Things are getting tight at the bottom of division one as it looks like Revolution will go down, but not without a fight as they fought back from 2-0 down to earn a point against Club Tropicana. The first Tropics goal was an OG then Joost Opstal doubled the lead shortly after. Unfortunately, Tropics keeper Gianlucca went down with an achilles tendon rupture- (best wishes for the recovery), agonizingly as he watched the ball trickle over the line. Revo got their equalizer through a hotly disputed penalty that Geoffrey Gardiner coolly dispatched. Soho Spartans also got themselves a vital point in an equally entertaining 2-2 draw with Goodfellas. Soho were disappointed not to have what looked like a fair goal given in their favour as the ref and linesman disagreed on whether the ball had crossed the line. Fellas goal scorers were OG and Vu Pham while it was Tom Lipton and Wissam Adli for Sparts.
KCC Cavs failed to take advantage of a Corinthians defeat as they were downed 3-1 by a resurgent DBFC. Despite starting well and missing a couple of one on ones, DBFC managed to get into HT at 0-0. DB got on top in the second half though and got three goals via Tita Celistanus Chou, Enzo Xisto Gomes Pedro and Krisna Korani. Nikhil Narwani had given KCC a lifeline making it 2-1. The Cors defeat came at the hands of Irish Harps, who look set to push USRC right to the wire in the quest for the title and it was again the last ten mins when Cors were undone. Harps went 1 up with a lovely Lee McQuade finish but Cors fought back after the break with two quick goals from Dhiraj Mukhi and Riccardo Chesti. Ronan O’Boyle then equalized from the spot and got his second with a nicely chipped finish. Luke Moynagh added gloss to the score-line with a late fourth. Wanchai Sparts saw Nick Day, Dan Dibden and Simon Liu bag in their 3-0 win against J-Leaguers. Although still 0-0 at the interval, Sparts were always on top and patience paid off in the end. Lastly, USRC Gunners fought out their annual classic with HK Scottish Stags, this time coming out on top 3-2. Gunners looked in control early as Giacomo Gallina and Sean Taylor continued their fine scoring runs making it 2-0. A nasty leg break to Gunners CB Turbs and before half time from Will Bright though gave Stags’ confidence. An audacious Tommy Bartles strike from 40 yards catching our keeper out of position brough the scores level but Gallina’s brilliantly executed free kick snatched all three points for USRC.
It’s all to play for at the top of division two, as one point separates 2nd to 5th. Krauts remain top by a narrowed 5-point margin after OSM beat them in a 4-3 classic. OSM raced into a 3-nil lead inside 20 mins thanks to Matt Bowman free-kick which evaded everyone, a Joe Chagas pen and a Ben Thompson solo run and strike. Thompson made it 4-0 on the half hour mark from close range but Krauts nicked one through Angel Suarez before half time. The German lads came out fighting second half with Etienne Bong and Patrick Bez goals, but they couldn’t force a late equalizer. Eagles and Royals were the main benefactors as they recorded 2-1 and 3-1 wins respectively to sit 2nd and 3rd level on 34 points. Eagles beat Mes thanks to Howard Kelly and Pierre Mounai strikes but despite having their keeper sent off, Mes couldn’t add to Will Harvey’s solitary strike. KCC Royals overcame Wanchai Wolves 4-1 with two from Raphael Bouchet and one each from Luca Merlone and Paolo Giannelli in a flattering score-line as only Chee Wong had his shooting boots on for Wolves.
San P’s remain in the hunt though just a point off second after they drew 1-1 with Samurai Blue. Sam Blue started strong and went 1 up through Limbu Rishi Hang and would have extended their lead were it not for a string of fine stops from San P’s keeper. Their failure to find a second was punished by Austin Tenny in the second half and Sam Blue were grateful to a last-ditch tackle to keep a share of the spoils late on. Lastly in division 2, Mehdi Kelefi scored a penalty in the first half only for Philip Santilhano to equalize with a last- minute free kick for Vikings as the matched ended one apiece.
Into the third division now, where two points separate the top three. Stray Dogs made light work of HK ZJ with a 4-1 win thanks to a brace from Thomson Yung and a goal each from Leo Mimasu and Jakub Malich. Yu Xing Cao had briefly given ZJ a shout making it 2-1 but Yung would score a pen then a curling 30-yard effort to seal the points. Shooters overcame Barbs 2-0 with the goals coming from Kazuhisa Takeda and Haruto Matsumoto, the first a direct corner going in and the second coming ten minutes from the end. BOC beat Bants by the same 2-0 score-line scoring two breakaway goals from Harsha Matura and Mo Lemistef. Bants had a great chance to pull one back but a great save and even better follow up block kept the clean sheet intact. Lots of further chances but no more goals in this one. No goals were also the order of the day between Dragon Valley and Dong Feng Express as they battled out a goalless draw, all be it during a great end to end game with a point each a fair result on balance.
On the Wednesday public holiday, Stray Dogs put 7 past HKZJ with Kaki Tsang, Eugene Kan (2), Silvio Ruprah, Jakub Maich, Davis Lau and Josh Shorrock doing the damage. A variety of goals including a diving header, top bins form 25 yards and a net breaking volley saw the Dogs put pressure on the league leaders with four games to play. Shooters beat DV 4-0 with a goal each from Kazuhisa Takeda and Haruto Matsumoto and two from Yosuke Kuranmae with DV tiring late in the game as the large squad of Shooters saw them run out comfortable winners.
