If it's good enough for Sir Alex...

A furious Roy Race imposed a media blackout on Melchester after Sunday's 2-0 defeat to 2nd placed MOP Brno. Injury-hit Rovers struggled against strong opponents, and while all agreed the best team won, sources close to Racey suggest the mulleted icon is secretly seething that the reds were unable to convert the few excellent chances they managed to create.

One point from two games is hardly the start Rovers were looking for in their chase for 2nd place, but hopes are high that this weekend's double header will go some way to banishing their woes, as Friday evening sees Melchester finally take on bottom placed WCFC, with little time to celebrate or commiserate before the next day's meeting with 2nd bottom team Tripoli.

Having slipped to 6th, but still with games in hand, 6 points would do very nicely.

Ugly in Pink

Seems like Palermo got sick of getting beat. As the league's resident "plucky losers", Palermo were the team everyone loved to play: some good players, but never enough for a full team, which usually made for a competitive first half, followed by a second half collapse as fatigue set in. But now it seems those days are over. The worm has turned, and although he's still very pink, he's also grown a pair.

Early on, the signs were good for Rovers, as after three minutes a Nordheim shot hit both posts before falling for Pagliaro to blast into the roof of the net. Another three minutes and Palermo had equalised, with a deflection off a Palermo face that was so flukey that Rovers merely shrugged it off. However, as the half wore on and the tackles became more crunching, it became clear that the Palermo of old was no more, and battle had commenced. A Cyrillo goal after 23 minutes briefly gave Rovers some breathing space, but within 5 minutes they had conceded another equaliser, and at half time the scores stood at 2-2.

Palermo's new forwards celebrate their lucky equaliser

The second half started just as the first, with an early Melchester goal after a sweeping passing move that allowed Kimbrell to slot home, and it seemed that if Rovers could find one more goal, the game would be secure. However, Palermo eventually broke through to equalise and then almost immediately grab a fourth and the lead, and suddenly Melchester had a mountain to climb.

Matt Smith is keen to shake off his "bad-boy" image

Attack after attack led to nothing, with the pink's keeper playing a blinder, until with just 2 minutes on the clock, a clearance fell to Matt Smith on the halfway line, whose scuffed shot somehow meandered past the Palermo defence and under the keeper, entering the goal on the fourth bounce.

James Pagliaro is even keener to shake off his "limp-wristed" image

There was little more to be done, and the final whistle was greeted with relief from Rovers and anger from Palermo at one point apiece.

It never lies

That draw means Melchester drop a place to 5th, yet still with those crucial games in hand that keep them in contention for 2nd. But with current 2nd placers MOP Brno coming up this weekend, Rovers need to shake off the doziness that always seems to plague them in their first games after a break, and maybe hope MOP will be more hungover than them. It is a 10am kick off, after all.

Melchester - Who We Are

Running To Standstill

Spot The Difference:

One month ago, Rovers had just broken into the Top Four:

Five unbeaten matches later, Rovers are, um, still in fourth

Despite a series of outstanding victories in recent weeks, the table does not lie. With their rivals refusing to drop points, Melchester find themselves week in, week out, failing to make it to the top.

However, there is hope. With two games in hand over the three teams above them, a potential 6 points are available - which, math(s) fan(s), puts 2nd place within Rovers' grasp. Hardly the dominant position many pundits were predicting for the reds at the start of this campaign, but at least they ain't FC WC.

Talking of which, Saturday sees Rovers take on the league's aforementioned erstwhile whipping (quite literally) boys, and with FC WC having rarely been beaten by less than double figures and an average age lower than FC Karlsberg's average IQ, a cricket score is on the cards.

Stay tuned for all the latest breaking news, exclusively here, when I can be arsed.

Up Where We Belong

Ozzie - Melchester's most loyal fan

For the first time in their history, Melchester lined up against Last Minute with an unchanged line-up from the one that had pushed aside Domino a week before. And the reds hit the ground running as Ali, scorer of a last minute goal in the previous game, scored a first minute goal in this one.

Unfortunately Rovers were feeling generous, gifting Last Minute two goals that looked set to award them their first ever victory against Melchester. In a hard fought second half, Costea found an equaliser, after which neither side could break the deadlock. A point apiece, 2-2.

Beating The Blues

Up against unfamiliar opposition one week later against Corinto Blues, Rovers were horrified to find the match would be officiated by BSMK's Worst Ref, Roman from arch-rivals Galaxy FC. However, on this occasion the ref seemed so keen to prove his impartiality that Corinto suffered, the Reds going ahead from a dubious throw in which Corinto's keeper pushed into his own net, before gifting the blues yet another ridiculous goal, almost identical to the one they'd presented Last Minute with the previous week.

But when Corinto seemingly took the lead, the ref contrived to find a fault and disallowed the goal, and Melchester took heed. With free-scoring A-list Celebrity Norwegian Vegard Nordheim grabbing four goals, and Ali adding another two, an easy 6-1 win sent Rovers back up the table.

Big But Time

Next up Karlsberg. Grudge match time. Last season's tie will be remembered for Karlsberg's racist abuse, Harald Schumacher-esque goalkeeping, and calling Matt Smith "Moby". As if that weren't enough, a big enough victory for Racey's men would see them overtake Karlsberg for a top three spot. This, surely, is the match of the weekend.

Reds Back On Track

The wonderful thing about Vegards, is Vegards the wonderful thing.

Melchester's top scorer and part time Tiggerogram Vegard Nordheim

After a disappointing start to their season, Melchester welcomed back last season's top scorer and celebrity Norwegian Vergard Nordheim for the tie against erstwhile whipping boys Tripoli Cafe "B". And, as hoped, Rovers went into an early lead when Nordheim announced his return with a goal after 15 minutes.

The second half saw Ali score early on with his customary aplomb, before Wee Big Man Robin Smith doubled the score, grabbing a brace toward the end which could have important implications for goal difference later in the season.

Short of new signings, Rovers even experimented with ghosts in the midfield, but with no actual physical body with which to control the ball, this was only marginally more effective than the usual line-up.

With the wind in their sails, Rovers moved on to new opponents Domino, who were dominated by a free scoring Melchester who for once scored practically from kick off courtesy of Pagliaro, with that man Nordheim again hitting the scoresheet in style with another 4 (FOUR) goals, and Ali bringing up the rear to score in extra time to give Rovers a 6-0 win.

And so onto tomorrow, when another familiar opponent, Tottenham lookalikes Last Minute FC try to beat Rovers for the first time in their history. Always a close match, there's everything to play for with positions on the table still mighty, mighty close.

Under-Powered Rovers Stuck in First Gear

9 Rubbish Rovers - Melchester last weekend

As expected, a threadbare squad struggled to contain MOP Brno who, without outclassing, won by simply outnumbering the Rovers in the first game after the summer break.

One for the scrapbook - a rare sighting of Rover's blue smelly change strip

Looking on the bright side, with one loss and two games in hand, Rover's league position allows us to employ such wonderful words as "lowly", "wallowing", and "languishing" to describe their present situation:

The good news for tomorrow night's midweek fixture is that celebrity Norwegian Vegard has been spotted back in the Brno, and that Rovers take on Tripoli Cafe "B" who, last season at least, were rubbish.

Mild-mannered soccerguy CK9 adds to the atmosphere with some vuvuzela

Actually, we weren't outnumbered after all.