A last gasp winner from Jimmy Carson gave Malia Monchengladbach an impossible final match victory.
Malia came into the final game of the season with only a victory against league winners Stiff Tackle good enough to be sure the reds would not be relegated.
It wasnt the best start when Stiff Tackle arrived with a 7 man squad and the monchie reds could only muster 4 men with Mark 'sparkle' Knight planning on making the 2nd half, Malia knew it was a tough ask to beat the run away leaders anyway and so set about the task of trying to keep them at bay until Sparkle arrived.
Malia started well working hard to keep Tackle at bay and against the run of play Malia had the first good chance of the match when Adam Elrick robbed the stiff defender and went through on the keeper only for his shot to be blocked by the same player he had robbed.
The last minute tackles and blocks kept the game at deadlock until a whipped in ball caught Elrick wrong footed and he beat his own keeper to seemingly open the floodgates.
Tackle soon made it 2 and malia looked to be dead and burried with defensive rocks Jimmy and Scott Read starting to tire but A N Other arrived and gave the reds the full 5 which still left an up-hill task but gave the Monchies some hope.
With just a few minutes of the first half remaining Elrick who had been a thorn in the side of Tackle went on a run from inside the Malia half and after giving a couple of defenders the run around fired low past the Stiff keeper to give Malia real hope at half time.
Monchengladbach really put the cat amongst the pidgeons at the start of the 2nd half when Elrick latched onto a pass from Read and slid the ball past the keeper to make it 2-2.
Monchengladbach were on there last legs and at times it was almost Stiff Tackle against Milan but he could do nothing to stop Tackle taking the lead again soon after.
It looked as if this time Malia would surely be done for but Elrick was determined to keep going forward and it was Elrick whos trickery on the side line opened Tackle up again and once he had reached the byline he fired the ball across the face of goal for Read to power home and set up a grand stand finish.
Again Malia were just about keeping Stiff out with Jimmy and Milan in outstanding form making saves and tackles time after time and as the Stiff frustration grew with only a couple of minutes to go Elrick played a long curling pass that found its way to Jimmy who had driven forward from the back, Jimmy had just the keeper to beat but he stayed cool and poked the ball off the near post and into the net to the delight of his shattered team mates.
Malia now could almost touch survival and were all hands to the pumps for the final minute of the game Sparkle had arrived and was thrown straight on but with just seconds to go the ball fell to an on rushing Tackle player who smashed a shot at Milan Harings goal, the strike flicked off of the bottom of the outstretched Elricks boot and powered against the Malia post, Malia hearts were in mouths as the ball rolled across the goaline to safety.
Malia Monchengladbachs season was only cm's away from relegation but the luck they had deserved throughout the season finally shot the reds to 3rd in what was a very tight division.
Elrick, Carson, Read and Haring Malia Monchengladbach legends!!!!
