2010/11 Diary

2009/10 Diary

2008/09 Diary

2007/08 Diary

We can exclusively reveal that new Cappers boss Andrew Jessett came agonisingly close to losing top Cappers scorer, Ricky Boyd. The Robin Friday think-alike forward has spent the off-season, since the finish of the Capital Soccer 2005 season, in Los Angeles. Disappointed at Island Bay Coolmoves' failure to score against nemeses HHH United and worried about the voracity of claims to be IB4 when they finished fifth of the IB teams, the wayward striker departed to spend time with his spiritual soul mate, Rod Stewart.

Instead, a drunken Boyd accidentally stumbled into the casting auditions for reality TV show, Rock Star INXS. The gate crashing went off so well that Ricky was invited to try out for the vacant lead singer spot. Ricky competed along with the other finalists and the Australian band were impressed with the bad Boyd.  So impressed that Ricky actually won. He was the Rock Star INXS.

After the band's first gig however, problems set in. The gig itself is said to have gone fine, but the after-party saw a major rift develop between the newly incumbent singer and the rest of the band. Ricky was fired so forcibly that the band decided to have all of the Rock Star INXS television episodes edited to completely remove his appearance. They also had to re-film the finale in order to crown another contestant as the winner.

Tim Farris explained, "the problem isn't his voice or his showmanship. It's his approach to groupies. Me and the other guys, we can woo them or we can wow them. We've been doing it for years and it works well. Then along comes this damn Kiwi and woowers them. We can't compete with that. We're twice his age. The last time I woowered someone I strained my groin and required 14 stitches. And trust me, you don't want 14 stitches in your groin. One minute it's all good and the next thing, Ricky's stolen all our groupies. Then, he's locked himself in the shower with 14 of them, leaving none for the rest of us. Not even the fat chicks! That's just plain greedy and we're not having it.

Ricky, I'm sorry but you're just not right for our band INXS' groupies."

Reports that INXS were also worried that Ricky would eventually suffer the same manner of "accidental death by sexual misadventure" as Michael Hutchence have gone unconfirmed. All Farris would say is, "the Boyd's just not normal!"

The Magic have named an initial 13 player 2005/06 squad, down 6 players on last year. However, of last season's 19 players, four went the whole season without selection and only one of those (Brian Murray) has been retained. With only one new signing and seven players released, their squad has undergone less changes than most. Of the seven players released, three were not used at all in the 2004/05 season, so the real turnover is even less than it may appear.  Six of the players released remain free agents, so don't be surprised if some find their way back into the Black Magic squad before the end of the season.

• 6 players released on a free:
  • Anton De Gregorio
  • Jason Pinnock
  • Mike Taylor
  • Raffaelle De Gregorio
  • Hadlee Southall
  • Sam

•  2004/05 stats
  •  4 appearances, 3 goals
  •  9 appearances, 3 goals
  •  8 appearances
  •  1 appearance
  •  no appearances
  •  no appearances

• 1 player transferred to AndyCapped:
  • Greg Spencer                          

•  2004/05 stats
  •  no appearances

• 1 player signed on a free:
  • Mike Musso 

The Originals have undergone a change of management. Ex-boss Peter Lye has stepped back from the playing side of things and taken up a technical position as the Summer League Commissioner. Paul Muollo has taken over and his first task has been to overhaul the Originals squad in an effort to remove the "farm team" tag gained last year. The Originals had the largest squad of all teams last year and Muollo will be looking to improve the squad continuity. Only 8 of the 2004/05 squad remain in the initial 14 man squad. With one of the smaller starting squads in the tournament, continuity will surely ensure or else Muollo will have to repeat Lye's strategy of drafting in late signings - of which there were 10 last year! Muollo has released 6 players on a free and lost 7 players on Bosman signings to other teams. Of the free transfers, several retain links with The Originals and may yet re-enter the fold given the small size of the initial squad. Coming into The Originals are 5 new signings, who bring with them impressive Capital Soccer pedigrees or experience, some with both! After having his squad ravaged by the Massey Coolmoves and HHH, Muollo has broken with Originals tradition by signing the youngster Lee Middleton from AndyCapped for an undisclosed fee.

• 6 players released on a free:
  • Bernie Muollo
  • Dave Prowse            
  • Grant Dennehy               
  • Michael De Gregorio
  • Peter Lye
  • Vaughan Karori  

•  2004/05 stats
  •  1 appearance
  •  4 appearances, 1 goal
  •  4 appearances
  •  2 appearances
  •  8 appearances, 2 goals
  •  1 appearance, 1 goal

• 1 player transferred to HHH:
  • Michael Wray

•  2004/05 stats
  •  9 appearances

• 6 players transferred to Massey:
  • Adrian Winter
  • Mark Leeming
  • Matthew Whiteman
  • Michael Hanley
  • Sasa Lisovac
  • Sean Lyle

•  2004/05 stats
  •  4 appearances, 1 goal
  •  1 appearance, 2 goals
  •  9 appearances, 1 goal
  •  1 appearance, 1 goal
  •  5 appearances, 1 goal
  •  2 appearances, 2 goals

• 1 player signed from AndyCapped:
  • Lee Middleton

•  2004/05 stats
  •  6 appearances

• 5 players signed on a free:
  • Darren Goggin
  • Dave Graham
  • Mike Gaeta
  • Ryan Du Plessis
  • Scott New

With ex-boss Phil Jones preferring to focus on developing the AndyCapped youth squad, the managerial reigns have been passed to Andrew Jessett. Jessett has trimmed the squad down to an initial 13 with eight players being shown the door. Seven have gone on a free and are still seeking new clubs, but Lee Middleton has been shipped out to the Originals. Three players come in on free transfers. He has also picked up Greg Spencer on a Bosman from the Black Magic. Unconfirmed reports allege that he lost patience with sitting in the reserves and his rebutted attempts to break into the first team.

• 7 players released on a free:
  • Andrew Pauli
  • Brian Watson            
  • Darren Markham               
  • Joe White
  • Mark
  • Patrick Knowlsey
  • Paul Atkins

•  2004/05 stats
  •  8 appearances, 1 goal
  •  1 appearance
  •  6 appearances, 1 goal
  •  7 appearances, 4 goals
  •  1 appearance
  •  1 appearance
  •  2 appearances, 2 goals

• 1 player transferred to The Originals:
  • Lee Middleton

•  2004/05 stats
  •  6 appearances

• 1 player transferred from Black Magic:
  • Greg Spencer

•  2004/05 stats
  •  no appearances

• 3 players signed on a free:
  • Ben Parsons
  • Joe Murphy
  • Steven Jones

Another team to have changed hands at the top. Justin Lester has deposed Robbie Petrie. After the wooden spoon finish of last season, Petrie has been sent to study the latest coaching techniques in Europe. Tabloid allegations of Petrie's involvement in an illegally premature approach to players in their last year of contract merely served to expedite his banishment. Including Petrie's exile, Lester has lost 7 players. The 7 players represent two thirds of the total HHH goal haul of 2004/05. With hot-shot signing Randall being lost to injured reserve for most, if not all, of the season, this does not bode well. Rumours abound that Petrie, HHH top scorer, will be recalled from Europe and that further signings are in the pipeline. Lester completed the signing of the player at the centre of Petrie's touching up affair, Originals keeper Michael Wray, after the player became eligible for a Bosman and it is hoped that this, together with incoming defender Lucas Collins, will resolve the goals leak.

• 7 players released on a free:
  • Alex
  • Andrew Douglas
  • Brendan Hall               
  • Joss Opie
  • Rob Berrill
  • Robbie Petrie
  • Zac Hall

•  2004/05 stats
  •  1 appearance
  •  2 appearances
  •  1 appearance
  •  6 appearances, 1 goal
  •  6 appearances
  •  9 appearances, 5 goals
  •  5 appearances, 2 goals

• 1 player transferred from The Originals:
  • Michael Wray

•  2004/05 stats
  •  9 appearances

• 5 players signed on a free:
  • Chris Thompson
  • Lucas Collins
  • Simon Bratt
  • Tim Wells
  • Tim Campbell

• Placed on injured reserve
  • Randall

Expansion team Massey Coolmoves enter the competition boasting a lot more experience than you'd expect from a new team. New boss Matthew Whiteman has made extensive use of the contacts that he developed at the Originals and brought across five other players to join him, with Summer League veterans Adrian Winter and Sasa Lisovac standing out as coup signings. Twelve debutants join the six Originals defectors in what is expected to be a challenging squad.

• 6 players transferred from The Originals:
  • Adrian Winter
  • Mark Leeming
  • Matthew Whiteman
  • Michael Hanley
  • Sasa Lisovac
  • Sean Lyle

•  2004/05 stats
  •  4 appearances, 1 goal
  •  1 appearance, 2 goals
  •  9 appearances, 1 goal
  •  1 appearance, 1 goal
  •  5 appearances, 1 goal
  •  2 appearances, 2 goals

• 12 players signed on a free:
  • Andy Gilman
  • Clifford Young
  • Daniel Mead
  • Geoff Charleston
  • Glen McCarty
  • Justin Ward
  • Kane Chapman
  • Lance Jensen
  • Neil Cannell
  • Scott Helson
  • Steven Glendon
  • Todd Nicholson

The Summer League is pleased to announce that a second piece of silverware has been added to this season's competition. The Coolmoves Shield will be a challenge shield (a-la rugby's Ranfurly Shield) to be defended on a weekly basis throughout the round-robin phase of this season's summer league.

The inaugural holders of the Coolmoves Shield will be Black Magic, Jessett Cup winners in 2004. Black Magic's game this Saturday versus The Originals will be defence number one. To lift the Shield, The Originals must defeat Black Magic. The holders will defend the Shield for each of their scheduled round-robin fixtures. The Shield will not be at stake in the play-off stages of the Jessett Cup. The official holders of the shield for the 2005/06 season will be the team that holds the Shield at the conclusion of the round robin.

The 'committee' decided to add the shield to the competition to provide a bit of extra spice to the round-robin stage of the season. In addition, in the true tradition of all great footballing competitions, the opportunity for teams to aspire to a "Double" triumph was also an important consideration. Coolmoves Removals won the tender for naming rights and will be sponsoring the purchase of an appropriate trophy (which we hope to unveil on Saturday).

It is important at this stage to stress that the Jessett Cup remains the undisputed premier summer league trophy and is the ultimate prize! We hope though that the Coolmoves Shield will establish itself as a much sort after piece of silverware and that challenging and defending the shield will add a further level of excitement and drama to our competition.

Season Kick-Off

The Jessett Cup kicks-off in under two weeks and fans will be looking forward to a competition as keenly and evenly contested as the inaugural 2004/05 season.

Pre-Season Favourites

All four of last season's teams are back, and the the fifth franchise will be Matt Whiteman's Massey Coolmoves. Whiteman was an integral member of The Originals, last season's beaten finalists. But with the expansion of the league, Whiteman has jumped at the opportunity to bring his winter season colleagues into the fold. What's more, following an extremely impressive pre-season display against a very strong Island Bay Auzerre, Massey Coolmoves have been installed as early favourites to lift the Jessett Cup. Whiteman's own game resembles the style of ex-Manchester United legend Bryan Robson. A fiercely competitive yet fair player, Whiteman is a classic box-to-box midfielder. However, with talent in abundance in the Massey midfield, he may yet decide to line-up in the heart of defence where he performed outstandingly for The Originals last season. The Massey winter squad will be further strengthened by the signing of Peter Speilman, whose dazzling ability with the ball at feet will be a huge asset on the tight confounds of the Mt Albert park pitch.

Defending Champions

Defending champions Black Magic are a clear second favourite to retain the title. With a full winter season behind them, where they finished third in Capital Division 3, Black Magic are well prepared to defend the Jessett Cup. While perhaps lacking the flair players that Massey will have on show, Black Magic would appear to have the strongest overall squad. Black Magic's style is typified by veteran defender Dave Da Vanzo, one of several unsung heroes from the Magic's triumphant 04/05 season. Best known for his uncompromising defending, Da Vanzo is an underrated ball player who also possesses a keen eye for goal. Such all round capabilities are a common thread throughout the Black Magic squad, and will ensure that they remain a very tough team to beat this season.

Enduring Originality

Beyond Massey Coolmoves and Black Magic, the odds start to lengthen considerably. Last season's runner-ups The Originals have a much changed squad but again find themselves with some talented players at the top end, albeit arguably the thinnest overall squad.  Management have repeated last year's largely successful formula of combining several key big money signings with a range of over-the-hill has-beens and never-quite-were wannabes. Player/manager will be last season's top goal-scorer Paul Muollo and other key signings are former Island Bay first team captain Mike Gaeta and current first team squad members Lee Westlake and Scott New. Also returning to the squad from last year is veteran Marty Romijn and fans favourite Roddy Lawson, while Lee Middleton has been picked up on a free transfer from AndyCapped.

Surprise Package

The possible surprise package of the season could be HHH United. HHH achieved a very credible 4th place finish in Capital Division 5 and their ability to re-adjust their game to the requirements of summer league football will be their initial challenge. 2004/05 Player of the Year Steve Gadd is sure to be a central figure in any success HHH have, while Justin Lester has taken over player/manager duties from the talismanic Robbie Petrie. Petrie remains in Liverpool but has yet to make a start for the European Champions due to "work permit complications". In the transfer coup of the off-season, HHH have signed last season's outstanding goalkeeper, Mickey "The Gull" Wray from The Originals.

Handicapped?

Initial favourites for the wooden spoon are AndyCapped. Preparations have been hampered by an acrimonious dispute at board level. Long-time franchise owner, chairman and centre-forward Phil Jones has been berated by some fans for refusing to loosen the purse strings in order to strengthen the squad. However, Jones has hit back by pointing to the signing of the outstanding winter season performer Joe Murphy, plus the last minute deal to secure the services of the classy Paul Atkins and the extension of Al Mouncey's loan deal with Pak 'N Save. But the problems don't end there. The franchise continues to be blighted with adverse publicity surrounding the off-field antics of Ricky Boyd, whose rock-star lifestyle is a catalogue of unforced calamities that are proving an unwelcome distraction to the rest of the squad.

Countdown

So, there we have it. The bookmakers are favouring the new boys Massey Coolmoves, but one suspects that as kick-off nears the smart money might start to head towards the defending champs. One thing not to be forgotten though is that with the advent of the play-offs this season, anyone finishing outside of last place in the round robin could still go on to win the title.

Here's hoping for plenty of sunshine, close games and good-spirited rivalry!
 

Paul Muollo has commandeered the services of the Russian journeyman Alexei Garrow ahead of The Originals' opening match against Black Magic. It is unclear whether this indicated a long term commitment from the vagrant player or whether his services would be utilised on rolling weekly contract. Dale Imray has also signed under similarly arrangements, with a "pay as you play" contract.

AndyCapped manager Andrew Jessett put an end to recent transfer speculation surrounding a big money signing. However, fans were somewhat disappointed to find that the new signing was merely the ending of the contract dispute with the out of favour Capper Paul Atkins. Whilst fans had felt cheated by the speculations that a foreign import were likely, Jessett defended the move by pointing to Atkins' 100% goal a game record in his 2004/05 appearances. Whether Atkins can command more favour from Jessett than Jones, who only deigned to select him twice last season, remains to be seen.

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

Another season, another narrow loss, another hard luck story for the perennial snatchers of defeat from the jaws of victory, AndyCapped. Perhaps they had been stung from being written-off as wooden-spooners in waiting, or maybe they just the took advantage of some early hesitancy displayed by Jessett Cup newcomers Massey Coolmoves, but the Cappers came out firing. Three great chances were wasted in the opening quarter, the worst blazed over the bar from 8 metres by the otherwise excellent Paul Atkins. As the game progressed Coolmoves began to find their feet and their characteristic short passing and intelligent off the ball running began to flow. But still the Coolmovers were indebted to stand in 'keeper Sasa Lisovac on more than one occasion for keeping his team at level pegging going into half-time.

Turning around for the second half, Coolmoves immediately found playing into the stiff northerly breeze aided their passing game. Conversely, the Cappers struggled to recapture the rhythm of the first half, although one sweeping move resulted in Phil Jones rattling a sweet half volley against the bar. But the tide was turning and on fifty-two minutes Coolmoves Neill Cannell was on hand to tap home the final pass to open the scoring for the season. There was a suspicion of offside about the last pass, but perhaps justice was done as Coolmoves were unlucky not to receive a penalty moments earlier when AndyCapped defender Sam Hyde bundled into a Coolmoves attacker bearing down on goal. The dejection at going a goal down was culpable amongst the Cappers, and although the effort remained total the quality that was evident earlier fell away. A succession of long balls were easily dealt with by Coolmoves centre-back Todd Nicholson and some ambitious long range shots failed to test Lisovac.

Massey Coolmoves skipper Matt Whiteman was delighted with the 3 points, but gracious in victory. "Yeah, the guys were pretty nervous. I think that showed in the way we started. It's been a long twelve months for the franchise waiting to gain entry to the league and it was important to make sure we channelled all that enthusiasm in the right way. The Cappers came at us really hard and we were a little lucky not to concede early on, but we'll get better from here I'm sure."

Opposing captain Phil Jones was somewhat less complimentary in defeat, although his salvo was directed at the media contingent that had installed him as early favourite to be the first managerial casualty. "Clearly, there's more to football than you read in the paper." said Jones. "My job's safe, but you have to wonder about some of the hacks who had written us off. I hope they are going to be big enough to say they were wrong about us...but then again, I don't really care. We were good today, in fact we were better than good for a while. How we didn't score I don't know. But it's early days so we can put the result behind us, it's not an issue."

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

While the scoreline might offer little comfort to the pretenders for Black Magic's crown, anyone who saw this display will realise it was a flattering result for the defending Jessett Cup champions and Coolmoves Shield holders. If the Originals had taken any one of a number of half-chances available then perhaps the outcome might have been different. The Originals had the better of the first thirty minutes but were unable to create a clear goal scoring opportunity despite several scrambles in the Magic's penalty area. Once Black Magic finally began to control some possession they to struggled to get a clear sight on goal. But on thirty-three minutes a sweet left foot finish from Mike Musso gave stand-in 'keeper Corb Tate no chance in the Originals goal and the Magic had opened their account for the campaign. The hammer blow to the Originals was delivered just four minutes later. The Magic took advantage of some hesitancy in the Originals defence to spring the offside trap and leave two Magic attackers bearing down on goal without a defender in sight. It was eventually left to Paul Griffin to slot home past the hopelessly exposed Tate for a flattering two-nil halftime lead for the Magic.

To their credit the Originals came out strong in the second half, but with the comfort of a two goal lead the Magic were happy to pack the defence and take their chances on the break. The final twist of the knife was delivered in the seventy-ninth minute when George Aranyi slotted home the third and final goal for the Magic.

Black Magic co-manager Tony "The Tinkerman" Volpicelli was asked if the added pressure of defending the Coolmoves Shield had contributed to what was seen as a largely scrappy affair. "No, I don't think it was a bad match, personally. We had a big squad and made a lot of changes throughout the game. Perhaps that hindered us getting into any real rhythm. But hey, we've just won three-nil. I'm not the least bit interested in finding fault."

Originals player-manager Paul Muollo was frustrated by his team's failure to find the target and at the crucial second goal conceded just before the break. "We know from last year how tight so many of the games will be. The key to success in this competition is taking a decent percentage of your chances and not giving away anything soft at the back. Well, we didn't miss any sitters but we had a hatful of half-chances. Over eighty minutes, that should have meant at least a couple of goals. I thought we defended really well, but we had one lapse that led to their second goal, and that cost us."

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

An entertaining and closely contested match saw The Originals chalk up their first points of the campaign, while HHH slip straight to the foot of the table. The opening half hour was a game of cat and mouse, which saw HHH dominate possession and successfully, though not always convincingly at times, stifle The Originals' attempts to hit back on the counter attack. On thirty-four minutes Steve Gadd put HHH in front with an excellent solo goal. Running hard at the defence in characteristic fashion, Gadd forged his way through the back-line before unleashing a thunderous right foot shot that gave Johnny De Gregorio in goal for the Originals no chance.

One-nil to HHH at the break and they then proceeded to play their best football of the match in the third quarter as their characteristic high octane "in-ya-face" defensive game gave the skillful Original ball players little opportunity to get into their stride. But then somehow it all went wrong for HHH in a calamitous final twenty minutes. The Originals drew level on sixty-two minutes when Ryan Du Plessis was left to tap home following excellent build-up play on the right wing by Pete Chung. The goal saw the momentum swing heavily in favour of The Originals and on sixty-six minutes The O's took the lead when Paul Muollo curled home an exquisite left foot shot from the edge of the area. It got worse for HHH when goal-keeper Mickey Wray was left trying to deal with a wayward back pass that Ronaldinho would have struggled to control. Wray's unsuccessful attempt to bail out the guilty defender left Ryan Du Plessis with his second tap-in of the afternoon. But The H's never-say-die approach saw them pull a goal back on seventy-eight minutes following an equally shambolic mix-up between The Originals stand-in 'keeper Darren Goggin and his jointly culpable left-back.

HHH player-manager Justin Lester was pragmatic in defeat "We played well for sixty minutes. What's more, we played our game. We did the things we talked about, and it was working. Then that last twenty, I just think we got a bit carried away. We were too ambitious. We went chasing a second goal when we were already one-up. So long as we can learn and move on, it shouldn't be an issue."

The O's skipper Muollo was delighted to chalk-up the win "Yeah, we've got the bye next week so it would have been a wretch to have gone into our week-off sitting bottom of the table. Instead, we are right in the mix. What's more, I think in that last twenty minutes we showed what we can do when we play some football."

by Evan Lessidere, football correspondent, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

The Coolmoves Shield stays in the possession of Black Magic, but only after a dramatic conclusion to this hard fought match.

A largely scrappy affair looked to be heading the way of AndyCapped thanks to Steve Jones' sixty-eighth minute strike. It was nothing less than the challengers deserved as they had out-enthused their more illustrious opponents throughout and the goal finally arrived following a spell of concerted pressure. But the Magic have a proud undefeated record to defend in the Jessett Cup, and a seventy-eighth minute wonder-goal by Mike Jessett levelled the scores. The 'Cappers looked to have cleared the danger following one of the Magic's few attacks, but the loose ball fell to Jessett who buried an unstoppable half-volley high into the left hand corner of Corb Tate's net.

But this was merely a cue for the real drama. The 'Cappers surged forward in search of a second goal that was needed to lift the shield, and with the seconds ticking down referee Oosterbaarn awarded a free-kick to the 'Cappers in a dangerous position wide on the right hand side of the pitch.

Steve Jones delivered a wicked curling ball across the face of goal and as attackers and defenders alike clawed for a desperate touch of the ball, it eluded all on its way into the Magic's net. As the 'Cappers players mobbed the goal-scorer in celebration referee Oosterbaarn coolly signalled for the free-kick to be retaken, ruling that the initial indiscretion only merited an indirect free-kick.

Full credit to the 'Cappers who accepted the referee's ruling without question, and also to the referee himself for insisting that the kick be retaken. [Our ref is up to date; from 2005 if the ref fails to indicate, or does not have time to indicate, a free kick as indirect and the ball enters the goal directly, a retake is ordered. Note that if the ref has indicated and the ball enters the goal directly then a goal kick is awarded to the defending team - as in Gazza's non-goal against the Netherlands in WC90. Ed.]

But all in all it was a dramatic conclusion to the match. Even leaving the disallowed goal aside, the Magic can consider themselves lucky to escape with the Shield still in their possession as they had been second best for much of the match.

A Mt Albert Summer League official today confirmed that an unnamed HHH United player has been charged with a grade B Code of Conduct violation. The spokesman's only comment was that "The disciplinary committee, following consultation with match officials, have charged an HHH United player with a Code of Conduct violation as a direct consequence of the player urinating in the technical area. The player has been given interim name suppression and has until Friday to respond to the charge."

It is understood that the offence took place shortly before the kick-off of HHH United's game with the Originals on Saturday. A spokesman for HHH United said that the player would be defending the charge. "HHH United management have viewed the video replay of the offence. While not condoning the actions of the player involved, we do not believe there is a case to answer. The video evidence shows that while the player is standing in the technical area, he is clearly urinating out of it."

It seems then that HHH United will, ironically, be defending the charge on a technicality.

There were sensational scenes today at the disciplinary hearing of HHH United's player/manager Justin Lester. The case was dramatically dismissed as forensic and photographic evidence cleared the accused of any wrong-doing.

Lester's reputation for pre-match turf tinkling was a major factor in the prosecution's case and he admitted, "To my own surprise I couldn't muster my pre-match routine (must be the prostate playing up). I didn't even attempt it. So I will have to claim total innocence."

Under stern cross-examination the prosecution's key witness was forced to admit, "I only saw the number on the back of the shirt...and my recollection of what it was isn't clear. But, if I had to say, I'd plumb for no.11?"

Following Lester's claim, "I'm number 6, I maintain innocence," the defence attorney introduced DNA evidence from the CSI laboratory to substantiate such claims. Photographic evidence from accredited league photographer (ALP), Sharon Wray, removed any further doubts by establishing that Justin Lester was indeed wearing the number 6 shirt. The jury and court officials were visibly relieved as the planned courtside prostate exam was cancelled.  

The courtroom burst into a furore however, when Lester adopted an unforgiving tone with the outburst, "That won't necessarily preclude me from re-instigating my pre-match routine this weekend, prostate allowing."

Attention now turns to other suspects. From evidence taken from the files of the ALP, the player known to have worn 11 is the cultured HHH United defender, Andy Middlemiss. Given the lack of certainty on the shirt number from the key witness, it is not yet clear whether Mr Middlemiss will face prosecution and he has declined to provide an urine sample without a warrant. Steve Gadd in number 16, Tim Wells in number 10, James Fairhall in number 14 and Brendan Gage in number 10 are known to be among the suspects. It is not known what number the new signing, James Irvine, was wearing and whether it was mistakable for 11. However Irvine's subsequent release, after only one appearance, is being interpreted by some members of the press as indicative of a cover up.

After the disastrous end to the proceedings, Commissioner Peter Lye issued the following statement, "The issue here is that the Summer League committee has gone to considerable trouble and expense to provide a facility behind the derelict hall where "having a leak" can be performed in a comfortable and natural environment. Instead we find players by-passing this facility and using the technical area, which just happens to be adjacent to the family enclosure! We had a number of complaints in week one about the odour emanating from a suspected dead tom-cat in the bushes... I hate to think what we might expect in terms of pungency once an accumulated volume of piss reaches its zenith after several weeks simmering in the sun! At the very least, those who aren't prepared to use the facility provided should make their way to one of the respective penalty areas and in so doing at least try and mitigate complaints I'm getting from soft-cock goalkeepers about the hard ground!"

On hearing of this outburst, the petulant Lester pointed out that HHH United had the bye in week one and then sought the last word by responding, "Goalmouth it is, lucky Mike."

None of the "soft-cock" goalkeepers have been available for comment on this latest development.

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Football Editor. The Island Bay Times

A surprisingly uneventful affair between the competition joint favourites saw the Coolmoves Shield successfully defended for the third time, be it by way of a draw for the second week in succession.

Black Magic were one-up at the break thanks to an unfortunate own goal by Massey's Neill Cannell. Massey finished the match strongly and drew level in the seventy-seventh minute thanks to a cool finish by Lance Jensen.

Perhaps both teams anticipate that the real battles between them lie further ahead in the competition as both seemed reluctant to really move into top gear? For Black Magic Dave Da Vanzo was solid at the back while Mike Jessett showed several delightful touches. Perhaps most pleasing to co-manager Volpicelli however was the form of unheralded Italian import Giuseppe who made a number of telling contributions down the left-hand side.

For Massey it was a workmanlike performance across the team. Player-manager Matt Whiteman was to the fore as Massey finished strongly in the final quarter and Sean Lyle, making his Massey summer league debut, showed signs of why Whiteman was so keen to sign him up just hours before the transfer window closed last month.

by Evan Lessidere, Football correspondent. The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

The first derby match of the season between the Island Bay Capital Division 5 rivals saw the honours ending comfortably in favour of HHH United. Both teams were missing key players, but HHH seemed best able to cope with the absentees, whereas The 'Cappers got no where near the form that had seem them unlucky to secure only one point from their opening two games.

A generally scrappy match was constantly impeded by the sound of the referee's whistle as both teams tried to mitigate the lack of rhythm in their own play by ensuring their opposition had as little chance as
possible to establish any of their own. What free flowing play that did eventuate in the first half tended to be at the feet of Chris Thompson for HHH or Paul Atkins for the 'Cappers. Thompson's probing passing was complemented by some hard and direct running by Tim Wells in the HHH frontline and it was no surprise when these two combined for Wells to open the scoring shortly before the interval. Up to that point Corb Tate had made a couple of crucial stops to keep the scores level.

The second half was going much the same way as the first and when Thompson doubled HHH's lead on sixty-two minutes it seemed as if it was all over. But the 'Cappers then produced their best football of the match. The re-introduction of Phil Jones in a forward position seemed to bring some subtlety to The 'Cappers game that had been missing until that point, and it took a couple of characteristically brave stops by Mickey "The Gull" Wray in goals for HHH to preserve the clean sheet.

A bad result for the 'Cappers who find themselves rooted to bottom spot after three rounds. They must take heart from their performances in the first two rounds which belie the predicament they now find themselves in.
 
For HHH United it was a huge boost to come up with a win with star midfielder Steve Gadd unavailable for the match. The performances of some of the lesser known stars will ensure some selection headaches for manager Lester prior to next week's Shield challenge!

Local business tycoon and self-confessed football maniac Rod Lawson is at the centre of a FIFA investigation into his connections with the Mount Albert Summer League. A FIFA spokesman would only confirm "an investigation was underway but at this stage no charges were pending". FIFA's inquiries are believed to be a response to the myriad of different and potentially conflicting interests that Lawson has in the prestigious summer football competition.

Lawson, sole-owner and CEO of the Coolmoves Removal empire, has turned his attention to the summer league after losing out in a bitter and acrimonious dual with Russian billionaire Vladimir Romanov for control of his home town club, Heart of Midlothian. Lawson was said to have made a financially acceptable offer for the club but talks broke-down when "off the record" discussions between Lawson and the then manager George Burley reached an impasse over Burley's refusal to play Lawson in the starting XI. Lawson's pleas to Burley were said to contain the offer of a "transfer kitty that would make Jose Mourinhio's eyes boggle" in return for "just one game against the mighty unwashed hoops." Burley's refusal lead to the withdrawal of Lawson's offer to Romanov. Romanov blamed Burley for the break-down in the sale negotiations and it was no surprise when Burley left the club shortly after.

In the meantime, Lawson re-directed his football passion and financial clout at the Mount Albert Summer League. Originals player-manager Paul Muollo proved a less obstinate impediment to Lawson with the result that Lawson has already chalked up an appearance at his favoured left-back position in the opening round of the league. Muollo was diplomatic when questioned about the footballing pedigree of his new recruit. Muollo confirmed that Lawson "had met his expectations as a player" but went on to add that as Lawson was a Scotsman his expectations "hadn't been particularly high". However, Muollo steadfastly refused to comment on any financial incentives the Originals had received to include Lawson on the playing roster.

But Lawson's interest doesn't stop at playing. He is also the official shirt sponsor of two other franchises in the league, has won naming rights for the challenge shield and is rumoured to have offered to underwrite any financial shortfalls in the league's operating revenue this season. In return, Lawson's Coolmoves company has won a contract with Summer League to provide "logistical match day support" to the league for an indefinite period. The monetary ebbs and flows from all these arrangements are likely to be at the centre FIFA's investigation. Such is the complexity and diversity of Lawson's involvement it is expected to be quite some time until FIFA release the findings. In the meantime, a statement from Summer League commissioner Lye had nothing but praise for Lawson and his commitment to the competition "Rod Lawson is a personal friend of mine whose integrity and love for football is providing a beacon for us all to follow at a time when greed and self-interest is threatening so much of what is great about this game. I have the utmost confident that FIFA will find no grounds for bringing charges against Mr Lawson. In the meantime we will continue to store, no questions asked, whatever Mr Lawson asks us to underneath the main grandstand. What's more, we will continue making all payments to Coolmoves for match-day logistical support in used twenty-dollar notes, as requested by Mr Lawson."

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

An entertaining early game saw Massey Coolmoves and The Originals come away with a point each. But there was no doubt that Massey were the happier team as they fought back from a 3-1 half-time deficit to earn a draw.

The Originals started strongly and within eight minutes had taken the lead when Lee Westlake sliced all too easily through the Massey defence to notch his first summer league goal. But this seemed to act as a wake-up call to Massey who came back immediately. The O's were lucky to survive as first the cross-bar and then a goal line clearance denied Massey. But on twelve minutes the scores were level. Darren Goggin in goal for the O's did well to claim a dangerous cross, but as he landed he collided with the retreating Middleton and the ball spilled for Neill Cannell to tap home the equaliser.

By halftime the defensive mix-up looked like it would count for little as the O's had surged to a 3-1 lead. Mike Gaeta set up Dave Graham for the second goal on thirty four minutes with some persistent work and a good cross from the by-line. Then three minutes later Gaeta was on hand himself to tap home the rebound following a parried save by Massey keeper Chapman.

But not for the first time this season Massey have proven to be a more adept team playing into the breeze. Andy Gilman brought them back into the game with a good finish from the edge of the area on forty-five minutes. It seemed though as if the O's had weathered the storm when an unnecessary free-kick was conceded twenty yards out towards the left-hand touchline. An excellent cross was whipped across the face of the O's goal and Neill Cannell was on hand at the back post to volley home excellently and level the scores.

Originals player-manager Muollo was fuming "That was abysmal. We are leaking too many soft goals. We're being called the entertainers in the league. Stuff the fans...I'm not here to entertain, I'm here to win. There will be changes next week - for sure!"

Muollo's opposite Matt Whiteman was typically low key in response "It just goes to show what we can do when we play our game. We played some good stuff but we should never have had to chase the game like we did. We need to switch on for the full eighty minutes. We'll be working on putting that right during the week."

by Evan Lessidere, Football reporter, The Island Bay Times

Irresistible force met immovable object in the late game and so it was not surprising that honours  ended even in this highly charged affair. For the third week running Black Magic successfully defended the Coolmoves Shield thanks to a 1-1 draw. Chances were few and far between and it was little surprise that the two goals scored came from a deflection and a free-kick respectively.

It was always going to be difficult to play football with such a strong wind and rock hard surface. But added to this both the Magic and HHH play a hustling defensive game that made time on the ball a precious commodity. Playing with the wind at their backs in the first half the Magic attempted in vein to unlock the H's defence with early long balls. For their part the H's excellent midfield combination of Gadd, Thompson and Jessep tried gamely to take the attack to the Magic with ball at feet, but Dave Da Vanzo and Paul Griffin proved as stubborn and reliable as ever in defence for the defending champions.

In search of a cutting edge up front in the second half, "Tinkerman" Volpicelli sprung a major tactical surprise by switching goalkeeper Gareth Knight to centre-forward. Within seven minutes the switch had paid dividends as Knight arrived late in the box to latch on to loose ball and hammer home the opening goal, aided in large portions by a deflection that sent the ball looping agonisingly over the stranded Wray in the H's goal.

But on the stroke of quarter time HHH were level. Defending a free kick on the left of edge of their area, the Magic anticipated a cross to the far post. But Steve Gadd measured a short pass across the face of the area into the stride of centre-back Brendan Gage who struck a venomous first time shot low into the corner of the Magic net. For the remainder of the match chances remained at a premium. HHH pressed forward but as is becoming custom the Magic seemed happy to soak up the pressure and come away with their unbeaten record in tact and the Shield still firmly in their possession.

Colin Reidy - Reido to his friends - was once a controversial figure whose escapades away from his beloved Mount Albert Stadium brought him fame and notoriety that his own sporting achievements had never threatened to match. Now Reido has cleaned up his image and gone back to his roots in an effort to right the wrongs of a chequered past. In an exclusive interview Has N. Gottaklu, our chief sports editor, talks to Colin about the events of the past twelve months and what the future holds for this jovial mainstay of the Summer League.

Gottaklu: Colin, it's been a difficult recent past, but things seem to be on the up for you. What's your involvement in Summer League now?

Reidy: Hey buddy...call me Reido. Officially I'm now senior ball-boy, Southern End. But I still like to busy myself with as many other duties as possible. Ball-boy's only have a limited role to play before and after the match, like pumping up the balls for example. But really, outside of the actual game time, that's when the real work gets done...and I like to be busy, I like to make as much of a contribution as possible. I realise I've some catching up to do after last season.

Gottaklu: So yes, senior ball-boy. I'm sure that's a critical role in its own right. But last season you were installed as match-day logistics manager. Let's be honest, you've fallen a long way, that can't be easy for you to forget?

Reidy: Buddy, let me just re-iterate. Not just senior ball-boy, but senior ball-boy SOUTHERN END! OK!

Gottaklu: Yes, sorry Reido, but what makes the southern end so significant?

Reidy: Hey buddy, no worries mate, but you need to understand the requirements. Not all ball-boys are equal, mate. Let me explain. As you'd be aware a football pitch has four sides - two touchlines and two ends. But depending on the lay-out of the ground the requirements of being ball-boy can vary quite significantly from side to side. This is particularly the case at Mount Albert Stadium. On the eastern touchline you've got the hill. With all the scrub and the initial climb, ball-boys on the eastern side need to have a good eye for where the ball lodges, and a determination to get it back, no matter how thick the gorse! But there are a couple of things that make it easier on the eastern side. Firstly there's always plenty of smart-arses about telling you where it's gone. Second, once it goes up into the gorse, the ref will always call for another ball. This means that speed isn't the critical factor on the eastern side. On the western side there's the slope and the fence. Generally, when the ball goes over the fence it funnels down to the road and inevitably lodges behind the wheel of a parked car. So, the key requirement here for the ball-boy is speed up and down the slope, but there aren't a lot of judgement calls that need to be made. The northern end, well that's a gimme really. It's flat and it's into the prevailing wind. This is where we slot the trainees in, it gives us a good chance to see if they have what it takes. The Southern end, that's where the real skill and experience comes in. Firstly, with the prevailing northerly it's always going to be the busiest end. Then with the car park up top, there are a number of HS&E issues with ball retrieval. What's more, you have to make a call. That's the really crucial bit. You have to make an instant assessment as to whether you can get the ball back in time for the game to continue without either a stoppage or another ball being called for. You wouldn't want to under-estimate the pressure that's on to make that call. "Yes, I can get it back in 10 seconds, 15 seconds tops" or "No, it's gone too far, I'll have to signal for another ball." That's a critical decision and one that has a real impact on the flow of the game. That's why, with my appointment to the Southern End, I feel that my contribution and experience has been recognised and clearly there is still a future for me here at Summer League.

Gottaklu: And what about the "incident" last season Colin? You've been silent ever since the controversy became public. Would you like to take this chance to give us your side of the story?

Reidy: I dunno buddy, I mean it still rankles me you know...Sure, I've got an opinion, but hey buddy, it's water under the bridge, I'm looking to move on.

Gottaklu: Was there one critical moment that you look back on about that evening, one thing that you did or didn't do that still eats away at you?

Reidy: Yeah buddy, there is. I should've taken those f***in' corner flags out of the back of my car before I went out that night. I mean, when all's said and done, if I hadn't had the corner flag in my hand I would have walked away that night.

Gottaklu: Yes, the corner flag. There's been a lot of speculation as to why anyone would be in possession of a corner flag outside a massage parlour at 2am in the morning? Why did you have that flag in your hand Colin. Why?

Reidy: Let me just say one thing Buddy. All that stuff in the press. All that stuff about me paying the extra $100 for "other services" and then going back to my car to get the corner flag. That's bullshit buddy, I don't know why I was walking around with the flag... I had a few beers, as you do, but I swear, I never went back to the car to get it. I had it all the time!

Gottaklu: So anyway, you were acquitted of the charge, but you seem to have paid a heavy price anyway. Stripped of your logistics manager's role. That must have hurt?

Reidy: Buddy, I'm not one for titles. I don't care what they call me. I know I've got a job to do, I'm just concentrating on doing it. Whatever happened last year, I'm still here, they obviously decided they couldn't do without me. I take some comfort from that.

Gottaklu: But Colin, I know you are trying to put a brave face on developments, but there was one particular change in your role that did hurt you, wasn't there?

Reidy: Yeah buddy. I admit. I was gutted. Absolutely gutted when they decided to do away with the hooter.

Gottaklu: That was your show-piece wasn't it Colin? Why do you think they decided not to have the hooter this season?

Reidy: It's the bloody PC brigade at it again. They gave me some cock 'n bull story about noise limits. But that's crap. It's the whole thing about hooters that they don't like. I mean Christ, it's a f**kin' tin can we're talking about. Sure, get some topless babe up hear blowin' it and yeah, in this day and age I can imagine what the fuss would be about. But mate. It was harmless. Bloody bureaucrats!

Gottaklu: So Colin, finally, to the football. Who's your pick to take out the honours this season?

Reidy: It'll be close, that's all I want to say. Impartiality for a ball-boy is everything. Sure, I've got an opinion but I'll keep that one to myself if it's all the same to you, buddy.

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

Massey Coolmoves gave the most complete performance of the season so far and in the process reaffirmed themselves as serious contenders for the Jessett Cup.

Against a valiant HHH United that was missing several key players, the slick Massey side proved too good in all departments.

Massey opened the scoring after fourteen minutes when Lance Jensen was on hand to slot home a Pete Spelman pass from six yards out. Playing into the wind in the first half, HHH would have been relatively happy to go into the break just one goal behind at halftime as Massey created several other half-chances but were unable to add to Jensen's opener.

As is their way, HHH came out battling in the second half. In the absence of  the influential trio of Jessep, Thompson and Middlemiss, several of HHH's less renowned names stepped-up with excellent performances, notably Stephen Rendall in midfield and Lucas Collins at left back. HHH's best chance of the game fell to Rendall on fifty-two minutes, but he was unable to find the back of the net after being involved several times in a sweeping length of the field movement.

Just as they were gaining a foothold in the match, HHH fell to a sucker punch just moments after Rendall's near miss. From an attacking free-kick there seemed to be little threat of a direct strike on goal as the kick had been awarded at an acute angle. But the ball was laid-off to Sasa Lisovac who hammered a blistering left-foot shot into the top right hand corner of the net. The strike was of such quality that fans were yet again left to wonder how Lisovac found himself playing in goal for the opening two rounds of the season!

From then on HHH were left to chase the game. However, Massey gave an equally accomplished performance in defence, and HHH struggled to create clear openings. At the other end Massey continued to threaten and on seventy-four minutes Jensen scored his second as HHH were caught short of numbers at the back. Then with the last kick of the game Jensen completed his hat-trick with an excellent finish from fifteen yards, yet again giving Wray no chance in the HHH goal.

HHH manager Lester was philosophical in defeat "We came up against a very good Massey side today. Although I think we were below our best, I'm not sure it would have made any difference. I think anyone in this competition would have struggled to match them today."

Massey manager Whiteman refused to offer praise to individuals, instead emphasising that he was "...pleased with the team performance, especially the way we kept it together for the full eighty minutes."

by Evan Lessidere, Football reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

In perhaps the most surprising score line of the season, The 'Cappers turned on a stunning second-half display to overwhelm The Originals in the late kick-off at Mt Albert Stadium.

Early action gave no indication of what was to unfold. As early as the fourth minute The Originals carved out an excellent opening for Mike Gatea, but he was unable to round off the move with just the 'keeper to beat. The 'Cappers survived the scare and then came agonisingly close to opening the scoring themselves. It took a desperate goal-line clearance by the Originals' defence to keep the ball out of the net, although there were frantic appeals from the 'Cappers that the ball had crossed the line.

Three minutes before half-time the 'Cappers player-manager Jones was guilty of blazing over the bar from eight yards out. This miss was made to look all the more significant when a minute before the break Ryan Du Plessis slid in at the back post to round off an excellent Originals move and send his team into the break a goal up.

But the first half gave few clues to the drama that was to unfold after the interval. Four minutes into the second period the 'Cappers were level when Paul Atkins headed home following a corner that The Originals failed to clear decisively. The Originals then had a series of attacks that suggested conceding the equaliser had stung them into lifting their game.

On fifty-seven minutes they looked destined to regain the lead as Gaeta broke clear through the 'Cappers' backline and then unselfishly pulled the ball across goal for Muollo to, so it seemed, tap home. But somehow a posse of 'Cappers defenders arrived from nowhere to scramble the ball clear.

This pre-empted a moment of huge controversy that turned the match on its head. From the resulting corner the ball was hoofed clear deep into The Originals' half. Sam Hyde set off in pursuit but there appeared to be no imminent danger. But Hyde pursued the ball with considerable zest, hustling the Originals defender and somehow toeing the ball beyond the advancing and by now stranded Goggin in the Originals goal. As referee Lye awarded the goal the Originals players protested in mass at his failure to penalise Hyde for a foul on their defender, Lee Middleton.

Referee Lye explained after the match, "I admit, I was caught a long way away from the incident. The ball had been kicked almost the length of the pitch. What's more, he's a big unit that lad Hyde. It was like watching an eclipse. One moment I could see the ball, the 'keeper, the defender and Hyde bearing down on all three. Then, as he closed in, I began to lose sight of everything except Hyde's not inconsiderable rear-end! I heard a squeal - I think it came from Middleton - I'm not sure, I'd lost sight of him by this stage. The next thing I know the ball re-emerges and trickles over the line. Middleton was on the ground. Was he pushed? I don't know. Maybe he was, but I didn't see it. I had no choice but to award the goal."

Foul or no foul, the goal stood, and with it the momentum of the game changed decisively in favour of the 'Cappers. The Originals failed to regain their composure after conceding the controversial second goal, and as they went in search of an equaliser the 'Cappers rubbed salt into the wound with late goals to Jones and Atkins to round off the scoring.

For the 'Cappers there were twelve heroes. Spencer and Miller in particular were without fault in defence. Andy Moraes gave a tireless performance in the midfield while Paul Atkins came away with two goals as reward for a performance of guile and cunning up front.

Jubilant 'Cappers player-manager Jones was delighted with the win "It just goes to show what a difference it makes getting a couple of breaks at this level. We got them today where we haven't in the past, and we've come away with a result."

A clearly under pressure Originals manager Muollo was quick to down play talk of a crisis in his squad "We've got a shield challenge next week. If we can win that, this result
will be confined to history very quickly. The lads know they've let themselves and the supporters down today, and that's all the motivation we'll need for next week." Muollo wouldn't be drawn into speculation that he's unhappy with the rumoured arrival of a director of football at the franchise. "That's a decision for the chairman to make. He's told me he has every confidence in what I'm doing. You can't ask for better support than that."

The Commissioner's Half Term Report

 We have reached the end of the first round of round-robin games and it is excellent to see that, like last year, we have a very even level of competition amongst the five teams. As expected, the overall standard has increased this season, with all teams taking the opportunity to open the chequebook and sign-up one or two Galacticos. Having said that, its great to see that the bulk of players continue to come from the 'mid-grades' and also very pleasing to see that many of these guys are matching it with their more illustrious team-mates and opponents.

It's also good to see that we seem to be establishing some excellent levels of sportsmanship and conduct in games without diminishing from the very competitive level at which the games are played. Credit to those team managers who have taken a leading hand in setting an example, and in so doing have made the referee's job much easier. And while we are on the subject of referees, many thanks to Gary Oosterbaan for his contribution to date - long may it continue!

The Coolmoves Shield has stirred only briefly into life, that being during the second defence against a desperately unlucky AndyCapped who were denied a victory by a late equalising goal from the holders. For the benefit of the neutral fans, here's hoping that Black Magic might slip-up at some time during the second round so the Shield can get back out into the provinces! Remember, the official holder of the Shield for the 2005/06 season will be the team that holds the shield at the end of the round-robin matches.

A feature of the games to date has been some stunning goals. Apologies to any I may miss, but early nominations for goal of the season are:

• Mike Jessett for Magic vs 'Cappers - immaculate technique on the half-volley from 15 yards. Glen Hoddle (and dad) would have been impressed!
• Paul Muollo for The Originals vs HHH - a curving left-footer that wouldn't have looked out of place in Serie A from the Island Bay legend.
• Brendan Gage for HHH vs Black Magic - an unstoppable effort. How much longer can The H's afford to leave Gage in defence?
• Sasa Lisovac for Massey Coolmoves vs HHH - a screaming, swerving left-footer. Is it Roberto Carlos in disguise?

So, long may the action continue. With the spring over and summer officially with us by this Saturday, hopefully we can kiss goodbye to the howling northerlies (and freezing southerlies) and look forward to some weather to match the action on the pitch.

And finally, it's probably a good time to remind everyone about the play-offs and how they work...

At the end of the round-robin, the top 4 teams will all still be in with a chance of lifting the Jessett Cup. However, for the teams finishing 3rd and 4th this will mean winning three consecutive games. Firstly, they must win the 3rd vs 4th play-off. The following week they must win the semi-final against the loser of the 1st vs 2nd play-off, and then they must win the Grand Final itself!

The advantage of finishing in the top two at the end of the round-robin is that if you lose the 1st vs 2nd play-off you get a second chance the following week, while if you are victorious you will progress directly to the final.

For the team that finishes bottom of the round-robin there is the opportunity to battle their way up to a respectable third-place through the play-offs. Conversely, teams that finish 3rd and 4th could still suffer the ignominy of finishing up with the Wooden Spoon if they have a disastrous run in the play-offs. And remember, all play-off games will be decided on penalties if scores are level at the end of normal time, so there is no time like the present to start practicing the spot-kicks!

Enjoy the rest of the season and I'll see you all up at the park soon.

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

For the second week in succession Massey Coolmoves gave a performance to belie the difficult conditions and in the process completely overwhelmed the Cappers. To their credit, the Cappers battled gamely to the end and they were rewarded with a late consolation goal, which as stand-in manager Andy Jessett was quick to point out “could still prove crucial in the final analysis.”

Massey gained the upper hand from the outset and it took a fine one-handed save from Corb Tate after just four minutes to keep the scores level. But on seventeen minutes Tate fell foul of the wicked northerly wind that battered the stadium all day. Lance Jensen hit an innocuous long-ball from inside his own half but under pressure from a persistent Massey centre-forward, Tate found himself punching fresh-air as the ball looped cruelly over his outstretched fist on the second bounce. One-nil to Massey. Jensen later claimed his “goal scoring instinct” had alerted him to the chance. Tate did his utmost to atone for the error with at least two fine saves before the interval.

The Cappers enjoyed their best period of the match in the final twenty minutes of the first half. Ricky Boyd twice went close, first being denied by an excellent save from Lisovac and then heading wide from a pin-point Murphy cross on the stroke of half-time. Their best chance went to the industrious Alan Mouncey on nineteen minutes, but in the Viagra “Play-of-the-Day” he shot limply wide with just the ‘keeper to beat.

After the break Massey took control of the game. Yet again they showed themselves to be the most effective team in the competition at playing into the wind. However, it took a set play to bring the decisive second goal. On fifty-eight minutes the Cappers failed to clear a corner and when the ball fell loose in the area, Neill Cannell was on hand to stab the ball over the line from no more than three yards out. In fact, the second half proved to be a Cannell benefit. Chasing the game the Cappers simply didn’t have the numbers at the back to deal with Massey’s swift counter-attacking and Cannell provided excellent finishes in the sixty-third and sixty-eighth minutes to round off his hat-trick. For the Cappers Joe Murphy provided a consolation goal from the penalty spot six minutes before the end.

Jessett conceded the better team had won on the day but expressed his disappointment with his team’s profligacy in front of goal early in the game. “It’s been the story of this franchise. We play some good football but we just don’t finish. I’m not saying we were on top, but fact is we had some golden opportunities to score in the first half, took none of them, and then had to chase the game late on. I’ve lost count of the number of times this team simply doesn’t turn its lead-up work into goals. It’s killing us, and it’s really annoying.”

Jessett refused to blame ‘keeper Tate for his part in Massey’s opening goal, saying only that “Corb has been a hero for this team more times than I can remember. I’m not interested in pointing the finger at him. It was a freak goal, just one of those things really.”

For Massey, manager Whiteman was typically down-beat “Yep, another good performance. But we aren’t at the business end of the season yet. I think some of the other teams will get better. We have to keep improving, and make sure we don’t peak too early.”

by Evan Lessidere, Football reporter, The Island Bay Times

Mount Albert Summer League history was made in the late game today as the Originals became the first team to successfully challenge for the Cool Moves Shield. Black Magic’s fifth shield defence ended in a not totally surprising defeat, given some of their less than convincing performances in earlier rounds of the competition.

The much awaited clash between last season’s Jessett Cup finalists failed to live up to the pre-match hype. Black Magic were missing a number of influential players, including Aryani, Smith and Mike Jessett and it wasn’t until late in the game that they were stirred into life.

Black Magic played with the strong wind at their backs in the first half but their sole attempt on goal was an ambitious thirty yard volley from Dave Da Vanzo that was comfortably saved by De Gregorio in the Originals goal. At the other end, some precise approach play from the Originals created a number of good chances. The first two fell to Dave Graham. Graham was first denied by a good save from ‘keeper Knight, while his second opening from an acute angle was blazed inches over the cross bar.

On twenty-three minutes the Originals had the lead. Paul Muollo intercepted a wayward Black Magic pass on halfway and made a strong run down the left hand touchline. He then delivered a telling cut back for Mike Gaeta to expertly side-foot home beyond Knight’s despairing dive.

The game was settled mid-way through the second half following two decisive moments. First, as Black Magic finally started to find some cohesion in their attacking play, player-manager Volpicelli was judged inches off-side as he found himself clear through on goal. Instead of finding themselves level, two minutes later Black Magic were two down and the game was as good as over. As the Originals broke into the Magic half, Wade De Graff lunged to intercept a cross field pass aimed for Gaeta. Although De Graff reached the ball, his contact was so precise that, from close to thirty yards out, it rocketed past a stunned ‘keeper Knight for surely one of the most bizarre own goals the competition is ever likely to witness.

Black Magic battled bravely to the end but there was little chance of pulling back the two goal deficit against a re-jigged Originals defence that was giving little away. Volpicelli came closest for the Magic when his header crashed against the Originals cross-bar with ten minutes remaining. Matt Kolic and Mike Musso also battled to the finish to create an opening but it wasn’t to be. The Shield was on its way to the Originals.

Volpicelli was gracious in defeat “I’m proud of my guys. We didn’t give up, and if we’d started as well as we finished, it may have been different. We’ve enjoyed a good run. But credit to the Originals, they deserved the win on the day.”

Originals player-manager Muollo was delighted with the turn-around following the previous week’s debacle against the AndyCapped “The thing for me was I knew where we went wrong last week. Too many guys were worrying about what other guys were doing. Today the emphasis was on every one doing their own job…and they did!” Asked how his players would be celebrating their Shield victory, Muollo replied to a somewhat puzzled media “With a few beers and a nice piece of blue vein I suspect.”

By Has N. Gottaklu, The Island Bay Times

A fresh controversy was stirring last night following reports that Summer League officials were “furious” with victorious Originals players for mocking the Coolmoves Shield. The slur first came to light when Originals defender Scott New was interviewed on the morning of the Originals’ successful challenge. In response to a question about how much it would mean to the players to win the Shield, New was said to have answered, “I don’t really know, I’ve never won a cheese-board before. Maybe you should ask my Granddad…I think he’s picked up a few down at the bowling club?”

New’s comments at least shed some light on manager Muollo’s throw away post-match remark that his players would be celebrating the victory “with a few beers and a nice piece of blue vein.” It seems the mimicking of the Shield had been gathering momentum throughout the day. When an opposing player went down injured during the match, instead of the normal “dive” jibes, a comedian on the Originals’ bench berated the injured opponent for “going down like he’d been hit with a block of Edam.”

A spokesman for Summer League confirmed that the administration did not see the humour in the players’ remarks “We’re working hard to raise the profile of the competition. The introduction of the Coolmoves Shield is an important part of our product. Sponsors don’t want to see it mocked. Besides, if it were a cheese-board, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been varnished.”

But the story is gathering its own momentum. A poll on a local prime-time television news broadcast showed that 57% of viewers believed the Shield looked “at least as much like a cheese-board as it did a sports trophy.”

Local businessman Rod Lawson who had tendered and won naming rights for the Shield was clearly not amused “It’s a f#*k’in Shield. I bought it ma’self. I’ll show yee’s the f#*k’in receipt if ya’ like. I don’t believe this! First the Heart’s get landed with the kiddie-tickler, and then this. Ma’ whole involvement in football is turn’in to sour f*#k’in custard!”

Shouldn’t that be mouldy cheese, Rodney?

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

In a tense, tight and thrilling encounter, AndyCapped prevailed by the slenderest of margins to take a vital three points and in the process condemn the HHH to the dreaded fifth spot.

The game started at a frenetic pace and within two minutes Tate had to make an excellent save from a Steve Gadd shot to stop HHH from taking an early lead. In an opening stanza of thrust and counter-thrust it was then Mickey Wray in goals for the H’s who saved well from a Phil Jones chip, then Justin Lester shooting just wide for HHH before Wray again denied Jones with a brave one on one save. Miraculously there was no score at half time, but not before a goal line clearance was required by the Cappers as they scrambled to clear a corner kick.

The second half commenced with a further string of action packed moments. Wray made the save of the season to divert a Paul Mouncey header over the bar before James Fairhall was Johnny-on-the-spot for the H’s to keep the scores level with a goal line clearance. On fifty minutes player-manager Lester played an exquisite through ball to send Gadd through on goal. As the temperature and tension was ramped up another notch, replays suggested that the Cappers had been fortunate to receive the benefit of a liberal interpretation of the slide-tackle rule as they scrambled to deny Gadd a clear sight on goal. Five minutes later the best chance of the match fell to Lester but on his weaker left foot he was unable to find the back of the net with the goal at his mercy. It was a cruel irony. Lester had led his depleted squad by example all day, a day when the summer had finally arrived at summer league!

As the game entered the last twenty minutes HHH finally seemed to be achieving some semblance of ascendancy that had eluded either team until that stage. Lester again had the chance to open the scoring, but on this occasion was denied by a miraculous double-save from the grounded Tate. As the Cappers became increasingly content to play the game on the counter, on seventy-two minutes the deadlock was finally broken. Phil Jones beat the H’s fragile offside trap, and while his effort on goal was denied by Wray, Ricky Boyd was on hand to slot the ball into the back of the net. With the advantage of the one crucial goal, the Cappers were able to safely see out the remaining few minutes to secure a tumultuous victory.

It had been a thrilling game, one that neither team had deserved to lose. Gordy Miller was outstanding in defence for the Cappers, while Paul Mouncey and Ricky Boyd played by far their best games of the season. Corb “Space Ranger” Tate in goal well and truly atoned for his howler the previous week against Massey.

For HHH, in addition to Lester, Wray in goal gave a performance reminiscent of some of his displays the previous season for the Originals. Also outstanding for the H’s were Tim Campbell in defence and James Fairhall who, like his manager, just seemed to be everywhere.

by Evan Lessidere, Football reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

In a match of considerably less excitement than the early game, defending champions Black Magic got their season back on track with a slightly surprising victory against run-away leaders, Massey Coolmoves. But there is no denying the Magic deserved the three points as they gave a far more disciplined and organised performance than their previous week’s Shield loss to the Originals.

Black Magic opened the scoring as early as the third minute when Martin Baker was allowed to head home a corner unchallenged by the Massey defence. Massey then struggled to find the fluency in their passing which had been so abundant in earlier rounds. On twenty-eight minutes they went further behind. Following a good save by Chapman, Matt Kolic was alert to the rebound and slotted home from two yards out. With nothing much going their way Massey received a lifeline when two minutes before the half-time interval, a Matt Whiteman shot from 15 yards was deflected past a helpless Gareth Knight in the Magic goal. The deficit was back to just one goal.

With their hard fought lead in the bank, Black Magic were happy to keep plenty of numbers behind the ball in the second half, and in so doing successfully stifle Massey’s attempts to draw level. In fact, the best chance of the second half fell to Volpicelli for the Magic, but despite cleverly beating the offside flag, he didn’t have the pace to outrun a scrambling defence and restore the Magic’s two goal advantage.

Despite the loss, Massey remain on course for one of the coveted top-two round-robin spots. For Black Magic, the season is back on track, and talk during the week that they appeared destined to spiral to the foot of the table now looks ludicrously ill founded.

Originals Press Release to The Island Bay Times

At a short, sharp press conference today, manager of The Originals, Paul Muollo responded angrily to accusations of slurring the reputation of the Shield. He claimed to have been misquoted and misrepresented out of context. The statement read:
"The Originals assure the Summer League Board that we have not defamed the Cool Moves Shield in any way. We are honoured to be the first challengers to have won the coveted Trophy and we intend to hold it for the remainder of the season. Any rumours of the team referring to the Shield as a Cheese Board are vehemently denied. We have the greatest respect for this great Shield and for the wonderful sponsor Cool Moves. After all, the CEO of Cool Moves is one of our team members. We also strenuously refute any rumours surrounding the selection of Rod Lawson in the Originals Team as being more to do with his sponsorship of the League rather than his silky Scottish skills."

By Has N. Gottaklu, The Island Bay Times

The ongoing saga of Cheesegate took yet another turn late today. After this morning's denials via a terse press release from Originals manager Paul Muollo, fresh evidence arrived at the offices of the Island Bay Times. This would appear to contradict the earlier press statement.

Muollo can expect to be called to appear in front of the Summer League disciplinary committee. The Commissioner is rumoured to be cooking up a special punishment for the wayward manager. When asked, Lye merely muttered something about a grater hurting a lot more to pull out than it would to push in.....

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

Paul Muollo’s remodelled Originals chalked up their second consecutive defensive shut-out and in so doing successfully defended the Coolmoves Shield. In a game of few clear chances a stunning strike by Alexei on thirty-three minutes proved to be the difference between the two teams.

HHH’s quest for a proven goal scorer has been well publicised in recent weeks. In a startling move to try and add some fire-power to an otherwise well-performing squad, HHH unveiled former player-manager Robbie Petrie as a short term loan signing.  Petrie, out-of-favour at European Champions Liverpool, gave a forty minute performance of typical guts and guile, but was provided with no real opportunity to etch his name onto the score sheet.

As the league breaks for Christmas, the Originals have now put themselves in a strong position to challenge for a top-two round-robin finish. On the other hand, HHH now face a near Herculean task to avoid the dreaded ‘trap-door’ (fifth place). The Hs must win at least one of their two remaining regular season games to have a mathematical chance of avoiding the ‘door’, although nothing short of two wins is likely to be enough to guarantee their long-term Jessett Cup survival.

By Evan Lessidere, Football reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

Black Magic turned in their most impressive forty minutes of the season to open up a commanding three-nil halftime lead and effectively wrap up the points before the Cappers had fired a shot in anger. A second half comeback from the Cappers proved to be little more than consolation.

Player-manager Volpicelli opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute when he fired home a Carlo Patagna cut-back. Patagna was credited with a second assist just three minutes later when he nodded on a corner, with Wade De Graff this time being the beneficiary from close range. Black Magic then killed-off the game on thirty-three minutes when Matthew Viliamu nodded-on a Guisseppe cross and Mike Jessett showed excellent technique on the volley to make a difficult chance look easy from eight yards.

Stern words at halftime from Cappers management had the desired effect. A much improved second half performance saw Paul Atkins notch an excellent individual goal, while a string of further chances went begging, and with it the chance to exert any real pressure on the Magic.

Now that the Black Magic cannot retain the Coolmoves Shield, they must concentrate on the Jessett Cup. They join a three horse race with Massey Coolmoves and the Originals for one of the coveted top-two spots. The Cappers will be left to look nervously over their shoulder in the hope that a resurgent HHH don’t push them into to the dreaded fifth spot.

Originals Manager Paul Muollo has lashed out at Johnny De Gregorio for appearing in goal for rivals Black Magic in the last round of matches before the Christmas break. The regular Black Magic goalkeeper, Gareth Knight, was unavailable and despite having a match day squad of 11 players, the Magic approached The Originals keeper for a one match loan performance. Had the Magic lost, The Originals would have moved above them in the table. Both have one match remaining against easier opposition and in addition, the Originals have to face strong opponents in the Massey Coolmoves. With The Originals slightly behind in the race for one of the coveted top two spots and therefore the fast track route into the Grand Final, Muollo was unhappy to find a key player happily defecting - comparing it to Peter Cech agreeing to help out Manchester United in a Premiership fixture.
"If the Magic had been forced to play without their regular keeper, as the Massey Coolmoves team have done several times this season, and lost we would have gone into our final two games with the advantage for the second major semi-final spot. Now, we go into the final couple of rounds needing to take points from the ascendant Massey team in order to take that spot. I can't believe Johnny was that gullible. I'm fining him two weeks wages."

There have been two official loan signings this season. As well as Johnny De Gregorio coming to the aid of close rivals, the Black Magic, Alexei Garrow played for AndyCapped against Massey Coolmoves when the Cappers already had 10 players. There was also one unofficial loan transfer, with AndyCapped lending Corb Tate to The Originals for their week one fixture against Black Magic. The Originals had 11 other players on the day and failed to declare Tate as part of their line-up. The cloak and dagger nature of this assignation has never been explained. [This appearance has now been recognised within the official league stats]

As yet, only the Massey Coolmoves and HHH United are untainted by this new form of corruption. However, inspired by the underhanded nature of such transactions, sources close to the troubled HHH manager Justin Lester say that he is planning a daring move of his own. With the HHH squad having been reduced to bare bones for several games this season, further shortages expected in January and dire goal scoring problems, Lester is about to swoop for one match loan signings of Massey Coolmoves hot shots, Neil Cannell and Lance Jensen. Triple H sources say, "We play Black Magic next. Given that the Massey boys would love us to beat them, thus virtually clinching Massey's major semi-final spot, it would be a win-win arrangement. Plus Neil and Lance would gain personally from an additional chance to extend their leads in the race for the golden boot. With it being in their team and individual interests, we wouldn't have to resort to attempting to confuse them with tricky logic in the way that Tony Volpicelli did when conning poor Johnny into hurting his own team!"

by Has N. Gottaklu, chief Football Editor. The Island Bay Times

A record 7-2 defeat for the Originals saw their short tenure as shield holders brought to an abrupt and humiliating end. For Massey Coolmoves, the new shield-holders, it was an emphatic return to form. It also means they need only defend the shield once, their final round-robin fixture against HHH, to be confirmed as the official shield holders for the 2006 Summer League season.

The Originals were missing the very experienced duo of Paul Muollo and Mike Gaeta. Massey rolled-out a strong line-up, including chief playmaker Pete Spelman. Spelman's pre-Christmas form had been relatively subdued, but on this occasion he controlled the game from start to finish with a performance which bodes ominously well for Massey with the play-offs now just two weeks away.

Much to the absent Muollo's dismay the Originals fielded a brave 3-3-2 formation. It was their first and perhaps most critical mistake. Massey overwhelmed the shield holders and it was no surprise when they went in front after fifteen minutes. By halftime they were 4-nil up and the game was over as a contest. The Originals made some belated formation changes at the break, but within thirty seconds of the re-start a speculative long-range drive by Adrian Winter squirmed under the despairing De Gregorio in the Originals’ goal to make it 5-nil. Finally some consolation for the Originals arrived when Du Plessis pulled a goal back from an acute angle on fifty-four minutes. As the game stretched, Lemming completed his hat-trick for Massey, then Spelman notched his second. Only some wayward finishing stopped the score blowing out past the already staggering seven. Ryan Du Plessis tapped in a second face-saving effort for the Originals moments before the finish, but it wasn't enough to stop Massey taking all the much-deserved plaudits.

Massey manager Whiteman was delighted with his team’s performance, but a little puzzled with the ease at which his team had strode to victory. "Yeah, I'm sure they're shocked. We were geared up for a tough game today. It was hot, the pitch was like concrete, I wasn't necessarily expecting great things from the lads today. But hey, they pulled out a blinder. I just hope we haven't peaked too earlier. The big games are still to come."

Originals spokesman Lye then entered the realms of fantasy football with his assessment "Look, in between the goals I thought it was quite even. Apart from the ones he pulled out of the net, I don't think our 'keeper made a save. As for our striker, he'll not see better service than that all season - every time I looked up he had the ball at his feet on the centre-circle!"

By Evan Lessidere, Football correspondent, The Island Bay Times

In blustery, wet conditions both teams adapted themselves well to produce an entertaining game of football that finally went the way of the defending champs thanks to two fourth-quarter goals.

HHH played with the wind at their back in the first half and despite controlling possession well for long periods, were unable to deliver a decisive pass to open up the Black Magic defence. In fact Black Magic had the only real sight on goal in the first half with two opportunities coming in quick succession. First a Carlo Petagna cross found Dave Da Vanzo unmarked at the back post, but his effort was scrambled clear by the H’s defence. From the resulting corner Matt Kolic flashed a snap-volley over the bar from no more than two yards.

Into the second half and HHH continued to try and play a passing game. On fifty-five minutes they won a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the Magic area. Perhaps some over elaborate play was to blame, as they failed to convert the free kick into a clear shooting opportunity and their last clear chance of the match had gone.
 
On fifty-eight minutes the best move of the match so far saw Black Magic work the ball well down the right hand flank before feeding Wade De Graff on the edge of the area but his shot went fizzing inches over the bar.

With a scoreless draw beckoning Black Magic broke the deadlock with eleven minutes remaining. Not surprisingly Mike Jessett was at the centre of the move. Jessett had mastered the difficult conditions better than anyone and after controlling the ball wide on the right he lobbed a seemingly harmless yet quite deliberate ball to the back post for Carlo Petagna to head home from close range. With just a minute left to play Matt Kolic added a second when he reacted quickest to a loose ball in the area.

The win guarantees Black Magic a top-two finish. HHH must produce a minor miracle to pip AndyCapped for fourth position and remain in contention for the Jessett Cup. Mind you, with their final pool match being a shield challenge, HHH have the opportunity to yet finish the season on a high.

Stop Press: Tim Campbell, HHH defender who went off injured in the 60th minute, has been diagnosed with two fractured metatarsals in his foot.

by View From The End, Junior Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

With neither team having their regular goalkeepers available, both turned to loan signings to see their way through the game;  AndyCapped called up Black Magic regular, Gareth Knight; The Originals turned to the man they lost to HHH United at the end of last season, Michael Wray.

Whilst Wray become the first player to achieve clean sheets for two different teams on November 12, both Wray and Knight become the first players to achieve clean sheets for two different teams in the same season. Coming in to this game, Knight had previously picked up two clean sheets with Black Magic this season. Wray had one for HHH in addition to one for The Originals last season – ironically against current team HHH.

Whether the loan signings can take full credit for negotiating the first ever scoreless game in league history is debatable. The strikers for both teams were culpable in allowing the net to go untouched. There were several situations where it looked easier to score than to either miss or allow the keeper to make a stop.

For AndyCapped, an under hit pass from Wray to Lye in the first period presented Monty Masseurs with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock. Masseurs was able to force Wray to commit early but, with the keeper down, could only hit it at him. The effort ricocheted back to Masseurs, whose next effort was parried by Wray’s outstretched hand. Masseur picked up the rebound and shot it into the grateful keeper’s arms.....

In the second period, AndyCapped target man Phil Jones also had a great opportunity. Picking up a cross, he evaded Wray’s challenge, but turned and hit the shot within easy reach of the outstretched keeper.

Karl Romijn came on for The Originals and livened up their attack. The Os have certainly missed his dribbling ability this season and Muollo must surely be asked to explain his delayed selection. Karl’s forays down the right, with great link-up play with father Marty, gave The Originals more options. With Andrew Moraes having a great game just in front of the backline, showing tremendous energy in stamping out the Originals going forward and returning the ball to maintain the Cappers pressure, Karl’s introduction provided the Os with the tonic they needed.

AndyCapped had only two chances of note in the second half. Paul Muollo was caught in possession on the edge of his own area and Wray had to be quick to close down the ensuing opportunity. The next chance required a double intervention, one each from Wray and Lye. Wray parried the first shot from Phil Jones, but only an athletic lunge from Lye prevented Gordon Miller’s follow-up shot from entering the net.

In the second half, most of the scoring opportunities came the way of The Originals and Gareth Knight was forced to earn his pay. He made several outstanding stops to keep the Cappers on level terms, including one particularly acrobatic save.

However, the Os were criminal in failing to convert several open chances. At one stage, Peter Lye was heard to ask incredulously, “How many goals have you scored this season?” as top scorer Ryan Du Plessis squandered yet another chance.

Ultimately, the result meant little to The Originals, whose place in the table was already fixed. For AndyCapped the point gained removed any chance of being caught by the Hs and avoiding defeat was a bigger priority than gaining the win.

These two meet up again next week in the minor quarterfinal and it will be interesting to see whether the weight of the season’s fate will provide greater incentive in front of goal.

by View From The End, Junior Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

The match to decide the winners of the 2005/06 Coolmoves Shield was, appropriately enough, the final match of the 2005/06 regular season. There were to be no upsets however, as the form book more than dictated the ebb and flow of the game.

HHH United came into the game knowing that they had been eliminated from contention for the Jessett Cup. The Coolmoves Shield represented their last chance of silverware. However, four consecutive defeats with no goals to their credit, the absence of player/manager Justin Lester, the loss to injury of defender Tim Campbell with a broken foot sustained in the loss to Black Magic and a barebones squad of just 9 did not bode well. Temporary defender Andy Poole was awarded full squad status, to make his second game, and caretaker manager Brendan Gage decided to play himself up in a more forward position than normal in an effort to add some life to a limp attack. Gage is second in the all-time Triple H scoring charts, so the move seemed to be a fair one. Rumours that prolific winter striker Randall might be ready to return from his broken foot, incurred just before the Summer League started this season, proved unfounded. However, Joss Opie was recalled for his comeback and played in his first match for nearly a year.

In contrast, Massey Coolmoves came into the game fielding the same squad that had destroyed The Originals the week before, plus the addition of their returning top scorer Neil Cannell. For some reason, Sasa Lisovac was wearing the "headband of power" in an effort to intimidate the Triple H strike force.

The early exchanges were quite even, but with the winds at their backs Massey were enjoying the greater amount of possession. As is their style, they were moving the ball around fluently, running off the ball smartly and putting pressure on the Triple H defence.

In the 17th minute, some smart play down the left produced the first serious scoring opportunity of the game. The ball was switched to the unmarked Mark Leeming who, with Andy Poole and Brendan Gage closing rapidly, struck a well hit shot past Wray for the opening goal of the game.

The second of the game came from an almost identical spot 20 minutes later. This time Lance Jensen scored his 6th of the season with a daisy cutter of a shot that eluded Wray's dive by mere inches. It would be fair to say that the Triple H heads dropped somewhat at this stage...

In the 49th minute, Massey extended their lead further. Mark Leeming burst through to take possession of the ball just inside the Triple H area. Wray was able to get a hand on to the resulting shot but, somewhat luckily for Leeming, its power took it on off the post

Four minutes later, A deep cross eluded everybody, falling for two unmarked Massey players at the far post. One of these was Adrian Winter, whose downward header earned him his second goal in as many games. Wray's collision with a Massey forward was hopefully put forward as a foul on the keeper, but referee Lye was not impressed. Wray backed Lye after the game stating that, whilst the collision was somewhat painful, he did not believe it to have been a foul and was more of a result of his own failure to deal with the initial cross.

As the second half progressed, Massey were dominating most facets of the game and it took a while for the Hs to re-assert any semblance of a presence into the game. James Fairhall came closest to ending the Triple H goal drought, forcing a smart save and earning a corner, with a ferocious strike from 20 yards out. Andy Poole also had a good opportunity from a great through pass. However, controlling the ball took him away from goal, allowing a Massey defender to close him down and the resulting shot went high and wide.

Neil Cannell added one more goal in the 64th minute, to reclaim his lead at the top of the golden boot race from compatriot Lance Jensen.

P

by View From the Side, Junior Sports Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

The 2005/06 season playoffs opened up with a league first - a penalty shootout - from the combatants that brought us a league first in last week's scoreless draw.

Both sides fielded changed line-ups from previous weeks. AndyCapped's absences from first team regulars Phil Jones, Sam Hyde and Andrew Moraes were partly compensated by the return of Alan Mouncey, Paul Mouncey, Paul Atkins and Ben Parsons. In Corb Tate's continued absence, Black Magic keeper Gareth Knight made another loan appearance - despite the promised restrictions on player playoffs eligibility in the tournament regulations. [For the record, the regulations regarding player eligibility stipulated that all loan signings or appearances by non-regular players in the play-offs be cleared by me in advance. I can confirm that for last Sunday all necessary clearances had been requested and approved. The only thing I want to avoid with loan/short-term signings are teams deliberately trying to strengthen their teams beyond the level they would be at had all their regular players been available - The Commissioner.] The Originals brought back Alexei Garrow, Dave Graham, Michael De Gregorio and welcomed back Johnny De Gregorio from his holidays, so last week's loan and temporary signings were no longer required. League, Shield, Massey sponsor and Originals stalwart Rod Lawson was a notable absence. Problems with Lawson's injury, originally incurred in the opening match of the 2005 winter season, forced him to the sidelines. With a loose screw in the metalwork of his arm (spawning several punch line possibilities) and a bone transfusion required from his hip to replace damaged arm tissue, his absence is expected to last into the forthcoming winter season.

The opening quarter of the match provided few open chances. AndyCapped were probably the more dominant of the two teams, with the big man Chris "Frendasams" clearing up most of the Originals' forward forays. The clearest cut chance did come the way of the Originals however, as Gareth Knight pushed a Dave Graham header onto the underside of the bar. Fortunately for the Cappers, the ball bounced down and away.

Going into the second quarter, the match swung clearly into the favour of the Originals. Lee Westlake moved further forward, to join Karl Romijn and Ryan Du Plessis in attack and the trio ran the AndyCapped defence ragged. Their threatening crosses proved quite troublesome, with Dave Graham running forward to get on the end of as many balls as Chris would allow. AndyCapped did have some chances, most notably when a misplaced ball from defender Scott New presented Ricky Boyd with a golden chance, but the rock star was unable to convert. Ryan Du Plessis squandered the best chance of the game so far, when he was sent through to a one-on-one with Knight. With a defender desperately tracking back to add pressure on the Originals top scorer of the season, Du Plessis snatched his shot wide without Knight having to save.

The deadlock was broken when Karl Romijn placed an out-swinging corner to the edge of the area for Du Plessis to head on. From Du Plessis' header, Graham headed the ball into the danger area, where Maarty Romijn headed it past Knight. The ball deflected in from Ricky Boyd and could possibly have been ruled an own goal. However the league's dubious goals committee have ruled that  Maarty's header was goal bound before the deflection and he is awarded his first Summer League goal.

Despite the Originals dominating, AndyCapped should have closed the half on level terms. A Paul Atkins effort was blocked by Johnny De Gregorio and deflected into the path of Ricky Boyd in the middle of the penalty area. With an open goal at his mercy, it appeared certain that AndyCapped's all-time leading scorer would add to his tally. However, Boyd failed to connect cleanly, merely scuffing the surface of the ball as he virtually missed it with his kick, allowing Johnny De Gregorio to clean up without pressure. Joe Murphy also went close just before the interval. He dribbled through the Originals defence, forcing Johnny to go down to save at close range.

In to the second half, AndyCapped came out the more fired up. Steven Jones and Joe Murphy were running the midfield and looking the more likely to produce a goal. AndyCapped were clearly the better team of the third quarter.

Steven Jones claimed the AndyCapped equaliser, taking advantage of confusion in the Originals defence to set-up a one-on-one with Johnny De Gregorio. Jones grabbed his second of the season, putting the ball low to the left of the outstretched keeper.

This seemed to wake-up the slumbering Originals. Then controversy, as Dave Graham incurred the first sin-bin of the season; the first since Robbie Petrie's dismissal for HHH in 2004/05. Graham ran through to pounce on a loose ball, just outside the AndyCapped area. He would have been clean through, had it not been for a clumsy challenge from Paul Akins, which sent Graham to ground. Referee Lye took a long look, before waving play on. Graham was incensed and his state of mind was not helped by Atkins telling the fiery player to "lose some weight and gain some coordination." Unable to let the incident go, Graham continually hounded Lye about it over the next few minutes and was eventually dismissed for the remainder of the quarter.

The final quarter saw the Originals press more and more. They started the quarter playing counter-attacking football and ended it in outright attack. Karl Romijn and Du Plessis were the architects of most chances, with Karl forcing several stops from Knight in goal.

Eventually the game was halted in stalemate and the league's first penalty shootout ensued. The Originals elected to kick first and Paul Muollo started the proceedings. His kick went cleanly into the top left corner.

Joe Murphy stepped up to take the first AndyCapped kick. Unfortunately, his kick went high and wide as he ballooned it to the right. Reminiscent of Beckham's spot kick against Portugal in Euro2004, it was of more threat to the inhabitants of Nelson than it was to Johnny De Gregorio's goal!

Scott New gave the Originals a 2-0 advantage by slotting his kick in low and to the right. Chris Frendasams brought AndyCapped back into it, but was relieved as his kick only went in off the left post. Karl Romijn stepped up to take the third kick for the Originals. Despite looking nervous on his run-up, he made it 3-1. His kick went just left of centre at a height normally preferred by keepers, so Knight's committed dive to the opposite corner was fortuitous. Steven Jones was charged with the responsibility of the third AndyCapped kick. He attempted an audacious chip over the keeper.

Had this been a full-size goal, he would have been rewarded, but the Summer League's three-quarter size goal proved a couple of inches too short. The ball looped up and came agonisingly down on to the cross bar in virtual slow motion and bounced safely clear. With the shootout poised at 3-1, Ryan Du Plessis stepped up knowing that a successful kick would win a major semi-final berth. Gareth Knight correctly went down to the right but, despite getting a hand to the ball, was unable to prevent the winning goal.

by View From the Side, Junior Sports Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

The current Jessett Cup holders versus the Coolmoves Shield holders would provide the first of the 2005/06 Grand Final participants. Whilst the loser of this game, courtesy of their round robin seeding, would benefit from a second opportunity to qualify for the Grand Final, both teams were keen to make it at the first attempt.

Massey Coolmoves came into the game missing Adrian Winter and Sasa Lisovac, bringing back Kane Chapman to compensate. Earlier fears about the unavailability of influential midfielder Peter Spelman proved unfounded. Manager Matt Whiteman would not confirm whether Lisovac had been suspended for headband related infringements, but the previous week's "fashion statement" was worthy of punitive measures .

Black Magic were without vocal leader Antony Volpicelli, so George Aranyi stepped in to fill the void. Whilst Volpicelli had not played in their previous fixture, he had been on the sidelines and this total absence was a first this season. Steve Hughes also replaced Martin Baker for his second appearance.

The game was a tight encounter, with little to interest the neutral observer until the fourth quarter. Most of the match was contested in the middle of the pitch and the opportunities earned by each side were half chances of no concern to either keeper.

The first noteworthy chance came from a mistake by the normally dependable Peter Spelman. He was caught in possession just outside his area by Dave Da Vanzo who, with Matt Kolic free in a more favourable position, shot wide. A few minutes later, Spelman burst through to chase a lob down the middle. He just beat Gareth Knight to the ball, but could only knock the ball over. Knight did well to close down the opportunity but collided awkwardly with the Massey midfielder in the process. Fortunately, Knight recovered from the incident after a few minutes.

For the second time of the day, controversy came and produced a sin-bin incident. Off the ball, Matt Kolic tangled with Massey Coolmoves keeper Scott Helson. Kolic was thrown to the ground in an incident missed by referee Peter Lye. Whether the diminutive Black Magic forward had been indulging in his customary provocative trash talk was not clear, but little sympathy was heard on the sidelines. Helson attempted to act the innocent with a shrug of his shoulders and was lucky to escape punishment. Enraged by the lack of official intervention, Kolic retaliated by kicking into the back of an unidentified Massey player's legs with a late challenge in midfield. Peter Lye immediately ordered Kolic off to the sin bin to cool down for the remainder of the quarter.

Black Magic's first real chance came in the second quarter, Bryan Murray forcing a Helson save with a volley from the edge of the area. Shortly after, Mark Leeming turned his marker, Mike Musso, to set himself up with a promising opportunity. Leeming placed his shot within easy reach of Knight to waste what could have been the best chance to break the deadlock of the first half.

The third quarter produced the same series of half and wasted chances. George Aranyi was the next culprit. Massey defender Cliff Young lost concentration and passed directly to the Magic forward. Aranyi elected to shoot first time, pushing the ball easily wide, when he could have taken more time to produce a more worthwhile effort. Young did attempt to atone for his error a few minutes later, forcing Knight to push a long range effort wide for a corner.

With the forwards misfiring, it was eventually a defender who stepped up to break the deadlock. Massey ever-present Glen McCarty collected the ball about five yards outside the Magic area. With tight control of the ball, he took it around a couple of Magic defenders and into the area before striking it low into the left corner past the outstretched Gareth Knight.

This caused the 4th quarter of the game to come to life. Finally, we had a game worth watching, even if most of the spectators had already given up and gone home. Matt Whiteman pushed forward down the left, getting on the end of several deep crosses. George Aranyi won himself a good chance, tussling with Todd Nicholson to win the ball and beat his man, but saw his shot desperately blocked by the Massey defence. Mark Leeming should have put the game away for Massey on a counter attack. Rushing down the left and clean through, he took the ball deep into the area, but struck it powerfully against the post instead of testing Knight.

As the fourth quarter went on and Massey had withstood the Black Magic attack, Massey found themselves dominating possession. They were the ones pushing for the killer goal, mounting wave after wave of attack.

When Lye blew for the final whistle, Massey had just about earned the victory. Leeming and McCarty had produced the clearest scoring chances, even if Leeming had missed his. However, the game could have gone either way and we could easily have seen the second penalty shoot out of the afternoon if Black Magic had benefited from a little more luck in front of goal.

by Has N. Gottaklu, Chief Sports Editor, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

The battle to avoid the distinction of officially finishing last in the 2006 Summer League was a typically tight affair between these two old rivals. There was plenty of endeavour from both teams, but in search of a winning goal both were blighted by a combination of average finishing and sheer bad luck – as they had been throughout much of the season!

That the ‘Cappers should prevail in the penalty shoot-out was justice given their performances throughout the season and was some consolation given they were eliminated from the battle for the Jessett Cup in the same manner the previous week. For HHH – the Crazy Gang of the local soccer scene – this was yet another whole-hearted performance, a characteristic that has made them favourites among the summer leagues neutral supporters (numbered one and counting…Reido. Or is that two? That looked like a HHH replica shirt that ‘Er Indoors was wearing Sunday!?).

In a tight game, the best chance of the first half fell to ‘Cappers stand-in player manager Andy Jessett, but with the goal at his mercy he could only rattle the bar from seven yards. The second half saw play open up at both ends. For the third quarter HHH gained some ascendancy that neither team enjoyed at any other stage of the match. Jim Jessep forged their best chance, but after a dazzling run took him through the heart of the ‘Cappers defence he couldn’t find the shot to beat stand-in ‘keeper Knight.

Rather than cast unwarranted attention on the victims of the penalty shoot-out (but selected images are below), perhaps the final paragraphs are best given over to recognizing some of the contributions throughout the season from both camps.

For the ‘Cappers Gordy Miller in the centre of defence has been an incredibly consistent and effective performer. What's more, it's difficult to think of a player throughout the competition who better embodies the spirit of the Summer League – totally committed yet fair and uncomplaining almost to a fault, in the humble opinion of this hack, Miller has set the standard to which all others in the competition should well aspire. Other top performers for the ‘Cappers have been Joe Murphy and the veteran Andy Jessett, who has finely shaken off a horror run of injuries to show what he is capable of on the pitch. The ‘Cappers are indebted to several excellent “imports”, most notably Steve Jones and Paul Atkins who provided the team with some genuine class in addition to sound advice.

For HHH it is almost inappropriate to single out individuals amongst a squad so committed to the concept of ‘team’. But Steve Gadd – the 2005 Player of the Season – played with distinction from the first game until the last. Lester and Jessep also showed themselves to be amongst the top bracket of summer league performers. Mickey Wray performed several heroic feats in goal and Brendan Gage, despite never perfecting the offside trap, gave some classy performances at centre-back. Perhaps most encouraging for HHH was the development of some of their academy players, while amongst the old hands Middlemiss, Rendall, Fairhall and Crack all performed with distinction. At the end of the day though, the quality and commitment across the rest of the pitch just couldn’t quite make up for that  one vital missing ingredient – a goal scorer.

Best of luck to the ‘Cappers in the 3rd place play-off, and best of luck to both teams for the coming winter league.

by View From the Side, Junior Sports Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

Having sneaked through to the semi-final by a penalty shootout and winless since December, The Originals went into this game knowing that they were the clear underdogs.  Muollo put forward a team with few changes from the previous week. Darren Goggin and Mike Gaeta returned to the line-up and out went Michael De Gregorio. Black Magic dropped Mike Musso and Paul Griffin, but welcomed back Antony Volpicelli for his first outing since 17 December.

The first quarter saw The Originals, playing with the wind, enjoy most of the possession. However, Black Magic believe in packing their defence and the Os were unable to achieve much penetration. Black Magic made better use of the ball and created more goal scoring opportunities.

The first chance came when a Mike Jessett through ball found George Aranyi in a forward position. Aranyi's low shot was well struck, but Johnny De Gregorio got down to save. The ball deflected for Matt Kolic who, with the goal at his mercy, blazed the ball wildly over the bar.  A few minutes later, an Aranyi long ball beat De Gregorio to present Kolic with another opportunity. However, the Magic striker dallied on the ball and allowed Gregorio to recover and intercept a weak shot. Gregorio was unable to collect cleanly and dropped the ball on to his own foot, from which it ricocheted into a defender. Before Black Magic could capitalise on the chaos, an Os defender finally hoofed the loose ball away from danger. The only Originals opportunity worth mentioning came from a Ryan Du Plessis freekick, which Dave Graham, standing at the far post, hit wide.

Into the second quarter, Dave Da Vanzo caught Paul Muollo in possession a few yards outside of the Originals' penalty area. Da Vanzo threaded the ball through to Matt Kolic, who shook off Du Plessis and tried to lob the ball past the on-rushing De Gregorio. Johnny was able to get a hand onto the ball to tip it over for a corner.

Shortly after, Du Plessis mis-executed a chest down of the ball. It span off to Kolic, who knocked it into the path of Aranyi running in from the left. Aranyi took the shot early, putting the ball harmlessly over.

In an attempt to atone for his earlier error, Paul Muollo exchanged a one-two with Maarty Romijn to set-up a shooting chance, but saw it go narrowly over. Lee Westlake then started and ended a nice move. He started by feeding Karl Romijn. The youngest Original executed several step-overs before sending the ball to Gaeta who rolled it back for Westlake. However, his goal bound shot was deflected away for a corner.

As the half drew to a goalless end, Mike Jessett came the closest to breaking the deadlock. His direct free kick from just outside the area went around the wall, forcing a fine save from De Gregorio with a stretching dive across to push wide.

With the second half still in its infancy, Dave Da Vanzo broke the deadlock with his first goal of the season. He received the ball from Wade De Graff just inside the opposition half and struck a wicked low shot from long range. It took De Gregorio by surprise and despite scrambling desperately down to his left, he could not prevent Black Magic from taking the lead.

A mere six minutes later, the Originals restored parity. Dave Graham hovered unmarked near back post on the left, as Darren Goggin hit the ball over from the right. It beat the keeper and Graham had lots of time to finish the move. Almost too much time. He admitted afterwards that he was talking to himself whilst lining up his shot, "don't cock it up!" The effort cost him his place; he picked up a calf injury as a result. He claimed not to have even seen his shot cross the line, going down in pain as soon as he'd struck the ball, although the photos suggest he watched it in all the way.

The fourth quarter then saw the game produce as many chances as the previous three combined, with the Originals enjoying the majority and Mike Gaeta playing a prominent role. Paul Muollo broke down the left to supply Mike Gaeta. He knocked it on for Alexei Garrow, who stepped inside to shoot. The lack of power behind the effort enabled Knight to take it easily. Then Alexei took the ball down the left and slipped it inside to Gaeta. The Originals danger man turned and shot to the left, drawing a good block from Knight. Later, a Maarty Romijn flick-on from a header was miss-hit by Magic defender Brian Murray. Karl Romijn collected the ball and unleashed a terrific shot that only just went over. Next Du Plessis played a ball through to Gaeta who, with the defender going to ground, let fire a shot that rebounded from the post. He shot again, but Knight recovered to make the save. Westlake then dispossessed Steve Hughes inside the Magic area. With Gaeta unmarked, Westlake elected to shoot himself but drove the ball easily into Knight.

With Black Magic having weathered the storm up to the 80 minute mark, Lye brought the game to a close for yet another penalty shootout.

The Originals went to the penalty spot first. As with the previous week's shootout, Paul Muollo opened proceedings and his low shot to the left beat Knight. Wade De Graaf levelled for Black Magic with a low strike to the left. Scott New went second for the Originals, but his shot hit the bar, bounced down and went clear without crossing the line. Steve Hughes eschewed the opportunity to give Black Magic the lead. His shot went to the left, but was at a nice height and De Gregorio produced a good save to palm it away.

Karl Romijn stepped up and confidently put away a well struck effort placed nicely just inside the left post.

Tony Volpicelli scored with an accurate shoulder height shot just inside the right post, after a stuttering, hip-swivelling run-up. Du Plessis again produced a successful low strike to the left. Dave Da Vanzo restored parity with a shot low to the left, which De Gregorio got a hand on. The power behind the shot took it into the net anyway. Westlake took the fifth penalty for the Originals, electing to shoot without a run up. He hit it low and to the right, but the lack of power meant that Knight stopped it comfortably, with good reactions allowing him to get a whole hand behind it.

So George Aranyi stepped up knowing that a successful kick would win the game. However, in almost identical fashion to the Hughes' penalty, De Gregorio produced a good save. Poised at 3-3, the shootout then went to sudden death. Mike Gaeta's successful kick (low, left) put the pressure on Kolic, who responded with a goal (high, right). Maarty Romijn's kick produced a moment of confusion; struck low left with tremendous power, it hit the back upright and came straight back out. From in front of the goal, it appeared to hit the post, but Lye was perfectly placed to see the ball's true flight in and out of the net. Carlo Petagna's penalty went almost dead centre, but De Gregorio's committed dive to the left saved his blushes. Darren Goggin hit a soft penalty to the right. On another day, Knight might have stopped it. He got a touch to the ball, but not enough to deflect it clear. Mike Jessett brought us level again with a waist height shot to the right. After 8 penalties, we were deadlocked at 6-6. League regulations only require 8 takers from each team, so for the 9th penalty each manager was allowed to turn back to their first choice takers. Fittingly, each manager stepped up for his own team. Paul Muollo changed his routine and put the ball in low right. Reading his intentions, Knight guessed correctly and again got a hand to the ball. However, the ball again found its way in regardless. Tony Volpicelli stepped up for the Magic. He again produced his Elvis-like gyrations in the run-up, but his penalty was aimed for the same high right spot as before.

Gregorio, apparently remembering the previous penalty, refused to commit and instead stood up to the right, flinging up a hand. The finest of touches was enough to deflect the ball onto the post and win The Originals a Grand Final berth 7-6 on penalties.

Following the recurrence of his arm injury, all-round sponsor (league, shield and Massey) Rod Lawson is said to be exploring new career opportunities.

After Graham Rix signed 11 new players for Hearts in an attempt to reignite their title challenge, Lawson had his heart (geddit?) set on a move home to Tynecastle. Originals manager, Paul Muollo, had confirmed that he would not stand in the way of the stalwart defender. However, when Lawson failed the medical amidst rumours of hip replacement operations, his dreams were dashed.

Then came a call from Vladimar Romanov offering his hopes a new lifeline. It wasn't quite the role replacing Robbie Neilson that Rod would have most liked, but it was a guarantee of being fielded every game. Well. Every home game. At half time. Entertaining the crowd. By dancing. In a burgundy-purple leotard. And a cerise tutu.

We hope to gain access to the dress rehearsal pictures in due course, but in the meantime, we can bring you exclusive pictures from Rod's try outs.

Originals - Grand Final Team News Leak

The Originals are playing for a 0-0 draw and are very confident of winning a penalty shootout. Again. The Originals are having a training session on Thursday night which is said to consist of penalty taking only; all media have been banned from attending.

They are also targeting Massey midfield maestro Peter Spelman. It is rumoured Rod 'Two Left Feet Dancing Queen' Lawson, who has been banned from playing by his Doctors, will make a brief appearance in an attempt to kick Spelman off the park. Dave 'Psycho' Graham was to be given the task, but unfortunately his application for day leave from Mt Crawford was declined.

The Originals will stick with their solitary striker Mike 'fugedabowdit' Gaeta, supported on the flanks by Karl 'Step Over' Romijn and Darren 'Benson' Goggin with Lee 'Twinkle Toes' Westlake playing the defensive midfield role. With Maarten 'Roadrunner' Romijn filling the other central midfield role, the Originals will have no trouble outrunning their Massey opponents. Scott New has taken up a Lumber Jack job in Canada, so his place will be taken by South African Ryan 'I'm an Alcoholic' Du Plessis, who has promised to be sober for this game. Peter 'Chinaman' Chung and Alexei 'I'm not Russian' Garrow rounding out the cosmopolitan defence. In goal is the ever reliable rugby convert Johnny  'Vampire' De Gregorio - so called because of his dislike of crosses. The Originals bench is likely to be Paul 'Marauding' Muollo, so named because he is never in position, and Peter 'Stevie Wonder' Lye along with his seeing eye dog.

by View from the End, Junior Sports Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

With Black Magic recalling on-loan keeper Gareth Knight for this match, AndyCapped were not only facing their own keeper from the last 3 matches, but found themselves with a keeper crisis to solve. Regular stopper Corb Tate's failure to return from leave has thrown the post-festive part of their season into disarray. With HHH United's season already closed, courtesy of a penalty shoot-out loss to the Cappers themselves, Michael Wray agreed to a loan deal to play his first fixture for the men in yellow.

The history between these two clubs is tilted decidedly in favour of Black Magic and this game was to be no different. From the first minute, the Cappers found themselves behind. Chris, the big central defender, produced an Enckleman moment. Five yards outside his own area, Chris went to trap a harmless ball before clearing it. However, he allowed the ball to pass under his foot as Matt Kolic closed in. This left Michael Wray, near the edge of the area, somewhat stranded. He came out to close the forward, who skilfully lobbed the ball over the keeper's head. Wray stretched up and tipped the ball away with his fingertips. This left Wray and Kolic in a race for the loose ball, which Kolic won to tap in to the empty net. This was probably just as well, with Lye playing advantage for Wray's handball, the keeper could have been red carded for denying an obviously goal-scoring opportunity. The keeper admitted afterwards that he was not sure whether he was outside of the area when he had attempted the save. Whilst there are a number of goals without recorded times, this is undoubtedly the fastest goal in Summer League history.

AndyCapped were nearly looking for a fourth keeper after a collision between Wray and Aranyi near the end of the first quarter. With Aranyi and Moraes tussling for the ball, Wray came to the edge of his area to make the save, but tangled with Aranyi in the process. Wray finished the game, in increasing discomfort, but has since been diagnosed with a tear in his left knee and will now be out for a few weeks.

With Black Magic relaxing on their lead, the Cappers were able to produce more fluidity, but were not getting past the Magic defence to trouble Knight. Knight even felt relaxed enough to hand over the gloves to George Aranyi, who may have still been carrying a knock from the collision with Wray - Black Magic had fielded the minimum 9 players with no subs.

Black Magic extended their lead mid way through the second quarter and previous scorer Matt Kolic played a significant part in the goal. Allowed to bring the ball into the area down the right, Kolic bore down on goal before unleashing a shot to Wray's right. As Wray dived across to make the save, the ball deflected off Alan Mouncey (I think, could have been Joe Murphy). With the change in direction, Wray did well to throw his left hand up to block the shot. However, an unmarked Tony Volpicelli got to the rebound unchallenged to make the score 2-0.

Volpicelli added a second five minutes later. Murphy had received the ball in space in the middle, on a throw out from his keeper. However, before he could settle and distribute the ball he was caught in possession and lost control of the ball. As Wray shuffled back into possession, Tony's shot low left just evaded the keeper's dive. Tony could have taken a hat-trick a little later. A Matt Kolic through ball saw Volpicelli beat Gordon Miller and into the area. This time Wray was able to make the diving tackle to send the ball clear.

At 3-0, the game looked over, and for all intents and purposes it was. However, the third quarter saw AndyCapped apply pressure to the opposing goal.

When Aranyi went walkabout and take a casual approach to getting back into position, someone really should have punished the Magic but the opportunity was squandered.

Eventually Tony Volpicelli claimed his hat-trick. Getting on the end of a pinpoint cross from the right (Carlo or Matt?) just ahead of Wray, his header went into the nearpost.

Matt Kolic claimed a second 10 minutes before the end. Taking possession of the ball inside the AndyCapped half, he found his way into the area unchallenged. His powerful shot just eluded Wray, who couldn't get down in time to prevent the goal. Kolic could himself have claimed a hat-trick 5 minutes from the end had he got on the end of a low cross from the right. He beat the gang of defenders to the ball, but as he was about to release the trigger, Wray got down to take possession - leaving both players with bruises.

There was just time for one more chance before the end and it appeared that AndyCapped would claim a consolation goal and prevent a Black Magic clean sheet. However, with Gareth Knight freshly re-installed back in goal for the fourth quarter, the keeper produced a good block and the Cappers had to accept their fate.

by View from the Side, Junior Sports Reporter, The Island Bay Times

Match Photos

Despite the Originals having had previous experience at contesting the Jessett Cup Grand Final, the newbie Massey Coolmoves were considered by most to be the heavy favourites for the trophy.

Manager Matt Whiteman named a side with few changes for Massey. Consistency of player selection has been one of the characteristics of this side, with only 15 different players used all season. The non-selection of 5-goal Mark Leeming raised a few eyebrows on the sidelines, but golden boot chasing Cannell and Jensen meant that opposing manager Paul Muollo could take little comfort. Defender Glen McCarty missed his first game of the season, despite scoring the goal that got Massey to this game, and it was an absence that ultimately proved costly.

For a team that chops and changes its line-up more often than Paris Hilton changes her underwear, Muollo named a remarkably stable side. There was to be no fairy tale recall for Rod Lawson, with his medical insurers refusing permission to play. Dave Graham joined the Scotsman on the injured list, leading to a recall for Peter Chung, and the lack of availability of  first team regular Scott New meant a reduced bench. However, the backbone of the team (Du Plessis, De Gregorio, Goggin, Westlake, Muollo, Garrow, Maarty Romijn) provided stability that was suitably bolstered by Mike Gaeta's second selection in five games and Karl Romijn's fourth appearance of the season.

The game's first quarter was characterised with Massey dominating possession, but failing to convert that in to real chances. Cliff Young, wearing Sasa Lisovac's infamous headband, was the outlet for most of Massey's forward forays. His runs down the left provided what little excitement the quarter had to offer, with a switch for Adrian Winter to shoot wide being the most noteworthy.

Tactically it became clear what Muollo's game plan was. Ryan Du Plessis was asked to sacrifice his chase for the golden boot and to sit in the heart of defence to counter Neil Cannell. Westlake would look to find Gaeta early on, who would either hold the ball up for Karl Romijn or Peter Chung to come forward, or go for goal himself depending on the situation. With Maarty Romijn sitting deep, occasionally supporting the attack, and running the middle of the pitch, Massey struggled to produce their normal game.

Karl Romijn came the closest to producing a goal, although he can't claim to have known much about it. Early in the second quarter, a clearance from inside the Massey area hit him and rebounded goal-ward. It took a desperate lunge from Scott Helson's legs to prevent a freak goal.

A real end-to-end series produced the game's first goal. Shortly after Darren Goggin produced a goal-line clearance, Mike Gaeta received a nice through ball into the Massey area. He hit the ball low to Scott Helson's right, with such power that the outstretched Massey keeper could not get down to it in time. Gaeta really should have made it 2-0 a minute later. From an almost identical position, he blasted the ball wide.

Despite the 1-0 deficit at half-time, Massey Coolmoves could still boast the greater amount of possession. However, their failure to carve out any genuine opportunities meant they had nothing to show for it. With the second half only a few minutes old, their problems got worse. From the right, Peter Chung came close to scoring, drawing a parried save from Helson. However, Gaeta's predatory instincts came to the fore as the ball came directly into his path just inside the left post. He was left with the simplest of finishes, merely touching the ball over the line, to double his tally.

Exchanges were sporadically exchanged through the third quarter. Matt Whiteman came close to pulling one back, but he headed narrowly over with Johnny De Gregorio beaten. Karl Romijn set-up Mike Gaeta for a possible hat-trick, but he instead shaved the right post. At the end of the quarter, Karl Romijn produced a moment of excitement. Paul Muollo had skilfully nicked the ball from Peter Spelman, who was otherwise through on goal, and sent the ball forward to the junior Romijn. Karl dribbled into and across the danger area, before flicking the ball back to Lee Westlake, whose goal bound shot was pushed around the post by Helson.

Into the fourth quarter, the Originals' tactics were still holding strong. Massey managed to engineer a few chances, as they desperately looked for a way back into the game. Matt Whiteman found himself through with just the keeper to beat and time to pick his shot. However, he elected to shoot early and left De Gregorio with an easy collect. Peter Spelman was the next to squander a chance, also producing a shot that was easy for De Gregorio to stop. Helson, meanwhile, was being kept busy as a Muollo direct free kick was curled low right to demand a save.

Mike Gaeta's threatened hat-trick eventually came. Collecting the ball a mere 6 yards out, he hit the ball high and right past Helson to effectively kill-off any chance of a comeback.

 Massey finally gained a consolation goal.  From a Paul Muollo backpass, keeper Johnny De Gregorio skewed his clearance. The ball skimmed across the turf directly to Peter Spelman, who gratefully tapped it back into the open goal. With a mere three minutes left, there was no time for a Massey revival, but the Coolmoves team at least ended the season with their record of never having allowed a clean sheet intact.

Player

Team

Goals

The 2005/06 Season Awards Ceremony

Once the sausages had been eaten and the beer had been drunk, Commissioner Peter Lye presided over the 2005/06 season awards ceremony. Awards were handed out to the website administrator (to be shared with the accredited league photographer), assistant logistics coordinator, Coolmoves Shield winners, golden boot winner, player of the season and finally the Jessett Cup winners.

But first of all, a little something was given back to the Sponsor Rod Lawson:

Michael Wray receives some beer for producing the website:

Logistical Coordinator Colin Reidy is rewarded for his assistance:

On to the merit awards, Massey manager Matt Whiteman accepts the Coolmoves Shield won by his team:

The 2005/06 Golden Boot award is presented to Neil Cannell for his table-topping 7 strikes:

The Player of the Season award was presented to goalkeeper Michael Wray:

Paul Muollo accepts the Jessett Cup:

	The Originals win the Jessett Cup.
	Massey Coolmoves finish as runners up.
	Black Magic win the 3rd/4th playoff.
	AndyCapped finish in 4th.
	HHH United hold the wooden spoon.
	Massey Coolmoves win the Coolmoves Shield.
	Massey Striker Neil Cannell wins the 2005/06 Golden Boot.
	HHH Goalkeeper Michael Wray wins the 2005/06 player of the season.

  Inside the Numbers:

	26 games were required to complete the 2005/06 season, compared to 20 the previous year.
	We had two scoreless draws, previously unknown. Plus three penalty shootouts, whereas last season's playoffs were all settled in normal time.
	91 different players participated in the 2005/06 Summer League (18.2 per team); 20 more than the 2004/05 season (17.75 per team).
	Unlike the previous year, various loan deals were needed during the season. In total, Michael Wray played games for three teams. Gareth Knight, Johnny De Gregorio, Peter Chung, Corb Tate and Alexei Garrow each played games for two teams.
	Goals scored were down. 78 goals were scored (1.5 each team per game); last season 90 goals were scored (2.25 each team per game).
	Correspondingly, clean sheet achievement rose from 3 last season to 15 this season.
	37 different players got on to the score sheets, 1 down from 2004/05... possibly further down as there are 3 goals without identified scorers in the 2004/05 records.
	5 hat-tricks were scored - a vast improvement on the 2 from before. Paul Muollo remains the only person to have done it more than once. The number of braces were constant at 8, but Mark Leeming and Ryan Du Plessis grabbed a couple.
	3 people scored for two consecutive games, much lower than the previous 5 and no-one achieved three consecutive matches like Anton De Gregorio and Brendan Gage in 2004/05.
	We had 2 own goals, one each from Neil Cannell and Wade De Graff. Last season, there were 2 as well but we didn't record the guilty parties.
	Alan Mouncey, Carlo Petagna, Michael Wray and Mike Jessett have played in more Summer League matches than anyone else.
	12 players were ever-presents for their clubs in 2004/05. In 2005/06, only 8 players could make that claim. The die-hards were Carlo Petagna, Gareth Knight, Lee Westlake, Matt Kolic, Matt Whiteman, Michael Wray, Ryan Du Plessis and Wade De Graff.