Erith & Belvedere 4 Billinghurst 1 - Casey Dudley, Freddie Baker, Clarence Tambe & Connor French all on target for South East Counties Premier Erith as they saw off Southern Combination Premier Billinghurst in the Emirates FA Cup

Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, Sunday 9th August

My third and final game of an FA Cup triple header this weekend came from Park View Road, Welling, as South East Counties Premier outfit Erith & Belvedere were hosting Southern Combination Premier side Billinghurst who had made the trip from their little village in West Sussex to what was a sweltering South East London (been saying that quite a bit lately!!!).

The hosts had only played one game thus far competitively this season in the league, and had lost that 2-1, Billinghurst, who had won promotion via the play offs from Step Six last season, had began their Premier Division campaign with a loss and a draw in their two outings, but how this one would go was hard to call really not knowing much about either side, but with the prize of the next round of the cup on offer, no doubt both sides were up for the fight.

A decent crowd of 201 had showed up for this one, and it was clear to see early on that the hosts were the ones who had settled the better, and in the 17th minute they grabbed the lead, a ball laid back to Casey Dudley (no he is not related to me, as far as I know!!!) who sent a lovely first time finish beyond visiting keeper Ollie Courtney and into the bottom corner, 1-0 to the hosts.

Erith continued to dominate proceedings and duly doubled their lead in the 33rd minute, Dudley turning provider this time, waltzing through some challenges before the ball was eventually laid off to Freddie Baker who side footed a lovely finish across goal into the far corner, and then five minutes later Clarence Tambe pinched the ball off an opponent before running forward, cutting side onto his right foot and belting a effort past Courtney into the visitors net, 3-0 after 38 minutes, you felt it was pretty much game done and dusted already.

Erith had totally dominated the opening forty five minutes and could easily have had more than the three goals they had managed to muster, visiting keeper Courtney certainly made some decent saves to thwart the hosts, but unless Billinghurst drastically improved in the second period they were likely to suffer a very heavy loss.

However, after what was probably a very honest chat amongst themselves in the dressing room at the break, they came out a different side for the opening exchanges of the second half, and in the 53rd minute grabbed a goal back to give them some hope, Tom Edwards breaking in behind to fire across home keeper Danny Alexander to find the bottom corner, and for a time Erith looked slightly worried that their opponents could get themselves right back in this contest.

Had they grabbed another goal back it would have been very much on, this didn't happen though and after Erith had got over that initial shock, they began to create plenty of chances to pull away from their opponents, but they were wasteful in front of goal as well as some superb blocks from defenders and saves from the keeper, but the visitors at least were a lot more on it in this half then the first, and did give Erith more to think about than they had done in the first period.

Erith though seemed more and more relaxed as the time ticked by and knew they were getting closer and closer to the finish line, and a minute into seven added on at the end of the game, Tambe managed to flick a ball across to substitute Connor French who sent a first time effort beyond Courtney and seal what was largely a dominant win for the home side who could have easily got double what they ended up with.

Erith's reward for winning today is another home tie, likely to be on Sunday 23rd August, against Isthmian One South East side Sittingbourne, that will be a much tougher test for sure, but some prize money earned today and a fairly comfortable FA Cup win to end their weekend.

Full time Erith & Belvedere 4 Billinghurst 1

 

White Ensign 1 Heybridge Swifts 0 / Harwich & Parkeston 0 Mildenhall Town 2 - Ensign stun Swifts / Harwich come unstuck against Mildenhall as the Emirates FA Cup got underway this weekend & saw eight Essex Senior League sides progress into the next round

(Action from The Royal Oak between Harwich & Parkeston & Mildenhall Town on Saturday afternoon)

Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, Friday 7th/Saturday 8th August

Welcome to my special blog as the Emirates FA Cup got underway on the second weekend in August, and this blog concentrates on the Essex Senior League sides in the competition, all twenty of them were in action this weekend, and my two featured games came from Burroughs Park on Friday night as an all ESL tie saw White Ensign take on Heybridge Swifts, and then on Saturday from The Royal Oak as ESL Harwich & Parkeston welcomed Thurlow Nunn Premier Mildenhall Town to the Essex coast.

There will also be a round up of the other ties involving the ESL sides too, that comes later, as does my look back at my game on Saturday, but first let's head to Great Wakering and Burroughs for Ensign Vs Swifts, and see how that tie panned out.....

Friday 7th August

White Ensign Vs Heybridge Swifts

Many feel that Ensign will struggle this season, they lost their opening game at Hackney Wick after taking the lead in that one, whereas Swifts are expected to be challenging for the title and promotion back to step four, this is what many expect, although they were lucky to gain a point at West Essex in their opening game last weekend.

Despite that and with this being a cup tie and not a league game, many of a very decent crowd of 199 at this one were still expecting Swifts to get the job done this evening, the hosts were more hopeful than expectant shall we say, but it is only a game of football and with prize money at stake and with it being an FA Cup game, there was no need for motivation for either side, and we know what cup games can bring results wise.

Swifts certainly began well, and pegged the hosts back in their own final third, Ensign keeper Jordan Williams made two very good stops early on to prevent his side from going behind, but once Ensign had settled and managed to get some possession, they certainly caused the visitors some alarm, their best effort saw Yemi Adelani fire wide after he got free at the back post.   

Swifts did create another two decent opportunities towards the end of the half, Williams again tipping over well and then a powerful close range header was sent over the bar rather than on target, and although the visitors had created the better openings, Ensign had far from been outplayed and had more than enough openings themselves to show Swifts they were up for the fight.

And early in the second half after Swifts had seen another effort go just wide of the far post, Ensign struck the opening goal, nine minutes of the second period had elapsed when Olly Hyams took aim from just inside the box and sent a finish beyond Callum Chafer and into the far corner, a shock lead for the hosts but one they now had a chance to hold onto, although with so much time remaining, this game was still in the balance.

Swifts though struggled to break down a stubborn Ensign back line, and they became more and more frustrated as the game went on, and in the latter part of the second half it looked more likely that the hosts would seal the deal, Hyams having a golden chance to make it 2-0 but Chafer saved, before a total head loss from Swifts Lee Noble, booked for dissent in the 83rd minute was followed by a moment of madness two minutes later resulting in his dismissal, that's two red cards for Swifts in two games thus far, not a good look.

And Hyams again should have ended the contest but then struck the post, Meschack Asuka then blazed over another chance on the counter for the hosts, meaning a tense last few minutes, what was not another good look for the visitors was the two rucks that happened in stoppage time, their frustrations got the better of them and it threatened to get out of control as players from both sides squared up and it was all a rather unsavoury end to the contest.

After what seemed like an eternity though and plenty of added on time on top of added on time, the game came to a conclusion and Ensign had caused a surprise by knocking out Swifts here, but they showed so much heart and desire in this one, which you cannot buy, and their reward was a place in the next round and some nice prize money too.

For Swifts it was a disappointing night, manager Luke Wilson kept the players on the field for quite some time after the final whistle, probably not too happy and what he had seen, neither were the away support who refused to clap them off when they did eventually walk off the pitch, this is not the start to the season they hoped or anticipated, but they have a lot of work to do to make sure this disappointing start does not quickly become anything more.

Last word to Ensign though, a terrific team effort, and one they can be very proud of.....

Full time White Ensign 1 Heybridge Swifts 0

Onto my game on Saturday then, and a trip to Dovercourt to see Harwich & Parkeston take on Mildenhall Town, let's see what happened in that one.....

Saturday 8th August

Harwich & Parkeston Vs Mildenhall Town

This pitted ESL Harwich up against Thurlow Nunn Premier Mildenhall Town, the hosts began their campaign last weekend by netting a 1-0 win at home to Step Five new boys Hutton, so a good start to their season, Mildenhall came down from the Isthmian last season and are having a total rebuild this campaign, they have already played three league games thus far and have one win, one draw and one defeat, so a bit of everything.

A decent crowd of 220 were in attendance too to see who would prevail and get through to the next round, it was hard to say who were favourites and who would win this game, a tight contest was predicted by many, but would that be the case, obviously the visitors had two more competitive games under their belts so far this season, would that count for anything?

The opening exchanges yielded very little in the way of chances as both sides tried to work each other out, but just before the mid point of the opening forty five minutes, the visitors struck by capitalising on what could be described a keeper error perhaps, Oli Pipa came for a cross but didn't get there and one of the smallest players on the field, Cameron Hynes, managed to loop a header over him, and despite the best interests of a defender to try and clear off the line, he couldn't, and it saw the visitors edge in front.

Harwich continued to have a lot of the play and the ball, but Mildenhall held firm, directed by skipper and centre half Karl Saffery, who marshalled his defence well throughout, the hosts were well in this contest but suffered a big blow in first half stoppage time when they conceded with the last action of the half, it was another header that did for them, an initial one came back off the bar, but Marley Delgado was quickest to react to nod the ball inches over the line, and hand his side a two goal cushion at the break.

Harwich now had a mountain to climb, but they tried their upmost, and were pretty much on the front foot for a lot of the second half, but sadly for them their play in the final third wasn't up to standard and they were found wanting on more than one occasion, and as the half went on and their spirit began to waver, they had keeper Pipa to thank for not allowing Mildenhall another goal near the end, which would have been a harsh scoreline on the hosts had that happened.

After several minutes of stoppage time the referee brought proceedings to a close and the visitors had done enough to progress into the next round, Harwich showed plenty of good play, apart from the final third sadly, which is where it all counts, and they were caught twice by the visitors for both goals, that was really the difference in the end, congratulations to Mildenhall Town on their victory.

Full time Harwich & Parkeston 0 Mildenhall Town 2

So, those were my two featured games that I attended, let's now look back at how the other ESL side fared this weekend in the FA Cup.....

Friday

Hackney Wick 0 West Essex 1 (The other friday night contest saw Fahad Nazor net in the 88th minute as West Essex secured a narrow win in their all ESL clash against Hackney Wick at Spa Road in Witham)

Saturday

Biggleswade United 0 Woodford Town 1 (Uno Oji netted on the hour mark as Woodford Town won through to the next, Oji followed up to net a rebound after his initial penalty had been saved, and it proved enough to take a hard fought win)

Buckhurst Hill 2 Barking 0 (Barking succumbed once again at now Isthmian North Buckhurst Hill, going down to goals from last season's play off winning goal scorer Arthur Massingham in the 9th minute and then Suley Zuhdu's 35th minute goal which sent the hosts into the hat for the next round)

Clapton Community 3 Benfleet 0 (This all ESL contest at The Old Spotted Dog went the way of the hosts, Adam Sidky gave them an 18th minute lead, before late goals from Fred Taylor and Lewis Owiredu sealed the deal for The Tons)

Great Wakering Rovers 0 Takeley 2 (It's two home games this season and two 2-0 losses for GWR so far, although this one came against Isthmian North side Takeley who saw a 22nd minute goal from George Sykes & and late goal from Kian Cocking enough to send the visitors through)

Haringey Borough 5 Sporting Bengal United 0 (Ten man Sporting Bengal suffered a heavy defeat at Step Four Haringey Borough, Herson Alves 20th minute goal was only the difference at half time but after Armani Fyffe was sent off two minutes into the second period for the visitors, the hosts took full advantage.  Alves added a second in the 63rd minute before Ralston Gabriel netted two minutes, Gabriel then netted his second in the 71st minute before Jonathan Hippolyte rounded off the scoring with three minutes remaining)

Harlow Town 0 Frenford 1 (In a game that was switched from Harlow's Barrows Farm ground to Frenford's The Drive at last minute due to pitch issues, Frenford took full advantage of this after Yasser Maalin's 79th minute goal proved enough for them to take their second win in two games this season without conceding a goal and progress into the next round) 

Haverhill Rovers 0 Halstead Town 2 (Two late goals from George Smith saw Halstead net a decent win at Haverhill to progress into the next round, it was goalless until the 85th minute before Smith netted twice in two minutes to send his side through)

Hendon 4 Soul Tower Hamlets 1 (Despite taking an early lead at Step Four Hendon, SOUL were undone by the hosts in this one, as after Jack Ashford's sixth minute goal, Hendon responded well by levelling from the spot on the quarter hour mark courtesy of Dion Miftari. Miftari then netted again four minutes before an own goal just past the half hour mark made it 3-1 at the break, and Tashae Andall-Gibbons then added a fourth goal just past the hour mark to complete the win for the home side) 

Hullbridge Sports 2 Hadley 0 (Hullbridge Sports caused an upset by knocking out Step Four opposition in the shape of Hadley at Lower Road, Jack Unwin gave them the lead just before the hour mark before Andy Fennell sealed the win five minutes from time and hand the hosts a superb win)

Ilford 1 Dunstable 2 (The Foxes were knocked out by Spartan South Midlands Dunstable at Cricklefield, Jake Anthony handed the visitors the lead just before the half hour mark, and although the hosts levelled through Aseel Albrek in the 58th minute, Daniel Forde's 83rd minute goal sent the visitors into the next round)

Northwood 1 Hutton 1 (Hutton earned a replay against Northwood at New Lodge next week after they managed to grab a 1-1 draw, Fraser Brown had given Hutton an 18th minute lead but Liam Enver-Marum levelled in the 72nd minute to make sure the hosts get another go in Billericay)

Romford 2 Barton Rovers 1 (Romford saw off Step Four opposition to progress into the next round, Jaxon Brown netted in the eighth minute before a Jonathon Evans spot kick right on half time had the hosts two up at the break, and although Connor Bernhardt reduced the arrears in the 64th minute, Romford had done enough to win through)

Stotfold 4 Basildon United 1 (The Bees succumbed to Step Four opposition in the shape of Stotfold, Dan Kemp gave the hosts a 22nd minute lead before Taylor Franklin doubled their money two minutes later. Joseph Agunbiade then pulled one back just before the half hour mark but Kemp then quickly restored the hosts two goal cushion, and the hosts added a fourth goal through Lewis Thomas with just over twenty minutes to go)          

Wisbech Town 2 Saffron Walden Town 2 (Ollie Miles netted a 79th minute equaliser to earn Walden a replay at Catons Lane next week, Jordan Gent gave Walden the lead on the quarter hour mark but Joe Cole levelled eleven minutes after the break before Harley Murkin then gave Wisbech the lead five minutes later. Walden though fought back thanks to Miles leveller, meaning they go again in a few days time)

So, eight ESL sides progress into the Preliminary Round & two have replays, so a chance that half the league could get through to the next stage, which is a very good return in my view, below is the updated draw for the next round, which takes place in two weekend's time.....

Brantham Athletic v Halstead Town

Thetford Town / Yaxley v Wisbech Town / Saffron Walden Town

Northwood / Hutton v Grays Athletic

Woodford Town v Sawbridgeworth Town

Harefield United v Hullbridge Sports

Clapton Community v Concord Rangers

Hayes & Yeading United v White Ensign

Romford v Baldock Town

West Essex v Royston Town

Haringey Borough v Frenford

Good luck to Hutton & Saffron Walden Town in their replays next week, hopefully they can do the job second time around in home surroundings!!!

Burnham Ramblers 3 Coggeshall Town 2 - Goals from Bertie Whymark, Stuart Zanone & Aiden Brown secure another hard fought win for Burnham Ramblers as they saw off Coggeshall Town to continue perfect start to their Thurlow Nunn South campaign

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Wednesday 5th August

I was back over at Leslie Field for the second successive Wednesday evening to once again see Burnham Ramblers, and they were welcoming Coggeshall Town to The Crouch for a game between two sides who had won both their opening games of the season, meaning something had to give this evening.

Both of Burnham's fixtures, that have also been played at home, were both very toughly fought victories, both of Coggeshall's wins were only by the odd goal as well, so both knew how to 'tough it out' so to speak, so this game had the makings of being quite a battle, and so it proved to be.

The visitors had pretty much all the play in the opening twenty minutes but were unable to take advantage of this, and low and behold when Burnham mustered their first real attack of note, they took the lead, as in the 22nd minute a ball across the box into the path of Bertie Whymark saw him slot a first time effort past the keeper and into the net.

And just six minutes later with the hosts second attempt at goal, they doubled their lead, a great ball in from the left hand side was perfect for player boss Stuart Zanone, and he made no mistake at the back post to nod home, the visitors could not afford to leave him so much time and space though but they did, and were now two goals down having arguably been the better side, clinical from Ramblers you could say. 

The hosts then shot themselves in the foot by receiving a sin bin for back chat to the referee, meaning ten minutes with ten men, and just past the half hour Coggeshall took full advantage, reducing the arrears when Tyler Hayes thumped home from close range, although a few minutes after they themselves saw a sin bin, meaning the game was ten a side, then eleven Vs ten the other way round.

It had certainly been a very eventful forty five minutes, there were no shortage of tackles flying in, and much ill discipline towards the officials of which neither side seemed to be happy with, and due to that sin bin for the visitors, they actually had to play the first few minutes a man light after it carried over from late in the first half.

It was soon eleven Vs eleven again, how much longer for was anyone's guess, but the second half became rather stop start and disjointed, and then Burnham lost their keeper after a collision with a forward, a dislocated shoulder was the diagnosis, and it meant player boss Zanone had to go in goal, although the keeper jersey wasn't big enough for him, so he was about to play with just a bib over his bare torso but then was given a home jersey to wear (the hosts were playing in their yellow away tops for this one), anyway that caused a lengthy stoppage.

It certainly felt though the visitors had the momentum, and with a non keeper in goal certainly would have fancied beating him, but they didn't really test him, which would have been disappointing, but they certainly caused alarm at the back for the hosts who survived a few nervy moments, and then in the 86th minute the hosts broke away, they played a lot of the second half on the break, and after they drew a foul inside the box, Aiden Brown struck away the spot kick to give Ramblers some breathing space.

Their were however to be fourteen minutes added on due to all the stoppages in the second period, including that lengthy one for the keeper, so it certainly wasn't game over just yet, and seven minutes into added on time Hayes struck home a beauty from range which Zanone kind of waved past him on it's way, to be fair a normal keeper would have struggled to save it so that's no criticism of him, but it meant Ramblers would have to survive a nervy few more minutes.

Then came a flashpoint at the other end of the field, this was defused quite quickly but it had been threating to boil over for pretty much the whole contest, Coggeshall tried their best to muster a final chance but Ramblers held firm at the back once again and managed to ride out the remainder of the game to take another superb battling win at Leslie Field.

It had been a proper game played between two sides who were fully committed to the cause, a titanic tussle you could say, sadly there was to be a red card after the final whistle when one of the visiting players was shown a second yellow for telling the ref what he thought about him, but spirits and passion was obviously running high straight after the final whistle although it was a pretty stupid thing to do.

Anyway, Burnham top a very early league table, nine point from nine so far, with their first away test coming this weekend at Parsloes Park against Athletic Newham, Coggeshall's perfect start ends after this loss, they now have nine days off and will welcome Herford Heath to West Street a week on Saturday, so some time to recover and get ready for that no doubt. 

Full time Burnham Ramblers 3 Coggeshall Town 2

Southend Manor 2 East Thurrock Community 1 - Second half goals from Charlie Little & Bill Gipp see Southend Manor come from behind to defeat East Thurrock Community and progress in Thurlow Nunn League Challenge Cup

Thurlow Nunn League Challenge Cup First Round, Tuesday 4th August

I was over at Southchurch Park to see a Thurlow Nunn League Challenge Cup First Round contest as Southend Manor took on East Thurrock United, the winners would head to Parkside and take on Lymore Gardens in Round Two on 26th August, so who would be the ones to make that trip to Aveley after this evening?

This was Manor's first home game in all competitions this season, two away league games have come and gone so far, a 1-0 loss at Burnham Ramblers (blog here of that if your interested https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2026/07/burnham-ramblers-1-southend-manor-0.html) was followed by a 1-0 win at Parsloes against Athletic Newham, so bouncing back from that disappointing opening to the season.

East Thurrock Community began their first season at this level with back to back wins, a 2-1 win at FC Baresi was followed up by a come from behind 2-1 win at home to Basildon Town (blog for that one is here https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2026/07/east-thurrock-community-2-basildon-town.html) before they were brought back down to earth at home to Stansted, losing that one 2-0 at the weekend.

Cup games are always different though, but in no way less important of course, but it was the visitors who started this one the better as Manor were slow out of the blocks, the hosts conceding a poor sixth minute goal after a ball into the box was missed by a defender, allowing Ashton Marson to steal in and prod the ball into the roof of the net from close range.

Ashton then almost doubled his and East Thurrock's tally when hitting the post on the quarter hour mark, but after this Manor did settle a bit and their best effort was a lovely curling effort from Serkan Cihan which didn't find the net courtesy of a brilliant diving stop from visiting keeper Max Seymour, and it meant the visitors held a slender lead going into the break.

The second half started in spectacular style for the home side though as they levelled barely a minute after the restart, East Thurrock were caught napping ball a ball over the top, Charlie Little managed to get to it, and although the chance seemed to have gone, the ball found it's way back to his feet and he duly slotted beyond Seymour to level the tie up at 1-1.

Lewis Rowe then nearly restored the visitors lead by almost sending an overhead kick into the far corner, but Manor seemed a lot more organised in the second period and were a far cry from the early sloppy side that had conceded so early in the first period, and when Kieron Miles was sent to the sin bin for the visitors, they had a chance to take advantage of having a man extra for ten minutes.

Nothing came of this though, Michael Clark then came on for Little in with around twenty five minutes remaining to see if he could make a difference, and with the game seemingly headed for penalties, he was to set up the winner, flicking on for Bill Gipp to run clear of the visiting back line and lob beautifully beyond the advanced Seymour and net an 88th minute winner to send Manor through to Round Two.

That's back to back wins for Manor now in all comps, and a good come from behind win too especially after the poor start they made, East Thurrock Community have now lost back to back games themselves, however this one could have gone either way overall so nothing to be to disappointed about, apart from a late loss of course, but it's still been a decent start to life in Senior Football.

A great win for Manor though, showed character in this one when maybe previous sides might have folded after such a start to the game, but not this one, well played, and a trip to Lymore Gardens awaits them in Round Two in three weeks time.

Full time Southend Manor 2 East Thurrock Community 1

 

West Essex 0 Heybridge Swifts 0 / Basildon United 1 Romford 2 - Late double penalty save denies West all three points against Swifts / Late winner hands Boro opening day win at The Hive against Bees as Essex Senior League gets underway

Essex Senior League, Friday 31st July/Saturday 1st August

The Essex Senior League is back, and it began on the final day of July at Wadham Lodge as a new look West Essex who are expected to do much better than they did last season, take on Heybridge Swifts, who many expect to be at the sharp end of the table having come down from Step Four last season and have recruited well.

Their was a full list of fixtures this weekend as all sides got underway, the other nine would take place on the first day of August and I my double header would start at Wadham Lodge and then move to The Hive as Basildon United, under new manager Ben Coleman, took on Romford, also under new management headed by Darren Manning. It's fair to say people are unsure on how both sides will fare this season, but no doubt this game would show us what each side had in the locker.

Anyway, before we head to The Hive and the rest of the Saturday action, let's see what happened on the opening night in E17:-

Friday 31st July

West Essex Vs Heybridge Swifts

On yet another beautiful summer evening, the ESL got underway, and a bumper crowd of 215 were there to see it kick off with what was an intriguing contest between two sides who are confident of the season ahead, both have recruited well but both come into the season off the back of very differing ways. 

West looked odds on to go down last season at times but recovered well to survive and take their place once again in the division, Swifts on the other hand had a season to forget last season on and off the field, resulting in relegation from the Isthmian North and a total re shake at the club, bringing in a number of players who have good experience in this division and a new management team with Luke Wilson at the helm.

Some thought this would be a nice easy start for the visitors in their quest to bounce back from relegation, but this West side are a different proposition this term, although the early exchanges certainly looked like the visitors would have an easy ride, they had a penalty shout turned down and then had one off the line as they dominated the opening 15-20 minutes.

West managed to ride that out, and thereafter took the game to their opponents once they had settled, and in winger Wesley Santos, they have one hell of a threat for sure as he caused the visitors plenty of headaches, however neither side could find the net and the game was duly goalless at the half, plenty for both to ponder, Heybridge knew now that things were going to be much tougher than they maybe first thought.

So what of the second half, well it wasn't the best of spectacles it has to be said and was a rather scrappy affair, Swifts made their lives harder in the 66th minute when Milo Grimes was given a straight red for lunging in after he lost control of the ball, although after this they actually posed more of an attacking threat, but it looked as if this game would drift towards a goalless conclusion with not much drama.

Well, as the game ticked into it's 90th minute, West were given a huge opportunity to take a huge win after being awarded a penalty following a handball, but, visiting keeper Callum Chafer had other ideas, saving the spot kick, but hang on, the referee then went over to his assistant and the penalty was ordered to be retaken as they adjudged Chafer had stepped off his line.

To say the visitors were upset with this was an understatement, but West had another bite of the cherry, but guess what, Chafer saved again, and was mobbed by his team mates once again, he had prevented what would have been a very surprising loss on the opening night, but as it turned out the game would finish goalless and both sides pick up a point on the opening night.

Certainly a dramatic end to this one, West would be happy with a point and a clean sheet against one of the fancied sides this season, but equally gutted they could not take their opportunity at the end, but they will cause teams problems this season for sure, as for Swifts this was an eye opener for them and shows them how tough this league will be this season as everyone will be out to get them so to speak, but they have more than enough quality to deal with that for sure.

Full time West Essex 0 Heybridge Swifts 0

Onto Saturday then, and The Hive, as Basildon United & Romford got their seasons underway, let's see how that one went:-

Saturday 1st August

Basildon United Vs Romford

These sides will want to forget last season, both had turbulent times and it resulted in them only surviving the drop into Step Six by two and three points respectively, finishing next to each other in the table (15th & 14th) with the visitors one point better off, so both were looking to make sure they were not in a relegation fight this season.

No doubt a good start was the order of the day in each sides minds as their seasons kicked off, whatever their ambitions were to be for the season ahead, and it was the hosts who had most of the play in the opening exchanges without really testing visiting keeper Conor Beattie, but once the visitors settled they created two great opportunities.

However, it appeared that the game would be goalless at the break, that was until deep into added on time at the end of the half, hosts keeper Enriqu Kalsi failed to come for a ball that a fellow defender left for him, and visiting striker Jaxon Brown took his chance and snuck in between them both to nod the ball over the stranded keeper and into the net, meaning the visitors would go into the break a goal ahead.

Could the hosts respond in the second period? Romford didn't help their cause too much after goalscoring hero Brown turned villain when after he got a bloody nose from a challenge and didn't get a free kick, he made his feelings clear towards the referee and was immediately sin binned early in the second period, and right at the end of that period of the visitors having a man light, The Bees levelled, a ball into the box bounced up perfectly for the run of centre half Lochlain Murray to nod beyond Beattie in the 66th minute.

The Bees were on the front foot and looking the likelier to go in front as they dominated, but they saw one terrific chance thwarted by Beattie, and another one volleyed over from close range after a nice move down the right, Robbie Allen & Lesedi Mbegabolawe were particularly threating for the home side, but they just could not find that second goal.

And sure enough in the 84th minute, Romford made the hosts pay for those misses by netting the winner, a corner from the right was flicked on into the six yard box where substitute Alfie Leach, who had only come on three minutes before, was on hand to touch the ball home and hand the visitors a win they probably didn't deserve, but they will not care one jot about that.

It was harsh on Basildon who more than did enough to get something from this one, but they can take plenty of positives from it and looked more than useful for sure, as for Romford well they dug in and rode their luck and managed to pick up all three points which for them would be a very encouraging sign to win when not at your best, that is normally a good sign when that happens.

Full time Basildon United 1 Romford 2

Onto the rest of the Saturday's action and for the weekend then, let's see how the others fared on the opening games of their seasons:-

Barking 4 Sporting Bengal United 2 (Michael Dixon netted a hat-trick as Barking got their season off to a winning start, Dixon netted twice inside fifteen minutes to hand The Blues a 2-0 half time lead, Harry Baker pulled one back early in the second half but another from Dixon & a late Alfie Attrill goal saw Barking open up a 4-1 lead.  Frederick Agyemang did net a stoppage time spot kick for the visitors but it was too little too late) 

Benfleet 1 Halstead Town 0 (An 88th minute goal from Cameron Harris proved enough for Fleet to earn a narrow win over Halstead at Woodside)

Clapton Community 0 SOUL Tower Hamlets 1 (Last season's runners up SOUL saw a 28th minute goal from Anderson Baro enough to claim an opening day win at The Old Spotted Dog against Clapton Community whose first game at this level end in a narrow loss)

Great Wakering Rovers 0 Frenford 2 (Maybe the surprise result of the day came at Burroughs Park as Frenford, who got a reprieve from relegation in the close season, saw off GWR to net three points on the opening weekend.  Yousuf Hoque gave the visitors the lead midway through the first period before a stoppage time goal from Christian Gyamfi sealed a very good afternoon for the Ilford side)

Hackney Wick 2 White Ensign 1 (A new look Hackney Wick side grabbed an opening weekend win against Ensign at Spa Road, Yemi Adelani had given the visitors the lead ten minutes before the break but Peter Oyetunji levelled in the 56th minute before an 88th minute goal from Roberto Carvalho won the game for the home side)

Harwich & Parkeston 1 Hutton 0 (A first half stoppage time strike from Louis Bloom proved enough for Harwich & Parkeston to grab an opening weekend win over newly promoted Hutton at The Royal Oak)

Hullbridge Sports 0 Ilford 2 (The Foxes grabbed a superb opening weekend win away from home as they saw off Hullbridge Sports at Lower Road, Shaike Kamara handed them a 49th minute lead before they sealed the points in the 88th minute courtesy of a Patrik Oahkwe goal)

Saffron Walden Town 0 Woodford Town 6 (Woodford Town, back under the stewardship of Shane Baptiste, are fancied by many to give it a good shot this season, and they made some start with a statement win against a Walden side who have many changes this campaign. Uko Oji gave the visitors an eighth minute lead before Jibran Ahmed netted twice in the final ten minutes of the half to give them a three goal lead at the break. Ahmed then completed his treble just before the hour mark, and then further goals from Jaedon Phillips & Andre Anderson in the final fifteen minutes of the game sealed a very impressive win for one of the promotion favourites)

Here is how the table looks after the opening weekend, pretty pointless I know!!!

So, the Essex Senior League is underway for another season, sure to be plenty of twists and turns to come!!!