It’s great to see some of the teams that are struggling in the league are still contenders for the ESR FJ Cup and Plate. Brunello FC who are languishing in last place in 1st division, are still in the FJ Cup and have a very good chance of making it all the way to the finals.
In one of the coldest fixtures of the season—shockingly played in the second week of March—the Suns proved that their name doesn’t define their game.
You’d think a team called the Suns might falter in icy conditions. Think again. They came out fired up—physical when it counted, lightning-quick in transition, and ruthlessly clinical in front of goal. From the first whistle, they looked locked in, shutting down Eastern Capital’s offense with surgical precision.
The ESR FJ Cup and Plate games have had their fair share of upsets and what's left of the rubble are 4 teams in the cup.
The Semi-finals are Eastern Capital vs BEFC on one leg, Zion vs Brunello on the other. The only Division 2 team in the cup semi-finals, Brunello have had an amazing run. Beating Yeboiz (current 2nd place in Division 1) in full time 3-1 and then beating Pumas (current 1st place in Division 1) also in full time 1-0. At this point, they can just call themselves the champions of TML after winning against the two strongest teams!
The quarter finalists of the ESR FJ Cup and plate have been determined! Some very interesting teams from both sides. Sala and Suns were the only 2 D1 teams that got knocked into the plate and with Suns gone, Sala must be the favorties to win it. Don't count out Clash or Brunello though, both of them are formidable teams when they are on their A-game. On the cup side we have BFC, the only D3 team left. Certainly the underdog that everyone is keenly following.
With the first round of matches kicking off on the weekend of January 14th, the first round of the ESR FJ Cup was finally completed by February 12th despite some games being rescheduled due to weather.
Typically the teams of higher division have all made it to the next round but a few notable giant killings took place. BFC beat Sala, YeBoiz beat Suns without the match going to penalties. Sala and Suns are the only two Division 1 teams to get knocked into the Plate.
The ESR FJ Cup kicked off it's first round of games with mixed results. Pumas, Dutch, Hibs, FC International, YCAC all proceeded to the next round after beating their opponents in a lower division. There were three cup games that stood out. FC International vs Jetro, with Jetro's Ryusei Ota completing his hat trick in the final minute to tie the game 3-3. FC International did eventually come out on top after the penalties.
Clash FC
Panthers FC
BEFC
Hibernian FC
FC Sagarmatha
Eastern Capital FC
Brunello FC
Pumas FC
YeBoiz FC
Zion FC
YC&AC
Dutch FC
FC Nomade
FC International
Guapo FC
SUNS FC
Sala FC
Fussa FC
Saitama JETS FC
Kilimanjaro FC
Jetro FC
Teranga FC
Albion Old Boys FC
Shane FC
BFC Tokyo
King George FC
BEFC Lions
Lions FC
