Gangsters have one hand on trophy in six a side league

It was a close and incredibly tense night in the Leisure Leagues Swindon Monday six a side league at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground in Royal Wootton Bassett as the top two teams went head to head in a title decider.

The first game of the night was a derby match with members of Royal Wootton Bassett Football club facing off against the Rugby club over the road. The footballers were keen to show off their skill with a football while the Rugby boys had to make use of superior pace and power on the counter attack. The game was a one sided affair with 2 Goals having the majority of the possession. The individual skill of players like Olly Case and Raisham Mudhar ensured that they created plenty of chances while Olly scored the goal of the night with an outrageous back heel flick after a long ball forward by Raisham. Bass will need to regroup before the start of the new season and will benefit from the return of key individuals to their squad.

MOM: Olly Case

The second game was a tense affair between Wirral Wubbish and Expected Toulouse. Expected started the game the better side as Ryan Wallace enjoyed plenty of time and space on the ball. He took advantage of this by scoring a wonderful solo goal. This moment however, seemed to spark Wirral into life and they regrouped brilliantly. Keeper Josh Smith ensured that anything dangerous was quickly snuffed out while Jack Hunter commanded the defensive third brilliantly. This foundation gave the strikers confidence and they ruthlessly exposed Expected's weakness in this area. Craig McLauchlin was exceptional in this regard and brilliantly converted two chances while he also had a hand in assissting Rob Appleby for his goal as well. Expected lost their cool composure at this point and staerted to rush passes and were sloppy in possession. They did rally in the final moments but it was without ever really looking like scoring and in the end Wirral closed out the game as comfortable winners.

MOM: Craig McLauchlin

So to the title decider. It was clear from the very start that both teams were nervous. Understandable given the magnitude of the occasion. Silence of the Lahms grabbed the initiative as they broke away after a promising Gangsters attack. Dan Carey had all the time in the world to think about what he was going to do before calmly slotting in the bottom corner. It looked for a long time like this would be the defining moment of the game as Gangsters, despite dominating possession, failed to create many clear cut chances with Callum Roberts the only player able to test Silence's goal keeper in the first half. The second half started in the same manner but as the game carried on Gangster became more restless while Silence sat deeper and deeper. It seemed inevitable that the breakthrough would come but it took the persistence and bravery of Callum to force the football home as two defenders bore down on him. With less than a minute to go he very nearly won the game after a brilliant solo effort was superbly saved by Silence's goalkeeper Ryan Butt. A draw was a fair result and with Gangsters facing off against bottom of the table Sloblins next week they are now favourites to win the league and take home the trophy.

MOM: Callum Roberts

The final match of the night was a one sided affair as Hardley Athletic, determined to chase down 2 Goals 1 Cup and claim third place in the league faced off against Sloblins who were on a high after their first win in the Gerard Buxton league last week. It did not take long for Hardley to gain the upper hand after a long range effort found its way into the net. Three quick goals followed so that by half time Hardley were cruising and trying to give some of their fringe players as much game time as possible. Alex Gould superbly hit the post twice and was unlucky not to secure his first goal for the team. The goals kept coming and Sloblins fell to a 6-0 win by the end of the game. Again another indication of how vital a top goal keeper is in six a side football.

MOM: Alex Gould

Next week is the final week of the season. Trophies and prizes will be handed out for the following:

Champions

Runners up

Most Valuable Player

Goal of the Season

Wooden Spoon

See you all next week!