When I left you a week ago it was with the added suspense of a cliffhanger ending, Ramsay Street style. What would happen in the Giganten Brodre game? Would they win their match? Would they score enough goals to exceed Howard’s Juicebox’s goal difference? Who knows?

I do. Their match last week ended in triumph, with the scoreline being 3-0, after we had won 5-2 earlier in the night, the goal difference remained the same and so we remained at the table’s mount. So we were able to live another week like champions, all of us buying sports cars and getting silly haircuts.

On our way over to this week’s match, Kilshaw painfully reminded me of my mistake last week that lead to us conceding a goal. I tried to justify myself with the goal and the assist that I bagged but he was having none of it. I promised there would be no more of that tonight. No tomfoolery in my kitbag. I was to be a bastion of consistency.

Giganten Brodre’s game would be played earlier than ours this evening, offering us an insight into their game style whilst we warmed up pitchside. They scored two great goals and then went on to concede two sloppy ones, with the score ending 2-2. It lifted them top by a point, but their faces were full of disappointment as they left the field, they knew it was two points dropped. You could see the shakiness of their team spirit as they argued after the match. Not something you would ever come across in the Juicebox camp, we win together and lose together, something you won’t find in the manufactured team of Brodre.

Tonight’s match would pit us against Randoms Utd, a team built by the organiser of the whole league, would that cue any biased refereeing? We lined up with the knowledge that a victory would put us 2 points clear at the top, whilst a loss would leave us stranded in third place.

We set upon the pitch, but what was this? Giganten Brodre were lending their keeper to Randoms Utd for the evening! Another unfair advantage stacking the odds against Howard’s Juicebox. I wouldn’t be that bothered if this was an ordinary keeper, but this guy had trials with Bournemouth!

We opened proceedings and it didn’t take long for Jack the Ripper to strike again. Taking it past a player and then megging another, before smashing a thunderbolt into the top corner! 1-0! Victory was well within our sights and we had been playing for less than five minutes. Thats the kind of short sighted attitude that can lead to conceding goals, which is exactly what happened next.

Our back line was all over the shop, leaving the door right open for a sloppy equaliser. Caught on the break, two men against one, Alex was wrong-footed and we were back at square one, square 1-1, if you will? We huffed and puffed for the rest of the first period, but we couldn’t blow their house down. Olly was guilty of missing a few golden opportunities, but thats just standard procedure these days.

For the majority of the second period it was much of the same, a lot of effort without much to show for it, on a positive note we were definitely bossing the play. One notable attack was a solo run from Locky, who took the ball from our defence all the way into a one-on-one with their keeper, but their “on-loan” keeper managed to parry his rasping effort onto the crossbar and out for a throw-in.

The referee signaled that there was around a minute of the match left to play and we knew that time was against us. The other team were playing for a draw and it was obvious. It didn’t look like we would be able to muster a goal, but then out of nowhere we were handed a lifeline. Jack played Kilshaw into the box and he took a touch of the ball, before being more or less assassinated. A two-footed challenge brought him down and the ref had little choice but to give the penalty.

From the sidelines it looked as if Rob was stepping up, David and I screamed in protest, surely Jack was the man for the job? But Rob buried it and we were 2-1 up, with what surely must have been the last kick of the game. Surely?

Apparently not, what followed next was what can only be considered an outrageous amount of injury time, five minutes in a match that only lasts thirty minutes in total is ridiculous no? Remember earlier I mentioned we were playing the organisers of the league? And that there might be a spot of favourism from the referee? Make your own minds up…

Within this highly excessive amount of injury time, we managed to give away a corner to Randoms Utd. Amid the confusion of the corner, Kilshaw managed to lose his man and they slipped in an equaliser from the tightest of angles. 2-2. The final whistle rang in our ears.

We lost 2 points, but it felt more like we had each lost a winning lottery ticket or even a ligament. Robbed by biased refereeing and a team housing our main rival’s goalkeeper. But we were partly at fault, we crumbled in the dying seconds and paid the ultimate price. We remain top of the table, but still only thanks to goals scored.

It leaves it all hanging in the balance for next weeks match. We face Giganten Brodre, the team masterminded by my flat mate Olly G. We sit at the top of the table even on points. It is sure to be a real nail-biting classic, so make sure you hang around for a pint…