64 Teams, 32 Fixtures.
Well Gameweek 23 really seemed like a funny way of ending a riotous FPL month and some fantastic fixtures in both the FFUK Cup and the Challenge Cup. There were some incredibly tight fixtures and the final gameweek saw a number of teams using their bench boosts to ensure they made it through. Due to the incredibly low scoring week, a few players won their fixtures by just a couple of points, and one player, even brought his match to a draw.
The FFUK Cup
Man of the round goes to Paul Austin (13th), who along with James Prebble (15th) and Euan Philips (73rd), won his fixture by virtue of a GW23 bench boost. Paul recovered a 24 point deficit this gameweek bringing his fixture with Mev Berwick (49th) to a 231 point draw. This unlikely draw means that the fixture is decided on overall rank and Paul’s is higher! Fair play Paul, well fought.
Nick Johns (1st) is currently sitting pretty at the top of the FFUK league and this is demonstrated by his monthly score of 253 points (the highest was John McHugh (39th) on 269). Nick beat high flyer and FFUK contributor Matt Reid (6th) by 17 points, and Matt’s woe could be felt in the air in the midst of the GW23 duldrums. On any other gameweek that fixture could have gone the other way, but there just weren’t enough points around this week.
Elsewhere wins were had for Andy Jackson (7th) and David Pegg (4th), reiterating the calibre of our current Top 10, Peggy dishing out the biggest whooping in the round, winning by a substantial 81 points. But a couple of the Top 10 didn’t get off so easy, as Sean Griffin (9th) lost by just 2 points to Richard Harrison (52nd). Likewise the highest scorer in the Cup, Neil Freeland (10th) with 264 points for January beating Jim Wheat (5th) by a healthy-ish 23 points. That final gameweek was a killer for Jim.
Alberto Mario Schena (124th), Paul Monger (111th), Scott Volker (77th) and Euan Philips (73rd), all won their fixtures, showing us that there is still everything to play for in this game, even for those a distance from the top of the league. Finally, add to the mix myself (26th), Olly Wimshurst (14th), Dean Collins (28th), Jamie Stewart (41st), Mark Leathem (53rd) and we have the 16 teams through to the 3rd round. By the way, if you’re counting then that’s 7 of the current league Top 20 still in the FFUK Cup…
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is now entering round 4, whittled down from 128 teams to just 16, with excellent scores coming from a number of teams. Andrew Roberts (24th), managed to achieve 49 points in the final gameweek ensuring a 10 points win, while Toby Jones (42nd) had built up enough of a lead not to be taken down by Andrew Peace who also got 49 for the week. Reece Richardson (50th) made short work of Natalie McKenna, exceeding his lead in the final week with a wildcard guaranteeing his place, while Alex Scroffenegger (30th), Donald Macauley (31st) were among the highest scorers in the round.
Kudos goes to Neil Gordon (91st) who whipped out his bench boost in GW23 to win his fixture by a single point (winning a cheeky h2h en route too). On an otherwise disappointing gameweek Neil was able to thank Capoue for an assist as Arsenal were beaten at home by the mighty Watford FC!
Right I’m off to stalk, I mean, research Euan Philips’ team ready for the next round. We’re into Round 3 of the FFUK Cup, and Round 4 of the Challenge Cup. Next up March will see the quarter finals of both cups, and just 16 teams left in the cups, it’s gonna be BIG!
Good luck to everyone for February!
PC
FFUK 