X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

[Sits]

Ah you'll be fine AE, and congratulations.

Meanwhile there will be at least three OTFers in the top flight as Methley Perseverance and Csiki Sods will join Royal Atlantis. Well done Sean and ad hoc.

Gloucester Old Spots are doing their best not to hold on in third, of course.

[Etienne]

Sark have also won promotion with a game to spare. As the 10th strongest team in the division, we're pretty chuffed with that.

[Hot Orange]

Monday is the last game of the Heineken, we've got promoted again and now reach the top half of the league after starting at the bottom. Ten promotions in 11 seasons and a squad made up of mostly youth academy players. Division 9 looks challenging with a couple of excellent managers.

South Hams continue to chase Zeugma up through the divisions. We've secured a seventh promotion in eight seasons and a fourth consecutive title, and are up to Division 10. The team has really clicked this season and we have a 19-1-1 record. It would be nice to make it 20 wins on the last day.

[Antepli Ejderha]

South Hams continue to chase Zeugma up through the divisions. We've secured a seventh promotion in eight seasons and a fourth consecutive title, and are up to Division 10. The team has really clicked this season and we have a 19-1-1 record. It would be nice to make it 20 wins on the last day.

Good luck with the quest for 20.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Hyena has posted in the Xpert Ladies scribble that they investigate transfers, I wonder if there's anyone on here with evidence that might be useful.

[Sits]

Well I know better than to mention Sel_ayan again. Oh.

[Janik]

Better late than never, and hopefully out before Matchday 2 is played, it’s the X11 Ladies Season 54 Matchday 1 report. Whopee!!

Division 2b

Viking South Utsira          1 - 1        Gajas Peladas
B.Austrheim 62'                                                B.Kvalvik (O.G.) 22'


Division 3d

Cam Hotspurs                    1 - 3        Drakaina
Evudottir 62'                                       Sietaridis 37', 65'
                                                                Heggarty 78'


Division 4k

Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC                3 - 0        Sockford Emollient
Dalmiya 41', 77'
Borot 62'


Division 5:17

Erbil                                       2 - 0        Feisty Foxes FC
Genghini 23'
Bullock 44'


Division 5:18

Throop Ladies                    1 - 0        LNWR Locomotive
Kildare 36'


Division 5:19

Angel Delights FC             0 - 3        Coxy Ladies Wulpen
                                                                Roosens 49', 70'
                                                                Leclercq 85'
                                                                Vandenbergh (missed pen) 23'
                                                                Carey (sent off) 81'

Division 5:27

MONTPELLIER HERAULT S C         1 - 1        Zeugma Dostluk Spor
Payet 78'                                              Kurt 91'


Division 5:29

FC Cristalul Dorohoi         2 - 1        Menywod Maeshafn
Tsiolkovskaya 46'                              Justine Bellamont 69'
Räv 82'
Hellqvist (missed pen) 59'


Division 5:32

Csiki Girls                             3 - 1        S Team
Smet 44', 51'                                       Edwall 17'
Neaves 76'
Wiking (missed pen) 49'


Division 6:39

ŽFK Partizan Beograd     3 - 2        Ullapool Northern Star
Milovanovic 14', 87'                         Späth 40'
Wickmayer 93'                                   Menashi 91'


Division 6:42

AC Gemelas 1903             1 - 1        Solent Sirens
Djuurvík 25'                                        Stieglecker 31'


Division 6:56

Killer Queens                     3 - 0        Dublin City WFC
Bernardini 46'
Barbaud 63'
Hirsch 75'

Our first port of call this season will be Division 2b. Or not 2b? That is the quest... No, no, sorry, it certainly is 2b and besides I did that joke to death (ahem) a number of years ago in the Men’s league. Anyway, this is where we find Viking South Utsira following their relegation last term.
The Blood Eagles welcomed Gajas Peladas to Ragnar Rock for the first match of the new campaign, with Velvet Android’s side looking to turn around the negative momentum of last season. It proved to be a tight affair of few chances, Viking getting a let off when Peladas had a goal disallowed in the 21st minute only for Bergljot Kvalvik to put through her own net 60 seconds later as Utsira fell behind anyway.
There was just one more chance in the game. It came in the 62nd minute, fell to Birgit Austrheim and she took it to ensure a share of the spoils and VSU’s first point in six league games.

One tier down we find Drakaina, playing in the same Division 3d section as last season’s promotion near miss.
Etienne’s side’s attempt to go just a little better kicked off at Cam Hotspurs it what would prove an accomplished showing. The Dragons took the lead on 37 minutes with a long range thunderbolt from Laria Sietaridis, and looked to press home the advantage. They dominated, but were hit by a surprise equaliser just after the hour as Spurs scored with their only attempt of the day. No matter, Sietaridis headed her side back in front just three minutes after they were pegged back.
Gael Heggarty wrapped things up with a breakaway third on 78 minutes as the Greeks began with the sort of away win that makes one think they will go very close to promotion again this time around.

Division 4k is the only one with a pair of OTF teams in it this season, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC sharing it with newly promoted Sockford Emollient. The first derby of the season was immediate as the sides met at Merapi-Kraton-South Sea on the opening day.
The Sea Goddesses had the first chance of the day in the 24th minute, Diksha Dalmiya breaking clear and attempting to lob Oianiyi John, but The Gatorsharks ‘keeper was equally to this, reaching up to punch the ball away. She couldn’t get to Dalmiya’s next effort though as a long distance lobbed effort sailed over John’s head to give SeanoftheShed’s charges a 41st minute lead.
The first 15 minutes of the second half were quite, but then, on 62, The Sea Spirits extended their advantage, the ball dropping nicely from a corner for Tyan Borot to drive home. Leila Aziete was denied from a 73rd minute free-kick, her shot was on target but lacked the power or accuracy to cause John and serious worries. The ‘keeper was more exercised when Dalmiya bore down on her four minutes later, and with reason as the Kanjeng forward slipped it past John’s left to make the score 3-0.
A good start for the Indonesians, less so for the side from Framleyshire. Manager Foxy265 will be hoping for a livelier showing on Matchday 2.

Erbil are back in the sixth tier after a one season sojourn higher, and have been placed in Division 5:17 for this campaign. Their opener pitted them against Feisty Foxes FC.
The day before the match Erbil manager Jdsx was proudly unveiling big money signing Natalie Genghini (MF 26/13, a shade over 6 million). It took Genghini just 23 minutes to make an impact as she rose to head home the opener. Another header, this one from Sharyn Bullock, made it two a minute before the interval as Erbil carried their strong end-of-season form into the new campaign.
The second half was scoreless and mostly chanceless as Erbil put on their professional game management heads to ensure they started the new season off with three points.

Also back at this level were LNWR Locomotive, whose first Division 5:18 match sent them up against Throop Ladies.
Unlike Erbil, The Steamers had ended the previous season with a horrible run of loses, meaning they came into this game with rather fragile confidence. That won’t have been helped with how the game turned it. In general play it was very even, almost to the point of stalemate, but sadly whilst Viktor Boskovic’s side wasted their one chance of the 90 minutes, hosts Throop didn’t getting the only goal of the game on 36 minutes.
The manager has some difficult work to do to spark Locomotive back in to life again.

A sideways move greeted Coxy Ladies Wulpen following their play-off final defeat, as Janik’s side found themselves in Division 5:19 and playing an opening match at Angel Delights FC.
Fears that The Waders would carry a hangover from last season into this were stoked when Laetitia Vandenbergh missed a penalty mid-way through the first half, a period that Wulpen finished still drawing 0-0 despite dominating in all other statisitics.
What Coxy Ladies needed was inspiration, and it turned out Laetitia Roosens was just the player to provide it, opening the scoring within 60 seconds of coming on as a 48th minute sub, and then adding a second on 70 minutes, both goals from breakaways. Wulpen had a brief scare when Zara Carey was shown a straight red card on 81 minutes, the ninth dismissal of her career. However with Angel Delights’ manager not showing they had no substitutes named, which meant the game continued at 10-a-side as Carey’s assault forced her victim to play no further part as well.
A few minutes after the red card incident, Alicia Leclercq took advantage of the extra space on the pitch to fire a third for the Belgians and ensure they got off to a flying start this time around.

The first game in Division 5:27 for newly promoted Zeugma Dostluk Spor took them to the south of France to take on MONTPELLIER HERAULT S C.
The match served as a good introduction for Antepli Ejderha’s side of the jump in level between the tiers as Montpellier bossed the game. Zeugma were not helped by a 12-day injury suffered by star midfielder Rachel Forsyth on 36 minutes. That prompted a backs-to-the-wall effort, which held out for the stalemate until the 78th minute. With little time to play and nothing to lose, AE’s side then came out, finally forcing their first chance of the day on 91 minutes. It fell to Latife Kurt, and the young forward showed composure unusual for her age by faking her shot to make the ‘keeper to commit and then rolling the ball into the other corner.

The other OTF side to miss out on promotion through the play-offs last term were Menywod Maeshafn who consequently found themselves in Division 5:29 for this term and playing an opening game at FC Cristalul Dorohoi.
IsThatcherDeadYet’s side seemed to be suffering worse than some others with the disappointment of coming so close but then missing out as they were pressed hard throughout the match. Dorohoi went ahead seconds into the second half, but then struggled to put the game to bed, Jenny Hellqvist missing a 59th minute penalty.
That opened the door for Maeshafn, something they gleefully accepted, Justine Bellamont hammering a long range equaliser on 69 minutes with what would prove the Welsh side’s only shot of the game. This didn’t prove enough to earn an unlikely draw however, as the hosts scored again on 82 minutes for a draw that they frankly deserved.

[Janik]

Last day heroics preserved Csiki Girls sixth tier status, which was the first time in a number of seasons that Ad Hoc’s side had not either gone up or down. Rather they moved sideways to Division 5:32 and an opener against a very familiar if not in any way welcomed opponent in S Team.
Very familiar as this was the same opposition that the Csiki’s had ground a point out against in their previous game to stay at this level. That was quite a dull 0-0, very dull compared to this meeting, which had nearly everything in it. First visitors S Team had a goal disallowed, only for referee Hans Grüber to try and make up for it by awarding them a penalty (which they scored) less than 60 seconds later.
The Romanians had more possession in the first half, but hadn’t created a chance prior to Floriane Smet heading them level on 44 minutes. Like London Buses more swiftly followed, Grüber levelling out the penalty call (which itself levelled out chalking off a goal) on 49 minutes, but Inger Wiking not converting. The a kertem fans didn’t have long to dwell on the setback as Smet headed them on front anyway just two minutes later.
A third header, this one from Robin Neaves, made it 3-1 on 76 minutes and confirmed the points were staying in Transylvania.

A decent attempt but not quite enough was the summation of both Ullapool Northern Star and the side who finished one place above them last term, ŽFK Partizan Beograd being beaten in the play-off final.
The sides met on the opening day of the new campaign, looking to put wistful “What might have beens” swiftly behind them. Ullapool were not helped in their desire to do this by losing key defender Alonza Benfari to a 9-day injury after just 7 minutes. That foul prompted the third yellow card of the game (already at that stage!), but it was a foul at the other end which gave the opportunity for the opener, Partizan firing home a direct free-kick.
Babette Späth equalised for Delicatemoth’s side with a 40th minute header, and that was how it stayed until an extraordinary last few minutes. Partizan went ahead again on 87 minutes, only for Sonia Menashi to peg them back in stoppage time. That looked like it had surely claimed a point, but even deeper into added on time Partizan got one more chance, and took it to mean it was a thoroughly deflated side that made the long journey back to West Scotland.

A somewhat up-and-down season last term ended with Solent Sirens mid-table and therefore preparing for a Division 6:42 campaign this time around.
They opened at AC Gemelas 1903 and fell behind on 25 minutes when a shot from distance squeezed it’s way home. The lead didn’t last long, Marlene Stieglecker equalising for Andrew7610’s side just 6 minutes later. Solent had the better of the rest of the game in terms of possession and chances, but didn’t find the target again as they had to settle for a share of the spoils.

As last season, out final stop in these reports this campaign will be Dublin City WFC.
Mortal Joe’s side find themselves in Division 6:56 this time around, but had to make do without the boss for their opener at Killer Queens. Unlike some of the matches last season, this proved too big a handicap for Dublin to overcome as they shipped three second-half goals to start off on a negative note.

[Sits]

Congratulations to Various Artist on his second OTF title, an emphatic victory.

Meanwhile the Spots have managed to scrape 3rd in Heineken Div 1 to join Methley and Csiki in the top flight next season.

[Etienne]

Yes, a fine achievement by VA. Shame he seems to have stopped posting on OTF.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Monday is the last game of the Heineken, we've got promoted again and now reach the top half of the league after starting at the bottom. Ten promotions in 11 seasons and a squad made up of mostly youth academy players. Division 9 looks challenging with a couple of excellent managers.

And a few frankly ordinary ones. Looking forward to the derbies.

[nmrfox]

In HLC7 news, Framley Imaginaire, after 6 consecutive relegations and then a further two seasons battling successfully to avoid another drop, had a season of glorious mid-table obscurity where neither promotion or relegation was an issue and we just bobbed along, on our lilo, on the sea of alright.

[Auntie Beryl]

Those of you with very long memories may recall the high times experienced by Penwith Players in Heineken League 13.

Well, we've just stretched our stay in that most anonymous of divisions to ten seasons, missing out on promotion this time by two points having been above the dotted line with two games to go, only to be pipped by Shaw Lane FC and manager Irwingle who said some very bitter things in the game comments after we beat them to move above them, briefly.

Can we make it 11 in a row? At least we're banging on the ceiling rather than glancing at the holes in the floor...

[Sits]

You've matched Gloucester Old Spots' achievement of ten consecutive seasons in HLC9.

[Antepli Ejderha]

How were your Heineken change reports?

I'm happy with mine as my younger players have had two double jumpers, the older players less so. My conveyor belt is a little skew but I'm content with that until I'm forced to sell in a few seasons time. The defenders are fine, next season is when I plan to add an academy player but my midfield and forwards have too many players of a similar age, one from each will have to be sold but I'll wait on possible retirements before doing that.

The rest of the Zeugma franchise isn't looking so clever, the less said the better.

[Sits]

Not bad, a couple of younger players DJ'd and no one crucial is retiring. Need a young defender but will have to buy as the academy has not been funded of late.

In another season or two or two I will have to replace one of the forwards for the good of The Belt. I think the Spots are going to struggle back in nosebleed territory.

[Kevin S]

Forgot to set tactics again... And that's the Div.3 title thrown away. Arseburgers.

CR will hopefully be ok though.

[Sits]

Go on then, here are the most underwhelming OTF runners-up in history. Very mixed:

[Janik]

Another year, another shot at Cup glory for OTFs sides in the official Ladies competition. Who is going to go closest to ultimate glory, and how near the sun will they fly?

Brålanda IF                            1 - 3        Coxy Ladies Wulpen
Sander 45'                                           Leroy 66'
                                                                Kabasele 76'
                                                                Beyen 92'

Coxy Ladies Wulpen       4 - 0        Brålanda IF
Leroy 35'
Leclercq 40'
Gerniers 62'
Vandenbergh 82'

Wulpen win 7-1 on aggregate


BK Brazzers                         0 - 5        Csiki Girls
                                                                McInns 3', 75'
                                                                Woolton (O.G.) 78'
                                                                Igreja 84'
                                                                Smet 87'

Csiki Girls                             2 - 0        BK Brazzers
Smet 25', 32'

Csiki Girls win 7-0 on aggregate


Gideons                                               0 - 6        Viking South Utsira
                                                                T.Kvalvik 10'
                                                                U.Klovning 17'
                                                                B.Kvalvik 43'
                                                                N.Austrheim 49', 62'
                                                                K.Hovland 58'

Viking South Utsira          6 - 0        Gideons
U.Klovning 8'
L.Hovland 36'                                     Buhr (sent off) 91'
B.Austrheim 40', 75'
K.Hovland 58'
B.Kvalvik 82'

Viking win 12-0 on aggregate


kirkburton Juniors           1 - 3        LNWR Locomotive
Ruís 44'                                 Teigland 69'
                                                                Zakarian 81'
                                                                Tashdjian 86'

LNWR Locomotive                           2 - 0        kirkburton Juniors
Severinsson 82'
Geovanni 91'

Locomotive win 5-1 on aggregate


Lost Cause                          2 - 1        Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC
Ishii 22'                                 Borot 77'
Dourado 70'                                        Pailloux (sent off) 93'

Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC                2 - 0        Lost Cause
Borot 72'
Jennifer Willockx 86'

Kanjeng win 3-2 on aggregate


Lucky Ladies                       0 - 3        Sockford Emollient
                                                                Duggan 24', 52'
                                                                Antonellini 48'

Sockford Emollient          4 - 0        Lucky Ladies
Batistuta 14'
Antonellini 31'
Mullins 53'
Samways 72'

 win - on aggregate


Menywod Maeshafn     0 - 0        Metal Ladies FC

                                                                Benjamin (sent off) 84'

Metal Ladies FC                                0 - 0        Menywod Maeshafn

                                                                Barker (sent off) 52'

0-0 on aggregate. Metal Ladies win 4-3 on penalties


A.C. Minerven F.C.          2 - 5        Solent Sirens
Garcia 11'                                             Abbiati 7', (pen) 27', 58, 62'
Nocetti 45'                                          Valdano 51'

Solent Sirens                      4 - 2        A.C. Minerven F.C.
Högardh 2'                                          Törnqvist 35'
Stieglecker 30', 53'                           Garcia 79'
Hyeong 90'

Solent win 9-4 on aggregate


Pua ilima Wahine             0 - 3        Drakaina
                                                                Barry 25', 31'
                                                                Heggarty 37'

Drakaina                              4 - 0        Pua ilima Wahine
Mourne 9', 68'
Atum 30'                                              Maio (sent off) 84'
Gitsis 70'

Drankaina win 7-0 on aggregate


Riverbankers WFC           0 - 4        Erbil
                                                                Paton 4'
                                                                Granå (pen) 53'
                                                                Hinton 76', 89'

Erbil                                       4 - 0        Riverbankers WFC
Genghini 17'
Besen 35', 81'
Paton 51'

Erbil win 8-0 on aggregate


AC Spade                             3 - 0        Dublin City WFC
Gratte 70'
Settergren (pen) 73'
Hedman 76'

Dublin City WFC                                0 - 3        AC Spade
                                                                Gratte 2'
                                                                Hörnqvist 56'
                                                                Burell 67'

Spade win 6-0 on aggregate


Ullapool Northern Star  0 - 2        Cutty Sark Crew
                                                                Chapple 16'
                                                                Fish 42'

Cutty Sark Crew                                1 - 0        Ullapool Northern Star
Fish 67'

Cutty Sark win 3-0 on aggregate


Zeugma Dostluk Spor     2 - 0        Azeda Girls F.C.
Forsyth 71'
Bell 91'

Azeda Girls F.C. 0 - 0        Zeugma Dostluk Spor

Zeugma win 2-0 on aggregate

Opposition from the tier below confronted Coxy Ladies Wulpen as they took on Division 6 outfit Brålanda IF.
The Waders struggled for the first half of the opening leg as hosts Brålanda used limited possession much more efficiently, creating a number of chances and taking a 1-0 lead into the interval thanks to a goal seconds before the whistle blew. However, Coxy Ladies were much more at the races after the break, making their own opportunities. And taking them, Zoe Leroy with a direct free kick on 66 minutes and Jessica Kabasele’s header on 76 putting Janik’s side in front.
Wulpen had a scare on 80 minutes as Brålanda had the ball in their net again, but this was disallowed. The Waders took full advantage of that in stoppage time, Charlotte Beyen making it 3-1 to give her side a very significant advantage to return to Belgium with.
Wulpen didn’t need much from the second leg, but dominated it anyway. Leroy opened the scoring from a direct free-kick again this time doing so after 35 minutes. Two minutes later she left the field with a minor injury, also handing over free-kick duties to her replacement Sandrine Gerniers, who also got on the scoresheet on 62 minutes.
Alicia Leclercq scored in between the two set pieces efforts (40 mins) and Laetitia Vandenbergh wrapped things up on 82. Coxy Ladies can expect an altogether tougher tie in Round 2 when they take on Kingpin Girls of Division 4c. The Waders are away from home for the opener of that.

Csiki Girls were also away against a bottom tier side for their opening leg as they travelled to BK Brazzers.
Saoirse McInns struck as early as the 3rd minute to give The Csiki’s the advantage. Following that the first half was tipped in ad hoc’s side’s favour, but not massively so. 1-0 at the break was a fair reflection of the play.
And 1-0 was how it remained up until 15 minutes from time, when McInns raced clear to double the Romanians advantage. Three minutes later it was three, Isabel Woolton putting through her own net. That appeared to knock the stuffing out of Brazzers, who promptly shipped two more in the remaining time, Carlota Igreja and Floriane Smet netting on 84 and 87 respectively as the Csiki’s killed the tie in the first match.
The return was a tidying up and DV collecting exercise, The Csiki’s not playing with quite the same intensity. They still created a number of chances, nine in all, but only added two more goals. These were both scored by Smet within a seven minute first-half spell.
Next up for ad hoc’s side are Propaganda of Division 5:21, the first leg away from home. This promises to be lively as the Propaganda manager, Bladesrus, would appear to be a Sheffield United fan. That is, assuming he is still at the club in a few days time, as his list of former official league clubs (both genders) suggest he is rather the gadfly.

[Janik]

If Viking South Utsira had hand-picked an opponent to start rebuilding confidence after last season’s struggles, manager Velvet Android would probably have opted for a side as weak as Division 6 outfit Gideons.
The tie was never likely to be a contest, and not just because the home manager failed to show for the opening leg. In his absence, The Blood Eagles were on cruise control, netting three before the interval through Tove Kvalvik and Ulrikke Klovning’s first career strikes on 10 and 17 minutes, and one for Bergljot Kvalvik on 43.
VSU’s youth policy was strongly in evidence as local Utsiran’s made up 10 of the starting XI (skipper Loba Deparvada being the sole exception), and this local pride meant the side kept the pressure up after the break. Nina Austrheim made it four on 49 minutes and would later net a sixth (62), with Kristin Hovland getting on the target in between to make sure all the names on the scoresheet were local.
That was also the case in the return as The Blood Eagles cruised through what was effectively a training session. Though one with consequences as defender Mette Hovland picked up the first injury of her career (she is 23) as a 10-day knock forced her from the field in the 29th minute. At the time, the score on the night was 1-0 (to VSU, obviously), Ulrikke Klovning getting her second of the tie on 8 minutes. Lina Hovland scored a direct free-kick on 36 minutes, which would hopefully have brought a smile to her twin Mette’s face.
Birgit Austrheim made it three by the interval, and also got another on 75 minutes which took the score to 5-0. The fourth was scored by Kristin Hovland on 58 minutes, and there was time for a sixth on the night on 82 minutes as Bergljot Kvalvik became the third player to score in both games. The match ended on a weird note as, whilst 21 of the players on the field casually played out time, Gideons’ Annemarie Buhr flipped out and got herself booked twice in three minutes to earn a (slightly) early bath!
Symmetry fans will note that Viking’s 12-0 aggregate win came via four 3-0 halves of Football. Very neat. Such numerology may be harder to practice in Round 2 as VSU were handed a terrible draw; they were one of the highest ranked non-seeds at 259, and were paired with seeds 254. However, that side is JJ Ladies from the top flight! No fair...

LNWR Locomotive were up against a familiar name from these reports as they took on Coxy Ladies old sparring partners kirkburton Juniors. Or the remnants of them, as kirkburton are now drifting along managerless in the bottom tier.
They still possess good players, making them one of those annoying useful zombies, which they emphasised by a goal late in the first half to take the lead. This was not going exactly to Viktor Boskovic’s plan, and he looked very frazzled when kirkburton had the ball in the net again on 66 minutes.
Fortunately for The Steamers this was disallowed and also sparked their own team into life. Just three minutes later Maja Teigland headed in the equaliser and now Locomotive were motoring along, to mix metaphors. Gayane Zakarian got another header on 81 minutes with Taleen Tashdjian being the third to get her head decisively to the ball five minutes later as The Steamers built what looks a winning lead in the tie.
That did indeed prove to be the case as The Steamers put in a solid performance at Mollington Street. Kirkburton were allowed just one shot, nowhere near enough to turn their situation around, particularly as it twice got worse when Tekla Severinsson (82) and Saidy Geovanni (91) netted.
The Steamers face a side from the same tier in Round 2 as they take on Division 5:14 outfit.

The draw paired Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC up with a Division 6 side in Lost Cause, though unlike some of the other bottom tier set-ups they had an active manager, who was able to work with and a decent squad.
The Sea Spirits still dominated possession, but found their opponents surprisingly tough for a side playing two tiers lower. In fact, Lost Cause were 1-0 up at the interval, against the possession stats but with the chances. That advantage doubled on 70 minutes to leave The Sea Goddessess in trouble, but fortunately Tyan Borot pulled one back six minutes later.
Adèle Pailloux got herself sent off late on, but by the time she did it was deep into stoppage time and her absence didn’t cost SeanoftheShed’s side. They have work to do in the return match, but Borot’s goal gives them something to build on.
Finally balanced would seem the appropriate term for the second meeting at Merapi-Kraton-South Sea as The Sea Spirits were behind, but would go ahead with just a single strike thanks to the away goals rule. That appeared to be high in Lost Cause’s thinking, as rather than go for the away goal or two that would have killed the tie, they attempted to suffocate the second leg with a 5-4-1 set up.
For 45 minutes it worked, as, despite utterly dominating possession, the Indonesians managed just a couple of unsuccessful shots. In fact, it worked for 71 minutes. However, in the 72nd, Cindy Prins swung over a corner and for the second time in the time Borot scored a crucial goal. That put the visitors in trouble as their formation offered zero attacking threat, and their situation was truly hopeless come the 86th minute when Jennifer Willockx scored a second on the night for Kanjeng.
The Sea Goddesses reward for their comeback is two matches against AG FC Ladies of Division 6:59. Kanjeng are the higher seeds, so will play the second leg at home.

Our next port of call is Kenjeng’s Divisional buddies this season, Sockford Emollient. The Gatorsharks were also playing away at bottom tier opposition first up as they made their way to Division 6 denizens Lucky Ladies.
The first leg of this went rather better for the OTF side as, despite the hosts name, it was Sockford who got all the breaks. Or had good gaolkeeping, which isn’t luck, actually. Whatever the reason, chances were split 5-5 between the sides, but the goals all went Foxy265’s way as Toni Duggan headed Emollient ahead on 24 minutes, Donya Antonellini nodded a second on 48 and Duggan made it three scoring headers when she rose to power home after 52 minutes.
Emollient were in an enviable position prior to the return game at John Spencer Street, but Gatorsharks don’t rest on laurels and went for another ferocious attack. They were two up on the night by the interval, Alexia Batistuta putting the Framleyshire side ahead on 14 minutes and Antonellini getting her second of the tie just past the hour. There was no relenting after the break either, Kayley Mullins firing in a direct free-kick on 53 minutes and Mellisa Samways also getting her name in the scoresheet on 72.
That was finally it for the scoring, but there was one more notable incident as Lotta Ericson went down with a 14-day injury a few minutes from time. Foxy265 had already used all his subs, but with a 7-0 aggregate lead there was nothing to worry about, the Round 2 meeting with Albion from Division 5:22 was never in any threat of being derailed.

The first home first leg tie we encounter pitted Menywod Maeshafn against Metal Ladies FC, who play a tier lower in Division 6.
The first leg of this one was rather cagey, with not too many chances at either end. Maeshafn had more of them (from less possession) but were still all square when Metal’s Guadalupe Benjamin earned herself a second yellow card on 84 minutes. That didn’t give long for IsThatcherDeadYet’s girls to take advantage, and they didn’t manage it, the opening leg ending goalless.
The return followed a rather similar pattern for the first 50-odd minutes, as Maeshafn made more chances but from rather sparser possession. Then came a turn around, as this time it was the Welsh side who had a player sent-off, Katherine Barker being shown a straight red in the 52nd minute.
That presented Metal Ladies with enough time to kill the tight off, right? Well yes, but to do that they would have to score, something neither team had managed for one-and-a-half games and something that would still elude both for another 40 minutes. Or indeed 70 as extra-time also passed without a goal.
Penalties it was then, after two bores of matches. The fans must have wondered if any of these would go in, but Ada Westerberg held her nerve to score the first spot kick. Shelley Gibbs followed suit, and when that was followed by a Metal miss and Tina Käck converting, Maeshafn had a significant advantage. They just needed to covnert their last two penalties to progress, only for Ellinor Lydell to miss the fourth. No matter, Metal Ladies failed to convert their fifth, giving Simone Kjellberg. She also saw her effort saved. Following three straight unconverted kicks (it was running over into the shoot-out after all!), Metal Ladies scored their fifth to force it into sudden-death and then, following a third successive miss from Maeshafn as Lisha Boye blazed over, also converted their sixth to knock the Welsh side out.

[Janik]

The first non bottom tier opponent confronts us as we drop in on Solent Sirens and A.C. Minerven F.C. of Division 5.
Not that Div.6 was unrepresented, that is currently The Sirens home, but Andrew7610’s side were the higher seeds for this one despite their lower league status. They were also sporting a new kit with a more simplified design than last season as they set about proving the seeding committee right. Geovana Abbiati took a stab in that direction as she opened the scoring on 7 minutes, only for Minerven to level four minutes later.
‘No matter’ said Abbiati, as she restored the advantage from the spot on 27 minutes. That lead nearly lasted to the interval, but once again the hosts levelled. It fell to another Siren to push her side back in front, Analissa Valdano firing home from range on 51 minutes. Abbiati was clearly glad of the support as she swiftly built on that, adding two more after 58 and 62 to put Solent well in command of the tie.
The Sirens were going through baring a 4-0 defeat on their own turf in the return leg, which eased any pressures the Mayfield Park crowd might have felt. They turned up instead hoping to see their side continue the goalscoring form of the opener, and were not disappointed as Evelyn Högardh and Marlene Stieglecker fired in from range to have Solent 2-0 up by the half-hour.
Minerven pulled one back before the break, only for Stieglecker to restore the cushion on the night eight minutes after the interval. Jin-Ae Hyeong though she had extended the lead still further just a handful of minutes later, but Seymour Red was unhappy so it stayed at 3-1. The visitors closed to 3-2 with a little over 10 minutes to play, the final say going to Hyeong who finally got her goal on 90 minutes.
A tough draw awaits The Sirens in Round 2 as they take on Misty Girls of Division 3h, the first leg being on the South Coast.

Back to the old Division 6 vs OTF stuff, though in Drakaina’s case there was three tiers between themselves and opponents Pua ilima Wahine.
The Dragons superior class told in the opening half as they took command of the general play and also struck three times in 12 minutes, Susanna Barry getting the first two (25 and 31 minutes) and Gael Heggarty making it three (37).
Etienne’s side eased off after the break which allowed the Hawaiians to have a few chances, but ‘keeper Aisling Boyne was up to them all as the Greeks secured a comprehensive three goal lead for the home.
The second leg was a formality, The Dragons barely getting out of second gear as they rattled in four more strikes. Fionulla Mourne got the opener on 9 minutes, and later added the third on 68. Silvia Atum (30) and Elena Gitsis (70) were also on target. The match finished with the visitors down to 10 players after Nádia Maio earned herself a straight red card on 84 minutes.
Round 2 threatens to provide an only somewhat sterner challenge, as Drakaina will find themselves up against another bottom tier side in the form of Division 6:49 outfit Xtc.

Erbil face some familiar faces, but ones with no-one looking out for them as they took on managerless Riverbankers WFC.
It was hard to give The Bankies much chance for this tie, and indeed it was only four minutes before Jdsx’s side took the lead. Young forward Leah Paton got it as she made a quick mark on her debut in senior Football. Paton’s goal was laid on by another youngster, Roja Ahmedi, but that would be the high point of Ahmedi’s day as she suffered a 7-day injury just past the half-hour mark.
Ahmedi’s knock slowed Erbil down for a bit, but they regathered themselves after the break to add three more strikes and kill the tie off. These came from Sabina Granå from the spot on 53 minutes, and two from Caroline Hinton on 76 and 89 respectively.
The return match might as well have been played at Erbil’s training ground, for all the relevance it had. For the record, Erbil once again won 4-0, Natalie Genghini opening the scoring on 17 minutes (the second time she had done that in two Erbil appearances; she is already a firm fan favourite), Tülin Besen making it two after 35, Paton getting in on the act with her second of the tie after 51 and Besen netting a second of the evening on 51 mintues.
The one negative of the day was veteran Alanza Solaun picking up a 10-day injury early in the second-half. She will be a doubt for the opening leg of round two, which sees Erbil on the road at 666 FC of Division 6:13.

As we go down the alphabet, we start getting tougher matches facing OTF sides, such as Dublin City WFC’s confrontation with Division 4 outfit AC Spade [missing an ‘s’ on the end that, surely?]
Dublin were actually the higher seeds for this tie, which meant travelling for the opening leg. Sadly, one person who wasn’t there was manager MortalJoe, which meant no subs, and that spelled trouble when skipper Vivian Ryding went down with a 10-day injury.
With 11 players, Dublin had been holding on to a 0-0 fairly comfortably, but with one short they were briefly overwhelmed and conceded three times in six minutes. The players stabilised after that, but the damage was already done, both to Ryding and Dublin’s chances of progress in the competition.
With the manager again absent for the return, a second 3-0 defeat in the tie was no great shock. The Dubs now look to the league.

Comfortably the worst draw of Round 1 was handed to Ullapool Northern Star as they were paired with Division 1 side Cutty Sark Crew.
The first leg was in North-West Scotland, with a curious Minchview crowd hopeful that Delicatemoth’s side could bridge the five tier gap and keep it competitive. A fairly early goal for the visitors (after 16 minutes) caused a ripple of trepidation, but Star responded resolutely. They did concede a second just before the interval, but that was the limit of the damage as the second-half passed by chancelessly. It probably isn’t enough to serve as a springboard for a massive shock, but it was still a solid performance by Ullapool.
If the Scots couldn’t win the tie, or even on the night in the return, then their aim was not to be humiliated. And in that, they succeeded as Cutty Sark were restricted to a handful of second-leg chances. One of these was converted midway through the second period by the appropriately named ‘Fish’. And that was it for Ullapool’s cup exploits this season.

And finally we revert to type as an OTF side from Division 5, Zeugma Dostluk Spor faced off with someone from Division 6 in the shape of Azeda Girls F.C.
Well, nearly to type. The variant was that Zeugma were at home in the opening leg, making Azeda the higher seeds. I don’t think Antepli Ejderha’s side were overly impressed by the snub as they pressed their visitors deep and denied them even a sniff of the ball for long periods. Chances were missing before the break, and after it goals were a bit slow in coming. Eventually, though, all the ducks were in a row and Rachel Forsyth put Zeugma ahead.
That goal came on 71 minutes, and for a while it looked like being the only one. 1-0 would have been an underwhelming result given how on top the Turks had been, so there was relief around the Insan Haklari Stadyumu when Stacey Bell netted in stoppage time to give the final score a more realistic look.
Go for an away goal, or hold on tight to the cushion earned was the question for AE ahead of the return. In the end he went for the tried-and-trusted, and it worked a storm as Zeugma killed the second leg stone dead. There was just one chance all through the 90 minutes which went to the visitors. Though it wasn’t converted, they were in enough command for this to not matter at all.
Having turned over one higher seed, Zeugma will aim to do it again though this time their opponents, Janes Addiction, hail from a higher Division that the Turks. Two tiers higher to be specific, as they play in Division 3e.



Round 2 draw - first listed teams home in opening leg

666 FC (6:13)                                         vs            Erbil
AG FC Ladies (6:59)                         vs            Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC
Kingpin Girls (4c)                              vs            Coxy Ladies Wulpen
LNWR Locomotive                                           vs            Lion Ladies (5:18)
Propaganda (5:21)                           vs            Csiki Girls
Sockford Emollient                          vs            Albion (5:22)
Solent Sirens                                      vs            Misty Girls (3h)
Viking South Utsira                          vs            JJ Ladies (Xpert Ladies)
Xtc (6:49)                                             vs            Drakaina
Zeugma Dostluk Spor                     vs            Janes Addiction (3e)

[Antepli Ejderha]

Thanks Janik,a monster effort again.

[Sean of the Shed]

Need a temporary manager to take over The Rebel Alliance in the Heineken League so I can complete the season update if anyone can help. Link: http://www.xperteleven.com/?lid=62556

[Kevin S]

Done

[Sean of the Shed]

Done

Thanks Kev. All done. Sacked.