Hulkamaniacs narrowed the gap on third place with a 4-3 win over Bayern Munich. On the other pitch, Real Deal reclaimed their lead at the top of the table with a 7-2 thrashing over The Gunners.

Real Deal vs The Gunners
Heading into Week 14 of the TCL, the Gunners and Real Deal stood deadlocked in points AND goal differential. To trend Settin’ Metting’s dismay, this meant that the second tie-breaker of goals-for, put Mighty Oranje Gunners on top of the standings.

The match kicked off with RD in possession looking for Rambo first blood. However, it would be The Gunners that would fire first. At the 6′ minute mark, with RD pressing, Gunners forged a quick counter sending Mike Ermakov in all alone behind Captain Gojmerac. The RD could only watch in horror as Ermakov blasted a hard low shot through the only crack in the Bonner Wall to open the scoring, 1-Nil. Just a few minutes later at the 9′ minute mark, Nasim the Dream would tie it up using his blistering speed and sweet finish, tying the score at 1-1 a piece. The remainder of the half would be more of the same as the RD would collect another bushel of goals, led by Talha The Shot Caller and his thunderous cannon. Gunner skipper David Ashton stood strong in net, making some unbelievable saves. However, it seemed all he needed was some A1 sauce as he was being peppered all night long. The ref blew the whistle on the first half, 4-1 for RD.

In the second half, The Gunners would show resilience with Kosta the Basher Zabashta holding down both ends of the pitch turning amazing defence into a glorious header just missing the net. Then, late in the second, things got like a dicey. A scramble in front of RD net lead to Thunder Stache Callahan with the ball between his legs. For what seemed like 10 hours, Callahan was crawling around on the ground with the ball trapped. Patrick the Punisher Polkowski waited like a hungry shark to snap the ball in if he let go. The Ref blew the whistle, and this time he did not yell “play”, but “PENALTY”. Somehow Callahan did not know (seriously he didn’t know) that you could not cover the ball in the penalty area. Gunners were awarded the Penalty Shot. The Punisher would not be denied blasting one left short side giving Gunners their second of the game. But it was too little too late, Mr. Clean blew the whistle on this tilt, Final score 7-2 for the Real Deal, putting them back at the top of TCL standings.

Bayern Munich vs Hulkamaniacs
Entering this game the Hulkamaniacs were the hottest team in the league, “oh yeah brother”! Meanwhile Bayern had been struggling of late and needed a good showing. The first stanza was a very cagey affair – think Mad Max in the superdome, two men enter, one man leaves! Sam scored first and drew first blood a la Sylvester Stallone for the Hulks. Some stuff may or may not have happened but the half ended 1-0.
In the second half Coach M. Vega leveled things with a long range shot to start things off for Bayern. The Hulks would not be denied as DC (Derek to the rest of ya’ll) came back to put the Hulks back on top. Bayern leveled things again through Steve Milkshake Malka. This game had more game changers than Bruce Jenner in 2015 as Derek Cha-Ching Chan got the Hulks back on top to make it 3-2. Then in a semi-controversial move Duy leveled things after deflecting a long range pass perfectly and right in the corner of the net (one of the benefits of doing the write up is that one’s absolute bias can be jotted down for all to see). Alas twas not enough as the Hulks went ahead 4-3 again via Derek.
And so this engrossing affair ended 4-3 with the Hulk still the hottest team in the league and Bayern still searching for answers, however a much better showing for Bayern than of late.

Real Deal vs Bayern Munich

The week 12 matchup between top ranked teams Fall Champs and Bayern Munich meant that an irresistible force was about to meet an unmovable object. Who would come out victorious? The smack talk began early with Loudmouth Callahan guaranteeing a “W”. Sargent Hughes of the grammar PD quickly cited him a ticket for his careless spelling, but let his bold prediction slide with a stern warning. On the pitch, with the referee running late, Steve Malka of Bayern stepped to the line, called to both keepers “ready” and blew the whistle on the showdown for first place.

This was a sea-saw affair early with both teams struggling to find a rhythm like a grade 9 semi-formal. Better late then never the ref came running in! Real Deal smiled as it knew its 6th man had arrived, the fix was in. Real broke the deadlock with a beautiful strike from “Trend Settin” Metin who opened the floodgates to make it 1-0. The pressure continued with a blast from Talha the “Shot Caller” who found the back of the net making 2-0. Bayern refused to let a an early deficit stop them as Ronalduy sent a quick feed to Super Mario who served up a gimmme to Fernando “Xavi” Ayala who blasted a shot just wide of net throwing up his arms in disbelief. Nasim “The Dream” playing in one of his final games before he departs to the land Down Under used his speed to notch 9th of the year and 1st for his new squad. Captain Gojmerac added another making it 4-0 heading to the side-lines.

The second half seemed like a completely different game as Bayern failed to quit. Sargent Hughes who payed full-back for most of the game took matters into his own hands taking out his side arm and putting one past Kevin “the Wall” Bonner snapping the coveted shutout. Then, Ronalduy showed why he’s the league all-star scoring two more. Natasha Hotfoot Trabulsey would not be denied and she added another one making is 5-3. Final score 5-3 for the Fall Champs.

The Gunners vs Hulkamaniacs

Early on, Hulkamaniacs looked like they had finally worked out the issues that had been plaguing them throughout the season. The Gunners looked lost as Hulkamaniacs undressed them over and over, but were bailed out by last second defensive efforts, stellar saves from Dan “Boomin” Newman and good luck. Finally The Gunners found their rhythm and won a corner kick. A great ball from Theo “The Body” Blanchard found the head of Gunners skipper Dave Ashton who misplayed the ball across the box. But luck was orange that night as the ball bounced of Tyler “Ten Touch” Zeng and found the back of the net. Hulkamaniacs were quick to respond. New acquisition Salar Modarresi beat two Gunners players a slipped the ball past Newman to tie the game at one apiece.

The second half opened and it was more of the same. Intense pressure from both sides had the defenders on their toes but strong goaltending and near misses on both sides kept the game level at 1-1. A breakthrough finally came when Andrew “Papa” Dias picked up the ball along the right side and fired it past keeper Scott “Pinball” Tudo. Again quick to respond, Hulkamaniacs pressed four men up on an ensuing corner kick. The ball bouced around and found it’s way to Tyler Zeng who took two touches, and sneaked the ball past a cluster of bodies. Neither team was willing to settle for a tie, and kept pressure on their opponent’s net. With time running down this game looked to be a sure tie when a questionable call gave The Gunners a free kick deep in the Hulkamaniacs’ end. A short pass found its way to Blanchard’s foot who made no mistake as he put in the go-ahead goal. The Hulkamaniacs had no time left to respond as the final whistle blew. The Gunners took this tight matchup 3-2.

Bayern Munich vs Hulkamaniacs
Coming in to this week’s games there was a lot of nervousness within the ranks of Bayern Munich. They had been on a tear, winning 3 in a row while steamrolling the competition, but now they had to incorporate 3 new players while dealing with the loss of some prized teammates. Less than a minute into the game, new acquisition Fernando “Xavi” Ayala split the defense with a pass so sublime that it caused “Neon” Leon Perelman to fall over. This pass landed on the golden boot of a streaking RonalDuy who potted it home with ease.
And with that, BM knew it was business as usual. Another quick goal by RonalDuy plus a rebound slammed home by Steve Malka made it 3-0 early.
The Hulkamaniacs didn’t just roll over however as they controlled the play for large swaths of the first half with their excellent ball control skills. The intense one-on-one battle between new Hulkamaniacs forward Derek “The Dragon” Chan and BM defender Daniel McNiece carried on for the full game. Chan ended up putting away two beautiful goals and was denied a third on a breakaway late in the game.
But the pattern continued for BM…
1. Score early
2. Bend, don’t break
3. Counter
In the 2nd half, RonalDuy completed his hat trick, Coach Vega scored 2, Malka added another, newcomer Jeffrey McCabe scored his first of the season. Final score: 8-2.
Bayern Munich steamrolls on. They expect to flatten Real Deal next.
PS – Yes, Fernando gets a new nickname in “Xavi” because, like the real life Xavi, Fernando plays midfield, makes great passes, and is from Mexico.

Real Deal vs The Gunners
Both teams were hungry for a win. Real Deal wanted to maintain their strong lead atop the table while The Gunners were trying to stay in the hunt for first. This game looked all blue early on as new acquisition Nasim “The Dream” Zoubeiri controlled the Real Deal attack and The Gunners couldn’t get much going past the nearly unbeatable defense of “Wild” Brian Lyons. The Real Deal pressure paid off as they opened the scoring when Zoubeiri cut down the left line and played a low ball into the middle of the box. Ted “Big Train” Guo misplayed his clearance and kicked the ball into his own net. The Gunners still could not find an answer, and Real Deal went back on the attack. Again Zoubeiri came in alone and played the ball through the wickets of keeper Dave Ashton. The ball trickled towards the line when Natasha “Hot Foot” Trabulsey tapped the ball in to claim the goal as her own. The Gunners were able to halve the Real Deal lead at half time when Dan “Boomin” Newman played the ball through a crowd and past the Real Deal keeper. The Gunners came out determined in the second half. Some beautiful tic-tac-toe passing gave Theo “The Body” Blanchard an open shot at the net. He made no mistake and tied the game up at 2-2. The score remained level, as strong defensive play by Kosta “Bowser” Zabashta, and “Wild” Brian Lyons shut down any scoring chances for both sides. Dan Newman, finally showing his age, limped towards his own net with a pulled calf, and donned the keeper gloves from Ashton. From then on it was Theo, Theo, Theo. He scored two goals mere seconds apart to give The Gunners a 4-2 lead. Trabulsey answered for her team as a blocked shot found its way to her foot. She took a low shot past Newman to pull her team within one. However Real Deal could find no way to contain Blanchard as he scored his fourth goal to regain the two-goal lead for his team. Real Deal’s late game pressure allowed “Iron” Mike Ermakov to add two more tallies on a counter-attack. This game ended with a decisive Gunners win over Real Deal, 7-3.

Real Deal showed why they’re the Fall Champions as they defeated Hulkamaniacs in a close 3-2 game. Bayern Munich climbed into second place as they defeated The Gunners 5-2.

Hulkamaniacs vs Real Deal
The temperature in Toronto was -11c and that’s exactly where the Hulkamiancs stood relative to the Real Deal in the standings, 11 points behind.

The game started at a frantic pace as the Hulks came to play. Early on it was clear that this was going to be different than the previous encounters between these two teams. Most of the early play resided in the midfield as both teams tried to take control. At the 10 minute mark, Paul “Cannonfoot” Callahan found some space on the right side, made a run and blasted a shot past Scott Tudo in the Hulks goal.

Tyler “Ten Touch” Zeng was causing all sorts of problems for the Real Deal. His speed and quickness allowed him to get a number of shooting opportunities that were stopped by Kevin Bonner. As usual, Fernando “No Finish” Ayala spurned a number of good chances. Then the unthinkable happened and the Hulks equalized! Yes you read that correctly, the Hulks equalized! Nasim “the dream(er)” Zoubeiri found space to the right of the keeper and attempted to pass across the face of goal but instead mis-hit the ball and it fooled Bonner and went in the net. Was it a mis-hit or is Zoubeiri a brilliant man?

The second half saw Metin Guler push forward and immediately begin pulling the strings. Metin picked up the ball about 15 feet from goal, beat Neon Leon Perelman and placed the ball into the top corner. Even Brad Hughes who was playing on the next field applauded the goal. Shortly thereafter some fancy footwork by Talha Sarac led to a great chance that was partially blocked, only to fall into the path of Natasha Trabulsey who scored to make it 3-1. Victor Arcentales tried had a strong shot saved as the Hulks tried to respond immediately.

Brian Lyons and Metin Guler both hit the post before Zoubeiri scored his second of the match. His quickness got the better of Ivan Gojmerac and he snuck a shot past Bonner. The Hulks tried to apply pressure as time was ticking away, but Ryan Gonsalves was having none of it and shut them down. Shortly thereafter the referee blew the final whistle.

Bayern Munich vs The Gunners
Every week Bayern Munich’s opponents claim they will stop RonalDuy. Every week they are wrong.
Despite some big talk from Gunners keeper David “I Haz A Sad” Ashton, RonalDuy opened the scoring 2 minutes into the game and added another 2 minutes later.

Being down 2-0 early didn’t deter The Gunners as they knew the BM’s weakness lies in its goaltender. Just get some shots and you will eventually put it by that bum. Kosta “MastaBlasta” Zabashta was denied on two great chances before Patrick “Hey New Guy!” Polkowski slipped home a nifty pass from Theo “The Body” Blanchard.

BM knew they couldn’t rest on their defensive laurels to win this game and they went at the Gunners goal in waves but were stoned by Ashton time after time. But BM finally broke through on a beautiful corner kick by “Big Daddy” Andrew Dias to a charging Daniel “Set Piece” McNiece who made it 3-1 with a one-timer. Mario “60 Million Euro Transfer Fee” Vega added another just before halftime to make it 4-1.

Down but not out, Ashton tried to rally his troops and, in a Toronto Champions League exclusive, we have a recording of his halftime pep talk…

And it worked!!

“Iron” Mike Ermakov slammed home a goal within the first minute of the 2nd half to make it 4-2. “Big Train” Ted Guo slowed down the BM attack while the referee looked for his glasses. Ashton continued to do his Tim Howard vs Belgium impression while the Gunners forwards applied more pressure

It was back and forth all half before BM decided to unleash The Malka! Steve “Slim” Malka rocketed a shot off the goalpost that magically returned right to his foot to be hammered into the net to finish the scoring at 5-2.

With the victory Bayern Munich creeps up into 2nd place but they have their eyes now on #1.

Real Deal must have been feeling the effects of their championship hangover as they fell 7-2 to Bayern Munich. Two new recruits were not enough as the Hulkamaniacs struggles continued. They fell 3-1 to The Gunners.

Real Deal vs Bayern Munich
To start the game all eyes (and Real Deal defenders) were on league-leading scorer RonalDuy. BM controlled the play but Real Deal’s tight marking didn’t allow many scoring chances. The shots that did slip through were easily handled by Kevin “The Wall” Bonner. But midway through the first half, Mario “Coach” Vega made a great inside cut to shed his man and rifled a low shot to the far corner to open the scoring for BM. The Real Deal knew they had to get that score back quickly because they know you cannot stop RonalDuy, you can only hope to contain him. “Menemen” Guler and Ivan “The Croatian Irritation” Gojmerac pushed up the field and despite some sustained pressure couldn’t quite crack the BM defence. This naturally left the Real Deal open to the counter-attack and RonalDuy potted another home to put BM up 2-0.

And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say
that Callahan’s small foot grew three sizes that day.
And then — the true meaning of Christmas came through,
and Callahan found the strength of ten Pauls, plus two!

Yes, Paul “I was left wide open on a set piece and a seeing-eye pass somehow managed to thread its way through the thicket of players to my golden foot and all I had to do was slam it home into a gaping net and then I wanted to say something really cool to piss off the goalie but I couldn’t because my brain stopped working due to the sheer amount of joy coursing through my veins so I just pointed my fingers as a single tear appeared out of the corner of my eye and rolled slowly down my cheek for my Christmas dream had come true and I knew that Santa was real because he heard my prayers and got my letter and I was a good good boy all year and perhaps I feel a bit guilty because I’m so deliriously happy and we lost pretty bad and I was supposed to be man-marking RonalDuy and he ended up scoring 5 more goals but that bad bad feeling goes away when I spend all day looking at my player page on the Toronto Champions League website with that glorious 1 in the goals column and sometimes I refresh the page just to make sure its still real because it seems like such a dream but and… wait a second… has somebody been reading my diary?” Callahan scored.

The Gunners vs Hulkamaniacs
Keeper Dave Ashton was determined to not give away the same gifts as Bradley “Santa” Hughes, who has now generously allowed Paul “Fighting Irish” Callahan and Fernando “Mouth from the South” Ayala to score their only goals of the season. The Gunners expected an easy matchup against the worn out Hulkamaniacs, who needed nothing short of a Christmas miracle to defeat an eight-manned Gunners squad. But it looked like it would be another routing as Dan “Boomin” Newman scored two early on, with Andrew “Fancy Pants” Winnett adding another, putting The Gunners up 3-0 at the 12 minute mark. Fed up, Cesar Vivas took over goaltending duties and Alex Orellana walked onto the pitch, determined to earn his spot on the roster. Suddenly, this routing turned into a goaltending battle as both Dave Ashton and Cesar Vivas each made several ridiculous saves to keep the score set at 3-0. With time winding down Nasim “The Dream” Zoubeiri walked in along the left touch line and tapped an easy one home, ending The Gunners shutout bid. 3-1 is how this game ended, but the promise of their two new players gives the Hulkamaniacs a ray of hope for the second half of the season.

21 players battled the elements to make it out this week. The Gunners failed in their comeback bid as they fell 3-2 to Real Deal. Across the mesh, Bayern Munich thrashed Hulkamaniacs with all 14 goals coming in the second half of this 12-2 game.

Bayern Munich vs. Hulkamaniacs
In the past few weeks Bayern Munich has found that it’s not much fun when you can’t field a full team but things were reversed this week when they found themselves playing a Hulkamaniacs team missing their regular goalie and needing recruits from other teams to fill out a roster. The lil’ Hulksters held out for the first half with a sound defensive strategy of blocking every shot possible. Keeping the score an even 0-0 at the half. Even Fernando sacrificed his body by crossing back over the center line. It’s a Christmas miracle!
Speaking of the giving season What does little RonalDuy want for Christmas? What’s that you say? Goals, goals and more goals?
Yes, RonalDuy is one of those spoiled brats who gets everything he wants and he wasn’t going to go another 25 minutes without a goal. The Hulkamaniacs’ D finally broke down and RonalDuy took all the presents under the tree.
Of course, Bayern Munich aren’t all a bunch of heartless Scrooges! The boys scrounged together enough in order to put out a glass of milk and plate of cookies for the Hulkamaniacs to enjoy. However I’m sure they tasted like lumps of coal which they can use as fuel to take down the Gunners next week.

The Gunners vs. Real Deal
The battle for this game began off the pitch as players from both teams battled icy roads to join the game. Real Deal dominated possession early on, determined to open the scoring. They fired a barrage of shots towards the Gunners net but none were able to find home. Midway through the half the half, Paul “Fighting Irish” Callahan made a run up the right touch line. The referee, ignoring Gunners pleas and gesticulations for an out of bounds call, yelled out “PLAY!” as Fighting Irish fired a strike on target. Dave Ashton parried the ball away to his far post but didn’t see Natasha “Hot Foot” Trabulsey streaking in who slammed her chest into the ball to open the scoring. Gunners piled on pressure at the end of the first half but couldn’t find an answer as Kevin “Wall” Bonner pushed away everything the Gunners squad threw at him. Down 1-0 the Gunners kicked off the second half thirsty for a goal. Their aggressive tactics left them exposed after Hot Foot picked up a ball at half, beat the lone defender and cut the ball back across her body. Dave Ashton could do nothing but helplessly watch as the ball rolled past him and into the net. Both teams maintained heavy pressure, attacking loose balls and generating marvellous opportunities but saves at both end of the pitch kept the score at 2-0. Finally, it was Hot Foot once again picked up the ball at half and ran in alone. Unflinching this time, Dave Ashton charged out of his net while Ted “Big Train” Guo chased down the striker from the rear. Showing no fear of the two giants barrelling down on her Hot Foot tapped the ball across the box to the waiting foot of Ivan “The Croatian Irritation” Gojmerac who tapped it home to create what appeared to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Odds stacked against them, The Gunners showed no signs of fatigue as they threw their full force at the Real Deal net. Andrew “Fancy Pants” Winnett was the first orange player to find goal as he smashed a ball into the net past the far side of The Wall. Theo “The Body” Blanchard added a second moments later to revitalize the dying Gunners squad. With seconds to spare the Gunners fired a barrage of shots but wild saves and lucky bounces off the bar kept the Real Deal lead intact as the final whistle blew a game that is sure to live in the minds of the players for years.

Week 7 had two hard fought battles. Real Deal got back on track with a 4-0 win over Hulkamaniacs. On the adjacent pitch, The Gunners eked out a 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich

Real Deal vs Hulkamaniacs
With the league bottom feeders Bayern Munich short roster this week, Ivan Gojmerac and Dave Ashton had to put their league executive hats on and loan players from both Real Deal and Hulkamaniacs to the cause. Keeper Kevin Bonner from RD and Hulk striker Fernando Ayala walked over to the adjacent pitch like true heroes (thanks fellas). Meanwhile, the Real Deal and Hulkamaniacs kicked off to start lucky number week 7. Both teams let the dice roll in this match with lots of early back and forth. Lionel Metin “The Magician” Guler opened the scoring with beautiful deep penetration from just inside the box to put Real Deal on the board. A goal from Ivan “The Conqueror” Gojmerac, a second from The Magician and a daisy cutter from Natasha “Hot Foot” Trabulsey that found its way past a sprawling keeper would give them a cushy 4-nil lead heading into half. The Hulkamaniacs’ spirits were bruised but not shattered as they came out in the second half with guns blazing. Some beautiful tic-tac-toe passing from Tyler “The Mauler” Zheng, Scott “Believe Him or Not” Tudo and Nasim “The Dream” Zoubeiri had RD kissing the post in gratitude. Some last minute pressure from Brian “The Lion” Lyons and Paul “Winner Take All” Callahan was close but no cigar. Time wound down on this match with a final score Real Deal (4) – Hulkamaniacs (nil).

The Gunners vs Bayern Munich
When you play in a league with only 4 teams it seems like every game is a grudge match but when The Gunners and Bayern Munich clash there seems to be a bit more on the line considering their recent history. A 16-3 thrashing by Bayern early in the schedule followed by a Gunners shutout on the next meeting, meant that this game was like quantum mechanics — the only thing certain was uncertainty. With Bayern again relying on recruits to fill out their roster it would have seemed to give the Gunners an advantage however it was a very even first half with both teams getting some good chances yet struggling to put the ball behind the keepers. Kevin “The Wall” Bonner made a great save — sliding one way while reaching back with his hand — on good run by Theo “The Body” Blanchard. At the other end David “The General” Ashton kept the vaunted Bayern attack at bay. But late in the first half, The General finally cracked giving up a juicy rebound that was potted home by someone other than Fernando “Mouth of the South” Ayala. Up 1-0 at the half, Bayern told themselves all they needed was another quick goal and then play back to shut down the Gunners’ offence. They got the first part right! Within two minutes of the start of the 2nd half Bayern struck again on almost an identical play to their first goal (and once again Fernando had an up close view of a great striker in action). All Bayern needed to do now was park the bus. Unfortunately, that’s not the way Bayern is used to playing. Shortly afterwards, while Bayern had 3 men up, The Body fought off a defender (and the FLU!) and made another run up the sideline and slammed home a beautiful strike. 2-1 Bayern… could they hold on? NO! Another goal by The Body tied things up while Andrew “Fancy-Pants” Winnett bottled up any offence Bayern tried to muster. With energy running out Bayern hoped the clock was on their side. And it seemed to be that way until 1 minute left when Ted “Big Train” Guo slammed home a goal to steal victory for the Gunners. Well played, well earned. Until next time!

In week six Bayern Munich handed Real Deal their second straight loss, and The Gunners jumped into second place with a win over Hulkamaniacs.

Bayern Munich vs. Real Deal
Knowing they were in for a tough match against Bayern Munich the Real Deal attempted to summon the Traffic Gods to stop their foe! Fortunately Bayern’s GM made some last minute transfers in order to field a full team. The first half was a back and forth affair but neither team could put one past the keeper. However, in the second half the old legs of the Real Deal started to falter against Bayern’s blitzkrieg attack. RonalDuy Nguyen found the twine off a beautiful pass from “Set Piece” McNiece. RonalDuy scored again to put Bayern up 2-0 but the Real Deal would not give up. “Thunder-stache” Paul Callahan pounded a few shots on goal that failed to find the mark and Metin Guler rang one off the post before finally finding success. Down 2-1 the Real Deal continued their assault, leaving them open to the counter-attack. RonalDuy completed his hat trick with a beautiful one-timer off a long field-length pass. 3-1 was how it ended and now Mario “Guardiola” Vega can remember this anniversary for the rest of his life.

The Gunners vs. Hulkamaniacs
The Gunners kicked off to open week six against the newly named Hulkamaniacs. Mike Ermakov opened the scoring early with a strong run past several helpless defenders to bury his fifth of the season. Andrew Winnett intercepted a poor Hulkamaniacs kick in and, with surgical precision, curled a ball into the top corner of the Hulkamaniacs goal. Unshaken by their two goal deficit, Hulkamaniacs captain Nasim Zoubeiri made a determined run past the Gunners defenders. He found himself ten yards out and ripped a magnificent shot. The ball cleanly beat the keeper but rattled off the crossbar to deny the Hulkamaniacs their best chance of the half. Theo Blanchard added a late goal from a forceful run up the left wing to give The Gunners a 3:0 lead heading into the second half. Hulkamaniacs came out strong in the second half, creating chance after chance but often shooting the ball just wide or being stuffed by a Gunners defence determined to hold onto their lead. At the half’s midpoint Hulkamaniacs was awarded a corner kick and, taking advantage of a briefly disorganized Gunners team, played the ball into Tyler Zeng who struck the ball truly and opened the scoring for his team. Despite a continued effort, Hulkamaniacs were unable to find another and, after Andrew Winnett scored his second of the game, fell to The Gunners 4:1.

This week’s action saw The Gunners handing Real Deal their first defeat of the season in a 5:1 routing while Hulkamaniacs (formerly Barcelona) drew with Bayern Munich in a high scoring affair.

Hulkamaniacs vs Bayern Munich
The Hulkamaniacs ran wild in the 1st half of their match-up with a depleted Bayern Munich squad. Clearly Fernando “Mouth from the South” Ayala had taken his vitamins and said his prayers and was rewarded with his first (and likely last) goal of the season. Somehow the world didn’t end on that event and the Hulkamaniacs added another before the half. Bayern was down on the canvas but not out! Coach Vega made some tactical position changes that resulted in a flurry of offense in the 2nd half. The comeback started on a long run by Duy Nguyen who split the defence and drilled the ball home. The game was soon tied on another Duy goal. That’s when this game turned into a barn-burner! Hulkamaniacs up 3-2! Bayern ties! Bayern goes ahead 4-3! The Hulkamaniacs hulk up one more time to get the equalizer! 4-4! Which is how it ended folks — nobody going home happy but everybody looking forward to the next battle.

Real Deal vs The Gunners
With Real Deal undermanned this game began as a five-a-side contest. Early in the match, Gunners keeper David Ashton blundered when he stepped out of his box with ball in hand to award a free kick from five yards out. Ivan Gojmerac picked up a short pass but fired it into the orange wall. The ball was played to Dan Newman on the counterattack who fired his strike wide of the target. The Gunners increased their pressure, amounting to a marvellous opportunity. Mike Ermakov played the ball across the box to Dan Newman who slammed a shot past the Kevin Bonner but not past the post. The game remained scoreless until late in the first half when Mike Ermakov walked into the opposing box and put the ball across the far side of the Real Deal keeper. The first half ended 1:0 in favour of The Gunners. Real Deal kicked off determined to level the playing field. They attacked the Gunners net but struggled to get a shot on target. Finally The Gunners were able to break free of the Real Deal pressure. Andrew Winnett picked up a pass at the halfway line and streaked up the field, cutting and dancing his way past Real defenders. He found himself face-to-face with the intimidating figure of Kevin Bonner but, without hesitation, unleashed a strike past the keeper. For the second time, a Gunners shot found iron but the ball ricocheted to the foot of Daniel Newman who fired a strong volley past the keeper to double the Gunners’ lead. The Real Deal squad was not demoralized, and continued to play as if they had fresh legs and 10 years off their age. Jeff McCabe took control of a pass near his own net and maneuvered his way past Andrew Sharp. As he distributed the ball upfield he fell, either by the foot of Andrew Sharp or his own, and his evening came to an end. Up a man, and with only seven total upfield players on the pitch the game opened up for The Gunners. With the Real Deal defenders playing high, Daniel Newman controlled the ball at half and had nobody to beat but the keeper. He made no mistake and placed the ball into the back of the net to put the game nearly out of reach. Real Deal would not let up their pressure and won a corner kick. Ivan Gojmerac fired the corner towards the Gunners net where keeper David Ashton attempted an ill-advised save, knocked the ball off of the inside of his leg, and embarrassingly ended his own bid at a clean sheet, simultaneously giving Real Deal a sign of life. With Kevin Bonner having to play far off his line, Theo Blanchard attempted a long chip but bounced his shot off the crossbar. Kevin hand balled the rebound while outside his box giving The Gunners another glorious opportunity, but they were unable to convert the free kick. Still invigorated from their goal, Real Deal was willing to do whatever it took to win, culminating in a blatant hand ball by Metin Guler on his own goal line to keep out an Andrew Winnett shot. Winnett was rewarded with a penalty shot and made no mistake, burying the shot and finally ended the comeback bid. Daniel Newman added another late goal from a tough angle, giving him the hat trick, and handing Real Deal their first loss of the season. Gunners took this game with a decisive 5:1 victory.

Week 4 saw Real Deal move to 4-0-0 on the season with a win over Bayern Munich while Barcelona moved into second with a victory over Manchester United.

Real Deal vs Bayern Munich

With snow falling outside the Soccerplex, week 4 kicked off featuring the perfect Real Deal taking on a hungry Bayern Munich squad. As expected, this matchup did not disappoint.  Bayern with lots of pressure early had Real keeper Kevin Bonner making several unbelievable saves keeping the score at nil-nil. Then, in the 15 minute Ryan Gonsalves put Real Deal on the board with a beautiful strike that found the back of the net. Despite the goal against, Bayern continued their relentless onslaught and eventually found the equalizer from a spectacular run from Duy Nguyen, league leader in goals this season…Real’ was stunned heading into half. The second proved very physical with both squads refusing to give up any ground. A number of stern warnings were delivered by the referee, but no hardware handed out.  Then in the 45th minute, Real pressing, captain Ivan Gojmerac sent a perfect free kick right to the foot of Metin Guler for the go ahead goal. Late pressure from Bayern forced Kevin to make even more spectacular saves. The final whistle blew on this battle ending Real Deal (2) def. Bayern Munich (1).

Barcelona vs Manchester United

On the adjacent pitch Manchester United kicked off against Barcelona. Manchester United created several strong chances early on but strong Barcelona defence and saves by Alex Arkanov kept the game scoreless. Barcelona picked up the pace halfway through the first half and made a strong drive to the Man United net. The ball ricocheted off a Man United defender and landed at the feet of Scott Tudo. Tudo fired the ball through a cluster of orange shirts, and past the outstretched arms of Dan Newman to open the scoring. Late in the half, off a botched Man United kick in, Fernando Ayala picked up the ball in the corner and played a pass back to Tyler Zeng who fired a screaming shot into the open net. The first half ended with Barcelona holding a 2:0 lead. Manchester United came out strong in the second half dominating possession but being unable to find the target. Finally, Mike Ermakov picked up the ball at half and made a strong run up the left touch line decisively beating his defender. He played the ball across to Tim Zhang who, making his first appearance of the season, found the back of the net to cut the Barca lead in half. Both teams played with renewed vigour, Manchester United looking to even the game, and Barca fighting to put it out of reach, but strong defending and marvellous saves at both ends of the pitch kept the Barca lead at 2:1. With the final whistle approaching, Barcelona caught the Man United defence out of position. Julio Araujo raced along the right touch line, and sent a perfect pass into the box where Victor Arcentales tapped it to put the game out of reach of Man United. Despite increased pressure, Barca shut down the remainder of the Man United chances. This game ended with Barcelona defeating Manchester United 3:1.