Manx Football Blog 6: Staind
The blog’s back with news of the Railway Cup qualification race and Gymns combination side as they home in on an unlikely record
TO quote the 2001 hit of Massachusetts rockers Staind: ‘It’s been a while’.
Fear not though, the blog returns with a bumper edition that will hopefully replicate the dizzy heights set by blog number five.
It’s with matters at the foot of the Canada Life Premier League I begin this week’s electronic memoir.
I made my first trip of the season to Tromode on Saturday to make home side Gymns take on Ramsey in the pair’s ‘nine-pointer’
The battle of the relegation candidates spawned a 3-1 win for Ken Hedley’s hosts one that saw them leapfrog their opponents from the frozen north and move out of the league’s dreaded drop zone.
The home side will be delighted at claiming their first win of the season and starting their usual ‘Great Escape’ from the bottom two a couple of months ahead of its now-traditional start date.
Gymns, despite averaging less than a goal a game, look well-equipped to stave off the threat of the drop for another season, with a good core of players. However, their squad still looks light on strength in depth and few key injuries or suspensions could have them floundering again.
Brian Carney’s Rasmey were poor and will be disappointed not to have built upon the previous week’s 6-1 triumph over bottom side Marown.
Knee injuries to Lewis Qualtrough and Kris Halsall are big blows to a side that lacked some much-needed creativity in the final third at the weekend. The Ballacloan side will hope for a speedy return to the action for the pair or they could risk getting cut adrift at the bottom with a Marown team that is yet to break its points duck.
At the summit of the table, St George’s reinforced the long-held theory that they are the team to beat in the title race after they defeated St Mary’s 0-3 in a fiery contest at the Bowl.
Geordies are level at points at the top of the standings with Laxey, but with a better goal difference.
Equally compelling is the race to a claim a place in the division’s top-four Railway Cup spots. With only a couple of games to go to the season’s halfway qualification cut-off point, the aforementioned table toppers are joined by St John’s and St Mary’s in the top four.
Peel are also still in with a shout as they sit level on points with fourth-placed St Mary’s. Their hopes of a place at Manx football’s annual Christmas party may hinge on a rearranged trip to St George’s. Oh err missus!
Games left to play:
St George: 3/11 St John’s (H); TBC Peel (H)
Laxey: 3/11 Castletown (H); TBC St Mary’s (H)
St John’s: 3/11 St George’s (A); TBC Marown (A)
St Mary’s: 3/11 Ramsey (A); TBC Gymns (A); TBC Laxey (A)
Peel: 3/11 Corinthians (A); TBC St George’s (A)
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Get Gymns combi on your coupon
Aside from the glitz and glamour of the Canada Life Premier League, something struck me when I glanced at the Combi One table this week.
I’m not talking about the two-horse title race that looks set to rage between Laxey and DHSOB at the top, the pair already eight points clear of the chasing pack headed by Peel, my eye was drawn to a quite an impressive statistic further
down the league.
Third bottom Gymns are just one of four teams in senior men’s football not yet to register a win yet they lay claim to six points after drawing six of their 10 games so far.
The Tromode outfit’s second string could be homing in on some sort of Manx football record with Colby’s first team drawing the most of any team in the four senior men’s leagues last season with seven.
Can anyone remember a team sharing the spoils more in a campaign? Send in your suggestions on an electronic postcard to Andy.Dalrymple@newsiom.co.im or Tweet us @manxfootyblog
Right that’s it for this week’s ramblings. Good luck to Liam Doyle who plays for his university in Cincinnati in the North Central District Soccer Championship in the good old U, S of A on Saturday. Give it beans yessir!
Good luck also to Disco Dave as he returns to the reporting frontline this week at Marown v Gymns. Tweets from the match in Crosby at @manxfootyblog
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Weather for Isle of Man
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
