Round 15

Houston Odyssey 3 - 3 FC Levski
B_Lee (lev) 3'
J_Flago (hou) 5'
B_Lee (lev) 22'
Aviron (lev) 55'
O_Gunner (hou) 61'
O_Gunner (hou) 64'

Houston continue their indifferent home form, this time against the Div 3 whipping boys Levski. This was not the result that Houston was wanting or needed as it makes their playoffs hopes correspondingly more difficult to achieve. I suppose that Iggy, while disappointed that they didn't get the full 3 points, is relieved that they did get something out of the game as they spent much of the match behind on the scoreboard. Levski came out all guns firing and were 3 - 1 up after 55 minutes, only the 3 minutes of brilliance by O_Gunner save Houston from a shock loss. Another game of nearly but not quite for Levski and unfortunately with this result have now been officially relegated. I would suppose that their only goal now is to finish their season on a positive note. Next week Levski take on this weeks shock losers Saskatoon and it will be interesting to see how this game pans out.

The only vaguely positive note for Houston is the correct Skill increase for their veteran defender Luther, because otherwise the news was not so good. Alvarez is out for the season unless they make it to the playoffs and will only eligible to play in the 2nd game. The other disappointment is the loss of striker Flago for 1 week due to suspension. Levski also lose a defender due to suspension for next weeks game against Saskatoon, mind you the way the Levski defense has been leaking goals I doubt it will make that much difference.

Caledonia Celtic 3 - 3 Barnsley Tykes
M_Mickley (bar) 6' pen
S_Jones (bar) 7'
Leonardo (cal) 22'
B_Lopez (bar) 27'
P_Tarkel (cal) 70'
Leonardo (cal) 81' pen

Well Sarmas prediction for a Barnsley win or draw was correct. They almost took all 3 points from the league leaders and in a repeat of the 1st game of the week the visiting team were 3-1 up before a late comeback by the home team. Neither manager is going to be totally satisfied with the result. Shane must see this as a lost opportunity and with Paris just 1 point behind must have been sweating on other results. Sarma on the other hand needed to win to keep his making the playoffs alive. It is still a possibility for Barnsley to make the top 3 however they really need to win all their remaining games and hope for some other teams (Houston and Spartak) to drop games.

Barnsleys hopes for a good run home will be boosted by the return of 2 players from suspension for next weeks must win game against Api. The return of Samoscanec will especially be of importance to stiffen their back line. Caledonia also welcome a player back from injury and with the return of Urrlith now have a full strength team to field against a Houston team that will be desperate to win, and has one of the best away records in Div 3 with 5 wins, 1 draw and only 1 loss. Should be a good game.

Saskatoon Wanderers 2 - 5 Frogner Farmers
J_Bohn (fro) 8'
M_Noisome (fro) 20'
E_Eeeee (sas) 22'
B_Bong (sas) 28'
J_Bohn (fro) 31'
M_Noisome (fro) 34'
J_Bohn (fro) 80'

In the last few weeks we have had some shock results and this one really has to go into the shock category. I would have put a great deal of money on Saskatoon dealing quite easily with the struggling Frogner but it just goes to show that you sould never give up. This game was in the balance at 2-2 for just under 30 minutes after a very good start by Frogner which saw them go out to a 2 nil lead after just 20 minutes. Saskatoon to their credit didn't capitulate and came back with 2 goals of their own in just a 6 minute period to even the game. From then on it was one way traffic with Bohn (not Bong) and Noisome the main destroyers. Bohn will be ecstatic with his hatrick which catapults him into the top 20 scorers. This finishes Saskatoons chances at making the top 3 as they really needed those 3 points to give themselves a sniff at the playoffs.

A mixed bag again for Saskatoon sees them gain Ieja back from suspension but lose VanDerSaar to a 1 week injury. This is a bad injury for Saskatoon as their backup keeper is, to put it mildly, crap. He wouldn't get a start in a 4th Division team and although Levski have let in a hell of a lot of goals, they actually have the 4th best goal scoring record in the 3rd Div. Pack that defensive line next week Eugene. Frogner get Owens back from injury and now boast a full strength squad to take them into next weeks game against Pasmaters.

Apijarevoleada APR 2 - 2 Paris Demons
S_Colosimo (api) 2'
P_Smegovic (api) 38'
R_Cosinus (par) 70'
R_Nixon (par) 83'

This was a very gutsy effort by Api considering that they were missing both of their best players for this game. There would be 2 very different reactions from the 2 managers, Andy with a full strength squad must have been kicking his players after the game for letting this opportunity to take the lead in the Title race and Jesus, while disappointed that his team squanded a 2 nil lead in the second half, will be pleased that he is still mathematically in the race for the playoffs. This game was much like the other 2 draws in that the team that was 2 goals down came back with 2 unanswered goals of their own to grab a share of the spoils.

Both teams lost players this week for next weeks game. Api lost Colosimo first for 2 weeks due to injury and then for a further weeks suspension, shithouse luck. They do however get their best forward back in the shape of Mashburn and they will go into next weeks game away to Barnsley slightly more confidently, they too must win if they are to keep their slim hopes of a playoff berth alive. Paris lose their striker Nike going into their clash with 3rd placed Spartak next week. This should not unduly worry Andy as he has plenty of backups for Nike should he need them. The one really good piece of news for Paris is the correct skill increase for their talented young defender Sonetti which should help Paris keep their excellent defensive record.

Pasmaters 0 - 1 Spartak Haifa
T_Sokota (hai) 65'

Although their respective Table positions suggest this should have been an easy win for Spartak it was a real struggle for the higher placed team. Cagri will go away from this game bitterly disappointed that they didn't collect the 3 points and continue their past few weeks good form. In actual fact Spartak were out played pretty much all over the field. Pasmaters forward Lazanger was in great form and the whole team out shot the visitors by a total ratio of 3 to 1 and an "on goal" shots ratio of 6 to 1. The difference was the form of the respective goalkeepers with Grois saving all that was sent his way while Brumer fluffed the only shot on goal by the Spartak forwards when he missed Sokotas 65th minute shot. This was a very important win for Spartak as it allows them to extend their lead over the chasing duo of Houston and Barnsley by a further 2 points. They also narrow the gap between them and the top 2 teams by the same margin.

Spartak welcome back both Alvarez and Hendrix from suspension for their next game against 2nd placed Paris which is good news for them. Lazanga was obviously a frustrated man when he fouled a Spartak player in the 65th minute and received a yellow card for his pains, his rush of blood however means that he has to sit out Pasmaters next game against Frogner which could decide their final table positions.

Pos  Name                         Gm      Gls
1    Leonardo (cal)               16       33
2    D_Droze (par)                22       18
3    B_Bong (sas)                 18       15
4    M_Medinna (hou)              17       13
5    I_Lazanga (pas)              17       11
6    P_Smegovic (api)             18       11
7    B_Lopez (bar)                13       10
8    M_Mickley (bar)              15       10
9    A_Orr (par)                  18       10
10   Alfalfio (sas)               15        9

Pos  Name                         Gm      Ass
1    Bindinho (cal)               18        9
2    T_Jonsson (lev)              20        7
3    D_Polla (par)                19        6
4    R_Nixon (par)                17        5
5    P_Tarkel (cal)               18        5
6    Nicolinho (cal)              18        5
7    Krokodil (cal)               19        5
8    R_Cosinus (par)              20        5
9    G_Hendrix (hai)              14        4
10   R_Thirteen (sas)             14        4

Pos  Name                         Gm       Dp
1    H_Blomqvist (bar)            16       28
2    D_Polla (par)                19       26
3    E_Bergkamp (lev)             11       24
4    Alfalfio (sas)               15       24
5    P_Sanchez (fro)              13       22
6    Ieja (sas)                   14       22
7    H_Lotov (hai)                15       22
8    TK_Bjerke (par)              17       22
9    J_Tarkel (cal)               14       20
10   G_Hendrix (hai)              14       20

Pos  Name                         Gm    P.Pts
1    Leonardo (cal)               16      401
2    P_Jones (lev)                21      400
3    Bindinho (cal)               18      315
4    R_Cosinus (par)              20      295
5    Y_Stanich (lev)              21      287
6    T_Jonsson (lev)              20      273
7    B_Bong (sas)                 18      265
8    P_Tarkel (cal)               18      262
9    K_Do (sas)                   18      254
10   L_Diablo (cal)               19      253

Pl   Team                   P    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1    Caledonia_Celtic      15    9   4   2    41   27   14    31
2    Paris_Demons          15    9   3   3    35   21   14    30
3    Spartak_Haifa         15    8   4   3    21   14    7    28
4    Houston_Odyssey       15    7   3   5    25   23    2    24
5    Barnsley_Tykes        15    5   7   3    32   26    6    22
6    Apijarevoleada_APR    15    5   4   6    22   27   -5    19
7    Saskatoon_Wanderers   15    5   3   7    23   25   -2    18
8    Frogner_Farmers       15    4   4   7    23   25   -2    16
9    Pasmaters             15    5   0  10    23   32   -9    15
10   FC_Levski             15    1   2  12    27   52  -25     5