WHAT’S NEW

Tonight saw another good attendance of nine players. Nine matches were played, three in the league and the others in the Glasgow Cup.

There was, however, one match outstanding from last season’s Glasgow Cup, the final itself. Tom Burns lined up against John Halpin. The key moments of this game were to occur in the final moments of each half. It was an excellent encounter between two well matched players. Halpin drew first blood when a missplaced Burns block allowed him a clear sight of goal and he made no mistake with a well struck shot. A lot of the action was taking place in Halpin’s defensive right and it was from here that Burns eventually broke through and scored. Halpin had a great opportunity to take the lead but he delayed too long lining up his shot and the half-time whistle went before he fired into the net. It would have been a great boost to take into the second half.

The players remained deadlocked and it looked as if we were heading for extra-time. Then Burns’ spare goalkeeper lost possession and Halpin elected to try and score with 5 flicks. Unfortunately he failed to notice that there was only one defender between Halpin’s attacker and the goal when the ball was played through. From the resultant offside free-kick Burns moved the ball quickly forward to exploit the gap in the left side of Halpin’s area. Halpin’s blocks weren’t good enough and Burns struck the killer blow. Halpin barely had time to kick off. Heartbreak for Halpin, bliss for Burns.

This season’s Glasgow Cup also got underway with four matches in group A and one in group B. In group A, Baver Bari and Dave Gladman both had 2-0 wins over Brian Spoors whilst John Mathieson drew with Bari and Gladman. Spoors has become more competitive in his matches and shows much better possession of the ball but still needs to create more scoring opportunities. In group B, Tom Burns eased out Dave Houston with a goal in each half.

In the league Dave Butler continued his upward trajectory with two 3-0 victories. The first was an expected comfortable win over new player Ryan McPhail and the second against a more difficult opponent in John Halpin. Butler now sits third in the table just three points behind leader Tom Burns and having played two games fewer. Dave Houston recorded his first league win by beating Ryan McPhail, the only goal of the game coming in the second half.

Glasgow Cup Final (2018/19)

Glasgow Cup (2019/20)

Group A

Group B

League

The league table can be viewed here.

In what was the best attended club night for some years, twelve club members enjoyed a great night’s subbuteo. Tom Burns returned to the top of the league with two comfortable wins over Ryan McPhail and Colin Berry. A win for Dave Gladman would have kept him in number one spot but his match against Ronnie McKenzie ended in a 2-2 draw. Gladman had to twice come back from a goal down. McKenzie played impressively this evening displaying excellent possession play. Against Willie Fleming, McKenzie didn’t, however, have quite the finishing touch. The game finished 0-0 but Fleming conceded that McKenzie was unlucky not to take all three points. Goals came more easily for McKenzie in his 4-0 victory over Brian Spoors.

Spoors did add another league point against Dave Houston, the match finishing 1-1. That was Houston’s first league point, having lost his other four matches. Houston does have a decent defensive record with all those matches having been lost by a single goal, the latest tonight to John Mathieson. Scoring goals remains his problem.

One player who doesn’t usually have a problem finding the net is Dave Butler and tonight he added five goals without reply, Colin Berry conceding three and John Mathieson two. Butler therefore maintained his 100% record after three matches, moved up to sixth place from which he is expected to climb in the coming weeks. Mathieson played a good match against Butler and felt perhaps he could have run the former Glasgow number one a bit closer.

The club welcomed the return to action of John Halpin who had missed the start of the season due to a hand operation. Halpin just managed to get past Ryan McPhail with a 1-0 win but was better pleased with a 3-1 defeat of Willie Fleming, who is struggling to find the form which won him the Association Cup. McPhail has only gained one point thus far but for a player new to the league he has been competitive in his matches and avoided heavy defeats.

The league table can be viewed here.

Eight players attended on an evening when Dave Gladman maintained his position as league leader. Tonight he was held to a goal-less draw by a determined John Mathieson. Gladman did have more possession and did have the best of the chances but he could not break the deadlock. Mathieson always carried a threat and could easily have taken all three points. Mathieson also had a good scoring draw against Willie Fleming. Fleming started well and soon took the lead. Thereafter, however, his play was error strewn and it was no surprise when Mathieson equalised with a quick thrust through the middle of the Fleming defence. From there on in neither player was able to produce the quality to take all three points. Fleming thought he had equalised at the death but he failed to notice one of his figures on the touchline in an offside position.

The club were delighted to welcome the return, after a five year absence, of Dave Butler. It seemed that he had lost none of his skills as he used his trademark quick short passing moves to race to a 3-0 lead against Baver Bari. But Bari scored each side of half-time to get himself right back into the game. Butler, however, did not panic, got back in control of the game and added a fourth.

It was also a debut night for new member Ryan McPhail. It will be a steep learning curve for McPhail but he did manage to get a first point on the board. That was against Brian Spoors and the 1-1 draw was also a a first point for Spoors. McPhail also managed respectable scores against the very much more experienced Willie Fleming and Baver Bari. The win for Bari put him up into second place.

The league table can be viewed here.

Sadly only one league match took place tonight. It was, however, a top of the table clash between Tom Burns and Dave Gladman. Both players came into the match with four wins and no points lost. Burns had most of the first half but apart from when he hit a post did not have really open chances. About 10 minutes in, as figures were pulled about the pitch, large gaps appeared in both defences. It was Gladman who was able to exploit the gap and he fired home from a central area.

Burns’ attacking line-up for the second half kick-off made clear his intentions. But such a strategy always carries the risk of weakening the defence. Gladman was able to break away down the left and loft in a second goal. Burns powered forward and the game was now being played in the Gladman area as Burns forced corners and throw-ins. Clear cut chances were now coming for Burns and at last he scored with five minutes still on the clock. Gladman kept possession for a couple of minutes but when he lost it, the final minutes were again spent in the Gladman area. To his frustration, however, Burns could not find the equaliser as somehow Gladman held out. Gladman had defended well but he was able to convert two of the few opportunities he had.

Burns only lost two league matches in the previous three seasons. It remains to be seen whether this defeat will be significant.

The league table can be viewed here.

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The draw was made for this season’s Glasgow Cup

Group A

Spoors, Mathieson, Gladman, Bari, McPhail

Group B

Fleming, Burns, Houston, Berry, Halpin

Only 3 matches were played tonight and it was basically a round robin between Baver Bari, Colin Berry and Brian Spoors. First up was an emphatic 6-0 win for Bari over Spoors, a win which took Bari to joint top of the league. Bari dominated a match in which Spoors struggled to keep possession of the ball. Spoors almost managed to reach half-time only a single goal down but conceded in the last seconds of the half. Although he did have a couple of chances, the tale of the second period for Spoors was one of collapse.

Spoors’ performance was much improved in his second match against Colin Berry. He retained possession much better but although he did create opportunities, the search for that first goal continues. A single first half goal was enough for Berry to take all three points.

The evening finished with a remarkable game between Bari and Berry. A draw would have been enough for Bari to go clear at the top of the league. Although the first half finished goal-less, Bari looked the much likelier to score. Shortly into the second half Bari took a deserved lead with a lovely angled chip from the right wing. As Bari continued to attack Berry broke forward to win a free-kick which led to him firing home the equaliser. As Bari pressed forward the Berry defence held firm. Then, with seconds remaining Berry again counter-attacked, sending a long ball into the Bari area and following up with a strike from distance on the run. He could not have made a better connection and the ball bulleted into the top corner. All present were stunned. The whistle sounded. It was a win Berry scarcely deserved but then again no-one could disagree that it was a goal fit to win any match.

The league table can be viewed here.

The final of the Association Cup, held over from last season was finally played tonight. Willie Fleming who had edged out Tom Burns in the semi-final, faced Baver Bari. The two had recently played a league match which ended in a narrow Fleming victory. Fleming took an early lead. Both players then had chances but a major controversy arose just before half-time. Fleming thought that his shot had resulted in a second goal but Bari and sections of the on-lookers were convinced that the ball had hit the bar and had not crossed the line. The referee, however, had immediately awarded the goal and was not to be persuaded otherwise.

The second half started well for Bari as he hit back with only a minute gone. Thereafter Fleming tried to smother the game and Bari, when he did get possession, was too rushed in his play and surrendered the ball too easily. With time running out Fleming was able to seal victory with a third goal and thus take the club’s most prestigious trophy.

In the league Tom Burns went to the top of the table, albeit on goal difference, with two victories. The first was a comfortable victory over Brian Spoors and the second a difficult 1-0 win over Willie Fleming. Fleming could count himself unlucky to lose all the points in this match. Dave Gladman also maintained his 100% record coming from behind to defeat Dave Houston. Houston scored straight from the kick-off with a piercing move through the middle of the Gladman defence and held the lead until half-time. Gladman showed some resilience by equalising and then scoring a late winner. Houston was disappointed to suffer a second narrow defeat, this time to Baver Bari who moved up to third place.

The league table can be viewed here.

Association Cup Final

League

Five games took place this evening.

Dave Gladman managed to consolidate his position at the top of the league with a 3-0 victory over Colin Berry. Gladman has started the league preferring playing a faster game than his slower possession style. This allowed Berry much more possession and opportunities than is normal against Gladman but he was unable to take any of those opportunities. In contrast Gladman was able to breach the usually solid Berry defence by employing swift attacking moves. Berry did manage to get his first point on the table, coming from behind to draw 1-1 with John Mathieson. Berry took only a minute to equalise after losing a first half goal. Berry was able to prevent Mathieson reproducing his flowing play of last week but a share of the points was probably fair.

Willie Fleming opened his campaign with two wins, the first a hard fought one against Baver Bari. Although both players had numerous chances, only one goal was scored. Bari could reasonably argue that he deserved to take something from this match. Fleming had less difficulty in his second match with a crushing victory over Brian Spoors.

The club welcomed the return to action of Ronnie McKenzie in a high scoring match against Baver Bari. McKenzie scored first but found himself 3-2 down at half-time. The outcome was in doubt until the final moment when Bari sealed the match with a fifth goal.

The full league table can be seen here.

The new season kicked off with only 5 players in attendance. Four league matches were played.

At the end of the first night it was Dave Gladman who topped the league with two wins. In an exciting match against Baver Bari, Gladman raced to a two-nil lead. Bari pulled a goal back and was unlucky not to equalise just before half-time. In the second period went further ahead and missed opportunities to put the game to bed but Bari got back into the game with a second goal. Bari pushed forward for the equaliser but Gladman was able to see out the match by holding possession. Gladman followed up with an emphatic win against Brian Spoors. Three goals in the first ten minutes put the game beyond doubt.

League Champion, Tom Burns opened with a safe 2-0 win over John Mathieson. Mathieson had a lot of good possession in this match but was unable to create as many opportunities as perhaps he should have done. A goal in each half was enough to secure the win for Burns.

Mathieson was able to get points on the board by overcoming Brian Spoors. Spoors put up more resistance than he did against Gladman. He seemed to have scored a fine goal but was dismayed to see two men in offside positions. As against Burns, Mathieson failed to finish off good possession but in the end scored twice to get off the mark.

See the league table here.