Ezy Outfox Oxford

Thursday Division 1

Ezy FC are now firm favourites to be crowned champions for the 2^nd season in a row, with 2 weeks to go, and again maybe at the expense of Oxford International who also finished 2^nd to Ezy last season. Oxford who have lead the league for most of the season now find themselves 3 points behind Ezy after they were defeated by the Ballintemple lads 3-0. The first half was extremely tight with both defences on top, which led to the 0-0 half time score. The first goal was always going to be crucial here, and ever reliable Steve Dwyer struck the first blow for Ezy 15 minutes into the 2^nd half after he latched onto a long ball out of defence and finished calmly to the far corner. This goal was a killer blow for Oxford as they had just started to dominate possession. Playing Andrew Daunt at centre half was a very smart move, as he marshalled the leagues leading scorer Conor Hawes very well and thus Oxford were not as effective. Peter Fitzmaurice in defence and MVP nominee John Daly performances are very worthy of a mention, especially Daly as he worked tirlessely in midfield and scored their 2^nd goal. Dwyer added a 3^rd to seal the 3 most important of the season. Brian O Sullivan was best for Oxford who were better than the 3-0 scoreline suggests.

Joga Bonito defeated Los Pistoleros 4-2, with Daniel Fretias and Joao Oliveros both scoring twice for the Portoguese lads. Ken O Connor and Barry Collins who has had an excellent season for Los Pistoleros were on the scoresheet for the losers. Freitas was the difference as he showed incredible skill during the game and took his brace of goals well.

Thursday Divison 2 - “The Alan Jordan Memorial Cup”

Boca Seniors are also 3 points ahead of their closest rivals The Chancers after they defeated Mount Oval 9-3. With 2 weeks left they should close out this division and seal ther first Footy title. The Seniors were very well organised and work very hard and their constant tracking back to help out in defence is paying rich dividends. They took their chances well unlike Mount Oval who took too much out of the ball in the final third giving the Bocas too much time to come back to defend. Eric Cotter and leading scorer Ronan O'Sullivan both scored a hatrick for the league leaders.

JT Special and the Dragons played the game of the week that finished 7-7. Sean O'Neill scored 5 for the Specials and Rob Carpenter scored the other two. The lead changed hands several times during this game, but the games highlight was a goal from Fiachra O'Driscoll for the Dragons, who volleyed to the net after a series of 4 passes where the ball never touched the ground following a throw out from their keeper.

The Chancers had too much class in their side for Unreal Madrid and won rather easily by 7 goals to 2. MVP nominiee Gavin O Driscoll scored 3 times. Liam O'Donoghue also scored a memorable solo goal for the Chancers. Danny Meade looks like an excellent addition to the Chancers outfit and was man of the match. Chancers will be kicking themselves they did not bring Meade in to their side earlier in the season as they may have left it too late to catch Bocas.

Thursday Division 3

The Sons Of Pitches also find themselves 3 points to the good and should also close out the 3^rd division, after they defeated Men Utd comprehensively. Michael Deasy was again to the fore for the Pitches. Both he and Dave Power dominated the midfield and their performances were capped by notching a hatrick a piece.

2^nd placed Balaga Tonga who are recently inconsistent, can still win the league if they beat the Pitches next week and win their last fixture against The Nobodys. They are well behind the leaders on goal difference but can win the league on the head to head rule, as it takes presedence over goal difference. Tonga played 2 games this week, losing a tight game to the Lemmons, before hammering the Whitfords the following evening to stay in touch with the leaders. Josh King and Eoghan Kennedy were best on both evenings for Balaga.

The Nobodys produced their best performance of the season when their new look side beat the Lemmons 4-0. Peter Leahy, Padraig Hanley and Kevin Wilson were best for the winners.

Summer MVP Nominations

Wed Division 1

Jimmy Griffin - Booze Crew

Connie Murphy - Abcde FC

Kyle Hosford - Trotters Traders

Jason Lake - Racing Club

John Paul O Mahony - Crossbarry legends

Wed Division 2 

Paul Tierney - Sliabh na mBan

Joe McAulliffe - Sliabh na mBan

Tim O Connor - AC Standard

Jordan O Leary - Bayer Neverlosin

Dan Gallagher - Fritzl Palace

Thursday Division 1

John Daly - Ezy FC

Steve Dwyer - Ezy FC

Conor Hawes - Oxford International

Colm Coveney - Oxford International

Donal Collins - Los Pistoleros

Thursday Division 2

Gavin O Driscoll - The Chancers

Ronan O Sullivan - Boca Seniors

John Browne - Boca Seniors

Ronan Sherman - Unreal Madrid

Dan Hegarty - JT Specials

Thursday Division 3

Michael Deasy - Sons Of Pitches

Jason Lake - Men Utd

Eoghan Kennedy - Balaga Tonga

John Barry - Whitfords

Alan O Sullivan - Sons Of Pitches

Griffin Leads The Way For Booze Crew

Division 1

All four games were very tight in the first division, 3 games were decided by the odd goal and Crossbarry Legends and Trotters Traders finished a 5-5 draw.

New table Toppers the Booze Crew won a pulsating clash with the Sleazy Lemmons 7-5. This game was played at a very high intensity by both sides and led to a very entertaining game with lots of high quality goals scored. The Cobh lads went into a 2 goal lead after only 2 minutes, before Sleazy ever settled. But settle they did and brought it back to 2-2 at the break. With the game tied at 5-5, Jimmy Griffin scored a brilliant goal with a few minutes left. Both he and Damien Brady who scored 4 times were best for Booze Crew. Glen and Dave Johnson with scored a brace each and they and Steve Dwyer were best for the Lemmons.

The Trotters and Crossbarry clash was another high quality spectacle. John Paul O Mahony scored 4 of Crossbarry goals, and the all important last minute equaliser. The Trotters will feel like they threw this game away as they were 5-3 up with 5 minutes left. These valuable lost points may yet cost them a shot at the title. Keith Kelleher was best for the Trotters.

The Booze Crew will be hard to stop now with only 2 games left after 3 important wins on the bounce

The Thirty Somethings were 4-3 winners over Racing Club. Graham Virgo rolled back the years and rolled in the winner with the final kick of the game for a deserving victory. Jason Lake and Ed Noonan were Racing's top players on the night while Virgo and Shane O Donoghue were tops for the Somethings.

CSKA Tongo pulled off an excellent victory, a 3-2 win over Abcde FC. CSKA played with 6 players for most of the 2^nd half as they had a player sent off for dissent. However they adopted a sit back and defend tactic and played on the break, which worked a treat as Philip Cotter broke out of defence and scored with a well taken goal to seal the points. Joe Dempsey and John Crean (2) were brilliant for Tongo while Tom Rice and Wilson were on the scoresheet for Abcde FC.

Division 2

Dynamo Tonduff kept the title race alive for another week as the beat Douglas Mortgage 7-2 . This win keeps them 5 point off leaders Sliabh na mBan who also won. With 2 games left, Tonduff will be hoping that the Duffers will do them a favour next week against na mBan to take the season to the final week and a top of the table clash for a potential title decider. Alan Forde (2) and Dave Murphy were best for Tonduff in their dismantling of Douglas Mortgage.

Slaibh na mBan beat FC Coping Badly 6-2. This game was a tight affair with only one goal in it with a few minutes left. But Coping ran out of steam and John Browne, Joe McAuliffe and Ronan O'Sullivan took full advantage with late goals. Na mBan look a very organised team and should see this out and win their first Footy Title.

Fritzl Palace outclassed Bayer Neverlosin and ran out easy winners. Dan Gallagher and man of the match Dave O'Keeffe both scored hatricks for Palace.

The Duffers who are struggling to field a team through injuries in the last few weeks, played out a friendly with AC Standard with Standard coming out easy winners.

Veteran Cronin Inspires Nobodys To Victory

Division 3

The Nobodys who are having a very inconsistent season upset table toppers the Sons Of Pitches when they beat them 3-2 last week. A brilliant display from the evergreen Denis Cronin in defence inspired the Nobodys to their best result of the season so far. They deservedly went one up through a well taken David James goal, before Niall Johnson doubled their advantage after 20 minutes with an excellent strike after a neat one two. A cracking shot by Ken O'Connor pulled one back for the Pitches just before half time to set up the 2^nd half nicely. The Pitches threw everything at the Nobodys defence as they dominated 2^nd half possession. But Cronin was impenetrable and totally dominant at centre back position. Johnson scored to extend their lead before Eoin Barrett scored late on for the Pitches, leading to a tense conclusion, but the Nobodys held on for a deserving victory.

2nd placed Balaga Tonga did not take advantage of the Pitches defeat as they also went down to Men Utd, who also produced their best game of the season, winning by a 4-1 scoreline. Eddie Noonan scored a brace and Bernard Parkes starred for Men Utd as both teams contributed to a highly entertaining battle. Josh King's opener for Balaga, a tremendous volley, was the game highlight.

Shane Browne scored a hatrick for the Lemmons and got the man of the match, but they still went down 9-3 to Whitfords. Jack Russell and John Barry both scored a brace a piece as Gavin Rosser was the pick of the Whitfords players on show and was the most effective player in an over crowded midfield.

Division 2

“The Alan Jordan Memorial Cup”

Boca Seniors took a major step to a Footy title in their maiden season as they beat 2^nd placed the Chancers 3-2. Eric Cotter showed some class finishing and scored all of Boca's goals. The Chancers battled hard late in the game and were a little to unlucky not to get something from the game. Jason O' Connell and Liam O Donoghue tried hardest and both scored for the Chancers, but are now 5 points behind the leaders.

The JT Specials may have ended Unreal Madrid chances of honours, by beating them 4-2. Dan Hegarty was brilliant for the Specials and scored 3 cracking goals, the 2^nd of which was a beauty. Hegarty's performance and his excellent finishing was the main difference between the sides in a very tight game.

Division 1

Los Pistoleros also gave their best performance to date as they beat the Kids 6-4. Glen Johnson and Sean O Regan were best for Pistoleros and both scored twice. Greg Maher was also excellent for the winners and was full of running. The Kids produce a lack lustre performance and did not match the intensity of their opponents and may now be out of the title race as they are 3 points behind the leaders Oxford along with Ezy FC have a game in hand.

Ezy FC maintained their 2^nd place with an easy win over Joga Bonito. Only for keeper Robbie Doyle who made some brilliant saves the scoreline would have looked worse than the final 9-2 outcome. Peter Fitzmaurice and Steve Dwyer both scored 3 a piece for Ezy.

Oxfords kept top spot mainly thank to Stephen Moriarty who was their best player on the night as they also crusied to a 9-1 victory over Red Shirts. Moriarty scored 4 goals and contributed largely to his sides victory.

Division 1 Title Race Hots Up

Division 1

After 10 weeks it looks a 3 horse race to the finish, with Sleazy Lemmons, Booze Crew and Trotters Traders all in close contention and very little between them in terms of standard.

The Booze Crew after a slow start, have put the best run together and are now unbeaten in 5 games. But the Lemmons and Trotters cannot be discounted with some quality players in both sides. It looks like it will go down to the last series of games to decide the destination of the title.

Abcde FC upset the Trotters and beat them 7-4, knocking them off the top of the table for the first time this season. Connie Murphy with 5 goals and David O Rourke were best for Abc who were very well organised by the experienced Joe O Sullivan in defence. Barry O'Mahony and Ian Cotter were amoungst the goals for Trotters with O'Mahony bagging a hatrick.

Sleazy Lemmons were too strong for Racing Club on the night, with the Lemmons having an explosive start to this game with 4 goals in the first 15 minutes. Andy O Mahony normally deployed as a defender played at centre forward, with excellent effect, scoring 4 times. John Daly inspired the Lemmons in midfield and was first to all loose balls and led the way in closing down Racing. Edward Noonan was best for Racing and scored a brace.

Crossbarry Legends were too strong for CSKA Tongo, beating them by a convincing 9-3 scoreline. Hughie O'Donovan showed some clinical finishing for Crossbarry and was easy pick for man of the match.

The Booze Crew also won by the same margin, beating the Thirty Somethings 8-2. This game was tighter than the scoreline suggests, with 5 goals in the last 15 minutes for Booze Crew. Jimmy Griffin was again best for them and scored with a sensational volley in the first half for the pick of the goals in all games this week.

Division 2

A suberb comeback by AC Standard to earn a valuable point against the league leaders Sliabh na mBan was the stand out team performance of the week. Tim O Connor scored three 2^nd half goals for Standard who were 3-0 down at the break and his side worked extremely hard for a deserved point. After a long period of sustained pressure by AC, O'Connors scored his 3rd with a well taken half volley with only 2 minutes left on the clock.

Dynamo Tonduff threw a spanner in the works in this title race and did Sliabh na mBan a big favour, as they beat 2^nd placed Fritzl Palace 5-2. Alan Forde was excellent for Tonduff and was the pick of the players on show, and scoring twice in the process. Dave Murphy and Ger Harte were also in top form for the winners, who are more than capable of beating the top teams if they can hold this team together, but may have left it too late to challenge for the title.

There was only one team in the contest between Douglas Mortgage and Bayer Neverlosin, with Douglas winning comfortably. Albert Hobbs and Eric Cotter with 4 goals each for Mortgage. James Adams scored a memorable consulation goal for Neverlosin who were not as effective without Jordan O'Leary in attack.

FC Coping Badly coped very well with and understrength Duffers side and also won comfortably. Robbie Doyle came out of goal for Coping to see if he could get on the scoresheet and within seconds he did so with a simple tap in.

Pitches Closing In On First Title

The Sons Of Pitches attempt to win their first Footy Title gathered pace as they won the all important top of the table clash with Balaga Tongo 4-2. Balaga deservedly went one up through a well taken Eoghan Kennedy goal after 15 minutes and looked to be well on top against a Pitches side that were finding it hard to get into the game. However they settled after a fortunate own goal and the Pitches never looked back going in front early in the 2^nd half with a goal from Polish man Andrejs Nousous. Eoin Barrett scored his sides 4^th to seal 3 vital points for the Pitches and to bring his impesssive tally to 20 goals for the season.

An injured Justin Banks scored 4 times for the Lemmons in their 4-4 draw with Men Utd. This was a highly entertaining game played in a very sporting manner on a very warm evening. Both sides gave 110% and pushed hard for the win, but a draw was a fair result. Defender Jason Lake was best for Men Utd who also had Bernard Parkes and Danny Driscoll in good form.

John Browne impressed for the Boca Seniors scoring twice for the league leaders in their 4-2 over the JT Specials. Boca who were 3-0 mid way through the 2^nd half and looked to be a banker for the win, but The Specials never gave up and were rewarded with 2 goals from Sean O Neill and the lively Dan Hegarty, and were pushing for the equaliser when the experienced Browne scored Bocas 4^th to seal a valauble win.

The Chancers remain a point behind after their 4-2 win over Mount Oval. The scoring followed the same format as the Boca v Specials game with Mount Oval coming back from 3-0 down to 3-2, only for Gavin O'Driscoll to score a late breakaway goal for the Chancers to maintain their title challenge.

O'Driscoll proved to be the difference between the sides, showing his prowness in front of goal with 3 well struck goals.

The addition of Darragh O'Regan might prove crucial in Unreal Madrids title challenge as he scored 4 times in their 8-3 win over the Dragons. Ronan Sherman was also in excellent for for Madrid, whose crucial fixture next week against Boca Seniors vital to their hopes of honours. Madrid are 4 points behind and will need a win to get back in touch of the leaders

Los Pistoleros put in their best performance of the season but still came up short against Oxford International losing 5-4. Again Conor Hawes was impressive for Oxford scoring 3 times for the league leaders. It was Oxfords toughest test yet this season. Arthur Kerr scored a brace for Pistoleros but their lack of a proper goalkeeper on the night proved costly.

The Kids and EZY FC kept pace with Oxford with rather easy victories over Joga Bonito and Red Shirts respectively. An understrength Bonito side did well to hold the Kids up to half time, but the Kids ran riot in the 2^nd half with Cian Hammond, Michael Doody and the very skilful Terry O'Connell all scoring hatricks.

John Daly was best for Ezy FC who were too strong for Red Shirts winning by an 8-1 scoreline. The Reds played some excellent football but could not breakdown a strong Ezy defence who were also more clinical in front of goal. Dave Johnson at centre forward is proving to be a vital cog in the Ezy wheel being very central to most of their goals.

CSKA Squeeze Out Lemmons

Wednesday Division 1

The tie between CSKA Tongo and the Sleazy Lemmons was without doubt game of the week in last weeks fixtures, with CSKA coming out on top 5-4, with the energetic Martin Dunlea scoring a late winner. Philip Cotter was outstanding for the winners here, as were Steve Dwyer and Alan Greaney for Sleazy. Lemmons remain in 2^nd spot behind Trotters Traders who had a good win over the 30 Somethings. Eoin Stephens and Keith McGrath were best for Trotters who remain 3 points clear. Expect a few twists and turns with a few surprising results likely to happen in this division as some of the teams that are lower down being very capable of producing good performances and upsetting the top teams.

Crossbarry had a excellent 8-5 win over Racing Club, with JP O Mahony and Jurgen Bukowski being the top players on show for their sides, with Golden Boot contender Bukowski adding a further 2 goals to his tally for the season. Crossbarry looked reasonably comfortable throughout this game and were 4-1 up at the break, extended their lead to 6-1, only for Racing to comeback to 6-5 with 10 minutes left. Crossbarry then scored 2 late goals to seal 3 useful points.

Booze Crew continued their good form and must be serious title contenders, as they had a 6-3 win over their Cobh rivals Abcde FC. Jimmy Griffin again in superb form for the Crew scoring an impressive 4 times. Martin Deady looked a top player for Abc who upped their game in a tight 2^nd half, but they were always 2nd best on the night especially in the first half when Griffin ran in his 4 goals.

Wednesday Division 2

Slaibh na mBan stay in pole position after their 5-2 victory over the battling Bayer Neverlosin.

Paul Tierney was again best for na Mban who look like strong favourites to take this division 2 title with 6 games remaining. Tierney scored twice for the winners as did Ronan O Sullivan. However the most impressive goal of the evening fell to Jordan O Leary when he struck an unstopable shot from 25 yards right into the top corner, for a definite goal of the season contender. This goal was applauded by both sides, as O'Leary overall performance was in keeping with his goal. Marius Hanialiak led the battling spirit of Bayern.

AC Standard kept up their recent good run of form when they beat a below strength Douglas Mortgage side. Tim O'Connor and Tim Dempsey being best for AC who are now up to 3^rd spot 4 points behind the leaders.

Mike Wren starred for Fritzl Palace beat FC Coping Badly 3-2 in a very hard fought game.

The well organised Palace side are only 3 points off the pace, and it looks like their fixture against Sliabh na mBan on the 24^th of July will be crucial.

Adian O Connor and Martin Hallahan scored for Coping Badly who were a little unlucky not to get something fronm this game.

James Mullins and Alan Forde both scored twice for Dynamo Tonduff in their 5-3 win over the Duffers who remain rooted to the bottom and still without a point. However the Duffers commitment and never give up attitude remains very admidirable.