CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Finch, who survived an astonishing late surge from Mr C Clack to win the second England shirt on offer in The Watford Observer's World Cup competition.

Mark, who was well placed in second after the first round of group matches, picked up a further 66 points in the second round of fixtures, thanks to victories for all three his selections - Brazil, Cameroon and Japan - while his chosen player, Italian Christian Vieri, also scored, but lost five points for a booking.

Mr Clack was in 60th place before Portugal took on Poland, but shot up to second on the back of striker Pauleta being the first player to receive a maxiumum of 110 points for scoring a hat-trick. In fact, Mr Clack would have won the shirt had he not chosen Poland as one of his countries, leaving him four points behind Mark.

The first round winner, M J Fellows, has dropped to third, but he is still well in contention for the overall prize of a portable colour TV, with 106 points.

The third England on offer shirt will be awarded to the leader of the final round of group games.

The winner's total could also include the bonus points, which will be awarded to the 16 nations who qualify for the second phase. However, these will not be added on until the group stage has been completed.

For an up to date list of entrants' scores, log onto the World Cup section of our website. The list will also be published in this week's edition of The Watford Observer.

June 10, 2002 15:30