Vikings got their first win of the season at the 16th attempt against KCC Royals on Monday but at the time of writing, the names of the goal scorers or any info in the game from their manager’s point of view are still absent, perhaps as they are still celebrating. KCC boss Dave Christmas though said they fully deserved the win, with a particularly excellent second goal and plaudits for the Viking GK. At the top, Krauts were held to a one all draw with Legal Head with both teams sharing beers after the game, which is always great to see. 0-0 at HT, Krauts went ahead through Moritz Krause with a PK but Christophe Armand equalized from outside the area in the last ten minutes. There was another stalemate in the game between Mes and OSM with both teams battling hard but failing to find a cutting edge as the game finished scoreless.
Wanchai Wolves closed the gap on Krauts to just three points after a resounding win against Sab P’s whose gaffa admitted, “we were thumped by the better side.” Harry Scwoen, Murphy Chan and Chee Wong got the goals. Game of the day was the seven-goal thriller between Samurai Blue and Eagles which saw the former side lose back-to-back games by a score line of 4-3. Sam Blue were actually 2 up but Eagles came back and eventually got the win in a game that the referee struggled to control. On the scoresheet again for Sam Blue was Limbu Rishi Hang (2) and Ahmed Jemli while Pierre Mounai, Bob Chapman (2) and Danny O’Beirne got the important strikes for Scottish Eagles, who are up to third six points off the top.
In division three, Bants were the happiest team of the weekend as they fought back heroically from being 3 down at half time and a man down due to a red card against Stray Dogs. A Leo Mimasu double and a Nathan Lui strike should have been enough, but they reckoned without Tom Hales who had a scintillating second half, bagging a hat-trick and salvaging a point for the 10 men. Barbarians out fought BOCs 4-1 thanks to braces from Walter Vaz and Ngue Paul Oliver. Despite a shaky opening few minutes, the Barbs quality shone to the fore thereafter to seal a convincing win. Deng Feng and Shooters played out an entertaining 2-2 draw. Li Yongsen ‘Forlan’ put DF ahead with a clinical finish but a high press forced a corner and a back post header saw Shooters equalize through Yohei Nakao. DF went back in front before the interval, Forlan again profiting from a failed clearance. In the second half, neither team gained much of a foothold, but a looping cross-shot was only parried by the DF keeper and Hisashi Takamura was on hand to react to the rebound first after it had bounced off the bar. The point apiece keeps Deng Feng on top while Shooters stay third. There were unsavoury scenes at the end of the Dragon Valley v HK Zi Jing game as players got themselves a bit too worked up in the heat in scenes that the discipline committee will have difficulty trying to resolve. Before the chaos, DV were 4-2 up thanks to two Mo Sarti goals and a goal apiece from Max Remington and Ed Skingle. ZJ had gone one up through Yi Ching Wong and had got it back to 3-2 thanks to De Yang Kong, before the game was brought to a premature conclusion.
Club Tropicana effectively ended any faint hopes DBFC had on re-capturing the division one title as Tropics came out on top 1-0 in a tight game at the valley. The winning goal was route one at it’s best, a long punt from Barney in goal and a header over the DB keeper from Kyle Wagner. Half chances for either side came and went, with no further goals as the experience of Tropics out muscles the youth of DB. USRC Gunners remain on top after playing twice in three days. Firstly, J Leaguers and in particular Shunske Nakamura came out on top in a 2-1 win for the Japanese, with a direct corner and 35-yard free kick doing the damage. An excellent Sean Taylor ‘Zidane-like’ volley (his words, not mine) was not enough as USRC hit the bar late on. However, they bounced back with aplomb against a weakened Soho Spartans on Friday with a 12-1 thrashing. Giacomo Gallina bagged five, Sean Taylor, Matthew Logan and marauding left back Ross Crichton all scored two and Mark Jobling chipped in with a header to improve Gunners’ goal difference immeasurably.
Despite the win, Irish Harps remain in hot pursuit of USRC as they overcame a stubborn HK Scottish 3-1 in what the gaffa Shane described as their best performance in a long time. HK Scottish had gone one up through Miles Winter, but Irish equalized with a Lee McQuade corner that seemingly went in off the Scottish keeper for an OG. In the second half, Irish kept up the pressure and were rewarded all be it with a huge slice of luck as McQuade hit one from distance that looped up and over the keeper with a wicked deflection. Jordan Cassidy added a fantastic solo effort evading challenges all over the park before finishing well on his left foot. Wanchai Spartans heaped more misery on Corinthians with an 8-0 drubbing thanks to four goals from Dan Barrie and one each for Simon Liu, Nick Day, Chris Mendez and Ali Thompson. Sparts were already 5-0 to the good at half time and despite ringing the changes in the second half, were able to keep a clean sheet and net another 3 goals. Goodfellas saw off bottom side Revolution with a 5-0 win after a solid team performance with five different goal scorers, namely Sam Millar, Mathieu Demange, Vu Pham, Liam Saville and Julian Pang. Lastly, J-Leaguers recorded their second win in five days seeing off KCC Cavs 3-1. Starting strongly, JL pressed high and created chances but KCC grew into the game and missed a couple of shots themselves. Eventually, it was a CB mistake that led to the breakthrough for JL and two more quick goals in succession made it 3-0 at HT. Gabriel Ho would get a goal back from the spot, but Cavs couldn’t convert any more of their chances so Daichi Okamoto’s first half double and the additional strike from Susumu Hatakeyama made it a happy week for the boys from Japan.
