OCTOBERFEST OF GOALS

In Division 1, with Radford out of the running temporarily due to a cancelled match, this gave Bear the chance to make up lost ground – and henceforth gaining three points by winning at home against The Vale 2-1. Dominic Garcia scored well for The Vale, but goals from both Alex Cockayne and Craig Chadwick secured the win for Bear. A tight game for White Swan and visiting side Lord Nelson this week – with a final score of 4-4. Scorers for the Swans included Mitchell Downs, Ashley McKay, Christopher Lamb and Rhys Brown. For Lord Nelson, Alvin O’Connor gave a thirty-yard belter, Jason Newbold gained a brace via a penalty and header, and Sean Allen gained a free kick goal. Phoenix Athletic were the away winners this week, beating Sycamore St Anns 3-1. Even with a class kick from Wiliam Bowwen for the home side, nice finishes from Tobias Clayton outside the box, alongside Declan Flowers and a penalty taken by Jamie Carlton secured the final score for Phoenix.

In Division 2, we see Clifton United climbing even further up the divisional table after a sound 3-2 away win over Kingswell Rangers II. It was a tight game; Clifton played some good football, but struggled to break down the home side. Kingswell took the initial lead with good strikes from Curtis Williams. Clifton replied with a strike from Neill Horsley and a goal from Scott Riddle just before half time. The second half was much the same, however a slip up from Clifton's side gifted Kingswell the equaliser via Matthew Wright. Clifton then began to pile on the pressure, and MOTM Lee Tate grabbed the winner with thirty seconds to go, with a half volley close range. Home side Dowlings also won 3-2 this week, this time over Arnold Victory. Goals from Tashinga Mugwara, James Wilson and Alex Winkler took over the score, and even goals from Arnold’s Luke Williams and Carl Linford were not enough to break the home side. Medina come away victorious after an away win over Friar Tuck 5-1. With only a single goal from Peter Opie for the home side, Medina pushed on with goals coming from Saleem Mozley, David and Dean Hickman, alongside a brace from Edward Smyth pushing them into the lead. Eastwood Community FC beat Notts United away 6-2, making it nine out of nine points to keep pressure up on the top. Eastwood were 5-0 up again at half time, after smashing the first half – with goals coming from Adam Hassle, Luke Allwood, Jake Mee and a brace from ECFC’s captain Jez Bailey. The second half was made a little harder, with Notts making them work for the win after a brace from the talented Callum Cossey. However, the game ended 6-2 in Eastwood's favour, after another goal from the captain. Finally, the game between Toton Hill and visitors Reckitt Benckiser was left all tied up at 2-2 – with goals from Shane Thompson and Aden Meir for the home side, against those by Dale Hayes and David Papworth for RB.

In Division 3, Duke of St Albans come up trumps again, and gain another consecutive win of 4-0 over Beeston Mariners – with Connor Scott and Ryan Dixon both bringing braces for their team. Athletico Rangers win 5-1 away over Sports Direct – even with a strong goal from Jordan Rhodes, an unfortunate own goal, followed by goals from Reece Bestwick and Paul Swift allowed the Rangers to come into the lead. A brace from Marcus Young ended the game in the visitors’ favour. The other Beeston team in our league – the Hornets – have had better luck than their fellow Mariners this week, after winning 5-0 away against Scorpion United FC. Assisted by Liam McDonald, Sam Ablott, Elliott Caine, Tom Caine and MOTM Michael Oxley, the Hornets swooped in and took the winning sting from Scorpion. Goalscorers include James Ireson, Leigh White, Sam Ablott and Jake Dickerson, with a free kick goal from Liam McDonald. FC Eagle took the winning streak from Gremio after winning over them 4-0 at home – with braces from Pete Sounders and Michael Tyers securing the final score. FC Galaxy also come away victorious, after an outstanding 7-3 home win against Nuthall County. Even with goals from Jamie Brown, Tremere Lindo and Shane Walker for Nuthall, this was not enough to stop FC Galaxy – with single goals from Nikki Aitken and Adam Denning, a brace from Dan Huskinson and Shane Barker’s hat trick, FC Galaxy gained the win.

By Tylah Marston