Week ending 2th August by Mason Norton

It remains early days in Divisions One and Two of the Everards Leicestershire Senior League. The Div1 fixture list was reduced by one when Barrow Town Reserves were unable to field a side for their trip to Anstey Town. That leaves four fixtures to bring you this week. On Thursday night, Liiban Ahmed's 16th minute strike was enough to give Leicester Atletico the points in a 1-0 win at home to Holwell Sports Reserves.

On Saturday, top scorers were Kirby Muxloe Reserves, who thrashed Sutton Bonington 9-3. Kirby had seven different scorers, but no hat-trick hero- Callum Key helped unlock the SB defence with a double, equalled by Drew Lilleyman, with strikes from Luke Barratt, Theo Sjoberg, Ashley Varnham, Joe Wynder and sub Dominik Janiarczyk for Kirby; James Dann, Ayomide Ayodele and Jordan Crosland responding for Sutton on a torrid afternoon. Harrison Griffiths (2) and Luke Allard scored for Ingles Development in a 3-1 win against Birstall United Reserves, Alfie Underwood scoring for Birstall. Lastly for Div1, Sporting Markfield started their season with a 3-1 defeat at Hinckley LRFC Reserves, Connor Helps scoring for Markfield after a Malik Boyce brace had put the home side in control, the game in the balance until Micah Rowe sealed the win in injury time.

In Div2 there were four fixtures, St Patricks made their LSL debut with a short trip across the eastern end of Leicester to Judgemeadow College, where Melton Town Academy are playing their home fixtures whilst their own pitch remains unavailable. The Pats made a winning start to their Div2 campaign, winning 5-1, with Jamie Bottomley, Brady Doherty, Sean Doy and Nikesh Godhania scoring, Reuben Nelson scoring for Melton.

Loughborough Students Development continued to educate the rest with a 5-0 thumping of Mountsorrel Amateurs, Nicholas Swan scoring the LSL's only hat-trick this weekend, along with an Angelo Piscitelli double, the Students being 4-0 up by the break to end the game as a contest early on. GNG Oadby Town Development went goal-crazy too up at Sileby, winning 7-0 against Sileby's reserves, Kwaku Aboagye (2), Wiktor Ako, Taran Singh Sahota, David Sylla, Tobi Iawal and Iwu Finbarr Onyema the scorers.

Finally, in what was a very low-scoring day on the Pools coupons, the LSL saw only one draw across all three divisions, at Rothley, where this time last year, Rothley Imperial inflicted an 11-0 thumping of Loughborough, but in the corresponding fixture on Bank Holiday weekend, the two side this year played out a 3-3 draw. Dthanial Weston (2) and George Killen had scored for Rothley after Owen Clark had equalised from the spot, but a late brace off Callum Gilchrist gave Luffs a share of the points.

Elsewhere, last week saw the draw made for the first round of both the Everards Brewery Tiger League Cup and the City Goldsmiths President's Trophy. Reduced numbers in both competitions means that there are only three fixtures in the first round of the President's, with five byes to the quarters, whilst there are also seven byes to the last 16 of the Tiger Cup, leaving nine first round fixtures, the pick of which sees holders Burbage & Huncote host the 2021 and 2022 winners Allexton & New Parks. Those first round fixtures will be played in October- details on County Cup fixtures will follow in early September.

There's no midweek games this week in the LSL, as the nights continue to draw in ever quicker, leaving midweek games now a possibility only for those with floodlights. All the action will be on next Saturday, and Ramble Round will be back next Sunday, when hopefully I won't be stuck in the departure lounge of an airport like I was this Bank Holiday Monday. See you then... hopefully..