Hoover FC will now be offered promotion to the First Division. The second place team in the regular season, which was DC Divided, will also be considered for promotion. I'm not sure under what circumstances they are guaranteed the opportunity to go up. Will the officers ask whether the First Division losers want to go down? Will it depend on whether two teams come up from Third? Probably the latter. The Flirts, having lost in the playoffs and been edged out during the regular season for second place, will stay in the division with us.
I'm just bummed that we won't have another shot at Hoover FC. They didn't see our A game. We'll have to get them next fall in the First Division!
Not sure what's happening in the Third Division this afternoon. Tsunami won the regular season with a near perfect season. Capital Crew was second on a head-to-head loss. The two teams played each other in the playoff final as well. Not sure what happened; the score isn't posted.
Perhaps I'll do a full promotion and relegation report later.
Both DC Divided and Hoover FC will be considered for promotion. They can take it or leave it. If they take it the two last place teams in the division above are forced to relegate. The reason the word "considered" is used in the by laws is that if there are discipline considerations on a team that is in a place for promotion, then the league might decide to not grant promotion to that team based on those considerations. In other words, promotion is never guaranteed, but it is also not mandatory - so once they are offered it is their decision.
ReplyDeleteCrew beat Tsunami. Basically only a bragging rights game because as the second place team Crew would be considered for promotion win or loose.
Third and Second divisions were a battle between 1st and 2nd place. But interestingly, 1st divions was a battle between 5th and 6th place - 5th place Mall Rats won to earn the right to go back to Premier - where they had been since they started the league in 1996. And tied for 4th place FC Benchwarmers beat 2nd place Good-n-Bad for bragging rights in the Premier championship.
I reffed the first two matches. It struck me, even though the scoreline was 3-1 for Hoover, that they really just benefited from good finishing/poor goalkeeping. They weren't dominant at all, but made the most of their chances. DC Divided controlled the play for a lot of the game. I heard their bench discussing promotion for next season during the match. If I had to guess, I'd say DC Divided decides to stay based on what I heard.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Crew and Tsunami will be quality opponents next year. Tsunami is much improved and played well in the game. Cap Crew were decent, but they have two players that really control the game and the tempo. Their play was the biggest reason they won. Having the two best players on the field is always an advantage at this level.