Day 28 - Palace Casuals report.
Palace Casuals had three matches in just over two hours this evening, starting with the first match in the Association Play-off Final for 3rd/4th place. Casuals, with a loan defender on board, were facing a slightly poorer Quality side using 4-4-2 Classic, and rolled out their favourite 4-5-1V defensive/counter, and won an epic struggle 2-1, with a brace from Maarten Wiegman.
With all the permutations that could have happened in the last matches of the League season, Casuals could not have believed the ones that actually happened. Playing away at 7th place, Casuals went ahead after 16 minutes, Maarten Weigman slotting home a cross from Eirik Riis, and then held that lead against a determined opponent until half-time. The equaliser came 11 minutes after the break, but ten minutes later, Weigman and Riis produced a carbon-copy of the first goal to put the visitors ahead again. Four minutes later, Riis launched a 30 yard shot which evaded the 'keeper and ended in the corner of the net, prompting a final period of hard-defending to protect the 3-1 score line. After the match, the other results came through - 3rd place had beaten 5th place; 4th place lost at 8th place, and the leaders had lost at 6th place, thus gifting Casuals the League Championship.
The reverse Association fixture saw identical teams put out, and a similarly close match, Casuals ending up on the wrong end of a single goal final score, the home side netting in the 15th minute and then resisting all efforts for an equaliser. Casuals' Association ended up losers on this occasion, 9 points to 24 and finished in 4th place.