Legal League had its proverbial legs-akimbo this week as Division 2 was doing the splits. With the top and bottom 8s already decided, the two thirds point of the season gave the opportunity for sides to add priceless points to total tallies with it all for grabs in regards to Div 2 and 3 titles, promotion, pride and wooden spoon avoidance.
With the 3 sides above them playing on Monday night, Revolution had the chance to plug the gap as they dueled it out with BOCs in a battle of two of the longest members (oo-er) in the Legal League. Revo took the lead when Dave Jessop was afforded the luxury of the fantastic facility out in TKO to calmly slot home a one on one. Revo’s other attackers clearly could not learn from the composure of their smooth silver fox as a plethora of chances came and went with BOCs keeper putting in a De Gea-esque performance. It looked as though they may be made to pay for their wastefulness as Mohamed Lemistef nicked in to equalize in the second half but eventually the constant barrage of pressure told as Revo ran out 4-1 winners thanks to Matt Creighton’s mis-hit cross (claims of Ronaldinho falling on deaf ears), Geoffrey Gardiner maintaining his purple patch (and mini-Ronaldo celebration) and Ivan Abreu netting his first ever goal for the club after gambling at the back post. A little harsh on BOCs keeper but huge credit for countless saves made throughout the game.
Wolves vs Dragons had the potential to be a cracking game of football (in addition to the title of a crap Nintendo game) as two top half sides went toe to toe (or paw to claw?). In an end to end battle, DV took the lead in this one as a swift counter attack was eventually finished off following a couple of goal-line blocks. DV gaffer all too keen to take the credit for the finish. This seemed to stir Wolves into life as they pressed hard in the second period and changed the game through Henry ‘Asian Hercules’ Li who had his fullback on toast before squaring for Gavin Chung to tap home and then winning the game late on with a thumping volley in to the far corner. Wolves keeping up the pace at the top and lurking ominously in their debut LL season.
Shooters went into their game with Vikings sitting at the foot of the table and in need of improvement after recent results. This didn’t start well though as Vikings marauded in to a 2-0 lead at half time. This soon became 3 at the start of the 2nd period before Shooters found their fighting spirit as Jumpei Satoh and Toshihiko Kanatani set up a nervy finish at 3-2. Vikings are made of stern stuff though and so it proved as Mads Emil Larsen got his second of the match with a left footed screamer late on to wrap up a 4-2 win that sent the Danes into raptures and the Carlsberg flowing freely in their quest for top spot in Div 3. Vikings other goals from Jawid Mirzadah and Ronald Leung.
Samurai Blue are also set nicely for a Division 3 title challenge as they faced off against Old Speckled Men. In a tight game, Chris Corcoran gave Samurai a deserved lead with 10 to go but just minutes later, OSM were awarded a penalty and the chance to ‘Nick’ a point as Nick Chow stepped up. He successfully converted it to get the Speckles out of jail on a day where their manager admitted they were poor.
MBFC have brushed off their earlier reputation as whipping boys as they reached double figures in points with an excellent 3-2 victory over Shui Wei. In what their manager labelled the best performance of the season, the Mandarin Boys found themselves in the familiar position of being 1 down after 5 minutes but in this instance they did not crumble and fought back with Zhang Shuo scoring twice from corners and a superb direct free-kick from Li Ziye. Shui Wei did pull one back late on but could not find an equalizer as they slipped to a shock defeat. SW goals scored by Alex Mereu and Jamie Davies.
In the final game of Saturday, Young Guns played Legal Head in another close fought encounter. Caesar Turker had given Head the lead after a nice one-two but they couldn’t see it out as Young Guns staged another comeback to claim the victory 2-1 thanks to Tsui Kit and Andrew Ho.
So on to Monday and what an evening of fixtures it was, starting with Mes vs Cavs as two title contenders went blow for blow at Kings Park. In a real ding-dong, Cavs thought they had won it whilst leading 3-2 with just 2 minutes remaining. However, there is a reason why Mes are unbeaten so far this season and they showed again their spirit and fight to equalize at the death. Nikhil Narwani (2) and Ryan Jarvis for Cavs with Mes goals shared between Liam Kelly, Chris Delaglesia and James Nutton.
This result meant that San Pells could go level at the top if they could overcome a tough KCC Royals side. In yet another close game (a real rarity to have almost an entire weekend of them this season), the P’s managed to grind out a 3-2 success under the lights thanks to well taken goals from Tom Ryan, Keith Cowdrey and Jeremy Gill. Kenneth Bek and Dan Jacques for Royals who will certainly cause some problems in the final part of the season. Waiting on Division One report .
