Summary of the action from Week 9 of NTU's LIGA 11-a-side competition.

For the second week running the weather disrupted the running of the LIGA Cup Group games. With Victoria Embankment ruled out of action by the council the sole surviving game was the Group C match between FC Futsal and Chaps Society. The game was highly anticipated due to the fact that a large number of the Chaps Society players represented FC Futsal last season, so their was great potential for a competitive game.

Both sides started the game brightly, though Chaps has the better early chances going close from long range and seeing a Gavin Hunter free kick pushed away by Ollie Lowe in the Futsal goal.

On twenty minutes though Futsal took the lead after a Chaps clearance was regained by the Futsal midfield. The ball was played through to Sam Higgins who took a touch before placing the ball into the top corner from twenty yards.

Chaps were spurred on by going behind and levelled the score within five minutes of going behind. Winning a free kick on the left side of the pitch Gavin Hunter elected to cross the ball into the Futsal penalty area. The attempted headed clearance only fell to Chaps midfielder Jack Lodge who volleyed home from by the penalty spot.

The score stayed at 1-1 going into half time, though Ollie Lowe was forced into a full stretch save before the break when Robbie Wilcock took a shot on from thirty yards.

If the first half had been an even affair the second belonged to Chaps. The Futsal defence held strong for the first twenty minutes of the half, preventing Chaps converting their pressure and possession in the Futsal half into any dangerous attempts on target. After twenty minutes though Chaps finally got their breakthrough as a Robbie Wilcock corner to the back post was headed across goal by Gavin Hunter leaving Alex James the simple task of heading over the line from a yard out.

Chaps continued to have the lions share of play for the rest of the half and extended their lead with fifteen minutes to go as Jack Lodge slotted home from twenty yards out. Ollie Lowe then pulled off a fantastic double save to keep Futsal's chances alive as he tipped a Lodge twenty yarder onto the bar before punching the rebound clear under heavy pressure.

Futsal were having to commit numbers forward to try to get back into the game and, despite coming close through a Tom Perera header, it was their need to attack that allowed Chaps to seal their win. A Futsal corner was cleared into the Futsal half leaving Jack Lodge to race clear of the Futsal back line and round Ollie Lowe to roll the ball home for his hattrick.

The game finished with Chaps continuing to create chances on goal, with the most notable being a twenty yard free-kick taken by their goalkeeper Dan Brown which skimmed the crossbar. They did get their fifth goal though and in impressive fashion as a flowing move across the pitch allowed the ball to be cut back to player/manager Ben Pyle, who scored his fifteenth goal of the season and seventh in two cup games.

With their being only one game Chaps Society automatically take the Team Of The Week award for Week 9 following their 5-1 win.

The win itself secured Chaps place at the top of Group C and saw them become the first team to officially qualify for the knockout phases, taking a spot in the NTU Cup Quarter Finals. Next weeks fixtures should see the final standings in five of the Cup Groups decided. In Groups A BSOC Bulldogz and Bayer Lexerkusen have both already secured qualification from their Group and face to decide which of them will contest the Cup and which the Plate in Term 3, with the game having the potential to go to a penalty shootout decider due to their equal goal records. The same is true of
games between Bassetts All Sorts and Puyol Pants Down in Group B, Kings Of Leon Osman and Goldsmiths in Group E and ACS FC and Teenage Mutant Ninja Skrtels in Group F. In Group C, with Chaps having already secured first place, FC Futsal play Chamakh My Pitch Up knowing a point will put them into the NTU Plate draw but defeat will see Chamakh take their place. In Group D a win for Cypriot Society against BSOC All Stars will see them win a place in the NTU Cup, whilst a BSOC win would leave the Cypriots waiting on the result of the Blenheim BSOC game in a weeks time. In Group G FC Banterlona will claim a knockout spot without kicking a ball should Pub Sports fail to beat History Society, but the Groups final placings will only be decided in two weeks when Banterlona play History themselves.

The final two games of the day take place in LIGA C. Two teams who've been reinforced over the Christmas break play as Ajaxonometric meet Expected Toulouse and Blenheim and FC Banterlona face each other knowing that a win could move them to the top of the table.

Viva La LIGA!