Week Four: Under Pressure (di-ding ding ding di-di ding ding)
Matchday 4
For all the neutrals out there in BFFAland who enjoy it when teams are tied up, Group A has a treat for you. The Money Team got payback on the Spray and Smash & Grab got back-to-back wins against Branwellington to level up the table. All four teams now have two wins and two losses, meaning that nothing in this Group will be decided before the final match in the Group Stage.
The keen-eyed amongst you will have seen that All Star Gunners beat Bigger than Brolin by the exact same score two weeks running! As another team that has beaten one team twice but lost to the other two, ASG now have to fight through a difficult fortnight if they want to progress. In the other Group B game, Boss lost their first game and Mighty Fine Feeling take a good hold of second place before a crucial game against ASG.
In Group C, FC Santa Barbara did the double over AFC Chester and earned the top spot after four. Hung beat Tralfamadore Zoo by six, are now level on points but seven matchpoints behind.
And in Group D, KH Granitza Sting remain top and now have a three-point cushion. Route 57 stay second by the grace of four matchpoints as Cabezazo move up to third with a revenge win over Sporting Wicker Park.
Matchday 5 preview
This is where it starts to get tense. For one group, Group A, we know that it will go down to the wire, but a win next weekend will give a team one (unsteady) foot in the next round. For the other three Groups, there is one team in each with three wins under their belt. One more win will guarantee them a place in the Quarter-Finals. For the teams at the bottom, if they lose their next game then they are out of the Champions League and will have to play for the consolation of third place and a spot in the Intramural League Quarter-Finals.
Group A
Vanishing Spray F.C. Vs. Smash & Grab
In Matchday 2: Smash & Grab 41 – 43 Vanishing Spray
You’ll no doubt remember not too long ago when this pair drew in the League the week before Vanishing Spray took a narrow victory in the CL. Since then they’ve had opposite fortunes in the League (WWL v LLW), but more importantly Smash won both games against Branwell’ to claim top spot and the Spray’s 58 matchpoints against Money keeps them second. With all four teams on six points, you’d expect the winner of this match to go through to the Quarters.
The Money Team Vs. Branwellington F.C.
In Matchday 2: Branwellington 27 – 18 The Money Team
Currently ranked 14th and 15th on matchpoints scored in the CL Group stage, it might surprise some that these two teams have taken two wins each, but that is exactly what has happened so far. However, with the Group all level, you’d expect that something will be decided on matchpoints, and that puts these two at a disadvantage. It looks like both teams, win or lose, will need to score well in both of their last two games if they’re going to form a decent challenge.
Group B
Boss Vs. Bigger Than Brolin
In Matchday 2: Bigger than Brolin 40 – 49 Boss
This will be the third of four meetings between these two teams in the opening ten weeks of the season and Boss will be feeling confident going into this “home” fixture having beaten Brolin in both previous games. Although BtB have been scoring well so far, Boss are by far and away the topscoring team in all four Groups thus far. However, BtB will be buoyed by outscoring Boss the week before the international break. Maybe the tide is turning…
Mighty Fine Feeling Vs. All Star Gunners
In Matchday 2: All Star Gunners 15 – 52 Mighty Fine Feeling
Mighty Fine Feeling will return to The Mosh Pit next weekend in mighty fine form. Still top of the Premier League, they continue to enjoy their meetings with ASG – they won 52-15 in their last CL meeeting and 55-31 last time they met in the League (GW4), to add to the two victories they took away from the Gunners at the end of last season (GWs 36 & 38). In fact, MFF have never scored less than 46 against ASG in their seven matchups so far. However, like BtB, ASG will be rubbing their hands looking at last weekend’s scores; ASG outscored MFF for the second time this round.
Group C
Tralfamadore Zoo F.C. Vs. F.C. Santa Barbara
In Matchday 2: FC Santa Barbara 36 – 50 Tralfamadore Zoo
Group C offers us another first-v-second matchup in Matchday 5, but in this instance FC Santa Barbara hold a three point lead at the top. For Tralfamadore Zoo to go top next weekend they will have to beat the reigning Europa League Champions by at least eight points, as they did in their first-ever meeting three weeks ago.
Hung Like a Bony Vs. AFC Chester
In Matchday 2: AFC Chester 29 – 32 Hung Like A Bony
Things seem tough when you’re in last place and you need to turnover the team that beat you to stay alive. However, when you’re AFC Chester, nothing is impossible. Having scored only three matchpoints less than Hung across the four games (most notably in MD2 vs. HLaB), and having scored over 300 in the League already, Chester are a very difficult team to see off. For Hung Like a Bony on the other hand, a good win here could be enough to get them over the line…
Group D
Route 57 F.C. Vs. Cabezazo Increíble
In Matchday 2: Cabezazo Increíble 26 – 25 Route 57 FC
Route 57 have been sitting in second place from MD1 to MD4 and will need to win (or draw) again if they’re going to stay above the yellow line. It won’t be easy against a team that’s beaten them twice already this season but, as we all know, it only takes one point to make or break a team. We might be watching Ederson v Zaha here and we might also see Robertson & A-A defending against Rashford & Co. The winner of this match will feel like they’ve earned a place in the next round, but win or lose, neither team will know their fate until after Game #6.
K.H. Granitza Sting F.C. Vs. Sporting Wicker Park
In Matchday 2: Sporting Wicker Park 27 – 35 KH Granitza Sting
These two legends of the BFFA, with over 470 games and 20,000 all-time matchpoints between them, are both former CL finalists but this week they are two teams playing out of very different positions. KH will no doubt be impatient to qualify for the next round and relax, whereas Sporting know that anything but a win will see them go out of the Champions League at the Group Stage.
This is the second time the two sides have met since Wicker Park knocked a very good Granitza side out of the Cup in an 81-62 thriller back in February 2017. SWP also won both games against KH in the Champions League that season, so Sting will take great pleasure from this game if they’re the team to knock the Park out of it.
Gameweek 9
The Premier League returns on Saturday 19th October when eighth plays eighteenth – Everton host West Ham at Goodison Park. Marco Silva is feeling the pressure of languishing in the relegation zone after four straight defeats in the Premier League and West Ham haven’t won since losing 4-0 to the mighty Oxford United. They’ve not been the same since.
In each of the other seven Saturday games, there were no clean sheets the last time each pair of teams met, so it could be a high-scoring day! Conversely, the next day will see two teams that played out a goalless draw last time they met. It’s the classic battle of the reds, Man United versus Liverpool at the ‘Theatre of Dreams‘. Expect lots of late tackles and cards! And finally on Monday night there will be a reunion of Sheffield United & Arsenal and the last time those two met in 2008, Arsenal spanked the Blades 6-0 with a hat-trick from Carlos Vela, a brace for Lord Bendtner and one 20-yard wonder goal from a 16-year-old Jack Wilshere.
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