s Dutch, who are now facing serious calls to replace their manager. Meanwhile, Houghton Rangers pulled themselves out of the immediate relegation fight by beating Montfort Wanderers, who struggled through the match after Kristin de Booij was sent off for a handball after only 11 minutes.

Matchday 13:

Abingdon Celtic 4–1 Colesham Rovers
Blackheath 1–1 Waterfleet
Broadwood 1–2 SC Montfort
Garton Bay Pirates 4–1 Houghton Rangers
Glenmount Town 1–2 St Thomas
Montfort University 2–2 Gaelic Club
Montfort Wanderers 2–1 AFC Farnworth
Stonehouse Athletic 3–1 St Bart's Dutch

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 13 8 3 2 28 13 +15 27
2 Gaelic Club 13 7 4 2 24 13 +11 25
3 St Thomas 13 7 3 3 21 12 +9 24
4 SC Montfort 13 7 3 3 22 18 +4 24
5 Stonehouse Athletic 13 7 2 4 19 12 +7 23
6 Montfort Wanderers 13 7 0 6 25 26 −1 21
7 Blackheath 13 6 2 5 21 19 +2 20
8 Abingdon Celtic 13 6 2 5 22 20 +2 20
9 AFC Farnworth 13 5 4 4 18 19 −1 19
10 Waterfleet 13 3 6 4 16 16 0 15
11 Colesham Rovers 13 5 0 8 21 25 −4 15
12 Houghton Rangers 13 3 5 5 16 22 −6 14
13 St Bart's Dutch 13 3 3 7 15 21 −6 12
14 Garton Bay Pirates 13 3 3 7 18 31 −13 12
15 Montfort University 13 3 2 8 19 29 −10 11
16 Broadwood 13 2 2 9 18 27 −9 8


Glenmount Town’s difficulties since the ninth week of the season became even worse this week, while St Thomas added to their title challenge, as they travelled to Market Street and came away with a win over the league leaders. Gaelic Club could not take advantage of Town dropping points, however, as Montfort University held them to a draw that saw the Scholars drop into the relegation zone. The beneficiaries of that drop were Garton Bay Pirates, whose dominant 4-1 victory over Houghton Rangers pulled them out of the relegation zone for the first time since the third week of the season. SC Montfort kept themselves in the chasing pack for the title with a win over Broadwood, who were condemned to remaining at the bottom of the table, three points adrift of Montfort University. Stonehouse Athletic are also within reach of the top spot, with their win over St Bart’s keeping them in fifth in the league. Montfort Wanderers managed to climb up to 6th with a win over Farnworth that was more dominant than the eventual scoreline suggested, while Blackheath’s draw with Waterfleet means that the Stags remain in the top half, while Waterfleet remain far adrift from the teams in the top half. Meanwhile, now that Abingdon Celtic have got a win, it seems like they’re trying to take revenge on the league for condemning them to their poor run; they scored four against Colesham Rovers and could have easily scored more.

Matchday 14:

AFC Farnworth 1–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Broadwood 3–2 Montfort University
Colesham Rovers 0–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Gaelic Club 4–0 Glenmount Town
Houghton Rangers 0–1 Blackheath
SC Montfort 0–1 St Bart's Dutch
St Thomas 0–1 Montfort Wanderers
Waterfleet 2–1 Abingdon Celtic

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gaelic Club 14 8 4 2 28 13 +15 28
2 Glenmount Town 14 8 3 3 28 17 +11 27
3 Stonehouse Athletic 14 8 2 4 20 12 +8 26
4 St Thomas 14 7 3 4 21 13 +8 24
5 SC Montfort 14 7 3 4 22 19 +3 24
6 Montfort Wanderers 14 8 0 6 26 26 0 24
7 Blackheath 14 7 2 5 22 19 +3 23
8 Abingdon Celtic 14 6 2 6 23 22 +1 20
9 AFC Farnworth 14 5 5 4 19 20 −1 20
10 Waterfleet 14 4 6 4 18 17 +1 18
11 Colesham Rovers 14 5 0 9 21 26 −5 15
12 St Bart's Dutch 14 4 3 7 16 21 −5 15
13 Houghton Rangers 14 3 5 6 16 23 −7 14
14 Garton Bay Pirates 14 3 4 7 19 32 −13 13
15 Broadwood 14 3 2 9 21 29 −8 11
16 Montfort University 14 3 2 9 21 32 −11 11


We have a new team leading the Licentian Premier League for the first time since the third week of the season. Gaelic Club took the top spot in style, beating Glenmount Town by four goals to nil to propel themselves to the top of the table ahead of the Mountaineers, whose dreadful run of form is continuing. Stonehouse Athletic have also managed to pull themselves into the title hunt, with their win over Colesham Rovers pulling themselves to within two points of the new league leaders and leaving Latics fans dreaming of their first ever LPL title. Below the top three, there are three teams tied on 24 points who are just out of reach of the Gaels. St Thomas and Montfort Wanderers met at the Recreation Ground, with the away side coming away with a win to draw level on points with their hosts, while SC Montfort were defeated by St Bart’s Dutch, who picked up only their fourth win of the season. At the other end, Broadwood managed to pull themselves off the foot of the table with a win over their current relegation rivals, Montfort University, in a thrilling match on St Bart’s. A draw for Garton Bay Pirates with AFC Farnworth meant that they haven’t escaped the clutches of the relegation fight despite their recent improvement in form, while Houghton Rangers’ loss to Blackheath means that the former are within three points of last place, while the latter are within one point of international qualification. Waterfleet managed to beat the struggling Abingdon Celtic, with Miles Henderson’s goal not enough to keep the former title favourites from falling to a defeat.

Matchday 15:

Abingdon Celtic 1–0 Houghton Rangers
Blackheath 1–1 AFC Farnworth
Garton Bay Pirates 2–0 St Thomas
Glenmount Town 5–1 Broadwood
Montfort University 2–1 SC Montfort
Montfort Wanderers 1–0 Gaelic Club
St Bart's Dutch 3–0 Colesham Rovers
Stonehouse Athletic 3–2 Waterfleet

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 15 9 3 3 33 18 +15 30
2 Stonehouse Athletic 15 9 2 4 23 14 +9 29
3 Gaelic Club 15 8 4 3 28 14 +14 28
4 Montfort Wanderers 15 9 0 6 27 26 +1 27
5 St Thomas 15 7 3 5 21 15 +6 24
6 Blackheath 15 7 3 5 23 20 +3 24
7 SC Montfort 15 7 3 5 23 21 +2 24
8 Abingdon Celtic 15 7 2 6 24 22 +2 23
9 AFC Farnworth 15 5 6 4 20 21 −1 21
10 Waterfleet 15 4 6 5 20 20 0 18
11 St Bart's Dutch 15 5 3 7 19 21 −2 18
12 Garton Bay Pirates 15 4 4 7 21 32 −11 16
13 Colesham Rovers 15 5 0 10 21 29 −8 15
14 Houghton Rangers 15 3 5 7 16 24 −8 14
15 Montfort University 15 4 2 9 23 33 −10 14
16 Broadwood 15 3 2 10 22 34 −12 11


It’s all change again at the top of the Premier League, with Glenmount Town only missing from the top spot for one week. They claimed their lead again with style, a dominant 5-1 win over Broadwood who remain at the bottom of the table. Gaelic Club dropped from the top position after losing to Montfort Wanderers, who pulled themselves into the top four with their one goal win over the former leaders. The Gaels were also passed by Stonehouse Athletic, who came out better from a five goal thriller against Waterfleet at Burnside to claim second place in the table. Montfort University got a win against SC Montfort in the capital to pull themselves further from the bottom spot occupied by the Foresters, but were unable to escape the relegation zone despite fellow strugglers Houghton Rangers losing to Abingdon Celtic, who maintained their place in the top half as a result of that win. Garton Bay Pirates aren’t quite out of reach of the relegation battle, but their shock win over St Thomas has pulled them up to 12th, while St Bart’s Dutch are also climbing out of their early season struggles with a victory over Colesham Rovers. Elsewhere, two mid table sides played to a rather boring draw, as Blackheath and Farnworth couldn’t gain an advantage over the other in their match at Village Green.

Matchday 16:

Abingdon Celtic 1–0 AFC Farnworth
Blackheath 0–1 St Thomas
Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 Gaelic Club
Glenmount Town 1–2 Montfort University
Montfort Wanderers 0–1 Broadwood
SC Montfort 4–2 Colesham Rovers
St Bart's Dutch 1–1 Waterfleet
Stonehouse Athletic 1–1 Houghton Rangers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 16 9 3 4 34 20 +14 30
2 Stonehouse Athletic 16 9 3 4 24 15 +9 30
3 Gaelic Club 16 8 5 3 30 16 +14 29
4 St Thomas 16 8 3 5 22 15 +7 27
5 SC Montfort 16 8 3 5 27 23 +4 27
6 Montfort Wanderers 16 9 0 7 27 27 0 27
7 Abingdon Celtic 16 8 2 6 25 22 +3 26
8 Blackheath 16 7 3 6 23 21 +2 24
9 AFC Farnworth 16 5 6 5 20 22 −2 21
10 Waterfleet 16 4 7 5 21 21 0 19
11 St Bart's Dutch 16 5 4 7 20 22 −2 19
12 Montfort University 16 5 2 9 25 34 −9 17
13 Garton Bay Pirates 16 4 5 7 23 34 −11 17
14 Houghton Rangers 16 3 6 7 17 25 −8 15
15 Colesham Rovers 16 5 0 11 23 33 −10 15
16 Broadwood 16 4 2 10 23 34 −11 14


It continues to be a chaotic title fight, with all of the top four dropping points in the 16th week of the season, and only six points separating the top half of the table. Glenmount Town were shocked by Montfort University, who pulled themselves up to 12th place by beating the league leaders on their own turf; however, the fact that every team in the chasing pack dropped points means that the Mountaineers remain top of the league. Stonehouse Athletic remain in second place despite being held to a draw by local rivals Houghton Rangers, while Gaelic Club were also held to a draw, in their case by Garton Bay Pirates, who have managed to emerge from the relegation fight in recent weeks. Montfort Wanderers were beaten by bottom club Broadwood, who couldn’t climb from the foot of the table, but Wanderers dropped out of the top four as a result. They were passed by their biggest rivals SC, who dominated Colesham Rovers (who dropped into the relegation zone as a result), along with St Thomas, whose win over Blackheath on the road pulled them back into the top four. Abingdon Celtic have pulled themselves closer to the pack chasing the title, with a one goal victory over Farnworth, while St Bart’s Dutch and Waterfleet played their way to a draw that Waterfleet could have won, if not for Brendon Vermolen’s second goal being scrubbed off by the assistant referee with a controversial offside call.

Matchday 17:

AFC Farnworth 2–0 Stonehouse Athletic
Broadwood 2–2 Garton Bay Pirates
Gaelic Club 2–0 Blackheath
Glenmount Town 2–1 SC Montfort
Houghton Rangers 0–2 St Bart's Dutch
Montfort University 1–1 Montfort Wanderers
St Thomas 0–0 Abingdon Celtic
Waterfleet 1–1 Colesham Rovers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 17 10 3 4 36 21 +15 33
2 Gaelic Club 17 9 5 3 32 16 +16 32
3 Stonehouse Athletic 17 9 3 5 24 17 +7 30
4 St Thomas 17 8 4 5 22 15 +7 28
5 Montfort Wanderers 17 9 1 7 28 28 0 28
6 SC Montfort 17 8 3 6 28 25 +3 27
7 Abingdon Celtic 17 8 3 6 25 22 +3 27
8 Blackheath 17 7 3 7 23 23 0 24
9 AFC Farnworth 17 6 6 5 22 22 0 24
10 St Bart's Dutch 17 6 4 7 22 22 0 22
11 Waterfleet 17 4 8 5 22 22 0 20
12 Montfort University 17 5 3 9 26 35 −9 18
13 Garton Bay Pirates 17 4 6 7 25 36 −11 18
14 Colesham Rovers 17 5 1 11 24 34 −10 16
15 Houghton Rangers 17 3 6 8 17 27 −10 15
16 Broadwood 17 4 3 10 25 36 −11 15


After a crazy few weeks, we’re back to Glenmount and Gaelic Club sitting top of the league, after both sides won at home this weekend. The league leaders recovered from conceding in the second minute to a Nick Reid header to beat SC Montfort, while Gaelic Club never looked like losing to Blackheath at the Coliseum. Stonehouse Athletic are still within three points of Town at the top despite their loss to Farnworth, while St Thomas remain in the top four after a scoreless draw with Abingdon Celtic. Colesham Rovers managed to pull themselves out of the relegation zone after a draw against Waterfleet, helped by a Dani Thompson goal in the dying moments of the game. The win for the Miners meant that Houghton Rangers dropped into the bottom two, after they were beaten resoundingly by St Bart’s Dutch, with Wisse Tuininga scoring one of the goals of the season so far from 35 feet out. Broadwood remain bottom of the table on goal difference after a draw in their relegation battle with Garton Bay, though one good result could very easily pull them out of their current predicament. Montfort Wanderers remain on the edge of the top four, even though they were held to a draw by Montfort University in another relative success for the Scholars against their cross-city rivals.

Matchday 18:

Abingdon Celtic 2–1 Gaelic Club
Blackheath 2–0 Broadwood
Colesham Rovers 2–0 Houghton Rangers
Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 Montfort University
Montfort Wanderers 2–1 Glenmount Town
SC Montfort 2–0 Waterfleet
St Bart's Dutch 0–0 AFC Farnworth
Stonehouse Athletic 2–1 St Thomas

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 18 10 3 5 37 23 +14 33
2 Stonehouse Athletic 18 10 3 5 26 18 +8 33
3 Gaelic Club 18 9 5 4 33 18 +15 32
4 Montfort Wanderers 18 10 1 7 30 29 +1 31
5 SC Montfort 18 9 3 6 30 25 +5 30
6 Abingdon Celtic 18 9 3 6 27 23 +4 30
7 St Thomas 18 8 4 6 23 17 +6 28
8 Blackheath 18 8 3 7 25 23 +2 27
9 AFC Farnworth 18 6 7 5 22 22 0 25
10 St Bart's Dutch 18 6 5 7 22 22 0 23
11 Waterfleet 18 4 8 6 22 24 −2 20
12 Colesham Rovers 18 6 1 11 26 34 −8 19
13 Montfort University 18 5 4 9 28 37 −9 19
14 Garton Bay Pirates 18 4 7 7 27 38 −11 19
15 Houghton Rangers 18 3 6 9 17 29 −12 15
16 Broadwood 18 4 3 11 25 38 −13 15


Glenmount Town may still be in the lead of the Licentian Premier League, but they certainly aren’t looking like the same side that started off so strongly this season. Their latest loss came at the hands of Montfort Wanderers at the LTI Stadium, where the Whites pulled themselves back into the top four and once again within reach of the top of the table. Their move into the top four came at the expense of St Thomas, who were beaten by Stonehouse Athletic, who once again have drawn themselves level on points with the leaders. Gaelic Club lost the second Abingdon Derby of the season, with Celtic defeating their bitter rivals at home to pull themselves within three points of Glenmount at the top of the table. The two teams in the relegation zone now sit more than a game adrift from 14th place; Broadwood were beaten by Blackheath on the road and remain bottom, while Houghton lost to Colesham Rovers, who pulled themselves away from the immediate relegation battle thanks to a Lucas Russell double. The draw between Garton Bay Pirates and Montfort University wasn’t particularly useful to either side at the Anchor, but it does mean that the bottom two are much further adrift from the rest of the pack in the relegation fight. SC Montfort managed to keep themselves in the title chase by beating Waterfleet at Adamson Park, while Farnworth and St Bart’s played to a bore draw at Abbey Road.

Matchday 19:

AFC Farnworth 4–0 Colesham Rovers
Broadwood 0–3 Abingdon Celtic
Gaelic Club 3–0 Stonehouse Athletic
Glenmount Town 1–0 Garton Bay Pirates
Houghton Rangers 0–3 Waterfleet
Montfort University 1–1 Blackheath
Montfort Wanderers 0–0 SC Montfort
St Thomas 2–0 St Bart's Dutch

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 19 11 3 5 38 23 +15 36
2 Gaelic Club 19 10 5 4 36 18 +18 35
3 Abingdon Celtic 19 10 3 6 30 23 +7 33
4 Stonehouse Athletic 19 10 3 6 26 21 +5 33
5 Montfort Wanderers 19 10 2 7 30 29 +1 32
6 St Thomas 19 9 4 6 25 17 +8 31
7 SC Montfort 19 9 4 6 30 25 +5 31
8 AFC Farnworth 19 7 7 5 26 22 +4 28
9 Blackheath 19 8 4 7 26 24 +2 28
10 Waterfleet 19 5 8 6 25 24 +1 23
11 St Bart's Dutch 19 6 5 8 22 24 −2 23
12 Montfort University 19 5 5 9 29 38 −9 20
13 Colesham Rovers 19 6 1 12 26 38 −12 19
14 Garton Bay Pirates 19 4 7 8 27 39 −12 19
15 Houghton Rangers 19 3 6 10 17 32 −15 15
16 Broadwood 19 4 3 12 25 41 −16 15


The top four of the Premier League is now entirely made up of teams from Abingdon Parish, with three of them winning this weekend. Glenmount Town were the least convincing of the trio, as they needed a late penalty from Mark McLean to defeat the struggling Pirates. Gaelic Club were dominant against fellow title contenders Stonehouse Athletic, with Ruaridh Grant scoring two and setting up another, while their rivals Abingdon Celtic managed a similar result against Broadwood on the road. The result for Broadwood was similar for their relegation-threatened counterparts in Houghton, who have struggled since a relatively positive start to the season; their struggles continued as they lost to Waterfleet at home. The second derby of the season between Wanderers and SC was a feisty one, as each side had a player red carded, and seemed almost too busy causing fights with each other to score any goals in the capital. St Thomas managed to keep themselves within reach of the top four by beating St Bart’s Dutch at home, which was the final straw for Roselyn Bentum, who was sacked for her poor performance so far this season. Farnworth managed to do the double over their local rivals Colesham Rovers, with a much more dominant victory at home than they managed away in Colesham earlier in the season, while Montfort University and Blackheath played to a draw in the capital.

Matchday 20:

Abingdon Celtic 3–1 Montfort University
Blackheath 0–1 Glenmount Town
Colesham Rovers 1–3 St Thomas
Garton Bay Pirates 1–1 Montfort Wanderers
SC Montfort 4–0 Houghton Rangers
St Bart's Dutch 0–1 Gaelic Club
Stonehouse Athletic 1–1 Broadwood
Waterfleet 2–0 AFC Farnworth

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 20 12 3 5 39 23 +16 39
2 Gaelic Club 20 11 5 4 37 18 +19 38
3 Abingdon Celtic 20 11 3 6 33 24 +9 36
4 St Thomas 20 10 4 6 28 18 +10 34
5 SC Montfort 20 10 4 6 34 25 +9 34
6 Stonehouse Athletic 20 10 4 6 27 22 +5 34
7 Montfort Wanderers 20 10 3 7 31 30 +1 33
8 AFC Farnworth 20 7 7 6 26 24 +2 28
9 Blackheath 20 8 4 8 26 25 +1 28
10 Waterfleet 20 6 8 6 27 24 +3 26
11 St Bart's Dutch 20 6 5 9 22 25 −3 23
12 Montfort University 20 5 5 10 30 41 −11 20
13 Garton Bay Pirates 20 4 8 8 28 40 −12 20
14 Colesham Rovers 20 6 1 13 27 41 −14 19
15 Broadwood 20 4 4 12 26 42 −16 16
16 Houghton Rangers 20 3 6 11 17 36 −19 15


With two thirds of the Licentian Premier League season finished, the top two looks the same as it did ten weeks ago. Despite some struggles in form over that time, Glenmount Town still lead the league going into the final stretch of the season, with a one goal win over Blackheath keeping them ahead of Gaelic Club, who had the same margin of victory over St Bart’s Dutch. Abingdon Celtic have recovered from some early wobbles of their own, and they remain in 3rd going into the last ten games of the season after beating Montfort University at home. The other team in the top four, somewhat out of nowhere, is St Thomas, who have been very consistent this season, and did well on the road against Colesham to remain ahead of a number of teams on 34 points. Colesham’s loss left an opportunity open for Broadwood and Houghton to begin climbing out of the serious danger they find themselves in; it’s an opportunity that neither truly capitalised on. Broadwood managed a draw against Stonehouse Athletic to pull themselves off the bottom of the table, while Houghton Rangers were resoundingly beaten by SC Montfort. Waterfleet remain slightly above expectations in the mid table, helped by a win over AFC Farnworth, who are also hovering in the middle of the league. Montfort Wanderers have dropped in and out of the top four this season, and they dropped back out this week after a draw with Garton Bay Pirates.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Mar 07, 2021 1:31 pm

Parish Senior Leagues

The second tier of Licentian football is made up of four leagues, representing each of the four parishes of the Licentian Isles: Abingdon, Colesham, Montfort, and St Bart’s. At the end of their individual regular seasons, the winner of each league will compete in the Senior Parish Championship, a four team knockout tournament at the LTI Stadium in Montfort. The winner of each semi-final is promoted to the Licentian Premier League and progresses to the final, where they compete for the SPC trophy, and all the pride attached. The losers of each semi final compete in a playoff for the third and final place in the Liga B Champions Trophy.

Abingdon Parish Senior League:

.  Abingdon Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Shieldhill 22 12 7 3 44 23 +21 43
2 Houghton Young Boys 22 12 6 4 36 24 +12 42
3 Whitton United 22 9 10 3 36 21 +15 37
4 Parkhouse 22 10 6 6 39 28 +11 36
5 Ringmuir 22 9 6 7 30 27 +3 33
6 Newton Arran 22 8 8 6 28 23 +5 32
7 Kilgarron 22 9 5 8 32 29 +3 32
8 Thornhill United 22 7 8 7 31 30 +1 29
9 Abingdon University 22 5 7 10 24 44 −20 22
10 Kirkton United 22 5 6 11 31 35 −4 21
11 Mossybank Town 22 3 8 11 19 43 −24 17
12 Old Abingdonians 22 2 5 15 30 53 −23 11


The battle for Abingdon Parish’s place in the Senior Parish Championship came down to the last day of the season. While Whitton United and Parkhouse had both been predicted to do well in this season, they were outdone by Shieldhill, from a small suburb of Abingdon, and Houghton Young Boys, who have seen much less of the yo-yoing done by their rivals Houghton Rangers. Shieldhill’s win over Abingdon University on the third-to-last weekend put them out of reach of Whitton and Parkhouse, but Houghton still had a chance. They continued that into the final day of the season by beating Mossybank Town, while Shieldhill were held to a draw by Newton Arran. With the leaders on 43 points and Houghton on 41, Young Boys needed a win to even stand a chance; if Shieldhill picked up a point against Parkhouse away from home, they were effectively guaranteed to have qualified for the SPC. In the end, Shieldhill were dominated by Parkhouse, perhaps complacent in their position at the top. However, Houghton couldn’t capitalise on that. A late Theo White goal for Kilgarron meant that the game at Finney Road ended in a 2-2 draw, booking a place for Shieldhill at the national stadium, and a shot at their first promotion to the Premier League.

Colesham Parish Senior League:

.  Colesham Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Carrington United 22 19 1 2 53 21 +32 58
2 Langbank 22 11 6 5 39 22 +17 39
3 Colesham Athletic 22 11 6 5 37 24 +13 39
4 Kirkross 22 12 3 7 42 33 +9 39
5 Waterford United 22 11 5 6 40 27 +13 38
6 Springburn Town 22 10 4 8 31 26 +5 34
7 Crosshill Town 22 9 5 8 32 28 +4 32
8 Whitekirk 22 9 3 10 31 25 +6 30
9 Old Corinthians 22 7 5 10 29 38 −9 26
10 Aberlang Town 22 5 4 13 18 46 −28 19
11 Inverone 22 3 2 17 17 45 −28 11
12 Colesham University 22 1 4 17 10 44 −34 7


Unlike the other parishes, the winner from Colesham could be seen from a mile off this year. Carrington United were the favourites, but they were expected to have a fight on their hands. While Langbank, Kirkross, and Colesham Athletic all formed a chasing pack, United took the lead in the CPSL in the 5th week of the season and never relinquished it. United only lost twice all season. They were beaten by Langbank away from home in the early stages of the season, and their only other loss came after the title was already won, when they travelled to Springburn Town on the third-to-last weekend. Kirkross were the closest challengers for most of the season, with Langbank only passing them in the last six weeks, but it almost didn’t matter in the end. Carrington guaranteed their place in the Senior Parish Championship with 4 weeks left in the season; a dominant 4-2 win away at Colesham Athletic put all their challengers out of reach, with Langbank and Kirkross only able to manage draws at home. After that, Carrington chopped and changed for the last four weeks, with many people speculating that they were preparing for their run at the SPC, and promotion to the Premier League.

Montfort Parish Senior League:

.  Montfort Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Castleton 30 21 6 3 70 26 +44 69
2 Saltburn Wanderers 30 21 6 3 60 24 +36 69
3 Kirkintill 30 20 4 6 56 29 +27 64
4 Tarbert United 30 14 10 6 49 36 +13 52
5 Tillmuir 30 15 3 12 55 36 +19 48
6 Ferryhill Town 30 13 5 12 47 36 +11 44
7 East Montfort United 30 10 13 7 47 38 +9 43
8 Arranmuir 30 12 4 14 35 37 −2 40
9 Woodhall Rovers 30 11 7 12 43 53 −10 40
10 Montfort North End 30 9 12 9 30 35 −5 39
11 Port Arran 30 9 8 13 33 48 −15 35
12 Havenbank 30 9 6 15 42 43 −1 33
13 Monksburgh 30 8 9 13 28 42 −14 33
14 Capital Constabulary 30 4 8 18 31 65 −34 20
15 Wellbank Rangers 30 4 7 19 25 60 −35 19
16 Sandsend Town 30 5 2 23 20 63 −43 17


The largest of the Senior Leagues was also by far the most exciting this year, with the champion only being decided on goal difference. Saltburn Wanderers were the favourites amongst most fans going into this season, with East Montfort United expected to be close behind them. In the end, East Montfort disappointed in 7th place, with the top three breaking away from the rest at the halfway point and never looking back. Castleton and Kirkintill were both expected to do well, but very few people expected them to be fighting for the title; however in the end the two of them, along with Saltburn, went blow for blow in the second half of the season. Kirkintill never led the league after the halfway point, so while they were always within reach, in reality this was a battle between Saltburn and Castleton. Going into the last weekend of the season, both sides sat on 66 points, but with Castleton’s superior goal difference, a win would likely guarantee them the title. Saltburn fans were relying on the fact that while they faced strugglers Monksburgh, Castleton had to travel to Kirkintill to get that win, and Kirkintill were still in with a shot of winning the league. The Wanderers will have been heartened by their three goal margin over Monksburgh, but it didn’t matter when Castleton scored just as many. A penalty in injury time from Alexis Fraser for Kirkintill wasn’t enough to stop Castleton, and they will travel to the LTI Stadium to compete for the Senior Parish Championship.

St Bart’s Parish Senior League:

.  St Bart's Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 St Bart's United 18 13 2 3 37 19 +18 41
2 Rafford Town 18 11 5 2 29 13 +16 38
3 Hope Bay 18 10 4 4 29 15 +14 34
4 Finnston United 18 10 3 5 28 23 +5 33
5 Oldshore Rovers 18 8 5 5 26 16 +10 29
6 Buckhaven Town 18 7 3 8 22 22 0 24
7 Redburn Athletic 18 4 7 7 20 24 −4 19
8 Highmoor Academical 18 3 4 11 20 31 −11 13
9 St Marnock's 18 2 4 12 16 37 −21 10
10 Kirkmagnus 18 3 1 14 8 35 −27 10


In St Bart’s Parish, it may look as if St Bart’s United were always going to win the league and qualify for the Senior Parish Championship, but that probably isn’t a fair reflection of what happened on the outer islands this season. In reality, United spent a large part of the season further down the table, only coming alive later in the year. The favourites pre-season were Hope Bay and Rafford Town, and for most of the first half of the season, they exchanged the top spot with each other. However, everything seemed to change in the second half, when St Bart’s really took control. They only dropped points once in the last nine games, being thrashed 5-0 by Hope Bay in a fixture that meant that Rafford Town had a chance of passing United and claiming their ticket from Hessington to the capital. It meant that, much like in Abingdon and Montfort, the title would be decided on the last day of the season. Both sides were playing at home, with St Bart’s hosting Kirkmagnus, who were in the bottom two, while Rafford had a much tougher fixture against Hope Bay, who they had to beat to have any chance of passing the leaders. While Rafford did manage to beat Hope Bay, thanks to a Roxana Poel hat trick, it didn’t matter, as United put four past Kirkmagnus to take their place in the SPC.

Senior Parish Championships:

A long weekend towards the end of the year means only one thing in the Licentian football season; finals weekend at the LTI Stadium in the capital of the Isles, Montfort. On the Thursday, both semifinals for the Senior Parish Championship take place, followed on the Saturday by the final of the FALI Cup. On the Sunday, the Liga B Champions Trophy playoff is swiftly followed by the SPC final, where one team comes away with another trophy to go along with their promotion to the Premier League.

Semi Finals:

Castleton (MPSL) 3-1 Carrington United (CPSL)
St Bart’s United (SBPSL) 1-2 Shieldhill (APSL)

As the only team of the pre-season favourites to make it to the SPC, Carrington United seemed nailed on to be one of the two teams promoted to the LPL and Castleton definitely considered themselves the underdogs going into the first fixture of the weekend. However, they have thrived with that moniker throughout this season, so it was always going to be an interesting match. Carrington started off strong and seemed to be in control in the first 20 minutes, but it was a Castleton counter-attack that brought the first goal of the weekend, with Adam Johnstone finishing a swift move from the back. Carrington seemed almost stunned by falling behind, and quickly conceded a second when Ava McLeod was found sleeping at the far post from a corner, leaving Esther Gray with an easy finish for her first goal of the season. At half time, Castleton lead, but many expected a response from Carrington. That response came very quickly after the second half begun, with a Kian Milne free kick from 25 yards out bringing Carrington back it. After that though, the Castleton defence remained mostly stalwart, managing to keep back all of United’s attacks, and even managing to score a third goal to put the game beyond doubt with around ten minutes to go. Once again, Adam Johnstone got on the end of a long clearance from keeper Chris Mackenzie, and managed to chip the ball past Lewis Reilly to earn Castleton promotion to the Premier League, and a shot at their first Senior Parish Championship.

In the second fixture of the day, it was St Bart’s United, previously stalwarts of the Premier League, against Shieldhill, who have never been above the second tier of Licentian football. However, with the struggles that United have dealt with in recent years, many predicted that this would be a close run match to see who would be promoted along with Castleton. The first half very much lived up to that expectation, with both sides getting most of their chances from set pieces as they took very few risks. Just before the break, however, St Bart’s United managed to break the deadlock, with a long free kick being headed home by Dillon van Valen to give them the lead going into half time. After the break though, Shieldhill came out firing on all cylinders, perhaps with the realisation that they needed to act to avoid losing their shot at promotion. They had three chances within the first five minutes of the second half, all of which were stopped by Ryan Mackay. Their next major chance was well out of Mackay’s reach though, as Ben Jamieson tapped home from short range after a goalmouth scramble. Invigorated by pulling level, Shieldhill continued to bombard the St Bart’s defence, and got their second goal just 10 minutes later, as Jamieson set up Danny Millar for a beautiful strike from twenty yards out to put the Abingdon Parish side ahead. It was a lead that they wouldn’t let go, despite late pressure from St Bart’s, meaning that Shieldhill would be promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

Liga B Champions Trophy Playoff:

Carrington United (CPSL) 1-2 St Bart’s United (SBPSL)

For the first time in the history of the Senior Parish Championship, a third place playoff was contested to decide whether Carrington or St Bart’s would take the third spot in the Liga B Champions Trophy for a Licentian club. While both clubs were inevitably disappointed by not managing promotion, there was obviously still a prize to earn if they could win this match. Carrington came out the stronger of the two sides early on in the match and took the lead 15 minutes in, with Guy McLean scoring from inside the box to give them the lead. Soon after that was where things started to fall apart for Carrington though. First, Ava McLeod’s weekend went from bad to worse, as a clumsy tackle on McLean in the penalty area led to her receiving a red card, and leaving her side down to ten men. Danita ten Wolde converted the resulting penalty to pull St Bart’s level, and while they couldn’t take further advantage in the first half, the second half was all St Bart’s. There were plenty of chances for them to take the lead, but the only one they capitalised on was not far past the hour mark, when Maria Hamilton scored from a free kick to put St Bart’s out of reach of Carrington, and earn them qualification for the LBCT.

Final:

Castleton (MPSL) 1-1 Shieldhill (APSL) (1-1 AET) (2-3 pen.)

There are many people who question the point of the SPC final, when both teams have already confirmed their promotion to the Premier League before stepping on the field. However, that is never a sentiment expressed by the teams involved, who can use it to add a trophy to their cabinet. We were guaranteed a new winner, as while Castleton have previously played in the Premier League, neither side has won the title of Senior Parish Champions. Very few people were willing to predict what, by all wisdom, looked to be a relatively close game, which was confirmed across the 120 minutes of football on the way to a penalty shoot-out. Both teams came out relatively defensively, and thus no-one was entirely surprised when the first half passed with no goals scored. After the break, Castleton came out firing, as Adam Johnstone scored his third goal of the finals weekend to take his side into the lead. Shieldhill responded quickly though, with Kayleigh Reid scoring from a free kick to draw the two sides level, with it staying that way right through the remainder of normal and extra time. In the end, it came down to penalties, and while a number of them were missed, Shieldhill had enough, with Reid scoring the penalty that won her club the Senior Parish Championship.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:59 pm

FALI Cup

The FALI Cup is a single knockout cup competition in which all teams in the top two tiers of Licentian football compete. Before the semi-final stage, matches that end in a draw go to a replay; in the semi finals and final, the match continues into extra time and penalties until a winner is decided. The winner of the FALI Cup qualifies for the Cup Winners Cup.

First Round:

The first round of the FALI Cup is very much a preliminary round. Only four teams enter at this stage, with those being the four teams that finished in last position in each of the Parish Senior Leagues the season before.

Colesham University (CPSL) 2-1 Kirkmagnus (SBPSL)
Mossybank Town (APSL) 2-0 Sandsend Town (MPSL)

Match of the Round:
There’s not many options to pick from in the first round of the cup, but the match between Colesham University and Kirkmagnus certainly impressed the few hundred fans who showed up on a cold weekday evening in the suburbs of Colesham. Both sides came flying out of the gates, but it was the visitors who managed to get the first goal of the evening; a lofted free kick found the head of centre half Alex Kierkels, who put the side from St Bart’s into the lead. It looked like they had a second soon after, before the referee ruled it offside, but it was clear that Colesham were in shock after conceding. They managed to get to half time without conceding again, and came out with a vengeance after the break. Owen King scored a stunning strike from 25 yards within two minutes of the restart to draw Colesham University level. Both sides had chances to score through out the remainder of the second half, and it looked like we were headed to a replay in Kirkmagnus, but Ben Wallace managed to chip the keeper in injury time to send his side through to the second round.

Second Round:

At the second round stage, all teams that finished below 4th in the Parish Senior League enter the competition.

Arranmuir (MPSL) 1-0 Montfort North End (MPSL)
Buckhaven Town (SBPSL) 0-0 Monksburgh (MPSL) (Replay: Monksburgh (MPSL) 3-1 Buckhaven Town (SBPSL))
Capital Constabulary (MPSL) 2-0 Wellbank Rangers (MPSL)
Crosshill Town (CPSL) 3-1 Springburn Town (CPSL)
Havenbank (MPSL) 0-3 Kilgarron (APSL)
Highmoor Academical (SBPSL) 1-0 Aberlang Town (CPSL)
Mossybank Town (APSL) 0-1 Kirkton United (APSL)
Newton Arran (APSL) 3-0 Ringmuir (APSL)
Old Abingdonians (APSL) 0-3 Tillmuir (MPSL)
Oldshore Rovers (SBPSL) 0-1 Ferryhill Town (MPSL)
Port Arran (MPSL) 5-0 Inverone (CPSL)
Tarbert United (MPSL) 7-0 St Marnock’s (SBPSL)
Thornhill United (APSL) 1-0 Old Corinthians (CPSL)
Waterford United (CPSL) 2-0 Abingdon University (APSL)
Whitekirk (CPSL) 0-2 Redburn Athletic (SBPSL)
Woodhall Rovers (MPSL) 1-2 Colesham University (CPSL)

Match of the Round:
There were a number of dominant victories in the second round, but some of them came in ways that were expected; for example, very few people expected St Marnock’s to put up a fight against Tarbert. However, the game between Port Arran and Inverone was expected to be much closer than it ended up being, with the home side putting five past their opponents from Colesham Parish to earn a place in the third round. They started early, with Eliza Davidson getting the first goal for Port Arran within three minutes. She continued just as she’d started as well, with two more goals before half time to earn herself a hat trick, and seemingly put the result beyond doubt after only 45 minutes. Somehow, things went from bad to worse after the break for Inverone. A miscommunication at the back lead to Finn Maclean putting the ball past his own keeper to give Port Arran their fourth goal of the game, before Lachlan Shaw made it five goals with a header on the hour mark, giving Port Arran their biggest FALI Cup win in their history.

Third Round:

At this stage, the remaining 16 teams from the second tier of Licentian football enter the cup.

Arranmuir (MPSL) 1-1 Crosshill Town (CPSL) (Replay: Crosshill Town (CPSL) 1-2 Arranmuir (MPSL))
Colesham Athletic (CPSL) 4-1 Castleton (MPSL)
Colesham University (CPSL) 0-1 Shieldhill (APSL)
Ferryhill Town (MPSL) 2-1 Kilgarron (APSL)
Highmoor Academical (SBPSL) 0-2 Langbank (CPSL)
Houghton Young Boys (APSL) 1-1 Hope Bay (SBPSL) (Replay: Hope Bay (SBPSL) 2-0 Houghton Young Boys (APSL))
Kirkintill (MPSL) 1-1 Finnston United (SBPSL) (Replay: Finnston United (SBPSL) 2-1 Kirkintill (MPSL))
Kirkton United (APSL) 3-3 Redburn Athletic (SBPSL) (Replay: Redburn Athletic (SBPSL) 2-1 Kirkton United (APSL))
Monksburgh (MPSL) 0-0 Tarbert United (MPSL) (Replay: Tarbert United (MPSL) 3-1 Monksburgh (MPSL))
Newton Arran (APSL) 0-1 Thornhill United (APSL)
Parkhouse (APSL) 4-0 Capital Constabulary (MPSL)
Rafford Town (SBPSL) 1-1 Kirkross (CPSL) (Replay: Kirkross (CPSL) 2-1 Rafford Town (SBPSL))
Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL) 0-1 Carrington United (CPSL)
St Bart’s United (SBPSL) 3-2 East Montfort United (MPSL)
Waterford United (CPSL) 2-1 Tillmuir (MPSL)
Whitton United (APSL) 4-1 Port Arran (MPSL)

Match of the Round:
When the third round draw was made, it was the fixture at St Bart’s Oval between St Bart’s United and East Montfort United that drew the eye of most observers. Two teams with much history in Licentian football would face off in an early round. It didn’t disappoint. It was St Bart’s that would start off strongest at home, but the first goal came against the run of play, with Ross Sinclair putting East Montfort into the lead from a counter attack. From there, the away side seemed invigorated, and managed to get a second before the half hour mark, with Sinclair laying off Stephen McMillan to score. St Bart’s did manage to respond before the break, however, with Jack van Vreeswijk scoring from a free kick to pull the hosts back into it. The game after the break was just as close as the first half, but St Bart’s keeper Ryan Mackay seemed to be in much better form in the second half, stopping East Montfort from adding to their two goals. St Bart’s however had no such trouble. Simon Cameron scored from a corner to draw the game level, before van Vreeswijk set up his strike partner Danita ten Wolde to score the winner to put St Bart’s United through to the fourth round.

Fourth Round:

This is the final stage of the competition where teams enter for the first time; here, the 16 Licentian Premier League sides enter for the first time.

Abingdon Celtic (LPL) 1-0 Whitton United (APSL)
Arranmuir (MPSL) 1-3 Thornhill United (APSL)
Blackheath (LPL) 3-1 Colesham Athletic (CPSL)
Broadwood (LPL) 4-0 Langbank (CPSL)
Colesham Rovers (LPL) 3-0 Montfort Wanderers (LPL)
Ferryhill Town (MPSL) 2-1 Carrington United (CPSL)
Finnston United (SBPSL) 1-2 AFC Farnworth (LPL)
Gaelic Club (LPL) 0-3 St Bart’s Dutch (LPL)
Glenmount Town (LPL) 2-0 Garton Bay Pirates (LPL)
Kirkross (CPSL) 1-0 SC Montfort (LPL)
Redburn Athletic (SBPSL) 2-1 Hope Bay (SBPSL)
St Bart’s United (SBPSL) 1-2 Shieldhill (APSL)
Stonehouse Athletic (LPL) 5-1 Montfort University (LPL)
Tarbert United (MPSL) 0-1 Parkhouse (APSL)
Waterfleet (LPL) 1-1 St Thomas (LPL) (Replay: St Thomas (LPL) 3-2 Waterfleet (LPL))
Waterford United (CPSL) 3-1 Houghton Rangers (LPL)

Match of the Round:
A derby in the cup is always going to create some excitement. When we found out that Waterfleet and St Thomas would face off in the fourth round, it was no exception. The initial fixture didn’t quite live up to its billing as both sides played relatively cautious football at the Waterfront Stadium. It was St Thomas who managed to break the deadlock after 50 minutes of scoreless football, with Tiago Weiling finishing a slick move from the Sky Blues. Fleet were quick to respond, however, with a Layla Paterson strike from outside the box ensuring that there would be a replay at the Recreation Ground. In the replay, the style was almost entirely reversed, with both sides going on the attack and three goals being scored in the first ten minutes. Tiago Weiling scored for St Thomas, before Penelope van Drunen replied for Waterfleet. Oscar Moore then put St Thomas back in front before a more quiet period led up to half time. Weiling got his second, and his third across the two matches, to give St Thomas some breathing room. Fleet managed to pull one back late on through Harris Shaw in the dying moments, but it wasn’t enough to prevent their rivals progressing.

Fifth Round:

AFC Farnworth (LPL) 2-3 Colesham Rovers (LPL)
Abingdon Celtic (LPL) 3-0 Shieldhill (APSL)
Blackheath (LPL) 1-2 Kirkross (CPSL)
Ferryhill Town (MPSL) 1-5 Broadwood (LPL)
Parkhouse (APSL) 2-0 Glenmount Town (LPL)
St Bart’s Dutch (LPL) 2-1 Stonehouse Athletic (LPL)
St Thomas (LPL) 2-1 Redburn Athletic (SBPSL)
Thornhill United (APSL) 3-1 Waterford United (CPSL)

Match of the Round:
There always has to be a shock in the FALI Cup, and though a number of LPL sides saw themselves knocked out by a second tier side, there was no bigger scalp claimed than that of Glenmount Town. Having led the Premier League for most of the season, they travelled down the road to Parkhouse expecting to move past the APSL side relatively easily. Parkhouse had other plans, however. They stifled any attack from the Mountaineers straight from the kick off, with Miles Simpson and Tyler Veldhoen both struggling to get going. They then managed to execute their counter attack perfectly, with both of their goals coming through their big centre forward Murdo Anderson from long balls. It may not have been pretty, but nobody can deny that Glenmount were undone by old-fashioned play on the day. Glenmount boss Grant Hunter tried to twist the result as allowing them to continue to focus on the league, but all in attendance knew that the Mountaineers had faltered.

Quarter Finals:

Abingdon Celtic (LPL) 2-0 Colesham Rovers (LPL)
Kirkross (CPSL) 0-0 St Bart’s Dutch (LPL) (Replay: St Bart’s Dutch (LPL) 2-1 Kirkross (CPSL))
St Thomas (LPL) 1-1 Broadwood (LPL) (Replay: Broadwood (LPL) 1-3 St Thomas (LPL))
Thornhill United (APSL) 2-0 Parkhouse (APSL)

Match of the Round:
The quarter final draw meant that at least one side from the second tier would make their way to LTI Stadium to play in a semi final, so many observers were focussed on the battle in Abingdon Parish between Thornhill and Parkhouse. After stunning Glenmount in the last round, many were of the belief that the away side deserved a spot at the national stadium. Their job very quickly became more difficult, however, when Alex Taylor was sent off after 35 minutes for a reckless challenge on Thornhill winger Scarlet McKenzie. McKenzie managed to score from the resulting free kick, and Parkhouse being down to 10 players completely changed the complexion of the game. While Thornhill didn’t go on the offensive, they seemed far more at ease in the way they were playing, while their opponents were forced to switch into a much more defensive strategy at a time where they needed to go onto the attack to get one back. In the end, it was another set piece that gave United their second, with Oliver Wright heading home from another McKenzie free kick.

Semi Finals:

The semi finals of the FALI Cup are held across two days at LTI Stadium in Montfort, the capital of the Isles. If a fixture is tied at the end of 90 minutes, extra time and penalties will be used to decide a winner on the day.

St Bart’s Dutch (LPL) 0-0 Abingdon Celtic (LPL) (0-0 AET) (6-7 pen.)
St Thomas (LPL) 2-1 Thornhill United (APSL)

Match of the Round:
While one of the semi finals didn’t see any goals scored, the other was surprisingly close despite one side being in the second tier. Thornhill United took St Thomas by surprise, and their first shock came within minutes of kick off. Scarlet McKenzie has been one of the best players in this tournament for Thornhill, and she carried on at the LTI Stadium, scoring a gorgeous free kick to put United ahead. St Thomas looked to have responded quickly, but Alasdair Graham was found to be offside when he headed home from a corner. They didn’t manage to score before the break, and it looked like Thornhill’s fairytale would continue. After the break though, Thornhill made an error in giving away a free kick on the edge of the box; Mitch Louws made them pay, and drew St Thomas level. They seemed invigorated after that, with Flora Watson managing to put the Sky Blues in the lead just five minutes later, beating Tristan Munro at the near post to give her side the lead, and drive them towards the final of the FALI Cup.

Final:

St Thomas (LPL) 1-0 Abingdon Celtic (LPL)

Going into the final, many predicted that despite their struggles at times this season, Abingdon Celtic would dominate against a St Thomas side that found themselves in their first FALI Cup final. That turned out not to be the case, however, as the two sides seemed fairly evenly matched throughout the first half, with both Glen McGregor of Celtic and Sam Heijnis of the Sky Blues forced into acrobatic saves to keep the game scoreless. After the break, it was much of the same, even as Heijnis had to tip a Miles Henderson free kick over the bar. In the end, there were only fifteen minutes left to go as the only goal of the game was scored. A Mitch Louws cross found its way in between the Abingdon centre halves, and Tiago Weiling slammed a half volley into the top right corner to earn St Thomas their first ever FALI Cup win. Flora Watson, exiled from Abingdon and moving to St Thomas at the start of this season, led the celebrations after downing her former club. It now appears that St Thomas have cemented themselves as competitors, both in the league and cup.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sat Mar 13, 2021 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:59 am

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1SR Season - Part 3

Matchday 21:

AFC Farnworth 0–1 Houghton Rangers
Broadwood 1–1 St Bart's Dutch
Gaelic Club 1–0 Colesham Rovers
Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 SC Montfort
Glenmount Town 1–1 Abingdon Celtic
Montfort University 3–2 Stonehouse Athletic
Montfort Wanderers 1–1 Blackheath
St Thomas 1–2 Waterfleet

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gaelic Club 21 12 5 4 38 18 +20 41
2 Glenmount Town 21 12 4 5 40 24 +16 40
3 Abingdon Celtic 21 11 4 6 34 25 +9 37
4 SC Montfort 21 10 5 6 36 27 +9 35
5 St Thomas 21 10 4 7 29 20 +9 34
6 Stonehouse Athletic 21 10 4 7 29 25 +4 34
7 Montfort Wanderers 21 10 4 7 32 31 +1 34
8 Waterfleet 21 7 8 6 29 25 +4 29
9 Blackheath 21 8 5 8 27 26 +1 29
10 AFC Farnworth 21 7 7 7 26 25 +1 28
11 St Bart's Dutch 21 6 6 9 23 26 −3 24
12 Montfort University 21 6 5 10 33 43 −10 23
13 Garton Bay Pirates 21 4 9 8 30 42 −12 21
14 Colesham Rovers 21 6 1 14 27 42 −15 19
15 Houghton Rangers 21 4 6 11 18 36 −18 18
16 Broadwood 21 4 5 12 27 43 −16 17


Gaelic Club and Glenmount Town have once again traded places at the top of the Licentian Premier League, with the Gaels climbing one point ahead of their rivals after a Beau Morrison free kick gave them a victory over relegation-threatened Colesham Rovers. Glenmount dropped points against Abingdon Celtic, who still remain within a few points of their biggest rivals despite some struggles in the early part of the season. SC Montfort remained in the top four despite being held to a draw by Garton Bay Pirates, who are now three points clear of the relegation zone. The reason SC could remain in the top four was that all of the teams chasing them dropped points. St Thomas were beaten in their local derby by Waterfleet, while Stonehouse were beaten by Montfort University in a five goal thriller at Burnside. Elsewhere Montfort Wanderers were held to a draw by Blackheath, meaning that they also remain one point adrift of their rivals. Broadwood have found themselves back at the bottom of the table after being held to a draw by St Bart’s, with Houghton climbing above them after they surprised AFC Farnworth thanks to a Ruaridh Milne goal.

Matchday 22:

Abingdon Celtic 1–2 Montfort Wanderers
Blackheath 1–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Colesham Rovers 2–2 Broadwood
Houghton Rangers 3–0 St Thomas
SC Montfort 0–1 AFC Farnworth
St Bart's Dutch 1–0 Montfort University
Stonehouse Athletic 1–3 Glenmount Town
Waterfleet 2–1 Gaelic Club

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 22 13 4 5 43 25 +18 43
2 Gaelic Club 22 12 5 5 39 20 +19 41
3 Abingdon Celtic 22 11 4 7 35 27 +8 37
4 Montfort Wanderers 22 11 4 7 34 32 +2 37
5 SC Montfort 22 10 5 7 36 28 +8 35
6 St Thomas 22 10 4 8 29 23 +6 34
7 Stonehouse Athletic 22 10 4 8 30 28 +2 34
8 Waterfleet 22 8 8 6 31 26 +5 32
9 AFC Farnworth 22 8 7 7 27 25 +2 31
10 Blackheath 22 8 6 8 28 27 +1 30
11 St Bart's Dutch 22 7 6 9 24 26 −2 27
12 Montfort University 22 6 5 11 33 44 −11 23
13 Garton Bay Pirates 22 4 10 8 31 43 −12 22
14 Houghton Rangers 22 5 6 11 21 36 −15 21
15 Colesham Rovers 22 6 2 14 29 44 −15 20
16 Broadwood 22 4 6 12 29 45 −16 18


Once again, the Mountaineers have returned to the top of the table within a week of losing their lead. This time, they managed a dominant victory away at Stonehouse, with Tyler Veldhoen getting a brace on the way to their victory, while Waterfleet beat Gaelic Club thanks to a goal of the season contender from Brendon Vermolen. Montfort Wanderers pulled themselves into the top four with a victory on the road against Abingdon Celtic, with Fabrizio Kaal’s side now level on points with the former favourites. At the other end of the table, Houghton Rangers climbed out of the relegation zone with an unexpected victory over St Thomas, condemning Colesham Rovers to drop in to the bottom two after their draw with fellow strugglers Broadwood. SC Montfort fell to defeat against AFC Farnworth, and as a result were replaced in the IFCF qualification places by their rivals Wanderers. The other two fixtures of the weekend were in the bottom half of the table, with St Bart’s Dutch beating Montfort University, while Blackheath and Garton Bay played to a draw at Village Green.

Matchday 23:

Blackheath 1–1 SC Montfort
Broadwood 0–3 Waterfleet
Gaelic Club 2–2 Houghton Rangers
Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 Abingdon Celtic
Glenmount Town 3–1 St Bart's Dutch
Montfort University 2–0 Colesham Rovers
Montfort Wanderers 1–2 Stonehouse Athletic
St Thomas 2–2 AFC Farnworth

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 23 14 4 5 46 26 +20 46
2 Gaelic Club 23 12 6 5 41 22 +19 42
3 Abingdon Celtic 23 11 5 7 37 29 +8 38
4 Stonehouse Athletic 23 11 4 8 32 29 +3 37
5 Montfort Wanderers 23 11 4 8 35 34 +1 37
6 SC Montfort 23 10 6 7 37 29 +8 36
7 Waterfleet 23 9 8 6 34 26 +8 35
8 St Thomas 23 10 5 8 31 25 +6 35
9 AFC Farnworth 23 8 8 7 29 27 +2 32
10 Blackheath 23 8 7 8 29 28 +1 31
11 St Bart's Dutch 23 7 6 10 25 29 −4 27
12 Montfort University 23 7 5 11 35 44 −9 26
13 Garton Bay Pirates 23 4 11 8 33 45 −12 23
14 Houghton Rangers 23 5 7 11 23 38 −15 22
15 Colesham Rovers 23 6 2 15 29 46 −17 20
16 Broadwood 23 4 6 13 29 48 −19 18


Glenmount have now managed to build a gap once again at the top of the Licentian Premier League. They were helped by the visit of struggling St Bart’s Dutch, with a Miles Simpson strike from outside the box the highlight of the match. The two Abingdon clubs in the chase for the top spot were both held to 2-2 draws by clubs at the other end of the table; Celtic could not beat Garton Bay Pirates, while Gaelic Club were held by Houghton Rangers at the Coliseum. In a battle at the top end of the table, Stonehouse managed to turn over Montfort Wanderers at the LTI Stadium and climb into the top four, helped by a Lewis Johnstone header that managed to get past Leland Wood in goal for the Whites. At the other end, Broadwood were thrashed by Waterfleet to cause them to remain at the bottom of the league, while Montfort University came out the better of their match against Colesham Rovers. Elsewhere, SC Montfort could not climb into the top four despite taking an early lead through Josh Williams, as Blackheath came back to claim a point.

Matchday 24:

AFC Farnworth 1–1 Gaelic Club
Abingdon Celtic 2–0 Blackheath
Colesham Rovers 2–1 Glenmount Town
Houghton Rangers 0–0 Broadwood
SC Montfort 1–0 St Thomas
St Bart's Dutch 1–1 Montfort Wanderers
Stonehouse Athletic 3–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Waterfleet 2–0 Montfort University

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 24 14 4 6 47 28 +19 46
2 Gaelic Club 24 12 7 5 42 23 +19 43
3 Abingdon Celtic 24 12 5 7 39 29 +10 41
4 Stonehouse Athletic 24 12 4 8 35 30 +5 40
5 SC Montfort 24 11 6 7 38 29 +9 39
6 Waterfleet 24 10 8 6 36 26 +10 38
7 Montfort Wanderers 24 11 5 8 36 35 +1 38
8 St Thomas 24 10 5 9 31 26 +5 35
9 AFC Farnworth 24 8 9 7 30 28 +2 33
10 Blackheath 24 8 7 9 29 30 −1 31
11 St Bart's Dutch 24 7 7 10 26 30 −4 28
12 Montfort University 24 7 5 12 35 46 −11 26
13 Garton Bay Pirates 24 4 11 9 34 48 −14 23
14 Houghton Rangers 24 5 8 11 23 38 −15 23
15 Colesham Rovers 24 7 2 15 31 47 −16 23
16 Broadwood 24 4 7 13 29 48 −19 19


The league leaders are once again seeming to want to throw away their position. Colesham Rovers, at the bottom end of the table, were not expected to get anything from their home fixture against Glenmount, but a Lucas Russell double gave them a victory that strengthened their position in the relegation fight. Gaelic Club could only pull themselves to within three points of the leaders after being held to a draw by AFC Farnworth. The other two sides in the top four managed to win to draw themselves closer to the top two; Abingdon Celtic looked confident as they bested Blackheath at Gardiner-Stewart Stadium, while Stonehouse benefitted from playing the lowly Garton Bay Pirates. In the relegation fight, Colesham’s win made things more difficult for Broadwood, who are now four points away from 15th after a scoreless draw in Houghton. SC Montfort have remained within reach of IFCF qualification after squeezing past St Thomas, along with Waterfleet, who beat Montfort University to climb to 6th. Montfort Wanderers, despite their climbing since the mid-season, were held to a draw at Abbey Road by St Bart’s Dutch.

Matchday 25:

Abingdon Celtic 2–2 SC Montfort
Blackheath 2–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Broadwood 0–2 AFC Farnworth
Gaelic Club 3–0 St Thomas
Garton Bay Pirates 1–0 St Bart's Dutch
Glenmount Town 1–1 Waterfleet
Montfort University 3–3 Houghton Rangers
Montfort Wanderers 3–1 Colesham Rovers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 25 14 5 6 48 29 +19 47
2 Gaelic Club 25 13 7 5 45 23 +22 46
3 Abingdon Celtic 25 12 6 7 41 31 +10 42
4 Montfort Wanderers 25 12 5 8 39 36 +3 41
5 SC Montfort 25 11 7 7 40 31 +9 40
6 Stonehouse Athletic 25 12 4 9 36 32 +4 40
7 Waterfleet 25 10 9 6 37 27 +10 39
8 AFC Farnworth 25 9 9 7 32 28 +4 36
9 St Thomas 25 10 5 10 31 29 +2 35
10 Blackheath 25 9 7 9 31 31 0 34
11 St Bart's Dutch 25 7 7 11 26 31 −5 28
12 Montfort University 25 7 6 12 38 49 −11 27
13 Garton Bay Pirates 25 5 11 9 35 48 −13 26
14 Houghton Rangers 25 5 9 11 26 41 −15 24
15 Colesham Rovers 25 7 2 16 32 50 −18 23
16 Broadwood 25 4 7 14 29 50 −21 19


Gaelic Club are looking to keep the title race going for as long as possible, and while they’ve been helped by Glenmount’s relative struggles later in the season, they are definitely playing like title challengers. Ruaridh Grant scored two of their three goals at home to St Thomas, but it was a fantastic performance from the whole team. Glenmount Town looked likely to get a win of their own, until Will Hay headed into his own net from a corner to give Waterfleet a draw. One game that seems certain to be important in the IFCF qualification battle is that between Celtic and SC, who played to a 2-2 draw that keeps both sides in the hunt for this season’s Challengers’ Cup places. Montfort Wanderers climbed back up to 4th after beating Colesham in a match that kept the latter in the relegation places. Houghton managed to come out of their game again Montfort University with one point in a six goal thriller that pulled them one point ahead of Rovers, while Broadwood lost to AFC Farnworth to remain bottom of the table. Stonehouse Athletic dropped out of the top four after being surprised by mid-table Blackheath thanks to a late goal from Sarah Campbell, while Garton Bay Pirates squeezed past St Bart’s Dutch, with Zander Young the goal scorer at the Anchor.

Matchday 26:

AFC Farnworth 2–1 Montfort University
Colesham Rovers 2–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Houghton Rangers 0–2 Glenmount Town
SC Montfort 1–2 Gaelic Club
St Bart's Dutch 2–1 Blackheath
St Thomas 1–0 Broadwood
Stonehouse Athletic 1–1 Abingdon Celtic
Waterfleet 1–3 Montfort Wanderers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 26 15 5 6 50 29 +21 50
2 Gaelic Club 26 14 7 5 47 24 +23 49
3 Montfort Wanderers 26 13 5 8 42 37 +5 44
4 Abingdon Celtic 26 12 7 7 42 32 +10 43
5 Stonehouse Athletic 26 12 5 9 37 33 +4 41
6 SC Montfort 26 11 7 8 41 33 +8 40
7 Waterfleet 26 10 9 7 38 30 +8 39
8 AFC Farnworth 26 10 9 7 34 29 +5 39
9 St Thomas 26 11 5 10 32 29 +3 38
10 Blackheath 26 9 7 10 32 33 −1 34
11 St Bart's Dutch 26 8 7 11 28 32 −4 31
12 Montfort University 26 7 6 13 39 51 −12 27
13 Garton Bay Pirates 26 5 11 10 36 50 −14 26
14 Colesham Rovers 26 8 2 16 34 51 −17 26
15 Houghton Rangers 26 5 9 12 26 43 −17 24
16 Broadwood 26 4 7 15 29 51 −22 19


The race for the title continues to be a close one, as both Glenmount and Gaelic Club won this weekend and moved slightly clear of the chasing pack. Glenmount looked dominant against Houghton and could have easily scored more than the two they got, while Gaelic Club need a free kick from Beau Morrison to come away with a win against SC Montfort. The loss for Houghton Rangers meant that they dropped into the bottom two again after Colesham Rovers beat Garton Bay Pirates at Old Colliery Road, while Broadwood’s loss to St Thomas means that they now sit 7 points away from safety with only four games left to play in the season. Montfort Wanderers have climbed up to 3rd after they outclassed Waterfleet away from home, with Arlo McGregor looking to be at his best all season for the Whites. Abingdon Celtic and Stonehouse Athletic played to a draw in a game that really suits neither side as they push for IFCF qualification. AFC Farnworth kept themselves within reach of the top four with a victory over Montfort University, while St Bart’s continued to climb towards safety with their victory over Blackheath.

Matchday 27:

Abingdon Celtic 2–1 St Bart's Dutch
Blackheath 0–0 Colesham Rovers
Broadwood 3–3 Gaelic Club
Garton Bay Pirates 1–1 Waterfleet
Glenmount Town 2–1 AFC Farnworth
Montfort University 2–0 St Thomas
Montfort Wanderers 3–0 Houghton Rangers
Stonehouse Athletic 1–1 SC Montfort

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Glenmount Town 27 16 5 6 52 30 +22 53
2 Gaelic Club 27 14 8 5 50 27 +23 50
3 Montfort Wanderers 27 14 5 8 45 37 +8 47
4 Abingdon Celtic 27 13 7 7 44 33 +11 46
5 Stonehouse Athletic 27 12 6 9 38 34 +4 42
6 SC Montfort 27 11 8 8 42 34 +8 41
7 Waterfleet 27 10 10 7 39 31 +8 40
8 AFC Farnworth 27 10 9 8 35 31 +4 39
9 St Thomas 27 11 5 11 32 31 +1 38
10 Blackheath 27 9 8 10 32 33 −1 35
11 St Bart's Dutch 27 8 7 12 29 34 −5 31
12 Montfort University 27 8 6 13 41 51 −10 30
13 Garton Bay Pirates 27 5 12 10 37 51 −14 27
14 Colesham Rovers 27 8 3 16 34 51 −17 27
15 Houghton Rangers 27 5 9 13 26 46 −20 24
16 Broadwood 27 4 8 15 32 54 −22 20


Glenmount have managed to give themselves a small gap at the top of the table once again with only a few games left to go in the Premier League season. Their win over Farnworth at Market Street was helped by the fact that the Reds’ keeper Struan Fraser let a Lyle Hughes cross past him for Town’s second. They were also helped by a shock result at Anderson Stadium, as Broadwood’s attacking style paid off as they matched Gaelic Club’s three goals, claiming a single point that may not help them in their losing battle at the bottom. Montfort Wanderers now sit within three points of second placed Gaelic Club after their comprehensive victory over Houghton Rangers, who are now further adrift in the relegation zone. The final IFCF qualification place is currently held by Abingdon Celtic, who now have a decent gap after they beat St Bart’s Dutch, and Stonehouse and SC Montfort played to a draw. Both Colesham and Garton Bay managed to claim a draw to increase their distance from the relegation zone; Rovers held Blackheath to a scoreless draw, while Pirates had to settle for a draw despite leading for most of the game against Waterfleet. Montfort University are hoping that they have now reached the point that effectively guarantees their safety after their surprise victory against St Thomas.

Matchday 28:

AFC Farnworth 1–2 Montfort Wanderers
Colesham Rovers 3–0 Abingdon Celtic
Gaelic Club 3–1 Montfort University
Houghton Rangers 1–1 Garton Bay Pirates
SC Montfort 2–1 Broadwood
St Bart's Dutch 1–1 Stonehouse Athletic
St Thomas 2–1 Glenmount Town
Waterfleet 1–0 Blackheath

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gaelic Club 28 15 8 5 53 28 +25 53
2 Glenmount Town 28 16 5 7 53 32 +21 53
3 Montfort Wanderers 28 15 5 8 47 38 +9 50
4 Abingdon Celtic 28 13 7 8 44 36 +8 46
5 SC Montfort 28 12 8 8 44 35 +9 44
6 Waterfleet 28 11 10 7 40 31 +9 43
7 Stonehouse Athletic 28 12 7 9 39 35 +4 43
8 St Thomas 28 12 5 11 34 32 +2 41
9 AFC Farnworth 28 10 9 9 36 33 +3 39
10 Blackheath 28 9 8 11 32 34 −2 35
11 St Bart's Dutch 28 8 8 12 30 35 −5 32
12 Montfort University 28 8 6 14 42 54 −12 30
13 Colesham Rovers 28 9 3 16 37 51 −14 30
14 Garton Bay Pirates 28 5 13 10 38 52 −14 28
15 Houghton Rangers 28 5 10 13 27 47 −20 25
16 Broadwood 28 4 8 16 33 56 −23 20


The picture going into the final weeks of the season has changed once again, as it now appears we have a three horse race going into the last two weekends of the Premier League. Glenmount Town travelled to the Recreation Ground on St Thomas and came away having dropped down to second in the league on goal difference, after a Tiago Weiling double gave the home side three points. Gaelic Club looked to be at their best as they beat Montfort University, and Wanderers unexpectedly entered the fray as well as they beat Farnworth on the road. At the other end of the table, Broadwood will end their first season in the LPL the way many expected pre-season, as their loss to SC Montfort confirmed that they would be relegated back to the second tier for next season. Houghton Rangers were hoping for a win over Garton Bay to give themselves a fighting chance of escaping the drop, but instead had to settle for a late draw that they salvaged through a Thomas Hughes free kick. Colesham Rovers have been putting up a serious fight in recent weeks, and that continued as they shocked Abingdon Celtic to climb up to 13th ahead of the Pirates. Waterfleet are still within reach of IFCF qualification after their victory over Blackheath, as are Stonehouse despite their draw away to St Bart’s.

Matchday 29:

Abingdon Celtic 4–1 Waterfleet
Blackheath 4–3 Houghton Rangers
Garton Bay Pirates 1–0 AFC Farnworth
Glenmount Town 1–1 Gaelic Club
Montfort University 1–2 Broadwood
Montfort Wanderers 1–0 St Thomas
St Bart's Dutch 1–1 SC Montfort
Stonehouse Athletic 3–0 Colesham Rovers

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gaelic Club 29 15 9 5 54 29 +25 54
2 Glenmount Town 29 16 6 7 54 33 +21 54
3 Montfort Wanderers 29 16 5 8 48 38 +10 53
4 Abingdon Celtic 29 14 7 8 48 37 +11 49
5 Stonehouse Athletic 29 13 7 9 42 35 +7 46
6 SC Montfort 29 12 9 8 45 36 +9 45
7 Waterfleet 29 11 10 8 41 35 +6 43
8 St Thomas 29 12 5 12 34 33 +1 41
9 AFC Farnworth 29 10 9 10 36 34 +2 39
10 Blackheath 29 10 8 11 36 37 −1 38
11 St Bart's Dutch 29 8 9 12 31 36 −5 33
12 Garton Bay Pirates 29 6 13 10 39 52 −13 31
13 Montfort University 29 8 6 15 43 56 −13 30
14 Colesham Rovers 29 9 3 17 37 54 −17 30
15 Houghton Rangers 29 5 10 14 30 51 −21 25
16 Broadwood 29 5 8 16 35 57 −22 23


We are looking at the most exciting final day of the title race in a long time in the Licentian Premier League. Three teams are in with a chance of winning the title, and two of them will be up against each other. Two of the three also faced each other in the penultimate week of the season, with Glenmount Town and Gaelic Club playing to a draw at Market Street. That is the result that truly opened the door to Montfort Wanderers, who got a one goal win over St Thomas to draw within one point of the top two ahead of their trip to the Coliseum of the Gaels on the final day. While Abingdon Celtic aren’t able to win the title this season as they hoped, at the very least they are in a very strong position for Challengers’ Cup qualification after they put four past Waterfleet. They find themselves three points clear of the only team in with a shot of passing them; Stonehouse Athletic were by far the best side at Burnside as they defeated Colesham Rovers. However, that loss did not prevent Colesham Rovers from confirming their safety from relegation. That was decided in Blackheath in a seven-goal thriller, as Blackheath came out the better and confirmed the relegation of Houghton Rangers back to the second tier of Licentian football. SC Montfort will not qualify for international competitions this year, after a draw with St Bart’s Dutch meant that Abingdon Celtic were too far clear of the Royals. Broadwood managed to get a win over Montfort University despite their relegation already being confirmed, while Garton Bay climbed to 12th thanks to their victory over AFC Farnworth.

Matchday 30:

AFC Farnworth 0–1 Blackheath
Broadwood 2–2 Glenmount Town
Colesham Rovers 2–3 St Bart's Dutch
Gaelic Club 1–2 Montfort Wanderers
Houghton Rangers 1–3 Abingdon Celtic
SC Montfort 1–4 Montfort University
St Thomas 2–0 Garton Bay Pirates
Waterfleet 3–1 Stonehouse Athletic

.  RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Montfort Wanderers 30 17 5 8 50 39 +11 56 Champions, CL, CEdC
2 Glenmount Town 30 16 7 7 56 35 +21 55 CC, CEdC
3 Gaelic Club 30 15 9 6 55 31 +24 54 CC
4 Abingdon Celtic 30 15 7 8 51 38 +13 52 CC
5 Waterfleet 30 12 10 8 44 36 +8 46
6 Stonehouse Athletic 30 13 7 10 43 38 +5 46
7 SC Montfort 30 12 9 9 46 40 +6 45
8 St Thomas 30 13 5 12 36 33 +3 44 CWC
9 Blackheath 30 11 8 11 37 37 0 41
10 AFC Farnworth 30 10 9 11 36 35 +1 39
11 St Bart's Dutch 30 9 9 12 34 38 −4 36
12 Montfort University 30 9 6 15 47 57 −10 33
13 Garton Bay Pirates 30 6 13 11 39 54 −15 31
14 Colesham Rovers 30 9 3 18 39 57 −18 30
15 Houghton Rangers 30 5 10 15 31 54 −23 25 Relegated
16 Broadwood 30 5 9 16 37 59 −22 24 Relegated


For most of this season, Glenmount Town and Gaelic Club traded the top spot between them. Montfort Wanderers hadn’t led since the second week of the season, and hadn’t been in the top two since then either. The only thing that matters to Fabrizio Kaal’s side, however, is that they led the Licentian Premier League after thirty games, and claimed their first title for a number of years. They achieved it by beating fellow title contenders Gaelic Club at the Coliseum, Arlo McGregor delivering a man of the match performance as well as scoring the winning goal for the Whites. If Glenmount Town had managed to win against the already relegated Broadwood, then they would have deservedly won the league after leading for so long this season. Instead, Anne-Linde van Oers scored two goals in the second half to hold the Mountaineers to a draw, and deny them the title that many argue they very much deserve. Abingdon Celtic managed to confirm their place in the Challengers’ Cup by piling yet more misery on Houghton Rangers at the Hilltop Stadium, but they will be disappointed by their fourth place finish when they were expected to win yet another title going into this season. Waterfleet surprised Stonehouse on the final day of the season and deserved their win, which led to them replacing the Latics in fifth place. SC Montfort struggled against Montfort University after Lleyton Ritchie was sent off in the early stages of their fixture, while FALI Cup winners St Thomas had to settle for 8th after a strong start to the season. Blackheath and AFC Farnworth both find themselves in the mid-table again, while a win in Colesham on the final day won’t relieve any of the frustration for fans of St Bart’s Dutch, who saw their side finish 11th after much expectation at the beginning of the season. Despite all spending time in the bottom two this season, Montfort University, Garton Bay Pirates, and Colesham Rovers all found themselves solidly safe at the end of the season, with a decent gap to the relegated sides, Houghton Rangers and Broadwood.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:58 am

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2SR Season Preview - Part 1


Montfort Wanderers:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Leland Wood 24 Image
RB Kristin de Booij 23 Image
CB Tom Roberts 29 Image
CB Oran Hay 20 Image
LB Rowan Findlay 25 Image
HM Alex Graham 30 Image
CM Jemma Morrison 26 Image
CM Thomas Hughes 20 Image
AM Arlo McGregor 23 Image
CF Rimaël Postel 24 Image
CF Danita Star 27 Image



Stadium - LTI Stadium (75,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Whites
Last season – 1st
Most important players – Arlo McGregor (AM, Image), Thomas Hughes (CM, Image), Rimaël Postel (CF, Image)



Team preview:
Many would expect that, after a year where they won the title, Montfort Wanderers would be favourites going into the next year. They aren’t, and it’s for one simple reason: Fabrizio Kaal. The manager that led them to the title in his first season with the club has been tapped up by the national team, meaning that the Whites will have to do without going into their title defence. They can still be relatively confident though, with a strong midfield and the addition of Gouvanarchais centre forward Rimaël Postel for an added goal threat.

Prediction - 4th


Glenmount Town:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Caitlin Fraser 32 Image
RB Kaitlin Patterson 24 Image
CB Tim Bijvank 20 Image
CB Gwina Ansoll 23 Image
LB Craig Kelly 27 Image
RM Lyle Hughes 28 Image
CM Mark McLean 34 Image
CM Amy Craig 23 Image
LM Valentina Gastaldo 20 Image
CF Miles Simpson 36 Image
CF Tyler Veldhoen 24 Image



Stadium - Market Street (19,500 capacity), Glenmount, Abingdon Parish
Nickname - Mountaineers
Last season – 2nd
Most important players – Caitlin Fraser (GK, Image), Lyle Hughes (RM, Image), Tyler Veldhoen (CF, Image)



Team preview:
Across the Isles, it’s a commonly held opinion that Glenmount deserved to win the title last year after leading for much of the season. Instead, they dropped the ball on the final day of the season and handed the top spot to Montfort Wanderers. This season, they will look to avoid that. They’ve maintained their two capped Licentians while also adding two young internationals in Gwina Ansoll and Valentina Gastaldo, meaning that they are in a very strong position to win the title this year and make up for lost time.

Prediction – 1st


Gaelic Club:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Josh Gibson 23 Image
RB Stu Hayden 35 Image
CB Phoebe Hay 31 Image
CB Emma Graham 24 Image
LB Alexander Docherty 21 Image
RM Beau Morrison 33 Image
CM Leif Tannenbaum 20 Image
CM Sarah Reid 25 Image
LM Craig Fraser 27 Image
CF Ruaridh Grant 25 Image
CF Isaac Thielen 21 Image



Stadium - Coliseum of the Gaels (42,000 capacity), Abingdon, Abingdon Parish
Nickname - Gaels
Last season – 3rd
Most important players – Ruaridh Grant (CF, Image), Leif Tannenbaum (CM, Image), Alexander Docherty (LB, Image)



Team preview:
While the Gaels were in with a chance of winning the title going into the last day of the Premier League season, it was their loss to Montfort Wanderers at the Coliseum that gave the Whites the title. Their fans were greatly frustrated by the turnaround, but they will be hopeful that they have enough to win a title this season. Whether they do is up for debate. They still have last season’s top goalscorer Ruaridh Grant on their books, along with signing the controversial young Quebecois midfielder Leif Tannenbaum. They will hope, at the very least, to finish ahead of Celtic again.

Prediction – 3rd


Abingdon Celtic:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Glen McGregor 34 Image
RB Clay van der Hout 23 Image
CB Lucia Allen 27 Image
CB Jacob Jamieson 29 Image
LB Seren Thomson 21 Image
RM Maggie Gordon 30 Image
CM Eliza Tyler 22 Image
CM Gabby Anderson 25 Image
LM Miles Henderson 26 Image
CF Anna Findlay 27 Image
CF Neil McKenzie 35 Image



Stadium - Gardiner-Stewart Stadium (62,000 capacity), Abingdon, Abingdon Parish
Nickname - Celtic
Last season – 4th
Most important players – Lucia Allen (CB, Image), Eliza Tyler (CM, Image), Miles Henderson (LM, Image)



Team preview:
Celtic fans had every right to be frustrated with how their side performed last season. Their side floundered in the middle of the season, leaving them able to do nothing more than watch as two of their parish rivals fought for the title. There are some bright spots though. Lucia Allen was named to the Team of the Tournament in the Campionato in Hannasea cementing her place as the most highly rated defender in the Isles, while the signing of Eliza Tyler leads many to think that the midfield, previously carried by Miles Henderson, will be much more balanced in the coming season. They will hope to return to the title challenge this year.

Prediction – 2nd


Waterfleet:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Marcia Folkhard 33 Image
RB Dino Nieborg 29 Image
CB Harris Shaw 22 Image
CB Jonah Grant 24 Image
LB Janice Volman 30 Image
HM Saul van Duuren 22 Image
RM Harrison Murphy 28 Image
CM Matt Antonisse 23 Image
CM Sarah Peijnenburg 25 Image
LM Brendon Vermolen 27 Image
CF Layla Paterson 22 Image



Stadium - Waterfront Park (8,500 capacity), Waterfleet, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname - Fleet
Last season – 5th
Most important players – Saul van Duuren (HM, Image), Harris Shaw (CB, Image), Brendon Vermolen (LM, Image)



Team preview:
Waterfleet surprised everybody by finishing as high up in the table as they did last season. Nobody predicted going into last season that Waterfleet would be the highest ranked side from St Bart’s, and their local rivals winning the cup means that the biggest battles on the outer islands this season will occur on St Thomas. Waterfleet have shored themselves up defensively by signing Marcia Folkhard to play between the sticks, but will likely miss Penelope van Drunen’s creativity on the wing. They will need Brendon Vermolen to step up to avoid missing her too much.

Prediction - 8th


Stonehouse Athletic:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Elena McLean 32 Image
RB Oscar Douglas 30 Image
CB Jay Dickson 29 Image
CB Tamsin Duncan 34 Image
LB Leo Marshall 27 Image
HM Alissia Esselink 23 Image
CM Tom Johnston 34 Image
CM Adam Ritchie 28 Image
LW Rachel Graham 25 Image
CF Tiana Forbes 29 Image
RW Luke Kennedy 21 Image



Stadium - Burnside (16,500 capacity), Stonehouse, Abingdon Parish
Nickname - Latics
Last season – 6th
Most important players – Tom Johnston (CM, Image), Rachel Graham (RM, Image), Alissia Esselink (HM, Image)



Team preview:
The Latics were amongst the top four for a fair amount of last season, but ended up finishing six points behind Abingdon Celtic in the hunt for the last Challengers Cup slot. That hasn’t reduced the excitement around Burnside though. They’ve seen the growth at Glenmount Town, and they know that their club is capable of the same. They will still rely on a number of ageing players this season, but those players are still playing well, with Tom Johnston having been given the captain’s armband for the national team in Hannasea.

Prediction - 7th


SC Montfort:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Dom Scheffers 32 Image
RB Emily Marshall 24 Image
CB Sienna Cunningham 28 Image
CB Jonathan Shaw 34 Image
LB Michael Moore 38 Image
HM Augusta Steegh 26 Image
RM Penelope van Drunen 24 Image
CM Josh Williams 25 Image
CM Alisha Thompson 21 Image
LM Max Simpson 24 Image
CF Nick Reid 31 Image



Stadium - Adamson Park (55,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Royals
Last season – 7th
Most important players – Penelope van Drunen (RM, Image), Josh Williams (CM, Image), Nick Reid (CF, Image)



Team preview:
SC had a disappointing season last year, and not just because their biggest rivals in the capital won the title. They never really looked like competing for the IFCF places, and instead found themselves at the higher end of the mid-table. They have looked to fill their biggest hole, on the right wing, by signing Penelope van Drunen from Waterfleet. Other than that they will largely be relying on the same team as last year, while hoping for a much different result; one that sees them playing international football once again.

Prediction - 5th


St Thomas:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Sam Heijnis 28 Image
RB Sarah Maartens 24 Image
CB Flora Watson 29 Image
CB Alasdair Graham 31 Image
LB Robbie Weijsman 29 Image
RM Mitch Louws 20 Image
CM Oscar Moore 35 Image
CM Arthur Mazereeuw 20 Image
LM Arximiro Valdovinos 27 Image
CF Tiago Weiling 29 Image
CF Lilly Taylor 23 Image



Stadium - Recreation Ground (11,000 capacity), St Thomas, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname - Sky Blues
Last season – 8th, FALI Cup winners
Most important players – Flora Watson (CB, Image), Tiago Weiling (CF, Image), Sam Heijnis (GK, Image)



Team preview:
While St Thomas finished 8th in the league last season, their FALI Cup win over Abingdon Celtic showed that the club has a bright future. Their first trophy in the club’s history has led to many fans hoping for even further growth, and perhaps aiming for a top four position in the coming years. That may be slightly wishful thinking for this season though. While a number of Sky Blues were called up to the national team by Fabrizio Kaal, they still need some improvement to be competing at the top of the Licentian Premier League.

Prediction - 6th
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:52 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:03 pm

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2SR Season Preview - Part 2


Blackheath:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Romana Heijink 26 Image
RB Derek Grant 28 Image
CB Aaron Munro 36 Image
CB Ryan Gordon 33 Image
CB Brooke Johnstone 22 Image
LB Maria Reilly 21 Image
HM Daniel Godijn 20 Image
CM Teagan Forbes 24 Image
CM Victor Mackay 31 Image
CF Sarah Campbell 24 Image
CF Will Wood 19 Image



Stadium - Village Green (11,500 capacity), Blackheath, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Stags
Last season – 9th
Most important players – Maria Reilly (LB, Image), Romana Heijink (GK, Image), Will Wood (CF, Image)



Team preview:
Blackheath found themselves experiencing relative success last season, knocking on the door of the top half thanks to their solid defence. That was in part rewarded by a Cyan-and-Gold call up for young Maria Reilly, who performed very well in her first season starting for the Stags. They are hopeful that the development of more youngsters will help them to continue to climb the table in the coming seasons, with Daniel Godijn and Will Wood both looking like future internationals.

Prediction - 11th


AFC Farnworth:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Darren Alexander 30 Image
RB Calvin Gordon 32 Image
CB Belle Fleming 24 Image
CB Lloyd Davidson 26 Image
LB Ailsa Johnson 23 Image
RM Casey McMillan 21 Image
CM Lesley Landzaat 34 Image
CM Regan McMillan 21 Image
LM Iona Aitken 27 Image
CF Eloise Walker 26 Image
CF Antony Campbell 29 Image



Stadium - Farnworth Municipal Stadium (36,000 capacity), Farnworth, Colesham Parish
Nickname - Reds
Last season – 10th
Most important players – Belle Fleming (CB, Image), Regan McMillan (CM, Image), Eloise Walker (CF, Image)



Team preview:
Last season once again found the Reds as the best side in Colesham Parish, but that hasn’t exactly been a high bar in recent years. Kelvin Muir’s side met their pre-season expectations, finding themselves well clear of relegation but not managing to climb out of the mid table, and some will be disappointed that we didn’t see more from Farnworth. Honestly though, this is another season to expect much of the same from this once successful club. While their young talents continue to mature, they haven’t added a big name that would boost their chances of fighting for an IFCF place.

Prediction - 9th


St Bart’s Dutch:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Lisandra Stegehuis 29 Image
RB Viola Tiemen 33 Image
CB Chloe Koppenol 22 Image
CB Carly Duncan 27 Image
LB Hugh Mackay 28 Image
HM Charlie van den Heiligenberg 20 Image
RM Ray Lamberink 36 Image
CM Garry Dirksen 29 Image
CM Lucy Handels 26 Image
LM Amy Sutherland 22 Image
CF Owen Findlay 31 Image



Stadium - Abbey Road (17,500 capacity), St Bart’s, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname - Helligens
Last season – 11th
Most important players – Chloe Koppenol (CB, Image), Owen Findlay (CF, Image), Charlie van den Heiligenberg (HM, Image)



Team preview:
Last season was far worse than anyone at St Bart’s Dutch expected. The loss of experienced players thanks to Roselyn Bentum’s style led to a sharp dip in form, seeing them finish in the bottom half of the table. Not only that, but they have also seen two of their best players leave the club in Cam Spijker and Wisse Tuininga. This year they will need to rebuild with a young squad, but it seems unlucky that they will get back to their previous heights quickly. This may be a fallow year for the club as they prepare to rebuild in the future.

Prediction – 10th


Montfort University:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Emily Macleod 30 Image
RB Jack Graham 29 Image
CB Gordon Hill 37 Image
CB Noah Vervloet 23 Image
LB Phoebe Kelly 28 Image
HM Hannah Scott 22 Image
CM Adam MacDonald 34 Image
CM Hamish Mackay 21 Image
AM Chris Heij 28 Image
CF Eilidh McMillan 25 Image
CF Jared Fleming 31 Image



Stadium - University Stadium (20,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Scholars
Last season – 12th
Most important players – Phoebe Kelly (LB, Image), Noah Vervloet (CB, Image), Eilidh McMillan (CF, Image)



Team preview:
It was a typically mediocre season for the Scholars last year, avoiding the drop but not managing to climb any further than the relegation battle. They do, however, find themselves in a slight position of strength going into this season, with a solid back four led by former Dutch player Phoebe Kelly, and young Eilidh McMillan showing a lot of skill and goalscoring prowess up front. While we don’t yet know if that will translate into improved results, we can be sure that there is somewhat of a bright future for Montfort University if they can maintain these players.

Prediction - 12th


Garton Bay Pirates:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Andy Young 25 Image
RB Simon Donaldson 28 Image
CB Arwen van As 19 Image
CB Becky Reilly 29 Image
LB Saul Hamilton 32 Image
RM Isaac Muir 26 Image
CM Jessica Martin 22 Image
CM Murron King 24 Image
LM Jack Scott 30 Image
CF Grant Christie 33 Image
CF Caelan McIntyre 20 Image



Stadium - The Anchor (22,500 capacity), Garton Bay, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Pirates
Last season – 13th
Most important players – Arwen van As (CB, Image), Isaac Muir (RM, Image), Caelan McIntyre (CF, Image)



Team preview:
This is a club in crisis. Things were expected to be bad last season with the loss of financing from their jailed owner, but no one quite expected the Pirates to drop to 13th and spend time in the relegation zone over the course of the season. The firesale that followed leaves them in an even worse position, with big names like Scott McIntyre and Zander Young leaving for Tumbra and Chromatika respectively. Garton Bay have been a consistent feature of the Licentian Premier League for a number of years now, but this may be the season that that comes to an end.

Prediction - 15th


Colesham Rovers:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Georgia Cunningham 27 Image
RB Kaden Watt 24 Image
CB Dani Thompson 26 Image
CB Iain Henderson 36 Image
LB Frankie Muir 33 Image
HM Ethan Smith 29 Image
RM Miriam Maclean 30 Image
CM Tamsin Moore 27 Image
CM Jude Stewart 24 Image
LM Phoebe Hellemons 19 Image
CF Lucas Russell 21 Image



Stadium - Old Colliery Road (21,000 capacity), Colesham, Colesham Parish
Nickname - Miners
Last season – 14th
Most important players – Ethan Smith (HM, Image), Lucas Russell (CF, Image), Phoebe Hellemons (LM, Image)



Team preview:
Colesham Rovers managed to confirm their safety in the penultimate week of the season last year, having been in and out of the relegation zone over the course of the season. However, with very little investment into the squad over the break, they may find themselves back in that fight this year. Their only possible saving grace is the young talent coming through in Colesham, with Lucas Russell and Phoebe Hellemons both looking like they have the ability to keep the Miners from digging themselves into a hole they can’t get out of.

Prediction - 13th


Shieldhill:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Nathan Ferguson 28 Image
RB Callum Miller 31 Image
CB Francis Paterson 36 Image
CB Darcie Grant 29 Image
CB Jasmin Russell 21 Image
LB Billy Black 30 Image
HM Natalie McMillan 26 Image
CM Danny Millar 24 Image
CM Kayleigh Reid 22 Image
CF Ben Jamieson 23 Image
CF Giel Wildiek 21 Image



Stadium – Arranbank (13,250 capacity), Shieldhill, Abingdon Parish
Nickname - Bucklers
Last season – APSL winners, 1st in the Senior Parish Championship
Most important players – Giel Wildiek (CF, Image), Danny Millar (CM, Image), Billy Black (LB, Image)



Team preview:
Shieldhill, a side from the suburbs of Abingdon, find themselves in the Premier League for the first time this season. They only just won the Abingdon Parish Senior League on the last day of the season despite losing to Parkhouse, and only won the SPC on penalties over Castleton. Nonetheless, many see them as having a better chance than their SPC final opponents of staying up this year, with talented young players like Danny Millar, who scored the winning goal against St Bart’s United that would see them promoted, and Ko-orenite striker Giel Wildiek.

Prediction - 14th


Castleton:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Chris Mackenzie 39 Image
RB Danny Wallace 22 Image
CB Esther Gray 30 Image
CB Sean Williamson 28 Image
LB Bailey McDonald 31 Image
HM Hayden Craig 27 Image
CM Nicole Henderson 23 Image
CM Victoria Kelly 25 Image
AM Tarran Seamster 33 Image
CF Adam Johnstone 24 Image
CF Sophie Stevens 29 Image



Stadium – Links Road (8,750 capacity), Castleton, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Knights
Last season – MPSL winners, 2nd in the Senior Parish Championship
Most important players – Tarran Seamster (AM, Image), Chris Mackenzie (GK, Image), Esther Gray (CB, Image)



Team preview:
In one of the tightest Senior League title races in memory, Castleton only reached the Senior Parish Championship on goal difference over Saltburn Wanderers. As a result, it was a surprise to many when they defeated Carrington United to earn promotion, especially after United dominated in Colesham Parish. Castleton will be hoping that their intake of experienced players might be enough to keep them up. Chris Mackenzie, formerly of SC Montfort, signed on for one last year before retirement while the Knights also picked up Cosumarite Tarran Seamster on a free transfer to bring some international flair.

Prediction - 16th
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Thu Apr 22, 2021 8:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:57 pm

Champions’ Shield – 2SR


The Champions’ Shield starts off the football season in the Licentian Isles. The winner of the Licentian Premier League and the FALI Cup compete against each other at the LTI Stadium for the pride of lifting the Shield, the first trophy of the season.

Champions’ Shield:

Montfort Wanderers 3-0 St Thomas

In their first domestic game since losing Fabrizio Kaal to the Cyan-and-Gold job, the reigning Licentian champions did not seem to be struggling with their new manager Abigail Jones. They came out firing against the winners of last season’s FALI Cup, with their first goal coming within 5 minutes of kick off. It was a first goal on the Isles for Gouvanarchais centre forward Rimaël Postel, with Thomas Hughes feeding him to chip past Sam Heijnis in the St Thomas goal. After that, St Thomas went close to drawing level a number of times, with Tiago Weiling heading over the bar and Oscar Moore testing Leland Wood from range. Although it looked as if half time was going to arrive with Wanderers one goal ahead, they managed to add another just before the whistle. Kristin de Booij lifted a long cross into the box for Arlo McGregor, who tapped into the bottom left hand corner of the net to double their lead.

The Sky Blues came out firing in the second half, again going close to pulling a goal back but being denied by Wood. This time, it was a long range strike from Tequiloan winger Arximiro Valdovinos, which looked destined for the top corner without a diving save from the Montfort keeper. The next goal instead, to the frustration of those that came from St Thomas, went to Montfort Wanderers, as they extended their lead to three goals. It was a training ground corner routine that led to young Oran Hay heading the ball in at the near post, with Robbie Weijsman missing the easy block to save his side from conceding again. Despite St Thomas throwing the kitchen sink at their opponents in the dying minutes, the Montfort back four held out, and they could claim their first trophy of the season, with the hope of more to come even without Fabrizio Kaal.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:26 am

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2SR Season - Part 1


Matchday 1:

AFC Farnworth 2–0 Blackheath
Colesham Rovers 0–1 Abingdon Celtic
Glenmount Town 1–2 St Thomas
Montfort University 1–2 Shieldhill
SC Montfort 0–1 Montfort Wanderers
St Bart's Dutch 0–0 Gaelic Club
Stonehouse Athletic 1–0 Garton Bay Pirates
Waterfleet 5–1 Castleton

Match of the Round:
After Glenmount threw away their shot at the league title on the final day of the season last year, and St Thomas won the FALI Cup, many pegged the fixture at Market Street on the first day of the season as one that could truly set the stage for the year that was to come. Both sides have made additions over the break, and one made a fairly quick impact for the Sky Blues. Arximiro Valdovinos took his opportunity from a free kick on the edge of the box to score his first goal in sky blue after 15 minutes, giving St Thomas the lead over the Mountaineers. It didn’t take long for the home side to respond however, with Tyler Veldhoen scoring his own first goal of the season from a long free kick floated in by Lyle Hughes, managing to head past Heijnis in the St Thomas goal. That remained the case until the hour mark, with both sides having opportunities that they couldn’t take. However, it was the Sky Blues that finally managed to convert one of their many opportunities. It was a clever one-two between Arthur Mazereeuw and Lilly Taylor that led to the young midfielder firing past Caitlin Fraser to give the Sky Blues a surprising victory over Glenmount.

Elsewhere:
Montfort Wanderers began their title defence with a victory over their biggest rivals at Adamson Park, while Abingdon Celtic also managed a 1-0 victory over Colesham Rovers. Despite their terrible season last year, St Bart’s Dutch managed to hold Gaelic Club to a goalless draw. Elsewhere in St Bart’s Parish, Castleton’s return to the Premier League started awfully after they were thrashed by Waterfleet. Stonehouse Athletic managed to sneak a win over Garton Bay, AFC Farnworth looked solid as they beat Blackheath, and Shieldhill got their first Premier League win over Montfort University.



Matchday 2:

AFC Farnworth 1–0 Colesham Rovers
Abingdon Celtic 3–0 St Bart's Dutch
Blackheath 1–2 Garton Bay Pirates
Castleton 0–0 Glenmount Town
Gaelic Club 1–1 Waterfleet
Montfort Wanderers 1–0 Montfort University
Shieldhill 1–1 Stonehouse Athletic
St Thomas 0–3 SC Montfort

Match of the Round:
Shieldhill’s first home LPL game in the club’s history was up against a side that they were previously very familiar with in Stonehouse. The two sides are only separated by about 20 minutes, and so this was very much a local derby for the fans at Arranbank to take in. It started with both sides playing somewhat cautiously, perhaps as expected for the newly promoted Bucklers. Predictably, the first goal in the game went to the Latics, with Tiana Forbes firing them in front. However, Shieldhill were very quickly looking for a reply, perhaps buoyed by winning on the road in the first week of the season. Danny Millar went close with a free kick, while Giel Wildiek looked like he’d scored until the assistant referee indicated that he was offside. In the end, it took until the 75th minute for Shieldhill to deservedly draw level. Giel Wildiek hit the post, but the ball ricocheted back out to Ben Jamieson, who beat Elena McLean to make it 1-1, and ensure that Shieldhill would take a point from their first local derby in the Licentian Premier League.

Elsewhere:
Despite losing heavily in the first game of the season, Castleton managed to hold Glenmount Town to a scoreless draw in the first game of the season at Links Road, while Gaelic Club and Waterfleet also played to a draw. Three teams have six points after the first two games: AFC Farnworth beat Colesham Rovers in their own local derby, Abingdon Celtic looked strong as they beat St Bart’s Dutch, and Montfort Wanderers got their second straight one-nil win against another side from the capital. Garton Bay Pirates got their first win of the season against Blackheath, while SC Montfort surprised St Thomas with three goals in the first half hour.



Matchday 3:

Colesham Rovers 1–1 Blackheath
Garton Bay Pirates 2–0 Shieldhill
Glenmount Town 1–1 Gaelic Club
Montfort University 4–1 St Thomas
SC Montfort 6–0 Castleton
St Bart's Dutch 2–1 AFC Farnworth
Stonehouse Athletic 0–0 Montfort Wanderers
Waterfleet 2–4 Abingdon Celtic

Match of the Round:
It was a fairly high scoring weekend in the Licentian Isles, and the most competitive game came at the Waterfront Park on St Thomas, as Waterfleet hosted Abingdon Celtic. It was Celtic that fired the first shot in this fixture, with Lucia Allen scoring from an early corner to put the away side in front within ten minutes. They followed that up fairly quickly with a second on 23 minutes; Maggie Gordon curled a free kick into the top right hand corner past Marcia Folkhard. Fleet managed to respond however, and two goals either side of half time pulled them level. The first came from Matt Antonisse at the end of the first half, as he fired through traffic and past Glen McGregor to score. It was a mistake from Clay van der Hout that led to the second for Waterfleet just after half time: he allowed winger Brendon Vermolen past for a cross that Layla Paterson headed home. With the score at 2-2, this game looked poised for a thrilling conclusion. Abingdon managed to pull themselves back in front just after the hour, with Eliza Tyler putting a through ball past the defence to Anna Findlay for an easy finish. Findlay got her second, and Celtic’s fourth, with five minutes remaining in normal time, finishing from a Gordon cross to ensure the Green-and-Whites collected their third win in three.

Elsewhere:
Another game saw six goals but was far more one-sided, as Castleton lost their second away game of the season at the hands of SC Montfort, while Montfort University also scored four as they shocked St Thomas. Two teams from the top end of the table last season, Glenmount and Gaelic Club, played to a fairly boring one-all draw at Market Street, while Stonehouse Athletic held last year’s winners Montfort Wanderers to their own draw. St Bart’s Dutch managed to get their first win of the season over AFC Farnworth, while Garton Bay handed Shieldhill their first loss in the Premier League. Another draw came in Colesham, as Rovers and Blackheath scored one each.



Matchday 4:

AFC Farnworth 1–1 Waterfleet
Abingdon Celtic 1–2 Glenmount Town
Blackheath 2–2 Shieldhill
Castleton 1–1 Montfort University
Colesham Rovers 3–2 St Bart's Dutch
Gaelic Club 4–1 SC Montfort
Montfort Wanderers 2–1 Garton Bay Pirates
St Thomas 2–0 Stonehouse Athletic

Match of the Round:
Abingdon Celtic and Glenmount Town have had two very different starts to the season, with Abingdon winning in all three weeks, while the Mountaineers were yet to get three points from a game. Within the first 25 minutes at Gardiner-Stewart Stadium it looked like both of those runs of form would continue. Eliza Tyler has brought plenty of assists in her first weeks in green and white, but the Poafmersian got her first goal for the club to give them the lead, a beautiful strike from the edge of the box. That seemed to light a fire under Town however, and they responded quickly. Valentina Gastaldo floated in a cross from the left wing that Miles Simpson got his head to, and while his effort clattered off the post Tyler Veldhoen was there to convert. Both sides had chance to take the lead after that, with Neil McKenzie going close from a corner for Celtic. However, it was Glenmount who managed to get the victory through a goal in the 78th minute. Lyle Hughes floated a corner across for young centre half Tim Bijvank to head home and get Town their first win of the season.

Elsewhere:
The other two sides from last season’s top four both managed to win on the fourth weekend of the season: Gaelic Club looked confident as they beat SC Montfort for their own first win of the season, while Montfort Wanderers got a scare from Pirates but managed to come out on top. St Bart’s Dutch looked like winning in Colesham before Rovers got three goals in twenty minutes in the second half to claim the win. St Thomas have struggled for form this year, but managed to win over Stonehouse, and there were three draws elsewhere in the Isles; Blackheath and Shieldhill scored four at Village Green, while it was one all draws for Farnworth and Waterfleet, and Castleton and Montfort University.



Matchday 5:

Garton Bay Pirates 0–3 St Thomas
Glenmount Town 3–1 AFC Farnworth
Montfort University 2–2 Gaelic Club
SC Montfort 1–1 Abingdon Celtic
Shieldhill 0–2 Montfort Wanderers
Stonehouse Athletic 2–3 Castleton
St Bart's Dutch 2–1 Blackheath
Waterfleet 3–0 Colesham Rovers

Match of the Round:
Although Gaelic Club are undefeated so far in the Premier League, it’s been a frustrating start for the club from the East End of Abingdon. They’ve only managed one win, and so they find themselves languishing in the mid-table despite not losing. That frustration continued as they travelled to the University Stadium in Montfort to face the Scholars. They started off strong as they have throughout the early stages of the season, with Ruaridh Grant scoring the first goal for the Gaels after being set up by Leif Tannenbaum. After that though, they very quickly found themselves behind, with two counter-attacks putting Montfort University ahead of Gaelic Club. The first came from a long clearance by Phoebe Kelly, with Eilidh McMillan on the end of it to beat Josh Gibson, while McMillan did it all by herself for the second, sprinting clear after a poor corner routine from the Gaels left them on the back foot. It was clear that the Gaelic Club fans were frustrated in the capital, and they were somewhat calmed by Tannenbaum managing to score a peach of a goal from distance to draw them level, and earn them their fourth draw in five games.

Elsewhere:
The top two from last season both managed wins on the fifth weekend of the season: Montfort Wanderers looked comfortable against newly-promoted Shieldhill, while Glenmount Town seem to be building their own confidence as they beat Farnworth at home. Abingdon Celtic could also only earn a draw much like their biggest rivals, being held by SC Montfort in the capital. Both clubs from St Thomas had comfortable three-nil wins against sides from the bottom half of last season; St Thomas beat Garton Bay away, while Waterfleet got a home win over Colesham Rovers. Castleton earned their first win of this Premier League season in a five-goal thriller at Burnside against Stonehouse, while Blackheath are the only side yet to taste victory this year: they lost to St Bart’s Dutch.



Table after 5 weeks:

   RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Montfort Wanderers 5 4 1 0 6 1 +5 13
2 Abingdon Celtic 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 10
3 St Thomas 5 3 0 2 8 8 0 9
4 Waterfleet 5 2 2 1 12 7 +5 8
5 Glenmount Town 5 2 2 1 7 5 +2 8
6 SC Montfort 5 2 1 2 11 6 +5 7
7 Gaelic Club 5 1 4 0 8 5 +3 7
8 AFC Farnworth 5 2 1 2 6 6 0 7
9 St Bart's Dutch 5 2 1 2 6 8 −2 7
10 Garton Bay Pirates 5 2 0 3 5 7 −2 6
11 Montfort University 5 1 2 2 8 7 +1 5
12 Stonehouse Athletic 5 1 2 2 4 6 −2 5
13 Shieldhill 5 1 2 2 5 8 −3 5
14 Castleton 5 1 2 2 5 14 −9 5
15 Colesham Rovers 5 1 1 3 4 8 −4 4
16 Blackheath 5 0 2 3 5 9 −4 2

Montfort Wanderers, last season’s champions, lead at this early stage as one of only two teams to remain unbeaten after 5 weeks. Abingdon Celtic sit in second in the table with a three point gap to the Whites, while the remainder of the top 4 are from St Thomas, with Waterfleet and St Thomas just clear of Glenmount, who have struggled in comparison to the way they started last season. SC Montfort are within reach of the top four, as are Gaelic Club despite only winning once since the beginning of the season. AFC Farnworth and St Bart’s Dutch both find themselves in the mid-table alongside, surprisingly, Garton Bay Pirates, who many expected to see in a relegation fight this season; they will be hopeful that this is a positive sign for their year. Stonehouse Athletic will be frustrated to find themselves this low down the table, behind Montfort University, while Shieldhill and Castleton will both be happy to find themselves above the relegation zone. It’s Colesham Rovers and Blackheath who find themselves at the bottom of the table, with the Stags the only side yet to win this year.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:27 pm

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2SR Season - Part 2


Matchday 6:

AFC Farnworth 2–1 SC Montfort
Abingdon Celtic 1–1 Montfort University
Blackheath 1–1 Montfort Wanderers
Castleton 0–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Colesham Rovers 1–1 Glenmount Town
Gaelic Club 0–0 Stonehouse Athletic
St Bart's Dutch 0–0 Waterfleet
St Thomas 2–0 Shieldhill

Match of the Round:
Before the isolation of the Licentian Isles from the rest of the multiverse, AFC Farnworth and SC Montfort were two of the most successful teams in the nation, with both competing at the highest level in the Licentian Premier League. Now, the two times find themselves somewhere in the mid-table each season, though SC have the desire to challenge for IFCF places. As it was, the game in Farnworth was probably the most exciting in a weekend filled with boring draws. The McMillan twins, Casey and Regan, ran roughshod over the SC defence in the first half, with the former scoring her first goal of the season from a free kick to put the Reds in front. They got their second only a few minutes later, with SC seeming in shock at going behind. Casey McMillan managed to swing a cross towards the back post that was met beautifully by Eloise Walker, doubling the lead for Farnworth going into half time. They held onto that two goal lead for most of the second half, but SC did eventually manage to pull one back through a Josh Williams free kick, with the midfielder proving once again that no one can hit a free kick like he can.

Elsewhere:
There were only two other teams that managed to gain three points out of this weekend. St Thomas pulled themselves up to second in the league with a win over Shieldhill while, in a battle that many pegged as being between two teams who were the most likely to go down, Garton Bay Pirates snuck past Castleton. Two of the five draws this weekend were scoreless: Gaelic Club and Stonehouse Athletic shared the spoils in Abingdon, while Waterfleet were held by St Bart’s Dutch. Elsewhere, three of the leading contenders for the Premier League pre-season were all held to shock one-all draws, with Abingdon Celtic held by the Scholars, Glenmount Town by Colesham, and the defending champions Montfort Wanderers by Blackheath.



Matchday 7:

Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 Gaelic Club
Glenmount Town 1–0 St Bart's Dutch
Montfort University 1–1 AFC Farnworth
Montfort Wanderers 0–1 St Thomas
SC Montfort 1–1 Colesham Rovers
Shieldhill 1–0 Castleton
Stonehouse Athletic 5–0 Abingdon Celtic
Waterfleet 1–2 Blackheath

Match of the Round:
Not many people would have predicted, before the season, that a battle between Montfort Wanderers and St Thomas in the 7th week of the season would be a battle between the top two in the league. Even fewer would have predicted the end result. As it was, the defending champions came into this game at the LTI as solid favourites to beat last year’s FALI Cup champions, especially after the Champions’ Shield game that they dominated. That was not how things ended though, with St Thomas managing to hold the Whites for the majority of the 90 minutes. In the end, despite Arlo McGregor and Rimaël Postel having numerous chances to put the defending champions ahead, it was the Sky Blues who took the victory, the three points, and the top spot in the Licentian Premier League. Mazereeuw and Valdovinos played a clever one-two before the former lofted the ball through for Tiago Weiling, who managed to curve the ball past Wood in the Wanderers goal to lift his team to the top of the league.

Elsewhere:
Stonehouse picked up only their second win of the season in great style against their parish rivals Abingdon Celtic, putting five goals past the Green-and-Whites. Glenmount Town managed to climb to third in the table with a one goal win over St Bart’s, while Farnworth remain 4th after a one-all draw with Montfort University. Gaelic Club have now made it six draws out of seven games after tying with Garton Bay, while SC Montfort and Colesham Rovers also played to a draw in the capital. Waterfleet were surprised by Blackheath away from home after Janice Volman was sent off, and Shieldhill bested Castleton in the battle of the newly promoted sides.



Matchday 8:

AFC Farnworth 4–2 Stonehouse Athletic
Abingdon Celtic 1–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Blackheath 1–2 St Thomas
Castleton 2–1 Montfort Wanderers
Colesham Rovers 1–0 Montfort University
Gaelic Club 2–1 Shieldhill
St Bart's Dutch 1–1 SC Montfort
Waterfleet 1–1 Glenmount Town

Match of the Round:
As well as St Thomas surprising many by topping the league, AFC Farnworth have found themselves as a surprise package in the early stages of this season. They managed to pull themselves up to second in the table this weekend after a thrilling match at the Farnworth Municipal Stadium against Stonehouse. Lesley Landzaat, not usually known for her goalscoring talent, scored an absolute peach to put the Reds in front, and her opener was quickly followed by a Lloyd Davidson header that made it seem as if Farnworth were fully in control. Stonehouse would reply before half time, however, with Tiana Forbes striking from the edge of the box. Just after half-time, Farnworth would re-establish their two goal lead through a Regan McMillan streak, and seemed well in control, though Stonehouse were still able to respond five minutes later in a somewhat embarrassing way. A corner swung towards the back post by Luke Kennedy was met by Reds full-back Calvin Gordon, who managed to knock the ball past his own keeper. Farnworth seemed desperate to restore their lead, if only to cover Gordon’s blushes, and they did with ten minutes to go, through an Antony Campbell header that guaranteed them the victory.

Elsewhere:
Just one week after going top of the Licentian Premier League, St Thomas found themselves with a four point lead at the top after their victory over Blackheath away from home. Part of that resulted from Montfort Wanderers losing their second straight game, this time to Castleton, who got only their second win of the season to jump out of the relegation zone. Glenmount Town remain in the top four after their draw with Waterfleet, while Gaelic Club are only one point behind after getting only their second win of the season against Shieldhill. Abingdon Celtic dropped below their rivals after being held to a draw by the Pirates, while St Bart’s and SC also played to a draw, and Colesham snuck past Montfort University.



Matchday 9:

Garton Bay Pirates 0–1 AFC Farnworth
Glenmount Town 2–0 Blackheath
Montfort University 2–3 St Bart's Dutch
Montfort Wanderers 2–0 Gaelic Club
SC Montfort 0–0 Waterfleet
Shieldhill 1–2 Abingdon Celtic
St Thomas 2–0 Castleton
Stonehouse Athletic 5–0 Colesham Rovers

Match of the Round:
It was always going to be a season of rebuilding at Abbey Road. With Roselyn Bentum sacked mid-season, a bottom half finish, and the loss of two capped Licentians, St Bart’s Dutch had one of their worst years ever last season. This season has started off in relatively mixed fashion, and prior to visiting Montfort University they found themselves 12th in the league. It seemed things were only going to get worse for Dutch within the first ten minutes, as Eilidh McMillan fired University into the lead. That seemed to fire up Dutch however, as they very quickly came back with three goals in succession before half time came. The first came from Amy Sutherland, who scored a gorgeous strike from range to draw her side level. They were then fired into the lead by Charlie van den Heiligenberg, whose free kick sent the travelling fans into raptures. It was the holding midfielder who then set up their third goal in injury time before the break, floating another free kick onto the head of Owen Findlay. University managed to pull one goal back with a Noah Vervloet header, but it was not enough to prevent Dutch from getting their third win of the season.

Elsewhere:
St Thomas have maintained their position at the top of the Premier League, with a two nil win over Castleton ensuring that they maintained their buffer to the chasing pack. Montfort Wanderers regained second place by beating Gaelic Club, and ending the latter’s unbeaten run since the start of the season. AFC Farnworth beat Garton Bay more convincingly than the score would suggest at the Anchor, while Glenmount remained in the chase with a win over Blackheath. Abingdon Celtic managed a win away to Shieldhill despite falling behind, and Stonehouse Athletic put in a five goal performance once again, this time against Colesham. SC Montfort and Waterfleet, two sides that were hoping to fight for IFCF places but have struggled so far this year, played to a scoreless draw in the capital.



Matchday 10:

AFC Farnworth 2–1 Shieldhill
Abingdon Celtic 2–1 Montfort Wanderers
Blackheath 1–0 Castleton
Colesham Rovers 0–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Gaelic Club 1–2 St Thomas
Glenmount Town 0–0 SC Montfort
St Bart's Dutch 2–3 Stonehouse Athletic
Waterfleet 0–1 Montfort University

Match of the Round:
So many matches for St Thomas in the early stages of this season have been absolute reversals from what many would have predicted at the start of the year. Gaelic Club qualified for international competition last season but have languished in the mid-table so far this year, with six draws in nine games prior to hosting the league leaders. Meanwhile, the Sky Blues came to the Coliseum hoping to continue their fantastic start to the season. They started off well, with a set piece giving them their first goal: Flora Watson headed home from an Arximiro Valdovinos corner to put them ahead of the Gaels. Leif Tannenbaum believed that he had pulled the hosts level before his strike was scrubbed off as a result of a foul in the build-up, much to his chagrin. In reality, St Thomas would double their lead before the Gaels could pull a goal back. This time, it was Mitch Louws who fired a shot through the box that hit Josh Gibson’s post, before Tiago Weiling tapped home the rebound. It was Tannenbaum, the Quebecois midfielder, would eventually score the goal he believed he had got in the first half to pull Gaelic Club back into it just after half time, curling a shot into the top corner and celebrating ostentatiously. It wouldn’t be enough to push Gaelic Club forward however, and St Thomas would maintain their four point lead ten weeks into the season.

Elsewhere:
AFC Farnworth have once again found themselves second in the table to the surprise of many; they beat struggling Shieldhill, who dropped into the relegation zone. The other side in danger at this stage, Castleton, were beaten by Blackheath so that they remained pinned to the bottom of the league. Abingdon Celtic climbed to third in the league with a victory over the defending champions, while Glenmount remained in the same position after a goalless draw with SC. Stonehouse Athletic played their part in another five goal thriller, though this time they only beat St Bart’s by one. Waterfleet will be frustrated to watch their local rivals lead the league while they were beaten by Montfort University, and Garton Bay managed to beat Colesham Rovers to maintain their fairly strong start to the season, compared to what many expected.



Table after 10 weeks:

   RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 St Thomas 10 8 0 2 17 10 +7 24
2 AFC Farnworth 10 6 2 2 16 11 +5 20
3 Abingdon Celtic 10 5 3 2 16 14 +2 18
4 Glenmount Town 10 4 5 1 12 7 +5 17
5 Montfort Wanderers 10 5 2 3 11 7 +4 17
6 Stonehouse Athletic 10 4 3 3 19 12 +7 15
7 Garton Bay Pirates 10 4 2 4 10 11 −1 14
8 Gaelic Club 10 2 6 2 13 12 +1 12
9 St Bart's Dutch 10 3 3 4 12 15 −3 12
10 SC Montfort 10 2 5 3 14 10 +4 11
11 Waterfleet 10 2 5 3 14 11 +3 11
12 Montfort University 10 2 4 4 13 13 0 10
13 Blackheath 10 2 3 5 10 15 −5 9
14 Colesham Rovers 10 2 3 5 7 16 −9 9
15 Shieldhill 10 2 2 6 9 16 −7 8
16 Castleton 10 2 2 6 7 20 −13 8

Very few people would have predicted that St Thomas would not only top the league but have a four point lead, but that is the case after ten weeks of the Licentian Premier League. It is AFC Farnworth who are in second, with Abingdon and Glenmount trailing not far behind and completing the top four. The defending champions, while tied on points with Glenmount, are currently outside of the IFCF places, with high-scoring Stonehouse Athletic close behind them. Garton Bay Pirates and Gaelic Club complete the top half, with Gaelic Club relying on six draws in the first ten games for their 8th place in the league. St Bart’s Dutch, SC Montfort, and Waterfleet will all be frustrated to find themselves in the bottom half, but very grateful to have 20 games to recover their seasons. Below that, Montfort University, Blackheath and Colesham can have no real complaints about their position in the league compared to last season, and it’s the two newly promoted sides, Shieldhill and Castleton, that find themselves in the relegation zone after one third of the season.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Jun 06, 2021 2:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:31 pm

Supercel FALI Cup – 2SR Part 1


The FALI Cup is a single knockout cup competition in which all teams in the top two tiers of Licentian football compete. Before the semi-final stage, matches that end in a draw go to a replay; in the semi-finals and final, the match continues into extra time and penalties until a winner is decided. The winner of the FALI Cup qualifies for the Cup Winners Cup, and plays the winner of the Licentian Premier League in the Champion’s Shield. The defending champions of the FALI Cup are St Thomas. Beginning this season, the Cup will be sponsored by the Damukunian company Supercel, the largest telecoms company in their home nation.

There are 66 teams that enter the FALI Cup each year, from the Licentian Premier League and the four Parish Senior League. LPL teams enter at the Fourth Round, and entry before that is decided by a seeding based on a team’s finishing position in the last season of Licentian football. Teams relegated from the Licentian Premier League are seeded highest in their parish, while teams promoted to the second tier are seeded lowest.

First Round:

The first round of the FALI Cup is very much a preliminary round. Only four teams enter at this stage, with those being the four teams seeded last in each of the Parish Senior Leagues.

East Bay Athletic 0-1 St Marnock’s (SBPSL)
Old Abingdonians (APSL) 3-0 Colesham University (CPSL)

Match of the Round:
As always, the first round of the cup brings us only two fixtures to choose from. The better game came on the outskirts of Abingdon between two sides with academic history: Old Abingdonians formed by former students at Abingdon School, while Colesham University are, unsurprisingly, based at the biggest university in Colesham Parish. It was the schoolboys who came out rather dominant at home in the end, despite some early signs from Owen King that Colesham would be in this game to win it. He flashed a strike past the post within the first ten minutes that gave the home side a scare, and they very quickly seemed to sort out their act. It was Jack Gibson who scored the first goal for the Old Boys, with a strike from the edge of the box that beat Seren Brown at her near post. Brown was beaten once again after 41 minutes, as an Amanda McKay free kick found its way into the top corner of the goal. It was then a somewhat quiet second half where Old Abingdonians seemed content to just maintain their lead on the way to the second round. They did however, manage to add a third in injury time of the second half through another Jack Gibson goal, heading home from a corner for his second.

Second Round:

At the second round stage, all teams seeded below 4th in the Parish Senior Leagues enter the competition.

Abingdon University (APSL) 1-3 Port Arran (MPSL)
Capital Constabulary (MPSL) 1-2 Ringmuir (APSL)
Ferryhill Town (MPSL) 1–1 Woodhall Rovers (MPSL) (Replay: Woodhall Rovers (MPSL) 0–3 Ferryhill Town (MPSL))
Highmoor Academical (SBPSL) 1-1 Redburn Athletic (SBPSL) (Replay: Redburn Athletic (SBPSL) 1–0 Highmoor Academical (SBPSL))
Inverone (CPSL) 1–0 Arranmuir (MPSL)
Kirkton United (APSL) 0–1 Whitekirk (CPSL)
Montfort North End (MPSL) 1–2 Crosshill Town (CPSL)
Mossybank Town (APSL) 0–2 Buckhaven Town (SBPSL)
Newton Arran (APSL) 3–1 Monksburgh (MPSL)
Old Abingdonians (APSL) 0–2 Aberlang Town (CPSL)
Old Corinthians (CPSL) 2–1 Kilgarron (APSL)
Oldshore Rovers (SBPSL) 2–2 Havenbank (MPSL) (Replay: Havenbank (MPSL) 0–4 Oldshore Rovers (SBPSL))
Sandsend Town (MPSL) 0–0 East Montfort United (MPSL) (Replay: East Montfort United (MPSL) 2–1 Sandsend Town (MPSL))
Springburn Town (CPSL) 0–5 Waterford United (CPSL)
Thornhill United (APSL) 2–0 St Marnock's (SBPSL)
Wellbank Rangers (MPSL) 0–5 Finnston United (SBPSL)

Match of the Round:
The most entertaining match in the second round was not the one with the most goals: it was instead a thrilling display of attacking football from two mid-table sides in their respective parishes. Montfort North End hosted Crosshill in the nation’s capital, and both sides played like teams for whom the cup would mean absolutely everything this year. It was the away side who managed to take the lead very early on, with a cross from winger Gwen van Ek finding its way into the back of the net to the shock of North End keeper Alistair McIntosh, who did not see it making its way over his head. North End seemed shocked into action, and would have had an equaliser if not for Nick Aitken being called offside after he put the ball in the bottom corner. Aitken would eventually get his goal only ten minutes later though, beating the keeper with a clever strike from fifteen yards out to draw the hosts level. While both sides looked impressive in attack, there was only one more goal in the game which came just after the hour mark, with a van Ek corner finding the head of centre half Leon White, who propelled the side from Colesham Parish to the third round of the cup.

Third Round:

At this stage, the remaining 16 teams from the second tier of Licentian football enter the cup.

Aberlang Town (CPSL) 0–0 Port Arran (MPSL) (Replay: Port Arran (MPSL) 4–2 Aberlang Town (CPSL))
Broadwood (SBPSL) 1–1 Tillmuir (MPSL) (Replay: Tillmuir (MPSL) 0–4 Broadwood (SBPSL))
Carrington United (CPSL) 2–1 East Montfort United (MPSL)
Colesham Athletic (CPSL) 0–2 Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL)
Crosshill Town (CPSL) 2–2 Buckhaven Town (SBPSL) (Replay: Buckhaven Town (SBPSL) 1–2 Crosshill Town (CPSL))
Finnston United (SBPSL) 1–0 Newton Arran (APSL)
Kirkintill (MPSL) 2–0 Inverone (CPSL)
Langbank (CPSL) 2–1 Old Corinthians (CPSL)
Oldshore Rovers (SBPSL) 3–0 Whitekirk (CPSL)
Parkhouse (APSL) 2–1 Houghton Rangers (APSL)
Rafford Town (SBPSL) 1–1 Waterford United (CPSL) (Replay: Waterford United (CPSL) 2–0 Rafford Town (SBPSL))
Ringmuir (APSL) 2–1 Redburn Athletic (SBPSL)
St Bart's United (SBPSL) 1–2 Houghton Young Boys (APSL)
Tarbert United (MPSL) 3–0 Kirkross (CPSL)
Thornhill United (APSL) 1–1 Ferryhill Town (MPSL) (Replay: Ferryhill Town (MPSL) 3–1 Thornhill United (APSL))
Whitton United (APSL) 1–1 Hope Bay (SBPSL) (Replay: Hope Bay (SBPSL) 2–0 Whitton United (APSL))

Match of the Round:
At the stage of the cup where the teams seeded highest in the second tier enter, more exciting fixtures do begin to appear from the hat. This time round, the most exciting fixture would be found, at least in its first incarnation, on the outskirts of Abingdon, as Whitton hosted Hope Bay. Both sides are hopeful of reaching the top division this season, and the first match between the two did show how closely matched they were. The deadlock lasted throughout the first half, with some somewhat cautious play from each side. It was Whitton who would eventually take the lead through Katie Paterson, though Hope Bay would fire back through Arran Schaareman only five minutes later to pull themselves back level, with the tie eventually ending in a draw that would result in a replay at Hope Bay. That fixture would see Hope Bay dominant, with Schaareman firing them into the lead in the first ten minutes, before Darcy Wagenmakers scored from a distance to confirm that Hope Bay would make it to the fourth round, where the Premier League clubs would enter the tournament.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Mon Jun 21, 2021 12:54 pm

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2SR Season - Part 3


Matchday 11:

Castleton 1–3 Gaelic Club
Garton Bay Pirates 0–1 St Bart's Dutch
Montfort Wanderers 2–2 AFC Farnworth
Montfort University 2–2 Glenmount Town
SC Montfort 3–2 Blackheath
Shieldhill 1–0 Colesham Rovers
St Thomas 2–0 Abingdon Celtic
Stonehouse Athletic 3–0 Waterfleet

Match of the Round:
Castleton have had a difficult start to their return to the Premier League, and that didn’t stop with the visit of mid-table Gaelic Club to the coastal suburb. While Gaelic Club haven’t had their best start to the season, with only two wins in the first ten, this seemed like a place to truly start their season. They seemed to confirm that in the early stages, with Quebecois midfielder Leif Tannenbaum running rampant in the early stages at Links Road. He fired the Gaels in front after only nine minutes, before setting up Ruaridh Grant to double the lead ten minutes later. Castleton did eventually manage to pull one back just before half time, with Tarran Seamster setting Sophie Stevens up to bring the Knights back into the game. That close game did not last, however. Tannenbaum was once again at the centre of the action, laying up his midfield partner Sarah Reid for a beautiful strike that confirmed a third win this season for the club from the second city.

Elsewhere:
St Thomas extended their lead at the top of the league with a solid victory over Abingdon Celtic, and as time goes on they look more and more like serious title contenders. They benefitted from AFC Farnworth dropping points on their travels: last year’s champions Montfort Wanderers held the Reds to a two-all draw. Stonehouse Athletic managed to pull themselves into the top four after dominating Waterfleet, passing Celtic and Glenmount Town, who were held to a draw by Montfort University. Towards the bottom of the table, Shieldhill pulled themselves out of the relegation zone by squeezing past fellow strugglers Colesham Rovers, while Blackheath remained at risk after losing to SC Montfort. Both Garton Bay and St Bart’s have looked better in this season, finding themselves in the mid-table: it’s Dutch who came away from the Anchor with a win.



Matchday 12:

AFC Farnworth 0–0 St Thomas
Abingdon Celtic 4–1 Castleton
Blackheath 0–4 Gaelic Club
Colesham Rovers 0–1 Montfort Wanderers
Glenmount Town 2–2 Stonehouse Athletic
SC Montfort 3–2 Montfort University
St Bart's Dutch 1–1 Shieldhill
Waterfleet 6–0 Garton Bay Pirates

Match of the Round:
Two Abingdon Parish sides not from the largest city in the parish that have found success in recent years are Glenmount and Stonehouse. These two small towns have played well above their populations in recent years, with Glenmount almost winning the title last year. Going into this stand-off at Market Street, both sides found themselves in the top four along with St Thomas and Farnworth. In the end, this was a thrilling fixture even given other high-scoring matches this weekend. Both sides came out cautiously at first, before three of the four goals in the game were scored in the fifteen minutes before half time. Town struck first, with a Valentina Gastaldo cross finding Tyler Veldhoen to score, before Veldhoen’s strike partner Miles Simpson added a second for Glenmount mere minutes later. Stonehouse wouldn’t go down without a fight however: Latics centre half Jay Dickson pulled one back through a header from a Luke Kennedy corner. In the late stages of the game, it looked like Glenmount would come away victorious. Eventually, Luke Kennedy denied the home side all three points, putting a slick shot past Caitlin Fraser to ensure his side took one point on the short journey home.

Elsewhere:
In a weekend where 5 games saw four or more goals, the two sides at the top of the league played to a relatively boring scoreless draw, with St Thomas maintaining their six point gap to AFC Farnworth. After the draw at Glenmount, Montfort Wanderers and Abingdon Celtic managed to climb into the top four, with the Wanderers just beating Colesham Rovers, while Celtic thrashed bottom club Castleton. Gaelic Club remained within touch of the top four with a four goal victory away to Blackheath, while a tight battle in the capital saw SC Montfort claim victory over the Scholars to climb into the top half. Shieldhill maintained their climb away from the bottom of the league by claiming a point against St Bart’s, and Waterfleet scored two goals in the first five minutes to leave the Pirates shell-shocked: they would eventually score six on their way to a win.



Matchday 13:

Castleton 3–1 AFC Farnworth
Gaelic Club 4–2 Abingdon Celtic
Garton Bay Pirates 1–0 Glenmount Town
Montfort University 1–1 Blackheath
Montfort Wanderers 2–0 St Bart's Dutch
Shieldhill 2–2 Waterfleet
St Thomas 0–0 Colesham Rovers
Stonehouse Athletic 2–1 SC Montfort

Match of the Round:
Abingdon saw its first derby of the season, with the ever lively fixture between Gaelic Club and Abingdon Celtic returning to the Coliseum. On this occasion, the fireworks weren’t just in the stands, with six goals between the two sides. The Quebecois midfielder Leif Tannenbaum played his socks off from the start for the Gaels, scoring the first goal of the game within four minutes with a scorching free kick from 30 yards out. It wasn’t long before Tannenbaum was involved again, with a long ball finding youngster Isaac Thielen, who chipped Glen McGregor to double the advantage. Celtic looked in shock, but they managed to find their way into contention with a fluke goal for full back Seren Thomson: her cross found its way past Josh Gibson, who was cursing himself as he picked the ball out of his own net. Just before half time, the Gaels made amends for the mistake from their keeper, with a well worked build up from Tannenbaum and Sarah Reid allowing the Quebecois man to set up Ruaridh Grant to score his side’s third just before the break. The home side seemed to put the result beyond doubt just before the hour mark with Grant’s second of the afternoon, a thumping header from a Thomson corner, but Celtic managed one last flurry to reduce the deficit, with Miles Henderson curling home a free kick. It wouldn’t be enough though, as Gaels not only claimed a win over their biggest rivals at home, but climbed above them into 5th on goal difference.

Elsewhere:
The league leaders faltered at home to Colesham, as they were held to a scoreless draw by the side at the foot of the table, Colesham Rovers. They weren’t however heavily punished for their misstep, as their closest rivals thus far, AFC Farnworth, were shocked by Castleton, another struggling team who claimed only their third win of the season against the Reds. Montfort Wanderers and Stonehouse Athletic both took advantage to climb above the Reds with wins against St Bart’s and SC Montfort respectively, while Glenmount’s woes continued after they were beaten by Garton Bay. The other two games were both draws between teams at the more precarious end of the table, with Shieldhill and Waterfleet scoring two apiece, while Montfort University needed a late equaliser to claim a point against Blackheath.



Matchday 14:

AFC Farnworth 1–0 Gaelic Club
Blackheath 2–0 Abingdon Celtic
Colesham Rovers 1–0 Castleton
Glenmount Town 0–0 Shieldhill
Montfort University 1–1 Stonehouse Athletic
SC Montfort 2–2 Garton Bay Pirates
St Bart's Dutch 1–2 St Thomas
Waterfleet 1–0 Montfort Wanderers

Match of the Round:
Back in the old days, a fixture between St Bart’s Dutch and St Thomas would only go one way, and it would be in favour of the former. Nowadays though, with St Bart’s languishing in the mid-table and the Sky Blues topping the league, this fixture seemed to be one that Helligens fans were dreading. However, if they were expecting to go down without a fight, they would be pleasantly surprised, as it was the team in orange that struck first, even if it took them nearly 40 minutes to do so. Amy Sutherland made a blistering run down the left wing, and her cross found Owen Findlay in the middle, who headed home to give the lead to Dutch. After the break though, St Thomas came out firing. Tiago Weiling got their first, with a well-timed half volley from a Mitch Louws cross beating Lisandra Stegehuis, and while Dutch fans were still hopeful, things went from bad to worse only minutes later, as a rash challenge from Viola Tiemen led to the right back getting her marching orders from referee Eliza Blair. From there, it was only a matter of time before St Thomas took the lead and strengthened their position at the top of the table, and it was the starlet Arthur Mazereeuw who eventually made the difference, slotting the ball home from 18 yards to claim three points for his hometown club.

Elsewhere:
The chasing pack continue to drop further from the league-leading Sky Blues, with Montfort Wanderers beaten by the other side from that island, Waterfleet, while Stonehouse Athletic were held to a draw by Montfort University. A win for AFC Farnworth against Gaelic Club meant that they kept St Thomas’ lead to only seven points, but at this stage of the season it’s a pretty major lead for others to overcome. Abingdon Celtic struggled once again, with Blackheath coming away victorious to climb out of the relegation zone. That win for Blackheath meant that Colesham Rovers and Castleton both found themselves back in the relegation zone despite Rovers beating the Knights. The other game of the weekend was a relatively boring affair, as the difficulties continued for former title contenders Glenmount, as they were held to a draw by Shieldhill.



Matchday 15:

Abingdon Celtic 3–1 AFC Farnworth
Castleton 1–1 St Bart's Dutch
Gaelic Club 3–0 Colesham Rovers
Garton Bay Pirates 1–2 Montfort University
Montfort Wanderers 4–2 Glenmount Town
Shieldhill 2–3 SC Montfort
St Thomas 1–1 Waterfleet
Stonehouse Athletic 2–1 Blackheath

Match of the Round:
Derby day on St Thomas is always a big one, and that is especially true when one of the sides is leading the league, which is a very rare occurrence. This season, however, the Sky Blues have led the league for 8 weeks straight, and Waterfleet were travelling to the Recreation Ground with the hope of putting a roadblock in the way of their local rivals. The game started off with both teams going on the offensive, spurred on by the loud chants from the packed stands: both Sam Heijnis and Marcia Folkhard were tested, but both managed to stop all of the strikes headed their way. When the first half drew to a close, it looked like neither side would be able to break the deadlock, but that theory was proved wrong swiftly after the break. The Sky Blues broke on the counter attack after a Layla Paterson header hit the crossbar, and the ball eventually fell to the Tequiloan midfielder Arximiro Valdovinos, who fired past Folkhard to send the St Thomas fans into raptures. Their joy would be short-lived, however, as merely five minutes later, Fleet replied. The Sky Blue defence was caught off guard, and Matt Antonisse found his way through to equalise, and deny St Thomas a win against their biggest rivals.

Elsewhere:
Once again, despite dropping points, St Thomas are benefitting from the group behind them constantly switching places. This time, AFC Farnworth had their turn to drop points from second place, as they lost to Abingdon Celtic. Montfort Wanderers and Stonehouse were both able to take advantage of the mistake from the Reds to jump closer to the Sky Blues, with the Wanderers handing a thrashing to Glenmount, while the Latics snuck past Blackheath. At the other end of the table, Colesham Rovers remained in the bottom two after being resoundingly beaten by Gaelic Club, while Castleton could only draw against St Bart’s Dutch. A thrilling game at Shieldhill saw SC Montfort eventually come out winners, while Montfort University got only their third win of the season against the Pirates.



Table after 15 weeks:

   RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 St Thomas 15 10 3 2 22 12 +10 33
2 Montfort Wanderers 15 8 3 4 20 12 +8 27
3 Stonehouse Athletic 15 7 5 3 29 17 +12 26
4 AFC Farnworth 15 7 4 4 21 19 +2 25
5 Gaelic Club 15 6 6 3 27 16 +11 24
6 Abingdon Celtic 15 7 3 5 25 24 +1 24
7 SC Montfort 15 5 6 4 26 20 +6 21
8 Glenmount Town 15 4 8 3 18 16 +2 20
9 Waterfleet 15 4 7 4 24 17 +7 19
10 Garton Bay Pirates 15 5 3 7 14 22 −8 18
11 St Bart's Dutch 15 4 5 6 16 21 −5 17
12 Montfort University 15 3 7 5 21 21 0 16
13 Shieldhill 15 3 5 7 15 22 −7 14
14 Blackheath 15 3 4 8 16 25 −9 13
15 Colesham Rovers 15 3 4 8 8 21 −13 13
16 Castleton 15 3 3 9 13 30 −17 12

St Thomas have not only maintained their position at the top of the league, but have extended the gap to six points from the chasing pack behind them. The top four have stayed largely the same over the past five weeks, with last season’s champions Montfort Wanderers in second, with Stonehouse and Farnworth both following close behind. The two Abingdon clubs are within reach of second place in the league, with Gaelic Club only ahead of Celtic as a result of their superior goal difference, and SC Montfort and Glenmount Town round out the top half of the Premier League. Waterfleet will perhaps be disappointed with their 9th place given their performances last season, while Garton Bay Pirates and St Bart’s Dutch will just be grateful to not have fallen any further since last season’s strugglea at both clubs. The bottom five of the league have all only managed 3 wins in the first half of the season, with Montfort University, Shieldhill and Blackheath just above the relegation zone, while Colesham and Castleton are at risk fifteen weeks in.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:12 pm

Parish Senior Leagues

Part 1

The second tier of Licentian football is made up of four leagues, representing each of the four parishes of the Licentian Isles: Abingdon, Colesham, Montfort, and St Bart’s. At the end of their individual regular seasons, the winner of each league will compete in the Senior Parish Championship, a four team knockout tournament at the LTI Stadium in Montfort. The winner of each semi-final is promoted to the Licentian Premier League and progresses to the final, where they compete for the SPC trophy, and all the pride attached. The losers of each semi final compete in a playoff for the third and final place in the Liga B Champions Trophy.

Abingdon Parish Senior League:

   Abingdon Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Houghton Rangers 11 9 1 1 22 7 +15 28
2 Houghton Young Boys 11 8 0 3 21 13 +8 24
3 Whitton United 11 7 1 3 18 14 +4 22
4 Kilgarron 11 6 2 3 16 16 0 20
5 Newton Arran 11 6 1 4 24 15 +9 19
6 Parkhouse 11 5 2 4 17 16 +1 17
7 Ringmuir 11 5 0 6 18 13 +5 15
8 Kirkton United 11 5 0 6 14 20 −6 15
9 Thornhill United 11 3 2 6 14 18 −4 11
10 Abingdon University 11 3 1 7 17 20 −3 10
11 Old Abingdonians 11 2 0 9 10 23 −13 6
12 Mossybank Town 11 1 2 8 6 22 −16 5

While many expected Whitton United to lead the way this season in Abingdon Parish, at the halfway stage it’s the two sides from Houghton who top the table, and look to be fighting for the league title and the place in the Senior Parish Championship. Rangers have clearly taken their relegation to heart, and are looking to do exactly what they’ve done in multiple recent seasons and return straight to the Premier League after going down. Their closest competitors are their local rivals, Young Boys, who will hope to stop the Rangers from achieving that goal. They are currently four points behind the top team, and will be desperate to climb up before the end of the year. Whitton United are six points behind Rangers, and will be disappointed not to be higher in the league, with Kilgarron and Newton Arran the other two that are closest to the top at this stage. At the midway point of the season there are two teams at real risk of relegation, with Mossybank Town one point adrift from Old Abingdonians at the bottom.

Colesham Parish Senior League:

   Colesham Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Carrington United 11 9 1 1 22 8 +14 28
2 Waterford United 11 8 2 1 22 8 +14 26
3 Colesham Athletic 11 5 3 3 16 12 +4 18
4 Whitekirk 11 5 3 3 15 13 +2 18
5 Old Corinthians 11 6 0 5 13 14 −1 18
6 Springburn Town 11 5 2 4 17 12 +5 17
7 Langbank 11 4 3 4 14 15 −1 15
8 Kirkross 11 3 3 5 15 16 −1 12
9 Aberlang Town 11 3 2 6 13 18 −5 11
10 Inverone 11 2 3 6 9 16 −7 9
11 Crosshill Town 11 2 1 8 12 19 −7 7
12 Colesham University 11 2 1 8 7 24 −17 7

In Colesham Parish, Carrington United were expected to win the league once again, and they are indeed at the front at the halfway stage of the season, but many are surprised by the team that are challenging them at the top. Waterford United, in the suburbs of Colesham, have come out of nowhere to place second in the league after 11 weekends of the CPSL, only two points behind Carrington. There aren’t any teams within easy reach of the top two at this stage, as Colesham Athletic, Whitekirk, and Old Corinthians all find themselves six points behind Waterford. At the bottom end, however, things are much closer, with three teams under ten points who will feel very much at risk of relegation should Colesham Rovers be relegated and the winner of the CPSL not get promoted. Crosshill Town and Colesham University both have only seven points, with University’s inferior goal difference pinning them to the bottom, while Inverone sit just above those two teams on nine points.

Montfort Parish Senior League:

   Montfort Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kirkintill 15 11 3 1 33 17 +16 36
2 Saltburn Wanderers 15 11 1 3 32 9 +23 34
3 Arranmuir 15 9 3 3 27 13 +14 30
4 Tarbert United 15 8 5 2 26 14 +12 29
5 East Montfort United 15 8 3 4 20 11 +9 27
6 Tillmuir 15 7 5 3 22 14 +8 26
7 Ferryhill Town 15 7 4 4 27 21 +6 25
8 Montfort North End 15 6 3 6 22 21 +1 21
9 Woodhall Rovers 15 5 4 6 24 26 −2 19
10 Port Arran 15 5 2 8 16 22 −6 17
11 Capital Constabulary 15 4 4 7 12 17 −5 16
12 Monksburgh 15 3 5 7 18 28 −10 14
13 Sandsend Town 15 4 1 10 12 30 −18 13
14 East Bay Athletic 15 3 3 9 13 25 −12 12
15 Havenbank 15 3 2 10 15 29 −14 11
16 Wellbank Rangers 15 1 2 12 14 36 −22 5

While Kirkintill and Saltburn Wanderers have both looked to be the best sides in the MPSL this season, it’s the former who lead the league by virtue of earning more draws than the Wanderers. After Saltburn tied on points with Castleton but missed out on a place in the Senior Parish Championship on goal difference, they will have been hoping to win the league this season, and that hope is definitely still there if they can surpass Kirkintill before the end of the season. Arranmuir and Tarbert United will both be hoping to close the gap and challenge the top two, but it seems unlikely given how much Kirkintill and Saltburn have been able to maintain their winning records thus far. At the other end of the table, Wellbank Rangers have fallen far adrift in 16th, with Havenbank and newly-promoted East Bay Athletic also at risk.

St Bart’s Parish Senior League:

   St Bart's Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Broadwood 9 8 1 0 19 3 +16 25
2 St Bart's United 9 5 3 1 12 7 +5 18
3 Hope Bay 9 5 2 2 13 11 +2 17
4 Finnston United 9 4 2 3 12 13 −1 14
5 Rafford Town 9 3 4 2 18 14 +4 13
6 Highmoor Academical 9 3 2 4 15 16 −1 11
7 Oldshore Rovers 9 2 2 5 11 16 −5 8
8 Redburn Athletic 9 2 2 5 5 11 −6 8
9 St Marnock's 9 1 3 5 7 12 −5 6
10 Buckhaven Town 9 0 3 6 5 14 −9 3

While many would say that after nine games it’s difficult to tell what the rest of the season will look like, the St Bart’s Parish Senior League would beg to differ. Broadwood, recently relegated from the Premier League, have looked imperious in the first half of the season, only dropping points when they drew with Highmoor Academical in the fifth week of the season. That’s allowed them to build up a seven point gap between themselves and St Bart’s United, in second place, and to feel confident that they will be in the Senior Parish Championship at the end of the season. At the other end, Buckhaven Town have struggled a lot thus far, unable to win in their first nine games, while St Marnock’s have not looked much better, meaning both are at risk of finishing bottom in the only second tier league that saw a team relegated last season.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:33 am

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2SR Season - Part 4


Matchday 16:

Abingdon Celtic 4–1 Colesham Rovers
Blackheath 1–2 AFC Farnworth
Castleton 1–1 Waterfleet
Gaelic Club 2–2 St Bart's Dutch
Garton Bay Pirates 0–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Montfort Wanderers 1–0 SC Montfort
Shieldhill 2–0 Montfort University
St Thomas 3–3 Glenmount Town

Match of the Round:
Last season it was Glenmount Town who dominated for most of the season, and this season it has been St Thomas, but Sky Blues fans will be hoping, as the year continues, not to mirror the late season struggles of the Mountaineers. It did seem, however, that Town were hoping to cause some difficulty for their hosts when they arrived at the Recreation Ground, as they seemed dominant in the early stages of this fixture. That dominance finally translated into goals in the 26th minute, with a Valentina Gastaldo cross finding Miles Simpson, who put the away side in front. Their second arrived fifteen minutes later from a set piece: Gastaldo swung in a corner that was punched away by Sam Heijnis, but his clearance only found Amy Craig, who volleyed the ball into the top corner to double the lead and hit the highlight reels. St Thomas came out after the break looking like a changed beast, and were quick to level the game, with Lilly Taylor and Flora Watson beating Caitlin Fraser in quick succession to make it 2-2. While Glenmount looked to limit the damage at that stage, St Thomas would take the lead after 72 minutes, as Lilly Taylor scored her second, before Tyler Veldhoen capitalised on a goalmouth scramble late on to ensure that Town would head home with a point, and that the league leaders would be pegged back.

Elsewhere:
Derby day in the capital, and Montfort Wanderers managed to take advantage of the leaders dropping points: they beat SC to reduce the deficit to four points. Elsewhere in the chasing pack, Stonehouse came away from Garton Bay with the slimmest of victories to maintain their position in the top four, Farnworth needed a late Casey McMillan goal to beat Blackheath, and Abingdon Celtic thumped Colesham to climb to fifth, only one point off the IFCF places. Castleton remain bottom of the table despite sitting level on points with Blackheath and Rovers after they took a point off Waterfleet, while fellow newbies Shieldhill climbed further from the relegation zone with a victory over Montfort University. Gaelic Club will be frustrated at dropping behind their rivals in the push for international qualification, as they were held to a draw at home to St Bart’s.



Matchday 17:

Colesham Rovers 2–2 AFC Farnworth
Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 Blackheath
Glenmount Town 2–1 Castleton
Montfort University 0–1 Montfort Wanderers
SC Montfort 0–1 St Thomas
St Bart's Dutch 3–2 Abingdon Celtic
Stonehouse Athletic 3–2 Shieldhill
Waterfleet 2–0 Gaelic Club

Match of the Round:
In recent years, Colesham Rovers and AFC Farnworth have been the only sides from Colesham Parish to consistently remain in the Premier League, which has added some edge to what was otherwise a relatively friendly rivalry between the two. This season, fortunes have been very different for the two sides, with Farnworth in a surprise run to the top end of the table, while Rovers languish in the bottom two. This game looked like it would continue that pattern for both sides within the first twenty minutes, with the Reds relying on the McMillan twins, Casey and Regan, for their creativity in the early stages. Regan would eventually set up Antony Campbell for the first goal just after the half hour mark, but not to be outdone, his sister scored a goal herself once the sides returned from the break, with a curling shot from the edge of the box making its way past Georgia Cunningham. After that, Colesham didn’t look likely to dig themselves out of their hole, until youngster Phoebe Hellemons curled a free kick into the top right hand corner, out of the reach of Darren Alexander. That seemed to ignite the Rovers, who would manage a second in injury time: Lucas Russell sprinted forward on the counter attack and rounded Alexander to tap home the easiest finish of his career thus far, and help Colesham in their battle to avoid relegation.

Elsewhere:
St Thomas, perhaps feeling under pressure from the rise of the Wanderers and Latics, had to get a late goal to come away from Adamson Park with a victory over SC, and that allowed them to maintain their gap to the teams behind them. That came despite both of their title rivals winning: the Wanderers beat struggling University away from home, while Stonehouse came out on the right side of a pitched battle against Shieldhill, scoring three goals to take three points. Despite their draw, Farnworth remain in the top four, after both sides from the second city dropped points, with Celtic being surprised by St Bart’s Dutch, while Gaelic Club lost on the road at Waterfleet. Blackheath remain just, precariously, above the relegation zone after they matched Colesham’s draw with one of their own against the Pirates, while Castleton remain pinned to the bottom after being defeated by Glenmount Town.



Matchday 18:

AFC Farnworth 3–2 St Bart's Dutch
Abingdon Celtic 2–1 Waterfleet
Blackheath 3–2 Colesham Rovers
Castleton 2–2 SC Montfort
Gaelic Club 3–2 Glenmount Town
Montfort Wanderers 4–2 Stonehouse Athletic
Shieldhill 0–2 Garton Bay Pirates
St Thomas 3–0 Montfort University

Match of the Round:
All eyes were on the LTI Stadium this weekend, as we would start to get the answer to one of the bigger questions in the LPL in recent weeks: who would be the big challengers to St Thomas for the title? Last year’s champions, Montfort Wanderers, hosted a surprise package from this season in Stonehouse Athletic, and as expected, it was a thrilling fixture. Tom Johnston once again led out the Latics against his former club, but the casuals had plenty of stick to throw at their former midfielder as his misplaced pass led to an opportunity for Rimaël Postel to score the first goal of the game after 15 minutes. Johnston, however, was quick to remedy the situation, as it was his long free kick that found the head of Jay Dickson, as they propelled the ball past Leland Wood. Wanderers would gain the lead back from one of their own set pieces minutes later however, as Arlo McGregor rocketed a free kick into the bottom right hand corner of the net, and they extended their advantage as Postel headed home a Kristin de Booij corner to make it 3-1 at the break. After half-time, Stonehouse were looking to fight back, with Luke Kennedy playing in Tiana Forbes who reduced the deficit to one, but that would not remain, as Postel earned himself a hat-trick, this time using his feet rather than his head to put the ball past Elena McLean.

Elsewhere:
While the eyes of many Sky Blues fans will have been on events in the capital, their players did not lose focus, as they confidently defeated Montfort University to maintain their four point lead at the top of the Premier League. Both Farnworth and Abingdon Celtic will have watched the loss suffered by Stonehouse with glee, especially as both sides managed wins against St Bart’s Dutch and Waterfleet respectively. Gaelic Club also maintained their hunt for a place in international football next season, as they put more pain on a Glenmount side that has struggled since losing the title on the final day of last season. At the bottom of the table, Blackheath separated themselves from the bottom two by beating Colesham Rovers, while Castleton once again drew level on points with the Rovers after holding SC Montfort to a draw. While Shieldhill have perhaps outperformed expectations, they are still very much at risk: they lost to Garton Bay, leaving them in 12th, and only three points away from the relegation zone.



Matchday 19:

Garton Bay Pirates 0–2 Montfort Wanderers
Glenmount Town 3–1 Abingdon Celtic
Montfort University 2–0 Castleton
SC Montfort 0–2 Gaelic Club
Shieldhill 0–1 Blackheath
St Bart's Dutch 1–0 Colesham Rovers
Stonehouse Athletic 0–1 St Thomas
Waterfleet 2–1 AFC Farnworth

Match of the Round:
While much of the focus this season has been on the intriguing scenario at the top of the table, that shouldn’t take away from the fact that the relegation battle is just as interesting. This weekend, Castleton travelled to Montfort University, who will perhaps be frustrated to have been dragged into the fight at the bottom of the table. The Knights came to fight, as shown by their attacking flourishes in the early stages, and many of their fans felt aggrieved when a goal from Adam Johnstone was ruled out after 14 minutes by the narrowest of offside calls. That shot across the bows seemed to have woken up the Scholars, with Phoebe Kelly beginning to marshal the defence into a much more solid structure. They managed to hold out for the rest of the first half, and when the game was still scoreless after an hour, many will have felt that a draw was a fair result. That would have been the case if not for a late surge from University, led from the front by Eilidh McMillan. She assisted the first goal by masterfully holding up the ball from Emily MacLeod’s long pass, playing in Chris Heij for the finish, before scoring herself after getting on the end of a cross from Kelly, who had made a marauding run forward from left back. Castleton will feel hard done by, but these are the sort of games that you have to win to get out of a bottom of the table dogfight.

Elsewhere:
After a humbling loss to Montfort Wanderers last week, Stonehouse found themselves struggling once again at home to the league leaders, as St Thomas came away with another hard-earned victory. Montfort Wanderers maintained their chase for a second straight title after travelling to the coast and defeating Garton Bay, while AFC Farnworth dropped further away from the top two after losing to Waterfleet. Gaelic Club have put themselves in the best position to capitalise on the Latics and Reds dropping back with their victory over SC Montfort, while Abigndon Celtic faltered against Glenmount. In the bottom eight, Colesham couldn’t capitalise on Castleton’s loss after they were beaten by St Bart’s, while Shieldhill dropped back into the danger zone after they were beaten by a resurgent Blackheath.



Matchday 20:

AFC Farnworth 5–3 Glenmount Town
Abingdon Celtic 1–2 SC Montfort
Blackheath 0–0 St Bart's Dutch
Castleton 1–2 Stonehouse Athletic
Colesham Rovers 1–2 Waterfleet
Gaelic Club 4–0 Montfort University
Montfort Wanderers 2–2 Shieldhill
St Thomas 0–0 Garton Bay Pirates

Match of the Round:
With Montfort Wanderers hosting Shieldhill in the capital, both sides were hoping for a win for very different reasons. Shieldhill had good memories of their victory over Castleton to win the Senior Parish Championship the last time they visited the national stadium, but a match against last season’s champions would be a very different story. Nonetheless, they looked confident in the early stages, even as they fell behind, with Arlo McGregor scoring a fantastic solo goal to give the Whites the lead. McGregor would be involved again as the home side doubled their lead three minutes before half-time: his free kick cannoned off the post, but Rimaël Postel was in place to poach a goal for the Wanderers. In the second half, the Whites seemed to step off the gas, and that was all the invitation that the Bucklers needed. A counter-attack after a Wanderers corner led to Giel Wildiek being one-on-one with Leland Wood, and he beat the Wanderers keeper to pull his side back into the game. It took until injury time for Shieldhill to break through again, and this time it was Wildiek’s strike partner, with the Ko-orenite holding up the ball and setting up Ben Jamieson to score, to the joy of the away fans as they salvaged a draw from a very difficult fixture.

Elsewhere:
St Thomas will have hoped that, with their closest challengers dropping points, they would be able to extend their lead at the top, but it wasn’t to be, as Garton Bay held them to a scoreless draw. Stonehouse reversed their recent slide with a win over bottom club Castleton, while an eight-goal thriller in Farnworth saw the Reds come out on top against Glenmount to maintain their position. Gaelic Club looked confident as they put four past Montfort University, while their cross-city rivals were beaten by SC Montfort. Colesham Rovers fell further adrift in the relegation zone after losing to Waterfleet, while the point-scoring streak of Blackheath was extended into a fourth week by their draw with St Bart’s.



Table after 20 weeks:

   RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 St Thomas 20 13 5 2 30 15 +15 44
2 Montfort Wanderers 20 12 4 4 30 16 +14 40
3 Stonehouse Athletic 20 10 5 5 37 25 +12 35
4 AFC Farnworth 20 10 5 5 34 29 +5 35
5 Gaelic Club 20 9 7 4 38 22 +16 34
6 Abingdon Celtic 20 9 3 8 35 34 +1 30
7 Waterfleet 20 7 8 5 32 22 +10 29
8 Glenmount Town 20 6 9 5 31 29 +2 27
9 SC Montfort 20 6 7 7 30 27 +3 25
10 St Bart's Dutch 20 6 7 7 24 28 −4 25
11 Garton Bay Pirates 20 6 5 9 18 27 −9 23
12 Blackheath 20 5 6 9 23 31 −8 21
13 Montfort University 20 4 7 9 23 31 −8 19
14 Shieldhill 20 4 6 10 21 30 −9 18
15 Colesham Rovers 20 3 5 12 14 33 −19 14
16 Castleton 20 3 5 12 18 39 −21 14

St Thomas will be grateful that their slips in recent weeks haven’t been heavily punished. Their gap to Montfort Wanderers in second place has been reduced to four points, but they still have a relatively strong advantage over the Whites going into the final third of the season. There are three teams that currently seem like the strongest candidates for the remaining two Challengers Cup places, with Stonehouse Athletic and AFC Farnworth currently holding those spots by virtue of being one point ahead of Gaelic Club. Abingdon Celtic and Waterfleet are both within reach of the top four, but will have a much more difficult task to earn a place in international competition. Below them, Glenmount Town will be incredibly disappointed with their drop to the mid-table this season, being not far ahead of SC Montfort and St Bart’s Dutch, while Garton Bay are mostly glad to be well out of the dogfight at the bottom of the table. A strong run for Blackheath has pulled them out of that fight as well, at least for now, while Montfort University and Shieldhill will both feel like they are in more precarious positions. It is Colesham Rovers and Castleton who, once again, occupy the relegation places, with both sides looking at serious risk of dropping down to the second tier for next season.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:21 am

Supercel FALI Cup – 2SR Part 2


Fourth Round:

This is the final stage of the competition where teams enter for the first time; here, the 16 Licentian Premier League sides enter for the first time.

AFC Farnworth (LPL) 1–0 Montfort University (LPL)
Blackheath (LPL) 1–1 Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL) (Replay: Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL) 1–0 Blackheath (LPL))
Broadwood (SBPSL) 2–1 Carrington United (CPSL)
Castleton (LPL) 0–0 Montfort Wanderers (LPL) (Replay: Montfort Wanderers (LPL) 2–0 Castleton (LPL))
Colesham Rovers (LPL) 2–0 Parkhouse (APSL)
Crosshill Town (CPSL) 1–4 SC Montfort (LPL)
Ferryhill Town (MPSL) 1–1 St Bart's Dutch (LPL) (Replay: St Bart's Dutch (LPL) 1–0 Ferryhill Town (MPSL))
Glenmount Town (LPL) 2–0 Garton Bay Pirates (LPL)
Hope Bay (SBPSL) 2–0 Tarbert United (MPSL)
Kirkintill (MPSL) 0–1 Langbank (CPSL)
Oldshore Rovers (SBPSL) 1–2 Shieldhill (LPL)
Port Arran (MPSL) 0–1 Stonehouse Athletic (LPL)
Ringmuir (APSL) 1–3 Finnston United (SBPSL)
St Thomas (LPL) 1–2 Abingdon Celtic (LPL)
Waterfleet (LPL) 0–0 Houghton Young Boys (APSL) (Replay: Houghton Young Boys (APSL) 1–2 Waterfleet (LPL))
Waterford United (CPSL) 1–1 Gaelic Club (LPL) (Replay: Gaelic Club (LPL) 4–1 Waterford United (CPSL))

Match of the Round:
When the draw for the fourth round of the Supercel FALI Cup occurred, there was one fixture that drew everyone’s eyes, and that was the reprise of last year’s final, with Premier League leaders, and last year’s cup winners, St Thomas, set to host Abingdon Celtic. Celtic would be coming into this fixture looking for revenge, with a shot at dumping out last year’s winners in their very first fixture. They certainly came out ready to attack, with a Miles Henderson free kick going close within the first ten minutes. That was followed five minutes later by a cross from Henderson towards the back post which was tapped in by Anna Findlay, giving the away side the lead at the Recreation Ground. Sam Heijnis was furious with the failed marking by his defenders and quickly marshalled his defence to such an extent that Celtic were unable to get a shot on target for the rest of the first half. It was at the end of the half that St Thomas replied, with Tiago Weiling scoring to pull the fixture level with the last kick of the half. Both sides seemed happy to sit back in the early stages of the second half, until Alasdair Graham brought down Neil McKenzie in the box to gift a penalty to Celtic. While he avoided a dismissal, that won’t have been any consolation as Findlay buried the spot kick, sending the away side through to the fifth round.

Fifth Round:

Broadwood (SBPSL) 0–1 Glenmount Town (LPL)
Colesham Rovers (LPL) 1–3 Stonehouse Athletic (LPL)
Gaelic Club (LPL) 1–1 Abingdon Celtic (LPL) (Replay: Abingdon Celtic (LPL) 0–0 Gaelic Club (LPL) (0–0 AET) (2–4 pen.))
Hope Bay (SBPSL) 0–1 Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL)
Langbank (CPSL) 2–1 Shieldhill (LPL)
Montfort Wanderers (LPL) 2–1 Finnston United (SBPSL)
SC Montfort (LPL) 2–1 St Bart's Dutch (LPL)
Waterfleet (LPL) 3–1 AFC Farnworth (LPL)

Match of the Round:
With only five teams from the second tier reaching the fifth round of the Cup, those looking for a fairytale story didn’t have many games to watch, but after 45 minutes of the game at the LTI Stadium, they might have believed that this year’s big upset was being written in front of them. It was Finnston United, from the west coast of the island of St Bart’s, who had been drawn against the reigning Premier League Champions, and many were not expecting much from them. Those with doubts would have been surprised then, as Finnston shocked everyone at the national stadium and took the lead after 22 minutes, with centre forward Helena Jansen getting on the end of a long ball from full back Ruaridh Irvine and slotting the ball past Leland Wood, giving this small town club a surprising lead. They managed to reach half time still in front, but Abigail Jones made half time substitutions to bring on big names for the Wanderers, and after that a turnabout in fortune seemed inevitable. Thomas Hughes managed to equalise for Montfort 7 minutes after being introduced, firing a shot into the top right hand corner past Finnston keeper Samuel Ward, after which things only went further downhill. Irvine, a hero in the first half, missed a chance to cut out a long ball from Alex Graham that allowed Danita Star to sneak in behind the defence, and she ended the fairytale before it truly started for Finnston fans.

Quarter Finals:

Glenmount Town (LPL) 1–0 Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL)
Montfort Wanderers (LPL) 2–2 Stonehouse Athletic (LPL) (Replay: Stonehouse Athletic (LPL) 0–1 Montfort Wanderers (LPL))
SC Montfort (LPL) 0–0 Gaelic Club (LPL) (Replay: Gaelic Club (LPL) 4–0 SC Montfort (LPL))
Waterfleet (LPL) 2–0 Langbank (CPSL)

Match of the Round:
When it came to the quarter final at the Waterfront Stadium on St Thomas, there were two big stories surrounding the day. The first was whether Waterfleet, having reached this stage, would be able to follow in the footsteps of their closest rivals St Thomas last season and go all the way to the final. The second was whether Langbank, adrift in the mid-table of the Colesham Parish Senior League, would be able to progress past a second Premier League side after knocking out Shieldhill in the fifth round. Those questions seemed to have been answered fairly quickly, as it only took 17 minutes for Sarah Peijnenburg to give Waterfleet the lead with a curling shot from the edge of the box. Langbank were fired up by this though, and instead of going down quietly, they went on the attack. The Nephar keeper Marcia Folkhard saw her goal peppered with strikes from Langbank centre forwards Molly Webster and Ailpein Christie, but she put in perhaps her best performance since joining Fleet, staying stalwart and preventing Langbank from finding a way back into the game. Eventually, it was Langbank’s all-out attack mentality in the final minutes that resulted in the lead being doubled. A counter-attack started by a long ball from Folkhard eventually resulted in Layla Paterson chipping Lois Alexander, meaning that Waterfleet would be able to progress to the semi-finals at the LTI.

Semi Finals:

The semi finals of the FALI Cup are held across two days at LTI Stadium in Montfort, the capital of the Isles. If a fixture is tied at the end of 90 minutes, extra time and penalties will be used to decide a winner on the day.

Gaelic Club (LPL) 2–0 Montfort Wanderers (LPL)
Waterfleet (LPL) 0–1 Glenmount Town (LPL)

Match of the Round:
With two teams at the sharp end of the Premier League table facing off, people were always going to be looking at the match between Gaelic Club and Montfort Wanderers on semi-final weekend. Last year’s league winners came in the clear favourites, especially given the fact that they were playing at the home stadium (though they were officially designated the away side). That meant that many fans were surprised after 26 minutes when Leif Tannenbaum made a snaking run from the halfway line before burying the ball in the bottom left hand corner of Leland Wood’s net, before promptly earning himself a yellow card as he removed his shirt when running toward the casuals at that end of the LTI. While the Wanderers looked for any opportunity to respond, with Arlo McGregor probing at the Gaels defence, they wouldn’t be able to break through. Eventually, Gaelic Club would double their lead, with Ruaridh Grant on the end of a Craig Fraser cross to give the side from Abingdon a place in the Supercel FALI Cup final.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Jun 27, 2021 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Jun 27, 2021 9:20 am

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2SR Season - Part 5


Matchday 21:

Garton Bay Pirates 1–0 Castleton
Glenmount Town 1–0 Colesham Rovers
Montfort University 2–3 Abingdon Celtic
Montfort Wanderers 1–1 Blackheath
SC Montfort 2–0 AFC Farnworth
Shieldhill 2–3 St Thomas
Stonehouse Athletic 0–2 Gaelic Club
Waterfleet 2–1 St Bart's Dutch

Match of the Round:
Away from the title battle, there are plenty of interesting things going on in the fight for a place in the IFCF tournaments next season. Three Abingdon Parish clubs are fighting alongside AFC Farnworth for one of two spots in next year’s Challengers Cup, and two of them faced off at Burnside this week, with Stonehouse hosting Gaelic Club. Both sides had rough starts to the Premier League season, but the Latics managed to recover sooner, and have spent much of the season above the Gaels, despite their visitors having talents like Ruaridh Grant and Leif Tannenbaum, both of whom have played major roles this season. Nonetheless, Gaelic Club will have considered themselves favourites for this fixture, and they confirmed that status after 31 minutes. Beau Morrison made an incisive run down the left wing and swung a cross in towards Isaac Thielen, who headed home to give the away side the lead. Stonehouse worked hard to try and equalise, with their closest chance being a strike from Rachel Graham that clattered off the crossbar. Despite their efforts though, Gaelic Club would double their lead as the game drew to a close with Sarah Reid firing a shot through the crowd and past Elena McLean, allowing Gaelic Club to climb to third ahead of Stonehouse.

Elsewhere:
St Thomas have once again extended their lead at the top of the table to six points. They won by one goal against a feisty Shieldhill side, while their challengers Montfort Wanderers were held to a draw by Blackheath. AFC Farnworth dropped out of the top four with their loss to SC Montfort meaning that they were passed by the Gaels, and they have been joined in the chase by Abingdon Celtic, after they beat Montfort University. The bottom two will remain the same for another week, with Colesham Rovers and Castleton registering 1-0 losses to Glenmount and Garton Bay. Waterfleet managed to remain just within reach of the top four with their home victory against St Bart’s Dutch.



Matchday 22:

AFC Farnworth 1–0 Montfort University
Abingdon Celtic 3–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Blackheath 2–3 Waterfleet
Castleton 0–2 Shieldhill
Colesham Rovers 2–1 SC Montfort
Gaelic Club 4–0 Garton Bay Pirates
St Bart's Dutch 4–2 Glenmount Town
St Thomas 2–1 Montfort Wanderers

Match of the Round:
With Montfort Wanderers beginning to fall away from St Thomas at the top of the table once again, we were only ever going to be watching this week’s fixture at the Recreation Ground. Wanderers were looking for an away win to draw within three points of the leaders, but a win for St Thomas would give them an even greater gap at the top. The Whites were looking for goals in the early stages of the game, and they managed to take the lead after 17 minutes, with Arlo McGregor finding the perfect pass to Rimaël Postel, who slotted the ball past Sam Heijnis. It didn’t take long for the Sky Blues to find a riposte, with Lilly Taylor being brought down in the box by Tom Roberts, resulting in a penalty for the home side. Tiago Weiling sent Leland Wood the wrong way to equalise, and suddenly the game was back on a knife edge. It would remain that way for much of the remainder of the game, with many wondering the repercussions that a draw might have on the remaining eight weeks of the season. They wouldn’t need to wonder. In second half injury time, Arximiro Valdovinos found Flora Watson from a corner, and the Licentian international powered a header past Wood to send the home fans into rapture. This might be the first time that Sky Blues fans could truly believe that the Premier League title was within their grasp.

Elsewhere:
With Montfort losing, Gaelic Club have found themselves in a position to chase for second place, especially after their dominant win over Garton Bay at home. Stonehouse Athletic, meanwhile, have dropped even further from the chase for the top four, with Abingdon Celtic beating them to improve their own prospects, and that Latics loss allowed Farnworth to return to the top four after they beat Montfort University. Shieldhill managed to pull themselves a little further out of trouble with their win over bottom side Castleton, while Colesham Rovers got a win over SC Montfort to pull themselves within two points of escaping the relegation zone. Waterfleet’s win over Blackheath has kept them in touch with the top four, while Glenmount dropped even further away after losing to St Bart’s.



Matchday 23:

Garton Bay Pirates 1–0 Abingdon Celtic
Glenmount Town 1–2 Waterfleet
Montfort University 1–1 Colesham Rovers
Montfort Wanderers 2–2 Castleton
SC Montfort 3–2 St Bart's Dutch
Shieldhill 0–2 Gaelic Club
St Thomas 1–1 Blackheath
Stonehouse Athletic 0–0 AFC Farnworth

Match of the Round:
When Montfort Wanderers visited Links Road earlier in the season, Castleton beat the side from the capital to pin the champions back in their chase of St Thomas, and pull Castleton out of the relegation zone. Now, 15 matches later, we’re in much the same position. The Whites are in second behind St Thomas and Castleton are deep in the relegation zone. The only difference is this time, we were watching at the LTI Stadium. The Wanderers seemed to want to get some measure of revenge for their loss to the Knights last time, with Arlo McGregor opening the scoring within three minutes, flashing a shot into the top corner. It wasn’t long until the home side managed to double their advantage, with a Kristin de Booij corner headed in by Oran Hay for his first goal for the Wanderers. Despite Castleton looking very much out of the game, they did manage a riposte five minutes after’s Hay’s goal, as a long free kick from Tarran Seamster bounced awkwardly past Leland Wood into the Montfort net, showing that there may well have been a way back into this game for the Knights. While the Wanderers’ defence remained solid for most of the game, it would be a set piece that would once again result in them dropping points. Another long free kick from Seamster found its way to the head of Sean Williamson, who managed to salvage a point for Castleton by heading into the bottom corner.

Elsewhere:
Blackheath, who have certainly made things difficult for a few teams this season, managed a draw against St Thomas that will refocus any minds amongst the Sky Blues that assumed the title was won after beating the Wanderers. Gaelic Club’s away win at Shieldhill helped that, with their victory propelling them to 2nd, eight points behind the leaders. A draw between Stonehouse and Farnworth means that the Latics are still in the hunt for the IFCF places, while Abingdon Celtic’s resurgence was halted by a loss to the Pirates. A win for Colesham against Montfort University would have pulled them out of the relegation zone at the expense of their hosts, but they couldn’t take advantage of that. Waterfleet piled yet more misery on Glenmount with an away win at Market Street, and SC Montfort came out on top in their mid-table clash with St Bart’s Dutch.



Matchday 24:

AFC Farnworth 4–1 Garton Bay Pirates
Abingdon Celtic 2–1 Shieldhill
Blackheath 1–0 Glenmount Town
Castleton 0–0 St Thomas
Colesham Rovers 1–0 Stonehouse Athletic
Gaelic Club 1–1 Montfort Wanderers
St Bart's Dutch 1–0 Montfort University
Waterfleet 1–0 SC Montfort

Match of the Round:
Another exciting battle came at the top end of the table this weekend, as Gaelic Club hosted Montfort Wanderers at the Coliseum in Abingdon. Both sides are chasing St Thomas at the top of the table at this late stage of the season, with the Gaels currently holding onto a slim one point advantage over last year’s league winners. It was a battle between two of the best midfielders in the league this season, as Leif Tannenbaum and Arlo McGregor both looked to put their stamp on this game. It would be McGregor’s side that would take the lead after both teams went close in the early stages, with Rimaël Postel getting on the end of a cross from Kristin de Booij to put the Whites in front away from home. There were plenty of opportunities for both sides as the game went on, with a Tannenbaum free kick forcing Leland Wood into an incredible save to stop the Quebecois from scoring. In the end, it would be a free kick delivered by Tannenbaum that would set up the equaliser for Gaelic Club, with this effort clattering off the post into the path of Ruaridh Grant, who tapped home to ensure that his side would remain ahead of the Wanderers going into the last six weeks of the season.

Elsewhere:
Castleton have made somewhat of a habit of earning surprising points from teams at the top end of the table, and they did exactly that by holding leaders St Thomas to a scoreless draw, with the Sky Blues likely very glad that the chasing pack also dropped points. All three times in the fight for the last Challengers Cup place got wins to maintain their pushes, with Farnworth thrashing Garton Bay, Waterfleet looking solid as they beat SC, and Abingdon Celtic coming from behind to beat Shieldhill. Colesham Rovers have climbed out of the bottom two after beating Stonehouse, with Montfort University’s loss against St Bart’s resulting in the Scholars dropping into the bottom two. Glenmount have had many troubles this season, and they’ll be praying for the season to end soon: they’re now down in 10th place after losing to Blackheath.



Matchday 25:

Castleton 1–0 Blackheath
Garton Bay Pirates 6–0 Colesham Rovers
Montfort University 3–1 Waterfleet
Montfort Wanderers 2–1 Abingdon Celtic
SC Montfort 2–1 Glenmount Town
Shieldhill 3–1 AFC Farnworth
St Thomas 0–3 Gaelic Club
Stonehouse Athletic 0–3 St Bart's Dutch

Match of the Round:
With St Thomas beating Montfort Wanderers a few weeks ago, they will have expected that they were on the home stretch with a good chance of winning the title, but they’ve now been brought back down to earth by a resurgent Gaelic Club. Things looked difficult for St Thomas after 16 minutes, when midfielder Oscar Moore was sent for an early bath after a two-footed challenge on Leif Tannenbaum: the Gaelic Club talisman was thankfully alright despite the tackle. If Moore had intended to put off Tannenbaum, it didn’t work: five minutes later, the Quebecois fired Gaelic Club ahead with a low drive from the edge of the box, and wheeled away with his fingers to his lips to quiet the Sky Blues fans. The Gaels doubled their lead ten minutes later, with Emma Graham rising above the St Thomas defense to pile even more misery on the league leaders. Arthur Mazereeuw and Lilly Taylor both had chances to pull the Sky Blues back into it, but the third goal of the game would again come for the away side on 77 minutes, with Tannenbaum setting up Ruaridh Grant to make the last five weeks of the season far more interesting for Gaelic Club fans, and more nail-biting for St Thomas.

Elsewhere:
Montfort Wanderers also took advantage of the result at the Recreation Ground to pull within six points of the leaders as they beat Abingdon Celtic, which would have pushed the latter further from the top four if not for results above them. Shieldhill looked dominant as they beat AFC Farnworth, while relegation threatened Montfort University came out victorious against Waterfleet. That win for the Scholars changed the picture once again at the bottom as they climbed above Colesham Rovers, who were defeated very heavily by the Pirates, while Castleton may be too late to save themselves, despite a win against Blackheath. Stonehouse are being pulled further away from international qualification after they were beaten by St Bart’s, with SC piling yet more misery on Glenmount Town.



Table after 25 weeks:

   RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 St Thomas 25 15 7 3 36 22 +14 52
2 Gaelic Club 25 13 8 4 50 23 +27 47
3 Montfort Wanderers 25 13 7 5 37 23 +14 46
4 AFC Farnworth 25 12 6 7 40 35 +5 42
5 Waterfleet 25 11 8 6 41 29 +12 41
6 Abingdon Celtic 25 12 3 10 44 41 +3 39
7 Stonehouse Athletic 25 10 6 9 38 34 +4 36
8 SC Montfort 25 9 7 9 38 33 +5 34
9 St Bart's Dutch 25 9 7 9 35 35 0 34
10 Garton Bay Pirates 25 9 5 11 27 35 −8 32
11 Glenmount Town 25 7 9 9 36 38 −2 30
12 Blackheath 25 6 8 11 28 37 −9 26
13 Shieldhill 25 6 6 13 29 38 −9 24
14 Montfort University 25 5 8 12 29 38 −9 23
15 Colesham Rovers 25 5 6 14 18 42 −24 21
16 Castleton 25 4 7 14 21 44 −23 19

It’s perhaps a sign of just how much of a rollercoaster recent weeks have been that St Thomas have beaten one title rival, lost to another, and still remain five points clear at the top. It’s now Gaelic Club who look most likely to overtake the Sky Blues with five matches to go since Montfort Wanderers have dropped behind into third, though they are only one point behind the Gaels. It then looks like a separate battle for the final IFCF place, with AFC Farnworth, Waterfleet, and Abingdon Celtic all pushing for a place in next season’s Challengers Cup. Stonehouse at one point looked like title challengers, but they have now fallen into the grasp of the mid-table, only two points ahead of SC Montfort and St Bart’s Dutch who are in 8th and 9th respectively. Garton Bay Pirates and Glenmount Town will have very different views on their seasons so far: the Pirates will be happy to have avoided a relegation fight, while the Mountaineers have fallen far after losing out on the title on the final day of last season. Blackheath and Shieldhill will be hoping that wins in recent weeks will be enough to keep them out of the relegation battle in the final weeks, especially as Montfort University and Colesham Rovers have spent the last few weeks trading 15th place in the table, and Castleton have earned enough points to not be down-and-out at this stage.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:17 pm

Parish Senior Leagues

Part 2

The second tier of Licentian football is made up of four leagues, representing each of the four parishes of the Licentian Isles: Abingdon, Colesham, Montfort, and St Bart’s. At the end of their individual regular seasons, the winner of each league will compete in the Senior Parish Championship, a four team knockout tournament at the LTI Stadium in Montfort. The winner of each semi-final is promoted to the Licentian Premier League and progresses to the final, where they compete for the SPC trophy, and all the pride attached. The losers of each semi final compete in a playoff for the third and final place in the Liga B Champions Trophy.

Abingdon Parish Senior League:

   Abingdon Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Houghton Rangers 22 18 1 3 49 14 +35 55 Champions, SPC
2 Newton Arran 22 13 3 6 44 25 +19 42
3 Parkhouse 22 12 5 5 33 26 +7 41
4 Houghton Young Boys 22 12 3 7 33 23 +10 39
5 Whitton United 22 11 5 6 31 25 +6 38
6 Kilgarron 22 8 6 8 33 30 +3 30
7 Ringmuir 22 9 2 11 35 28 +7 29
8 Thornhill United 22 8 5 9 26 35 −9 29
9 Kirkton United 22 7 5 10 25 32 −7 26
10 Abingdon University 22 5 4 13 25 34 −9 19
11 Old Abingdonians 22 3 4 15 17 46 −29 13
12 Mossybank Town 22 2 5 15 17 50 −33 11


With the two sides from Houghton dominating at the mid-stage of the season, many were surprised to see Young Boys fall away, but won’t have been surprised when Rangers were dominant on their way to the title in Abingdon Parish. They only lost twice in the second half of the season, to Whitton United and Young Boys, and their eventual 13 point gap to Newton Arran was a show of just how dominant they were. Newton Arran were a surprise package this season, and some will be expecting them to reach the SPC next season as they seem to be building towards that in terms of young talent. Parkhouse pretty much lived up to expectations, but will be hoping for more next year, and Whitton and Young Boys will be disappointed with their finishes this year.

Colesham Parish Senior League:

   Colesham Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Waterford United 22 15 6 1 46 13 +33 51 Champions, SPC
2 Carrington United 22 13 4 5 39 21 +18 43
3 Kirkross 22 11 6 5 41 31 +10 39
4 Colesham Athletic 22 9 8 5 34 21 +13 35
5 Langbank 22 9 7 6 29 23 +6 34
6 Whitekirk 22 8 6 8 27 31 −4 30
7 Crosshill Town 22 9 2 11 30 32 −2 29
8 Springburn Town 22 8 4 10 28 28 0 28
9 Old Corinthians 22 8 3 11 22 29 −7 27
10 Aberlang Town 22 6 3 13 22 39 −17 21
11 Inverone 22 3 8 11 16 30 −14 17
12 Colesham University 22 4 1 17 13 49 −36 13


Waterford will be a very happy town as their club, Waterford United, head to the Senior Parish Championship for the first time in decades. At the beginning of this season, many had expected an easy run for Carrington United, but in the end Waterford won by eight points having not lost a single game in the second half of the season. Carrington will be disappointed not to have won the league again, and there will likely be an autopsy over why they were beaten so easily in the end by Waterford. On the table at the end of the season, they weren’t particularly clear of Kirkross, meaning that many will question if Carrington are the same team as they have been in the last decade without ever being promoted back to the Premier League.

Montfort Parish Senior League:

   Montfort Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Saltburn Wanderers 30 23 2 5 60 19 +41 71 Champions, SPC
2 Tarbert United 30 18 8 4 56 30 +26 62
3 Kirkintill 30 19 3 8 58 38 +20 60
4 East Montfort United 30 16 8 6 51 30 +21 56
5 Ferryhill Town 30 15 8 7 55 36 +19 53
6 Arranmuir 30 15 7 8 48 31 +17 52
7 Tillmuir 30 12 8 10 43 37 +6 44
8 Woodhall Rovers 30 11 8 11 47 47 0 41
9 Port Arran 30 11 7 12 40 40 0 40
10 Monksburgh 30 10 10 10 46 48 −2 40
11 Montfort North End 30 11 6 13 47 41 +6 39
12 Havenbank 30 10 2 18 37 49 −12 32
13 Capital Constabulary 30 8 7 15 27 43 −16 31
14 East Bay Athletic 30 5 7 18 24 57 −33 22
15 Sandsend Town 30 5 3 22 18 65 −47 18
16 Wellbank Rangers 30 2 4 24 21 67 −46 10


Montfort is another league where this season, the title was decided long before the final day. Last season, Saltburn Wanderers missed out on a place in the Senior Parish Championship on goal difference, with winners Castleton eventually being promoted. This season, they truly made up for that by winning the league in style, with a nine point gap behind them to Tarbert United, and Kirkintill, who lead at the halfway stage, finishing in third place after somewhat of a collapse in the second half of the season. The Wanderers will be hoping that much like the team that beat them, they will be able to go all the way in the tournament that decides promotion to the Premier League.

St Bart’s Parish Senior League:

   St Bart's Parish Senior League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Broadwood 18 14 2 2 39 12 +27 44 Champions, SPC
2 Hope Bay 18 10 6 2 26 18 +8 36
3 St Bart's United 18 9 6 3 34 25 +9 33
4 Rafford Town 18 8 5 5 34 22 +12 29
5 Redburn Athletic 18 7 4 7 20 20 0 25
6 Finnston United 18 6 7 5 22 25 −3 25
7 Highmoor Academical 18 5 4 9 23 32 −9 19
8 Oldshore Rovers 18 3 4 11 22 34 −12 13
9 Buckhaven Town 18 2 6 10 17 33 −16 12
10 St Marnock's 18 2 4 12 14 30 −16 10

While Broadwood did not look as dominant in the second half as they did in the first, they still had a decent gap to second place at the end of the season, meaning that they, much like Houghton Rangers, will have an opportunity to return straight back to the Premier League. Hope Bay were their closest competitors, with all of the top three clubs being from St Bart’s Island, though Finnston fell away towards the end and were replaced by Rafford Town.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Jun 27, 2021 2:15 pm

Finals Weekend:

A long weekend towards the end of the year means only one thing in the Licentian football season; finals weekend at the LTI Stadium in the capital of the Isles, Montfort. On the Thursday, both semi-finals for the KickAdvisor Senior Parish Championship take place with the winner of each confirming their promotion to the Licentian Premier League, followed on the Saturday by the final of the Supercel FALI Cup. On the Sunday, the Liga B Champions Trophy playoff is swiftly followed by the SPC final, where one team comes away with another trophy to go along with their promotion to the Premier League.

SPC Semi Finals:

Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL) 1–0 Waterford United (CPSL)
Houghton Rangers (APSL) 2–3 Broadwood (SBPSL)

Saltburn and Waterford will both have been very pleased to see that they had been drawn against each other, rather than against the two teams hoping to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Nonetheless, this was still the biggest game of the season for both teams, so it was unsurprising that at the start of the game, both sides seemed somewhat nervous in their play. The first half was almost a battle of two sides trying to avoid giving any quarter to the other, which lead to very few serious attacking chances for either side. At the end of the first half Waterford had the best chance anyone had seen so far, with a long cross from full back Joseph Nicholson headed towards goal by Charlie Dickson, forcing Ciorsdan MacGowan into an acrobatic save to prevent Waterford from taking the lead. In the second half, things started much the same, with both sides somewhat reticent to take the initiative. As time went on however, Saltburn seemed more and more enthusiastic about attacking, until eventually they broke the deadlock after 76 minutes. Conan Menzies found himself in space on the edge of the box, and his shot along the floor got past Zach Todd into the bottom corner to give Saltburn the lead and, despite the best efforts of Waterford in the last minutes of the game, promotion to the Premier League.

In the other games, we saw two sides facing off that were desperate to return to the Premier League having been relegated just last season. As if they’d watched the first game and been bored with the lack of scoring, Houghton and Broadwood came out and both scored within the first ten minutes. Broadwood were the first, with Seth Jacobs breaking through within four minutes to put the Foresters in front, but Houghton were quick to reply through a Mason Harvey free kick. The Rangers would then go in front twenty minutes later, scoring one of the goals of the weekend. Harvey was involved once again, sprinting down the right wing and swinging a cross in, with Carmag Galbraith hitting the perfect bicycle kick to put Houghton in the lead as we went into half time. Broadwood came out for the second half just as feisty as they were in the first, and scored almost as quickly: this time, Jacobs set up Faye van de Velde for a lovely strike from the edge of the box. Broadwood would then manage to retake the lead just after the 65 minute mark, with a Mollie Russell corner being headed home by Orin Wood to ensure that Broadwood would be back in the Premier League next season.

FALI Cup Final:

Gaelic Club (LPL) 0–3 Glenmount Town (LPL)

Given the season that Glenmount Town have had, they would have come into this game hoping for something to recover this incredibly difficult year, but up against Gaelic Club they would have a difficult task ahead, with the Gaels sitting in the top four after a difficult start to the season. Nonetheless, Glenmount’s attack earned the first goal of the game early in the first half, with Tyler Veldhoen pushing through the Gaelic Club defence and beating Josh Gibson. That seemed to set the tone for the game, as no matter the encouragement from Leif Tannenbaum on the pitch or manager Beathag MacNair off it, Gaelic Club just could not seem to get going. Glenmount would get their second goal of the final after 41 minutes, with Valentina Gastaldo swinging in a corner that was headed in by Tim Bijvank to double the advantage for the Mountaineers. They would sit back a little in the second half, with Tannenbaum and Ruaridh Grant going close for the Gaels, but unable to finish their chances. Eventually, Glenmount would confirm that they would have at least one trophy to celebrate this year, as Veldhoen got his second to make it three for Town. Captain Caitlin Fraser lifted the trophy amid rumours that she will be leaving the only club she’s ever played for professionally to run out her career on foreign shores: will this be her last act in Glenmount?

SPC Liga B Champions Trophy Playoff:

Houghton Rangers (APSL) 2–1 Waterford United (CPSL)

With one prize left to fight for after Thursday’s disappointment, Houghton and Waterford came out fighting for the third Licentian spot in the Liga B Champions Trophy on the Sunday of finals weekend at the LTI Stadium. Despite many expecting that this would be a walkover for Rangers, it was Waterford who managed to score after 35 minutes of back-and-forth, with a Miles Nisbet cross swung in towards Charlie Dickson, who headed it down towards the feet of Sarah Brown for her to bury it in the bottom corner. Waterford seemed happy to sit on their advantage, but Houghton were not going to allow them to be complacent, as they replied just after the break with a strike from Carmag Galbraith evening up the game. In the later stages of the second half, Houghton’s attacks were pretty much non-stop, with Waterford keeper Zach Todd forced into a number of saves. In the end though, he was always going to be beaten: when a shot from Galbraith clattered off the crossbar, his strike partner Zara Blair was there to mop up the mess and confirm that Houghton would be competing internationally next year.

Final:

Saltburn Wanderers (MPSL) 1–0 Broadwood (SBPSL)

With both teams already on their way to the Premier League for next season, the capstone of finals weekend was going to be an interesting battle. On one hand, Broadwood were likely to be the favourites having recently been in the Premier League, but Saltburn Wanderers were coming into this with a lot of confidence. In the end, the two played out an incredibly tight and entertaining game, even if the scoreboard didn’t suggest that after the game had finished. In the first half neither side could break the deadlock, with both Ciorsdan MacGowan of Saltburn and Fenne van den Heuvel of Broadwood forced into multiple saves to maintain their clean sheets up to half time. In the end though, only one would be able to maintain their clean record. Conan Menzies made a strong run forward and was unable to finish it himself, but set up Rowan Woods to score for Saltburn, giving them the Senior Parish Championship title to go along with their promotion to the Premier League.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Jun 27, 2021 2:25 pm

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2SR Season - Part 6


Matchday 26:

AFC Farnworth 3–0 Montfort Wanderers
Abingdon Celtic 2–2 St Thomas
Blackheath 1–0 SC Montfort
Colesham Rovers 2–1 Shieldhill
Gaelic Club 1–1 Castleton
Glenmount Town 2–2 Montfort University
St Bart's Dutch 2–3 Garton Bay Pirates
Waterfleet 1–1 Stonehouse Athletic

Match of the Round:
Shieldhill have started to pull themselves away from the relegation fight, and will have been hoping that they would come away from Old Colliery Road with another win, but Colesham Rovers definitely had other plans for the visit of the Bucklers. Ethan Smith was, as always, a star for the Miners in both defence and attack, and it was his incisive passing that gave them the lead. A perfectly placed through ball found its way to the feet of Lucas Russell, who curled a shot past Nathan Ferguson to give Colesham the lead. It seemed like heads dropped amongst the Shieldhill players after that, and it showed not long afterwards when a mistake from Francis Paterson left Russell alone in space: he pulled the ball back to Phoebe Hellemons for the 19 year old winger to double the lead. Shieldhill had opportunities to pull themselves back into it, while Colesham seemed happy to simply defend their two goal lead. That did eventually come back to bite the Miners, with Giel Wildiek scoring from a corner for the visitors in the 84th minute, but it would be too late, and Shieldhill have been dragged right back into the relegation fight.

Elsewhere:
The league leaders have now gone four weeks without a victory. They started off strongly in Abingdon, but Celtic came back to salvage a point that meant St Thomas could not extend their lead. They did however maintain the five point gap, as Gaelic Club were held to a draw by Castleton, while Montfort Wanderers lost to AFC Farnworth. With Farnworth’s win, Waterfleet may be starting to see a top four finish slip away as they were held to a draw by Stonehouse. Montfort University have also remained within the fight at the bottom of the table, with their draw at Glenmount not helping them escape; on the other hand, another victory for Blackheath, this time over SC Montfort, has pulled them five points clear of the relegation battle. A thrilling five goal game in the mid-table saw Garton Bay come out on top against St Bart’s, with the Pirates climbing into the top half as a result.



Matchday 27:

Castleton 3–2 Abingdon Celtic
Gaelic Club 1–1 Blackheath
Garton Bay Pirates 2–2 Waterfleet
Montfort University 3–1 SC Montfort
Montfort Wanderers 4–3 Colesham Rovers
Shieldhill 0–3 St Bart's Dutch
St Thomas 4–1 AFC Farnworth
Stonehouse Athletic 0–0 Glenmount Town

Match of the Round:
With another match against a side in the top four, and having not won in four weeks, St Thomas will have come into their match against AFC Farnworth hoping that they could arrest their slide and possibly build a greater gap to the chasing pack. They came out fighting against the Reds, and St Thomas had a goal within the first two minutes to give their fans something to cheer about. A long ball from keeper Sam Heijnis found its way through to Tiago Weiling, who rounded Darren Alexander to put the Sky Blues in front. Weiling got the second goal of the game for St Thomas as well, heading home ten minutes later from an Arximiro Valdovinos corner, before Farnworth began to fight back, with a Regan McMillan free kick finding the top corner of Heijnis’ goal. Half time came and the game looked tight, but once again St Thomas scored fairly quickly after the restart, with Arthur Mazereeuw firing past Alexander from 25 yards to reinstate the two goal lead for the Sky Blues. Weiling managed to get his hat trick at the end of the game, with a finish from ten yards out to restore some confidence for the Sky Blues going into the final weeks of the season.

Elsewhere:
Gaelic Club dropped points with three weeks to go with their draw at home to Blackheath, meaning that St Thomas could win the title next week. Montfort Wanderers managed to pull level on points with Gaelic Club by coming out on the right side of a seven-goal thriller against struggling Colesham Rovers, meaning that the final CEdC place is up for grabs for the two of them at the very least. Waterfleet are within two points of the IFCF places after their draw with Garton Bay, while Celtic have truly dropped off after they lost to bottom club Castleton. That Castleton win leaves the bottom three very close together, after Shieldhill lost to St Bart’s Dutch, but Montfort University have strengthened their survival chances by beating SC Montfort. Stonehouse and Glenmount fans will be disappointed, both by the way that their seasons have turned out, and by the boring draw at Burnside.



Matchday 28:

AFC Farnworth 1–0 Castleton
Abingdon Celtic 1–1 Gaelic Club
Blackheath 2–0 Montfort University
Colesham Rovers 0–1 St Thomas
Glenmount Town 3–1 Garton Bay Pirates
SC Montfort 1–2 Stonehouse Athletic
St Bart's Dutch 2–1 Montfort Wanderers
Waterfleet 2–1 Shieldhill

Match of the Round:
There was only one place to watch this weekend, with St Thomas travelling to Old Colliery Road in Colesham knowing that if results went their way, they could win their first ever Licentian Premier League title. All that they could do was focus on beating struggling Colesham Rovers on the road, and then keep one eye on how Gaelic Club and Montfort Wanderers performed at Gardiner-Stewart Stadium and Abbey Road respectively. They focussed mostly on defensive structure in their game, trying to make sure that they do not drop the ball as they have at times this season. There was a fright in the early stages of the second half, as Lucas Russell managed to score for the Miners before his goal was ruled out for offside. It was then, perhaps, that St Thomas realised they needed to do more than just sit back and defend, as they suddenly began to launch onto the offensive, with them managing to score only five minutes after Russell’s goal was chalked off. Tiago Weiling played the strongman striker and held up the ball at the edge of the box, tapping through to the charging Arthur Mazereeuw, who fired into the top corner of Georgia Cunningham’s goal to finally put the Sky Blues in the lead. After that, all that the fans of St Thomas could do was watch their phones for other results. How were Gaelic Club and Montfort Wanderers going to do?

Elsewhere:
When the games finished, there was plenty for St Thomas fans to celebrate. Gaelic Club were held to a draw by their biggest rivals, Celtic, in the derby at Gardiner-Stewart, and the Wanderers lost on the road at St Bart’s, with this resulting in St Thomas being confirmed as Licentian champions. There were, of course, pitch invasions and flares at Old Colliery Road, as the 4,500 fans who had made the journey from their little island celebrated their first ever league title. Away from the title celebrations, AFC Farnworth maintained their position in fourth with a victory over Castleton, while Waterfleet kept up their chase by beating Shieldhill at home. Montfort University could not move further away from the relegation fight after they were beaten by Blackheath, who are now six points ahead of the Scholars and officially safe from relegation. Glenmount Town’s victory over Garton Bay couldn’t pull them any closer to the top half of the table, and Stonehouse’s win away at SC Montfort pushed them further towards the top four, but it won’t be enough to stop them missing out on the IFCF.



Matchday 29:

Abingdon Celtic 1–0 Blackheath
Castleton 3–1 Colesham Rovers
Gaelic Club 6–1 AFC Farnworth
Garton Bay Pirates 0–3 SC Montfort
Montfort Wanderers 1–3 Waterfleet
Shieldhill 2–0 Glenmount Town
St Thomas 3–1 St Bart's Dutch
Stonehouse Athletic 1–2 Montfort University

Match of the Round:
One thing yet to be confirmed at the top of the Licentian Premier League is which sides will be headed to the Challengers Cup for next season. It is actually surprisingly tight below St Thomas, with Gaelic Club, Montfort Wanderers, and AFC Farnworth on 50, 49, and 48 points going into the penultimate weekend of the season. Waterfleet were still in with a shot going into this week, though on 46 points they will not have been confident in their chances, especially when they had to travel to the LTI to take on the Wanderers. It seemed quite predictable then when the Wanderers took the lead after 20 minutes, with Arlo McGregor firing them in front from outside the box. After that though, the hosts looked like they weren’t even at the ground. Waterfleet replied from a corner five minutes later, with Harris Shaw scoring his first goal of the season, before they went ahead just before the break. Saul van Duuren floated a long ball forward towards Brendon Vermolen, whose cross found the head of Layla Paterson to give Fleet the lead. It was Waterfleet’s game after that, with the away side dominant in the second half. After 71 minutes, a Matt Antonisse free kick ended up in the top corner with Leland Wood watching it pass him, meaning that Waterfleet were up to third thanks to their superior goal difference over the Wanderers.

Elsewhere:
The Recreation Ground on St Thomas was the site of the biggest party the island must have seen in years, with the Sky Blues hosting St Bart’s Dutch as they celebrate their first title. It was the cherry on the cake for them to then beat the Helligens comprehensively, giving their fans even more to celebrate. Behind them, Waterfleet’s climb to third in the league was helped by Gaelic Club putting six past AFC Farnworth, who suddenly look at risk of missing out on the top four, having been amongst them for most of the season. At the bottom, Castleton will be taking their fight for survival to the last day of the season after they beat Colesham Rovers to climb off the bottom, and find themselves only one point from safety, with Shieldhill’s victory over Glenmount not enough for safety to be confirmed. On the other hand, Montfort University did confirm their safety with a victory over Stonehouse, who were passed in the league by Celtic after they beat Blackheath at home. SC Montfort managed to beat Garton Bay to pass them with a win at the Anchor.



Matchday 30:

AFC Farnworth 1–2 Abingdon Celtic
Blackheath 2–1 Stonehouse Athletic
Colesham Rovers 1–2 Gaelic Club
Glenmount Town 1–1 Montfort Wanderers
Montfort University 2–1 Garton Bay Pirates
SC Montfort 2–2 Shieldhill
St Bart's Dutch 2–1 Castleton
Waterfleet 1–0 St Thomas

Match of the Round:
On the last day of the season, most of the focus was on the bottom end of the table, with Shieldhill, Castleton, and Colesham Rovers all fighting to avoid relegation. Shieldhill were travelling to Montfort to take on SC at Adamson Park with the hope of maintaining their place in the Premier League and not being sent straight back down to the APSL. Things started off badly for the Bucklers when Josh Williams scored a free kick after only nine minutes, curling it past Nathan Ferguson in the Shieldhill goal to put the Royals in front. They would double their lead after half an hour, with Penelope van Drunen supplying a cross that was headed in by Nick Reid. Shieldhill came out after half time looking like a team that knew they had to fight, to ensure that their fate was in their hands. On 64 minutes, Jasmin Russell headed home a long free kick from Callum Miller to pull the Bucklers back into the game, but going into injury time they were still behind and desperate to score. Even Nathan Ferguson was up for the corner at the death of the game, but Miller’s in swinger went straight past the keeper onto the head of Giel Wildiek, who put it past Dom Scheffers to ensure that Shieldhill would get a point, and with results elsewhere going their way, that they would be in the Licentian Premier League next season.

Elsewhere:
It was narrow losses for Castleton and Colesham Rovers that ensured that they would be the two teams relegated from the Premier League. Castleton lost to St Bart’s away, while Colesham couldn’t beat Gaelic Club at home, ensuring that their long period in the Premier League would come to an end. St Thomas travelled to Waterfleet for a local derby on the final day, but won’t have been too bothered to lose given that they were already the champions. Montfort Wanderers managed to remain in the top four to qualify for the IFCF, with a draw against Glenmount enough to keep them ahead of Farnworth, who were beaten by Abingdon Celtic. Despite being at the lower end of the table and only just securing their safety, Blackheath and Montfort University both managed wins on the final day over Stonehouse and Garton Bay, ensuring that they will go into next season somewhat more confident.



Final Table:

   RenewTec Licentian Premier League  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 St Thomas 30 18 8 4 46 27 +19 62 Champions, CL, CEdC
2 Gaelic Club 30 15 11 4 61 28 +33 56 CC, CEdC
3 Waterfleet 30 14 10 6 50 34 +16 52 CC
4 Montfort Wanderers 30 14 8 8 44 35 +9 50 CC
5 AFC Farnworth 30 14 6 10 47 47 0 48
6 Abingdon Celtic 30 14 5 11 52 48 +4 47
7 St Bart's Dutch 30 12 7 11 45 43 +2 43
8 Stonehouse Athletic 30 11 8 11 43 40 +3 41
9 SC Montfort 30 10 8 12 45 41 +4 38
10 Glenmount Town 30 8 12 10 42 44 −2 36 CWC
11 Blackheath 30 9 9 12 34 40 −6 36
12 Garton Bay Pirates 30 10 6 14 34 47 −13 36
13 Montfort University 30 8 9 13 38 45 −7 33
14 Shieldhill 30 7 7 16 35 47 −12 28
15 Castleton 30 6 8 16 29 51 −22 26 Relegated
16 Colesham Rovers 30 6 6 18 25 53 −28 24 Relegated

In the end, having lead for most of the Premier League season, St Thomas got everything they deserved, bringing the first Premier League title to the island in history. While many teams had challenged them through the season, it would be Gaelic Club that would finish second in the table, six points behind the Sky Blues, with Waterfleet and Montfort Wanderers rounding out the top four. AFC Farnworth and Abingdon Celtic will both be frustrated not to have qualified for the IFCF tournaments, but for different reasons, while below them 7th place for St Bart’s Dutch is a recovery for sure after their failures last year. Stonehouse and SC can both probably accept that mid-table was the right place for them after a mediocre year, while Glenmount Town will be conducting a hefty autopsy after dropping from almost winning the title last year to finishing 10th this year. Blackheath recovered from early struggles to finish ahead of Garton Bay on goal difference, with Montfort University once again just glad to avoid relegation to the second tier. Shieldhill only just avoided being sent straight back down despite some really impressive results this season. The team promoted with them, Castleton, weren’t as lucky, although they did avoid finishing bottom at the expense of Colesham Rovers, who will be very disappointed with their season.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Mon Jul 05, 2021 12:03 pm

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2SR Season – End of Season Awards


We are at the end of yet another season of football in the Licentian Isles, and we have come to the end of season awards, where the best players of the season will be honoured. The awards were decided by a panel appointed by the FALI, including former players, coaches, and members of the media. Let’s start the evening by announcing the Parish Senior League Player of the Season!



Parish Senior League Player of the Season:

Third Place – Holly Moir, Waterford United
Second Place – Faye van de Velde, Broadwood
Winner – Fiadh Buchan, Saltburn Wanderers

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the players named in the PSL Player of the Season standings are all from clubs that made it to the Senior Parish Championship. Despite her club falling short at finals weekend, Holly Moir was a massive part of the stalwart defence that led Waterford United to win the CPSL title, and the recognition that she’s received is very well-deserved. Broadwood looked dominant all season in St Bart’s, and many of their attacking moves started with or were finished by Faye van de Velde. The attacking midfielder was just as able to score as supply an assist this season for the Foresters. The winner of the award for this season is Saltburn holding midfielder Fiadh Buchan, with the youngster capping off a season where her club won the Senior Parish Championship with some personal silverware, and a call-up to the national team for the Campionato Esportiva on home soil. Her role as a pivot, converting defence into attack, for the Wanderers was immense, but she didn’t shy away from her defensive duties either. It’s entirely possible that a new star has emerged on the coast.



Golden Glove:

Third Place – Marcia Folkhard Image, Waterfleet
Second Place – Josh Gibson, Gaelic Club
Winner – Sam Heijnis, St Thomas

The best keepers in this season all come from the top three clubs in the LPL. Marcia Folkhard may not have been pegged as a star when Waterfleet signed her from Advance Alara in Ko-oren, but the experienced Nephar shot-stopper has made an immediate impact in her first year with Fleet. Gaelic Club combined the highest goal tally of the season with a solid defence, with many thanks for that going to Josh Gibson, who has certainly put himself on the radar of Fabrizio Kaal for future national team selections. Of course, the stingiest keeper in the Premier League this year was Sam Heijnis of the champions, St Thomas. He may have been helped by a strong defence in front of him, but Heijnis has clearly proved himself to be the successor to Caitlin Fraser as the best keeper in the Isles.



Golden Boot:

Third Place – Tiago Weiling, St Thomas
Second Place – Anna Findlay, Abingdon Celtic
Winner – Ruaridh Grant, Gaelic Club

While the Sky Blues were dominant at the top of the league for much of the season, they didn’t do that through goalscoring, and relied more on solid defence. As such, their top scorer, Tiago Weiling, only finds himself third in the Golden Boot rankings, though he will nonetheless be first choice for the Isles at the Campionato. In a disappointing season for Abingdon Celtic, their prowess in front of goal was the highlight, led by Anna Findlay, who led the scoring as well as creating chances for the now-retired poacher Neil McKenzie. It was Gaelic Club, on the other side of the second city, who were the top scorers by quite a distance this year, with much of that being down to Ruaridh Grant, who was grateful for the creativity of players like Leif Tannenbaum and Craig Fraser to supply him with the perfect opportunities.



Team of the Season:
Image
Taking a break from individual awards, we come to the team of the season, selected once again by the esteemed panel appointed by the FALI. Sam Heijnis of St Thomas was selected in goal to go along with his Golden Glove. The back four sees a range of experience levels, with Rowan Findlay from Montfort Wanderers and Flora Watson of St Thomas both being experienced capped internationals, while Harris Shaw of Waterfleet has seen a couple of caps in World Cup qualifying, and Abingdon Celtic’s Clay van der Hout is yet to receive a call-up, though that may soon change. The midfield was probably the most difficult place to select for the panel, with many talented players missing out on this occasion. The centre of midfield is taken up by two creative youngsters, with Montfort Wanderers attacking midfielder Arlo McGregor joined by Gaelic Club’s Quebecois star, Leif Tannenbaum. On the wings, Arximiro Valdovinos caps off a strong first season in the Isles with his selection, while Casey McMillan of Farnworth is selected on the opposite side. Up front, Ruaridh Grant and Tiago Weiling combine in a pairing that Fabrizio Kaal might consider choosing at some point in the future.



Manager of the Season:

Third Place – Kelvin Muir, AFC Farnworth
Second Place – Ailsa McNeill, Waterfleet
Winner – Sienna Bruce, St Thomas

With Farnworth expected to finish midtable at the beginning of the season, Kelvin Muir has outdone expectations. Not only have the club improved, but his focus on developing the club’s youth is truly beginning to pay off. Casey and Regan McMillan have become Cyan-and-Gold squad members under Muir, and Lily Park and Charlotte Allison are both expected to break into the first team in the near future. Muir is certainly one to watch. While much of the focus on St Thomas has been on the champions, Waterfleet have been equally impressive under the watchful eye of Ailsa McNeill. She has led a side that once struggled to survive relegation battles to the top table, and made sure that everyone is wary of what Fleet can bring to the table. At the end of the day though, only one person was ever going to win this gong. St Thomas showed early signs of growth when winning the FALI Cup last year, but Sienna Bruce has truly outdone herself in leading them to the title. Her strict defensive strategy kept many teams from scoring whether home or away, with the Sky Blues conceding less than one goal per game on average. Her signings have also paid off, with Flora Watson and Arximiro Valdovinos both providing plenty of bang for Bruce’s buck. She will be hoping to make St Thomas a consistent title winning side in the year to come, and there’s not much to stop her right now.



Foreign Player of the Season:

Third Place – Rimaël Postel Image, Montfort Wanderers
Second Place – Arximiro Valdovinos Image, St Thomas
Winner – Leif Tannenbaum Image, Gaelic Club

With the return of foreign players to Licentian soil, we have the reinstatement of the Foreign Player of the Season award, and there are plenty of talents to choose from. Gouvanarchais striker Rimaël Postel had a strong start to his career as a Wanderer, leading the club in goal-scoring even though some fans will have been disappointed not to win a second consecutive title. Arximiro Valdovinos was a fantastic addition for St Thomas on the right wing, and contributed both with set pieces and crosses as the Sky Blues won the title. At Gaelic Club, Leif Tannenbaum has been a revelation. While many would have been concerned about the rumours that surround his off-the-pitch activities, the Quebecois midfielder certainly proved his worth on the pitch as a creative force for the Gaels.



Young Player of the Season:

Third Place – Saul van Duuren, Waterfleet
Second Place – Casey McMillan, AFC Farnworth
Winner – Arthur Mazereeuw, St Thomas

In the award for the best player under the age of 23 in the Premier League, there were many strong competitors, but no one can argue with the choices made by the panel. Saul van Duuren, in his last season of eligibility for this award, has become a first choice holding midfielder for the Cyan-and-Gold on the back of his performances for Waterfleet. Casey McMillan, along with her brother Regan, has been a vindication of Kelvin Muir’s youth development policies, flying down the right wing for the Reds and almost guiding them to qualification for the Challengers Cup. The winner, Arthur Mazereeuw, is certainly a star of the future for St Thomas and the Licentian Isles. The 20 year old midfielder plays with a maturity beyond his years, with his thunderous right boot helping St Thomas on their way to the title.



Player of the Season:

Third Place – Arlo McGregor, Montfort Wanderers
Second Place – Ruaridh Grant, Gaelic Club
Winner – Flora Watson, St Thomas

Arlo McGregor, at the age of 23, seems like a player who will lead Montfort Wanderers for many years to come. He was first given opportunities for the Whites by Fabrizio Kaal, now the manager of the Cyan-and-Gold, and the young man from East Montfort has never looked back. His endeavours have been helped by a strong defence, his midfield partner Thomas Hughes, and two fantastic centre forwards, but don’t let that fool you. McGregor is the creative mind behind most of the best work the Wanderers have produced this season, and he absolutely deserves a mention on this list. Plenty more accolades will come for him in the future.

When a side scores 62 goals in 30 matches, their centre forwards will always be praised. Ruaridh Grant is the complete package for Gaelic Club: as Golden Boot winner this year, he’s proven that he can score goals. That isn’t the only arrow in his quiver though, as he was a fantastic foil for Leif Tannenbaum, with both men playing off each other and creating opportunities throughout the season. Grant will likely feel hard done by that he isn’t first choice for the Cyan-and-Gold currently, but if he keeps his performances at this level for club, there’s no doubt that recognition for his country will come.

Just two years ago, Flora Watson had left Abingdon Celtic after struggling with injuries for much of the two prior seasons. She hadn’t had an opportunity to prove herself, but she certainly has now. Her move to St Thomas has reignited her career, with Watson taking on the captain’s armband and developing into a true leader. She was also a significant factor in the stalwart defence that St Thomas showed through the season, ensuring that Golden Glove winner Sam Heijnis didn’t have as much to worry about as he had in previous years. What’s more, Flora has only just turned 30. She has much more to give in sky blue, and fans at the Recreation Ground are very grateful for that.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Wed Aug 18, 2021 8:34 am

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3SR Season Preview - Part 1


Broadwood:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Fenne van den Heuvel 28 Image
RB Nola Evers 36 Image
CB Zara Sinclair 20 Image
CB Quinn Buchan 27 Image
LB Conor McKay 30 Image
RM Mollie Russell 23 Image
CM Hannah van Vliet 21 Image
CM Oscar Moore 36 Image
LM Wu Zexi 25 Image
AM Faye van de Velde 26 Image
CF Seth Jacobs 28 Image




Stadium – Anderson Stadium (14,000 capacity), Broadwood, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname – Foresters
Last season – 1st in the St Bart’s Parish Senior League, Senior Parish Championship runner-up
Manager – Findlay Milligan, 51
Captain – Nola Evers
Players In – Oscar Moore from St Thomas on a free transfer, Wu Zexi Image from BSC Kroningdam Image on a free transfer, Sil de Bruyn from Hope Bay for £350k
Players Out – Orin Wood to St Thomas for £600k



Team preview from Robin Barr of boysoftheforest.co.li:
“Fans of Broadwood were very happy to see the club return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, especially given the challenge that Houghton put forward in the Senior Parish Championship. Nonetheless, I don’t think we’re kidding ourselves that this could be a tough season ahead. Our midfield will be our strength I think. The signing of Oscar Moore from last year’s LPL winners is a good one, he might be 36 but he’s got plenty to offer, and Wu Zexi will also be a good addition given her versatility on the left hand side of the park. We’ll need defenders like Evers and Buchan to be at their best if we want to avoid conceding as much as I worry we could.”

Support Broadwood if – you’re from Broadwood, you love St Bart’s but not the big city, you always back the underdog, you’re Hinodejin.

Prediction – 16th

Saltburn Wanderers:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Ciorsdan MacGowan 31 Image
RB Orin Gray 24 Image
CB Isla Rennie 28 Image
CB Finley Mackie 27 Image
CB Rafael Hoekstra 35 Image
LB Pierrig Chief-de-Ville 26 Image
HM Fiadh Buchan 20 Image
CM Lesley Landzaat 35 Image
CM Orlagh Montgomery 24 Image
CF Conan Menzies 28 Image
CF Rowan Woods 22 Image




Stadium – Fore Street Park (14,500 capacity), Saltburn, Montfort Parish
Nickname – Blues, the Anglers
Last season – 1st in the Montfort Parish Senior League, Senior Parish Championship winners
Manager – Molly Jack, 53
Captain – Rafael Hoekstra
Players In – Lesley Landzaat from AFC Farnworth for £200k, Pierrig Chief-de-Ville Image from Bécherel University Image on a free transfer, Alex Graham from Montfort Wanderers for £450k
Players Out – None



Team preview from Danny Hughes of playingtheblues.co.li:
“The Blues were so close to earning promotion a year ago, and you have to think that now that the team are here, they’ll want to stay here. What’s more, it certainly feels like our team is in a very good place to do so. The midfield is absolutely stacked with talent: the signings of experienced players like Lesley Landzaat and Alex Graham will bring some confidence to the side, but you can’t forget Fiadh Buchan, called up to the national team based on her performances last season. Up front, I don’t really know who to be more excited about. Conan Menzies scored the goal that got us promoted, and his strength will help a lot, but Rowan Woods brings youthful exuberance with their play, and they scored the goal that won us the SPC. I think we can certainly hope to stay up this year.”

Support Saltburn Wanderers if – you’re from Saltburn, you prefer the coast to the big city, you like the colour blue (or fish), you’re Oberour.

Prediction – 12th

Shieldhill:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Nathan Ferguson 29 Image
RB Callum Miller 32 Image
CB Allen Bristow 27 Image
CB Darcie Grant 30 Image
CB Jasmin Russell 22 Image
LB Billy Black 31 Image
HM Natalie McMillan 27 Image
CM Danny Millar 25 Image
CM Kayleigh Reid 23 Image
CF Ben Jamieson 24 Image
CF Giel Wildiek 22 Image



Stadium – Arranbank (13,250 capacity), Shieldhill, Abingdon Parish
Nickname – Bucklers, the Reds
Last season – 14th
Manager – Mungan MacAuslan, 56
Captain – Billy Black
Players In – Allen Bristow Image from Gloswood FC Image on a free transfer
Players Out – Francis Paterson retired



Team preview from Nairn O’Neill of topofthehill.co.li:
“We were very grateful to stay up at the end of last season, as it got close for a wee while there. With only one addition to the team though, we have to hope that last season’s youngsters can step up even further. Allen Bristow will hopefully replace Francis Paterson so that MacAuslan’s defensive plan can continue, we’ll need to be strong at the back to stay up. The centre forwards will also be important. Wildiek was a fantastic addition to the squad last season, and I suspect that he’ll be able to keep it up this season so long as the supply from Miller, Black, and Millar continues in the same vein. Ben Jamieson will also be needed if we’re going to survive again this year.”

Support Shieldhill if – you’re from Shieldhill, you appreciate slightly strange nicknames and chants, you like the colour red, you’ve got a thing for shields, you’re Tikariotian or Ko-orenite.

Prediction - 13th

Montfort University:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Emily MacLeod 31 Image
RB Jack Graham 30 Image
CB Ryan Gordon 34 Image
CB Noah Vervloet 24 Image
LB Phoebe Kelly 29 Image
HM Helena Watson 18 Image
CM Hannah Scott 23 Image
CM Hamish Mackay 22 Image
AM Chris Heij 29 Image
CF Eilidh McMillan 26 Image
CF Jared Fleming 32 Image



Stadium - University Stadium (20,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Nickname – the Scholars, the Bees
Last season – 13th
Manager – Arran Wood, 36
Captain – Phoebe Kelly
Players In – Ryan Gordon from Blackheath for £250k, Helena Watson Image from Serrapince FC Image on a free transfer
Players Out – Gordon Hill retired, Adam MacDonald retired



Team preview from Wout Hoekstra of thecampusbuzz.co.li:
“It’s been a rough few years for University, and it doesn’t necessarily look like getting better. We’ve struggled for some time to deal with retiring players (despite being named after a university), and the replacements haven’t exactly been spring chickens either. Ryan Gordon has been a solid player for Blackheath, but he doesn’t have long left in his career, so it’s not a long term signing. The signing of Helena Watson is almost the opposite problem: she’s very young, almost too young to step into the holding midfield position. We have to rely on largely the same squad of players, and a manager who’s very young for the position he’s taking on. Wood clearly has a decent future, but he’s younger than some of the players that just retired. It’s a weird situation to be in, but I’m not very hopeful for next season.”

Support Montfort University if – you’re from Montfort, you study at the University of Montfort (or appreciate university sports), you think we should save the bees, you like the colours black and yellow, you’re Tumbran.

Prediction – 15th

Garton Bay Pirates:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Andy Young 26 Image
RB Simon Donaldson 29 Image
CB Arwen van As 20 Image
CB Becky Reilly 30 Image
LB Saul Hamilton 33 Image
RM Isaac Muir 27 Image
CM Jessica Martin 23 Image
CM Murron King 25 Image
LM Jack Scott 31 Image
CF Holly Howell 18 Image
CF Caelan McIntyre 21 Image



Stadium - The Anchor (22,500 capacity), Garton Bay, Montfort Parish
Nickname – Pirates, Hools
Last season – 12th
Manager – Emily Robertson, 42
Captain – Saul Hamilton
Players In – Holly Howell Image from Lakewood City Image on a free transfer
Players Out – None



Team preview from Seth Burnett of jollyroger.co.li:
“We were expecting the Pirates to go down last season after the mess from two years ago, so it was a pleasant surprise to survive. The only problem is, I feel like it surprised those at the club too! They seemed very unprepared for another year in the Premier League, but we’re now here, and we have to hope that we can surprise ourselves again. We’ll definitely be relying on youth. The joy of not going down is that players like Arwen van As and Caelan McIntyre have stayed at the club for another year rather than heading elsewhere, and the addition of Holly Howell will give us another youthful presence in the front line. That then leaves us hoping that the experienced players can step up in ways that they haven’t necessarily managed in recent years.”

Support Garton Bay Pirates if – you’re from Garton Bay, you enjoy holidaying in Garton Bay, you like the colours red and black, you appreciate football hooliganism, you’re Tumbran.

Prediction – 14th

Blackheath:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Romana Heijink 27 Image
RB Derek Grant 29 Image
CB Eric Soren 29 Image
CB Alasdair Graham 32 Image
CB Brooke Johnstone 23 Image
LB Maria Reilly 22 Image
HM Daniel Godijn 21 Image
CM Teagan Forbes 25 Image
CM Victor Mackay 32 Image
CF Sarah Campbell 25 Image
CF Will Wood 20 Image



Stadium - Village Green (11,500 capacity), Blackheath, Montfort Parish
Nickname – the Stags, Heath
Last season – 11th
Manager – Eden van der Veen, 62
Captain – Alasdair Graham
Players In – Eric Soren Image from Laivana JPS Image for £400k, Alasdair Graham from St Thomas on a free transfer
Players Out – Aaron Munro retired, Ryan Gordon to Montfort University for £250k



Team preview from Rosie Coyle of theherd.co.li:
“It’s another year where we have to hope that the changes being made will be the difference maker, and will help to push this club forward. This time, the changes have come in defence, with stalwart Aaron Munro hanging up his boots, and Ryan Gordon going to University. In their place come an Audioslavian, who will hopefully bring what he’s learned in a top class league, and Alasdair Graham, who helped St Thomas win the title. There’s definitely reason for hope with that, as well as looking to some of the younger players. Maria Reilly is a capped Cyan-and-Gold player, and Daniel Godijn and Will Wood both look top class. Let’s just see if the new situation helps out the Stags and pushes them forward.”

Support Blackheath if – you’re from Blackheath, you like a peaceful country town, you like deer, you like the colour black, you’re Audioslavian.

Prediction – 11th

Glenmount Town:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Paisley Blair 26 Image
RB Kaitlin Patterson 25 Image
CB Tim Bijvank 21 Image
CB Gwina Ansoll 24 Image
LB Craig Kelly 28 Image
CM Amy Craig 24 Image
CM Mark McLean 35 Image
RM Anna MacDonald 24 Image
AM Pieter van de Velde 22 Image
LM Valentina Gastaldo 21 Image
CF Oscar Umbridge 23 Image



Stadium – Market Street (19,500 capacity), Glenmount, Abingdon Parish
Nickname – Mountaineers
Last season – 10th, FALI Cup winners
Manager – Chen Huikang Image, 49
Captain – Mark McLean
Players In – Nick Reid from SC Montfort for £500k, Oscar Umbridge Image from Capital FC Image for £850k, Paisley Blair from Stonehouse Athletic for £250k, Jay Millar from Houghton Rangers for £100k
Players Out – Miles Simpson retired, Tyler Veldhoen to Katashi-Kanatsu Image for £850k, Lyle Hughes to Grande Mountain Men’s Club Image for £600k, Caitlin Fraser to SC Montfort for £1m



Team preview from Daniel Watson of townuntilidie.co.li:
“There has been a huge and much needed clear-out in both the back room and on the pitch after last year’s disaster at Market Street. Perhaps the biggest change is the manager: we’re the first club in a long time to have a foreign manager. Chen Huikang brings a fair pedigree from his exploits in Yuezhou and Quebec, and we have to hope that he brings back some fight to a team that seemed to just fall apart last year. The players that left will surely be missed, especially Caitlin Fraser, a legend of the Licentian game who just needed a new start. Nonetheless, Umbridge will hopefully be a good addition, though I do wonder if Paisley Blair will be able to take over Fraser’s prestigious gloves. We have to hope that Chen and his side will be pushing for international football this time around.”

Support Glenmount Town if – you’re from Glenmount, you want to see a small town club succeed, you like the colour cyan, you’re Chromatik, Savigliano, Sylestonean, or Yueren.

Prediction – 4th

SC Montfort:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Caitlin Fraser 33 Image
RB Emily Marshall 25 Image
CB Sienna Cunningham 29 Image
CB Sven van der Meulen 19 Image
LB Ewen de Marle 25 Image
HM Augusta Steegh 27 Image
RM Penelope van Drunen 25 Image
CM Josh Williams 26 Image
CM Alisha Thompson 22 Image
LM Max Simpson 25 Image
CF Avery McAuley 22 Image



Stadium - Adamson Park (55,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish
Nickname - Royals
Last season – 9th
Manager – Freddy Strachan, 70
Captain – Caitlin Fraser
Players In – Avery McAuley Image from GFA central contract Image on a free transfer, Ewen de Marle Image from Confessor Image for £850k, Caitlin Fraser from Glenmount Town for £1m, Suus van de Pol from Tarbert United for £300k
Players Out – Jonathan Shaw retired, Michael Moore retired, Nick Reid to Glenmount Town for £500k, Douglas Gray to Castleton for £100k



Team preview from Matthias van der Heyden of foreverroyal.co.li:
“SC are constantly pushing to be more than the mid-table side we’ve been in recent years. This season in particular feels like the owners have been willing to splash an awful lot of cash to give Freddy Strachan the pieces he needs for the club to succeed. Caitlin Fraser is a phenomenal addition, even at the age of 33 she is clearly a supreme talent. Avery McAuley has clearly been a talent for the Grearish Union, and getting her on a free transfer is an absolute coup: with van Drunen and Williams in the midfield, there will be plenty of supply for her. We just have to hope that the signing of Ewen de Marle will strengthen up the defence and not leave it all on Fraser.”

Support SC Montfort if – you’re from Montfort, you appreciate the former royal famil7 (or any royalty), you like the colour blue, you’re Grearish or Oberour.

Prediction - 7th
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Aug 29, 2021 5:58 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Aug 29, 2021 5:56 am

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3SR Season Preview - Part 2


Stonehouse Athletic:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Elena McLean 33 Image
RB George Turnbull 21 Image
CB Jay Dickson 30 Image
CB Albert Legget 21 Image
LB Leo Marshall 28 Image
HM Alissia Esselink 24 Image
CM Tom Johnston 35 Image
CM Adam Ritchie 29 Image
CF Rachel Graham 26 Image
CF Silke van der Linden 23 Image
CF Luke Kennedy 22 Image



Stadium - Burnside (16,500 capacity), Stonehouse, Abingdon Parish
Nickname - Latics
Last season – 8th
Manager – Mark Stevenson, 53
Captain – Tom Johnston
Players In – Albert Legget Image from Carter United Image for £900k
Players Out – Tamsin Duncan to Nunavut North Stars Image for £280k, Paisley Blair to Glenmount Town for £250k



Team preview from Ewan Bell of hillsidelatics.co.li:
“I think this could be another decent season for the Latics, but it could go the other way too. There’s not been much change at Burnside since last season, and we definitely looked better than we finished last season, but at the end of the day it’s a competitive league. That lack of change could mean that the team are secure and confident in themselves, but it could also result in us being stuck in the mid-table again. Albert Legget is a talented young player, and I’m glad we’re adding him to the defence. We’re also looking at a slightly younger front line with van der Linden breaking through. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that we can get back to the heights of last season’s performances.”

Support Stonehouse Athletic if – you’re from Stonehouse, you appreciate a small town club, you enjoy a monochrome kit, you’re Tumbran.

Prediction - 9th

St Bart’s Dutch:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Lisandra Stegehuis 30 Image
RB Viola Tiemen 34 Image
CB Chloe Koppenol 23 Image
CB Carly Duncan 28 Image
LB Hugh Mackay 29 Image
HM Charlie van den Heiligenberg 21 Image
RM Beau Morrison 34 Image
CM Garry Dirksen 30 Image
CM Lucy Handels 27 Image
LM Amy Sutherland 23 Image
CF Owen Findlay 28 Image



Stadium - Abbey Road (17,500 capacity), St Bart’s, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname – Helligens, Oranje
Last season – 7th
Manager – Marley van der Linden, 42
Captain – Viola Tiemen
Players In – Beau Morrison from Gaelic Club for £200k
Players Out – Ray Lamberink retired



Team preview from Job Schouten of dehelligens.co.li:
“Last season was a definite improvement on the year before for Dutch. Roselyn Bentum built a good team, but she tore it apart in her last season with the club. That’s left Marley van der Linden with a big job to do, but she’s done really well to be fair. We’ve also relied a lot on young talent again, especially Charlie van den Heiligenberg, who looks like an immense talent. Koppenol and Sutherland have also been great though, and we’ll be relying on them to take the lead. My only disappointment is that we didn’t replace Ray Lamberink with someone younger: Beau Morrison is good, but it’s difficult to imagine that he’s not past his prime at 34. We have to hope that the youth we have will set us up for success.”

Support St Bart’s Dutch if – you’re from St Bart’s, you’re part of the Dutch minority in the Isles, you like the colour orange.

Prediction – 10th

Abingdon Celtic:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Frank Johnson 22 Image
RB Clay van der Hout 24 Image
CB Lucia Allen 28 Image
CB Jacob Jamieson 30 Image
LB Ayden Evers 21 Image
RM Maggie Gordon 31 Image
CM Eliza Tyler 23 Image
CM Gabby Anderson 26 Image
LM Miles Henderson 27 Image
CF Anna Findlay 28 Image
CF Leighton McCabe 23 Image



Stadium – Gardiner-Stewart Stadium (62,000 capacity), Abingdon, Abingdon Parish
Nickname – Celtic, the Green-and-White
Last season – 6th
Manager – Georgie Hardie, 51
Captain – Lucia Allen
Players In – Frank Johnson Image from Lakewood United Image for £500k, Ayden Evers from St Thomas for £400k, Nicholas Main from Houghton Young Boys for £400k
Players Out – Glen McGregor retired, Neil McKenzie retired, Seren Thomson to Couno Rangers Image for £1.4m



Team preview from Eli Woods of westenders.co.li:
“Last season was another frustrating year. We’d hoped that we would be able to build on fourth place and push to the top, but things simply didn’t go that way, and we ended up 6th. Not only that, but with our rivals fighting for the title, it was painful to watch their success as we floundered. There’s one huge problem with the hope for improvement, because Seren Thomson’s move to Tumbra means we’re lacking one of our best young talents. She will be a huge miss, and Ayden Evers has huge boots to fill. We’re also relying on a much younger keeper in Frank Johnson since Glen McGregor retired, so this might be a difficult season, but we’ll certainly be hoping.”

Support Abingdon Celtic if – you’re from Abingdon, you prefer white to gold, you think the West End of Abingdon is trendy (and that that’s a good thing), you’re Tumbran or Poafmer.

Prediction – 3rd

AFC Farnworth:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Darren Alexander 31 Image
RB Ailidh Muir 25 Image
CB Belle Fleming 24 Image
CB Lloyd Davidson 27 Image
LB Ailsa Johnson 24 Image
RM Casey McMillan 22 Image
CM Erman Anteo 20 Image
CM Regan McMillan 22 Image
LM Iona Aitken 28 Image
CF Eloise Walker 27 Image
CF Antony Campbell 30 Image



Stadium – Farnworth Municipal Stadium (36,000 capacity), Farnworth, Colesham Parish
Nickname – Reds
Last season – 5th
Manager – Kelvin Muir, 44
Captain – Darren Alexander
Players In – Erman Anteo Image from Six Star Cyanaes Image for an undisclosed fee, Aila Innes from Carrington United for £500k
Players Out – Lesley Landzaat to Saltburn Wanderers for £200k



Team preview from Iain McDonald of redarmy.co.li:
“The fact that missing out on the Challengers Cup by two points at the end of last season was so disappointing is just a reflection of how far we’ve come recently. Kelvin Muir’s focus on youth development has really started to come good. The McMillan twins have both proven themselves as talented midfielders to the point that they’ve got national team call-ups, and players like Lily Park and Charlotte Allison are on the edge of the first team despite both being less than 21. Fans aren’t sure how to feel about the signing of Erman Anteo: it’s clear that the lad has some promise, but there’s questions over whether someone from outside the academy will fit into Muir’s system. The bonus is that he’s young, so there’s hopefully some time to mould him into a Reds player. Given the improvement, we have to be hoping for another step this year, so in an ideal world we’ll qualify for the IFCF.”

Support AFC Farnworth if – you’re from Farnworth, your favourite parish is Colesham, you like the colour red, you want to see youth development succeed, you’re Mertagnian.

Prediction – 8th

Montfort Wanderers:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Leland Wood 25 Image
RB Kristin de Booij 24 Image
CB Tom Roberts 30 Image
CB Oran Hay 21 Image
LB Rowan Findlay 26 Image
HM Domenico Cappa 24 Image
CM Jemma Morrison 27 Image
CM Thomas Hughes 21 Image
AM Arlo McGregor 24 Image
CF Rimaël Postel 25 Image
CF Danita Star 28 Image



Stadium - LTI Stadium (75,000 capacity), Montfort, Montfort Parish.
Nickname - Whites
Last season – 4th
Manager – Abigail Jones, 47
Captain – Tom Roberts
Players In – Domenico Cappa Image from Pro Stampano Image for £950k
Players Out – Alex Graham to Saltburn Wanderers for £450k



Team preview from Ryan Dickson of thewanderers.co.li:
“Last season was definitely a difficult one having lost Fabrizio Kaal to the national team. It was always going to be difficult for Abigail Jones to come in and create something as successful as Fabrizio did, but she did rather well in the end. I think it helps that we have a talented young team, especially in the midfield with Hughes and McGregor. We have to hope that that talent continues to shine. Domenico Cappa will hopefully bring some strength to the defence that we may have missed at times last season. It’ll be a challenge to push back to the top of the table, but hopefully we can.”

Support Montfort Wanderers if – you’re from Montfort, your favourite colour is white, you want to see the traditional clubs succeed, you’re Gouvanarchais or Ortelian.

Prediction – 5th

Waterfleet:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Marcia Folkhard 34 Image
RB Jurre Bosman 23 Image
CB Harris Shaw 23 Image
CB Jonah Grant 25 Image
LB Prijat Vodsavo 26 Image
HM Saul van Duuren 23 Image
RM Harrison Murphy 29 Image
CM Matt Antonisse 24 Image
CM Sarah Peijnenburg 26 Image
LM Brendon Vermolen 28 Image
CF Layla Paterson 23 Image



Stadium - Waterfront Park (8,500 capacity), Waterfleet, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname – Fleet, the Blues, de Blauw-Zwarte
Last season – 3rd
Manager – Ailsa McNeill, 50
Captain – Marcia Folkhard Image
Players In – Prijat Vodsavo Image from Interblag Image on a free transfer
Players Out – Janice Volman to Fermont United Image for £680k



Team preview from Lizzie van de Pol of indekielzog.co.li:
“I don’t think that any of us expected the success that Fleet had last season, and I’m not entirely certain the team will manage to repeat that this year. We’ve clearly got a talented bunch of young players, but it’s just whether we’ll be a consistent team again under McNeill. It’s strange to think that Vodsavo will be the most experienced defender at 26 years of age, but hopefully alongside Harris Shaw we’ll have a solid defence. We’ll have to hope that the core of van Duuren, Antonisse, and Peijnenburg can deliver once again this year, and I’ll be hoping that we can once again get into international football.”

Support Waterfleet if – you’re from Waterfleet, you like the colours blue and black, you’re part of the Dutch minority, you’re Nepharim or Confederate.

Prediction - 6th

Gaelic Club:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Josh Gibson 24 Image
RB Yunus Shamoun 23 Image
CB Phoebe Hay 32 Image
CB Emma Graham 25 Image
LB Alexander Docherty 22 Image
RM Luo Nanwei 20 Image
CM Leif Tannenbaum 21 Image
CM Sarah Reid 26 Image
LM Craig Fraser 28 Image
CF Ruaridh Grant 26 Image
CF Isaac Thielen 22 Image



Stadium – Coliseum of the Gaels (42,000 capacity), Abingdon, Abingdon Parish
Nickname – Gaels, Green-and-Gold, Hools
Last season – 2nd
Manager – Beathag MacNair, 64
Captain – Phoebe Hay
Players In – Yunus Shamoun Image from Hellinic Rouge Image for £1.1m, Luo Nanwei Image from Beiyun Stars Image for £700k
Players Out – Stu Hayden retired, Beau Morrison to St Bart’s Dutch for £200k, Aimil MacGowan to Marketville Image for £1.2m



Team preview from Tom Hendry of greenandgold.co.li:
“Last season was one of the best the Gaels have had in a while. For all the talk from Quebec about Tannenbaum being a maverick, he’s been a fantastic addition who brings so much creativity to MacNair’s squad. The most important thing really is supplying opportunities for Grant and Thielen, because they will score so many goals if the team give them the opportunities. That’s why the signing of Luo could be so important. There will be something different on the right wing with him being there, and hopefully even more opportunity going forward. Scoring goals is what will push us towards the title, and maybe help us win it.”

Support Gaelic Club if – you’re from Abingdon, you prefer gold to white, you think the West End is up its own arse, you’re Quebecois, Yueren, or Pasargan.

Prediction – 2nd

St Thomas:

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Starting XI

Pos Name Age Nationality
GK Sam Heijnis 29 Image
RB Sarah Maartens 25 Image
CB Flora Watson 30 Image
CB Isabel Blom 24 Image
LB Robbie Weijsman 30 Image
RM Mitch Louws 21 Image
CM Dusko Ocokoljic 23 Image
CM Arthur Mazereeuw 21 Image
LM Arximiro Valdovinos 28 Image
CF Tiago Weiling 30 Image
CF Lara Auðunsdóttir 24 Image



Stadium - Recreation Ground (20,250 capacity), St Thomas, St Bart’s Parish
Nickname - Sky Blues, Saints
Last season – 1st
Manager – Sienna Bruce, 49
Captain – Flora Watson
Players In – Lara Auðunsdóttir Image from Osarese Marcadia Image for £1.2m, Dusko Ocokoljic Image from Crvena Zvezda Image for £1.25m, Orin Wood from Broadwood for £600k, Lasse de Groot from St Bart’s United for £300k
Players Out – Oscar Moore to Broadwood on a free transfer, Alasdair Graham to Blackheath on a free transfer, Lilly Taylor to Hanai Breakers Image for £1.2m, Ayden Evers to Abingdon Celtic for £400k



Team preview from Eve Noble of whenthesaintsgomarchingin.co.li:
“Last season was an absolute dream for Saints fans. I don’t think anybody expected us to go from mid-table to winning the whole damn thing! It’s difficult to really put a finger on what was the most important change that took us up there. The midfield was so strong with Louws and Mazereeuw coming through, and the addition of Valdovinos. The midfield now looks even stronger with the addition of Dusko Ocokoljic. Up front Auðunsdóttir is another fantastic addition, and Tiago Weiling may have a contender for the team’s top goalscorer! We will still be relying on our defence as well though, and Flora Watson’s leadership from the back will be vital if we’re to win the title again.”

Support St Thomas if – you’re from St Thomas, you want to see the underdogs get a repeat, your favourite colour is sky blue, you’re Tequiloan, Græntfjaller, or Mytanar.

Prediction – 1st
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Aug 29, 2021 7:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Two Time Esportivan Champions

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Postby The Licentian Isles » Sun Aug 29, 2021 8:38 am

Champions’ Shield – 3SR


The Champions’ Shield starts off the football season in the Licentian Isles. The winner of the Licentian Premier League and the FALI Cup compete against each other at the LTI Stadium for the pride of lifting the Shield, the first trophy of the season.

Champions’ Shield:

St Thomas 1–1 Glenmount Town (2–1 AET)


Given the performance of Glenmount Town last season, this seemed like an easy task for St Thomas to claim their first trophy of the season, and their third in as many years. On the other hand, this was the start of a new era for the Mountaineers, with Yueren manager Chen Huikang taking over as the first foreign manager in the Isles for a number of years. It was also the first opportunity for Glenmount fans to see Chen’s promised more attacking strategies, switching to one man up front and an attacking five player midfield. It would also be the first opportunity for Licentian fans to see Sylestone’s Oscar Umbridge for Glenmount, along with St Thomas’ new signings Dusko Ocokoljic and Lara Auðunsdóttir.

In the end, it seemed like Chen was beginning strong as Glenmount manager, with Town getting the first shot on goal through an Umbridge header which pulled a save out of Saints keeper Sam Heijnis. The new striker for Glenmount was clearly hoping to open his account for the club early, and he did ten minutes later. A break down the right wing gave Anna MacDonald the opportunity to swing a cross in towards the back post, and Umbridge was there to tap the ball into the bottom left corner, giving Town a surprise lead in the Champion’s Shield. St Thomas seemed to react to that, with both Auðunsdóttir and Arthur Mazereeuw going close in the closing stages of the half. Despite that, new keeper Paisley Blair stood strong for Town, and they took a one goal lead into the break.

After the break, the Sky Blues looked just as likely to score as they did before half time. Arximiro Valdovinos clattered a free kick off the crossbar, and as the ball bounced out Tiago Weiling forced Blair into a reflex save to push the ball out for a corner. That corner though was where St Thomas finally broke through. Once again, the first effort clattered off the crossbar from Tiago Weiling’s head, but the rebound was picked up by centre half Gwina Ansoll, who tapped the ball home to level things. Glenmount then never looked like regaining their lead, with it seeming far more likely that St Thomas would win it in normal time. Paisley Blair pulled out quite a few more impressive saves to ensure that the Shield would go to extra time.

In extra time, both sides seemed willing to throw caution to the wind. It was Glenmount Town who had the first big opportunity, with substitute Grace Hall firing a shot towards the top corner that was stopped by Heijnis. It was that shot that led to St Thomas scoring the goal they needed to guarantee themselves the Shield. Heijnis quickly kicked the ball out to launch a counter attack, with replacement centre forward Effie Walker collecting the ball and holding it up for the run of the Græntfjaller Lara Auðunsdóttir, who charged through and chipped past Paisley Blair in front of the St Thomas fans. That was enough for the Sky Blues to take home the first trophy of the season, but Glenmount could certainly come out of this with some hope for the season ahead.
Last edited by The Licentian Isles on Sun Aug 29, 2021 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Two Time Esportivan Champions

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