Butetown struggle under injury cloud

8 views
Skip to first unread message

Chris Taylor

unread,
Feb 28, 2026, 6:09:09 AM (yesterday) Feb 28
to 'Gary Brown' via SSL2001
It had been a good few weeks for Butetown Rovers, toppling the Convicts before picking up a victory in the DPM Cup in a 10 goal thriller, however it seems the weight of injuries and suspensions have finally caught up with the team. A home tie against Midland had the potential to go either way but with star goal keeper, Phil Lytsell still sidelined, 2 missing defenders with Kelleher suspended and Neuman out with a long term injury and 2 missing midfielders (Deran Cody and Fuzzy Zoeller), it was always likely to be a battle. The Butetown Rovers are an extremely talented group but depth is the one red flag and it was sorely tested.

It was a bit of a surprise to see Butetown line up in a defensive tactic at home, but with a 24 rated goalkeeper the view from the manager was that they wanted to try to shorten the game and limit the amount of shots that Conor Cook would face. Ultimately, it was fairly successful, as the first half was pretty dull and finished 0-0, at which point they moved to a marginally more aggressive Counter attacking style. They also moved out of having 3 defensive midfielders, though again the move was only minor given that they kept 1 and the other two just moved into a midfield berth. 

The game looked like it might end goalless for a while but on 68 minutes an innocuous sideways pass from Sartory flew off the side of his foot and into his own net passed a bemused Cook. Despite trying to press forward and create more chances for the three pronged strikeforce, Midland had pretty solid control of the second half and it was no surprise that they finished the game 1-0 victors. 

The tale of the stats showed an even game with Midland edging the possession 54:46 and shots on goal 7/6 but Butetown actually had the higher shots on target. Neither team did enough to really warrant a comprehensive victory so the end result is probably fair enough and I suppose it was fitting that the winning goal was a lousy own goal. It was the first loss for the temporary  manager and he'll be keen to ensure that results don't snowball. Next week sees a number of Rovers players return including Kelleher, Cody and Zoeller, though perhaps the most important return will be a week later when Lytsell is available again. Winning without a 27+ rated keeper is a tough ask in a division filled with incredible squads! 

In other news Butetown winning in the cup lines them up with an interesting tie against the Middletown Steelers meaning that either Gary will have to step in or an awful lot of Butetown stars will be having a well earned rest that week. Its clear the club need to see what they have in 19 rated goalkeeper Ghirxi so maybe that's the ideal time to play him! 

Sent from Outlook

Gary Brown

unread,
Feb 28, 2026, 6:19:41 AM (yesterday) Feb 28
to ssl...@googlegroups.com
In a case like that I put in a sheet for the caretaken team :)

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SSL2001" group.
To post to this group, send email to ssl...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to ssl2001-u...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at https://groups.google.com/g/ssl2001
SSL2001 WEB SITE http://www.ssl2001.ukhome.net/
COMMISSIONERS E-MAIL garyb...@googlemail.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SSL2001" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ssl2001+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ssl2001/OS5P279MB0502A9B30332180A8297EE638170A%40OS5P279MB0502.NORP279.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.

switzerdan

unread,
Feb 28, 2026, 6:23:36 AM (yesterday) Feb 28
to ssl...@googlegroups.com
I'd be happy to sheet for Butetown for the Cup. 😉


Virus-free.www.avast.com

Gary Brown

unread,
Feb 28, 2026, 6:41:24 AM (yesterday) Feb 28
to ssl...@googlegroups.com
Thanks but no, I'll stick to the rule.
I sheeted for BTY today as they were playing GPY and I'll sheet for GNY if Ryan is till caretaking them in April when they play HRY, cheers, Gary.

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages