Author: SubbuteoCLUB

Everton Top Table After Win Against West Ham

Everton have taken top position at the top of Division 1, after a stunning 2-0 win against West Ham in Match Week 4. Everton already had a perfect set of results so far, and many believed that they would not be able to keep the run going, They put on a masterful display to complete four straight wins, which equals Liverpool’s record for a perfect start to a campaign, from year 4. Everton now sit on top of Division 1 for the first time in their SubbuteoCLUB six year history.

In the televised match, Manchester United hosted Arsenal, as Manchester looked to seek revenge after the Gunners knocked them out of the League Cup last week. United got off to a great start with an early goal, before scoring a second from a free-kick. After the break, Arsenal got their own bit of luck with a goal from a careless free-kick, given after a poor tackle from a United defender. United still thought the three points were in the bag, until an unbelievable shot from Arsenal at a tight angle hit the far corner of the net. The final score was 2-2, although it will be United who will feel like they dropped 2 crucial points in their chase for a first league title.

In other matches, Newcastle looked strong as they defeated a disjointed Spurs. The result moves Newcastle up to midway in the table, but leaves Spurs hovering above the relegation places.

Watford put up another strong performance, as they put 3 past a weak Norwich side. In what was billed a a close game, Norwich scored first, but then Watford overpowered their opponents to win 3-1. Watford are now up to 4th place in the table, which is their highest ever position in the league. Norwich have finally scored in a league match this season, but they remain bottom with a -10 goal difference.

Liverpool were stunned at Anfield, as visitors Southampton stole the points with a 2-1 victory. Both sides have been struggling to put together a decent run of results. The three points help new promoted Southampton climb the table to 8th.

In the other Division 1 match this week, current League Champions Chelsea played out a dull 0-0 with Nottingham Forest. It is now Chelsea’s third draw in four games, as they remain undefeated, but they cannot find a way to win matches this season. Forest will be pleased with a point, although it still leaves them in a relegation position.

Leicester City Stun Watford In League Cup

Division 3 Leicester City have sprung a huge Cup upset away at Watford in the second round, which could go down as the game of the round.

Leicester City started brightly against their Division 1 opponents, as they hit the post twice in the first half. But it was Watford who scored first as they withstood the pressure before finding a way to score themselves.

Leicester managed to equalise during the second half and it looked like the match was heading for extra time. But the Leicester striker had one small chance late in the game and managed to chip the ball over the defender and keeper from a tight angle in the six yard box, to place the ball into the corner of the goal.

The Watford team were left speechless by the incredible flick which resulted in a sensational goal. Nobody thought that Leicester would score from such a tight angle, but the striker had nothing to lose.

Watford had only seconds left to find a reply but ran out of time, meaning Leicester City were 2-1 winners.

With the revised competition this season, Leicester City have set a new record by becoming the first ever team from Division 3 to reach the League Cup Quarter-finals. There is only one other Division 3 side remaining, who are Coventry City. They will take on Aston Villa in their second round game.

Arsenal Beat Man Utd In League Cup

In what was billed as the big match of this seasons League Cup 2nd Round, Arsenal hosted Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium last night.

Both teams have struggled to progress in this competition over the years, so this was an important match for everyone. One side would progress to the 2-legged quarter-finals, whilst the losing team would have to accept another poor season in this Cup competition.

As expected, the game was a tight affair, with both teams not wanting to give too much away. As play progressed, it became clear that this would not be a high scoring match.

Both teams had good opportunities early on, with the goalkeepers both making crucial saves. Eventually, it was Arsenal that found a way through, with an excellent shot from outside of the area thumping into the corner of the goal.

Manchester United pressed forward to find an equaliser, but Arsenal stood strong. The Arsenal keeper continued to make some good saves to keep his team in the lead. Manchester’s forwards could not find a way to break the Arsenal defence and so it was Arsenal that came out victors with a 1-0 win.

In other ties:

Leeds Utd v Liverpool – Liverpool defeated Division 2 Leeds United 1-0 at Elland Road, to continue Liverpool’s excellent run in the League Cup.

Tottenham v Luton Town – A nervous looking Tottenham team edged past Luton Town with a slender 1-0 win at home.

Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday – Chelsea were keen to put last years League Cup humiliation defeat against Wimbledon behind them, as they came out with all guns firing at home to Sheffield Wednesday. They went 3-0 up before letting the visitors grab consolation goal late in the second half.

Watford v Leicester City – Division 3 Leicester City sprung a huge surprise at Watford, which you can read about here.

West Ham Utd v Wimbledon – Cup holders West Ham faced a difficult tie as they welcomed London rivals Wimbledon. The Dons had already knocked out last seasons losing finalists in Newcastle, so they were not a team to be underestimated. The match became even more difficult when a sloppy West Ham defender gifted Wimbledon a penalty in the first half, which Wimbledon duly converted. West Ham fought back and pressured with a number of corners until they found an equaliser.

In extra time, West Ham set up some good chances and managed to score a goal to take the lead on the night. Wimbledon responded and had one final opportunity in injury time, which the West Ham keeper managed to keep out, despite being caught in a bundle by Wimbledon players. West Ham were relieved to hear the final whistle, as they take their place in the draw for the quarter-finals.

Manchester City v Charlton Athletic – Manchester City took on a feisty Charlton at the Etihad stadium, with both teams wanting a place in the quarter-finals. They had previous played out a draw in their first league game of the campaign, so were keen to get one over the other side. Charlton scored first, but it did not take Manchester long to get back into the game. It was a close game, even through extra time, but neither side could find a winner. Charlton had chances to take the match during penalties, but City fought back and scored their final penalty to win the match.

Aston Villa v Coventry City – This was always going to be a tough midlands battle, even though Aston Villa sat a Division higher. There was not much between the sides, although the shooting was equally bad. After a 0-0 draw, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Even at this point, the sides could not be split as it ended 3-3. In sudden death, Villa converted their first one, but Coventry missed, leaving Villa to celebrate on the night.

Celtic Triumph To Reach Semi-Finals

Scottish club Celtic enjoyed a glory night in the European Cup as they won their quarter-final match against Red Star Belgrade from Serbia.

Although the Scottish team had home advantage for the tie, they were not the clear favourites due to their previous poor European form, plus they only scraped into this round after winning their previous match on penalties.

Celtic started the stronger of the two sides and found the net midway through the first half. They then moved to a more defensive formation as Red Star pushed forward for an equaliser. Although Celtic gave everything, they could not hold Red Star back and the Serbian team scored early in the second half.

The match could have swung either way at this point, with both teams looking nervous. With only a few minutes remaining on the clock, Celtic broke though the Red Star defensive line. Red Star chased back, but their central defender made a last-minute lunge to prevent a shot, but clipped the Celtic strikers ankle.

The Celtic player went down and the referee pointed straight to the penalty spot. Celtic duly scored the goal. Red Star did not have enough time left to mount a challenge and full time was blown. Celtic have made it through to the European Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.

The draw for the semi-finals was made and Celtic were given the relatively easier tie, although they will be playing away at Dinamo Bucharest. The team from Romania previously knocked out Celtics arch-rivals Rangers in an earlier round of the competition.

The two stronger teams left competing- Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid – which many expected to meet in the Final, were drawn together in the other semi-final.

Both semi-final matches, which are played over a single leg, are scheduled for the end of Year 6 – Match Week 4.

European Dream Over For Liverpool

Liverpool have been knocked out of the European Cup in the quarter-finals, after a poor display at Inter Milan.

The reigning European Cup holders were hoping to continue their European success, especially after an impressive 4-0 win against Sevilla in the 1st Round, but ultimately the team came up short on the night in Italy.

It did not take Inter long to find the back of the net and then things just got worse for Liverpool. They were soon 2-0 down, as Inter went looking for revenge, after Liverpool knocked them out of the Cup last season. Liverpool’s calamitous defending continued as Inter were awarded a penalty, which they converted for their third goal.

The defeat was complete when Inter scored a fantastic 4th to make it 4-0. Despite a fight back as Liverpool attempted to restore some pride, they could not breakdown the Inter defence.

Liverpool were the last English team left in the European Cup after Nottingham Forest and Chelsea all faltered in the 1st Round.

PSG & Bayern Crash Out Of Europe

Paris Saint Germain have been knocked out of the European Cup at the quarter-final stage after a hard fought content with Atletico Madrid.

The team from France faced a tricky tie as they headed to Spain. With European Cup games only being a single-leg, both teams had to give everything on the night. Atletico took an early lead as they pushed for the win. It was only when they went 2-0 up that PSG began a fight back. After schooling one goal, PSG realised they had left it too late, as Atletico let the clock run down.

The second quarter-final put Dinamo Burcharest from Romania against German giants Bayern Munich. The Germans were favourites but faced a tricky test in the intimidating atmosphere in Burcharest. Dinamo took an early advantage but the Germans hit back to equalise. The game headed into injury time and Bayern were happy to see out the last few seconds and play extra-time. But Dinamo had one last attack up their sleeve and crashed home a winner from the edge of the area to stun the Germans.

Man Utd Host Leaders Arsenal In Week 4s Big Game

Week 4 is shaping up to be a very important week of fixtures. The big match of the week is Manchester United versus Arsenal.

Manchester are looking for their first league title and could make up for dropping points in Week 3.

Arsenal meanwhile, are on a 3-win streak and would like to continue that form.

Ironically the same two teams meet up before this game in a League Cup fixture. This will add a bit more spice to the league fixture, as one of the teams will be knocked out of the cup by then.

Elsewhere, Newcastle take on Spurs as both sides look to get their season started after disappointing results.

The other surprise leaders Everton take on West Ham. The result of this game will show if Everton really are genuine title contenders. Liverpool host Norwich, who are desperate to get some points, after three defeats in a row.

Arsenal Drawn Against Man Utd In League Cup 2nd Round

Week 3 sees the 2nd round of the League Cup. In a revised format of the competition, the majority of teams played in the 1st Round with the top 4 teams from Division 1 last season earning a bye into the second round. Those teams with a bye are Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Cup holders West Ham

It is incredible that two of those four teams have been drawn against each other, in what will be the only all first Division tie. Arsenal are hosting Manchester United in what will be an incredible game and will be played days before both sides play each other in a Division 1 fixture.

In other matches, Leeds United take on mighty Liverpool and Spurs play Luton Town. Chelsea take on a solid Sheffield Wednesday side from Division 2 and West Ham will play Wimbledon, who knocked out last years losing finalists Newcastle.

These games will be played after the Week 3 league matches.

Year 5 FA Cup Final – Match Report

So the day of the FA Cup Final arrived and there was a real buzz in the air as the clock ticked down towards kick-off. The teams lined up on the pitch and some were surprised when the special guest was announced as the Queen, who came out to greet them, accompanied by her entourage. With the Queen being a secret West Ham supporter, she was a little unhappy that she had missed the League Cup Final a few months ago and had to suffer watching ‘these two ghastly teams’!

The game soon began and both teams found the Wembley pitch to be much softer than their league pitches. This resulted in the ball running a bit slower, meaning it was a scrappy encounter. This affected the first half of the game, with a lot of mistakes and poor passing. Norwich took the upper hand by attacking, with Notts Forest sitting back and trying to counter on the break. Both sides had a few chances which were off target, until Norwich had the best moment of the half with a shot on the edge of the area. The Norwich striker hit the ball well, but the Forest defenders stood firm and managed to bundle the ball out for a corner.

Norwich earn a free-kick in a dangerous position

It was all equal at half-time as the players left the pitch to take a well-earned break.

In the second half, Norwich continued to dominate possession, but Forest suddenly had a good break. The Norwich defender mistimed his rushed tackle to bring down the player. The referee awarded a direct free kick to Forest.

Forest line up the free kick with Norwich making a wall

Norwich put up a 4 man wall, but the Forest player struck the ball perfectly and the ball found the far corner of the goal. Norwich players claimed that the ball had not crossed the line, but replays showed it clearly had. The Forest players ran for the corner in celebration. 1-0 to Forest.

Replays show the ball cleared crossed the goal line

Despite Norwich attacking even harder in the last 20 minutes, they could not find the target. Forest players defended for their lives and played really well. The referee allowed some extra time, which frustrated the Forest team, but Norwich could not find a way through. The final whistle was blown and Nottingham Forest have won the FA Cup 1-0.

The Queen came back onto the pitch to award the teeny-tiny trophy to the winning team. She could be heard talking to one of her advisors that it was an awful match and she could not wait to get back home to her Corgis. Charming! The Forest players could not care, as they were too busy waving the trophy in the air and downing cheap champagne.

The Forest players celebrate as the Queen tries to hand over the trophy!

The results for all of Year 5’s FA Cup games can be found here.

FA Cup Final Configuration

Our stadium has been setup to host this weekends FA Cup Final. The pitch has been changed to a rather tidy chequered pattern, which looks really good. This is actually another Pegasus pitch that has been laid on top of the existing pitch – although we did have to trim the edges to get it to fit between the pitch side barriers.

It does look good, but as it just sits on top of the other pitch rather than being glued, it is a little soft. This may be a good replica of the old Wembley pitch, which was said to be different to many league grounds, but it does make it difficult to play a consistent game of football. That would not normally be an issue, but as this is a prestige final, we do want to ensure we get a good game.

We have also finished painting our marching band which look rather good practising on the centre circle. Although they are called a marching band, they appear to be quite static. Unless we decide to obtain some clear acrylic so we can drag them around the pitch?! They do fit the bill for our big Cup Final, and combined with the VIP set, including the Queen and a mini trophy, we have everything we need to host the match.