It seems a long time since Esportivo Rio toppled London City FC to move within two points of top spot in the Global Premier Football League. A draw and a loss, and not a single goal in the two games since, has allowed City to slip seven points clear after a pivotal round of games.
Harbour City‘s fine run continued following another home victory which has seen them move into the top four, while the individual highlight of the round was midfielder Albert-Jan Stroek‘s hat trick in Shanghai Pearl‘s much needed win at Marina Bay Flyers.
ROUND 30 ROUND-UP
Mark Ives was back into the swing of things after a couple of games out, opening the scoring in Munich just after the half hour. City didn’t come close to having their way with Olympia Munich as the hosts pushed the leaders before finally getting back in level terms 20 minutes from the end. Remco Vreman‘s curler was the least his team deserved, but from there they seemed to settle for a point.
City grabbed back the initiative, and substitute Dorian Gross took advantage, hitting a fine late winner that, as it turned out, could end up being one of two components that pushed the title City’s way after a pivotal round of games.
The other component was Esportivo’s inability to hit the back of the net in Madrid. It wasn’t for the want of trying, but nothing seemed to come off for the visitors. Things unraveled for them after the break, as Ranieri Letteire gave Ciudad de Madrid the lead before Norberto da Fonseca saw red midway through the half. And that was pretty much it as the hosts strangled the life out of their frustrated opponents.
Union Buenos Aires finally won again to gain ground on Esportivo, while Harbour City’s rise continued after their fifth win in a row.
Elian Corral, starting after a couple of scoring efforts off the bench, continued his fine form with an early opener, before star man, Rico Cocci, double Union’s lead ten minute before the break. Constantinople FC barely fired a shot as the visitors meandered their way comfortably to victory.
Harbour City’s Geert-Jan de Walle was amongst the goals again, with his team’s victory over Tokyo-Yokohama United being built around his fine brace. Carter Armstrong‘s second goal of the season, with only moments remaining, sealed the points that had looked inevitable throughout.
LA Icons and Eternal Roma were other top ten sides that picked up victories, while Emirates United and Paris Metro were both held on the road.
Shanghai’s first win since early match was almost almost solely due to Stroek’s influence and was, without doubt, the match of the round. The match flowed both ways, but the Dutch midfielder had he final say, slamming home the winner ten minutes from the end.
In the other game, Flavio Van Overstraeten‘s hit the only goal of the game as al-Qahirah Stars picked up another 1-0 home victory.
 
3 - 1Stadium Australia, Sydney HARBOUR CITY vs TOKYO YOKOHAMA UNITED |
 
2 - 1Stadio Olimpico, Rome ETERNAL ROMA vs TORONTO ATHLETIC |
 
2 - 1SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles LA ICONS vs JOHANNESBURG RUSH |
 
2 - 3Singapore National Stadium, Singapore MARINA BAY FLYERS vs SHANGHAI PEARL |
 
1 - 0Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid CIUDAD DE MADRID vs ESPORTIVO RIO |
 
2 - 2MetLife Stadium, New Jersey NEW YORK CAPITALS vs PARIS METROPOLE |
 
1 - 0Cairo International Stadium, Cairo AL-QAHIRAH STARS vs HONG KONG TRADERS |
 
1 - 1Azteca Stadium, Mexico City CF AZTECA vs EMIRATES UNITED |
 
0 - 2Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul CONSTANTINOPLE FC vs UNION BUENOS AIRES |
 
1 - 2Allianz Arena, Munich OLYMPIA MUNCHEN vs LONDON CITY FC |
Find out more about the Global Premier Football League's Clubs
AL-QAHIRAH STARS
CF AZTECA
CIUDAD DE MADRID
CONSTANTINOPLE FC
EMIRATES UNITED
ESPORTIVO RIO
ETERNAL ROMA
HARBOUR CITY
HONG KONG TRADERS
JOHANNESBURG RUSH
LA ICONS
LONDON CITY FC
MARINA BAY FLYERS
NEW YORK CAPITALS
OLYMPIA MUNCHEN
PARIS METROPOLE
SHANGHAI PEARL
TOKYO YOKOHAMA UNITED
TORONTO ATHLETIC