Scottish League Cup First Round

The first round of the Scottish League Cup has been played and they have once again played the first round in group stages. In our 36th Season we have a record breaking total of fourteen Scottish teams taking part and ten of them have already played in the first round but only four have made it through to the next round.

In Group A, ROSS COUNTY finished in top position in this group after they had played all of their four games and won three of the four games. They are the moment on a total of 6 goals. With Arbroath in second place, ALLOA finished in third place with a total of 8 goals and they are out of the cup.

In Group B, St Johnston finished top with FALKIRK in second place so both are in the next round. Falkirk are on a total of 4 goals after they won two and lost two out of their four games.  

In Group C, HEARTS finished top after they won three of their four games and they are on a total of 13 goals making them our best team to date. Inverness finished second. Also in this group we have RAITH ROVERS. They finished in fifth place in this group with one draw and losing the other three games. Rovers have a total of 2 goals.

In Group D, Dunfermline finished top with Dundee in second place. We have PETERHEAD here and they finished rock bottom, with one draw and losing three out of their four games. Peterhead have failed to score and are currently our worst team.

In Group E, AYR UNITED finished top after they won all four games with a total of 12 goals which makes them our second best team. Partick are also through as they finished in second place. STENHOUSEMUIR in this group Finished in fourth place and won just one of their four games. They are on 4 goals.

In Group F, Livingston finished top with Airdrieonians in second place. HAMILTON finished in third place after they won one, drew two and lost one. They are on a total of 5 goals.

In Group G, we did not have any of the teams in this group. Motherwell finished top with Queen of the South in second place.

In Group H, Kilmarnock finished top with St Mirren in second place. DUMBARTON finished in third place but go out after they won one, drew one and lost two of their four games. Dumbarton are on a total of 3 goals.

The second round games, which will be back to the knock out rounds, are to be played on the 18/19th August with the Scottish Premiership teams joining in which will include ABERDEEN, CELTIC, HIBERNIAN and RANGERS for our Golden Goals fans.

How the New Season is Progressing

This season competition has once again turned into a two horse race with the voting. Manchester City have taken over with the most votes with 70 while last seasons top team Celtic are down from 113 to 57 votes. We still will have our four teams that have been in all of our 36 Seasons. they are Celtic, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

With the English teams we have a total of 45 that have been voted in to date. Behind Manchester City we have in second place way behind is Liverpool with 24 votes. In third place is Tottenham with 20 votes. Arsenal are next with 13 votes with Sunderland in fifth place with 11 votes. The good news is that we do have a lot of teams with single votes and these could be the dark horses of our season.

With our Scottish teams we will be fielding the largest to date with 13 teams. This beats our 2015/16 Season with 11 teams. The second most voted Scottish team is Rangers with 14 votes. Peterhead who had only one vote last season, pick up 7 this season.

Calling All Football Fans

The Entry Forms have been out just over a week but there is still time for you to join in. The entry fee is just £8 English pounds which will last you for the whole season. Pick three teams and watch your name move up and down our league. with our weekly News Sheet. For your copy, email me at goldengoals1983@gmail.com

Golden Goals Winners From Russia 2018

With the most famous football saying “They think it’s all over….It is Now” we come to a close on the 21^st World Cup tournament from Russia and start to think about what if?

We started off this World Cup with our fourth best number of entries in our eighth World Cup Golden Goals 2018 and we have ended up with a total of fifteen winners.

Congratulations to PHIL REEVE on winning our eighth World Cup with his winning combination of Belgium (16) Brazil (8) France (14) Spain (7). It was France who gave him the cash in the final as Tony Jenkins who had been top for most of the tournament, failed to have any teams in the final. His teams were Belgium, Brazil, Russia and Spain.

This is Phil’s second win as he also won the World Cup in our first World Cup Italia 1990 with 38 goals. As Phil’s name goes in to the record book once again, he has now finished in fourth and eighth place in our World Cup Champions League. 

     

                      SEMI                                                      GOALS     PRIZE

            FINAL   FINALS     NAME                                  TOTAL    MONEY

                   1            2            P. REEVE                               45          £45.00

                   2            3            D. HARRINGTON                  44          £35.00

                   3            1            T. JENKINS                            42          £30.00

                   4            -             A. FANE                                 41          £26.00

                   5            8            T. GUY                                   40          £22.00

                   6            10          STALKY                                 39          £19.00

                   7            11          C. BOOM                                38          £15.00

                   8            12          S. KEMP                                 38          £15.00

                   9            5            B. SAWYER                           37          £11.50

                   10          6            JAMIE WOOD                        37          £11.50

                   11          7            P. DAVEY                              36          £  9.00

                   12          13          T. KING                                  36          £  9.00

                   13          9            E. SAWYER                           36          £  9.00

                   14          15          B. BURROUGHS                    35          £  6.50

                   15          16          S. SEYEDI                              35          £  6.50

So who are the best four nations in the 2018 World Cup.

BELGIUM (16) FRANCE (14) ENGLAND (12) RUSSIA (11) Total of 53 goals.

We had five nations that picked up just two goals each and went out after the first round. They were Australia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Germany and Poland.

ENGLAND holds the record for the highest score with that 6-1 win over Panama in Group G in their second game of the group stage.

Top Goal Scorers in Russia 2018 are Harry Kane of England with 6 goals who wins the Golden Boot. In second place all with 4 goals are Denis Cheryshev, Russia, Antoine Griezmann, France, Romelu Lukaku, Belgium, Kylian Mbappe, France and Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, .

The fastest goal was scored by Mathias Jørgensen of Denmark against Croatia in Round two or last sixteen. He hit the back of the net in just 58 seconds.

So how did your teams do in the Golden Goals World Cup 2018? Below are all of our eighteen nations with the number of votes in RED followed by the nations and number of goals in each of the six stages of the World Cup.

FIRST ROUND

(36) GERMANY 2, (4) EGYPT 2, (2) POLAND 2, (1) AUSTRALIA 2, (1) SENEGAL 4,

(1) COSTA RICA 2

SECOND ROUND

(24) SPAIN 7, (24) ARGENTINA 6, (5) PORTUGAL 6, (5) COLUMBIA 6, (1) DENMARK 3

(1) MEXICO 3

QUARTER-FINALS

(29) BRAZIL 8, (7) URUGUAY 7, (4) RUSSIA 11

SEMI-FINALS

None of our teams went out at this stage.

3^rd and 4^th PLAY-OFF

3^rd (17) BELGIUM 16

4^th (8) ENGLAND 12

RUNNERS-UP

Croatia who we did not have

CHAMPIONS

(22) FRANCE 14

Our goals total finishes at a grand total of 113 goals for the tournament which is our fourth highest score. Our top score is from the French World Cup 1998 with a total of 138 goals.

Well that’s the end to our eighth World Cup Golden Goals. The next World Cup will be held in Qatar in 2022. Let’s hope that we will be there again with another World Cup under our belts. 

The Golden Boot 2018

Well it's about time that England had a player to receive the Golden boot as the first time that we won the Golden Boot was back in Mexico 1986 with Gary Lineker with 6 goals, well done Harry he now becomes our second player.

• Harry Kane, England, 6 goals (Golden Boot)
• Denis Cheryshev, Russia, 4 goals
• Antoine Griezmann, France, 4 goals·        
• Romelu Lukaku, Belgium, 4 goals
• Kylian Mbappe, France, 4 goals
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, 4 goals
• Edinson Cavani Uruguay 3 goals
• Diego Costa, Spain, 3 goals
• Artem Dzyuba, Russia, 3 goals
• Eden Hazard, Belgium, 3 goals
• Mario Mandzukic, Croatia, 3 goals
• Yerry Mina, Columbia, 3 goals
• Ivan Perisic, Croatia, 3 goals

France Are World Champions

Congratulations to FRANCE for winning the World Cup for their second time. They beat Croatia 4-2. France had won their group and then they beat Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium to get to the final.

The first half was dominated by Croatia as they passed the ball around like they were in a training session. The French did have a couple of attacks and it was in one of them that they received a free kick near the Croatian box. A lovely cross goes into the net but it was an own goal by Mandzukic as he heads in the first World Cup final own goal after 18 minutes. Croatia never gave in and continued their pressure on France and scored the equaliser in the 28^th minute with a fantastic goal by Perisic his third of the tournament. With another French attack and a corner was given with the result of a hand-ball by a Croatian player in the penalty area. The referee went to VAR (Video Assistant referee) and after some considerable time, the referee gave a penalty to France. The penalty was taken by Griezmann and France go 2-1 up with his fourth goal of the tournament in the 38^th minute. That’s how it ends at half time. In the second half it was still Croatia that started to push the ball around but it did not take long before the French players grew with confidence. A third goal from France came in the 59^th minute from Pogba to put France in full control of the game. Another France goal followed, by the young teenager Mbappe in the 65^th minute 4-1. Croatia then were all over the place as the tide turned, but a big mistake by the French goalkeeper gave Croatia their second goal in the 69^th minute by Mandzukic 4-2. The second half came very much alive by this time and since their second goal, Croatia came back hard against the France defence as they sat back for the last fifteen minutes of play. The final whistle is blown after five minutes of added on time and France won 4-2 in a very entertaining final. France have finished on a total of 14 goals and it is their second highest score since then they won the cup back in 1998 with 15 goals.

Bronze For Belgium

After their disappointed game against Croatia in the semi-finals, ENGLAND had to build up their confidence again to play BELGIUM in the 3^rd/4^th Play-Off. The game started with a very quick goal by Belgium scored by Meunier after just 4 minutes via his shin, with the English defence all over the place. The first half was all about Belgium as England struggled to get back on terms with this game with Harry Kane having the best chance to score. The second half England made a double substitution with Sterling and Rose staying in the dressing room and Lingard and Rushford coming off the subs bench. The changes made England more aggressive and started to attack the Belgium defence with some great passing. Lukaku of Belgium nearly put them 2-0 ahead after 50 minutes, but a great save by Pickford, who comes off his line, denies Lukaku a chance to grab that Golden Boot off of Harry Kane. Lukaku is then substituted after 60 minutes.  Another chance for England after 69 minutes when Eric Dier charges into the penalty area and hits the ball but it’s saved by Alderweireld with a spectacular clearance off the line. Although England had most of the play in the second half, the Belgium’s did have one or two attack where they could of scored but what a great World Cup the English goalkeeper Pickford has had. The game was all over for England after Belgium scored their second goal from a counter attack by Hazard in the 82^nd minute. That is his third goal of the tournament. The game ends 2-0 to Belgium who finished third with a total of 16 goals their best score ever, while England finished on a total of 12 which is their best score in the last eight World Cups. This is the best that Belgium have ever done in a World Cup tournament. 

Our Top Fifteen After The Semi-Finals

Here are our top fifteen winners in Golden Goals so far.

      

        SEMI           Q                                                       GOALS     PRIZE

            FINALS   FINALS     NAME                                   TOTAL    MONEY

                   1            -             T. JENKINS (B)                      40          £45.00

                   2            -             P. REEVE (B/F)                      39          £35.00

                   3            -             D. HARRINGTON (B/F)         38          £30.00

                   4            -             A. FANE (E/F)                        37          £26.00

                   5            -             B. SAWYER (B)                     35          £22.00

                   6            -             JAMIE WOOD (B)                  35          £19.00

                   7            8            P. DAVEY (B/E)                     34          £16.00

                   8            9            T. GUY (B/F)                          34          £14.00

                   9            7            E. SAWYER (B)                     34          £12.00

                   10          -             STALKY (B/F)                        33          £11.00

                   11          12          C. BOOM (B/F)                       32          £10.00

                   12          13          S. KEMP (B/F)                        32          £  9.00

                   13          14          T. KING (F)                            32          £  8.00

                   14          11          C. BAMBRIDGE (B)              31          £  7.00

                   15          -             B. BURROUGHS (F)              31          £  6.00

I have printed the nations that you still have left in the 3^rd and 4^th play-offs and who is in the World Cup Final.. They are in code in RED. If you do not have a red code by your name, then I am sorry to say that you are out of the competition. Again just to re-cap on our rules, that extra time goals DO count, but penalty shoot out’s DON’T!

(B) BELGIUM, (E) ENGLAND, (F) FRANCE,

So who are the best four teams that we have in the 2018 World Cup.

BELGIUM (14) ENGLAND (12) RUSSIA (11) FRANCE (10) Total of 47 goals.

In the last Golden Goals World Cup 2014 we reached a total of 120 goals after the semi-finals, In Russia our teams have scored two more goals in the quarter-final games and we now have a total of 107 goals over the tournament to date. 

ENGLAND holds the current record for the highest score with that 6-1 win over Panama in Group G in their second game of the group stage.

Top Goal Scorers in Russia 2018 are Harry Kane of England with 6 goals. Denis Cheryshev of Russia, Romelu Lukaku of Belgium and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal have 4 goals each.

Tony Jenkins has remained at the top after all of the games in the semi-finals have been played. His teams are Belgium, Brazil, Russia and Spain.

So we can now confirm that in the 3^rd and 4^th play-offs to be played this Saturday we have BELGIUM playing ENGLAND and in the Final on Sunday it’s FRANCE v Croatia.

Croatia Will Play France in Final

ENGLAND has had a very successful time in Russia with coming second in their group and Knock in out Columbia and Sweden to get to the Semi-Finals against Croatia. Croatia had won all of their group games and then Beat Denmark and host nation Russia to face England.

The game was played in Moscow and England looked very comfortable and in controlled before they scored an early goal through Trippier's 20-yard free-kick after only 5 minutes, and they could of scored again to go 2-0 up through Harry Kane’s but it hit the post before being scrabbled off the Croatia’s goal line. England continued to hassle and attack the Croatia defence with them only counter attacking on two occasions in the first half. At half-time England looked very safe with their one goal lead. In the second half the game changed for England as they seemed to be lost on the pitch and our top scorer of the tournament, Harry Kane failed to be seen as Croatia grew in confidence and had the greater energy and threat while England ran out of steam. In the 68^th minute Perisic' scored the equaliser and the game ended 1-1 which then sent the match into extra time. Croatia continued as they left off after full time with great pressure and scored early on in extra time by Mandzukic in the 109^th minute. In the second half of extra time, England tried to get back into the game but the demands of extra time started to show. With the final whistle being blown, it is Croatia that go into the final for their very first time against France while England go into the play-offs against Belgium. Final score 2-1 to Croatia after extra time.

France in World Cup Final

We have three of the four Semi-finalists left in this tournament and the first game was FRANCE against BELGIUM. France beat Uruguay in the quarter-finals after they beat Argentine in the second round. Belgium on the other hand beat Japan in round two and then they beat five times winners Brazil in the quarter-finals. France could have been a goal up in the first minute of the first half as they attacked the Belgium defence. Belgium then had their attack and this is how the game was in the first half where both teams could of taken the advantage in the first half hour. Evenly matched the two attacked and counter attacked but it was 0-0 at half time. In the second half it was France that came out the strongest and after 51 minutes they score from a corner and headed in by Umtiti. Belgium did not let up and tried to get that equaliser but the French defence was too strong for them. Both Hazard and Lukaku both had their chances but the French goalkeeper kept them in front. In the last fifteen minutes of the second half it was Belgium that kept the pressure on France with them only coming out of their half a few times. Final result 1-0 to France and a place in the final for their second time. Twenty years ago, France won the World Cup for the first and only time, in their history as then host nation in Paris with a 3-0 win over Brazil. France have scored their 10^th goal of the tournament but Belgium who are the top scorers to date, picked up their first black score sheet and they remain on 14 goals. Belgium have lost in the quarter-final of both the previous World Cups and the only consolation is that they still have one game left to play in the Saturday's third/fourth place play-off against England or Croatia.

Top Fifteen After the Quarter-Finals

Here are our top fifteen table with the interesting Semi-Final with France and Belgium.

         

         Q         SECOND                                             GOALS     PRIZE

            FINALS   ROUND     NAME                            TOTAL    MONEY

                         1                -             T. JENKINS (B)                      40          £45.00

                   2            -             P. REEVE (B/F)                      38          £35.00

                   3            -             D. HARRINGTON (B/F)         37          £30.00

                   4            6            A. FANE (E/F)                        35          £26.00

                   5            -             B. SAWYER (B)                     35          £22.00

                   6            4            JAMIE WOOD (B)                  35          £19.00

                   7            -             E. SAWYER (B)                     34          £16.00

                   8            -             P. DAVEY (B/E)                     33          £14.00

                   9            10          T. GUY (B/F)                           33          £12.00

                   10          13          STALKY (B/F)                        32          £11.00

                   11          9            C. BAMBRIDGE (B)              31          £10.00

                   12          14          C. BOOM (B/F)                       31          £  9.00

                   13          17          S. KEMP (B/F)                        31          £  8.00

                   14          11          T. KING (F)                            31          £  7.00

                   15          -             B. BURROUGHS (F)              30          £  6.00

As you can see on the front page that I have printed the cash prize money for the top fifteen positions for when the Final has been played. As always, please remember that if you share the same amount of goals total as with the person above or below, the prize money will be split between the number of players involved.

I have also printed the nations that you still have left in the Semi-finals. They are in code in RED. If you do not have a red code by your name, then I am sorry to say that you are out of the competition. Again just to re-cap on our rules, that extra time goals DO count, but penalty shoot out’s DON’T!

(B) BELGIUM, (E) ENGLAND, (F) FRANCE,

So who are the best four teams that we have in the 2018 World Cup after the quarter-final games have been played.

BELGIUM (14) ENGLAND (11) RUSSIA (11) FRANCE (9) Total of 45 goals.

In the last Golden Goals World Cup 2014 we reached a total of 112 goals after the quarter-finals, In Russia our teams have scored a total of 9 goals after the quarter-final games and a total of 105 goals over the tournament to date. 

ENGLAND holds the current record for the highest score with that 6-1 win over Panama in Group G in their second game of the group stage.

Top Goal Scorers in Russia 2018 are Harry Kane of England with 6 goals. Denis Cheryshev of Russia, Romelu Lukaku of Belgium and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal have 4 goals each.

We had three players that picked up the highest score over the quarter-finals with 5 goals each. They are Tony Guy, Danny Harrington and Phil Reeve.

Tony Jenkins has remained at the top after all of the games in the quarter-finals have been played. His teams are Belgium, Brazil, Russia and Spain.

The Semi-final games are as follows

They are FRANCE v BELGIUM, ENGLAND v Croatia