(ratings out of 10)
The Betting Shop Results Final teams Player Review Awards Raju�s Final Thoughts
Mortlake - Battersea (0:0) 2:0
Lineups: Mortlake: George T 7, Deepak 8, Peter 7, Sanchou 9
Battersea: Richard 8, Emrys 7, Sam 7, George A 7, Raju 6
Scorers: Mortlake - Sanchou 2
Cautions: Peter (dissent)
Referee: Oliver 7
A tense start to the opening match, which proved to very tight in the first half. Defences were tight with decisive challenges from Deepak, Richard and Emrys. One shot from Battersea forward, Raju, missing the keeper's far post by the slightest of matches. However, that game for Raju proved to be wasteful one, as he went on to try more outrageous attempts to no avail. The second half was to become quite an interesting one, as Spanish playmaker, Sanchou, got to grips with the physical side of the game and shone. Scoring twice in the middle of the second half put a lot of pressure on Battersea, who then squandered chances. However, credit must be given to keeper George T for some good blocks.
Southfield - Hounslow (1:0) 1:0
Lineups: Southfield: Jonathan 6, Edmond 7, Xavier 7, Ben 7
Hounslow: Oliver 7, Amir 6, Ivan 6, Inigo 7 (Deepak 8)
Scorers: Southfield - Jonathan
Cautions: Oliver (dissent), Jonathan (timwewasting)
Referee: George T 7
Nerves kicked in at the beginning of the game, as both teams opened the game attentively. A freaky, controversial goal from keeper Jonathan, was all that separated the teams at half time, despite some good showing from Inigo, who sadly had to be taken off due to injury, and missed the rest of the tournament. On came Deepak, who showed us yet again what an amazing centre half he is. However, Hounslow still lacked the creativity that Inigo had provided in his short spell, and despite repetitive dashes forward by kamikaze keeper Oliver, neither Hounslow nor Southfield could direct the ball to its desired location. However, this game will be remembered for the goal by Jonathan as well as the protests from the opposition team.
Battersea - Southfield (4:0) 8:0
Lineups: Battersea: Sam 7, Emrys 9, Richard 8, George 10, Raju 8
Southfield: Jonathan 5, Edmond 7, Xavier 6, Ben 6
Scorers: Battersea - George A 4, Sam, Raju 2, Emrys
Referee: George T 7/Oliver 6
As the match started, both teams knew they had something to prove. Battersea, needed a win to keep alive their chances of success, and Southfield, despite winning their first game, needed to show to themselves, that they could play confidently. After a few hard tackles from both teams, George A got the game rolling with a solo goal, past a bewildered Jonathan in goal. A couple of minutes later, he doubled his tally, and the lead, with a similar one. The spirits of the team ran high, yet they knew that they still had a game on their hands, with Edmond, full of energy and urging his troops on. Despite a couple of shots, the finishing for Southfields was lacking, and when Sam scored and George's hat-trick complete at half-time, the likelyhood of a comeback seemed to whittle away. Southfields fought back with some resilience, but with the man advantage, the game was rounded off as a contest on the counter attack, when sluggish forward Raju popped in two goals. To add to that, George A scored a fourth and Emrys scoring his maiden goal, comparisons with Germany - Saudi Arabia were made by the crowd, with the final scoreline at 8:0
Mortlake - Hounslow (2:0) 5:0
Lineups: Mortlake: George T 8, Deepak 8, Peter 8, Sanchou 10
Hounslow: Olly 7, Ivan 6, Ali 5, Amir 6
Scorers: Mortlake - Ali og, Sanchou 2, George T 2
Referee: Raju 9
Questioning of the quality of refereeing had occurred as the crowd had been unconvinced by the ability of previous referees. However, this game was undisturbed and had good decision making by the ref. Hounslow opened the game with gusto and tried to draw first blood. But with Deepak in championship inspiring form, nothing was allowed to pass him. As the game wore on, the pendulum swung the other way and it was the undefeated Mortlake who took charge, after golden boy Sanchou had a his shot deflected by Hounslow forward Ali, into the goal, completely bamboozling Olly in goal. With that Hounslow lost some spirit, and shortly afterwards Sanchou added to his tally, with a worked goal from a short distance to leave it at 2:0 at half time. Hounslow again started with a little pzaz in the attack, but a lack of synthesis in the team was evident. With hotshot Sanchou in herculean form, Mortlake put the result beyond doubt, Sanchou as playmaker gave George T a simple chance to put in, and with the Hounslow team in disarray, further goals were to come. Sanchou and George T, a pair each at the end of the game, as Mortlake and Hounslow maintained their respective 100% runs, 2/2 wins for Morltake, and 2/2 defeats for Hounslow.
Hounslow - Battersea (0:2) 2:3
Lineups: Hounslow: Olly 7, Ivan 6, Ali 5, Amir 6
Battersea: Richard 7, Emrys 7, Sam 8, George A 9, Raju 9
Scorers: Hounslow - Ivan, Olly. Battersea - George A, Raju 2 Cautions: Hounslow - Ali. Battersea - George
Referee: Ben 5
A fair summary of the tournament before this game would have been that it was one sided. One team scores, the other team loses. And after playmaker and all round great guy George A had put a now positively-motivated Battersea in front with a team goal, the aforementioned recipe for success seemed to be coming true. George A then gave powerhouse forward Raju a difficult chance, which he put away at a very acute angle, giving Battersea the feeling that another mauling was the cards. Chances came and went, and the score remained 2:0 at the half way point. At the beginning of the second half, a power tripping referee did harshly award cautions to both Ali and George. A Hounslow barrage on the Battersea goal had started. After a goalmouth tussle, Ivan got the final touch to the ball from centimetres of the goalline, as Hounslow became the first to have scored after conceding. The pressure mounted on Battersea as Hounslow attacked and attacked. But with this all attack possible, they were caught short on the counter, as Raju received the ball from deep, and charged the distance to score a decisive third goal for Battersea, ending the majority of pressure put on them. As time wore on, sloppy defending and cynical ball watching saw captain marvel, Olly score Hounslow's second, leaving Battersea in a tense situation, before final whistle was blown to end, the most competitive game of the tournament so far.
Mortlake - Southfield (2:0) 5:0
Lineups: Mortlake: George T 6, Deepak 8, Peter 7, Sanchou 9
Southfield: Jonathan 5, Edmond 7, Xavier 6, Ben 6
Scorers: Hounslow - Ivan, Olly. Battersea - George A, Raju 2 Cautions: Hounslow - Ali. Battersea - George
Referee: Sam 7
The raging Mortlake team started the game vehemently against a somewhat underachieving Southfield side. Spanish extraordinaire Sanchou was in fiery spirit, as spectators had got accustomed to his dominance in the tournament so far. After scoring his first, he assisted the ever-present tower of defence in the form of Deepak to score his first goal of the tournament. And so at half time, Mortlake had ran circles round this disappointing Southfields team and were 2-0 up. The second half started in similar fashion, with Sanchou, literally helping himself to a couple more goals as Sanchou rounded off a well-deserved hat trick, despite the resilience of Jonathan, normally one to resist all shots. The game did die down, once the result had been decided, but George T finished off the scoring, putting the ball away from short range, to score past his opposite number, leaving the result at 5-0
League Cup Final
Mortlake - Battersea (0:0) 0:0 0:1 AET
Lineups: Mortlake: George T 7, Deepak 8, Peter 6, Sanchou 8
Battersea: Richard 7, Emrys 7, Sam 8, George A 9, Raju 9
Scorers: Raju (Golden Goal)
Referee: Ali 7
The two free scoring teams met in the final, with Mortlake going in as league winners, aiming for the double, whereas the Battersea team had become a more unified team, completely in contrast to the one that had previously lost the opening game of the tournament against Mortlake. In contrast to previous games involving the teams, this game commenced in a more reserved, and somewhat defensive manner, although playmakers Sanchou and George A endeavoured to draw first blood. Half time had gone, and apart from a couple of chances, defences of both teams had had it their way. Similarly, the second half was a tight endeavour as Raju came close to scoring, but as everyone knows, the chances of him scoring with anything other than his right foot, are unbelievably slim to none. As normal time drew to a close, Mortlake went out all attacking, and Battersea playing their favoured counter attack style, but neither approaches proved deadly. Referee Ali blew for full time, and the game went into extra time, pending a penalty shootout unless someone could break the deadlock, and by the way extra time started it seemed that penalties would have to be the decider. But, a blissful delivery from George A found Raju, misfooting the otherwise flawless Deepak, leaving Raju one on one with George T. Raju, though a little sluggish onto the ball, kept up his goalscoring record, by nutmegging a somewhat bewildered George T in goal. By doing so, he had sealed the result of the game as well as the cup for the Battersea team.
Goalscorers
| Scorer | Goal |
| Sanchou | 7 |
| George A | 5 |
| Raju | 5 |
| George T | 3 |
| Deepak | 1 |
| Emrys | 1 |
| Ivan | 1 |
| Jonathan | 1 |
| Oliver | 1 |
| Sam | 1 |
| Ali OG | 1 |
Final Standings
W
D
L
GF
GA
Pt
Mortlake
3
0
0
12
0
9
Battersea
2
0
1
11
4
6
Southfields
1
0
2
1
13
3
Hounslow
0
0
3
2
9
0
The Betting Shop Results Final teams Player Review Awards Raju�s Final Thoughts