L4 | S1 | W9: Sheringham’s hat-trick fires St. Johnstone as Everton climb to the Group 4 summit

📰 Week 9 in Review – Season 1

Week 9 brought drama across all four groups, and the most compelling single performance of the season so far came not from one of the league’s headline clubs but from a man in his second game in charge. Teddy Sheringham scored a hat-trick as George Aitchison’s St. Johnstone beat Cambridge United 3-2, with the decisive third arriving in the 83rd minute. It was the kind of night that makes a whole group sit up and take notice.

Elsewhere, Bristol City kept their extraordinary run going with a 1-0 win over Coventry City to move five points clear at the top of Group 3. Everton climbed to first in Group 4 for the first time as Newcastle dropped points at Ipswich. And at the foot of Group 1, the picture for Doncaster Rovers and Southend United is growing increasingly bleak with 21 weeks still to play.

🏆 Group 1 – The Worry at the Bottom

Manchester City remain in control of Group 1, but this week’s headline from Ady Lippiatt’s side was modest – a 1-1 draw at Doncaster, Torres netting in the 18th minute and Abbruscato levelling for the hosts in the 79th. City still lead on 21 points, but Celtic have closed within three after a 1-0 win at Walsall (Cadete, 7′), and the top of the table is beginning to tighten in a way it has not done since the opening weeks.

The bigger story in Group 1 this week, though, is at the other end. Two clubs are in real difficulty, and the season still has two-thirds of it to run.

⚠️ Doncaster Rovers are on seven points after nine games, sitting 14th. Southend United are below them on five. Neither club has won in their last three, and both are staring at a Season 2 start in Division 3 – or worse. Southend have scored just five goals in nine games. At this point in a 30-week season, the gap to safety is not yet insurmountable, but time is not standing still.

Cork City slipped to third after a 2-1 defeat at Leeds United. Wayne Mullins’ side had led through Donadoni in the 48th minute before Mendoza and Ferguson turned it around for Ian Dance’s side. Cork have now lost two of their last three, and the title picture they were shaping three weeks ago looks rather different. Leeds climb to seventh on 13 points after what is arguably their best result of the season so far.

Nottingham Forest continued their steady improvement with a 2-1 win at Manchester United – Turkyilmaz (38′) and Anderson (75′) giving them three points that lift James Harman’s side to ninth on 11 points and inside the Division 3 cut-off. Manchester United remain 15th on six. The gap between the clubs who are moving in the right direction and those who are not is becoming more apparent with every week.

💙 Group 2 – Sheringham Fires St. Johnstone’s Statement

Lincoln City dropped points for only the second time this season, losing 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion. The loss keeps Will Hayward’s side on 19 points at the top of Group 2, but Swansea City and Southampton are now both level on 18, and the Group 2 title race has opened up significantly in a single afternoon. The gap that felt comfortable three weeks ago is now just one point. Hayward will know his side cannot afford another slip at this stage.

💡 St. Johnstone are extraordinary. George Aitchison arrived in Week 8 and won his first game 2-0 at Brighton. This week his side came from behind twice to beat Cambridge United 3-2 – Sheringham with goals at 45′, 65′ and 83′ doing the damage. Claridge pulled one back for Cambridge at 6′ and Polenta made it 2-2 at 76′, but Sheringham’s late header sealed it. St. Johnstone are fifth on 17 points, level with Sutton United, and they look every bit like a Division 1 club for Season 2.

Southampton beat Liverpool 1-0 through a Pellè goal in the 41st minute – the striker’s eighth of the season, which puts him clear at the top of the Group 2 scoring charts. Luke Finnegan’s side are joint second and in genuine form. Sutton United also won – a 1-0 home victory over Livingston, Beckham from the spot in the 27th – keeping them fourth on 17 points. The top five in Group 2 are now covered by just two points.

🔍 Burnley are the week’s quiet movers. A 2-0 win at Cardiff – Barnes scoring twice in the 52nd and 54th minutes – lifts Gareth Murphy’s side to sixth on 14 points. They have won three of their last four and are pressing hard on the Division 1 places. At the other end, Queens Park Rangers remain 16th on six points, but Ze Grande Poisson can at least reflect on a £114,285 share of this week’s score draw prize.

❤️ Group 3 – Wimbledon’s Rise and the Palace Problem

Bristol City won again – Tébily with the only goal after six minutes, a lead Ashley Fillingham’s side never looked like relinquishing – and the numbers behind the result tell an extraordinary story. Six wins from eight, three goals conceded all season, and now five points clear of Heart of Midlothian at the top of Group 3. They are the benchmark club in this league right now by some margin.

The result that warrants its own paragraph, however, is Wimbledon’s 2-0 home win over Bristol Rovers. Van Persie opened in the 11th minute and Earle added a second in the 63rd. Phil McCracken’s side have now won three of their last four and jump to fourth on 17 points, level with Stockport County. Wimbledon were sitting in fifth and outside the Division 1 bracket as recently as three weeks ago. They are not there now, and the clubs around them will have noticed.

💡 Wycombe Wanderers beat Crystal Palace 2-1 – Damm scoring both (21′ and 58′) with Scamacca pulling one back for Palace. It is Wycombe’s first back-to-back wins of the season, and Jifjaf’s side leap from 15th to 12th, picking up three places in a single week. From zero points to three in two weeks, the climb has started.

Crystal Palace, on the other hand, have still not won a point from nine games. Simon Healey’s side have conceded 12 goals and scored two. A goal difference of -7 and the table coloured in Division 4. There is no gentle way to frame it – this is the most troubled start in the entire league, and there are 21 weeks remaining.

💛 Group 4 – Everton Take the Lead

Group 4 has a new leader. Everton beat Bradford City 1-0 through a David Silva goal in the 40th minute, and with Newcastle United dropping two points at Ipswich – Bramble’s late equaliser cancelling out Palsson’s opener – king kenny’s side climb to the top of the group for the first time. One point separates the two clubs, and next week they meet directly – Everton host Newcastle United at Goodison in what is already the fixture of the week.

💡 Torquay United are no longer quietly doing anything. Carl Pavitt’s side beat Burton Albion 2-0 – Ronaldo in the 72nd minute, Haaland two minutes later – and climb to third on 16 points with the best goal difference in the group at +6. More striking still: Torquay have not lost a home game this season. W3 D0 L0 at Plainmoor, five goals scored, none conceded. At some point the league has to stop treating them as a curiosity and start treating them as a contender.

Arsenal managed their first win in five games, beating Exeter City 2-0 through goals from Vieira (21′) and Bergkamp (42′). Gaz Sinnotti’s side are still 15th on seven points, but back-to-back wins against sides above them could change the mood if results continue to improve. Hibernian’s 2-0 win at Luton – Johnson and Samaras – pushes them to sixth on 14 points and into the division 1 frame, while Luton drop three places to tenth. The middle of Group 4 remains genuinely congested.

Dave Badcock joins as the new manager of St Mirren – the dugout had been vacant since Week 8. He inherits a side that is fourth on 16 points and well positioned, but with some catching up to do after a week without direction. A warm welcome to the circuit.

🗞️ Around the League

Eleven score draws this week and seven managers guessed correctly, sharing a prize of £114,285 each. Congratulations to Garysean (Celtic), George Aitchison (St. Johnstone), Gavin Williams (Swansea City), Graeme Haining (Motherwell), Simon Healey (Crystal Palace), Wayne Robinson (Bradford City), and Dave Badcock (St Mirren) – an impressive return across all four groups.

Two new managers arrived this week. Old Big ‘Ead takes the reins at Fulham in Group 1, stepping into a club that is seventh on 13 points and currently without a loss in two games. The dugout has been empty for a while – good to see it filled. And as noted above, Dave Badcock walks straight into a St Mirren side sitting in the Division 1 places in Group 4. Both clubs have real reason for optimism with experienced managers now at the helm.

Crowd trouble returned to the fixture list this week. Swansea City’s home match against Grimsby Town saw 50 arrests, six officers injured and £73,432 of stadium damage. Two friendly matches also produced disorder: Hibernian vs Doncaster Rovers resulted in 63 arrests, six officers hurt and £79,795 of damage; Aston Villa vs Lincoln City produced 54 arrests, eight officers injured and £70,188 of damage. The Police Report makes sobering reading for the clubs involved.

The Gossip Sheet this week shows Brighton and Cork City as the wealthiest clubs in the league by current balance. Southampton top the team spirit rankings, with Leyton Orient and Heart of Midlothian close behind. On the scoring charts, Pellè (Southampton) and Rashford (Exeter City) are level on eight goals apiece to lead the overall standings. From the form tables, S. Freis of Colchester United leads the attacker rankings in Division 3 with a perfect 100% momentum form score – remarkable consistency across the nine weeks.