Farmer Go First
The home fans were largely decent enough not to jeer at the final whistle as Phantasm Hotspurs revelled in their unlikely upset, and
Tian Yonghang could only accept that the footballing gods had conspired against them. "Honestly, I would not have changed any of my setup for this match, even knowing the outcome." the Grilled boss said. "On most other nights, we would have been well worth the draw we needed, at the very least."
Tian would also defend his taking off of
Evandro La Face once the Hotspurs went ahead again. "This was decided beforehand actually, so Evandro had been going all out with the substitution in mind. Of course he did very well before that, but
Orest Tokarz fulfilled the gameplan too. It was just unfortunate that we couldn't get that fourth goal in time."
With this, Hotspurs face fifth-placed II.1 side CE Sindiket 07 in their qualifier next week, with tpyers and Mayuyu AKB49 both reserving their strength in preparation for their own relegation fixtures. Shadow Chaser(R) SC would extend the gap between themselves and tpyers to eight points with a 3-2 home victory, while Controlar smashed Mayuyu 4-0 through braces from Tan Keng Kwang and Paulino Faladoiro, if with nothing at stake. Sunrise Treasure FC surprised Krattene 2-0 in their farewell game, with both already set to go down.
Joe Reece promised an improvement as he collected his Golden Boot, which he described as but a consolation bauble. "We all want to be in Division Two, believe me - one more season here is too many!"
It was left to Farmer Bunnies to carry the flag, then, as the Buns claimed only their third Division Three league trophy in seeing Mangrove Pittas off 2-0. The one-two of
Amaya Ravula and
Ho Ah Kian was all too familiar to their fans, and it could have been three had Pittas winger Sebastian Knarr sent it a little harder towards his own net. In any case, three points was more than enough to secure the III.9 title ahead of Really McCoys, whose 7-0 thrashing of the relegated WhiteSandsMechs was in vain.
Brighton UK's 3-0 over FC Phondle ensured that there would be no change in the order of the top four, with FC Jurong Rovers climbing over Pittas into fifth spot with their 5-0 whipping of AFC Woodlands.
Vishnu Tallapaka professed himself to be delighted at his squad's success, and exhorted them to stay sharp against Batok Earthquakes. "This is a real achievement, when you consider that the bulk of our regulars are barely twenty." he grinned. "Just imagine how good they will be, after a few more years!"
Despite their 9-0 demolition job on Nice AS, the final round was a bit of a yawn for Grilled International, who have again failed to make any impact on their actual competition in finishing third yet again. AC Rabissale edged Amelinho Kickers 1-0 thanks to an early Anfinnur Næs goal in the only fixture that counted, but this was far from enough to make up the goal difference between the two; the Kickers thus booked a promotion game against Std St Senier, with Rabissale left dangling.
Chua Jun Long's four goals today would bring him up to a very impressive twenty in a league season for the first time, which saw him claim his maiden scoring title, with even the formidable Næs a full seven goals behind. A Division Five record was not exactly what the 30 year-old is looking for at this point in his career, however, and there are whispers that he might well be seeking an out, if management does not address his concerns about the club's ambitions.
