CHAMPIONS!!!
Sovereign Sports secured the MMSFL Division 4 title after a comfortable 4-1 victory over Deanview 95.
Knowing that a win would guarantee top spot, Sovereign were keen to get off to a good start in the final game of the season. It was Deanview however, that drew first blood after the ref awarded a penalty for a questionable foul inside the area. There are rumours that centre back Chris Hill hates clean sheets so much that he gave away the foul deliberately. The Deanview striker gave Pat Tamsett in the Sovereign goal no chance, firing the ball into the corner of the net. The early goal for Deanview did nothing to dampen the spirits of the Sovereign team and they knew that they would get plenty of opportunities to get back into the game.
With Sovereign having the majority of possession it was only a matter of time before the equaliser came, and 10 minutes after going a goal down Joe Sword picked up a rebound from a Mark Butterfield shot. Joe passed to Oliver Allen who fired home from close range. 5 minutes later Sovereign took the lead when a defensive mistake allowed Oliver Allen to take the ball past the Deanview keeper and calmly pass the ball into the back of the net.
Sovereign continued to dominate the play and with 10 minutes left in the first half, Conor Swarbrick got his head on the end of a Joe Sword cross and beat the keeper at the near post. After recovering from the shock of Conor scoring a header, Sovereign took the 3-1 lead into half time.
The second half took a slower pace and Sovereign allowed Deanview more of the ball. While Deanview still struggled to create many real goalscoring opportunities, Sovereign failed to close the game out. It wasn't until the 75th minute that a handball inside the Deanview area resulted in a Sovereign penalty. Oliver Allen stepped up and left the keeper no chance of preventing his hat-trick. With 20 minutes to play, Jake Swarbrick, Tim Smyth and Dan Grice came on for Sovereign to give Conor Swabrick, Bret Arnold and Joe Sword a rest. While Sovereign would have preferred a tighter second half performance, the 4-1 scoreline was more than enough and the game finished with the title now decided in Sovereign's favour.
Sovereign Sports couldn't have hoped for a better 2nd season. The last month was a close battle, needing a win in the final game to guarantee top spot, but the whole team will be very proud of a great achievement, and already looking forward to next seasons campaign in Division 3.
It was a close contest for Man of the Match, but another great performance from Mark Butterfield deservedly earned him the award.
***Other Div 4 results***
Arriva 3 - 1 Tempest
Deanwood 6 - 2 Cuxton Autos
Intergills Res 2 - 2 Riverview Rangers
Twydall 1 - 2 Rainham Eagles Res
Arriva are still to play Deanwood and Darland Athletic are still to play Rainham Eagles reserves.
