-13th and 20th December 2005| back to top

Treble clinched.

Wearview defeated in an edgy Final.

Sporting Redhouse 2 Wearview Elite 0
Wearview were a bit short of players so Steve Lawson was recalled from retirement and Paul Jackson was also back. Wearview started the brightest and had a few chances while at the other end Carl Middlemiss denied his brother Chris with an outstanding save. It was goalless at half time but midway through the second half, Walker pounced on a mistake by Hembrough to put Sporting 1-0 up - and thats when the mayhem began. Wearview claimed that some inconsistant decisions went in Sportings favour (although this is always a claim made by the losing team) and this lead to Mini and Jacko both been yellow carded with Carl Middlemiss sent off. Fouls were being committed by both teams all over the pitch and then Cheesey finished the game off with a superb header with 2 mins remaining. In the end Wearview just embarrassed them selfs and Sporting clinched the treble (report by Scott Hembrough).

A pulsating final between the two best sides in the league. Wearview Elite went into the final desperate to get one over on their fierce rivals, Sporting. It was a two-fold effort. First, they felt they owed their rivals one. Sporting had come out on top in all but one of their clashes this season and that was drawn. Second, Sporting were going for an unprecedented Treble of League, Sassco Cup, and League Cup. Something Wearview would rather not let happen. However, Sporting put in one of their best displays of the season to not only contain Wearview, but rattle them to such an extent that Goal keeper, Carl Middlemiss was sent off for unsporting behavior and Captain and 'talisman' Paul Jackson nearly following with a verbal volley toward referee, Keith Brazier. A tight taught first half was followed by Trevor Walker of Sporting opening the scoring with a superbly placed goal which he calmly slotted past a hapless Middlemiss. Wearview tried in vain to get back at Sporting. Neil Middlemiss nearly got them back on level terms with a one on one effort against ' The Asian Sensation' Tarnjit Sangha, but the aging keeper not for the first time came out on top against Wearview. The men in red tried to pull themselves level, but were constantly thwarted be a resolute rearguard of Michael ' Baby Cheese' Ross and the indomitable Mark Kelsey. Si Williamson marshalled the midfield with grace and aplomb wonderfully supported by Trevor Walker and Chris Middlemiss. With the game coming to a close, the pivotal moment ended Wearview's resolve. A deftly flighted corner by Chris Middlemiss was superbly headed...yes headed in by Michael Ross. The game as a contest was over. Wearview completely lost their heads. Paul Jackson was infuriated claiming Ross was in the box. The referee did not want to know. Carl Middlemiss through his gloves in the direction of the referee and was duly sent off. This was not the Wearview that had become renowned for the beautiful game. This was a team that had clearly become frustrated at the way things were panning out. Sporting knew this and closed the game out in real comfort. So! The Treble has been achieved. Since the inauguration of the Sassco Championship, this had not been done. It has now. (report by Tarnjit Sangha).

Third Place Play Off
Crown Electrics 2 Hylton Castle 1

Well that's it for Season 8 and most involved can safely say it was a cracking season. All teams were exceptionally organised and the top teams in the League can safely cope with each other. However, it's Sporting who have the consistency, while the likes of Wearview, Hylton and Crown would rue their dropped points against each other and the remaining teams. Of the other teams, Redhouse Youth were the most impressive while AGUK and Max performed poorly, despite having a good squad. Sassco were inconsistent as ever.

The new Season 9 will start at the end of January, with a pre-season lasting only one week. I will let all know closer to the time.

-13th and 20th December 2005| back to top

Hylton's last gasp.

Sporting eventually get through. Wearview defeat Crown.

Sporting Redhouse 1 Hylton Castle 1
Sporting won 2-0 on penalties
A brilliant game. Sporting went ahead and just as they seemed to be celebrating a Final appearance, Hylton scored off a wicked deflection near the end. The game went to penalties and the "Asian Sensation" kept a clean sheet as Sporting triumphed 2-0 on penalties.

Wearview Elite 3 Crown Electrics 1 (report by Scott Hembrough)
Wearview v Crown is usually a close and firery encounter, but without Jacko at work and Jon Wardle moanin about a "groin strain" (in other words small manhood) this encounter was more mellow. After a cagey first 5 minutes Wardle hit an unstoppable opener. Wearview hit back immediatley with a solo strike from Gaz Anderson. Wearview stepped it up and went 2-1 up just before the break with a goal that would grace any World Cup final from Hembrough. Crown pushed on in the second half and had a few near misses before Wearview hit them on the counter and Mini scored a simple tap in. Crown fought back but it was to be in vain as Wearview booked themselves a place in the final against Sporting Redhouse.

-6th December 2005| back to top

Sporting through.

Youth's walloped! Coulson back!

Sporting Redhouse 5 Redhouse Youth 1
It was going to be a difficult task for the Youth's who seemed to have lost the way after their goalless encounter against Max. However, they had a final opportunity to make an impact in a must win game against Sporting. They had to win by three goals, but unfortunately came away with a bit of a battering off a clinical Sporting. The scoreline simply demonstrates Sporting's ability in taking their chances against a Youth team who are desperate for a striker. 5-1 final scoreline. Coulson was back in goal for Sporting and he immediately made an impact by pushing the normally placid Walker to the edge within five minutes. Is this a one off for Coulson or could it be a permanent comeback - or was it raining and Fatboy refused to play.

13th December 2005
Semi Finals
7:00pm Sporting Redhouse v Hylton Castle
7:30pm Crown Electrics v Wearview Elite

20th December 2005
Third Place Play Off
7:00pm Semi Final losers*
Final
7:30pm Semi Final winners

*This game is optional. Both Semi Final losers need to agree if they wish to play it.

-29th November 2005| back to top

Max gain some pride.

Crown 100%. Sporting draw with Wearview.

Redhouse Youth 0 Max Housing 0
A must win game for Redhouse Youth, while Max Housing needed some pride after two heavy defeats. There was plenty of pre-match build up to the game, with the Youth's claiming a high score while Max simply needed to avoid a heavy defeat. Yet a defeat seemed on the cards. The Youth's pounded the Max defence, but were thwarted constantly by their former 'keeper, McClusky. As mentioned before, the Youth's seem to struggle to score goals and lack a regular goalscorer. Max, you would say, probably have a similar problem. however, as the game wore on, they had their fair share of chances and the worst thing for the Youth's were the gaps left at the back, which could have hammered a nail into their coffin when at 0-0. Nevertheless, Max held on to a superb final game draw against their close rivals.

Wearview Elite 2 Sporting Redhouse 2
A superb game to end the night. Both these teams could say they were comfortably through, but pride was at stake. Sporting opened the scoring but were soon pegged back by an equaliser from Hembrough. The notable aspect of this game was the three Minnies playing, two for Wearview and one for Sporting. Also the run in with The Traitor and Jacko was quite enjoyable to watch. The icy pitch didn't help, but the game was flowing and superb to watch. After good openings at either end, Sporting eventually went ahead with what seemed to be the winning goal. Wearview had other ideas and scored a superb equaliser in the last minute from Neil Middlemiss. It could have been even better just seconds later as Hembrough broke through but his shot only shattered the post instead bulging in the back of the net. A 2-2 draw it was.

The final game in the group is next week. Redhouse Youth have to defeat Sporting by more than 6 goals to get through. However, the game is more for reputation than anything else. If the Youth's can pull off a result, it puts them in a good confident mood for next years League. Sporting will face Crown in the Semi's if they fail to beat Redhouse Youth by 4 clear goals.

Hylton Castle 6 Millfield Diamonds 0
Castle confirmed their empathic entrance into the Semi Finals with a 6 goal hammering against Millfield, who couldn't cope. Bunta grabbed himself a hat-trick while McGowan and Snowball got the others. Castle look a good bet for a Final place now as they seem to have come into form at the right time. Also they've got the reputation as "Sporting killers" as one of only a few teams to get the better of the Champions.

Crown Electrics 3 Sassco.co.uk 1
A spirited performance from Sassco saw them go in at half time holding Crown, the holders, to a 0-0 draw. Sassco had by far the better exchanges in the first half, but their failure to score was capitalised on by Crown in the second, when Tom Robason fired one in from long range. Two further goals killed off any hope for Sassco, but Gash Brazier did fire in a late consolation with good work from the returning Sammut. Crown remained the only team with a 100% record in the group. Definitely one of the favourites to retain their "Crown".

Hylton Castle look likely to face Wearview, while Crown will probably play Sporting Redhouse.

-23rd November 2005| back to top

Sassco and Max out.

Crown and Wearview in the semi's.

Sporting Redhouse 5 Max Housing 0
An almost impossible task for Max Housing. After losing heavily, they had to get something against the current Champions. The opening was predictable, with Kev Mc making numerous saves to keep it to 0-0. However, it didn't last. Trevor Walker opened the scoring and soon after, Simon Williamson added to it. From then on it was goal after goal with five in total to put Sporting firmly into a a good opening game and a possible semi-final position.

Wearview Elite 1 Redhouse Youth 0
The Youths started in rampaging form, but their main problem still exists in that they don't seem to have an out and out striker or finisher. Kev Snowdon had the best chance, but shot horribly wild. Eventually, near the end, Gaz Anderson struck the only goal of the game to all but confirm Wearview's entry into the semi-final stage.

Hylton Castle 3 Sassco.co.uk 0
Sassco were dumped out of the cup in what was the first make or break game. Both teams had lost their openers and a defeat here would put pay to any potential semi final spot. Hylton dominated most of the game, but Sassco held on tight until a few minutes before the break when Castle scored from a free-kick with lax marking allowing their player to score. The second half saw more pressure applied before a second goal from Castle killed the game. The final minutes saw a third goal as Castle now have to get something against Millfield to put themselves in the semi's.

Crown Electrics 4 Millfield Diamonds 0
Crown, inspired by Tom Robason, took full control of this game from start to finish and never looked uncomfortable. Millfield after gaining their first three points struggled against the well organised Crown team. Goals in both halves put paid to any hope of a Millfield comeback, but they do have a final opportunity against Hylton Castle in their last game - a game which will decide the semi finalists. Both teams have equal points but goal difference means that Castle only need a draw.

TCC are no longer entering the AGUK Super League, so the fixtures have been changed. Click here.

-16th November 2005| back to top

Violent Final.

Sporting overwhelm TCC. Second cup kicks off.

Sporting Redhouse 3 TCC 1
A strong final. Both sides were clearly up for it. Could TCC keep up their form in the final stage, or would Sporting Redhouse be a step to much for them.

In the opening salvos, Sporting looked clearly superior. Chance after chance, they broke through and were thwarted at the last second, but it wasn't too long before they opened the scoring. Walker, superbly cushioned the ball before dispatching it to the back of the net. Most of the play continued this way, until TCC, a team never to sit back and take it, struck an equaliser with most of Sporting's team in the other half.

The second half saw Sporting take the lead again and the game descended into chaos. Niggling tackles continued from both sides and it eventually resulted in TCC 'keeper, Foggin, being dismissed from the field of play. This, combined with a third goal, ended the game as a proper contest, as Sporting took the Double.

Wearview Elite 8 Max Housing 1
Poor Michael Anderson. He'd been stating that Scotty Hembrough would have to retire after this game as Wearview would suffer ignominy of an opening day defeat. Yet, as mentioned before to many "young uns" in the past, "don't mouth off before a game..." So the end result being 8-1 was truly humiliating. Everyone seemed to weigh in with the goals. Hembrough got two, while Steve and Gaz Anderson got one each. Middlemiss grabbed four and surely could have had more had it not been for Kev McClusky, who's choice of teams after leaving Youths has been a bit questionable. Never mind, for Max, there's plenty to play for with games v Sporting and Youths to come up.

Millfield Diamonds 1 Sassco.co.uk 0
Typical Sassco. After a good cup performance in the previous competition, it was back to square one with a defeat off a team that would be regarded (prior to this game) as the weakest in the group. With Hylton and Crown also in the pack, Millfield got themselves off to a flying start. An opening goal after around ten minutes settled the issue. Sassco had all the main players available, but the threat of Bell and Tyzack didn't result in a goal. It was an onslaught at the end, but ironically, Sassco failed to get any significant shots on target. Strong and tenacious defending from Millfield snuffed out the threat, as Sassco went home, tails between their legs.

Crown Electrics 4 Hylton Castle 2
A superb game between two fierce rivals. It didn't boil over as the players were probably more worried about keeping warm in the sub zero temperatures rather than fighting it out between each other. Tom Robason, now in more control of the team, led by example and fired in a superb opening goal, which was quickly replied to by Bunta, with a superb shot. Yet Dave Robason then added another to give Crown the lead before Wardle made it more comfortable with a third. Hylton weren't out of it and struck a deflected shot which somehow looped over Paul Martin in goal. 3-2 and all to play for, but in the dying minutes, Dave Robason latched on to a wide ball and struck it perfectly past Pottsy in goal to put Crown at the top.

TCC are no longer entering the AGUK Super League, so the fixtures have been changed. Click here.

-1st November 2005| back to top

TCC beat the holders!

Sporting defeat Sassco.

TCC 4 Wearview Elite 2
A great set of Semi Finals played. The opener saw the holders, Wearview, take on TCC. Both teams were on good form, with TCC coming out of two preliminary rounds, while Wearview had disposed of Crown. Yet the holders were in for a bit of a shock. 3-0 down in the first half, it was a true mountain to climb. Town Centre Citroen were clinical and professional as they took their goals against a full-strength Wearview. Yet it wasn't all over. Two late goals gave Wearview some hope, but a fourth and final one from TCC in the final minutes ended it. Some observers always try and comment on which is the best league, but this proves my original theory of saying that the top teams in any league are generally good enough to win any other leagues they enter. TCC definitely prove this, but they need to sort out their kit situation. A £5 suspended fine is administered, as the cup competitions are generally lenient on kit fines. Yet the next competition will see fines administered and possibly teams removed.

Sporting Redhouse 3 Sassco.co.uk 1
Sassco genuinely hoped for a result against Sporting, having played some good football since ending their league campaign on a poor note. They did have Muers as a stand-in 'keeper as Garrett was ill, but it didn't stop them taking the lead against a strong looking Sporting team. But as expected, Sporting came back strong as Sassco failed to add to their lead. A deflected long range shot from Walker was soon followed by a second one from the same player. The tables had turned and the second half saw Sporting coming closer to a third, while Sassco struggled to get shots on target, although both teams were evenly balanced. In the dying minutes, Conlon bagged the third for Sporting to confirm a Cup Final place. They now face TCC in the Final with an opportunity to bag the Double.

-18th October 2005| back to top

Big guns through.

Although Sassco spring a surprise.

TCC 1 Redhouse Youth 0
With Youths turning up late, it did little to help their organisation. They looked out of sorts as TCC dominated most of the game. However, a penalty decision went their way, but Foggin, in goal for TCC, pulled off a stunning save. His just rewards came in the end when TCC struck the only goal in a fairly one sided contest.

Sassco.co.uk 4 Herrington CW 2
The surprise of the night by far. Sassco had bolstered their team with Bell from Fulwell, but they still had the bulk of the side which finished so poorly last season. Herrington, without Hutchinson, did still have Lyall, Boddy, Cuddihy and also ex-Sporting player, Derek Newton. So it was expected to be keenly fought. It was, but the outcome was unusual. Sassco hurtled into a spectacular 3-0 lead before Herrington got out of their blocks and bagged two quick goals, the second squirming under Garrett. However, Sassco levelled out and most of the second half saw them back on top, before Keith Mouat, with acres of space, edged closer to the goal area before lashing one in from a tight angle.

Sporting Redhouse 1 Max Housing 0

Max were "lucky losers" to be drawn out of the hat. But not so lucky when they had to face Sporting. No Linley or Johnstone were present, but the youthful team nearly pulled off a shock result. Sporting were playing their first game back and definitely looked rusty. An opening goal calmed their nerves, but nervousness crept in as they failed (albeit unluckily) to add to it. Yet the result stood and Sporting go through to the semi finals.

Wearview Elite 3 Crown Electrics 2

Games between these two are always a welcome boost to the Sassco competitions and this wasn't to disappoint. Wearview pulled away with a two goal lead and looked very comfortable. Yet the thought of their 3-2 loss when being 2-0 up came back to haunt them as Robason steamed in with a spectacular strike. Wearview weathered the storm and went 3-1 up, before Greenwell clawed one back. The scoring ended their as Crown are eliminated again.

The holders, Wearview now move into the semi finals with a tie against TCC while Sassco face Sporting. The games take place on the 1st November, due to SAFC playing at home next week.

1st November 2005
Semi Finals
7:00pm Wearview Elite v TCC
7:30pm Sassco v Sporting Redhouse

-15th October 2005| back to top

dadcheck not entering.

Max Housing are the lucky losers.

A narrow 1-0 defeat notwithstanding, Max Housing are back in as a replacement for dadcheck.com in the Quarter Finals.

18th October 2005
Quarter Finals
7:00pm TCC v Redhouse Youth

7:30pm Herrington CW v Sassco.co.uk

8:00pm Sporting Redhouse v Max Housing

8:30pm Wearview Elite v Crown Electrics

-11th October 2005| back to top

Not a good start.

Teams disorganised in the first stage.

Sassco.co.uk 2 Hylton Redhouse 0
A dominating performance from Sassco. Without Bell and Muers, they faced off against the new team which featured McKlusky and Taylor from the Youths. Keith Mouat opened the scoring after a brilliant save from McKlusky, but it came out perfectly for Mouat to bag one in. The second half saw some pressing from Hylton Redhouse, but eventually, Sammut scored a blinder of a goal. Sassco played really well against the debutantes. Garrett in goal (without any gloves), Dixon, Tyzack and Sangha all played well. Taylor's team performed much better than they did last week, but they will improve as the talent is there.

Herrington CW 1 Max Housing 0
Both teams were badly organised. Both had kit problems, but this didn't stop a good game. A single goal separated the two teams. Max had quite a lot of the play, but lacked the finishing touch. Herrington, with Cuddihy and Hutchinson in the ranks did really well as they progress - as expected.

TCC 4 Hylton Castle 1

Another badly organised effort. Castle only had five players while TCC struggled with kits as well. However, despite Snowballs superb equaliser, Castle succumbed to late goals. A great start from TCC who go into the second round.

18th October 2005
Quarter Finals
7:00pm TCC v Redhouse Youth

7:30pm Herrington CW v Sassco.co.uk

8:00pm Sporting Redhouse v dadcheck.com (or Max Housing)

8:30pm Wearview Elite v Crown Electrics

-8th October 2005| back to top

Latest news.

New team in the Cup plus a lucky loser?

Delighted to say that TCC (Town Centre Citroen) are late entrants into the cup competition. They will face off against Hylton Castle at 8:30pm. They currently play in the Wednesday league.

Also, dadcheck aren't yet 100% in as they tended to have problems at the back end of the last season. If this happens, then one of the teams which lose in the Preliminary Round will be pulled out of the hat and added into the draw. The lucky loser will be pulled out after the games on the 11th regardless in preparation in case dadcheck can't make it for the Quarter Finals.

Games next week
Preliminary Round
11th October 2005
7:00pm Sassco.co.uk v Hylton Redhouse FC

7:30pm Max Housing v Herrington CW
8:00pm Redhouse Youth v Millfield Diamonds
8:30pm TCC v Hylton Castle

-4th October 2005| back to top

Good start.

Three successful pre-season games.

As with most new seasons, sometimes I can't be bothered and would prefer to be in a warm house watching Eastenders, instead of freezing my balls off at the complex for two hours. However, after the nights games, I'm well back into the swing of things and am looking forward to the cup competitions. We've been given a shot in the arm again by three new teams, albeit, two of them being partially made up of existing teams and also a return of SR-1 in the form of Herrington CW, a team which are doing exceptionally well in the Durham Alliance League.

Sassco.co.uk 4 Millfield Diamonds 1
Millfield were the new boys on the block and looked quite decent. Some good ball players within the team, but Sassco, now featuring Tommy Bell struck early and went 2-0 up. Millfield managed to get one back shortly after, but the second half saw Sassco score two further goals. Team from Sassco included Keith Mouat, Tyzack, Garrett, Muers and Sangha.

Sporting Redhouse 2 Herrington CW 0
The Champions were without Walker, Wilson and Williamson, but they still proved to be a bit too strong for Herrington CW, who were without Hutchinson, but did feature Lyall, Boddy and Cuddihy from the old SR-1 team. The game was dominated by Sporting, who went 1-0 up in the first, but Herrington had odd chances on the break. In the second half, opportunities were at a premium before Sporting got their inevitable second. Not a bad start from Herrington. They were depleted and up against it, but did managed to hold their own which is quite obvious considering that the bulk of the team was so successful as SR-1 in both Tuesday and Thursday competitions.

Hylton Castle 4 Hylton Redhouse 0
The new team featured Taylor and McKlusky from Redhouse Youth, but against Hylton Castle, they struggled. It was one way traffic, but, as expected, McKlusky pulled off some astounding saves. One hell of a signing and a proper coup in getting him involved. Yet for all his heroics, Hylton Castle without McGowan and Murton, easily secured another three goals to give them a handsome win. A poor kit showing from Hylton Redhouse, through. Shirts were clearly not identical and no shin pads were worn (they have to be in proper competition otherwise the referee won't let the players play). But this was obviously a dry run for the proper competition.

Games next week
Preliminary Round
11th October 2005
7:00pm Sassco.co.uk v Hylton Redhouse FC

7:30pm Max Housing v Herrington CW
8:00pm Redhouse Youth v Millfield Diamonds

-21st September 2005| back to top

Sassco Open Cup (8th Series) draw.

Top teams receive a bye.

I have arranged a series of friendly games on the 4th October as below.

Friendly games
4th October 2005

7:00pm Sassco v Millfield Diamonds

7:30pm Herrington CW v Sporting Redhouse

8:00pm Hylton Castle v Hylton Redhouse FC

The initial teams have been drawn. The opening set of games will be played on 11th October.

The below teams received a bye (based on their final league positions)
Wearview Elite (current holders)
Crown Electrics
Sporting Redhouse
dadcheck.com
Hylton Castle

Preliminary Round
11th October 2005
7:00pm Sassco.co.uk v Hylton Redhouse FC

7:30pm Max Housing v Herrington CW
8:00pm Redhouse Youth v Millfield Diamonds

If any of the above teams withdraw before the competition, then the opponents will receive a bye.

-20th September 2005| back to top

League ends in a whimper.

Crown awarded a win over the Champions.

Crown Electrics 3 Sporting Redhouse 0 - match awarded
Sporting were unable to present a team, so the manager conceded the result to Crown. The eagerly awaited final game didn't materialise, so the next set of games will probably be played on 4th October.

The cup competition was due to start then, but this will start the week after on 11th October. Games on the 4th will be pre-season friendlies.

The current entrants for the cup are:

Sassco.co.uk

Redhouse Youth

Wearview Elite (current holders)

Crown Electrics

Sporting Redhouse

Hylton Castle

Max Housing
dadcheck.com

Herrington CW
Redhouse Hurricanes
Millfield Diamonds
Redhouse FC

There are 12 teams which means that 3 teams from a hat and Wearview will receive a bye into the Quarter Finals. The remaining 8 teams will play in a Preliminary Round. The 4 winners will be drawn into the hat with the other 3 and Wearview to be drawn. There is no seeding involved at all.

-13th September 2005| back to top

Crown miss out. Sporting are Champions.

A comeback against Hylton isn't enough.

Crown Electrics 2 Hylton Castle 2
In the end, Crown couldn't manage it. They were also due to play Sporting on the same night, but Sporting had to cancel (a day before). So they had a highly charged encounter against Hylton Castle. To be honest, Crown looked as if they'd run out of steam. They were 2-0 down before a late rally saw them finish 2-2. A shame as it now makes the intriguing thought of a play off game to be only that - a an intriguing thought. Nevertheless, they do finish in second spot, a place which is only becoming too familiar to them.

-7th September 2005| back to top

The final fixtures.

Crown and Hylton play twice.

7:30pm Hylton Castle v Crown Electrics
8:00pm Hylton Castle v dadcheck.com
8:30pm Sporting Redhouse v Crown Electrics

So if Hylton Castle take any points off Crown in their first encounter, that means that Crown cannot force a play-off for the Title. But if Crown do take 3 points, then in the fascinating final game v Sporting Redhouse, they have to win to force a play off against the same team to decide who wins the Title.

With games awarded and goals awarded, the Sassco League never relies on goal difference for crucial League and Super League placings as the goal difference isn't accurate and it isn't really fair on teams who could have scored more than the usual 3-0 score lines.

Looking at Sporting, they do have a considerable goal difference, but the rules are in place at the start so a play off is the only option.

-31st August 2005| back to top

Cup and League News.

Open Cup starts on 4th October 2005.

Current confirmed entrants:

Sassco.co.uk

Redhouse Youth

Wearview Elite (current holders)

Crown Electrics

Sporting Redhouse

Hylton Castle

Max Housing
dadcheck.com

Herrington CW
Millfield Diamonds
Redhouse FC

No entrance fee is involved, but teams must be fully kitted or will face DFA enforced fines.

Previous winners
Season 1 Sporting Redhouse

Season 2 Royal Mail Sunderland

Season 3 Royal Mail Sunderland

Season 4 Sassco.co.uk
Season 5 Sunderland Select

Season 6 Crown Electrics

Season 7 Wearview Elite

-30th August 2005| back to top

dadcheck cause a stir.

Current Champions and likely next Champions defeated within minutes.

dadcheck.com 3 Wearview Elite 1 report by Mitch Drury
Cagey night for dadcheck with Mr. Bradford being on his holidays. At short notice his cousin Mickey Drury was left under pressure to field a team, but the regulars were there including Gaz, Pud, Rye Mc and little Minnie. So that left the younger Middlemiss (Carlos) to stand between the sticks, and the other player was an old Sassco one night show in Billy (the Whizz) Harrison. It was the two new lads who really impressed with young Carlos saving everything threw at him including a spectacular save against Middlemiss Snr with his foot. Once the ball got rolling, the possession was quick one touch passing in dadcheck’s favour. The ever present 'Pud' Jackson opened the scoring with a quick fire goal, quickly added by another and a goal from Billy.

dadcheck.com 5 Sporting Redhouse 2 report by Mitch Drury
Any team who come up against sporting Redhouse knows what they’re up against from the start to the finish. But with dadcheck still buzzing off beating big Minnie’s team, they were right up for it from the start and stunned sporting with three early goals. The one touch passing from back to front from dadcheck was exceptional. Billy Harrison pulling off and looking inside for Pud to shoot was the danger, but you can’t write the top team off as they quickly pulled two goals back. Then it became the Billy Harrison show with his tricks and flicks all over the pitch, which brought three more goals to see Sporting lose their first game of the season. Interesting times ahead for Sporting. They have to avoid defeat now to fully confirm the Title. Crown have two games (one versus Sporting) two win to take the League to a deciding play off between them and Sporting. But for this game, to sum it up it was more like a better show from dadcheck than the foot off the gas from Sporting. See you next season lads!

Awarded games:
Redhouse Youth 3 Max Housing 0
Fulwell FC 3 Max Housing 0

-16th August 2005| back to top

Battle for second spot.

Crown have difficult games in hand.

Fulwell FC 1 Hylton Castle 1
A tight and tense game. Fulwell were depleted with both Gaz Anderson and Tommy Bell missing, but they made the better start and grabbed the goal. Yet Hylton Castle were always in it. Murton scored a spectacular goal, but the game was marred by off field battles between the Hylton Castle team. A draw was a fair result.

Crown Electrics 2 Redhouse Youth 1
The Youth were shocked to be 2-1 down. Greenwell, now Crown's only hope of scoring goals, helped himself to two excellent goals during the first ten minutes. Crown were cruising and well in control. For the second half, the Youth's moved up a gear and eventually scored a goal. Paul Martin thwarted and equaliser, but at the other end, Greenwell struck the post. The win keeps Crown on course for second place. They have two games in hand, but these are against Hylton and also Sporting.

Wearview Elite 4 Max Housing 1
Wearview were presenting a depleted squad, which also included Middlemiss, fresh off the plane and a two week holiday. Yet even so, they were too good for Max Housing. A comfortable win and with their last game v dadcheck, it's seems likely they'll take the second spot above Crown.

With 11-a-side games clashing, some games could be postponed while some could be awarded. We want to try and get this league over and done with so we can have a substantial break before commencing the Sassco Open Cup (probably end of September).

-9th August 2005| back to top

Sporting just about win Season 8.

3-1 win over Hylton Castle all but confirms the Title.

Crown Electrics 4 Max Housing 1
Nothing much separated these two teams, until a penalty decision saw Greenwell open the scoring. A brilliant Tom Robason free-kick gave Crown a 2-0 lead before Max managed to pull one back (Scotty Johnstone was in charge this week). Eventually, another penalty from Greenwell gave Crown breathing room before Jimmy Crouch expertly added the fourth.

Sporting Redhouse 3 Hylton Castle 1
The last chance before Sporting were to confirm the Title, apparently. Hylton tried in vain to match their opponents but let in two early goals. One from Williamson and a cracker from Paul Mouat gave Sporting the start they needed. However, Hylton came back and got themselves a goal. But late on, Wilson scored, thus just about securing the Title for Sporting.

Fulwell FC 6 Sassco.co.uk 0
Sassco were overwhelmed by Fulwell in a one sided game. Two early goals didn't help their cause, but Fulwell's one touch passing and movement were too much for the veterans of Sassco as they succumbed to goal after goal in an embarrassing last game.

-2nd August 2005| back to top

Sporting only need a draw.

Mathematic certainty with three games remaining.

Sporting Redhouse 2 Sassco.co.uk 0
Sporting struck either side of the half to defeat Sassco. Goals from Wilson then Walker gave them the expected three points in this enjoyable encounter. Sassco were missing Gav Wilson and Corby (with Sammut and Sangha replacing), but the changes didn't affect the performance as they did as best as they could. Clinical finishing was one thing they didn't have which set the teams apart.

Crown Electrics 0 dadcheck.com 0
Both teams were well presented with new kits and played out a stalemate. Crown probably had more of the chances, but couldn't finish, while Pud Jackson was an ever present threat for dadcheck.com.

Wearview Elite 2 Fulwell FC 1
Probably the game of the night. Wearview opened the scoring and only had five men for most of the game. Fulwell equalised, but by this time, Wearview had dragged some unsuspecting youngster off the sidelines. The took the lead and kept it to try and keep pace with Sporting, who don't look as if they're going to slip up now with only three games remaining.

-27th July 2005| back to top

Cup and League News.

Open Cup, Super League and Season 9.

The league has around five weeks of games remaining. After this, we will commence the Sassco Open Cup (used to be called the SFL Cup). The name change is simply because new teams and teams from other leagues are allowed to enter into the competition. It seems likely that we could wait until the end of September before starting it as a lot of the teams in the league will have 11-a-side midweek games on Tuesday afternoons. This has caused major conflicts in the past and with the Open Cup being knock-out, games will not be re-arranged.

Any new teams interested in the competition need to bear in mind that the strict rules do apply to this competition as well. After this competition, the AGUK Super League will start and then we'll start Season 9. Currently, only AGUK.net will not be entering into Season 9, but confirmation is needed from a few of the teams which have struggled recently such as dadcheck.com and Fulwell. Any new teams considering entering should ideally have applied to enter the cup competitions first (free entry). Match fees will be a uniform £14 for the next season with no reduction for teams paying by cheque. The £12 fee has remained in place since 1999 so hopefully the £14 fee will remain for a similar amount of years.

This season has been fantastic. There's been a minimum amount of disruption as all the new teams, Redhouse Youth, Hylton Castle and the new Max Housing have been excellent additions to the traditional teams such as Wearview, Sassco, Sporting and Crown. Some teams have struggled, but generally it's been a good strong competition due to the new sides adding their own brand of enthusiasm to the "older" teams.

-26th July 2005| back to top

Sporting home and dry.

Kev Mc gets his marching orders. Crown beat Sassco. Minty gets a new bird.

Crown Electrics 2 Sassco.co.uk 0
Not a lot happened. It was like wasting 30 minutes of your life. Firstly Demi and her scem of a boyfriend took up most of the episode with acting that would embarrass even the most flexible piece of MDF. Sam got promoted to the chippy or something so she decides to celebrate with Billy. Minty and Gary are trying to bone this new bird on the street, but looks like Minty's in there. Surprising that there was no Alfie-Mo-Kat bullshit this episode (for anyone interested, Alfie's torn between Kat and Little Mo - take my tip, always go for the slapper). Nowt much else to say. Forrest got one, Wardle got one.

Fulwell FC 2 Redhouse Youth 1
Heard it was a good game. Gaz Anderson and Linley scored for Fulwell, but the Youths came close and then had 'keeper McKlusky sent off for foul and abusive language. Also Mullen scored the goal for Redhouse but did yet a yellow card as well.

Sporting Redhouse 4 Wearview Elite 0
Well, after this one, it looks as if the trophies going back to Sporting for the first time since year 2000. An emphatic 4-0 win over Wearview all but confirms their Title. Conlon and Walker shared the goals for Sporting while Wearview were missing Jacko and also Minnie, which didn't help, but probably wouldn't have changed the result a great deal. "Outstanding movement from Sporting forwards Walker and Critter along with outstanding fouling from the back two." Quotes from Hembrough who obviously disagreed with some of the refereeing decisions.

Hylton Castle 3 AGUK.net 0 - match awarded
AGUK were struggling for a team which means the result goes to Hylton Castle. Very disappointing considering that AGUK had dropped both Amos and Muers, who were 100% regulars. The AGUK team will not be renewed in it's present form for next season as trying to organise two teams is becoming a nightmare.

I'll update the table as soon as possible. If anyone's got any photo's of Kev Mc getting sent off, email them to me so I can pop up on this page.

-19th July 2005| back to top

Sassco's comeback.

Five man Fulwell defeat AGUK. Wins for Sporting and Crown. Anyone seen dadcheck?

Sassco.co.uk 3 Hylton Castle 3
Sassco being 3-1 down suffering hits from the Love Doctor, Cresswell and Murton, didn't really look like a team who could make a comeback. But with the veteran Anthony "Corby" Richardson resurrected from the depths, they found it within themselves to halt the ever impressive Hylton Castle. The opening goal from Hodgson, which I may say was expertly dispatched, was equalised by Gavin Wilson. Yet Hylton had the edge and looked more direct, whereas Sassco built up play and ran out of ideas in the final third. Murton scored a screamer in the first and Cresswell scored to make it 3-1 late in the second. So three goals down and then two long range route one balls within a few seconds of each other, were perfectly effective for Gordon Robson who lashed them both in within the last four minutes. Hylton probably thought they'd done their job, but Sassco, presenting a uniquely veteran team, came back to earn the point. Garrett, Wilson, Richardson and Robson are all players who played for Sassco (then called Herrenknecht) in the first few seasons before moving on to bigger teams. Now they are all back and they certainly enjoyed this one.

Wearview Elite 3 dadcheck.com 0 - result awarded to Wearview
Andy B's superstars gave him the heave ho. This means that they are deducted points (at the end of the season) and are fined. Also Wearview are awarded a 3-0 win. I'm afraid I can't change the schedule to put fixtures back, especially when teams drop out on the same day. Chris Middlemiss from Sassco.co.uk has now moved on to dadcheck.com to try and help Andy B. steady the ship.

Sporting Redhouse 2 Redhouse Youth 0
The Youths were up against it and strangely lacked confidence against a full strength Sporting team. They performed well enough but the two goals killed them. Anthony Yates missed a glorious chance to equalise but was thwarted by a save from Sangha after which the rebound came to him and he launched it high over the bar. But Youth's did play okay and Coyne showed no respect to his opponents by getting stuck in. But as expected, Sporting go from strength to strength and face the make or break challenge next week against Wearview. A win or draw will surely mean there's no stopping them.

Crown Electrics 3 Max Housing 2
Housing did a cracking job and even had the audacity to equalise an opener from Forrest. They performed brilliantly against a Crown team which looked half asleep. Kallum Griffiths got the opener for Max, but luckily for Crown, Forrest was wide awake and there to get them out of it and his second goal sealed it as it was Crown's third. The ever present and unsung hero, Stubbs, scored the other. But Max still had one more go in them and Griffiths scored again to make it 3-2 and a nervous end for Crown.

Fulwell FC 1 AGUK.net 0

Fulwell only had five players. Tommy Bell was away sunning himself, but can be pleased with the fact that his team grabbed a late, late goal. Logan, after making several of his usual stops during the game, saw his luck run out as the ball came off the post and hit him in the face before going in. Disaster. A game where long range shooting was the norm ended with a bad defeat for AGUK, but a good win for Fulwell.

-12th July 2005| back to top

Top three start to pull away.

AGUK hold Redhouse Youth. Hylton defeat Fulwell. Crown stun dadcheck.com.

AGUK.net 1 Redhouse Youth 1
The Youth were looking for revenge for one of their most embarrassing defeats earlier in the season. Their opponents, AGUK, although suffering more defeats than wins or draws, were rapidly improving and every now and then could pull off a good result like the 2-1 win over their opponents, earlier in the season. Superstar Sheepy was unavailable, but the team Amour put out was good enough. Good enough to open the scoring. Pearson who'd just now managed to justify Jase's dropping of expensive flops, Muers and the Geordie, struck it cleanly. But that was a rare highlight for AGUK, as it panned out to the Youth's basically battering the ever impressive Logan for the remainder of the game. A penalty was the only way past him and that was near the end of the first half. The second yielded no goals as both teams shared the points. A big disappointment for the Youth's as they surely expected to get back to winning ways with this encounter. Brilliant for AGUK as they pulled off another surprise result, especially after last weeks unfortunate defeat.

Sporting Redhouse 4 Max Housing 0
The now youthful Max Housing team presented the veteran Scott Johnstone to bolster the aggressive stance expected by Sporting Redhouse. However, he hobbled off before the end of the game and Sporting ran out 4-0 winners. With goals from Conlon (2), Wilson and Walker, it seemed straightforward for Sporting. The first half was good for Max, but Sporting picked off every mistake and punished them to take them clear at the top again.

Crown Electrics 3 dadcheck.com 0
Now this one was a bit of surprise. Crown were below strength, but dadcheck had their big guns out. Ridley and both Twins returned so it was no excuses for the much maligned Andy Bradford. But the only excuse is "why isn't Andy B back on the field?" With this harrowing performance, there's a clamour for his return. Crown raced into an unstoppable lead with Stubbs, Wardle and Donkin (Crouch) scoring. Pud Jackson was snuffed out easily and Craig Spence let in a howler through his painted on pants. They were so tight, he had to be poured into them and when he took them off they had to be burned for hygiene purposes.

Wearview Elite 3 Sassco.co.uk 1
It was same old story for Sassco again. Despite good possession, everything slowed down in the final third as Wearview got men behind the ball to defend their two goal lead. Middlemiss had opened and Hembrough added to it due to lax marking. It was a good game with plenty of chances at either end. Sassco did get one back with four left on the clock, but as expected, Wearview hit a breakaway winner from Middlemiss to keep pace with Sporting at the top.

Hylton Castle 2 Fulwell FC 1

Hylton overcame the difficulties of an opening goal from Fulwell to strike back. A deflected shot and a shot which probably should have been saved, gave them a 2-1 lead which they held on to with determination. Fulwell should have equalised but every chance they had was aggressively closed down as Hylton wanted this win. They got their rewards with the final whistle as they celebrate another good performance since the 2-2 with Sporting. Danny Hodgson and Mark Cresswell scored the all important goals.

-5th July 2005| back to top

Sporting back in a comfort zone.

Hylton hammer dadcheck. Wearview and Fulwell in a thriller. Max get a great "start."

Max Housing 4 AGUK.net 2

With Max Housing presenting a brand new team under the control of Dean Robinson, this bottom of the table clash was going to be interesting. The game itself was very lively and it was AGUK who were giving the new young team a lesson in closing down. Jase's mate soon opened the scoring from good work by Pearson (who had a good game), but the Max Housing players rallied around and got an equaliser. In the second, Dixon put AGUK ahead with a little help from Ames (he stole the ball off the Geordie to slot home). But that's where the good work ended. AGUK should have taken a further lead, but Max came back with an equaliser and then went two goals ahead to give Dean Robinson his first points, but his team's third win. Steven Herkes got two goals, while Callum Griffiths got the other two.

Crown Electrics 2 Redhouse Youth 1

Another intriguing encounter. The hustle and bustle of Crown against a nippy Redhouse Youth team (read fat against young). And what a start. Snowdon's strike was unstoppable for the opener, but Greenwell soon got one back and then Crown went ahead. The panic set in when they conceded an opener and the though of around 30 young un's laughing at them from the sidelines didn't settle well. It was now 2-1 and the score didn't change for the whole of the second half as the game ended. A tough encounter. The Youth's battled very hard against a good team, but both teams didn't take their chances otherwise the score would have been different.

Sporting Redhouse 4 Sassco.co.uk 1

After last weeks wake up call, Sporting, this week, made no mistakes in an awkward encounter. Awkward because it was a sort of a regular derby in the league. Both these teams had faced off against each other (in various different names) since 1999, with Sporting (or Select) generally coming out on top in terms of league positioning, while Sassco (or Herrenknecht or Team Intermedia) tended to get one unexpected result each season off them. This one went to form as far as the league position was concerned. Critter Conlon, after breaking free from his marker, struck first with a strong shot which caught Garrett unawares. There were no further goals in the first half, but Sassco came close in a positional sense, but failed to strike the target clearly enough. The second half opened with The Traitor scoring from distance, therefore giving Sassco no real hope. Two goals down against the leaders and with the team consistently struggling to score - it was more damage limitation. The Traitor scored again with a superb strike before Wilson finished off the Sassco team. After Sporting relaxed, Sassco got back into it and Dave Gourlay scored with around five minutes left. It was only a consolation as Sporting consolidated their lead at the top, the dropped points the previous week becoming a distant memory.

Wearview Elite 5 Fulwell FC 4

A classic in every sense of the word. With the rain now pouring constantly for two hours, this became an open and very fast game, which is what you'd expect from these sides. However, Fulwell were below strength and this came out in the final result. Wearview were spurred on by the re-born Middlemiss, a player who'd been slated by the critics in the past few weeks. He came he saw and he conquered as his flowing locks swept about his face like a torrent of anger. Even Jacko, not one of his greatest fans, said that "If I had the ability to have any more kids, I'd like them to be all like Minnie." It was the aforementioned hero who present Steve Anderson with the opener and had his hand in every goal during the encounter. Wearview were pegged back twice but then swept into a 5-2 lead which seemed unassailable. Yet Fulwell had other ideas and clawed it back to 5-4. Enough was enough though, as the Spaniard put his stamp on the game and convinced referee, Keith Brazier, to call time.

Hylton Castle 5 dadcheck.com 0

With the "Love Doctor" in fine form, seeing his troops finely live up to his own high standards and a weak dadcheck team in front of them, a resurgent Hylton Castle team ignored the tough opening and soon started to pile in the goals. After last weeks fantastic performance, this one was partially expected and dadcheck, who were ready to cancel the game, were cruelly exposed. But then again, good on Andy B for getting a team out. If he would have cancelled, he would have been hit with a £15 fine, a two point deduction and also a loss registered against them v Hylton. In the event, it was only a defeat and probably a loss of pride. The Love Doctor got one goal with others were scored by Snowball, Murton, Cresswell and Moon. A brilliant set of goals scored by different players which bodes well for the team. For dadcheck, Andy B had to call on the reserves of his reserves, including Sassco incumbent, Alan Elliot, "I was sitting down getting ready to watch 'Bad Girls' when that daft c**t dragged us out." Don't think he'll be dragged out again based on his performance, but Spence was a revelation. He played outfield v Max Housing a while back, but tonight he was like a caged animal. "Release the beast," were Andy's instructions, as he himself didn't do too bad in goal. The Beast was certainly released. Shame the animals alongside him were more like hedgehogs against Hylton's steamroller.

dadcheck.com were fined £5 for one player wearing incorrect socks.

-1st July 2005| back to top

League News.

Leading goalscorer list. 11-a-side games clashing with the 6-a-side.

The leading goalscorer list is shown below. Obviously Pud Jackson is way ahead in the scoring stakes, but some goalscorers details still need to be added which will change the position of the table, notably the 6 goals Sporting scored against dadcheck.com and the 7 scored by Fulwell against Max Housing.

No doubt some 11-a-side friendlies will start to take place soon. If you cancel a game due to this, the result could be awarded against you. We have a backlog of around 8 weeks which means that the new season 11-a-side games will clash again with the 6-a-side schedule. Some results could also be doubled (i.e. the result of a single game is then duplicated so that it's as if the teams have played twice).

Try not to cancel. If you have to then you have to, but the schedule won't wait for one or two teams as we want to commence the cup competitions by the end of September or early October at the latest.

-30th June 2005| back to top

League News.

Rule changes.

• From now on, all teams must hand in team details before 9:30pm on the night. This can be done by writing the line up and goalscorers on a piece of paper and handing it in or via SMS or email (as long as sent before 9:30pm). A £2 fine will be administered if this doesn't happen. Warnings will be made for the next few weeks before fines start kicking in. From personal experience, the minute a fine is given, then the team usually complies with the rule.

• Anyone kicking a ball away in anger or frustration will now be forced to retrieve it. This has occurred in the past but mostly the ball stays within the ground. Sometimes the ball gets kicked over the fence and this is when the person will be forced to retrieve it (unless a passer-by throws it back). Be warned, if you have no substitutes then you'll be playing with 5 men while the idiot is forced to get the ball. This rule is going to be implemented immediately.

Player signing and transfers are much more flexible this season. A few examples come to mind:

In the Thursday League, McClusky played once for Sassco.co.uk. He then was called up by Sporting Redhouse. This is acceptable, but he's tied to Sporting for a minimum of three games (or weeks) before he can play for anyone else. So he's okay to play for Sporting at any time in those three weeks (or not if that's the case). For example, he can play for Sporting for three consecutive games and then is free to join, say, MFS. He will then have to play out three games/weeks for MFS before joining someone else.

Luckily, the Sassco League has never had a problem with "ringers" coming in for big games. Most of the teams understand that they need to be loyal to their players as getting rid of the regulars eventually leads to player shortages when the "superstars" tend to drop them in it.

-29th June 2005| back to top

Max Housing back in.

Dean Robinson takes control.

Max Housing are back and this time under the control of Dean Robinson (one of their existing players). The side is going to contain only a few of the existing line up (Linley and Johnstone) but will be predominantly new.

The kick off against AGUK.net is back on next week at 7:00pm as scheduled.

-29th June 2005| back to top

Max Housing.

Team mutually agrees with the League to resign.

Max Housing are due to be replaced in the league after Scott Johnstone has decided to call it quits.

This was half expected as the team struggled with the kit rule on a regular basis amongst other things. All their players are now available to sign on for any team. Scott Johnstone himself is available to play (although not for next week). With most of their players going on holiday in the next week, they would have had results against them, which is not the best way to continue.

The options now are:

• Max Housing get new management and continue to the end of the season. This means a new team comes in and plays under the Max Housing name for their remaining games. For the cup competitions they can change the team name to any one of their own choice.
  
• Max Housing's results get deleted. This is the favoured option if the management change doesn't occur. Under DFA regulations it will be as if Max Housing didn't exist in the league, so all results, goalscorers against them are wiped from the record and the league continues with nine teams.
  
• A new representative team with Scott Johnstone still in partial control continues to the end of the season. Players will be selected by the League Secretary and also Scott Johnstone to complete the teams fixtures.
  

-28th June 2005| back to top

Twists and turns.

Crown comeback against Wearview while Sporting escape with a late equaliser against Hylton Castle.

dadcheck.com 2 Redhouse Youth 1

Andy Bradford's wise words of wisdom came back to haunt him in the opening minute against the Youths. "Don't let them take any shots," was his major tactic and with pearls of enlightenment like that from their esteemed leader, it's only a matter of time before his team pick up some silverware. However, the opening was a disaster as Youth's took the lead. All credit to dadcheck.com, though. They came back strongly and managed to get an equaliser before the end of the half. The second saw Andy's goalkeeping heroics strike fear into the heart of the Youth's as his stops eventually demoralised them enough to allow dadcheck to put them out of their misery. It was 2-1. Until then, Youths were controlling Pud Jackson as a threat, but they didn't take their own chances when 1-0 up and suffered a rare defeat.

Crown Electrics 3 Wearview Elite 2

When Jacko defied his age to stroke in the opener for Wearview, you knew there was going to be trouble ahead. Wearview matched their fierce rivals in every aspect and it wasn't too long before number two practically killed them. Yet hope on the horizon. Firstly Crown scored and then Neil Minnie, being the dickhead he is, walloped the ball into the bush. Keith Brazier wisely stopped play and forced Minnie to retrieve the ball. In reality, he should have forced the roll-on sub back on the pitch for Minnie while he looked for the ball. Nevertheless, this acted as a spur for Crown who lashed in an equaliser with around four or five minutes remaining. But another twist in the tale saw Crown take the lead and hold it, despite Hembrough's last second strike off the post. An amazing game - but games between these two always are. Sporting were the real winners. After the nights results, Wearview would have been on equal points had they won.

Sassco.co.uk 3 AGUK.net 0

Jase Amour took a gamble, but it backfired. Discarding Ames and Muers, he added Hounslow (Sheepy) to his increasingly impressive team. Recent performances have been good, while their opponents, Sassco, are in free fall. But, for the first time in what seems an age, Sassco kept the same line up for two consecutive games and it worked. First, Middlemiss squeezed in a shot past Logan followed shortly by another goal from Flash Gordon from a tight angle. 2-0 and Sassco were performing well. The second saw more of the same, but Sassco slackened off and, lucky for them, AGUK didn't take advantage. The third eventually came and it was Chris Minnie, who got a header in from around 2 yards inside the box which was allowed. Surprising considering that most onlookers thought he was so far in the box he had the 'keepers gloves on. At the other end, a strong shot from Sheepy nearly squeezed in, but Garrett held it on the line with his elbow.

Fulwell FC 7 Max Housing 1

The end for Max Housing. Not a great deal to say, but Johnstone's team again struggled with the line up and he's decided to call it quits. A new team will come in and hopefully replace them. If not, then results could be deleted. More info to be posted shortly.

Sporting Redhouse 2 Hylton Castle 2

Finally, Hylton Castle came out of their blocks after a mediocre few weeks. New stars, Gavin Dorwood and Dave "Rooney" Murton came in and despite the constant roll-on roll-off situation, the team switched on perfectly and adapted each time in a game where they held the leaders to an unlikely draw. Or to be more precise, the leaders held them to a draw. An opening goal from Murton put the willies up Sporting as they were nervous and panicky on the ball. But hope for them in the second half as an immediate equaliser almost from kick off would normally spell the end for any opponent. However, Hylton held on and from a cautious start in the second, soon got the lead again. The goal came from Cresswell. Hylton were comfortable now and played the best one-touch football which even the likes of Fulwell would envy. However, lack of cohesion led to Sporting equalising again and in the dying moments, Williamson hit the post, which would have been cruel for Hylton. A 2-2 draw and another excellent game for Hylton, who kept a lid on the aggression off the ball which did them wonders.

A good game in a night of brilliant encounters.

Max Housing are to be replaced in the League. If any team is interested in coming in, please contact us as soon as possible.

-21st June 2005| back to top

Andy Bradford on the edge of despair.

. . . as he sees dadcheck get hammered. Max's second win. Fulwell cancel out Crown.

Wearview Elite 3 AGUK.net 2

With Digga's wayward, sky-high blasts to help them, Wearview gained a difficult win over a resurgent AGUK.net. Jase's mate managed to equalise a Wearview opener in spectacular style as Nelson was left stranded. However, they soon gained the momentum back with another two goals. Middlemiss, Michael Lawson and Hembrough fired in the strikes, but AGUK were far from out of it. Logan's customary spectacular saves were augmented with Michael Pearson returning from the cold. AGUK soon grabbed one back to make it 3-2 but struggled to get another one, while Wearview struggled with Logan's acrobatics.

Sporting Redhouse 6 dadcheck.com 0

How disappointing for Andy Bradford. On the edge, but quiet as he saw his team taken apart by the current League leaders. Craig Spence was boiling over while the twins couldn't believe what was happening to them. Ryan McNaught wisely stayed away from this disaster.

Crown Electrics 1 Fulwell FC 1

With Fatty still in retirement, it was left to his look-a-like, Stubba, to lash in the opener. Most viewers were surprised, but Stubba has managed to bag plenty of goals since his entrance into the Sassco Leagues. Yet Fulwell weren't down and mounted attack after attack before they got their just rewards with a second half equaliser.

Max Housing 4 Sassco.co.uk 2

Scott Johnstone's team only managed their previous win over Sassco, so it wasn't surprising to see these two basement teams battling it out. Sassco did get the opener after Dale Percival was mugged for the ball by Gourlay who got the ball into the back of the net. However, Phil McLaren's storming equaliser was his just rewards for battling throughout all of Max Housing's games. Now it was Max on top, before another fortuitous goal (an own goal of sorts forced on by Gore Robson) put Sassco ahead. Max never gave up and equalised immediately with Steve Scott in fine form. He got another one in the end and so did Linley to take the points in a well-deserved win.

Max Housing are fined £5 for wearing the incorrect socks.

-14th June 2005| back to top

Fulwell 0 Sporting 0

dadcheck hammer Sassco. Wearview impressive. Crown get another win.

Wearview Elite 5 Max Housing 0

Max Housing expected a better performance after their narrow defeat against Redhouse Youth, the week before. Unfortunately for them, they came up against a rampant Wearview team, eager to catch up on Sporting. The Greasy Spaniard was again on form and helped himself to a hat-trick, spurred on by a first minute penalty conversion. Michael Lawson and Hembrough added the others, as Wearview looked highly impressive. Both the aging libero's, Steve Lawson and Paul Jackson, also had comfortable games with Jacko showing that he's still the player he was when he was 38. Great win for the Wearview boys and even greater considering that Sporting, for the first time this season were held.

Fulwell FC 0 Sporting Redhouse 0

The culprits were Fulwell FC and ironically, with both teams renowned for scoring goals, they cancelled each other out. Yet it wasn't entirely negative. Fatboy Tarnjit Sangha performed miracles and acrobatics in the Sporting goal to keep the score at 0-0. Sporting , actually, barely had a sniff of the Fulwell goal, but the team was marginally depleted. With no Trevor Walker and Steve Wilson to finish the chances, they did well to keep it at 0-0. The Traitor was especially difficult for this game. He committed foul after foul and should have got his marching orders which would have been enforced with a lengthy ASBO from the complex. But Haldane let the game flow and the Traitor was lucky that the normally strict and vicious Haldane was lenient this time. A cracking game and a very good 0-0 draw which disappointed Fulwell more than Sporting. Could this be the start of a down turn in fortunes for Sporting?

Crown Electrics 2 AGUK.net 0

With Fatty Wardle in semi-retirement, it was left to his wonder-team to take the game to AGUK. The underdogs were still brimming with confidence from their win last week, but this was soon shot to bits when both Ames and Muers confirmed that they would be available to play. It was a poor performance from AGUK as they conceded an early goal from Forrest. Crown never looked back and never looked uncomfortable in a decisive win.

dadcheck.com 5 Sassco.co.uk 1

Andy Bradford was nervously pacing on the sidelines and it wasn't surprising. This week, his team had to face Sassco - a team which drew with Fulwell and threw some doubt in that small mind of his. Yet there was hope on the horizon for Bradford, as Sassco added William "The Tash" Harper to their line up. Now for those people not in the know, Harpers appearance usually coincides with a bridge falling down, a spacecraft prematurely burning up in the atmosphere or seeing it pissing down with rain and hail. Garrett had done his last minute dirty-dropout routine again, so Sangha was in goal. It was a disaster. Pud Jackson tore into Sassco again and scored two goals in the first half. Sassco played okay but were undone by poor finishing, great goalkeeping from Craig Spence and the fact that referee, Haldane, forced Mickey Drury to tie up his shoelaces, therefore tightening up his usually poor performance and vagabond like appearance. The second half didn't change much. This time, Sammut was on marking duty versus Pud and did reasonably well. But he was isolated and Pud still managed to be first to any free ball to lash two past Davinder Sangha again. The icing on the cake was McNaught scoring from a stupid angle. Like Bradford scoring against Sassco last time, this was the killer blow. Although McNaught scoring was marginally more acceptable as goalkeeper Sangha didn't realise the threat until too late. McNaught had sneakily shaved his side burns off - hence confusing the opponents. Gourlay got a good consolation for Sassco and Flash Gordon was very unlucky not to score a goal which would have been classed as the finest goal ever scored for a long time, had it not come back off the post.

I'm delighted to say that Crown Electrics are fined £5 for wearing the incorrect shorts and socks - again.

-13th June 2005| back to top

West Denton 2 Sassco.co.uk 10!

Good run out for the Sassco 11-a-side team.

An outstanding and professional performance for Sassco 11-a-side team against a very poor West Denton team (playing at West Denton) on Sunday afternoon (12th June)

Venue: All Saints College, West Denton Newcastle
West Denton 2

Sassco.co.uk 10 Mark Muers (3) Neil Middlemiss (3), Scott Johnstone (2), Ryan McNaught, David Staples.

Sassco.co.uk: Scott Johnstone (Max Housing), Jeff Clark (Crown Electrics), Jason Amour (AGUK.net), Chris "Digga" Dixon (AGUK.net), Mark Sammut (Sassco.co.uk), Dave Gourlay (Sassco.co.uk), Mark Muers*(Sassco.co.uk), David Staples (Crown Electrics), John Oliver (AGUK.net) subbed for Ryan McNaught (dadcheck.com), Neil Middlemiss (Wearview Elite), Scott Hembrough (Wearview Elite)

Full details, match report and photos, click here.

-10th June 2005| back to top

Long serving players.

Since kick off day in January 2000.

Looking back, it seems that a few players from Season 1 are still going strong despite a staggering 5 years elapsing.

Paul Martin

Played outfield for PCB (now Crown) since Season 1 and is, by far, the player with most appearances in the League.

Tarnjit Sangha

Outfield for Sporting Redhouse and then Select for the first three seasons. Took a break for a couple of seasons, but now back with a new look Sporting Redhouse team in Season 8.

Stephen Wilson

Striker for Sporting Redhouse in Season 1. On and off from Season 3, but now a regular again (and still scoring the goals) for Sporting.

Davinder Sangha

Defender for Sassco (then Herrenknecht / Intermedia) in Season 1, followed by a season in goal before returning outfield for Season 8.

Gavin Wilson

Sassco player in Season 1. Left in Season 3 to join Team Coulson, but disappeared until the Season 7 cup competition, where he played for Wearview. Back in as a regular for Sassco this season.

Chris Garrett

Indomitable, award winning goalkeeper for Sassco in Season's 1 to 4. Quit due to injury, but dragged back into the fold for Sassco again in Season 8 as a regular.

Sean Forrest

One of the finest players to play in the League. With Crown from Season 1 to 2 before disappearing and re-emerging as a regular this current season.

John Hunt

Regular for Sassco in Season 1, 2 and 3 before leaving in controversial circumstances to join Select and then seeing them to four consecutive League Titles before "retiring." Made a stunning comeback as an on and off non-regular player for AGUK in Season 8.

More information on the past seasons in the Sassco League can be viewed in the Archive section.

-7th June 2005| back to top

AGUK wipe the smile off Andy Bradford's face.

Stunning win overshadows good results for Youth, Wearview, Sassco and Sporting.

AGUK.net 2 dadcheck.com 1
"We're the best," commented Andy Bradford before the game. "We're up there with Sporting and should be neck and neck with them."

His bluster soon turned to immense embarrassment. The team was practically full-strength with McNaught making a return. Yet AGUK.net with just about the same side which lost heavily against Hylton in their last encounter, came alive. Dixon grabbed an all important opener as his shot squeezed through. A welcome goal which should keep him turning up for at least another two or three games. It was the second one which did the trick though. A bullet from Amour burst the net and AGUK, inexplicably, were 2-0 up.

dadcheck should have come back into it. One of the twins missed an open goal with Logan stranded (none of them will admit which twin it was). Mickey Drury was playing like a lost soul. Truly it was Men against Mickey as he floundered in defence with his shoe laces flapping about him. But there was hope on the horizon. Pud Jackson slotted one back in the second half, but more and more chances were missed and dadcheck lost it. A truly shocking result for them. Andy Bradford was practically in tears after the game lamenting, "I can't go on...I can't go on..." Drury could only take comfort in the fact that Sassco would hopefully get tortured off Fulwell. How wrong he was...

Redhouse Youth 2 Max Housing 1

With Max Housing, thankfully, back in the fold and Scott Johnstone once again pulling the strings, you would have thought the Youth team were in for a fight. And you'd be correct. The Youth's scored in the first half to take the initiative, but Max played exceptionally well - far better than they have all season. But the second goal practically killed it for them. Youth's were now in control, but let in a late goal for a nervous ending. Nevertheless, they took the three points and celebrated their second win on the trot. The poor mid-season is definitely over for them and they're on the up.

Sassco.co.uk 1 Fulwell FC 1
Sassco made one change from their previous game with Gourlay replacing Gash, but the transformation was evident. Fulwell had some near misses in the opening exchanges as did Sassco. However, a free-kick caught Garrett in no mans land as Fulwell took the lead. They had opportunities to add to it, but Garrett made some excellent stops to keep his team in with a fighting chance. Sassco themselves had chances, but most were wide with Gourlay, Gav Wilson and Gordon Robson with Minnie all having pot shots. Sassco, overall, played very well and stifled the Fulwell attack with Sangha in particular playing well as sole defender. Yet late on, with time running out, Middlemiss squeezed in the crucial equaliser to take a share of the points.

Sporting Redhouse 3 Crown Electrics 1

The big one of the night. Crown opened with Stubbs firing in the first goal, but Sporting soon came back into it. A few near misses occurred before Wilson grabbed the equaliser. In an end-to-end game, both sides gave it their all, but the quality in the Sporting team outweighed the more physical football from Crown and they were soon 2-1 up, with the Traitor scoring. Crown, with Greenwell playing well, failed to turn any of their possession into goals and suffered a sucker punch as Wilson added to his goal by scoring another near the end. A good physical game and another turning point in the league as Sporting have beaten all their closest rivals now. Wearview, Fulwell and Crown have all suffered, with only a faint hope of Sassco turning the tables on the leaders and no bleeding hope for dadcheck doing anything.

Wearview Elite 4 Hylton Castle 0

Quality showed in the end as Wearview maneuvered past a difficult game against Hylton with some ease. The opening salvos were crucial and Wearview took advantage. A quick two goals were scored, before a deflected shot hit Steve Lawson's backside before trickling into the net. "I've never scored a better goal." claimed Lawson after the game, but most of his team mates considered that it was the only way he would score after suffering a barren spell, a lack of goals and poor performances in the past few weeks. So it was 3-0 and nothing but pride to show for the Hylton team. They plugged away, but a fourth goal killed them off and the game got a bit nasty. Especially when Scott Hembrough tangled with his opponent. Hembrough, normally placid and calm "brought shame to his team," as quoted by Neil Middlemiss. Hembrough and Steve Anderson (2) got the other goals.