Dasmesh Tigers 1 - 2 Gastown F.C.

O'Sullivan (left) and Ruprah were in irrepressible form on Saturday.

Newton Athletic Park was the scene of the first competitive match of Gastown FC following their merger with Yaletown FC in 2012. That warm afternoon in September, The Iron were left with food for thought after they were unceremoniously thrashed 5-1 by Dasmesh FC Tigers. At the halfway point of the league season, GFC would beat Dasmesh at home in the return leg to start a run of eight consecutive wins and clean sheets, a run that would see them pip the side from Surrey to the Division title – a tight encounter was always on the cards.

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Newswire The Iron survived an early scare on Saturday, coming from behind to beat Division 2 runners-up, Dasmesh Tigers in the last-32 of the cup. Having fallen behind after 20 minutes, GFC rallied to score two goals without reply. The first, a well-worked move finished with consumate ease by Ruprah. The second, in the 85th minute, a belting strike from Will Meredith into the top corner after a quality interchange with O'Sullivan. Meanwhile, Bosna SC and Bombastic have been upset by The Iron's opponents in the next round: third division Cosmos SC. There is history between the two sides, they met twice last year - Gastown winning both fixtures comfortably.

CUP ROUND 1: Caspian FC 3 - 6 Gastown F.C.

Meredith was constant source of danger for Division 3's, Caspian FC

The Iron are Division 2C Champions, but due to some administrative oversights, they'll not be given their automatic (and deserved) berth in the BC Provincial competition. That is, unless they are able to win the VMSL 'B' Cup at the first time of asking. On Saturday evening, a changed Gastown FC visited South Memorial Turf to take on Division 3A runners-up, Caspian FC in the first round. A first-half hat trick from Mick O’Sullivan gave The Iron a comfortable lead that was never in doubt, but the boys from the Downtown Eastside will be disappointed that they conceded three goals.

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Newswire Onward march the Iron. Caspian FC provided a stern test on Saturday night under the lights of Memorial South, but were eventually defeated 6-3 as Gastown avoided the potential lower-league banana skin. Mick O'Sullivan led the way on a semi-crocked groin to score three chipped goals in the first 30 minutes before making his way onto the bench in a man of the match performance. Boisterous Brit Jack Whelan led the team well from his newly embraced center-half position while his deputy Serj Mironov excelled in goal. A tough tie in the second round sees The Iron travel to Div 2 rivals and runners-up Dasmesh FC this Saturday at 4pm in Surrey.

Gazza: My Italian Job

Gazza, moments before being scythed from behind and stamped on in a furious Rome derby.

Everybody loves a flawed genius, the loveable rogue, which is why were saddened to see footage of Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne at a charity event recently. Visibly shaking and slurring his words, it was clear the demon drink has regained its hold on the Geordie midfielder. Rather than focus on his Best-esque troubled days of post-football boredom, we have dug up this classic from the archives which shows some of Gazza's better years. Unfortunately for the man from Gateshead, even the best of days were bittersweet; there is a real sense of sadness when one thinks of what could have been when the then British transfer-record holder was plying his trade in the most passionate of football cities: Rome.

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Newswire: There was no crescendo to the VMSL Div2 season; The Iron were crowned champions with a game to spare after Dasmesh lost both of their games in hand. GFC were caught napping in the first 10 mins of their final game against Meralomas before bossing the remaining 80. It was too little too late as they were 2-0 down after the lackadaisical opening. Silvio Ruprah netted his 12th of the season. At the weekend, the CAT team took solace from a hard-earned 0-0 draw with high-flyers, FC Snipers. The finest match of Thomas Nicholson's fledgling GFC career, earning him the Ironman of the Match award, was the biggest positive of the day. The Iron look to end the CAT season on a high against Bombastic before embarking on their VMSL Div2 Cup campaign.

Alexi Lalas and Honshimeji Mushrooms

On a Tuesday evening in late January, eating some mysterious old Skittles orphaned by their now-absentee purchaser while reading the transcript from a Jim Harbaugh press conference that had taken place earlier in Santa Clara, California, the television began its broadcast of a friendly match between the Canadian and American national soccer teams. Of all three elements of the scene, the Skittles just may have been the most interesting. Like reading a Harbaugh press conference, watching the game seemed obligatory to the serious fan, despite the obvious signs that it was entirely worthless. Canada began it’s preparation for the 2018 World Cup qualifying run by putting all 11 players behind the ball and playing for the scoreless draw, while the United States declined to use the game as either a warm-up for the looming World Cup qualifier with Honduras or an opportunity to give experience to youth players; instead opting to put out a squad of mediocre, not-that-young MLS journeymen who likely would never appear in a meaningful game for their national side.

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Lionel Messi's 2012 Records.

FIFA's creative techniques to level the playing field - forcing Messi to play in solid gold boots.

The Iron's crack-team of bloggers have been a bit busy recently, so hear is a story I found some time ago on The Guardian. I thought it was an eye-opening read, as some of the numbers are just mind-boggling. Thanks must go out to The Guardian Sports Blog for compiling the stats, and indeed @messistats on Twitter, from whom most of these stats were sourced. Sit back, relax, and let the majesty of la pulga atomica wash over you.

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