London Town 2012 BritLeague Preview

London Town will continue as one of the title challengers in 2012, with very little in the way of transfers, with exception of Ryan Wise and Brazilian youngster Neylon, both wingers.

John Carey will be leading from the front as usual with the likes of Andrea Romano, but with Quique having a slow start to his Town career - only five goals in 2011 - nothing is certain at LG Park.

Captain Daniel Perry is once in the heart of the defence with Juanpa, but imposing Dutch 'keeper Marco Schuipers has returned home and has been replaced by Belgium's No.1 Philip Van Rekeren between the sticks.

Romano brace buries 'Burgh

Andrea Romano's two-goal performance gave London Town a 3-0 win against Edinburgh at Easter Road.

Zvonimir Markovic also played well, setting up one Romano goal and then scoring a goal himself.

This result for Edinburgh means the Scottish side are still 18th in the table, although they remain ten points clear of relegation-threatened Leicester Phantoms.

Goals
Edinburgh: none.
London Town: Romano 5', 80', Markovic 76'.

Town show Phantoms little mercy

Daniel Perry celebrates as Town steamroller Phantoms

Leicester Phantoms 0-6 London Town

Ruthless London Town gave sorry Leicester Phantoms a harsh lesson as the visitors left the Leicester Stadium 6-0 winners.

Phantoms remain bottom of the BritLeague table, and are everyone's favourites for relegation, although Ulster FC are only one point above them.

Goals
Leicester Phantoms: none.
London Town: Carey 5', 87', Perry 26', Markovic 48', Quique 77', Hessler 89'.

Shocker as Rockers beat Town

Mid-table Manchester Rockers ripped up the form book when claimed a surprising 1-0 victory over title-chasing London Town.

Manchester's new French striker Christophe Minardi, a signing from AS Essonne, scored his first goal as time ran out.

Town had dominated most of the play, but great defending plus the goalkeeping of Ed Wilson had served the Rockers well.

And the home side got their reward when Juanpa allowed Minardi space to run into and the Gallic hitman beat Marco Schuipers unchallenged.

Goals
Manchester Rockers: Minardi 89'.
London Town: none.

CSA ECL: Carey magic stuns Monsters

John Carey's wonder goal gave London Town a 1-0 advantage in the first leg of the European Champions League semi-final at Monsters Park.

Carey dribbled many Monsters' defenders before chipping keeper Igor Kuljman.

The winner of the tie will play the winner of the Madrid Magic-Barcelona Bullfighters clash in the final on Saturday 28th May 2011.

Merseyside Mighty Rats 0-0 London Town

London Town and the Mighty Rats played to a nil-nil draw.

Merseyside will be the happier of the two to have claimed that draw as a disappointing Town side had countless chances from John Carey and Quique but the Rats' Denmark keeper Kristian Jenson had a great game.

Town skipper Daniel Perry also had a goal ruled out late in the game.

Town fans hail Quique signing

Fans of London Town cannot wait to see £40m signing Quique in action in a blue shirt, as BritLeague Online's resident reporters found out.

"I'm looking forward to see Quique in action," said season-ticket holder Matt Clark. "Quique, (John) Carey and (Andrea) Romano up front, who wouldn't want to see a strike partnership like that?"

"Quique shows great work-rate, something that Bernie (Billy Bernhardt, Town's outgoing striker) never showed," said diehard fan Dave Manning, who has attended every single Town home game since they were founded in 2005.

London Town complete Quique swoop, offload Bernhardt

London Town have shattered the BritLeague transfer record with the £40million signing of Monsters striker Quique Gómez, a month after the CSA Champions League holders had signed England's Edward Redwood for £35million.

As part of the deal, Town's out-of-favour American striker Billy Bernhardt has moved to the Monsters for £15million.

Spanish striker Quique, 26, handed in a transfer request after his Monsters future was cast in doubt with the signing of former London United striker Redwood, 25.

"I am very happy to be here. London Town is a great club with great players, great fans and a great new stadium," Quique said in a press conference at Town's brand new ground LG Park.

"It is humbling to play with the likes of Daniel Perry, Zvonimir Markovic, John Carey, Andrea Romano and my fellow countryman Juanpa."

"I played against them many times with the Monsters, and I hope I can help the team win many trophies for many years."

Mighty Rats 0-6 London Town

Wednesday 5th May

Anfield, Liverpool. Att: 34,403.

London Town pulverised the Mighty Rats 6-0 before a big crowd at Anfield.

The Rats moved the game from their Mighty Cheese Arena in Kirkby to Liverpool FC's famous ground as a big crowd was expected with the champions in town.

The fans unfurled a banner before the game reading "Mighty Rats - Cockneys For A Day" to celebrate the occasion.

But the 30,000+ fans would go home very disappointed indeed as Town gave the struggling Rats a masterclass.

The Blues were still missing star striker John Carey, as the England frontman was serving the second game of his domestic three-match ban, but as they showed against league leaders Real Birmingham on Sunday, they can still give manager Ian Clarke a '%110' performance.

It only took them five minutes to break the deadlock, when a howler from Rats right-back Colin Price gifted the ball to the onrushing Andrea Romano, and the 'Italian Stallion' prodded home past keeper Danny Green.

And then James Douglas hit a 20-yard volley which bounced under the bar and in to make it two.

The Birmingham-born midfielder played a key role in the third goal, hitting a 25-yard diagonal to Romano who volleyed the ball first time into the net, and within only 25 minutes Town were up 3-0, staying that way at half-time.

The Rats started the second half creating chances but constantly thwarted by goalie Marco Schuipers.

Town and England skipper Daniel Perry looked a shadow of his old self, as the centre-back made an unusual number of errors but Schuipers was at his best, denying Zak McCracken twice.

Town were soon four up, Douglas linking up with Billy Bernhardt who fired past Green and into the net.

And they added two more in the final three minutes, Romano completing his hat-trick after lovely play from Douglas and Shane Macdonald, who substituted Perry who went off with a mild ankle injury.

Goals

Mighty Rats: none.

London Town: Romano 5', 25', 87', Douglas 11', Bernhardt 65', Macdonald 89'.

London Town 3-0 Real Birmingham

Sunday 2nd May

HMV Park, London. Att: 48,023.

Real Birmingham's unbeaten run was finally ended by London Town, as the visitors lost 3-0 to the BritLeague Champions.

Town were without the suspended John Carey, but still that didn't falter them as captain Daniel Perry headed them in front after a dull first half.

Croatian rightback Niko Tomic finally put the ball in net in a Blue shirt with a 20-yard strike, his first since joining Town in March 2009.

Real Birmingham pressed for a goal, but were caught on the break and Italian striker Andrea Romano made it 3-0.

Goals

London Town: Perry 48', Tomic 66', Romano 81'.

Real Birmingham: none.

London Town 0-2 Ruckus

Sunday 25th April 2010

HMV Park, London. Att: 39,948

SCR claimed an amazing win at London Town.

Garry Stratford's 25-yard free-kick had no chance for Marco Schuipers, while Michael Heany scored the second from the penalty spot after Juanpa hauled down Danny Defranco.

To put insult to injury for the champions, striker John Carey was sent off for stamping on SCR's Norwegian centre-half Bjorn Terke.

The England striker misses Town's next three BritLeague matches against Real Birmingham, Merseyside Mighty Rats and Bristol Pirates, but he can return for the Blues' CSA England Cup Final against Barnsworth on 15th May.

Goals

London Town: none.

Ruckus: Stratford 32', Heany 86' p.

Bookings

London Town: Carey 72'.

Ruckus: Peters 61'.

CSA England Cup SF: London Town 4-2 Monsters

Saturday 10th April 2010

Vodafone Stadium, London. Att: 68,593.

London Town braved the new, controversial Vodafone Stadium pitch by reaching the CSA England Cup final for the third time in succession with a 4-2 win against Monsters FC.

The pitch was the centre of attention, with its new FieldTurf surface - an artificial type of grass -after previous complaints about the state of pitch.

It had to be tested by the CSA and CSA England, before getting the seal of approval by both federations.

But it was Town who adjusted the best to the new pitch, playing their passing game without a hitch against the Monsters, who decided to abandon their attacking style of play in favour of a long ball game.

That turned out to be a terrible idea for the Team in Green and Purple, and there was no way that the Monsters giant rookie striker Matt Oxley was going to get past the Blues' centre-halves Daniel Perry and Juanpa Gonzalez.

The Anglo-Spanish connection in the heart of the Town defence was so much stronger than the Anglo-Spanish connection up front with Oxley partnering with Quique Gomez.

But it was an Italian that put Town in front with half-an-hour gone, Andrea Romano breaking away from the Monsters defence and slotting it through Igor Kuljman's legs.

John Carey made it two on the stroke of half-time with a powerful header.

When Quique made it 2-1 within 30 seconds of the match, it put the Monsters back in contention as they started to play to attractive style of football, but it was all in vain as Daniel Perry made it 3-1.

Darren Watkinson pulled another back for the Monsters, before Town's Kevin Brickman scored in injury time to win 4-2.

Goals

London Town: Romano 33', Carey 44', Perry 67', Brickman 90'.

Monsters: Quique 46', Watkinson 82'.

London Town 4-0 Rockers

Saturday 3rd April

HMV Park, London. Att: 40,048.

London Town routed Manchester Rockers 4-0 with a brilliant display from the Champions.

After a slow start to the game, Andrea Romano put Town in front five minutes from the break.

John Carey cannot stop scoring, putting fierce shot through Manchester keeper Eddie Wilson's legs.

Daniel Perry headed in the third, after John Jeffries lost the England captain.

And American striker Billy Bernhardt put the icing on the cake in stoppage time with a crisp finish.

Goals

London Town: Romano 40', Carey 60', Perry 72', Bernhardt 90'.

Rockers: none.

Clarke fumes at referee

London Town manager Ian Clarke has vented his anger on the referee after seeing his side surrender their 4-0 lead to lose 5-4 at FC London.

Clarke was unhappy that the referee gave FCL a penalty after Craig Palmer went down in the box when Town were still leading 4-0.

"The referee is disgraceful," Clarke said. "How can he not see that the boy (Palmer) clearly threw himself to the ground?"

He also had complaints about FCL's second penalty which led to keeper Marco Schuipers being sent off after he hauled down Craig Cinoli, saying it was "harsh."

"It's not Marco's fault, Shane (Macdonald) should have stayed with him. But in the end, the sending off was a bit harsh on the lad."

FC London 5-4 London Town

Saturday 27th March

FC London Stadium, London. Att: 46,680.

FC London completed possibly the biggest comeback in BritLeague history, downing London Town 5-4 in another BritLeague classic to give the reigning champions their second league defeat.

The Megahoops found themselves 4-0 down at half-time after a dominant London Town performance.

The Blues are exponents of scoring early goals and today was no exception as John Carey netted his fourth goal of the campaign after only four minutes.

And Carey stunned the red and white faithful at the FC London Stadium into awful silence as his stunning free-kick put Town 2-0 up after only ten minutes' play.

Poor width from FCL allowed Town left-back Ashton Reid to run the full length of the pitch and he let rip a 20-yard left-footer which had no chance for 'keeper Christian Watson.

Many predicted the game was already over in the first half, as FCL old boy James Douglas made it four without reply, silencing the fans who called him Judas and booed every single touch he made of the ball.

In fact, at half-time, many FCL fans left the ground in disgust.

But despite the scoreline, FCL were far from out of it.

Clearly inspired by a heated team-talk by manager Brian Young, FCL began to take control of the game in the second half and on the hour mark, Hoops winger Craig Palmer broke through into the box and threw himself to the floor on Niko Tomic. However, despite strong arguments from the Town players, the referee decided it was a penalty despite replays showing that golden-haired wizard Palmer clearly dived on the Croatian wing-back.

Young England CSA World Cup prospect Palmer took it himself and he buried it past Marco Schuipers.

FC London were given another penalty after Australian striker Craig Cinoli ran through on goal, 1 on 1 with Dutch stopper Schuipers, with the Town keeper clearly bringing Cinoli down for a penalty. Cinoli scored past sub Jeff Carter making the score 4-2.

Suddenly, the crowd were right behind their home team, and midfielder Ryan Welch scored two within nine minutes, making it 4-4.

Clearly stunned by FCL's comeback, Town not only lost their momentum, but also their focus and Jeremy "Jezza" Constantinidis scored his first FCL goal after running past the three central defenders Juanpa, Daniel Perry and Shane Macdonald, one-two-ing with Brian Nixon and shooting through Carter's legs to give FC London the most improbable win ever.

Goals

FC London: Palmer 61' p, Cinoli 67' p, Welch 73', 82', Jezza 90'.

London Town: Carey 5', 10', Reid 33', Douglas 38'.

Bookings

FC London: Trujillo 35', Jezza 77'.

London Town: Tomic 65', Schuipers 66', Perry 87', Juanpa 89'.

Knights 0-0 London Town

Wednesday 24th March

Knights Arena, Suffolk. Att: 30,176.

East Anglia Knights and London Town played to a dreary 0-0 draw at Knights Arena.

Goals

Knights: none.

London Town: none.

London Town 2-0 Monsters

Sunday 21st March

HMV Park, London. Att: 43,204.

London Town beat the Monsters 2-0 with goals from Zvonimir Markovic and Shane Macdonald.

Goals

London Town: Markovic 35', Macdonald 87'.

Monsters: none.

London Town 1-2 London United

Sunday 14th March

HMV Park, London. Att: 49,632.

CraiCo's dramatic late winner gave all three points to London United from reigning champions London Town.

John Carey put Town in front after a quarter of an hour gone.

But United equalised shortly after the second half after Edward Redwood capitalised on a rare error from Daniel Perry.

And CraiCo's last-minute goal sent the fans in black roaring.

Goals

London Town: Carey 16'.

London United: Redwood 48', CraiCo 89'.

London Town 4-0 Phantoms

Friday 5th March

HMV Park, London. Att: 43,076.

Reigning champions London Town started their new campaign with a comfortable 4-0 win over BritLeague new boys Leicester Phantoms.

John Carey netted a brace to help Town ensure that the Phantoms' first league game ever would end miserably for the visitors.

Andrea Romano and James Douglas also found the net.

Goals

London Town: Carey 16', 71', Romano 41', Douglas 88'

Phantoms: none.

London Derby to be shown in 3D

The momentous clash between rivals London Town and London United on 14 March will make history as TOTV will screen it live on 3D in selected pubs up and down the country.

This move follows the Premier League match from Sunday 31 January as Manchester United defeated Arsenal 3-1 on Sky Sports in the first ever 3D broadcast of sporting event.

Last year, London Town stole the BritLeague crown from London United, who held it for the previous two years.

And both teams share the same stadium - HMV Park, making the clash more exciting.