X11 season 45 - de rigueur Mortis

[Various Artist]

VA I love that stat about your goalie.

Every time I even think about it I assume I've just jinxed myself, so now I've mentioned it here so publicly I haven't dared to look at yesterday's results to see if he maintained his clean-sheet streak.


Meanwhile, we're up and running with new seasons set up in both the Brythonnic and Heineken Leagues. Well done Sean on getting the latter sorted, apologies to those in the former for the slight delay as it's been a bit of a drag organising things without a working computer. Replacement iMac arrived with some issues after getting bashed about in transit, to add to the fun. Glad I managed to get the above writeup just about done this week though, I feel oddly 'out of touch' when I'm not personally looking at everything going on throughout the OTF League from week to week.


I still sort of miss doing the Heineken writeups for the same reason, as given its vast size that's a much more difficult league to 'keep up with' when you're not actively ploughing through the divisions looking for everyone's results. Much the same applies to the Xpert Ladies, so Janik's reports are invaluable as it's practically impossible to keep an eye on how all the other OTFers are getting along without his sterling efforts.

I mean, I mostly rely on Janik to tell me who Viking South Utsira's upcoming Cup opponents are from round to round, as he usually has the fixtures up here before I've noticed myself who we've drawn. I've only just noticed this afternoon for instance that our fifth-round opposition tomorrow are none other than Sean's Kanjeng Ratu Kidu, for what will be our first ever competitive meeting.

[Janik]

Heh. And as it happens you would have found out five minutes too late...

Official Ladies League Cupdate. Guess where I got up to before stopping the Round 2 report (it’s fairly obvious…)

Round 4

Mauchline Belles 2 - 1 Cluj SisterHood
Hackett 76' Billard 60'
Melkersson 89'

Cluj SisterHood 0 - 0 Mauchline Belles

Mauchline win 2-1 on aggregate


Lost Cause 1 - 0 Drakaina
Naalen 70'
Arana (sent off) 92'

Drakaina 2 - 3 Lost Cause
Gitsis 49' Naalen 19, 72'
Kanagounis 92' Fykén (pen) 86'


Lost Cause win 4-2 on aggregate


FC Cristalul Dorohoi 2 - 2 Viking South Utsira
Holmén 60' N.Austrheim 47'
Lovcheva 69' L.Hovland 88'

Viking South Utsira 3 - 1 FC Cristalul Dorohoi
Klovning 30' Bjärsmyr 47'
N.Austrheim
Anneke Hovland 75'

Viking win 5-3 on aggregate


Bombay Green Rockets 1 - 2 Snowpoint City
L0ck 28' Fraiao 4'
Gill 81'

Snowpoint City 0 - 1 Bombay Green Rockets
Ferrante 91'

2-2 on aggregate. Snowpoint win on away goals


Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC 0 - 0 Foresta Ladies FC

Foresta Ladies FC 1 - 1 Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC
Raymond 55' Sumanti 11'

1-1 on aggregate. Kanjeng win on away goals

In Round 2 Mauchline Belles were up against Division 5 opposition when they took on Always Tifosi (or something like that).
The first leg was at the Always Arena, and at half-time of it Mauchline manager Jdsx seemed a little perturbed – his side had played second fiddle and trailed to a goal score just before the half-hour. However a motivational talked appeared to have the desired effect on The Belles, who upped their performance after the break. The equaliser took an agonisingly long time to come though, sub Michelle MacFillan finally heading it in the 88th minute.
That goal gave Mauchline some breathing space ahead of the second leg, which they added to when Vicki Billing made it 1-0 on the night and 2-1 overall just 6 minutes in. However the room to manoeuvre all disappeared when Tifosi levelled on 23 minutes – that meant one more goal for the Italians would take two Belles strikes to cover.
That made for a tense last time in the rest of the match as chances flowed at both ends. And a particularly tense extra-time after none were converted in the normal period, especially after the Scots were reduced to 10 players by injury-and-all-subs-used when Lorna Hackett went down with a 10-day knock in the very first minute of the extra 30.
However ‘keeper Roza Belova stood strong to force the match to penalties, and then, proving there is no end to her talents, took the first herself and scored it. Fernanda Perdao, Valérie Deschamps and Lilian Ask followed Belova in converting for The Belles, but it was the stopper to the fore again, this time with her gloves, as she saw off Always’ second and fourth efforts to hand her side the shoot-out 4-2.
A bit of a scramble, but that took The Belles are through to a Round 3 clash with Cluj SisterHood of Division 5:31. The first leg of this tie was in Ayrshire and was won 2-0 thanks to goals from Filomena Fogueira and Fernanda Perdao. An away goal from Vicki Billing 52 minutes into the return killed the tie absolutely stone dead, leg 2 finishing 1-0 for a 3-0 aggregate Mauchline win.
And on to Round 4 for The Belles, which pitted them against Royal Fighters of Division 3f. Once again leg one was at home, but despite Mauchline winning again this tie was more in the balance at the midpoint as Lorna Hackett and Gunilla Melkersson from a 1-0 deficit.
That was still an away goal against though, making leg two trickier to navigate. The Belles managed to throttle the game to a 0-0 draw however, which sent them through to a Round 5 meeting at the Xpert Arena against Team Anacletas of Division 4l.

Round 2 paired Cassiopeia up with an opponent from the tier below The Vainglories, Division 5, as Stormstopper’s side took on RSC Falconettes.
The opening leg at Agora Aethiopia was a chance for Cassiopeia to put themselves into a strong position overall. Gordana Juric started that process with a 44th minute strike, Sandra Aritonovic adding to that with a head after 57.
That put The Vainglories where they wanted to be, but with the key now keeping a clean sheet as Falconettes had enough chances to score. However, Vera Buric was on form in the Cassiopeia goal, whilst at the other end Juric added a third for good measure.
The Vainglories lead was chipped into 6 minutes into the second leg. But this game was one where Cassiopeia were looking for a goal, as the first they scored was effectively worth double. It took only 16 minutes to come, Helena Krcmarevic’s free-kick making it 1-1 on the night and 4-1 overall, but increasing the target for Falconettes to four more goals due to away goals.
Four became five when on 29 minutes when Juric got her third of the tie. It would prove to be a mixed day for the Vainglories striker though, and more bad than good at that, as just six minutes after scoring she went down with a horrid 17 day injury. One slight consolation was her strikes were the difference in the tie as Falconettes did get one more back to make the aggregate 5-2… of which Juric contributed a decisive three.
Her teammates were without Juric in Round 3 against Mafia 91 Ladies, a division 4l side, which is parallel to The Vainglories this term. The Goodfellas (?gender?) proved too spicy for the Cassiopeia to handle, winning the opening leg 2-0 at Agora Aethiopia, which made the return moreorless a formality, but one Mafia also won, 1-0 in that case. So Round 3 was the limit for The Vainglories this season.

Cinghiali took on foes from one step above themselves when they faced off with Division 4’s San Antonio Valkyries in the Second Round.
SitsWithRemote’s side were the hosts for the opening leg, which proved to be a tight game. The sides were evenly matched, and a single goal either way looked like the most likely outcome. Sadly for the Piani Resinelli faithful, not only was this impression right, that goal also came for the Valkyries on 23 minutes.
The home leg had been even, though. And having not scored on their own patch, The Boars knew they couldn’t lose on away goals – to make the aggregate score level they had to win at the Valhöll Arena, but such a win would mean at worst penalties (that if it was 1-0, overall victory for any other winning margin).
OK, as searches for silver linings go this is a bit desperate. And so it proved as the two sides evenly match in Italy proved to be much less so in a more mythical location. That was in the hosts favour as the warrior maids were less hospitable than their reputation dictates, bringing goals against on 16 and 88 minutes, rather than mead and succour as is more traditional.
That meant Cinghiali’s Cup run ended at Round 2 this year. Which is still an upgrade and will help in Season 64.

Round 2 pitted Coxy Ladies Wulpen with Division 6:10 side Dortmund BK. This proved well within The Waders compass, goals from Anaïs Ntambwe and Laetitia Roosens winning the first leg 2-0, and then a strike from Chloé Bremen early on at Signal Iduna Park killing the tie. Charlotte Beyen added a second later on in the Ruhr Valley to make the aggregate 4-0 to Wulpen.
Coxy Ladies had much less joy against Provokator FC of Division 1b in Round 3, though. 1-0 down in the home leg after only 2 minutes, it was an uphill struggle for The Waders from then on. One which proved much too steep, the visitors winning the opening leg 3-0 and then cruising through a second with both sides going through the motions 1-0. Round 3 is one stage better than last season’s Round 2 exit for the Janik’s side, though[/straw clutching]

[Janik]

The Round 2 draw asked Csiki Girls to take on Division 3g side Frajle. But despite that Ad hoc’s charges put in a sterling first leg performance to deservedly win 1-0 thanks to Ginger Crampsey’s second half header. However the return proved a different story as the hosts levelled the tie almost immediately and were 2-1 up on aggregate by the interval. It remained in the balance until late as an away goal for a 2-1 defeat on the night would have edged Csiki Girls through, but a third for Frajle late on ended those hopes and the Transylvanians Cup run for the season at this stage.

Round 2 set Dublin City Womens FC up against Division 4l side Mafia 91 Ladies… and attentive readers of the whole report will know how this ends already!
Those who are not can share The Molly Malones hopes of an upset after they won the first leg at Phoenix Park 1-0 through Maria Lyktberg’s late strike. Jdsx’s girls held their lead until well into the second half of the return match, but a lateish strike from Mafia forced extra-time, and that proved to be just Their Thing with a winner on 115 minutes. No comments at all about how this might have happened in a match reffed by Luke Bribe.
That meant a Round 2 exit for the club from the Irish capital, though that is still one round more than in recent seasons.

No-one was expecting Drakaina to be challenged by Division 6:64 outfit Emerald FC in Round 2. But things actually proved much tighter than might have been expected. Etienne’s side did win the opening away leg, but only 1-0 and Elena Gitsis winner was their only shot of the game to Emerald’s two. The return at Delphi was equally tight… and scoreless.
That meant a 1-0 aggregate which sent The Dragons through to a Round 3 encounter with Juves tjejer, who are in Division 3c currently. Once again the Greeks were away in the opening leg, and once again they finished it as 1-0 victors despite having few shots, Gael Heggarty the dead-eye in this case.
The second leg of this one was different though, as this time around Drakaina conceded fairly early on. Suddenly the scores were level, but The Dragons were also on a knife edge – let in one more than they immediately needed two to turn things back around. That kept the Greeks from attacking until deep into stoppage time.,, but once they did Heggarty set up Ariadne Kavazis for the winner.
Reaching Round 4 had been a battle for The Dragons, but not a Lost Cause – rather they, i.e. the Division 3h side, were Drakaina’s four Cup opponents of the campaign.
The opening leg was away for The Dragons, and they ended it 1-0 behind after Lost Cause scored in the 70th minute, a stoppage time red card for the hosts coming too late to make any difference. That loaded the pressure on to the Greeks for the return. They really couldn’t afford to concede, but did after just 19 minutes.
Elena Gitsis did level things up on the night early in the second half, but even then Drakaina needed two more to progress. Which double to four when Lost Cause struck twice more later in the period. nastasia Kanagounis pulled one back in stoppage time, but that was merely making the scoreline look more respectable than anything serious to change the outcome. Which was that The Dragons were out at the 4th Round stage.

Viking South Utsira were meant to have too much for FC Fagaras of Division 5:28 in Round 2. And that proved to be the case… though The Blood Eagles turned out only to have a little more.
That little extra was decisive though, Anneke Hovland scoring a late away goal in leg one and Yasmine Klovning netting even later on back at Ragnar Rock to finally seal progress for Velvet Android side.
That sent Viking through to a Round 3 clash with Dinamo Buc of Division 5:32. Leg one was in Romania, and that saw Viking fall to a shock deficit before more late strikes, this time from Kristin Hovland and Nina Austrheim turned things around. Hovland gave extra comfort for the return when she made that 1-0 on the night, and therefore 3-1 overall with around 15 minutes to play.
That was how the tie finished, with VSU progressing to a meeting with another Romanian side in Round 4 when they faced off with FC Cristalul Dorohoi of Division 4o.
Leg one was at the Critsal Arena, and it was a match VSU appeared in control of after Nina Austrheim’s opener soon after the break cemented an apparent stranglehold. Appeared and apparent as, out-of-the-blue, Dorohoi scored twice on two chances to surge ahead. The Blood Eagles needed a response – Lina Hovland provided it with a trademark direct free-kick goal in the dying minutes of the period.
The teams exchanged another pair of goals either side of the break in leg two, Karolina Klovning giving Viking the lead before half-time and Dorohoi levelling soon after. VSU’s goal difference advantage was getting slender, so no-one relaxed after Nina Austrheim’s strike… until Anneke Hovland added to it 15 minutes from time.
Next up for Viking is a one-off match against… ooh, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC. Of Division 4k of course.

Round 2 set Zeugma Dostluk Spor against higher league opposition in the form of Feisty Foxes FC of Division 4h.
The opening leg saw Antepli Ejderha’s side on the road, but also ahead following Aghavni Manookian’s first half strike. It took a penalty to draw the Foxes back level again, albeit they deserved at least a draw from that game. But a draw was all they claimed.
That meant ZDS were marginally ahead when leg two kicked off Insan Haklari Stadyumu. A goal for the hosts would add insurance, and that is exactly what Latife Kurt provided midway through the second-half. But that insurance wasn’t massive – all it meant was a late equaliser from the Foxes had the tie heading to extra time… until the visitors scored again just two minutes later. Which was a complete killer as goal difference suddenly tipped massively against Zeugma. That said they actually went out on aggregate (3-2).

Menywod Maeshafn were up against a side from a step higher, Division 4m’s CF Real da Praceta in Round 2.
This tie proved to be something of a basketball game, i.e. you score, we score. Leigh McRichter was the first to strike, but whilst her goal put IsThatcherDeadYet’s side ahead, by the time teammate Edith Narberth scored a second, all that did was bring things back to all square. And even worse from a Welsh perspective, there was time afterwards for Praceta to get a leg one winner.
The goals continued to flow in the second leg, but unfortunately for Maeshafn things were always slipping further and further away for them. Another two strikes were netted, but the same amount had also been conceded prior to Morgan Beck getting the visitors first of the afternoon, and then same again prior to Pamela Stewart giving one last sign of defiance.
Round 2 exit was already was already basically assured by the time of Stewart’s strike, though.

[Janik]

Three tiers of the pyramid separated Hazeldean Inchmistress from Division 3e side Murcielago. The Imperials weren’t going to let that bother them, though. Particularly not if the hosts Monalisa Coco wanted to put through her own net to put the Framleyshire side in front in the opening away leg.
Murcielago recovered to win that game 2-1 (Coco getting a stoppage time winner), but even so the tie was still alive for the return. Very much alive when Line Pedersen put Foxy265’s side ahead on the night and on away goals around the quarter hour mark. It didn’t last though. Barely more than five minutes in fact before Murcielago levelled on the night.
The visitors scored again early in the second half, which was a killer as not only was the aggregate now 4-2, but away goals also broke in Murcielago’s favour. Elinor Ernström did chip into the advantage, but to no avail as Inchmistress exited in Round 2 for the first time in 15 season (the others all Round 1 or more recently Round 3).

LNWR Locomotive were looking to take a break from league tribulations when they met Neupriment FC of Division 6:59 in the Cup Second Round.
Unfortauntely for Viktor Boskovic’s side, the trouble followed them to the knockout instead. Maja Teigland did managed a goal in the opening (away) leg, which brought the score back to 1-1 at the time , but Neupriment subsequently got a winner. They also scored soon after half-time in leg 2 to wipe out the away goal, and though they visitors didn’t manage another to go ahead, they didn’t need to as Locomotive remained stuck in the train shed for the rest of that match.
Out in Round 2 wasn’t how it was timetabled. But it was how it ended up.

More in hope than expectation was the phrase for ASU Politehnica when they clashed with Xpert Ladies (i.e. top flight) outfit Black Sabbath.
The Scholars would have found plenty to learn, and they acquitted themselves well in the matches. It really was an ‘A’ for effort. In fact Politehnica could even have scored in the game in Timosoara… but they didn’t, Black Sabbath did twice and then the metallers dominated on the return to Birmingham, 3-0 being about par for the balance of play in the second leg.
Still, it was nice to see up close what the students are working towards becoming.

The second round handed Bombay Green Rockets the challenge of Division 5:21 side Red Shorts or some similar piece of apparel.
Bombay played on the counter attack in the opening away leg, made more chances than their hosts, but needed Lara Kingsley’s strike to come from behind to draw the game. That away goal edge was ended five minutes after half-time of the return, only for the reds to hand Bombay an equaliser soon after when Renata Krogulec put through her own net.
The score remained unchanged through the rest of normal time and the extra half hour, which meant penalties. Goalkeeper Mathilda Grünewald, Eileen Pöhlmann and Amalea Ferrante scored The Rockets first three, whilst two Red Shorts players missed. That meant Barbara Baumann had the chance to end it… which she didn’t take. But it didn’t matter as Grünewald saw off her third kick in a row to see Bombay home after 4 kicks anyway.
Next up for HKS3’s side were Division 3b outfit Zombie Queens.
The first leg was on the road for Bombay, and things looked rather bleak when they finished the opening half 2-0 down. However a spirited second period saw Kingsley strike again in the Cup, only for the same player to pick up two late yellow cards and get sent off. D’Oh! But not further damage was sustained in her absence, which gave a chance for the return leg.
That was still just about the case after Zombie Queens cancelled out the away goal just before half-time. Now Bombay were looking for two to force extra time. They came within five minutes of each other around the hour, Pöhlmann and Anges Panzer the suppliers. A scare with a disallowed goal aside, it was on to penalties again for Bombay.
The Green Rockets once again scored their first three, this time through Fátima Paes, Grünewald and Ferrante, but once again missed their fourth (Panzer). That meant that Zombie Queens had a kick to win it even after Josefa Alberdi scored Bombay’s fifth. However the visitors blew their chance, Isabel Lock and Donielle Cois converted The Rockets next two, and the Queens blew it again to leave the shoot-out in Bombay’s hands 6-5.
And that meant a Round 4 clash with Division 4a side Snowpoint City.
Leg one was at The Common, but this didn’t go so well for Bombay as early and late goals from the visitors doubled the one strike that Isabel Lock managed for the hosts. That meant The Rockets had to not only win the away leg, but score twice in the process; 1-0 meant elimination on away goal. They certainly gave it a go, creating plenty of chances. But the only strike came from Ferrante in second-half stoppage time, which was rather too late to give hope of success. So Round 4 was where The Rockets fizzled out.

Rising Stars were looking to outfight a higher grade opponent when they took on Samurai of Division 4n.
This proved to be slightly too tricky for Blamb’s side. They certainly gave it a go, matching their illustrious foes almost move for move, but they found the Samurai defences too gimlet-edged, and couldn’t land a single telling blow in either match. Meanwhile their opponents got one thrust through on The Stars in each game to claim an honourable 2-0 aggregate victory.

And what of the other OTF side in Rising Stars Division, i.e. Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC? Well, there is something of a giveaway upthread for how this is going to go, both their Round 2 clash with Division 5:11 outfit Toulouse Lionesses and beyond that.
The Lionesses were half-tamed after an opening leg 2-1 away win thanks to strikes Utami Hartanto and Mariell Grønnåsen. The Sea Goddesses made sure in the return with further goals from Aulia Wibawa, Tyan Borot and a Liselott Reinholdsson own goal for a 5-1 overall aggregate.
That sent SeanoftheShed’s side through to Round 3, where they faced Fleeges kek of Division 5:15. This tie was lower scoring, but still comfortably in The Sea Spirits hands after a 1-0 away win in the opening leg courtesy of a Hartanto header. Utami Sumanti added an early goal in the return match to bolster the lead, but with Fleeges kek not making a chance this was almost unnecessary padding.
That takes us up to Round 4, where KRK faced off with Foresta Ladies FC of Division 4p. The Sea Spirits hosted leg one of this, which proved to be an extremely tight game. Almost chanceless in fact. Just one all match for the hosts, which they didn’t take as it finished 0-0. Not necessarily a bad result from a home first leg, as long as you score in the return match. Which is exactly what Sumanti did 11 minutes in. A goal for Foresta after the break made for a tense second half, but with chances again at a premium that away goal was enough to send The Sea Goddesses through to face, as already mentioned, fellow OTF side Viking South Utsira, who are currently in Division 3e.

We end our catch up with Ullapool Northern Star trying to topple Division 2c side Alternadeiras F.C. in Round 2.
It looked a stretch. It was a stretch. Particularly after Delicatemoth’s side found themselves 3-0 down after the opening home leg. They also fell two behind in the return, but never gave up and drew commendably level on the night via strikes from Avril Weatherhead and Inès Mamouni. However, even a symbolic draw was denied to Polaris by a late, late Alternadeiras goal, making it 3-2 in the second leg and 6-2 overall. Which just happen to be the tiers of the two teams, making me regard it as a tie for UNS to be proud of anyway.


Round 5 draw - neutral venues

Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC        vs    Viking South Utsira
Mauchline Belles        vs    Team Anacletas (4l)

[Antepli Ejderha]

Thanks Janik

[Sits]

jdsx congratulations on outclassing my boys in the Kechchenko cup final!

[Etienne]

I've not been able to log in since yesterday afternoon. Is no-one else having issues?

[Antepli Ejderha]

I've not been able to log in since yesterday afternoon. Is no-one else having issues?

None at all, just logged in now.

[Sits]

Yes, OK here too.

[Antepli Ejderha]

That's very weird Etienne have you tried requesting a password change?

[jdsx]

jdsx congratulations on outclassing my boys in the Kechchenko cup final!

Ah cheers Sits for mentioning it on here as well Just been on half-term holiday wth limited computer access so catching up now....

[Various Artist]

even then Drakaina needed two more to progress. Which double to four when Lost Cause struck twice more later in the period. nastasia Kanagounis pulled one back in stoppage time, but that was merely making the scoreline look more respectable than anything serious to change the outcome.

How you withstood the urge to deploy the obvious pun here when it was begging for it is absolutely beyond me. You're a stronger man than I, Janik.

Contrary to your opening comments, though, I genuinely can't tell where you "got up to before stopping the Round 2 report" – do you mean as in you broke off from writing it up at the time then came back to it retrospectively several weeks later for the purposes of this catch-up? I like the format, anyway, with each team's doings through the various rounds clumped together. Great effort.

[Etienne]

I've managed to access it on my phone Antepli Ejderha , thanks, but I get a 400 or 401 error on my computer, even changing browsers. Odd.

[Hot Orange]

OTF Season 65 Day 7 Round-Up

OTF

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Bottom-of-the-table Locomotiv Noj gave leaders Berkshire Swine plenty to think about at the Stef Tolsma Arena, but were edged out by Bruno Dijoux's long-ranger for the hosts. The Swine's lead at the top is back up to two points after 2nd-placed Vita Mortis were held to a 1-1 home draw by AFC Csiki Monkeys. The visitors' Szabolcs Szépalmásy became the first player this season to find a way past Mortis keeper Howard Stant to give the Monkeys a first-half lead, but that was the only occasion on which they threatened and Mortis levelled through Ernest Crompton. The Monkeys hang on to 3rd place as the two teams below them, Four Candles and Croesoswallt Dragons, shared the spoils at Hurlingham Park, Candles sub Tadeu Oliveira scoring his first career goal to even things up after Calum Heggie had nodded the Dragons in front. Jeffery Redman's free kick gave Great Ouse Town victory at Steaua Bridge and moves them out of the relegation zone and up to 6th, while Steaua drop to 9th. In between them are Zeugmaspor and Eriskay Expression, who shared a 1-1 draw. Okan Baran had Zeugma in front just after the break, but an Eriskay equaliser arrived late in the contest, 17-year-old Aketza Lesaka converting his side's only opportunity.

Division 1

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Whoft Fluffopolis suffered a surprise 3-2 home defeat by Banik Roystonov, all the goals coming after the interval, and, after winning their opening five, they have now lost two on the trot and slip to 2nd. Sheepishly taking their place at the summit are Waveney Valley Swifts, who somehow escaped from a battering by Dandy Town with a point, Mateo Forlan firing in a stoppage-time equaliser after the outplayed Swifts had trailed 2-0 at the break. The Dandies stay 3rd, because 4th-placed Wednesday de la Zouch also surrendered a 2-0 lead, Rejects Redux bouncing back to salvage a point at the Mack Mean Megadome. The Rejects drop to 7th, but the middle of the table is tightly packed and they are only two points behind the Dandies. Hampshire Deers are up to 5th following an action-packed 3-2 win at Turd Division, two goals from Dwight Allmark in the opening 15 minutes ultimately proving decisive. The Turds remain at the foot of the table. Above them are Kernow Kensa, who fall below Banik to 9th after they went down 2-0 at Portsmouth FC, who climb to 6th.

Division 2

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Saltney Drawers' third consecutive goalless draw, this one at home to 4th-placed Littlewoods Legends, sees them displaced from the top by die Ambosse, who battered Cods of War 4-1. Notable achievements here were Bernd Frehn scoring rather than getting sent off and 17-year-old Francois van den Bossche netting two minutes into his debut - introduced in the 70th minute, he headed home his side's fourth goal in the 72nd. The Cods sink to 6th. Wharfedale Generals would have gone top with a win, but their game at Wensleydale Blues was goalless, and probably would be if they were still playing now, and instead they slip to 3rd. The point takes the Blues off the bottom, however, with Heffron Hendecagon taking their place after a 1-0 home defeat by Azure Dragons, their sixth consecutive reverse. The Dragons move out of the relegation zone and into it go Andromache FC, beaten 1-0 at Somers Town Sugar Imps, Bastjan Tomasi cracking in the winner from a free kick to take the Imps up to 5th.

Division 3

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Tree Hill High overcame the loss of injured duo captain Graham Grimes and goalkeeper Bart Sosa (who was replaced by midfielder Isaias Marinho) to win 1-0 at Great Northern Railway, Toby Gregory scoring the winner from the spot. GNR fall from 1st to 4th as a result, while THH move to the top. New Dresden are up to 2nd after Emiel van Vechten grabbed a late winner at Pinewood Passers, who stay 8th, and Brian Munchingflapjack move into 3rd with an even later winner at home to Veni Vici Vigata, Harvey Whitmore heading in two minutes into added time. VVV tumble from 2nd to 6th but it's all very tight, with three points separating 1st and 7th. OWC Albion and Athletico Deva are in that mix, sitting in 7th and 5th respectively after they slugged out a scoreless draw at the Colosseum of Dread. Indigo Plateau and Eintracht Midwest are not, but Midwest recorded their first victory of the season as they recovered from going a goal behind after five minutes to win 3-1 at Plateau's Safari Zone, leaving the hosts still pointless.

[Janik]

Official Xpert 11 Ladies League Matchday 8 report

Division 1a

Mosshagen United LFC    1 - 0    Drakaina
Swärd 4'


Division 1b

Mauchline Belles    1 - 3    Fortitudo Culemborg
Anstruther 43'            Oudejans 15'
                Berghuis 28'
                Rijkaard 66'
                van de Donk (sent off) 84'


Division 3e

Deportivo Cruz Azul    0 - 1    Coxy Ladies Wulpen
                Bremen 20'

Gretna Girls FC        0 - 3    Viking South Utsira
                Y.Klovning 3'
                N.Austrheim 41'
                Brandhaug 75'


Division 4k

Bombay Green Rockets    3 - 2    Northen Stars Lady
L0ck 7'                Lax 73'
Panzer 42'            Baumann (O.G.) 91'
Schaller 64'

Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC    0 - 2    Blue Belles
                Älg 49'
                Saúde 57'


Division 4n

Jocvijeve Zecice    1 - 1    Cassiopeia
Cakar (pen) 44'            Krcmarevic 27'


Division 5:14

Cinghiali        0 - 3    S-----
                 Westlake 28', 57', 79'


Division 5:17

LNWR Locomotive        2 - 0    Throop Ladies
Deeney 33', 78'


Division 5:18

Rising Stars        1 - 0    Wheelies Wobblers
Massa 70'


Division 5:21

Flick of the Wrist    2 - 0    ASU Politehnica
Aktonius 2'
Redman 76'

Invisible Ladies    1 - 1    Yerti
Forsyth 39'            Ortiz 76'


Division 5:26

Cebollitas        2 - 1    Zeugma Dostluk Spor
Micillo 12'            Mansiz 74'
Augustinsson 71'


Division 5:27

Brkate Zetovke        1 - 0    Menywod Maeshafn
Hendry 46'


Division 5:28

Moe Szyslak Experience    0 - 1    Dublin City Womens FC
                Hempel 73'


Division 5:31

Cluj SisterHood        2 - 0    Csiki Girls
Kronblom 7', 31'


Division 6:39

Ullapool Northern Star    3 - 2    Abbeywood Unicorns
Wailer 35'            Wujek 16'
Weatherhead 60'            Cabrero 58'
Iosifescu 62'


Division 6:42

Mizz Amatörz        0 - 8    Hazeldean Inchmistress
                Bunton 1', 22'
                Bringevik 5', 7', 10'
                Morgan 15', 45'
                Tattershall 38'

Drakaina were looking to improve upon a goalless draw last time out against Mosshagen United LFC, not just because winning is more fun and more rewarding point-wise than drawing but also as Mosshagen were only a point adrift of The Dragons in the table.
The deadlock between the two teams only took 4 minutes to be broken this time out. Unfortauntely for Etienne’s side, that goal came from the wrong team. The Greek side tried hard to make up for falling behind, but once again drew a blank. Which, in the circumstances, was particularly costly this time out.
The Dragons fall to sixth in the Division 1a table after the loss, and are now two points behind fifth and safety.

Another side looking to upgrade their pre-turn result was Mauchline Belles, though in the Scots case this was about not losing again to Division 1b relegation rivals Fortitudo Culemborg.
Hopes would have been high of reversing that earlier result now The Belles were back at Tarbolton Road, but these faded when Culembourg netted on the quarter-hour. A second for the visitors on 28 minutes put Jdsx’s girls in a deep hole, and though Emma Anstruther pulled one back on 43 minutes with a breakaway strike (her first senior goal on just her second appearances), a third for Fortitudo on 66 minutes basically killed things off.
Michelle MacFillan had a goal disallowed for Mauchline late on, and Daniëlle van de Donk picked up a second yellow card soon after, but the scoreline didn’t change further.
The loss left seventh-placed Mauchline five points behind fifth in the 1b table.

Two away trips to sides in the well adrift bottom three were the fare for OTF’s side in Division 3e.
For Coxy Ladies Wulpen that meant a trip to Mexico to take on Deportivo Cruz Azul.
The Waders had scrapped out a win in the home match between the teams, but this time they were ahead early when Chloé Bremen buried their first chance 20 minutes into the game. Was this a chance for Janik’s side to give the boss an armchair ride? Er, no, not even close. Instead Coxy Ladies appeared happy with 1-0, creating no more chances in the match and riding their luck to see three Cruz Azul efforts go unconverted. Risky, but successful as unconverted they were.
Viking South Utsira had found things more straightforward against Gretna Girls FC at Ragnar Rock, so were hoping for a similarly breezy day when they nipped briefly into the Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion.
And that is exactly what Velvet Android’s side got. It took just 3 minutes for Yasmine Klovning to fire The Blood Eagles ahead, which would have been enough for victory as struggling Gretna failed to register a single effort on Monike Austrheim’s goal in the match. However, despite the probably superfluity Nina Austrheim and Astri Brandhaug added to Klovning’s strike with headers on 41 and 75 minutes respectively.
Those wins kept Viking and Coxy Ladies top and second respectively of the 3e table. The gap between the two is two points, the gap from Wulpen to third is a further three. Which really sets up tomorrow’s second derby clash something lovely.

Just like in 3e, OTF sides went into Matchday 8 top and second in Division 4k and were likewise facing bottom three opponents they would expect to beat.
In Bombay Green Rockets that meant dealing with Northen Stars Lady and their irritatingly spelling-challenged name.
A dominant first half for HKS3’s side was suitably reflected on the scoreline by a 7th minute strike from Isabel Lock and a long range shot after 42 from Agnes Panzer. When Julia Schaller headed home to make it three-nil on 64 minutes a comfortable day seemed in prospect for Rockets fans. However they were sitting a little less comfortably when Northen pulled one back on 73 and then in full on fret after Barbara Baumann put through her own net. That came on 91 minutes though, which meant the worrying was only brief as soon after the final whistle went on the expected win.
And what of Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC? Well, SeanoftheShed’s side were playing host to Blue Belles, which surely had ‘home win’ written all over it. After all The Sea Spirits were top, unbeaten, and had conceded just twice all season whilst Blue Belles were seventh, with had lost six out of seven and had only scored four times.
But sport sometimes throws up surprises, often with a large slice of luck involved. That was exactly what happened here as The Sea Goddesses didn’t perform up to scratch but were still the better side… except when it came to chance conversion where Blue Belles converted two of their three chances. And KRK none out of three.
Despite the shock loss Kanjeng stay top of 4k as their lead over The Green Rockets had been five points. It is now two. Bombay’s own advantage on third has increased to three points. So very, very like 3e then… expect the seemingly decisive OTF derby is not for a few weeks yet.

Cassiopeia were looking to avoid a reversal of fortunes after they beat Jocvijeve Zecice to go top of Division 4n last time out.
Helena Krcmarevic set The Vainglories on the path to that when she scored directly from a free-kick on 27 minutes, and though Zecice equalised from the penalty spot a minute before the interval overall Stormstopper’s side could be delighted with their performance across the two games – four points out of six from a direct promotion rival will do that.
Only drawing did cost Cassiopeia the leadership of the table for the moment, The Vainglories slipping to second, a point adrift of the new table-toppers, but there is plenty of time later (and a head-to-head clash) to reverse that.

Neither Cinghiali nor S----- score a lot or concede a lot.
That meant SitsWithRemote’s side were in trouble when they fell behind just before the half hour of the clash at Piani Resinelli. That forced the hosts to push, which just resulted in holes for the visitors to score two more, all of them coming from the same player. Who is a defender. Grr.
Not a great day for The Boars, and though it doesn’t cost them any league places, they remain third in Division 5:14, they are now much closer in points to sixth (two) than second (five). And therefore looking over their shoulders rather than ahead.

LNWR Locomotive’s win at Throop Ladies was a big step in the right direction for The Steamers, but it would count for little if Viktor Boskovic’s side didn’t back it up with another positive result when the same opposition visited Mollington Street.
Failing was not going to happen if Callie Deeney had anything to do with it, though. The Locomotive free-kick specialist was up for this one, and she made the most of her opportunities scoring from dead ball situations not once (33 minutes) but twice (and 78). That was more than enough to ensure victory for LNWR as Throop didn’t get a single effort off at Sona Mgrditchian’s net.
How important was this win? Well, it send The Steamers past Throop and up to fifth in the Division 5:17 table. Locomotive now have momentum, with three wins in a row. And once they get that up, they can be very hard to stop.

[Janik]

Rising Stars had cruised to victory at Wheelies Wobblers seven days prior to the teams meeting again at the Ascension Arena.
Goals had come relatively easy for Blamb’s side in the away match, but the same was not true in this return. An injury to Edite Monção didn’t help with this (13 days… oof) but it was more finishing than creating chances that was the problem – The Stars had seven sights of the Wheelies goal in the match. The conversion rate was poor, but it was not zero as Norma Massa finally put a chance away on 70 minutes. And that was enough to ensure victory for The Ascenders as the Wobblers didn’t manage a single effort on the Rising goal.
To add to the win, Rising’s nearest rival for second in Division 5:18 were held to a draw. Meaning there is now a two point gap between The Stars and the rest. Leaders PVFC Ladies remain seven points distant, though.

ASU Politehnica had drawn with Flick of the Wrist to keep themselves in front of their head-to-head rivals in the mid-table region of the Division 5:21 table after matchday 7. But could The Scholars maintain their slight advantage after the return away game on matchday 8?
A second minute strike for Flick suggested otherwise. Granthamian’s side suffered a further blow before the 10th minute when defender Ellen Furukvist was forced off injured (6 days). The downbeat start was something that Politehnica never really recovered from, giving up many chances prior to FotW finally making it two on 76 minutes. No arguments, really.
The other OTF side in this section are Invisible Ladies, who had picked up a vital win against Yerti last time out that saw them climb off the bottom of the 5:21 to be replaced by their direct opponents.
If Pebblethefish’s side didn’t want that reversed they needed to get something in the return at The San Seethrough. The See Throughs appeared on course for that when Darlene Forsyth put them ahead, and that despite losing defender Katie Hopkin to a nasty 13-day injury just a few minutes prior to Forsyth’s 39th minute effort. However a goal against the run of play sneaked in from Yerti on 76 minutes, and try as they might, Invisible couldn’t re-establish themselves and had to settle for a frustrating and underwhelming draw.
A point wasn’t really enough as far as The See-Throughs were concerned as it leaves them seventh in the 5:21 standings, six points adrift of fifth. Who happen to be Politehnica now, The Scholars sitting just two points ahead of sixth, though still also only four points behind second in the table and five away from the new league leaders.

Zeugma Dostluk Spor were out for revenge when they visited nearest rivals Cebollitas – what with the Anatolians being unbeaten until their first clash on matchday 7.
Antepli Ejderha’s side certainly created enough chances to have won, but they mostly went begging whereas Cebollitas scored one of theirs in the 12th minute. The hosts again showed a lack of nerves in front of goal in the 71st minute, and though Makbule Mansiz pulled one back for them not long after, the die had already been cast and a second-straight defeat was in inexorable progress.
That defeat cost ZDS top spot in Division 5:26, slipping instead to second on goal difference.

It was bottom against top in Division 5:27 as leaders Menywod Maeshafn headed to winless Brkate Zetovke.
But as we have already seen once in this report, such shoe-ins can occasionally go wrong. Was it complacency on the part of Maeshafn that saw the same happen here? Or was it bad luck, Welsh boss IsThatcherDeadYet losing key defender Leigh McRichter to a 13-day injury and also seeing a goal disallowed (Morgan Beck, in the second half)? Probably some combination of the two. It’s clear fortune didn’t smile on Maeshafn, but it’s also the case that they created rather less than they would have expected, and can’t massively complain about the 1-0 defeat. Though a draw would also have been fair (and nearly, but not quite, as disappointing as the 1-0 loss!).
Defeat cost Maeshafn top spot in the 5:27 table… but only by goal difference as nearest rivals Three Lionesses, who hadn’t drawn a game all season, suddenly conceded three in one game to draw 3-3 and let two points slip by. These two lead third in the standings by five points.

Two teams in need of points in the battle against relegation from Division 5:28 clashed for the second week in a row when Dublin City Womens FC received the full Moe Szyslak Experience.
The Molly Malones had edged the first meeting of the sides 1-0, but could such sweet things triumph in a place as grim as Moe’s Tavern? Getting the win was not helped by ref Dick Tator disallowing an early Maria Lyktberg strike, but Jdsx’s side ploughed on, crying their sales cries and getting the reward they wanted when Michelle Hempel headed home a 73rd minute corner.
Narrow, but once again enough to claim a win for The Street Vendors. Which lifted them out of the drop zone and up to fifth in the 5:28 table, albeit only one point clear of danger.

Csiki Girls victory over Cluj SisterHood had moved Ad hoc’s side out of Division 5:31’s relegation places… but staying there meant avoiding a reversal in the return in Cluj.
And, um, no, the Csiki’s didn’t manage it. It went wrong quite quickly in fact, Cluj going ahead after just 7 minutes and then adding a second on 31. Csiki Girls barely threatened, having one unconverted chance and a late Ginger Crampsey effort disallowed. And even if that had stood, it was probably rather too late to make a serious difference.
And with that Csiki Girls slid back down to sixth in the 5:31 standings. They are now a point adrift of fifth.

After winning every game of the opening half of the season, Ullapool Northern Star were clear and obvious favourites to beat Abbeywood Unicorns.
Polaris had only conceded two goals all season, so it was a serious shock to the system when the Unicorns went ahead on 16 minutes. That was against the run of play however, which was more accurately exerted when Amy Wailer equalised on 35 minutes. Northern Star were looking to build on that after the break, only to be shocked again when Abbeywood made it 2-1 on 58 minutes.
This time the Scots response was swift and brutal, Avril Weatherhead levelling just two minutes later followed by Alunita Iosifescu making it 3-2 only a further 120 seconds on. That, finally, meant UNS were in pole position, something they held with reasonable comfort from here to the end, though the overall match could hardly be described in those terms.
Still, a win is a win, and this was the eighth from eight for Polaris this season. That has them nine points clear of second in the Division 6:39 table and closing rapidly on promotion back to Division 5.

And finally we check in on Hazeldean Inchmistress to see how Foxy265’s girls got on with zombies Mizz Amatörz.
The Imperials had been ahead within the first 60 seconds of the home match, and were so again on the road after Karen Bunton finished off the opening attack. Jennie Bringevik followed this with a five-minute hattrick with strikes on 5, 7 and 10 minutes, Jacqueline Morgan scored a fifth on 15 minutes, Bunton got her second of the day on 22 and Mollie Tattershall got in on the act with the seventh on 38. There was even time before the first half for a rare 8th, Morgan heading in her second of the day.
Hazeldean were bored now and spent the second half passing amongst themselves. 8 was more than enough, especially as Division 6:42 title rivals Team Rafael Women only put five past the same opponents. Which, given the two teams are level on points at the summit, may yet be a telling difference in who wins the 6:42 championship.

[delicatemoth]

Great stuff Janik. Given the unpleasant managers who infest this league, I'd like to praise Abbeywood Unicorns' boss, who congratulated me after the game on "your forthcoming promotion". Pretty sporting as I'm guessing their immediate post-game reaction was more likely 'we almost had them!'

[Sits]

That’s nice dm. I’m almost considering a pretend move from Oz, to try and escape some of my semi-permanent divisional neighbours such as S——-

Thanks for your supportive report Janik but Cinghiali really are on a slow road. There’s never been any cash since I took over, and the best two players retired before this season. I just have to add good youngsters very gradually, and wait.

[MortalJoe]

Thanks Janik for the wonderful round-up. We are just one point up, so it will be very difficult to stay in Division 5, especially we received with Keelan Shanley a fine 16/4 midfielder from the youth Academy. This is our second high-profile oyuth after we got Neasa Calbhach, a 17/5 striker. I find this funny, especially when I am reading the daily moaning about the Youth Academy in the XPerts Ladies Scribble. I don't know wht the yall expecting. I have the feeling the less you complain, the more you get. I like that

Oh, Janik, just a small correction. I know, Dublin City Womens FC is playing a bit better, unfortunately, they are still managed by me, not by jdsx, who still is with Mauchline Bells :-)

[Etienne]

A couple of disappointing results, but 3 tremendous wins for lower seeded OTFers in MLX. And a surprisingly comfortable win for Zmaj over United Underground. Just the top seeded Randoms next.

[Various Artist]

UU have been in a bit of a state all season, unfortuantely for me but fortunately for some of our opponents. Not least, I discovered when I went to set up tactics for our playoff that I'd not set any form training since October 8th -- forgetting after each game then only realising at the same point of setting tactics for the next one... then forgetting again.

I can only put it down to having to use my phone browser for the first couple of the matches in that sequence, where it's harder to keep an eye on everything, and then after the final regular-season match I went straight into trying to organise the MLX Challenge Bowl and overlooked my own team. Bit of a shambles, all told, the only silver lining being that at least I've probably saved about 2 million econs in unspent training fees in that time...

Notice of course that it never once occurred to me to try downloading the actual X11 app to potentially make accessing the game on my phone any easier. Has anyone here ever given it a try? And is your computer now allowing you back into the game Etienne?

[Sits]

Years ago when they launched the app I tried it for while, and found it awful. But that could just be me. The best part was that one of my players looked like Abel Xavier in his bleached hair and beard phase.

[Various Artist]

OTF League roundup for 18th October 2021: Season 65 round 8

Division 3
The state of flux in D3 approaching the midpoint of the season is genuinely off the charts. Last Thursday, a loss for Great Northern Railway shunted them down from 1st to 4th, yet on Monday a one-sided 4-0 home win over New Dresden saw them take the express route straight back to the top of the table. Moreover, Dresden, who had leapt to 2nd mere days earlier, were so thoroughly derailed by this scoreline they plummet all the way to 7th. Only two points separate the sides, and astonishingly had they even drawn Dresden would have remained 2nd and only missed top spot by a single goal. As it is, they find themselves fully five places lower.
GNR are a point ahead of a pack of four teams, headed on GD by Tree Hill High – who took over at the top by beating the Railwaymen yet had to relinquish that position after just four days following a 0-0 with Brian Munchingflapjack, who sit unmoved immediately behind them in 3rd. THH remain the sole undefeated side, but their record now reads 3-5-0. The trio of Athletico Deva, Veni Vici Vigata and OWC Albion all move up one place to 4th, 5th and 6th, after home wins for Deva over 8th-placed Pinewood Passers (a comeback 2-1) and VVV over 10th-placed Indigo Plateau (2-0) while OWC eventually overcame 9th-placed Eintracht Midwest 3-1 away thanks to two goals in the last four minutes.

Division 2
Only 5 points span the top 6 here, come to that, but the top half remains wholly unaltered by Mondays results. Leaders die Ambosse however opened up a four-point cushion to 3rd-placed Wharfedale Generals after Christiano Slimiñho found the target twice in the last half-hour to see off the Generals 2-0 at Newall Carr Road. Solitary unbeaten side Saltney Drawers ended a run of three 0-0s to keep pace with them on 18 points thanks to a 2-0 home win over Cods of War, despite playing the last 27 minutes with 10 men after the aptly-named Vic Titball went and got himself sent off – the first dismissal of the 33-year defender’s 211-game career. The Drawers remain two goals behind the Anvils in 2nd on GD. Cods though take a dip into the relegation places in 8th.
A point behind Wharfedale, Littlewoods Legends (4th) were caught up by Somers Town Sugar Imps (5th) after the latter beat them 1-0 at home, and Azure Dragons climb to 6th and level on points with the pair after a 2-0 home win over Wensleydale Blues (9th). Andromache FC (7th) are out of the dropzone via an entertaining 4-2 home win over rock-bottom Heffron Hendecagon, who have now lost seven on the spin. The Hendos next have a doubleheader against fellow winless stragglers Wensleydale – something has got to give!

Division 1
This was another congested division prior to Monday’s games, but a gap has opened up below the promotion spots after the teams starting the day 2nd and 3rd, Whoft Fluffopolis and Dandy Town, defeated those who started the day 5th and 4th, Hampshire Deers and Wednesday de la Zouch. The clash at the Benabau was – eventually – a thriller, where after a tight and goalless first half the Dandies took the lead soon after the break only to be quickly pegged back, then got reduced to 10 men by an injury to defender Abraão Cabanas with 22 minutes to play. Weds finally took advantage with 6 minutes to go... only for their visitors to immediately level up again. Then, three minutes into stoppage time, Tomas Bachini somehow snatched the shorthanded Highwaymen a stunning winner, to not only keep his side ahead of Wednesday but pull four points clear of them.
It was a lot more straightforward for Whoft, who were briefly held at 1-1 in the first half at the Deers but ran away with it 4-1 in the end. That sent the Fluffers straight back to the top of the table, as Waveney Valley Swifts produced the worst possible follow-up to hitting the summit by losing 2-0 at bottom club Turd Division, who had not won all season previously. The Swifts fall 2 points behind the Fluffers to 2nd.
There was another “lively game”, in home manager Janik’s words, between Banik Roystonov and Portsmouth FC at Moje Zahrada, where Pompey led early, Banik swiftly scored twice to lead themselves, Dries van Springel scored either side of half-time to haul the visitors back in front but then a late leveller from Dirk Blaha made it a (fair) 3-3 at the final whistle. Portsmouth go a point ahead of the Deers to 5th, Banik stay two below the safety line in 8th. Meanwhile an incident-packed 1-1 draw between Kernow Kensa and Rejects Redux featured one minor injury for the visitors and one major one for the hosts within the first six minutes, two associated yellow cards, two more yellows before the sides exchanged goals in the 72nd and 78th minutes and then a red card for Kensa’s Wyatt Morton to wrap things up. A point was still enough to lift Redux to 6th, a goal behind both Weds and Portsmouth on GD, while Kernow stay 9th a point behind Banik. Turds, who had been starting to fall adrift, are now only two points behind the Cornishmen at the foot.

OTF
Top two Berkshire Swine and Vita Mortis are back on terms after the leaders were held 0-0 at Csiki Monkeys despite having 5 shots to 0, while the Reaper Men edged out Croesoswallt Dragons 1-0 at the Host of Trophies Past through a late Ernest Crompton winner to draw level with the Sty Council once more on 5-3-0 apiece. The Monkeys thus made it up to Mortis for holding them 1-1 four days earlier, and although they slip a place to 4th they are proving hard to beat this term – they have still lost only once, and have held the top two consecutively despite being outshot a combined 10-1 in those games! With perfectly-scripted scheduling, after contesting last season's title to the last minutes and playing nip and tuck at the head of the league this time around, the Swine and Mortis go head to head in the midseason doubleheaders starting this Thursday.

In lower midtable, Great Ouse Town recovered from a deficit to emerge 3-1 victors at Zeugmaspor, lifting themselves to 5th while keeping Zeugma 7th and a point above the dropzone. That counts as a goal-fest in what has been, in general, a low-scoring season in the top flight – Day 1 saw seven of the ten teams fail to find the net and only 5 goals scored in total, a measly figure promptly replicated on matchday 4 when the five home teams could not muster a goal between them. Four Candles however matched that total single-handed on Monday, plundering five of their own within a window of just 40 minutes at Eriskay Expression in an unexpected 5-1 thrashing that nearly doubled their season’s tally. The Candles also nip ahead of the Monkeys to 3rd, by a point. It also doubled the Islanders’ goals-against total and pushed them down to 9th, Steaua Bridge the surprised recipients of a boost to 8th on GD despite themselves losing 1-0 in the basement battle at Locomotiv Noj. Steaua ended up a goal better off than Eriskay after the Islanders’ heavy loss – but the day was all Noj’s, who thanks to Mavras Alvertis’ 67th-minute penalty recorded their first ever top-flight victory, at the eighth attempt, and precisely six years, four months and eighteen days after their formation.

[Various Artist]

Years ago when they launched the app I tried it for while, and found it awful. But that could just be me. The best part was that one of my players looked like Abel Xavier in his bleached hair and beard phase.

Was that one of your men's or women's players? I seem to remember the beards were puzzlingly unisex, not to mention the race-lift given to random individuals.

[Etienne]

UU have been in a bit of a state all season, unfortuantely for me but fortunately for some of our opponents. Not least, I discovered when I went to set up tactics for our playoff that I'd not set any form training since October 8th -- forgetting after each game then only realising at the same point of setting tactics for the next one... then forgetting again.

I can only put it down to having to use my phone browser for the first couple of the matches in that sequence, where it's harder to keep an eye on everything, and then after the final regular-season match I went straight into trying to organise the MLX Challenge Bowl and overlooked my own team. Bit of a shambles, all told, the only silver lining being that at least I've probably saved about 2 million econs in unspent training fees in that time...

Notice of course that it never once occurred to me to try downloading the actual X11 app to potentially make accessing the game on my phone any easier. Has anyone here ever given it a try? And is your computer now allowing you back into the game Etienne?

Well, my glorious victory doesn't seem so glorious now.

I've had to use a browser I'd not accessed Xpert Eleven on before, but yes I'm back on it properly now.