The Apex League - Season 3 Review

The kings of Bettian football are dead, long live the kings... or in this case, the Tigers.

The Apex League have new champions in the form of Maghrib's premier team Sukatra Tigers. Despite losing the international pairing of goalkeeper Safwan Sulaiman and defender Gwynoro Tyrno'r, Sukatra ended up with the best defence in the division as well as the joint-best attack. The Tigers sealed their title on matchday 33 with an emphatic 5-0 thrashing of Lorshill City, and ended the campaign with with a 6-point cushion over nearest challengers Butetown Dragons.

The Dragons were some way off the pace at the halfway stage, but after securing the services of Nedalian striker Mattan, they enjoyed a late surge which saw them win 9 out of their last 12 games, scoring 27 goals in the process. Mattan linked up well with Husni Teague and Eurys Ffagan in a three-man attack, to which he contributed 9 goals.

Coming in third were Gabalfa Rovers, who were well and truly back on track after the relative disaster of last season. Chicanadan international Jesse Suda was deadly throughout the season (apart from his one month layoff with a hamstring injury), and both he and Aroras stalwart Gethin Ward figured well in the Golden Boot placings.

Former champions Akani Sands finished in fourth, nine points off the pace. Although their attacking play was exemplary, with Under-21s star Gwrlais Devanallt causing plenty of headaches for his opponents with his 22 goals. However the Storm's defence was a little suspect, and they'll be looking to strengthen it significantly in the close season.

Below them, CPD Porthbalfa cemented their status as a top flight club with another impressive finish. Trailing in behind them were Gabalfa City, who will disappointed with their performances this season, and Grappenhall, who will be happy overall but wishing they hadn't draw quite so many matches.

Down at the bottom of the table, Maindy had a miserable season throughout and were already relegated by matchday 30, after which they then proceeded to win three out of their remaining four matches. They look set to lose their star players mar Whistler, Ziyad Farmer and Laurie LeClerc, with all three being linked with Nedalian Premier League clubs.

Above them saw a gripping relegation struggle between Old Maxwellians, Treebrook Wanderers and Emcorn. On the last matchday, the three teams were separated by just three points, although Emcorn were as good as relegated by virtue of their woeful defence. Treebrook and Old Maxwellians both faced tough home games against Gabalfa City and Akani Sands. The news that Akani Sands had scored an early goal at Old Maxellians offered the Treebrook supporters some hope, as they needed their relegation buddies to lose to stand any chance of surviving. However, two late goals by City's Bader Tayarra sealed their fate.

Second Division

After the huge success of their gridiron squad, the town of Subarnas are celebrating another sporting triumph after their football team Girimukti Subarnas won the Second Division by five points. Also celebrating are Tamrida, who bounced straight back up after last season's relegation.

Making up the playoff spots were Fiilghud Town, Banastra Forest, Llanedalia and Racing Club Gabalfa.

And so the scene was set for the final at Stadiwm Bettia. Fiilghud Town had been at this stage before two years ago when they lost 3-1 to Old Maxwellians. However, they made no mistake this time as they defeated their northern Gwlad Teg opponents 1-0.

Down at the foot of the table, Mihangel's Old Boys and Roath Albion (who must be wondering what the hell has gone wrong after suffering their second consecutive relegation) were already down going into the last day.

Lorshill Engineers, Lower Sweeney and Fforest Hen still had everything to play for. The only team to gain kind of meaningful result here were Fforest Hen, who scrapped their way to a creditable 1-1 draw against champions Girimukti Subarnas to ensure their survival.

Third Division

Like their local rivals from Subarnas, Budiwati City are also the proud owners of a championship trophy, having secured their title on matchday 33 with an emphatic 5-1 thrashing of Llanbedistan. They finished nine points ahead of second-placed Southward Ho!, who clinched the runners-up spot by virtue of a superior goal difference over Grappenhall University, who joined Arorair, Ryoga Bay and Spiddaford Town in the playoffs.

At the bottom, the fate of Gorseborough Town, Mare's Tail Village and Lorshill Park Rangers was sealed on matchday 33 courtesy of Upper Sweeney's 3-0 win at home to Deudregg Derw.

Fourth Division

The race for the Fourth Division title had been a two-horse race between Al-Sheemal Tamrida and Cockbill Green for virtually the entire season. In the end it was the team from Maghrib who came away with the title ahead of their Banastran rivals.

One of the playoff matchups saw an intriguing local derby between Chinterford Town and BAF Chinterford.

Taking the plunge into non-league football will be Marjaham Town and the hapless students of UCG. They will be replaced by Shabilah (who bounce straight back into the league after one year in the footballing wilderness) and Loudoun Rovers.

FAB Cup

The FAB Cup (sponsored by Heatray Radiators - if its not Heatray, its a pile of junk), saw the First Divisio clubs enter at the 4th Round stage. Perhaps the most notable performances were by Second Division teams Girimukti Subarnas and Dynamo Dini who both progressed as far as the quarter-finals.

The final was a re-run of last year's final, as cup holders Akani Sands faced cup runners-up (and newly-crowned champions) Sukatra Tigers. Just like last year, the final went into extra-time after goals by Batrum and Devanallt saw the sides finish 1-1 after 90 minutes. However, the Storm (Akani Sands) retained their trophy thanks to a thundering John Harding header in the 115th minute.