After St George’s and Peel netted a whopping 21 goals between them at the weekend, it’s no surprise to see the title challengers dominate the latest Team of the Week.
The top two were in rampant form as they demolished Ramsey and Laxey 13-1 and 8-0 respectively to maintain their unbeaten campaigns.
As such, no fewer than five of this week’s hypothetical XI are from the the leading lights of Manx football.
Having passed the 200-goal mark in the Premier League against St John’s recently, Calum Morrissey continued his rich vein of form by scoring five goals against Ramsey at Glencrutchery Road.
The reigning Player of the Month is joined up front by Kane Ridings after he starred for Corinthians in their match against relegation-threatened Union Mills.
The Whites attacker was in fine fettle as he produced a man-of-the-match display as he grabbed his side’s second goal in a 3-1 victory over the Millers.
The four-man midfield boasts three players from the aforementioned top two, namely Geordies playmaker Conor Doyle and Peel duo Lee Gale and Marc Kelly.
Between them the trio netted no fewer than nine goals at the weekend, with Gale leading the way with a four-goal haul against Laxey. The western winger was unstoppable in the game at Douglas Road, also having a hand in three his side’s other goal as the Sunset City side put the Miners to the sword. His four strikes take his all-time Premier League tally to just shy of the 100-goal mark with 98.
Two of Peel’s other goals were by Kelly who narrowly missed out on the man of the match honours to Gale. The Peel and island midfielder got the ball rolling with a low strike in just the second minute and then curled home a sublime free-kick to cap an excellent performance.
Likewise Doyle was one of the stars of the show for St George’s as the Blackpool triallist helped himself to a hat-trick in the Saints’ Ramsey rout, continuing his fine recent form in front of goal.
Completing the midfield quartet is Rushen United’s Alex Guy. The tenacious and hard-working Spaniard produced a tireless display in the south of the island as the Croit Lowey side overcame a battling Marown side 2-0 to cement their third place in the table.
Guy was not the only player to impress in that match in Port Erin, with his Rushen team-mate Chris Shimmin and Marown’s Cameron Avery also catching the eye of Eric Clague’s ratings panel.
Shimmin produced a good display in the heart of the Spaniards’ defence which kept a fifth clean sheet of the season, while Avery was one of Marown’s standout performers as they delivered a resilient and hard-working performance despite the scoreline.
Also being rewarded with places in the Team of the Week backline are Union Mills’ James Lace and St George’s stalwart Julian Ringham.
While he may have been on the losing side against Corinthians, Lace’s display caught the eye as he made one goal-line clearance and helped his side frustrate the Whites.
Ringham was in fine form as he delivered a typically assured performance in the Geordies defence against Ramsey and even managed to venture forward and grab himself a rare goal.
Donning the goalkeeper gloves this week is Dave Cherry who earns a rare call-up to Team of the Week after he impressed for Rushen during their aforementioned 2-0 win over Marown.
Claiming the refereeing honours for the latest Team of the Week is Peter Greenhill whose vocal and no-nonsense approach saw him impress with the whistle during the Corinthians v Union Mills match at Ballafletcher.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Goalkeeper
Dave Cherry (Rushen Utd)
Team of the Week appearances: 1
Defence
Cameron Avery (Marown) TotW apps: 1
James Lace (Union Mills) TotW apps: 2
Chris Shimmin (Rushen) TotW apps: 1
Julian Ringham (St George’s) TotW apps: 2
Midfield
Lee Gale (Peel) TotW apps: 6
Conor Doyle (St George’s) TotW apps: 3
Marc Kelly (Peel) TotW apps: 1
Alex Guy (Rushen Utd) TotW apps: 2
Attack
Calum Morrissey (St George’s) TotW apps: 3
Kane Ridings (Corinthians) TotW apps: 3
Referee
Peter Greenhill (Corinthians v Union Mills)
RotW apps: 1