Tehel Cup Round 2 Predictions

Now that we're a full month into the season and everyone has played 3-5 games already, I think it's safe for me to make some educated predictions as to what will happen in this coming Tehel Cup round, beginning tonight.

So far, the tournament has been a success; some of the teams from lower divisions have been holding their own, yet there haven't been too many major upsets.  Only Rush and Yemen Elite really pounded their opponent in round 1.  This round will be telling as to just how good, or bad, the decision was to merge the Wood Cup into the Tehel Cup.  For competition's sake, I hope most of these games are good ones.  You'll find out where I stand regarding that riiiiiiight now.  I'm going to break this down by week, by game, and by likely location.

6/4 Games:

Yemen Elite v OP Alliance, Martin Road Elementary  
Elite blitzed Lykan by the score of 6-0, while OP Alliance made quick work of Rust Belt.  We didn't learn much from these games as this was expected.  OP Alliance has yet to taste defeat this year, while Yemen seems to be doing everything in their power to give away points.  But it really comes down to the level of play that each team has been playing against this year thus far.  OP Alliance's only true test was RVS United, and they earned that draw in come-from-behind fashion.  If they thought RVS was a challenge, wait until they get a load of Elite.  Elite should win comfortably, but continue to struggle to find the back of the net.

Yemen Elite 3, OP Alliance 1

DSC Buffalo v Panthers, McCarthy Park
I'm going to assume this one is at McCarthy since that's where DSC played their last Cup match against Wolf Mill, where they were winners by the score of 2-0.  DSC has produced 3 shut outs in 5 tries this season, which shocks me since I really don't know their roster at all and figured since I didn't know anyone they MUSTN'T be that good.  Welp, I guess they have a pulse afterall.  Sorry DSC, my bad.  But you know what? I'm not sorry for what I'm about to say!  Panthers should cruise tonight, assuming they bring enough players.  I'm hearing that they routinely have around 11 per night, if they're lucky, including their 3-3 draw against East Aurora, in which multiple people informed me they were the much better side than the impressive Aurora squad.  Looks like Brian Knapp and Nick Cortese are providing a lot of offense and there's no reason to think they won't in this one.  I think this one gets somewhat ugly quick and then Panthers sits back and rides out the clock.  That is of course if this one isn't postponed, as Panthers have already postponed two games.  50/50 shot this game is played at a later date.

Panthers 4, DSC Buffalo 0

Lazio v Meerkats, Mulroy Pierce Field (turf)
Meerkats better find their scoring boots fast.  Their offense has mustered 4 goals in 5 games so far, 3 of which came against West Seneca Strikers.  That's not going to cut it against a superior Lazio side that just hung seven on me & my Queenston bros Sunday evening.  On turf, this could be a disaster, as Lazio can connect passes together from right back to left mid with tremendous accuracy.  Meerkats probably should sit in, but I'll leave it up to them to make a smart team decision on how to approach the premier juggernauts.  I think the Kats can get one back when the game is out of reach, but this one is looking like another Eric Brodfuehrer goal scoring binge kind of night.  Over/under is 0.5 for ACL tears in this game.

Lazio 5, Meerkats 1

BSC Raiders v Chelsea, Lew-Port HS (turf)
I'm guessing this one is up at Lew-Port because that seems to be the Raiders' weekly go-to field, and Mulroy is occupied.  Chelsea barely made it to this round with a late equalizer against Buffalo Gunners.  Raiders got here against probably the league's second best team in BUSS, in a tight 2-1 affair.  All signs would point to a monster blow out coming tonight, but Chelsea is an experienced team from the highest level the league has to offer, so I'm basing this off feel, but I think they'll keep the score line close, but I wouldn't want to watch this one.  Chelsea will play with pride, maybe not touch the ball all that much, but they won't concede as many as expected.

BSC Raiders 3, Chelsea 0

6/11 Games:

Clarence v Depew Village, Clarence Soccer Center, Field 11
Again, another guess regarding field, but since they played their last game here against Amherst Sharpshooters, we'll call it an educated guess.  Clarence is winless in league play right now, but I think that is severely misleading.  First, they haven't had an easy go of it schedule wise, as they've played BUSS, Celtic United, Lazio and the Amherst Sharpshooters in Cup play.  Depew Village will be their easiest task all season most likely, and it's not like Depew normally brings a full stable of players anyway.  I watched them play Roos FC last year, at home mind you, with 9 guys.  This could get really ugly, especially considering how poorly Depew has played thus far.  They were my dark horse in Division 1 this year.  They are now my dark donkey.

Clarence 6, Depew Village 0

Stone Jug v SPAL Buffalo FC, Thomas Marks Elementary
SPAL got here with a mild upset win over Buffalo Celtic, who has played well thus far, while Stone Jug impressed me with a blow out win down in Angola.  I figured even if the Jug were more experienced and talented, they'd struggle to find numbers for a weekday road game 1 hour from their home base.  Now I'm going to use that same theory as to why I think this game can produce our first Cinderella of the tournament.  SPAL has been iffy lately in league play, and the Jug play out of Wilson, NY.  I'm going to assume SPAL has issues with player availability when I make this prediction:

Stone Jug 2, SPAL Buffalo FC 2, Jug wins in PK's 4-3

FC Yemen v Orchard Park Quake, Martin Road Elementary
FC Yemen has been nothing short of excellent so far here in 2015.  It took PK's to beat them last year in the Elite 8 within the 89th installment of the Cup, but I'd like to think they're vastly improved this year after stomping all over SoHo FC, which produced a lot of WTF's from friends and acquaintances when the news broke between us.  Maybe that wasn't so shocking after all, after they routinely drop 6-7 goals on their competition.  Think about their last 3 games: 7 goals scored against Lakeshore FC, 4 against SoHo FC and 6 against Buffalo Bantu.  Amazing stuff there.  I feel sorry for Orchard Park Quake, who let's face it, are one of the league's most overrated teams.  I think a lot of people bought into what they say here on the forum or on twitter, but they're just an average team who can beat up on lesser opponents.  Adam Eaton will probably keep these guys respectable on the scoreboard, and Yemen seems to be a little generous defensively, so the below scoreline is really a best case scenario for the Quake:

FC Yemen 5, Orchard Park Quake 2

Ukraine v Rush FC, Dingens Street
I'd be surprised if Rush agrees to play at this location, but for now, let's just assume its there.  Rush walloped the Strikers 8-0 in round 1, and Ukraine got by the 4-0 Blizzard (in league play).  Ukraine is not a bad team, but Rush is one of those teams that once they get the score rolling, it seems to be downhill from there.  If Anthony Johnson and CJ Scirto are present for this one, there's no way their talent can be reigned in.

Rush FC 6, Ukraine 1

6/18 Games:

Elbow Soup FC v Boomslang FC, West Seneca Soccer Complex
The Soup had easily their best performance of the season in their last cup match, winners over Haz Benz by the score of 4-0, which really surprised me.  It didn't surprise me though as much as the Boomslang score...sneaking by the Reds 2-1.  Now I've heard Boomslang may have not had their optimal striker lineup that night and I know their top defensive unit hasn't really played together that much either, but regardless of that, the score still remains puzzling.  Boomslang has produced only one clean sheet this season, which took place last week, so maybe they're on the right track.  Fortunately for them, they get the Soup, who haven't been that competitive just yet in the Second Division.  Essentially, Boomslang gets a re-do of their round 1 matchup to prove that they're for real and that they're contenders for the Tehel Cup.  I think we see a better performance out of the Championship side.

Boomslang FC 4, Elbow Soup 0

Alden v Buffalo Bantu, Martin Road Elementary
I'm taking yet another complete stab in the dark as to where they'll play this game, but this is where Bantu played Polonia, so why not.  Bantu, who continuously seem to want to prove to everyone that they're better than what people give them credit for (everyone things they're good...), are 1-3 in their league and struggled to put away Polonia last round.  So maybe they're just athletic, talented, but the teamwork isn't there yet, I don't know.  Alden easily got by PLYSA Toros, which was way too tall of a task for the Third Division bullies.  Alden last saw Bantu last season...and lost 6-0.  So perhaps an athletic, talented team is not what Alden matches up well against.  I tend to agree, but they make it more respectable this time around.

Buffalo Bantu 4, Alden 1

Roos FC v Lakeside FC, Orchard Park Soccer Compost Dump that's now not a dump apparently
There are rumblings that this game could get under the lights treatment at D'Youville if available, or perhaps Mulroy if people are willing to pay, but the safe bet is the Boneyard.  This place is not called 'The Rock' or whatever Quake has been referring to it as.  Anyway, this is an intriguing matchup because it pits a promoted side to Premier against a relegated side to Championship.  Lakeside wasn't really happy with the relegation move, and so far have won all of their games played in all competitions outside of a week 1 draw.  Roos on the other hand started slow, but as of today's print date, they're unbeaten now for 1 month.  For me, I think this game boils down to defense, and Roos have surrendered 6 in league play while Lakeside have surrendered 7 in an easier league.  Due to Lakeside's amazing success in this tournament, I doubt they go down without swinging, but I think this is the end of the road for Allen Street Hardware's finest.

Roos FC 2, Lakeside FC 1

Rangers v Aurora Arsenal II, West Seneca Soccer Complex
I'll admit it.  I picked Catan to beat Rangers in round 1, and I think I did it only to be part of the savvy group of guys who think the lower divisions can hang with the upper divisions.  Catan FC is like hipster Brooklyn to me.  Anyway getting off topic here - by the way, the pizza in Brooklyn is dynamite compared to the city spots that I was accustomed to in the upper east side.  And the upper east side pizza is leaps and bounds better than most of thick poop served up here in Buffalo.  Ahh! Did it again!  Ok, back to the analysis: Arsenal 2 are here with a win over division mates FK Bosna, which sort of shocked me only because I'm still thinking Arsenal 2 is the same team as last year, the team without keeper Mariniello and that lost 9 games in the Third Division.  But this should be all meaningless against a very sound Rangers side.  The other reason why I shouldn't have picked against Rangers is because I know what they are.  After all, Queenston faced them 3 times in 2 seasons and they'll always give you a game. Schamber & company are too much to overcome for Aurora.

Rangers 4, Aurora Arsenal II 0

6/25 Games:

Celtic United v Lakeshore FC, Mulroy Pierce Field (turf)
I know Lakeshore likes to play their Cup games at West Seneca probably because it's a bit cheaper (that's fair) but I'm also aware that Celtic Hoops have a home game this night so they'll likely want to stay at Ellicott Creek.  By default, I think this game is heading to Mulroy, where Celtic United played their first round game against East Aurora.  I saw the second half and OT of that game, and I was informed that EAFC had a 2-1 lead upon arrival, which immediately shocked me.  Then I got to see EAFC and it didn't shock me any longer.  Celtic United seemed to be playing well too from what I gathered, so I think they may get an easier second round game out of Lakeshore FC somehow.  That's hard for me to even write, as Lakeshore were pretty darn close to being a Premier team this season.  Anyway, let's just hope this game doesn't go into penalties like the first one did.  I think that was the worst penalty shoot out I've ever witnessed on any level, from a keeping stand point.  In total, 20 shots were fired (kudos to those who guessed right: yes, 10 rounds).  Of those 20, not 1 was touched by a keeper.  Some were well placed shots.  Others were, ummm...not so well placed?  I mean the EAFC keeper, literally upon the whistle of maybe the 7th or 8th United kicker, tried to fake out the PK taker by jumping to his left reeeeally early, and then did it again but went further to his left...I swear the United player just slowly placed his shot mid-left to a wide open net.  It took a successful field goal conversion by the 10th EAFC penalty taker to finally end that one.  In all seriousness though, I'm sure this one will be a closely contested game.  Lakeshore FC is a talented team, much more than 1-3-1 would suggest. I just don't think they'll have enough defensively to shut down the wide variety of options United has at their disposal.

Celtic United 3, Lakeshore FC 1

Celtic Hoops v West Side FC, Ellicott Creek Park
Hoops soundly defeated RVS 5-2 in round 1 which was a really nice result for them.  Meanwhile, West Side took care of Rampart a lot easier than I had expected.  West Side is intriguing to me.  They've now defeated Tonawanda United, Rampart and OP Quake, all of which I just assumed would be more talented than the new team to the league.  Maybe that's just foolish on my part.  Kovan Menr appears to be the real deal when it comes to goal scoring, so it'll be Hoops' task to mark him tight.  I think we get a vintage Hoops peformance in this round where they're able to win the low scoring game.

Celtic Hoops 2, West Side FC 0

Amherst Alliance FC v Queenston FC, West Seneca Soccer Complex
It took penalties for Alliance to get by a pesky Revolution side who were without Corey Deville or their normal keeper Frank Huber, but a win is a win.  Alliance badly missed a PK too, so perhaps this one should have never reached extra time, but that's the beauty of this tournament.  Amherst Alliance has won all of their contests this season and they're making me look smart for saying they didn't belong in Division 2.  Unfortunately that means my side has a tougher task than what initially meets the eye when you see Premier side vs. Second division side.  I know this team is made up of some decent former FC Buff Reserve guys and Amherst Raptors like Chris Aurilio for example, so this is not a pushover team by any means.  Meanwhile, the Parliament, your defending Tehel Cup Champions, are having kind of a weird season so far.  An early comfortable win over the Roos has then been followed up with what's now looking like a terrible draw (for us) against Rush, in which we allowed them to equalize on their 2nd to last touch of the game, and then took our first loss against SoHo, but actually out played SoHo down a man, so that didn't feel like so much of a let down.  But then Lazio bombards us for 7 over the weekend and suddenly we're thinking twice about our comfort level.  We are a product of our defense, and when our top defensive unit is there, our discipline is there (it wasn't there Sunday) and that confidence trickles up the pitch.  I think a classic Queenston performance is in play for this tilt.  Alliance will play hard and clean, but we'll get our goals at the right moments.

Queenston FC 3, Amherst Alliance FC 0

Great White Buffalo v Hamburg Monarchs, Nike Base
Yes that's right, I'm saying this game will be played at the visitor's home field.  Why, Brian?  Well I'll tell you why: GWB was home to Beast City in round 1, but they played at Ives Pond, where Beast plays their home games.  Devils was home to the Monarchs in round 1, but they played at the Nike Base.  It looks like the Monarchs are not the kind of team you want to be in a negotiation with.  If they say it's at the Nike Base, you better show up at the Nike Base!  GWB had an excellent opening round of the tournament, as they got past a Beast City side who has been stingy defensively and haven't lost a league game yet.  But Beast reverted back to their inept 2013-2014 version offense on the wrong day, and GWB advanced.  Meanwhile, the Monarchs handily sent Devils home, although Devils apparently were light on numbers.  I think though that when the Monarchs bring numbers, they're a formidable side.  I expect them to do something similar to what they did against Devils against GWB in this round.

Hamburg Monarchs 2, Great White Buffalo 0

"FC Yemen v Orchard Park Quake, Martin Road Elementary
FC Yemen has been nothing short of excellent so far here in 2015.  It took PK's to beat them last year in the Elite 8 within the 89th installment of the Cup, but I'd like to think they're vastly improved this year after stomping all over SoHo FC, which produced a lot of WTF's from friends and acquaintances when the news broke between us.  Maybe that wasn't so shocking after all, after they routinely drop 6-7 goals on their competition.  Think about their last 3 games: 7 goals scored against Lakeshore FC, 4 against SoHo FC and 6 against Buffalo Bantu.  Amazing stuff there.  I feel sorry for Orchard Park Quake, who let's face it, are one of the league's most overrated teams.  I think a lot of people bought into what they say here on the forum or on twitter, but they're just an average team who can beat up on lesser opponents.  Adam Eaton will probably keep these guys respectable on the scoreboard, and Yemen seems to be a little generous defensively, so the below scoreline is really a best case scenario for the Quake:

FC Yemen 5, Orchard Park Quake 2"

Thank you for motivational stab Brian. It was truly inspirational to go out and try and prove we are not the most overrated team in BDSL yesterday. I would like to think an average team would not be capable of holding FC Yemen to 2 goals, 1 of which was purely bad luck. We are not happy with our 2-0 loss, especially since anyone in attendance would agree we should of had at least 1 or 2 goals ourselves. But at least we covered the spread! You should start a bookie side business, it could be lucrative!

All jokes aside though I think I can speak for most of the league and say we all love you and Sheiber's forum posts about the league. Seriously, keep up the good work. Its one big reason this league is growing in size and interest.