Nightmares vs Vaders

The Evil Empire finally secured a victory in ‘lucky’ week 7. Vader’s Captain Fernando Ayala, who was sidelined with an injury for the match, was happy to hear about the win. Goals came from Brian (bicycle kick), Winnett (penalty shot) and Usama (diving header). Rogelio scored for the Nightmares solely to deny Frank the shutout. Vaders 3-1 Nightmares

Lighting vs Emeralds

This match had ‘playoff preview’ written all over it. The first half was dominated by the Lightning who peppered Brad like a steak, medium rare. Finally, Seamus drove deep down field and sent a beautiful pass to Aaron St. Bernard who tapped it in for a 1-nil lead. In the second half, however, the Emeralds would shine. In the dying seconds, hearing the whistle go on the other field, the team knew they were well into injury time. One last play, a desperate pass from Victor Cristiano to a diving Sam Modarresi buried the tying goal. Even the ref cheered for the green team in the end.  Lightning 1-1 Emeralds

Red Bulls vs Direwolves

The Primetime game was a vicious battle between two hungry predators. With Winnett loaned to red and David Ashton loaned to grey, this game was nothing short of competitive. John Altinian would arrive at half to give much needed support. John DiRe got the loan goal leading Red Bulls to victory. Both these squads now sit first and second on the ladder respectively. Winter is coming, which means its almost time to crown the fall champs. Who will it be? Red Bulls 1-0 Direwolves

Direwolves lead the league by 5 points heading into week 7.

Direwolves (1) v Red Bulls (5)

Direwolves will look to avenge their only loss of the season when they take on Red Bulls.  Nobody wants to see them pull further ahead, so the whole league is behind Red Bulls this week.  It’s a big ask of Red Bulls who are missing at least 5 players due to crippling fear.

Emeralds (2) v Lightning (3)

Lightning won the first match 4-2 and they’ll be hoping Seamus will be dressed to face his old captain Paul Callahan.  For his part, Paul will be hoping to once again influence the referee to change his call.  By influence we mean intimidate.

Nightmares (4) v Vaders (6)

Goals continue to elude Vaders but their game play has been strong.  A tweak here and there might get them out of first gear.  There’s only one certainty from this game, if Nightmares win Metinho will have a report written by 7:05 pm.  If they lose, he’s busy.

Emeralds vs Red Bulls

The game started just as the week 1 purists expected. Emeralds came crashing out of the gate playing strongly on defense and generating chance after chance on the Red Bulls. Murat “The Man” Cokgezen stood strong and kept the game tied 0-0 at half time. The second half started slowly until Scott “Mt Everett” Thompson rejected a pass from Red Bulls… with his hands. A beautiful play in basketball but worthy of the first ever yellow card in this young league’s history. Red Bulls a man up got a little cocky and let Faiz “Flash” Moosafur streak in on a breakaway. A beautiful strike but off the crossbar and out of play! Red Bulls regrouped and played a short ball in Scott “The Spider” Tudo picked up the pass, made a short run, and poked the ball into the goal. 1-0 Red Bulls!

Emeralds, now on the attack, drove in hard but could not find an answer. Chances were traded on both sides as time ticked down. Emeralds drove in on attack but over-touched the ball, and granted Red Bulls a goal kick. Unhappy with the call, Captain Callahan took a page out of “The Toddler’s Handbook for Soccer” and screamed at the ref until Emeralds were granted a corner. Capitalizing on his captain’s tantrum, Sam “War Machine” Modarresi found paydirt as he smashed a beautiful half volley into the Red Bulls goal. 1-1! As time was close to expiring, Emeralds found themselves with one last kick-in deep in Red Bulls territory. John “Twinkle Toes” Altinian, finding inspiration from Emeralds’ earlier play, reached out a hand and stuffed the cross. A clear yellow card agreed the ref, but time had expired. Paul’s tantrums couldn’t save Emeralds twice, and this game ended as a 1-1 tie!

-David Ashton

Lightning vs Vaders

Fast forward to the second half, Seamus slipped through Dillon on the left who shot from a tight angle and put it through Frank’s legs. The Second goal came from a kick in – again Seamus whipped a ball into the box and a Vader player may have got the last touch as it went into their own net.

There was controversy on the final goal! The ref did not see the handball as Winnett tried to clear. Everyone stopped playing, but the ref didn’t blow his whistle and Seamus capitalized. Late in the game, there was a penalty shot for yellow with yet another hand ball, but the ref seemed to even things out by not awarding it. Frank gets a mention with several amazing saves.

-Seamus Lynott

Direwolves vs Nightmares

Nightmares entered the Wolves’ den this week in the primetime game and were mauled 3-1. Metinho will be hosting a live press conference on TSN to apologize to the fans.

This week has 3 key battles as it’s 1st vs 2nd, 3rd vs 4th and 5th vs 6th.

Direwolves (1) vs Nightmares (2)

Expect a great match when these 2 teams battle for first place.  Both of these teams have won their last 2 matches and are looking to make it 3 wins in a row.  It’s not only first place that’s on the line, there’s also bragging rights in Infrastructure.  Dale Burgess & Scott Kamins against Brad Leufkens & Nico Ress, you don’t want to miss this primetime match!

Emeralds (3) vs Red Bulls (4)

Captain Callahan still smiles when he recalls his teams 5-1 win over Red Bulls to open the season.  While the Red Bulls genuinely like to see Paul happy, they want some joy of their own especially after the nightmare of last week.  The Bulls have been consistently inconsistent and hope to turn over a new leaf this week. When asked for a prediction, Zach Siewart said “Beat you down in week 1, beat you down in week 6.  Ouch!

Lightning (5) vs Vaders (6)

These 2 teams are a contrast in that Lightning is strong offensively but conceded a lot of goals while Vaders are the opposite, at least so far.  For their part, Vaders have the players to score goals and there’s no better time than the present to start doing that.  Who knows what to expect out of this match!

Fernando Ayala here with the inside scoop on week 5.

Red Bulls (1) vs Nightmares (4)

Similar teams on similar paths. Commissioner Ivan is back this week after missing his team’s big win last week vs Vaders. Oddly enough captain Natasha was missing last week in her team’s brilliant win over the menacing lightning as well. Perhaps their absences and wins have no connection, who’s to say?  Either way expect fireworks as striker Jose is coming off a hatrick for Nightmares FC and Red Bulls now have some momentum to build on.

Prediction: Nightmares FC to win 3-1

Emeralds (5) vs Vaders (6) 

Vaders are without Bob and Prem this week as they’re away for work. This team also lost last week so they’ll be looking to rebound. Emerald also lost last week but they should have most of their players there! Coach Paul said he expects a win from his team this week and a few goals from his star Defender David Ashton!

Prediction:  2-1 Vaders

Direwolves (2) vs Lightning (3)

Lighting is coming off their first loss last week, Seamus Lynott was missing for that game. Some people may have spotted him at a few Ireland World Cup qualifiers. Hopefully he shows and the dynamic due will be once again! Coach Alex Wong meanwhile isn’t worried, he expects his team to be at the top of the table after this week!

Prediction: Lightning 4-3

 

Nightmares vs Lightning

Top team meets the bottom. A betting man would have picked the Lightning. Little that man would know that the Lightning was about to have a Nightmare. It was more like a Battle of the Titans rather than a one-sided affair.  Before the battle, news from the frontlines came in. Seamus was out.  So General Trabulsey devised a simple strategy: Contain Dillon, win the game. She assigned Lieutenant Nico Ress for the job.  In war, you can plan all you want but sometimes the winds of chance can ruin the best laid plans. When the battle started, Nico was nowhere to be seen. So the Lightning drew first blood, and it came quick. Dillon (Now you see me now you don’t) Suresh headed a ball in making the Nightmare defense scratch their heads. It turned out to be a game of long balls for the Nightmares. And their secret weapon Major Jose sneaked behind the lines of the Lightning defense and shot a zinger. 1-1.

Nico joined the game keeping Dillon at bay. And soon after Jose got another long ball straight from the Quartermaster Sgt Mutlu and thundered another in. Things were going well for the Nightmares. When second half began, Dillon did his magic and put another one over the line. Guess who wasn’t on the field: Nico. After that as it happens every game, Nightmares started to run out of gas. The game started to tilt in favor of the Lightning. But Nico was a monster out there frustrating Dillon at every turn. He followed this up with a kick in for Colonel Metin who after having his shot blocked kicked it over the goalie. Then they parked the bus in front of their net, and deflated every Lightning strike.  As they pushed, Lightning left their defense vulnerable to Jose’s bullseyes. And like the postman, he delivered. Another long ball, a quick right and left, he rammed a shot into the net, this time with his left.  General Trabulsey would be proud.

-Metinho Guler

Red Bulls vs Vaders

The prime-time game featured a mid-field battle between former teammates (and bff’s) Winnett and Di Re. With Captain Ivan missing (rumors were he was in Orlando recruiting Canadian national player Cyle Larin), the tactics were left to Di Re and, in true Italian fashion, he stressed tight defense and counter-attacks (with stud striker John Altinian). It was the Vaders however, that came out strong, with Winnett, Bob “the terror” Tian and Prem Chattani blasting shots on goal. Crisp passes and wonderful setups by Winnett were met by strong saves by Murat. The Red Bulls defense trio of Ted, Eddie and Wayne did not break (helped by Scott Tudo’s solid defensive midfield role). The Red Bulls caught the Vaders on a counter, with Raul Varillas setting up Gabriel Ajon in front of the net … 1-0 Red Bulls!

The second half started like the first, with the Vaders continuing to push and the Red Bulls relying on the counter. The midfields of both teams battled hard. Raul had a few chances to counter, however, they were met with bigger saves by Frank Alimena. Late in the game, Raul played the role as setup man again, with a give and go with Altinian … a slick move by Altinian and a nicely placed ball into the corner … 2-0 Red Bulls! Minutes later the whistle blew and the Red Bulls earned a hard fought 3 points.

-John Di Re

Direwolves vs Emeralds

Week 4 saw a preseason rematch of the Emeralds and Direwolves, both early season favorites, both starving for goals since week 1. Odds makers were helpless to predict this one. Direwolves were down to one sub and without their fearless leader Alex, the plan was short shifts and capitalize on mistakes from a hungry Emerald squad, that didn’t happen… Turns out the Emeralds were low on subs and had the same plan! First half saw both teams trading rushes with opportunities at both ends but nothing that Brad and Kevin couldn’t handle. Towards the end of the half (I think it was the first half, this goalie has a hard time paying attention when the ball is nowhere near him apparently) with Theo leading the charge the cross was made into the box for an easy tap in for Kaveh. 1-0 Wolves.

The second started with both teams starting to show fatigue, Direwolves desperate to keep the lead, Emeralds desperate to get back in it. With both keepers standing tall and maintaining the score, Neil of house wolf made a brilliant header only to be denied by the crossbar. Emeralds, inspired by the crossbar’s defence pressed the attack. Mario came up the wing and absolutely gave everything he had into a shot (and I mean everything, this report is being typed with one hand!) but Bonner kept it out. From the resulting corner Sam made the header towards the net, this ball had its eyes set on the far corner but Scott stood firm and headed it to safety. The pack was getting tired and the green diamonds were getting more and more desperate, Victor C made a charge up the wing, looking for a shot-pass the cross was denied by Hector which came right back into Victor’s face! He was down but thankfully alright (no word on his modeling career but word from the Emerald camp is “day-to-day” with an upper body injury). With Victor out, the Emerald’s were without sub’s and Captain Callahan took matters into his own hands. He charged down the wing at full tilt (no wolf was getting in the way of this freight train!) and cut in for the equalizing shot, Bonner was up to the challenge and managed to deflect the shot off his foot, but this ball was determined finding a path through the five hole, it wanted to cross the line! Equally determined to earn his first clean sheet of his career, Bonner reached back and secured that possessed soccer ball. When the ref determined he had seen enough action  for one day and blew his whistle, the score stayed at 1-0.

-Kevin Bonner

 

There are so many unanswered questions after the first 3 weeks of the season.  Every team has looked good at some point but have been unable to sustain it.  Will the picture become more clear after week 4?

Emeralds (2) vs Direwolves (4)

Both of these teams won their opening matches in style but only managed a draw in their next two.  Emeralds will be missing Faiz this week and potentially Sam, who will be a game day decision.  Direwolves are looking to fulfill their early promise but to do that, they’ll need to break out of their scoring slump.  They started with five goals in week 1 but have only scored one goal in the next two matches.  Theo Blanchard had his spirits raised watching his cousin Georges St. Pierre win on the weekend, after 4 years out of the game.  If he can do it, Direwolves can do it.

Lightning (1) vs Nightmares (6)

Although it’s a first vs last place match up, there’s only 3 points that separate these teams.  Lightning have shown great character and twice came from behind in the last two weeks.  Nightmares have struggled with attendance and that might be the reason they have yet to register a win.  They’ll need a full team if they want to knock Lightning off their perch.  Watch out for Adrian Mos who scored two goals last week.  Like Sandy and Danny in the movie Grease, Natasha asked if this was the end and Adrian replied “of course not, it’s just the beginning”.

Red Bulls (3) vs Vaders (5)

The Red Bulls have played three great halves and three not so great halves of soccer.  They let a 3 goal lead slip away last week and now have to face a hungry Vaders team.  While it’s true that Vaders haven’t won a match, they also haven’t lost a match either.  While their defense has been solid, only conceding a league best of four goals, they’ll want to get their offense going.  For their part the Red Bulls have plenty of offense, but their lack of focus has impeded their path forward.  They’ll look to take last week’s first half performance and play that way the entire match.

Lightning (1) vs Red Bulls (4)

Lightning will aim to keep their place at the top when they line up against the Red Bulls on Wednesday night.  Last week the Red Bulls won 3-0 but they’ll be hard pressed to keep Lightning off the score sheet.  Seamus and Dillon are hard to stop but an elbow to the ribs just might work.

Direwolves (3) vs Vaders (5)

What’s the difference between a triangle and Vaders?  A triangle has 3 points.  We may be able to get another week’s use out of that line, as Vaders take to the field without Andrew Winnett who suffered an injury last week.  They’ll look to rise to the occasion against Direwolves who suffered a set back last week.  They won’t dwell on that though, they’ll be going for 3 points.

Emeralds (2) vs Nightmares (6)

It’s the battle of the green teams at 7 pm.  Nightmares are looking for their first win of the season and they think Emeralds are ripe for the picking.  After a dream start in week 1, Emeralds came crashing back down to earth last week.  Metinho doesn’t go winless in 3, it’s a rule.

Vaders vs Nightmares (6pm)
Vaders and Nightmares have seen different starts to their season. Nightmare built an early lead before ultimately losing their week 1 match, while Vaders staged a late game comeback to pull off a draw. Vegas has this game as a coin toss but Vaders’ powerful attack to give them the edge.

Prediction: Vaders win 3-2.

Direwolves vs Red Bulls (6pm)
Red Bulls are looking to redeem themselves after an embarrassing 5-1 loss in week 1. Direwolves stands in their way, fresh off a 5-3 victory. You can’t doubt the attack of these two teams, and a shootout should be expected.

Prediction: Direwolves feast on the Bulls 5-4.

Emeralds vs Lightning (7pm)
After one week Emeralds sit atop the standings, and will need some Wednesday night magic if they wish to stay there. Lightning will do everything they can to humble the men in green. The story of this game is the reunion of Paul Callahan and Seamus Lynott, although they’ll be on opposite ends of the pitch this time. Emeralds’ captain Callahan and star midfielder Lynott were unable to come to terms on a contract this off-season. He walked, and Lightning were more than happy to sign him to a fat contract.

Prediction: Emeralds strike first but Lightning come back strong. Lightning win 3-1.

The 2017/18 season kicks-off on Wednesday night.  This season has the most players ever and the buzz has never been higher.  Every team starts the season with high hopes but also a lot of uncertainty.  With so many new players, it’s hard to predict how the games will go, but we’ll try anyway.

Red Bulls FC vs Emerald FC (6 pm)

The Red Bulls kick off the season against Emeralds.  Paul Callahan and Dave Ashton are reunited and beware to all those who enter their defensive domain.  Never known as the cleanest duo in the league, expect Emeralds to have the strongest defense in the league. Ivan Gojmerac has had to do endure a week of provocations and insults from these two that would make Conor MacGregor blush.  Ivan took it all in stride and didn’t get worked up because……John Altinian.  See you at the Hangar Pauly.

Nightmare FC vs Direwolves FC (6pm)

If Nightmares logo doesn’t scare you then nothing will.  The scary green blob men will take on Direwolves to open the season.  Natasha has built a well balanced team and you’d be hard pressed to find a weakness.  Standing in their way to a dream start are Direwolves who many consider to be favourites for the title this year.  Captain Alex Wong disagreed though.  “More like heavy favourites” is what he said.

Lightning Strike FC vs Vaders FC (7 pm)

The primetime match sees Lightning take on Vaders.  Rumour has it that Darth Vader’s suit was specially designed by the Emperor to make him more susceptible to lighting strike.  Is this a foreshadowing of what’s to come?  On the pitch, the Lightning have a formidable force in Seamus Lynott and Dillon Suresh.  A duo this good hasn’t been seen since Lennon and McCartney.  Meanwhile, Vaders possess a highly coveted midfield in Andrew Winnett and Bob Tian.  The latter used to be a coop student and has returned as a full grown adult ready to showcase his skills.

Week 1 should give us a better idea of where everyone stands.  Good luck to all the teams and may this season be the best one yet!