In a wet, rainy, blustery spring evening at the Cappavilla pitches, Bluestreak and Wembledines did the business in their respective Champions League semi finals, whilst Alfies Heroes and Team Lightning progressed in the Europa League.
Alfies recorded a 3-1 win over BD Ballers whilst team Lightning won by the same scoreline vs Barely Athletic. Hanging onto a 2-1 lead for much of the second half, a Colm Heffernan goal from a half cleared corner in the 57th minute gave Lightning some breathing room.
The men in yellow will face the men in blue in the Europa League final at 7pm next week. The two sides have met three times already this season with Alfies holding a perfect record of 3 wins out of 3 games. A 2-0 win in matchday 3 of the regular season was followed by 2-1 and 3-0 wins for Alfies in the post-season. But as we know, form goes out the window in a cup final.
Alfies beat Wembledines in the Europa League final last season so will be hoping to retain the trophy. Team Lightning are without a trophy since their Covid Cup victory, and as we all know, Trophies > No Trophies, so Lightning will be looking to get back in the winners circle and finish their season on a high.
In the Cup, Bluestreak booked their place in the Champions League final with an emphatic 7-0 win over Deportivo Dooradoyle. A floated free kick from the right hand side in the 12th minute was met with a superb glancing header leaving the Depor keeper helpless. A second was added two minutes later and Bluestreak never looked back from there adding 5 more before the game's end.
In the game of the night, Wembledines recorded a narrow 2-1 win over the valiant Cutters. Wembledines moved the ball well and were doing well to defend a 2-0 lead. Cutters kept at it and eventually got their breakthrough in the 54th minute, tumbling the ball over the line after constant pressure. Cutters had a few set pieces and quarter chances to try and force the tie to penalty kicks, but Dines remained solid and saw the game out.
The two standout teams of the year, regular season champions Wembledines and post-season champions Bluestreak will contest the Champions League final. Wembledines last got their hands on the Cup in the 18/19 season, their third in a hat-trick of cup wins. Bluestreak are the defending champions after their 3-1 win vs Friday Night Lights in last season's decider. Between the regular-season and post-season, from a maximum of 51 points, Bluestreak have recorded 41 points whilst Wembledines reached 38 points. Bluestreak will be seen as the more attacking team with an average of 3.5 goals per game. They've hit the back of the net 63 times so far this season whilst conceding 26. Wembledines meanwhile have scored 45 but have conceded only 14 in 18 games.
In a league defining match in the regular season, Wembledines came out on top with a 4-2 win. Bluestreak had their revenge in the post season with an epic last minute winner in a 4-3 win. In matchday 10 of the post-season, both teams knew a win wouldn't change their final league position, so one would've been forgiven for assuming a damp squib affair would occur. Anything but transpired and in the cup final dress rehearsal, Wembledines came out on top 2-0 in a feisty game.
Two big games next week to lower the curtain on a highly competitive and entertaining season.
31st March 2023 - Finals
7pm Bluestreak vs Wembledines Pitch 1 CL
7pm Alfies Heroes vs Team Lightning Pitch 2 EL