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Five-Star Sheffield Captures EN2 Crown
Posted by: OldSkopjeMgr, 2023-11-10, 274 ViewsSheffield captured the D2 title on goal difference, after a wild final day where the Skulls, Espoo, and Helsinki all had a chance to grab the title.
Espoo only needed to beat Wolverhampton to secure the trophy. But in a match featuring 55 fouls (36 on Espoo), Wolverhampton held 10-man Espoo to a 0-0 draw. Espoo failed to manage a SOG.
Helsinki, which could win the title with a victory and some help, took a 5th-minute lead on a goal by Tsvetanov against Harju. A win would have given Helsinki 46 points and a title shout at +13 GD if Sheffield faltered. However, Sheffield was already 3-nil up on Kiev after 65 minutes, but they needed more to catch Espoo.
Then, in the 66th minute, Basheer scored his 2nd of the match, giving Sheffield a 4-0 lead. A minute later, cheers erupted around Thomas Lane, as Harju equalized against Helsinki. This put the title firmly in Sheffield's hands, and Basheer made sure of it on 90 minutes by finishing his hat trick. He added an assist for a 7-point night.
The 5-nil win launched Sheffield to +19 on goal difference, ahead of Espoo's +17. The teams finished level on 46 points, both losing only 4 matches all season.
Rotterdam (49 points) captured the top-flight title, while Munich captured an exciting D3 race, outlasting Volgograd and London by a single point.
The trophy is Sheffield's first since old Skopje manager Ed returned to WES in Season 40. Took him long enough.
2 Comments
Pav
14/11/2023 16:10:33
Nice D2 battle between three active managers. Impressively active management by Helsinki manager throughout the season in particular
