Metro League Home, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Finals

And it all comes down to this! With only one round remaining, the last remaining spot in the ML Championship Game is up for grabs. With a win, the River Rats will make their first trip to the big dance since 2004, and with a loss it will all come down to percentages and head-to-head records. A win by the VB’s or Tourists will see some interesting mathematical scenarios in the Commissioners Office. As everybody was awarded a draw for the Round 1 washout, the table is as follows:

Game 1: Suburban Tollmen 14-0-84 (Murray 3, Devine 3, Baxton 3, Cousins 3, Polulach 2, Hedley 1) defeated Village Bohemians 5-1-31 (Khalil 2, Crighten 1, Nicholls 1, Murray 1)

This weeks round of Metro League was played on the unforgiving playing field of Hoboken’s Stevens Institute on an overcast, humid day. The Trash took on the VB’s with the Bridge and Tunnel boys looking to avenge for their earlier season loss. Right out of the gates the men in red showed they meant business and gave the crowd that gathered an impressive showing of hard, running football. The Trash dominated the centre clearances through the committed Tim Buxton, Reuben Murray and Patrick McDonough. Both Tim and Reuben were able to take the ball away with clean and direct disposal setting up multiple scoring opportunities for themselves and their forwards under little or no resistance from the Villagers. The VB’s were not prepared to run and were found chasing jumpers all day. Ned Halliday, Sean Gillespie and Chris Murray fought hard but it was not enough. Trash defenders Doug Lewis and Cam Druitt were able to quell any VB forward movement and clear the ball out of danger. The second half was where the Tollmen really stamped their authority on the contest as they dominated and scored goals effortlessly. Paul Cousins in his debut for the Trash bagged 3 goals along with Reuben Murray who kicked 4. The VB’s could not generate any consistent ball movement as the Trash applied constant pressure. Chris Murray and Jarrad Crighton were the notable goal scorers for the Bohemians. The Trash ran out 10 goal winners in the biggest margin of the year.

Game 2: Times Square Tourists 10-1-61 (Molly 3, Lewis 2, Devlin 1, Toohey 1, Crighten 1, Steiner 1) defeated Hudson River Rats 8-1-49 (Kimball 4, Manzaris 2, Connelly 1, Bridges 1 )

The Rats faced the Tourists in Game 2 this week. With captain Tom Thompson away on Brazilian National Team duty, the Rats were left to fend for themselves against a strong Tourists outfit. This game was a stark contrast to the earlier one as only 2 goals separated the teams at the end of the day with the Tourists racking up their first win of the season in a tough encounter. Solid as a rock CHB Matt Smith, was again one of the best afield as he controlled the backlines and even kicked the goal of the year where he started the play at full back and ended it 40 meters out on the run. The Tourists had several players do their part with Nick and emerging Russian recruit Pavel getting amongst the play. The Rats had Matt ‘Cannons’ Kimble up forward kicking goals and Adam Mantzaris working solidly in the ruck. Both teams went at the ball hard and the surface took a few victims. The Tourists were able to use the ball more efficiently, limiting their turnovers and taking their opportunities when they came. The Rats took a while to get going as they messed around with the ball early on. They made a charge late through Kimble but it was all too late. In the end, the early lead the Tourists built got them home. Paul Devlin and Ben Steinfeld worked hard for the yellow jumpers while Dylan Bryant and John Cardamone never gave up for the boys in blue.

The Suburban Tollmen sit on top of the ladder 1 game clear of the Hudson River Rats, while the Village Bohemians share a spot with the Times Square Tourists.

The sixth and final round of the New York City Metroleague will be held July 29 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Round 6 sees the Times Square Tourists taking on the outerboroughs- The Suburban Tollmen. In the other game, the Rats will try to win against the Village Bohemians to secure their spot in the Metroleague Championship game.

Until then, seeya at the footy!

James Polulach & Andrew “Bubba” Bridges.