Thame United 5-2 Colney Heath ( att : 103 ) – 2021/22 Southern League Division One Central

December 18, 2021

With matches across the country being called off due to increasing number of Covid cases, a late decision was made to visit Thame United, as it may well be some time before future games could be attended if the rumours of another lockdown turn out to be true.

Thame were last covered in these diaries in early November when they beat St Neots Town 2-0.  Subsequently they have recorded 5 more wins, one draw and one loss. They went into today’s match in 8^th place in the Southern League Division One Central, 5 points off the play-offs with a game in hand.

Today’s visitors were Colney Heath, who come from a village in Hertfordshire between St Albans and Hatfield, 39 miles from Thame and just under an hour away along A41. Colney Heath were top of the South Midlands Premier League when 2019/20 season was terminated and were promoted after average points per game over 2019/20 and 2020/21 was used to determine the sides to go up.

This is the first ever season at Level 4/Step 8 for The Magpies and they have had a tough season so far, with just 2 wins and 7 points from 20 leagues games.  They sat at the bottom of the table, 6 points adrift of safety. However, Colney Heath did win their last match, a 1-0 home win over St Neots Town, to end a run of 12 consecutive league defeats, although there had been an indication of improvement as the previous three games had seen defeats by single goal margins. Their other win was a 2-0 win over Hertford Town in September, with the other point coming from a 0-0 away draw at Biggleswade FC in August.

Despite their miserable league form, Colney Heath have enjoyed a modicum of success in Cup competitions. They started in the FA Cup with a 3-0 home win over Harlow Town ( although Harlow got revenge in the league two weeks later with a 3-1 win at Colney Heath ) before a 0-4 loss at home to Ware Town in the next round. Hertford were beaten on penalties in the Southern League Cup after a 2-2 draw, before they exited the competition to Waltham Abbey on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Their first ever appearance in the FA Trophy saw a 2-5 home loss to Basildon United.

It was a grey, still, dry afternoon at kick-off with the temperature around 10 degrees, although it gradually got colder as the game progress and it was quite chilly at the finish.

Thame were without leading goal scorer Ryan Blake but didn’t seem to be affected by this as they started brightly. In the fifth minute Lynton Goss ran onto a long ball and looked to have too much pace for centre-back Toby Bryon, who reportedly had recently been playing in the Greek Second Division, but the defender retrieved the situation with a tremendous tackle. Goss then saw a header strike fullback Rahho but the appeals for handball were waived away by the referee. West was then allowed far too much time and space to turn on the edge of the area but his shot sailed comfortably over the bar.

The opening goal arrived in the 11^th minute. West’s point blank header was well saved but the ball was only cleared as far as Thame centre-back Harry Mepham, who thumped a swerving 25 yard goal bound right footed shot, and although keeper Barco got two hands to the shot, he was unable to keep it out and the ball crept into the corner of the goal. The Colney Heath bench were audibly unhappy with their defenders but centre-back and captain Jay Lovell told them to “Shut Up”. One of the joys of watching football at this level is being able to hear the communication to/from the players !

The visitors responded well to falling behind and winger Elias Nichols made a couple of eye-catching runs. However, it was still against the run of play when the equaliser was scored in the 17^th minutes, midfielder Guerin Nimi headed home at the back post after a corner had bounced across the 6 yard box.

After Thame’s David Lynn headed narrowly over from a corner, Colney Heath then had a short spell of pressure. Ebrima Sawaneh, on loan from Enfield Town, went on a dangerous run down the left and forced a corner, and Kwon Hepburn delivered a cross from the right that evaded everyone. The impressive Nichols had another probing run but saw his cross intercepted.

As a couple of strong tackles flew in, both benches were unhappy with the lack of decisions they were receiving from the referee, but they couldn’t both be right !

Thame re-asserted their authority and created several good chances. A lovely give and go between West and Tutton put West clear inside the Heath penalty area but a brave piece of defending blocked the shot when a goal looked likely. Pearce shot weakly to the keeper after a poor punch fell to him and West drilled a shot from the edge of the area a fraction wide with Barco motionless.

In the 38^th minute Tompkins pulled the ball back from the by-line for Greg Hackett to launch a 20 yard effort against the cross-bar and from the rebound, the shot from Goss was deflected for a corner.

From the set-piece, keeper Barco couldn’t get much power to his punch and with his back to the goal West hooked the ball over his shoulder to Pearce, who rifled left footed into the roof of the net from the angle of the 6 yard box to give Thame the lead.

Thame scored again just before half-time. Hackett took a free-kick just outside the Colney Heath penalty area and again saw the ball crash back from the bar. From the rebound he played the ball to Pearce in space near the right-hand by-line and the ex-Chesham United and Oxford City man heard the call from his team-mate and laid the ball back to Goss who scored from 8 yards off the inside of the far post.

The unfortunate Hackett was denied again a minute, but this time it a was diving save to keep out his 20 yard effort and keep the score 3-1 at the interval. Greg Hackett had seen plenty of ball on the right wing and had given Colney’s left back Josip Jevdjic, who the Colney Heath website described as a forward when the 19 year old signed from Isthmian Premier Division side Wingate and Finchley, a hard time. As a result, Jevdjic was replaced at half-time and right-back Rahho switched to left-back. To be fair to the defender, he hadn’t received much support from his midfielders and was frequently left exposed.

Thame relentlessly kept up the pressure at the start of the second half. A lovely passing move ended with Goss delivering a low cross across the face of the 6 yard box just beyond Pearce, and the defender did well to avoid turning the ball into his own net. Pearce then had a long-range shot tipped past the post for a corner.

The fourth goal finally came in the 50^th minute when the outstanding Hackett jinked past a couple of defenders and squared the ball for fellow midfielder Jack Tompkins to sweep home of the inside of the post.

Colney captain Lovell audibly criticised his team-mates, as he had done so for every goal conceded and two minutes later when the match was halted after an accidental head injury to Colney’s Danny Fitzgerald, he run across the pitch to pick a fight with Thame’s Hackett.

Thame appeared to ease off and Colney Heath’s wingers and attacking midfielders came to the fore again, with Sawaneh becoming increasing influential. First, he showed good skill to beat his marker and win a corner, and he then went on a mazy run which ended with his shot being deflected for a corner, although he had ignored a well placed team-mate in oceans of space. On the other wing, Hepburn saw his low cross blocked by an outstretched leg of Thame keeper Craig Hill.

Nichols embarked on a run from half-way, fed Sawaneh, whose inside ball gave centre-forward McShane the chance to shoot, but his effort went narrowly high and wide of the near post.

The game’s most controversial incident occurred in the 66^th minute. Centre-back Lovell was outmuscled by Goss and collapsed to the floor whimpering and squealing like a pig. When the ball eventually went out of play, Lovell immediately jumped up, and off the ball, knocked over Hackett. Incredibly the referee only showed a yellow card to Lovell and awarded a free-kick to Thame, even though the ball was out of play.

Justice of a sorts was delivered when for the third time in the match Hackett hit the cross-bar, but whilst the defenders remained static, Pearce reacted to head home from 8 yards for his second goal of the game, and extend the lead to 5-1.

For all their defensive limitations, Colney Heath continued to look good going forward, with more dangerous raids from Sawaneh, Hepburn and Nichols. They finally got some reward when Nichols powered home a header from a corner to make it 2-5 in the 86^th minute

The action involving Lovell wasn’t over though and from a corner a minute later he again fell to the floor squealing, and when the referee waived play on he got up and ran over to the referee lifting the back of his shirt, presumably to show where he had been injured. From the subsequent corner, keeper Hill pushed Lovell out of his way to claim a catch, and Lovell hit the deck again. The Linesman flagged for a free-kick in favour of the Thame keeper, but VAR probably would have awarded a penalty.

Four minutes of injury time were added, in which Thame nearly scored three times. Substitute Murray was denied by the legs of the Colney keeper, Hackett shot narrowly over, and with the final kick of the match Pearce was put clear but blazed over to miss out on a hat-trick

Overall, it was a thoroughly entertaining match, and a deserved victory for Thame for whom Greg Hackett gave the man-of-the-match performance. Colney Heath didn’t look like a bottom of the table side, and on this evidence look like they should score quite a few goals. On the other-hand they need to do something about their defence.

On-line Programme : https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com/clubs/13461/UURshCtyR2JDnpRtSFtk_Colney%20Heath%2018%2012%2021.pdf

Review : Taiwan 2021 Mulan Premier League – Round 9

December 18, 2021

Taoyuan International 0-1 Kaohsiung Sunny Bank  

Hang Yuan 0-2 Taichung Blue Whale 

Hualien 2-0 Taipei Bravo

It was a case of as you were after round 9, with the situation at the top of the table remaining the same after both Hualien and Taichung Blue Whale won 2-0. Mathematically, Kaohsiung could still win the title but that would require some unexpected results on the final day.

Hualien took the lead against Taipei Bravo with Sin Yun Su’s ( No 17 ) header into the top corner in first half added on time, coming a couple of minutes after Bravo’s Hsing Hui Lin had been put clear but was denied by a good save from Hualien keeper Lin Hung. Pi Han Chen extended Hualien’s lead in the 63^rd minute after chest-controlling a punch out from Bravo keeper Yu Ting Wang and calmly shooting left footed into the corner of the net.

Two first half goals from outside the area from Maho Taneka put Taichung Blue Whale on the road to victory at Hang Yuan. In the 22^nd minute the Japanese midfielder ran onto to an early ball from half-way from Li-chin Lai ( No 11 ) and shot first time left footed on the bounce from 20 yards to catch Hang Yuan keeper Wen Chi Liao out of position, with the ball bouncing across goal and into the corner of the goal. Eight minutes later Taneka scored from a similar position after another counter-attack and a defence splitting ball from Chien Yun Liu ( No 23 ), and although Liao was better positioned, she was unable to prevent the shot going into the same bottom corner.

In the final match, Koahsiung overcame back-markers Inter Taoyuan with a solitary goal in the 65^th minute, Chi Ting ( No 17 ) getting enough on the ball to deflect Ya Han Yang’s ( No 21 ) low cross into the corner from just over 6 yards out. Kaohsiung dominated possession but Inter defended doggedly to restrict Kaohsiung to very few chances. Inter have now failed to score in all 9 matches, with Bangura missing their only chance, hurriedly slicing wide after a bit of a scramble in the goalmouth.

It now all comes down the final round of fixtures, currently scheduled for Christmas Day. Hualien host Hang Yuan, but Taichung host Inter, and so must be favourites to increase their goal difference advantage over Hualien, which is currently just one goal, and reclaim the title they last won in 2019. Koahsiung host Taipei Bravo, hoping the top two both lose and they get a bag full of goals.

Review of the Moldova Divizia Nationala 2021/22 Season at the Winter Break

December 16, 2021

These diaries last reviewed the Moldova Divizia Nationala at the end of August after round 8 of the season when Milsami-Orhei and Petrocub Hincesti topped the table, with Sheriff Tiraspol ten points behind but with three games in hand.

With Moldova now entering its winter hibernation, Sheriff Tiraspol predictably sit at the top of the table, but despite ( or maybe because of ) their record breaking season in the Champions League, they have not been as dominant as in recent seasons.

Admittedly, they currently lead the table by two points, have games in hand over their closest rivals and no-one seriously thinks they will not retain their title. Nevertheless, they lost their first game of the season at home to newly promoted CS Balti ( 0-1 ), and points were also dropped in draws at Zimbru ( 1-1 ) and in a feisty, bad-tempered game at Petrocub ( 0-0 ) in early December.

Round 19 was completed at the end of November, but Sheriff have since played two of their catch-up games to conclude this year’s activity. Round 20 is schedule for March 12^th, with Sheriff playing their two remaining backlog matches on March 1^st and 5^th.

In their 17 games played, Sheriff have won 14, scored 55, conceded just 5 times and neither Petrocub or Milsami-Orhei have scored against Sheriff in 4 matches so far. Dinamo-Auto have twice been beaten 7-0 in the Transnistrian derbies, whilst the other encounter was 7-1 ! Revenge was also extracted over Zimbru with 6-0 and 4-0 victories.

Guinean striker Momo Yansane, a folk-hero to followers of football in Belarus after his spell at FK Isloch Minsk, is their top scorer in the league with 9 goals ( including a hat-trick against Zimbru ), whilst Colombian forward Frank Castenada and Luxembourg play-maker Sebastian Thill both have 6 goals.

As previously documented, Sheriff have had a record breaking season in the Champions League. After eliminating Teuta Durres of Albania and Alashkert of Armenia, Sheriff stood in the way of a potential explosive and money-making tie between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade. Perhaps fortunately for UEFA’s safety committee, Sheriff surprisingly eliminated Red Star 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Belgrade, and then followed up by eliminating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on aggregate thanks to an emphatic home win, that could easily have been greater, in front of 5,281 spectators to become the first side from the Moldovan league to reach the Champions League group stages.

The fairytale continued as Sheriff amazingly won their first two group matches, first shocking Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 in Tiraspol with Traore and Yansane on the scoresheet, and even more incredibly went to Real Madrid and won 2-1, with Uzbek Jasurbek Yakshieboev ( another ex-star from the Belarus League ) and a stunning last minute finish from Thill silencing the Bernabeu faithful for possibly the biggest upset in the Champions League history.

Another upset appeared possible in the San Siro against Inter when Thill’s 25 yard curling free-kick brought Sheriff back to 1-1 early in the second half, but the Italians eventually proved to be too strong and went onto win 3-1.  

Sheriff appeared to have run out of steam, falling to two home defeats, Inter ( 1-3 ) and Real ( 0-3 ) in front of crowds of 5,900 plus, but an injury time equaliser in Donetsk meant Sheriff finished the group with 7 points, having already secured third place and continued European football.

In the last 16 of the Europa League, Sheriff have been drawn against Sporting Braga, currently 4^th in the Portuguese Primera Division, and a side who were only able to take one point from two matches against Red Star Belgrade in their Europa League Group encounters. On this form line, Sheriff have a good chance of further progression, although Bet365 have Braga the favourites to go through.

Petrocub and Milsami-Orhei continued to lead the table with Sheriff playing less games due to their commitments in Europe, but a 4-0 home win over Zimbru in one of their rescheduled fixtures played after the completion of round 19 took Sheriff above Petrocub and to the top of the table.

Petrocub have drawn three and lost three of their 19 games, the same number of losses as suffered in the whole of the 2021/22 season, when they finished 10 points clear of third place and were the only side to inflict a defeat on Sheriff. To date, they have taken only one point from Sheriff in three matches ( 0-2 A, 0-2 H & 0-0 A ) whilst honours have even in the three games versus Milsami-Orhei ( 1-2 A, 1-1 H & 3-1 A ). All other fixtures have been won, apart from a 1-1 home draw to Sfintul Gheorghe in November.

Eight Petrocub players were in the most recent Moldovan national squad, but one of those not selected, captain and forward Vladimir Ambros ( 12 caps ) is their leading scorer in the league with 13 goals. Two other players not called up, Mihai Platica and Vadim Gulceac have 9 and 6 goals respectively, whilst Ukrainian midfielder Artem Federov scored 5 goals for Dinamo-Auto before signing for Petrocub in September.

Milsami-Orhei were the early season pace-setters, cemented by having their fixture against Sheriff postponed, and then overcoming Petrocub 2-1 at home, and going on to be unbeaten in their first 11 matches, until losing 0-2 at home to Sheriff. By this time Milsami had lost both international midfielder Radu Ginsari ( 44 caps and 6 goals in 7 appearances this season ) to Greek second division side Xanthi and Artiom Puntus ( hat-trick scorer against Dinamo-Auto ) to Albanian side Kukesi. To fill the void, veteran ex-Sfintul Gheorghe striker Segiu Istrati was signed from a third division side in Romania and has contributed 11 goals in 15 appearances.

Milsami’s only other reverse was at home to Petrocub, but they have been held to draws by Sfintul Gheorghe ( twice ), Balti and Petrocub. They lie two points adrift of Petrocub but with a game in hand, albeit against Sheriff.

Sftintul Gheorghe are in fourth place, the same as where they finished in the 2020/21 season but trail Milsami by 15 points so can be considered “the best of the rest”. They actually started the season by winning the Moldova Super Cup, beating Sheriff on penalties after a 2-2 draw, and they began the league by holding Milsami-Orhei to a 1-1 draw away from home. Subsequently, victories have been registered over Floresti ( twice ), Balti ( twice ), Dinamo-Auto and Zimbru, with further draws against Balti, Dinamo-Auto, Zimbru ( twice ), Petrocub and again at Milsami. Their 5 defeats have been against Petrocub ( twice ), Sheriff, Milsami and Balti. Victor Stina tops their scoring charts with 7 goals

Transnistrian side Dinamo Auto are in 5^th side after a quite bizarre season to date. They have conceded 53 goals in 19 goals, with 21 of these coming in three games against Sheriff, whilst they also were on the received end of hammerings from Petrocub ( 6-1 ), Milsami ( 4-1 ) & Balti ( 4-1 ). However they possess a 5-0-5 away record with wins at Floresti ( twice ), Sfintul Gheorghe, Balti and Zimbru, whilst home wins were recorded over Balti and Floresti.

Ukrainian midfielder Artem Federov scored 5 goals before joining Petrocub and former international midfielder Maxim Mihailov has scored 5 times in 19 appearances.

Newly promoted Balti started the season with a sensational 1-0 away victory at Sheriff and had lost only to Milsami, Petrocub and Sheriff in their first 8 fixtures. However, their form has steadily declined andthey  have lost 9 of their last 12 matches, including their last five, in which only one goal has been scored. Nigerian centre-forward Emmanuel Alaribe has scored 7 times and Nichita Motpan has 5 goals.

Fallen giant Zimbru Chisinau had high hopes of doing much better this season and inspired by the signing of experienced striker Eugeniu Sidorenco recorded impressive home wins over Dinamo-Auto ( 3-0 ) and Floresti ( 4-0 ) to top the table after two matches. However, life was soon much harder, the goals for Sidorenco dried up, and Zimbru have just one win in their last 10 matches, and that was against doomed Floresti. Currently occupying the relegation play-off position, they lie 4 points behind Balti. Their away form is one of the main problems, with just one win ( at Floresti ) and a draw at Dinamo-Auto. By far and away the highlight of the season was holding Sheriff to a 1-1 draw.

Floresti started the season with a minus 6 point penalty for match-fixing offences in prior seasons, and they remain the only side in Europe to still be on negative points, having lost all 18 matches played so far with 61 goals against. Only 12 goals have been scored, 6 of which were by Andrei Cobet and there are six players which one goal each. They are already doomed to relegation.

Balti are by far and away the best supported side in the country, with an average so far of 1,675, and that is despite Covid restricts for the final match of the year being limited to only 300. Milsami are next with 573, then Petrocub with 474. Sheriff’s European success hasn’t translated into higher crowds for domestic matches, and they have the fourth best average with 461. Dinamo Auto are the worst supported side, with an average of just 72

Round 19

November 28, 2021

Zimbru Chisinau 1-1 Sfintul Gheorghe ( att : 400 )

CS Balti 1-2 CS Petrocub Hincesti ( att : 300 )

Milsami-Orhei 5-0 Floresti ( att : 300 )

Sheriff Tiraspol 7-0 Dinamo-Auto ( att : 300 )

December 2, 2021

CS Petrocub 0-0 Sheriff Tirapsol ( att : 300 )

December 11, 2021

Sheriff Tiraspol 4-0 Zimbru Chisinau ( att : 350 )

Review of the Montenegro 2021/22 First League Season at the Winter Break

December 14, 2021

With the completion of two catch-up games postponed from round 16 at the end of November, the 2021/22 season of the Montenegro First League, known for sponsorship reasons as as the Telekom 1.CFL, has now reached its winter break. All sides have played 19 matches except for FK Iskra and FK Zeta, whose match on December 5^th was postponed due to bad weather, and will now be played in the new year. The dates for the second part of the session are still to be announced, but typically the season resumes after the winter break on the third weekend of February, which would be 19^th February this season.

These diaries last looked at the Montenegro First League in early November after the conclusion of round 14. At that point FK Sutjeska led the table with an unbeaten record and a 12 point lead over champions FK Buducnost, and seemingly red-hot certainties to regain the title they last won in 2018/19. However, they then picked up only two points in their next 4 matches, losing 0-2 at home to Decic, drawing 3-3 at Buducnost after holding a 2 goal lead, got thumped 0-3 at OFK Petrovac and were then held to a 1-1 draw at home to Mornar. Having conceded a mere 4 goals in the opening 14 matches, 9 were conceded in the next four.

After round 18 their lead had been reduced to just 6 points, but a 3-0 home victory over struggling FK Podgorica, thanks to three goals in the last 20 minutes, steadied the ship and restored the gap to second place to 8 points.

31 year old striker Darko Nikac ( ex Buducnost and 3 caps ) is their top scorer on 6 goals, whilst Bozo Markovic, the league’s leading scorer in 2020/21 has 5 goals. 19 year old Under 21 International Nikola Janjic has 4 goals to his name, but hasn’t scored since October 2^nd. Midfielder Vladimir Jovovic, 43 caps and ex Red Star Belgrade and Jablonec, is rated by Transfermkt as the most valuable player in the league at 600K Euros.

FK Decic are the nearest contenders to Sutjeska, having lost just twice but drawn 9 times. The two losses came in consecutive weeks in September during a run of 6 games without a win, but a run of 11 games with a defeat has seen them climb back up from 5^th into 2^nd place. Against both Sutjeska and Buducnost, Decic have been able to take 4 points.

In round 16 they fought out a 4-4 draw at home to OFK Petrovac and in round 18 they dropped more home points to Podgorica, although this was probably a point gained as they were losing 0-2 after 88 minutes in a swamp ! A 1-0 win over bottom side Zeta in the last game before the break saw them move above Buducnost and into the silver medal position.

Ilir Camaj and Kristijan Vulaj are joint top scorers with 7 goals each, whilst veteran Drasko Bozovic’s form earnt an unexpected call-up back to the national side.

It is fair to say that champions FK Buducnost have had a disappointing season. Crashing out of Europe at the first two hurdles ( to HJK Helsinki and HN Torshavn ), and with only 2 wins ( and three losses ) in their first 8 league matches, 5 consecutive victories revived their hopes and brought back the crowds. Although they fell to an undeserved home loss to Decic in round 14, missing a bag full of chances in the process, 8 points in their next 4 matches took them to within 6 points of stuttering Sutjeska. Their inconsistency returned in their last game before the break, going down 1-3 at mid-table FK Rudar after conceding two goals in the last 10 minutes, to fall back to third place and 9 points off the leaders. However, a good run in the spring could still see the title being retained.

With 36 goals, Buducnost are the highest scorers in the league. Current international midfielder Milos Raickovic is their top scorer with 8 goals, and ex-international midfielder Igor Ivanovic has 7.

OFK Petrovac lie in 4^th place, two points adrift of Buducnost, and could lay claim to being the great entertainers of the league, with 62 goals being scored in their 19 games. Consistency has been an issue though, capable of thrashing and drawing with Sutjeska and taking 4 points off Decic, they also lost twice to Iskra and drew twice with bottom of the table Zeta.

Unsurprisingly they have the top scorer in the league, midfielder Marko Milikcovic has found the net 10 times, whilst Bosnian striker Adnan Basic, previously of UNA Strassen and UTA Petange in Luxembourg, has 8 goals.

Fifth place FK Iskra sit 4 points behind Petrovac and the potential 4^th place for European football, but should they win their game in hand, the gap would be down to a single point. With just 17 goals conceded they have the second best defensive record in the division, but the 19 goals scored also tells a story. After round 16, Iskra were 4^th and just one point off second place, but a 0-0 draw at Podgorica, and successive 0-1 home defeats to Jezero and Mornar saw them slip back. Their high points of the season to date have been the 2-1 home win over Buducnost, a 4-1 win over Petrovac and a home draw with Sutjeska.

Vojin Pavlovic has scored 5 times for Iskra, with Japanese midfielder Sho Yamamoto the next best with 3. English winger Leo Jaukovic has made one substitute appearance for Iskra.

Newly promoted FK Mornar have had a decent season, and if they can maintain some reasonable form, should at least avoid the relegation play-offs, and their victory at Iskra in the catch-up match took them up to 6^th and 6 points clear of the danger zone. Like Iskra, they don’t score many, but don’t concede many either.

They started with 4 wins and a draw in their first 5 matches but have found life at the highest level much harder since, and they had recorded just one win in 13 until the victory at Iskra. Their best results have been a 1-1 draw at Buducnost, a 1-0 win at Decic and a 1-1 draw at Sutjeska and whilst they have a noteworthy 4-4-2 away record, the home form of 2-2-5 has let them down . 35 year old ex-Sutjeska striker Marko Cetkovic, the league’s leading scorer in 2019/20, has three goals.

FK Rudar’s round 19 victory over Buducnost moved them 5 points away from the relegation play-off places. Located in the northern mountains of the country, they have made their home a bit of a fortress with a 3-5-2 record, where only Sutjeksa and Podgorica have emerged victorious, but away from home they are 3-0-6, with victories at Podgorica, Jezero and Mornar.  19 year old striker Vuk Strikovic and Ghanaian forward Suraka Zakaria both have 6 goals.

After round 14, FK Jezero were in 8^th place, 5 points away from the safety of 7^th place. Two more defeats followed, but 7 points from their last 3 matches has seen them keep the gap to 5 points. The highpoints of their season have been a 1-0 win at Buducnost, and two victories over both Iskra and Zita. Three players are level on two goals for top scorer.

FK Podgorica, who qualified for the Europa Conference last season, are one point behind in 9^th but have steadily been improving, and have gathered 11 points from their last 6 matches, with the 0-3 defeat at Sutjeska on the last day being the only defeat. Two draws have been achieved against Decic, whilst their victories came against Jezero ( twice ), Rudar & Zeta.

Having qualified for Europe two season again, FK Zeta have had a hugely disappointing season, with just one win from 18 games, a 2-0 win in round 17 at home to Rudar. They did manage home draws with Decic and Buducnost though, but they will need to display championship form to avoid the relegation play-offs and make up the 13 point gap. 20 year old striker Ivan Vukcevic has been the one bright spot with 7 goals so far.

Buducnost have been the best supported side with an average home attendance of 861 whilst Jezero have the worst average with 135. The average for the league is 309. The highest attendance was 2,500 for the 3-3 draw between FK Buducnost and FK Sutjeska.

Round 19

December 8, 2021

FK Sutjeska 3-0 FK Podgorica ( att : 200 )

FK Rudar Pljevlja 3-1 FK Buducnost ( att : 150 )

FK Iskra Danilovgrad 0-1 FK Jezero ( att : 200 )

FK Decic Tuzi 1-0 FK Zeta ( att : 250 )

OFK Petrovac 2-0 FK Mornar ( att : 400 )

Round 16 Catch-up

December 12, 2021

FK Iskra Danilovgrad 0-1 FK Mornar ( att : 150 )

FK Jezero 2-1 FK Zeta ( att : 100 )

Round 19 Highlights : http://www.rtcg.me/sport/pregledcfl/344406/pregled-19-kola-telekom-1-cfl.html

2021/22 Montenegrin Cup

The Montenegrin Cup has reached the semi-final stages, although the draw for the last 4 is yet to be made. The four surviving sides are the top three, Sutjeska, Decic & Buducnost plus fifth placed  Iskra. The winners qualify for the Europa Conference, with the 4^th place in the league table qualifying if the winner finishes in the top three.

Chinnor 19-23 Bishop’s Stortford ( att : 422 ) – National League One

December 11, 2021

After their dramatic late collapse to lose at home to Plymouth Albion, Chinnor have subsequently won 29-12 at Leeds, beat Taunton 22-5 at home and lost 27-28 at leaders Rosslyn Park when a touch-line conversion at the end of the match sailed agonizingly wide.

Sitting in 4^th place in the table, today they entertained Bishop’s Stortford, long-standing rivals from both their days in National Two South and after promotions to National League One. Stortford have a very good record over Chinnor with three wins each in Thame, but have won 5 out of 6 in Hertfordshire. Chinnor’s three home wins have all been by 3 or less point margins, and the 1,580 who turned up for the 27-25 victory in April 2017 in National Two South remains Chinnor’s highest ever home attendance.

Historically, Bishop’s Stortford have had relatively light-weight but mobile pack, vulnerable in the scrums, but a highly efficient line-out and highly effective in the loose and at rucks. They also liked to play an expansive game to exploit a potent set of backs.

Bishop’s Stortford went into the fixture lying second from bottom in the National One league table. They started the season well, with home wins over Plymouth Albion ( 32-19 ) and Taunton ( 26-22 ) and a draw at Tonbridge Juddians ( 18-18 ) in their first four matches, but since then they had suffered 7 losses in 8 games, with a 33-3 win over Birmingham Moseley being the only match where they had avoided defeat. However, despite this record, history suggested a close encounter was to be expected.

The temperature at kick-off was around 6 degrees but light drizzle was falling. Chinnor established a promising position in the Stortford 22 in the opening stages, but in a pattern that was to be all to familiar in the game, Stortford stole the line-out to clear.

Despite the poor conditions, both sides tried to play expansive rugby, and one dangerous Stortford attack was halted by the referee’s whistle for crossing. Chinnor soon got back into the Stortford 22, and this time the line-out was won, and rolling maul was driven over for the opening try. Hooker Vaness was credited with the try but Ryan’s conversion hit the post, so it was 5-0 after 8 minutes.

The restart by Stortford failed to go 10 metres and bounced into touch. Goss and Worrall took a quick line out and appeared to be in the clear. However, the referee blew his whistle and awarded Chinnor a scrum. I am not sure what the rule here is !

Chinnor continued to be on top but knocked-on in the tackle after a couple of phases close to the Stortford line. Chinnor prop Connolly was then shown a yellow card for bringing down a maul and shortly afterwards the visitors won a scrum penalty and kicked to the corner. The line-out was won and they broke through the middle of the Chinnor defence, and after two offloads, Betteridge dived over the line close to the posts. Walker missed the straightforward conversion so it remained 5-5 after 21 minutes.

Stortford then repelled a Chinnor attack by winning a turnover penalty but knocked on from a promising position on the edge of the Chinnor 22 after winning their line-out. They won a penalty from the resulting scrum though, and Walker was successful from a similar position to the missed conversion. 5-8 after 27 minutes.

Chinnor’s response was immediate and although a superb tackle halted centre Yawayawa, the ball was re-cycled to release full-back Millett to score in the corner. Ryan’s superb conversion from the touch-line gave the home side a 12-8 lead after 34 minutes.

Chinnor nearly scored again soon after, when Stortford knocked on in mid-field and Ryan kicked across the field where winger Goss was in space, but his fly-hack forward went dead. However, in first half added on time, Stortford scored again with a similar move to their first try. Their 5 metre line-out was won, a break was made but this time Chinnor were able to prevent the try. Stortford were able to re-work possession though and a long pass down the blindside found winger Powell in space to score in the corner. With the conversion missed, Stortford went in the interval with a 13-12 lead.

During the break the rain became much heavier and Stortford played to conditions well to spend the first 20 minutes of the second period in Chinnor territory. A series of penalties were kicked into the Chinnor 22 but the home defence stood firm. It became attritional as the scrum penalties mounted, but the pressure eventually told and after another penalty to the corner and line-out won, the rolling maul was forced over the line for a try with hooker King announced as the scorer. The attempted conversion was horrendous and barely got off the ground, but Stortford now led 18-12 after 54 minutes.

Chinnor’s restart failed to go 10 metres, and Stortford were immediately back on the attack. A series of ricochets from attempted fly-hacks by both sides nearly bounced favourably for the visitors but they were awarded a scrum in the Chinnor 22. Scrum-half Banks then sent a grubber kick through the defensive line and substitute Linney flopped onto the ball for the bonus point try. Again, the attempted conversion was embarrassing so the score stood at 12-23 after 60 minutes.

Chinnor stirred but their woes continued when a line-out 10 metres out was ruled not straight, and they conceded yet another penalty at the scrum. Chinnor managed to get their hands on the ball a few minutes later and a good move gave Heath space by the touch-line, but his kick ahead was well defended and cleared to the half-way line.

Chinnor were surprisingly awarded a scrum penalty when their pack appeared to be going backwards and they were back in the Stortford 22. Yet again though, much to the delight of the visiting supporters, Stortford stole the line-out.

Stortford looked to be in total control until a moment of stupidity gave Chinnor renewed hope. Scrum-half Walsh attempted to take a quick penalty but was blocked by hooker King, who was shown the yellow card. With the man advantage, Chinnor were lifted but two successive line-out disasters followed as promising positions were squandered.

Walsh then put a cross-field kick into the direction of the corner flag and the covering defender kicked the ball out of play before Hodson could gather. This time Chinnor finally won a line-out and Clementson was driven over the line. Another superb conversion from out wide by Ryan brought the score back to 19-23 with 4 minutes left to play.

Chinnor’s tails were up, and another flowing back move took them back to the Stortford 22 and it looked like the tackle to halt Hodson was high, but the referee waived play on and at the ensuing ruck, a penalty was awarded against Tuilagi. Although Stortford were able to take play back into the Chinnor half, another counter attack nearly saw Goss escape down the touch-line but he was bundled into touch.

For just about the first time in the match, Stortford failed to hold their line-out, with the throw adjusted to be not straight. Chinnor managed to retain possession from the scrum and after a couple of phases, fly-half Ryan had the ball with players outside him, but he inexplicably decided to kick a high ball with was comfortably gathered by full-back Walker, who called for the mark. With time-up the kick-off the pitch led to the final whistle and victory to Bishop’s Stortford. For Chinnor it was a limp finish after looking to possibly snatching an undeserved win with a strong final 10 minutes.

The visitors were thoroughly deserved winners, and should have won by a much bigger margin, especially if their place kicking had matched that of Chinnor’s. They were a revelation in the scrum and impressive at the line-out. Despite a storming finish, Chinnor were poor and barely deserved a losing bonus point from an error strewn performance. Their forwards were outplayed, their line-out was dismal and they gave away far too many penalties, although perhaps on a drier day their backs might have been more successful. Despite a fifth home defeat of the season, Chinnor slipped only down to 5^th in the table, whilst Bishop’s Stortford moved up to 11^th.

Highlights : https://www.chinnor-rfc.com/videos/trylights--chinnor-19-bishops-stortford-23-174557.html

Review : Taiwan 2021 Mulan Premier League – Round 8

December 11, 2021

Taoyuan International 0-0 Hang Yuan

Taichung Blue Whale 2-0 Taipei Bravo

Hualien 0-1 Kaohsiung Sunny Bank

After originally announcing fixtures to be played in midweek in order to finish the season by December 11^th, the Taiwan FA had a change of heart and went back to playing each round on Saturdays, with the season now scheduled to finish on Christmas Day !

Round 7 had seen Hualien extend their lead at the top of the table after recording a straightforward 3-0 home win over pointless Taoyuan whilst Taichung Blue Whale conceded an injury time equaliser to Kaohsiung to drop two important points. In the other match Hang Yuan beat Taipei Bravo 2-1 to swop places.

The first match of round 8 saw Inter pick-up their first point of the season, but they remain without having scored a goal in their 8 games, and frankly, never looked like breaking their duck here. Hang Yuan’s strength this season has been their defence and playing on the counter attack. Excluding their 5-0 victory over Inter in the reverse fixture, had only scored 4 goals in their other 6 games.

Needing to force the pace, Hang Yuan struggled to breakdown the massed Inter defence and the sound handling of keeper Fang Yi Chu. All of Hang Yuan’s best chances fell to Yen-Ping Chen ( No 10 ) but a combination of a lack of composure, wayward finishing and one good save kept the game scoreless.

Taichung Blue Whale got back on track with a 2-0 win over disappointing Taipei Bravo thanks to two first half goals.

Taichung’s Wei Ju Lei ( No 4 ) struck the crossbar from close range early on and Bravo’s Ling Hsieh ( No 17 ) did likewise in the 25^th minute with a free-kick. However, the first goal arrived in the 31^st minute when a delightful left wing cross by Chi-lan Chang was skillfully flicked over the keeper by Li-chin Lai with the outside of her foot.

Blue Whale doubled their lead 4 minutes before the interval when influential Japanese midfielder Maho Taneka ( No 14 ) beat two defenders on the edge of the Bravo penalty area, and then sent a curling left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net giving Bravo keeper Wang no chance.

Taichung cruised to victory in the second half and could have won by more. Yu Hsian Su ( No 10 ) had a shot well saved and Ching Yun Nien ( No 9 ) hit the bar with a long range shot.

After taking a point from Taichung last week, Kaohsiung again had an impact on the title race with a surprise 1-0 win at leaders and champions Hualien. In a game of precious little goalmouth action, Kaohsiung struck 9 minutes from time when Japanese midfielder Minon Wakabayashu ( No 14 ) timed her run perfectly to meet Ya Hen Hang’s ( No 21 ) corner to head home the winner from 6 yards. This shock result leaves Hualien and Taichung level on points with 2 matches left to play, with Kaohsiung not totally out of the picture three points behind.

Finally, a big thank you to the Taiwan Mulan Football League for providing a brochure of the season including the names of the players in each squad in English !