Oak felled after Stars' late burst:
MN All Stars continued their impressive start to the league season and remain unbeaten as they ran out comfortable 4-0 victors over Royal Oak, although the scoreline didn't reflect how close a game it was. The first half saw the Oak apply almost incessant pressure on the All Stars goal as chance after chance went begging - the best of which fell to Neil Jollie who rounded the keeper before seeing his effort cleared off the line. At the other end, however, the Oak defence was standing firm with man of the match Simon York dominating everything in the air.
The second half started much as the first ended, but as the Oak were forced into making chanes the All Stars began to take more of a stanglehold onthe game. The deadlock looked set to remain unbroken though, until the 75th minute when Oak defender Ali Johnson put through his own net under pressure from the All Stars forward line. The home side then took a 2-0 lead as Steve Howden prodded the ball home from a suspiciously offside position. With the Oak pushing on to find a goal in the final minutes, leaving spaces at the back, Lee Harding struck twice to give the All Stars a 4-0 win to keep them at the top of the league.
The Falchion missed their chance to keep the pressure on the top three as they could only draw against a resilient Drinkfield United. After a bright start by the home side, it was Drinkfield who could have taken the lead, but for a super save by stand-in keeper Dean Bates from a great looping strike by Daniel Eeles. Falchion responded well and were rewarded, if a little fortunately, when a strike by Mike Watt was too hot to handle for Paul Holiday in the Drinkfield goal. There was no mistaking the Falchion's second through, as Watt doubled his tally minutes later with a great strike, after a flick on from Mickey Bennett. This rattled the visitors and they pulled one back after a great run by Eeles ended when he was brought down in the box and the referee pointed to the spot, Eeles got up to convert the penalty himself. After taking a 2-1 lead into the break, Falchion then found themselves level after a controversial goal from David Elsdon, the ball appeared to have got out play on the right hand side, but with the visitors playing to the whistle, the cross was well dispatched by Elsdon.
The advantage had swung to the away side and Eeles grabbed his second with an excellent free kick from outside the area. Falchion responded well, but as Drinkfield were reduced to ten men when Carl Batty limped off and all the substitutes had been used, the home side made the extra man advantage count and man of the match James Benson capped another fine display to grab the equaliser and level the final score at 3-3.
St. Augustines played hosts to Sherwoods and with the match being played at a good pace throughout, with both teams looking to get forward, goals seemed a certainty. Andy Cairns started the scoring for the home side and it stayed at 1-0 until the last ten minutes of the first half, when another goal by Cairns and one from Mel McEvoy saw the home side take a 3-0 lead into the break. The second half followed the same hectic pace and despite several long range efforts from Sherwoods it was St. Augustines who found the back of the net with Cairns completing his second hat-trick of the season, and a fine performance by Michael Kipling was finished off with a fifth goal for the home side.
Goodfellas continued their push up the league with a 1-0 victory over Highland Laddie, while The Cricketers and Fighting Cocks shared six goals in a 3-3 draw.
Haughton's match with Axa Insurance was postponed.
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