Another split round saw match day six's true star, Othniel, get a huge 5 games in to bring him up to speed with everyone else. Two fixtures on Friday night saw him battle first Dave, then Imojjen. Unfortunately, the rust was hard to shake off for Othniel and he suffered two narrow losses. Dave picked up his second consecutive league victory. Imojjen then stepped out into The Clubhouse minutes after a 3 hour zoom interview. Her exhaustion, however, soon dissipated as she found her flicking groove and scored a fine goal on the run to take a slender victory.

On Sunday afternoon, Othniel returned, this time with Costa, Paul, Vince and Franck joining him. Franck and Vince played out an incredible draw. Vince thought he had taken the lead midway through the first half until the goal was ruled out for offside. To rub salt into the wound, Franck took the lead soon after and then added another early in the second half and appeared to be cruising against the deflated Vince. Vince, however, then rallied himself and, in an explosive 45 seconds, scored not 1 but 2 goals to tie up the score. Both pushed for a winner but the draw was a fair result for what had transpired. A staggered start time saw Costa take on Paul next. The low-key match went 2-0 Paul's way, as he doubled down on his concentration to make sure that the very real potential of slipping up against Costa did not come to pass, keeping the pressure on Adrian at the pointy end of the table.

Following Franck and Vince's game, Othniel began his run of three games in a row. First up was his clash with Franck. In an end to end game, with very little value placed on midfield build up, the two attacked and counter-attacked each other viciously, but to little effect as a mix of some rushed finishing and some excellent goalkeeping kept the game in a scoreless stalemate for its duration. Probably the most exciting 0-0 game of the entire league so far.

Costa had the honour of the next match v Othniel. As is often the case, the game was more notable for the excited commentary from Othniel than the on-field prowess, with Costa happy to chime in with excited responses, and a couple of goals, to take the honours.

The final game, between Othniel and Paul, was far more about the discussion of racism, politics, nationality and heritage than the actual Subbuteo, though Paul did manage to sneak a goal in each half without anyone else completely realising. A laid back game if ever there was one!

And so, with just a small number of games to go for each player, the table is still a long way from settled, with the middle and lower parts still particularly congested. Paul Magee heads to the top of the League for the first time this season. Will his points on the board be more valuable than Adrian's games in hand? The big question, though, is - has The Godfather finally conceded his role as the statesperson of the League? His late withdrawals with ever more spurious excuses are really making his opponents begin to question his commitment!

The Godfather was scheduled for three games on this Wednesday night fixture, but decided a couple of days out that it was too late for a school night. And so it was to Vince and Ray to come along and face games against each of Costa, Paul and Dave.

The first round provided two dour affairs, with nobody managing to excite either audiences or scoreboard. A solitary goal to Paul in his game against Ray was enough to keep his slender title aspirations alive, while Vince and Costa cancelled each other out.

In the second round things got a bit more exciting. Paul kept his nose in front of Vince with an unanswered goal in each half, as well as some close misses which were expertly caught on camera by Costa. In possibly the evening's most exciting match, Ray took the lead against Dave midway through the first half. An improving Dave, however, was carving out some chances of his own. He finally managed to find the back of the net, only to have pointed out that neither he nor Ray had noticed one of Dave's figures in an off-side position. From Ray's ensuing free kick, he swept downfield to add insult to injury, scoring a second goal. The two Arsenals continued the tussle, but the scoreline remained at full time.

Vince's lacklustre form followed him into the evening's final round of fixtures. In spite of scoring yet another goal which was ruled out by a VAR check for off-side, Dave did manage to score a fair goal and was able to hold on for his first ever victory. In a heavyweight slug out on the televised pitch, it was a case of small margins being the difference. Costa made one costly defensive mistake, which proved to be the difference between he and Ray, as Ray was able to pounce for the game's only goal.

With things now shifting well and truly into the second half of the season, he table is taking on a more settled look, though the logjam of players in the middle of the placings will still take a fair bit of sorting over the final few matchdays.

Another split round with some Sunday games from Micallef Mansion...

The Godfather came out firing with his pre- and mid-game trash talk but it back fired quickly with 3 first half goals to establish a solid lead for Arsenal. An early second half goal wasn’t enough and a 5-1 win was secured. It was more a defensive battle between Vince and the GF with some great saves to keep the score 0-0 at half time. A late goal secured the victory for Liverpool in the end.

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Paul's constant standing to attention during all the recent royal remembrance services saw him damage his knee so he was a late no-show. Luckily, others were able to take up his slack, with Dave dropping in for a single competitive fixture (and bringing his daughter, Jess, along for her formal introduction to the game) and Adrian filling in the gap against Costa. In that game, Adrian scored an early goal but struggled to impose himself on the game and was never quite comfortable as Costa mounted his attacks and defended firmly. The game finished 1-0. Imojjen was taking on Franck on the slick pitch but had a shocker, never quite waking up and shipping two unanswered goals as Franck eased to the win.

Opponents were then swapped but, remarkably, the scores finished exactly the same. This time Costa conceded the solitary goal to Franck, while Imojjen slept through another 2-0 defeat, this time to Adrian. The final round saw Dave take on Costa. A goal in each half gave some points respectability to Costa's evening after his two earlier unlucky defeats.

Joining us on the night was the aforementioned Jess, who played some friendly games against her dad and Imojjen, and Lee, returning for a couple more friendly games as he learns the ropes. And the Western Sydney Subbuteo live streaming services took another step forward in quality, allowing the evening's three Pitch 1 games to go live to the world.

A split round for this week as the Micallef Mafia had their matches scheduled internally on Sunday afternoon at Micallef Mansion. A report from Ray:

As the scores reflect, it was a fast paced, attacking style of of game with lots of shots on goal from both teams. The 'keepers had to pull off some solid saves to prevent the score on either side blowing out and, despite a late comeback from Vince's Liverpool, Arsenal's early lead was enough to get them home 5-3.

The Godfather hadn't had his coffee yet so Vince v Louis and Ray v Louis have been postponed 'til next week.

Not that caffeine will help the Godfather!

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There was some confusion in the days leading up to the Monday fixtures as a number of players were desperate not to miss the Queen's funeral telecast. Paul learned he would be able to catch a replay on the Glasgow Celtic website the next day, so reluctantly committed to honouring his fixtures. Meanwhile, Othniel made a last minute withdrawal, citing having to watch 'a lecture', sending organisers into a mad panic to reschedule fixtures for the evening. This meant the key fixture of Paul v Adrian was brought forward by a week, a fact that Paul only discovered (not having kept up with communications throughout the day) on his arrival, much to his disgust.

Opening proceedings, though, Franck and Tim played on the livestream pitch. A tight opening half saw them go to the break at 0-0, before Franck was finally able to break Tim's resolve, and slot 2 unanswered goals in the second half. Meanwhile, Dave was determined not to let his old school mate get the better of him. A combination of competitive nerves on his part, and Dave's determined defending, meant Adrian had visions of dropping vital points in a game he was expected to win. In the end, a solitary goal, which trickled past Dave's 'keeper, was enough to take the hard-earned 3 points.

Round two saw Tim and Dave go head to head. It was a game both players felt they might have a chance at winning but, in the end, they cancelled each other out completely, with 0-0 the final score. Paul faced Adrian on the livestream pitch and it was as tense a game as could be expected from the league's top two seeds. Early mind games involving underplaying their own relative abilities, swapping out goalkeepers and bemoaning different pitch conditions had no significant effect on either as a tight midfield battle ensued. Ultimately, the difference was a single, 5 second period of play where Adrian found a small gap in Paul's defense and utilised it on the run to take the lead late in the first half. He was able to hold on to that, with a late 'Magee Swarm' going pearshaped as soon as it began as Paul attempted to find the equaliser.

The final game saw the League's most experienced player against its most inexperienced. However, midway through the first half, Tim sent shockwaves through the room taking the lead with a goal that Paul would have been proud of himself, sending a moving ball from a flick-in manoeuvre to bulge the back of the net. Despite video later showing there had been an off-side in the previous phase of play, with no VAR in place (and neither player noticing), the goal stood. Paul had to really settle into his game from there and was back equal by half time. In the second half, with renewed resolve, he was able to put two more past Tim to take the game, but notice had been served to the entire League - Tim was not to be taken lightly.

The addition of some friendly games and a brand new (though resolutely non-league!) player, Lee, made for another friendly and fun evening for Western Sydney Subbuteo.

The season's first Saturday outing was moved forward a couple of hours to give Ray the chance to go and watch the boganball in the evening and the arrival of the Micallef Mafia was the sign that the Spring League was well and truly in full swing. In order to utilise the daylight to give players more space in The Clubhouse, one of the Pegasus pitches was moved into the outdoor shade, a decision that had consequences down the track!

First up, the league's newest and youngest player this season, Tim, made his debut against Vince. While putting in an excellent display and scoring on debut, in the end it was Vince's experience which took him to a 2-1 victory. Othniel came out fighting in his clash with Ray, and it was a tight 1st half and 1-1 at the break. The wheels then fell off for Othniel, however, and Ray galloped to a comfortable 4-1 win. Meanwhile, on the outdoor pitch, the surface, which had been carefully placed in the shade a few hours earlier, now found itself warping in the full sunlight as the sun wound its way across the sky. And so Louis and Imojjen were left to deal with the consequences. They both did this admirably in a tight struggle, but it was Imojjen who came out on top with a slim 1-0 victory.

Round two saw Othniel and Louis on the livestream pitch. Othniel ran rampant, slotting 4 unanswered goals home to get his season underway. Adrian and Vince headed to the outdoor pitch which was really feeling the heat now, with some areas becoming very unpredictable. Adrian led 1-0 at the break after a speculative long shot that neither player could quite believe had succeeded. He then gifted Vince a goal with an appalling travelling 'keeper error early in the second half to give him visions of dropping points to Vince yet again in the league. However, in the end, Vince cries that the pitch conditions were to blame for his 3-1 loss fell in deaf ears. In the other game, the season's first big shock came when one of the league's perpetual darkhorses, Ray, found himself a goal behind to Tim at the break. Attempts to draw on his skill and experience to get himself back into the match in the second half were fruitless, as Tim added a second to really announce his arrival in the league.

The final round saw Vince take on Othniel on the outside pitch. By this time, the pitch had expanded fully in the sun and was back to its flat self, allowing for more accurate flicking - though the wind that was picking up did have some effect. It was difficult to blame conditions for the lacklustre game, though, a dour 0-0 draw never threatening to become a league classic. On the livestream pitch, Ray seemed to have been mentally shattered by his loss to Tim and allowed a steady stream of goals from Adrian into the back of his net. A late consolation cheered him a little, but the 4-1 loss put another significant dent in his title aspirations. Conversely, Tim's exertions against Ray seemed to have taken it out of him, and he struggled to find his groove again against Louis. The game finished in a 0-0 draw, Louis' first point of the new season.

There was excitement in the Clubhouse air as the new season's first 5 competitors filed in. The two pitches had been freshly vacuumed and the little plastic balls were running true.

First up was Dave, playing his first competitive match since 2015, against Franck. A little bit of new season rust needed to be shaken off but both players soon settled into a groove. Franck had the better of the shots, but Dave transferred his real life goalkeeping onto the small pitch and kept Franck at bay. It wasn't until halfway through the second half where Franck's best, most delicate chipped shot of the evening, finally snuck through the tiniest of gaps in Dave's defense to earn his 1-0 win. Meanwhile, Paul opened his title defense with an encounter against the greatly improving Imojjen. In what would usually be a foregone conclusion in the Spring League, Paul struggled to break Imojjen down. The half time break finally allowed his team a good half time spray from the manager, and they came out and went into the lead inside the first minute of the second half. Imojjen would not roll over and concede the game, however, and continued to doggedly press Paul, creating a few chances of her own. In the end, it was a hard fought victory to Paul, who was full of the empty rhetoric learned from watching one too many boganball post match interviews.

Round two pitted Dave against Imojjen. The exertions of their respective opening games seemed to dull their follow up. Imojjen dominated without carving out too many clear-cut opportunities, while Dave continued to get the muscle memory back into his flicking without troubling Imojjen much where it counts. A 0-0 draw ensued. Franck and Paul, on the other hand, seemed to have thrown all Subbuteo tactical sense to the wind. While Paul opened up an early lead, Franck returned serve and a loud, expansive game had them 2-2 well into the second half. Paul then pulled a little from his stock of experience and put two unanswered goals home to take the match.

In the final round, Franck's stamina appeared to wane. A fresh Adrian was able to put two goals past him, though Franck was able to carve out a few opportunities, and Adrian survived one very close stranded traveling 'keeper scare when Franck unwittingly played himself offside. Dave showed that he was really growing back into the game putting a season opening goal past defending champion, Paul. Unfortunately for Dave, Paul was also in good touch, and put three past the 'keeper that Dave had so well manipulated in his previous two games.

So, a mixed bag of dour defense, zany attack and recycled cliches made for a great opening to the 2022 Spring League.

There is a table footballing term that was born at Western Sydney Subbuteo and is in common use throughout the greater Sydney table footballing community. Named after legendary player, Gordon Dudley, the term 'did a Gordy' means that an attacking player has failed to score a goal when the defender's goalkeeper is stranded on the pitch, leaving an open goal for the attacker to shoot at. On Saturday, November 27, 2021, the Subbuteo world witnessed a moment that will be remembered forever when defending Spring League champion, Paul Magee, did the greatest Gordy of all time. Paul has the slimmest of upper hands in his bid to retain his title, but knew that he could not afford to drop any points which could allow Adrian, Steve, or both, to slide ahead of him. In his opening game of Match Day 7, against Othniel, the pressure was appearing to make him nervous in a game everyone knew he should win but which could definitely pose a bit of a banana skin. As the first half wore on, Paul wasn't quite dominating as would be expected and was missing some finer touches, also allowing Othniel a few attacking opportunities. In the final minute of the half, however, Othniel made the crucial mistake. Bringing on his traveling 'keeper, he flicked at the ball and missed it, leaving Paul in possession with an open goal. Paul's first flick saw the ball headed goalwards, only to make contact with the post and leave the ball sitting on the goal-line. No huge problem yet, though, a touch on the ball from any figure would see it easily cross the line. Othniel tried to defend the situation but couldn't cover every angle. Paul flicked an attacker towards the ball. The figure crashed into the same post and missed the ball completely. It finished millimetres from the ball and, in the grand scheme of things, possibly, his league securing goal.

As it turned out, the miss had no effect on the match result or Paul's league standing. In spite of Othniel's best efforts, Paul was more composed in the second half, slotting 2 goals for the victory. Avoiding the TFM Muddy Pitch™, Steve and Vince squished their game next to Paul and Othniel. In a classic back and forth battle Vince held the upper hand until the final few seconds. Then a quick one-two saw Steve score an equaliser - with the final whistle sounding. Technically, the goal came after the end of the game, though was part of a swift move that started before that whistle sounded. Left to sort it out, Vince and Steve decided the game deserved a 2-2 scoreline and that was the result entered - emblematic of the great camaraderie and sporting spirit in the League.

In the next round, Steve and Louis had a friendly, though one-sided, all Manchester Utd derby, with Steve coming out as the winner. Vince opened the scoring in his game against Othniel with the goal of the afternoon, a superb chip from distance that seemed so unlikely, Othniel hadn't even properly grabbed his 'keeper to try and save it. Vince scored another before half time but Othniel made a much more even game of the second half, the score finishing at 2-0. In his encounter against Ray, Paul scored an early goal but then Ray made him work hard to hold his lead until full time, the 1-0 result keeping Paul on track for his title.

The final two games saw Othniel ease to a 2-0 victory against Louis (the Godfather accusing Othniel of practising too much!), while Steve scored the same result in a key match-up against Ray.

The afternoon's results meant Paul is reeling Adrian in, while Steve has just slipped off the pace ever so slightly. But there is more than just title honours at stake, with mini-tournaments within the tournament keeping everyone interested. In the battle of the Micallefs, Vince has slid past his brother, Ray (oops, did I just write that out loud?) and Othniel has decided his lower-mid-table position is enough to allow him to roast some of the players below him, though Paul, who had suffered the brunt of some of Othniel's quips after the epic Gordy, did keep him in line with one barbed put-down about the two goals Othniel had conceded in their match. All part of another afternoon's great fun and enjoyment!