Billericay Town 2 Great Wakering Rovers 1 - Isthmian Premier Billericay Town come from behind to defeat Essex Senior League Great Wakering Rovers to win BBC Essex Senior Cup for a fifth time in their history

BBC Essex Senior Cup Final, Tuesday 24th March

It was that time of year again when the showpiece final for the County of Essex took place at The Community Stadium in Colchester, and it brought together Isthmian Premier Billericay Town and Essex Senior League Great Wakering Rovers, that is a gap of two divisions & levels in the non league pyramid (Step Three Vs Step Five).

This game was a culmination of a tournament that had began way back in August near the beginning of the season, the first games being played back in Round One in 16th August were Benfleet defeated White Ensign 2-1 in an all Essex Senior League tie and Harwich & Parkeston saw off Buckhurst Hill 2-1 and also in an all ESL tie, and seven months on only two sides remain after six rounds of battle.

Rounds One and Two saw sides from the lower Senior leagues, so The Essex Senior League and the Thurlow Nunn First Division North and South, begin their competitions, there were eighteen ties in Round One, and GWR, who are in tonight's final, played in one of those ties, and it was an unforgettable match, and a match they really should have lost and looked odds on to lose it.

They found themselves 5-1 down at home to May & Baker from the Thurlow Nunn South, with ten minutes of the ninety to go but somehow netted five goals in the remaining minutes to come out 6-5 winners, unbelievable, and it set them on their way to the final as we know now, their Round Two tie was slightly more straightforward as they netted a 3-0 win away to fellow ESL side West Essex, meaning they would join the other nine sides from those lower divisions in Round Three were the bigger Essex clubs joined the competition.

One of the sides joining in Round Three were tonight's finalists, Billericay Town, and they netted a 3-0 home win over Isthmian North side Waltham Abbey, a game I actually attended, here is a blog on that game if your interested (https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2025/10/billericay-town-3-waltham-abbey-0-goals.html), elsewhere the biggest five clubs in Essex who entered at this stage, Colchester United, Southend United, Braintree Town, Chelmsford City & Hornchurch, had mixed results.

Chelmsford netted a 3-0 win away at Halstead Town whilst Hornchurch, who finished runners up last season, also netted an away win against Redbridge, however, Colchester, Southend & Braintree, who all fielded young sides as they normally do in this competition, all crashed out, The Us losing 3-1 at home to Aveley, Southend were beaten 4-0 at Grays Athletic, and Braintree were thumped 8-1 at Tilbury, showing that these Isthmian sides are not to be messed with.

And last years winners, Canvey Island, crashed out to ESL side Benfleet on penalties, this after Fleet keeper Flo Gislette had netted late on to take the tie to spot kicks, meaning they would join the other sides who had won through in the last 16 of the competition, although they would be beaten 9-0 at Aveley in that round, so coming down to earth with a bump you could say.

Billericay were given a scare in their Round Four game, edging to a 2-1 win away at ESL high flyers Little Oakley, GWR themselves caused s surprise by seeing off Isthmian North Heybridge Swifts 3-0 at home, I also attended a game in this round too which saw Chelmsford City require penalties to see off Bowers & Pitsea, here is my blog on that encounter (https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2025/11/bowers-pitsea-1-chelmsford-city-1.html)

Chelmsford though would come unstuck in their Quarter Final at GWR as the ESL hosts stunned them 3-0 at Burroughs Park, Billericay thumped Tilbury 5-0 at home and with Hashtag United and Aveley getting through too, it set up the final four sides in the competition, and sadly it would be an admin error that decided one of those semi finals which involved one of tonight's finalists obviously.  

Billericay were well beaten at Aveley 3-0 in their semi final, but due to an admin error, Aveley were thrown out and Billericay would take their place in the final, whilst GWR stunned again to take their place in tonight's show piece event, winning 2-1 away to Hashtag United, meaning they are potentially ninety minutes away from capping a superb run which started way back in August in Round One.

Could Billericay though take advantage of Aveley's error and take the trophy for a fifth time in their history, last lifting it in the 2021/22, season, this was their ninth appearance in the final and they were certainly favourites to go on and win this latest final, GWR had only appeared in one final in the history of the competition back in the 2006/07 season but lost out to Hornchurch so they were looking to win it for the first time in their clubs history.

The opening half hour saw a very tight battle as neither side managed to create to much in the way of chances, George Martin had to beat away a Billericay effort in the only real attempt on goal in that period of play, but twelve minutes before half time GWR edged themselves in front, Reece Conway seeing an effort heavily deflected beyond Blues keeper Jacob Adam and hand the ESL side a shock lead.

The Blues tried to level before the break but were unable to find a way through, and in fact it was GWR who could easily have made it two nil in the second period, however as the half wore on the Blues were the much stronger of the two sides and put a lot of pressure on the GWR backline, and with twenty minutes to go they finally broke through, Callum Watts crossing into the box were the unfortunate GWR centre half Harrison Topliss could only send the ball past his own keeper Martin and bring Billericay level.

The Blues sensed victory now, and it was to be another forgetful moment for centre half Topliss to hand Billericay the lead in the 83rd minute, a ball into the box saw keeper Martin come for the ball but miscommunication between him and Topliss saw the centre half try and head clear but instead head into the path of Blues forward Teddy Collis who headed into the unguarded net, and now Town were minutes away from lifting the trophy.

GWR had given everything in this game, and now had to find a leveller to take the tie to penalties and give themselves a chance of completing a fairy-tale run and becoming the first ESL side since Billericay Town fifty years ago to lift this cup,  and in the ninth minute of added on time they so nearly levelled as Ben Search curled a free kick against the bar before the Blues scrambled clear and then heard the final whistle to go to confirm their victory and take this competition for the fifth time in their history.

It had been a really well contested final, congratulations to Billericay Town on coming from behind to win this one, and commiserations to GWR who pushed their opponents all the way in a very watchable final in front of a decent crowd of over 2,000, and that completed this years BBC Essex Senior Cup.

Full time Billericay Town 2 Great Wakering Rovers 1

  

Wadham Lodge Double Header - Walthamstow's U23 side win seven goal thriller against Sawbridgeworth Town U23 in Essex Senior Reserve Division, Stow net four in victory against struggling Heybridge Swifts in Isthmian North

(Action from Walthamstow's 4-1 win over Heybridge Swifts in the Isthmian North)

Saturday 21st March

On a beautiful March sunny day I decided today was the day I paid a visit to Wadham Lodge in Walthamstow and make a day of it by taking in two games on the same grounds, I first watched Walthamstow U23 take on Sawbridgeworth Town U23 on the 3G surface at the venue in what was an Essex Senior Reserve Division matchup, and following that Walthamstow were taking on Heybridge Swifts in an Isthmian North contest over in the main stadium.

Let's first look at the lunchtime fare from the ESL Reserve Division...

Walthamstow U23 Vs Sawbridgeworth Town U23 (ESL Reserve Division)

This was a game towards the final few spots in the division, ninth against tenth in a league that only had thirteen sides competing in it at this stage of the season, Stow did have a seven point gap to their opponents today and knew a win could take them up to eighth spot, Sawbo couldn't improve their position whatever they did today, but they were looking to continue what had been a good run of recent form.

Since losing at White Ensign in late November six league games had passed with just one defeat, at second placed Billericay Town, and three of those games had been wins including a 9-1 demolition of May & Baker at the start of the year, so although the games were not coming thick and fast, the ones they had been playing were largely positive, Stow on the other hand had been rather inconsistent since the turn of the year.

In seven league games since new year they had won three but lost three, in a run where they would win a game then lose the next one, and their last outing was a 2-2 draw against Redbridge, so it really was what Stow side turned up in this fixture against a Sawbo outfit who had picked up eleven if their thirteen points this season in their last six games after a terrible run prior to that.

Well, the visitors did not start in this one, and were a goal down after just two minutes, losing the ball in a dangerous area and seeing the hosts square across goal where a powerful finish thumped in off the bar, and then moments later it looked as if Stow had won a penalty, but, the referee deemed the Stow player had dived, and was booked, much to the amazement of everyone watching. (This even included the visitors and the player who challenged the attacker, who said it was definitely a penalty, and the player fouled went off injured, fair play to the referee though who apologised to the hosts at half time for his error)

Anyway, back to the action, and Sawbo then struck the post twice as they tried to level the game up, Stow then struck the post themselves before they did double the lead on the half hour mark, the visitors just sat off the hosts and allowed them all the time in the world to pick a pass through and finish beyond the keeper, and then two minutes later it was three for the hosts and another error from the visiting back line, allowing the striker in to finish beyond a stranded keeper.

Sawbo did manage to finally take one of several chances they had created in the opening half, winning a penalty and firing this home, and they did hit the woodwork again just before the break, it had been a half of very poor defending from both sides in the main, but Stow had been the ones to take more of the opportunities that came their way and held a 3-1 lead at the break.

Any team talk at half time from the visitors went out of the window within two minutes of the restart as they conceded a penalty and this was dispatched and Stow now held a 4-1 cushion and surely they wouldn't let that lead slip, well Sawbo then missed more chances to reduce the arrears but were always in danger of conceding at the other end too, but just before the hour they did find a second goal which was a scrappy finish from close range to make it 4-2.

And with seventeen minutes to go it was 4-3, the hosts keeper totally misjudged a cross and allowed it to go over his head, which was was headed back across goal and rifled into the roof of the net at the back post, and now Stow only had a one goal lead heading into the final quarter hour.

More chances came at both ends, but this bonkers, attacking contest finally came to an end and saw Stow hold on to record the win, it had been a great advert for Reserves football, attacking wise at least, and a very entertaining watch too, breathless, and one of those games you didn't want to end.

Full time Walthamstow U23 4 Sawbridgeworth Town 3

Onto the second game of the day at Wadham Lodge, and it was Walthamstow's men's first team up against Heybridge Swifts in the main stadium...

Walthamstow Vs Heybridge Swifts (Isthmian North)

This pitted a Stow side who were 15th and eight points clear of the relegation spots against a Heybridge Swifts outfit who were third bottom and eight points from safety, so Stow knew a win would almost certainly give them enough points to survive, and defeat for Heybridge would make their already tough task of survival even more impossible then it looked prior to kick off.

Their has been a lot of off field problems at Scraley Road this season, and their preparation for this game wasn't helped when club skipper Connor Hogan was released by the club this week, which hadn't gone down with the player and supporters, whatever went on it wasn't an ideal scenario ahead of a must win game you felt, although eight losses in twelve since Christmas hadn't filled them with much hope but they needed to turn that form around from now if they had any chance of escaping the clutches of the drop zone.

Stow themselves had played ten games since Christmas and won half those and lost four of them, they had recently recorded back to back wins before holding promotion chasing Felixstowe & Walton United before losing to an in form Takeley last time out, but they were in a much better frame of mind than their opponents, and after only ten minutes Stow had grabbed the lead, a long ball was allowed to bounce, and Callum Ibe took the opportunity to lob the ball over a stranded Tommy Dixon-Hodge and find the net.

It had been a good start by the hosts but as the half went on Swifts began to cause problems of their own, and even saw a free kick whipped in by Joshua Colyer glance off the bar, but, in first half stoppage Stow grabbed a killer second when full back Jordan Peart rose to head home a corner and send the hosts into the break two goals to the good.

That goal certainly was a pivotal moment in the game, the visitors had been getting up a head of steam late in the first half and at 1-0 were very much in it, but that second goal really knocked the stuffing out of them, as did a third goal which came three minutes after the break, Connor Witherspoon fell over inside the six yard attempting to prevent Stow scoring, the ball hit his hand and penalty was given, allowing Brian Garzon to step up and net the spot kick.

Those goals either side of the break had pretty much ended this contest, a contest that was definitely over when Stow were awarded another penalty just before the hour mark when Demi Elegushi was brought down inside the box, and this time Charlie Heatley stepped up to smash home the spot kick and hand Stow a 4-0 lead.

Chris Regis and Heatley both had the ball in the Swifts net thereafter but were both correctly ruled out for offside, and Swifts did manage to pull a goal back with seventeen minutes left when substitute Ben McCrow cut inside before firing into the bottom corner and prevent the hosts from picking up a clean sheet, but it was a small blot on the hosts copybook as they recorded victory which takes them eleven points above the drop zone, and with only a handful of games remaining I feel Stow have enough points to be safe now.

The same cannot be said for Heybridge, they are still eight points from safety and drop to second bottom, and with only six games to go, it is going to take some effort for Swifts to survive now.

Full time Walthamstow 4 Heybridge Swifts 1

SOUL Tower Hamlets 4 Harwich & Parkeston 0 - A brace from Shomari Barnwell plus one each from Keanu Hill & Michael Agboola helped SOUL to victory over Harwich & Parkeston & strengthen their place inside the Essex Senior League play off zone

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 18th March

Mile End was the venue for me for a mid march midweek matchup, and it saw fifth placed SOUL Tower Hamlets looking to widen the gap to the chasing pack below the play off places taking on mid table Harwich & Parkeston who were looking for the points to try and reduce the gap to the top ten places.

SOUL begin the evening five points ahead of sixth placed Saffron Walden Town with four games in hand too, so a win would increase that to eight and really strengthen their grip on a top five position, their league form since a heavy loss to now league leaders Great Wakering Rovers in mid December had seen them lose only once in nine league outings, that's four wins and four draws, and one loss.

In contrast 12th placed Harwich were on a run of three losses in four outings, this after going on a four match unbeaten run priot to that, the last four games had all been at home too, so they were probably glad to get away from the Royal Oak for this one and try and avoid another defeat, their last outing did see them gain a point through in a rather entertaining 3-3 draw against another play off chasing side in Barking.

Harwich had led that game 3-1 until they were pegged back and denied in the 99th minute, but that did at least show what the visitors were capable off, so SOUL had to be wary of this, and the opening half hour or so proved this fact as Harwich had four really good chances to take the lead as they were creating any real chances of note, one coming off the bar, hosts keeper Max Pitman had to make a couple of decent saves too, but it was hard to tell who was the play off chasers and who wasn't.

However, twelve minutes before half time SOUL took an opportunity which was helped by some rather careless play from the visitors, a ball forward appeared to see the ball going out for a goal kick and with keeper Brad Cook and a defender looking to usher the ball out to safety, Samir Bihmoutine manged to keep the ball on the pitch, and then squared for Keanu Hill, and although Cook had got back into goal, he could save the effort and SOUL had a lead they scarcely deserved.

It was a lead they had though heading into the break, leaving Harwich scratching their heads somewhat, but the goal was certainly preventable by them, and in the early stages of the second half the game was still very much in the balance, that was until SOUL went on a three goal blitz in a six minute spell around the hour mark to end the game as a contest.

Just before the hour mark a ball smashed across goal hit Shomari Barnwell pretty much on the goal line and went into the net, and then the big striker had another just past the hour mark when he was laid in beautifully before he fired into the bottom corner, and then in the 65th minute Michael Agboola rose to head home a Steven Carvell corner, and SOUL now had a very comfortable 4-0 lead.

The hosts could now cruise to the win although fair play to Harwich they kept plugging away, but they were never going to find a way back into the contest, and SOUL picked up those three points to really cement their place in the top five as it stands, an eight point cushion down to the chasing pack and with games in hand too, and with those below them only having 7 or 8 games to go, it will take a lot for them to replace the sides already in the play off zone.

For Harwich they may well look back to that first half showing and wonder what could have been had they taken their chances, but sloppy play allowed the hosts to get in front and then that purple patch from them in the second half gave the visitors no chance of getting anything in the end, they remain 12th though with a top ten finish in their first season in the division looking slimmer than it was before.

Full time SOUL Tower Hamlets 4 Harwich & Parkeston 0

Rayleigh Town 0 Hutton 2 - A deflected cross from Jeffrey Cobblah plus a late strike from Adam Vyse sends Thurlow Nunn South leaders Hutton five clear at top after seeing off play off chasing Rayleigh Town

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Tuesday 17th March

I was over at Thames Road, Concord Rangers, on Canvey Island to see a big game at the top of the Thurlow Nunn South as play off chasing Rayleigh Town were seeking to end league leaders Hutton's long unbeaten run, which stood at eighteen games in the league, whereas Hutton themselves were looking to extend that run and go five clear at the summit, so a decent game was antcipated.

Hosts Rayleigh are bidding to reach the play offs for a second successive season, and hopefully in their eyes go one better than they did last time out when they lost the final, they sat three points ahead of Lymore Gardens in the final play off spot and had a game in hand too, so victory here could see them go further clear of the chasing pack seeking to take that fifth spot off the hosts, and their form heading into this one had seen them win eight of their last nine contests, with the only blip a 3-2 loss at Enfield Borough.

Cracking form then, although leaders Hutton came into this one EIGHTEEN matches unbeaten in the league, with their last loss coming back on 1st November when they suffered a shock loss at home against NW London, thirteen of those games during that run had been wins, so to say both teams were in pretty decent form was an understatement, so this was anticipated to be a decent battle as well as an Essex derby too.

The first half certainly belonged to the visitors who created three or four decent chances but they found hosts keeper Henry Noakes in inspired form, producing a top close range stop to deny an Adam Vyse header, and then also deny Jeffrey Cobblah after the attacker had got in on goal down the right, the hosts defence also had to block some goal bound efforts too as Hutton failed to capitalise on these openings.

The hosts did have moments of their own, Louie Watkins dragging wide from outside the box & then getting in on goal but after rounding visiting keeper Steffan Lamacq he went too wide and could only cross to the near post where the chance was cleared, however five minutes before half time Hutton did grab a deserved lead although it was a messy one from the hosts point of view.

Cobblah whipped in a cross from the right and it appeared that both player manager and centre half Rob Hodgson & keeper Noakes would deal with what seemed a straightforward cross to deal with, but, miscommunication between them both ended up with Hodgson trying to head clear but instead deflected the ball beyond his keeper and into the net, and Hutton would go into the break a goal to the good.  

The hosts certainly improved after the break and put Hutton under a lot of pressure during the half, the hosts best chance fell to Watkins again, he found himself clean through on goal but could not beat Lamacq who made himself big to stop the effort, celebrating the save with a clenched fist, it was an important save too as had the hosts levelled who know what the final outcome could have been.

What did happen was as after Hutton soaked up all the second half pressure, they caught the hosts with a sucker punch in the 87th minute, and it was all the work and endeavour of Vyse who after blocking an attempted ball from a defender, ran onto the ball, rounded keeper Noakes, and despite being under pressure from chasing defenders managed to see the ball into the empty net and seal Hutton another three points towards what they hope is the title and automatic promotion to Step Five.

It means the visitors now have a five point over Clapton with both sides having five games remaining, and are now NINETEEN unbeaten in the division, that's some run, for Rayleigh it's a second loss in ten games but with Lymore Gardens losing at Hoddesdon Town, it means they still have a three point buffer to them with a game in hand, so it's as you were in that sense.

A good battle then between two good sides, Hutton certainly had the better of the opening forty five minutes, but Rayleigh really made them work hard for the points in the second period, although the hosts would have been disappointed with both the goals they conceded which settled this contest.

Full time Rayleigh Town 0 Hutton 2

 

Barnston AFC 4 Catholic United 1 - Goals from Ryan Gilbert, Fred Dewar, George Myers & Lewis Sonnex saw Barnston AFC net third straight league win of 2026 as they defeated Essex Olympian Premier leaders Catholic United

Essex Olympian League Premier Division, Saturday March 14th

Mid March and a pleasant sunny day (mostly) saw me head into the beautiful Essex countryside and Barnston for an EOFL Premier Division contest between Barnston AFC & league leaders Catholic United at the excellent facility that is High Easter Road.

The hosts were embarking on their first ever season in the EOFL after their switch over from the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division and after finding the change of divisions a tad tough earlier in their campaign, they were now finding their feet and had been in decent form since the turn of the year, in the four games they had managed to play three wins had come from them, including back to back in the league. 

That good run of form would be put to the test against a Catholic side who had pretty much lead the standing all season, however, the visitors had stumbled recently after a pretty much perfect season up till recently, after five straight wins going either side of new year, the next five in all competitions saw them win only once, and last weekend they suffered a very disappointing 5-2 defeat in the Essex Premier Cup semi final, so this was certainly not an easy game to forecast the outcome.

This was despite the gap between the two in the division, Barnston down in 10th spot and thirty four points behind the leaders, but with both sides going through differing fortunes lately it certainly meant a tough competitive contest was on the cards, Barnston knew if they could win they could climb into the top half of the league and into eighth spot, there highest position for some time and probably all season.

For Catholic they came into this one with seven point cushion to their nearest and probably only challengers for the title in Shenfield AFC, a win and a slip up from the second placed side could see that gap open further, but any slip up from the leaders and that gap could be down to just four points, so two very different outcomes were possible, what were we going to get?

The visitors certainly were the ones on the front foot in the opening few minutes but it was the hosts who were to grab the lead after nine minutes as after an initial effort had been blocked, Ryan Gilbert was on hand to ram the ball into the roof of the net from close range and hand Barnston an early advantage, an advantage they doubled midway through the first period, David Limber forcing a save from visiting keeper Owen Wells but he could only parry across goal into the path of Fred Dewar who made no mistake by collecting the ball and firing home.

How would Catholic respond, they had plenty of attacking flair but thus far had been unable to find a way through, they almost did when Mike Clark got a sight of goal but when it looked for all money it would be 2-1, his effort was superbly saved by home keeper Harrison Mott, and the hosts could enjoy a two goal cushion at half time, and the league leaders were in danger of slipping up again and seeing that lead cut even further at the top.

The visitors knew they needed the next goal and needed it promptly after half time, and they did just that two minutes after the restart when Clark allowed the ball to go across himself before he turned and smashed a left footed effort beyond keeper Mott and momentum looked to be well and truly with the visitors and I felt it was only a matter of time before they got back on level terms.

Fin Woods, who has been having a decent game down the left hand side, then sent in a lovely cross to substitute, sixteen year old Archie Armstrong, and his lofted header almost found the net as the hosts really had to dig in and prevent Catholic from getting back on level terms, but once they had got through this tough period, they begin to threaten themselves once again, and had two golden chances to restore their two goal cushion.

Substitute George Myers found himself in on goal but his shot across goal was brilliantly tipped just wide of the far post by Wells although the referee gave a goal kick, and then Lewis Sonnex lofted a effort just off target when it looked nailed on he would find the net, but with just under fifteen minutes remaining Myers would find the net and the hosts would have a third as Sonnex did well down the left before his ball into the six yard box was touched on by Limber and onto Myers before the ball ended up in the net, and the hosts now had some breathing space.

Could Catholic quickly find a second goal to reduce the arrears and make the final part of the game tense for the hosts, well no they couldn't and in fact it was Barnston who would add another before the game was done, Sonnex pinching the ball off a defender before striding into the box and firing home with three minutes of the ninety to go, game set and match you could say, and the hosts and netted a fine win over the faltering league leaders. 

Full time Barnston AFC 4 Catholic United 1

Let's now see how this result and others results today affect the table, firstly here are the other scores on the doors from the EOFL Premier today followed by the up to date table:-

ACD United 2-1 Herongate Athletic

Corinthians 1-4 Leigh Ramblers

Hashtag United Reserves 2-5 Harold Hill

Runwell Sports 0-5 Old Chelmsfordians

Shenfield AFC 5-3 Old Southendian

Sungate 1-4 Bishop's Stortford Swifts

Wakering Sports 0-0 Harold Wood Athletic

Barnston's win takes them up to eighth spot and the top half of the division, defeat for Catholic, only their third of the season in the division, sees their lead cut to four points after Shenfield AFC netted five at home in an entertaining match against Old Southendian, third placed Old Chelmsfordians netted five at Runwell Sports but realistically their title defence is probably to far out of their reach now unless the top two drop more points.

It's getting tight down at the bottom, Runwell are right in a relegation dogfight after today's thumping loss, they are only three points above the bottom two, ACD netting a huge win against third bottom Herongate today to close the gap to just two points from safety now, and bottom side Harold Hill smashed five past Hashtag United as both sides in the relegation places gave themselves more hope they could get out of it.

The bottom six are only separated by seven points, and with the bottom two both winning and the sides just above the drop zone all losing, it's certainly made that battle very interesting indeed. It appears with the season coming to it's latter stages now, we could have a title showdown and also a relegation battle between several teams, so it sure looks like it will be a very exciting end to this campaign!!!  

Colchester United 0 Crawley Town 0 - EFL League Two clash between play off chasing Colchester United & relegation threatened Crawley Town ends all square in tepid goalless affair in North Essex

EFL League Two, Friday 13th March

A rare football league game for me came on the frightful Friday 13th as I made my way up to The Community Stadium in Colchester as Crawley Town were visiting Colchester United in a league fixture with both sides in need of points for differing reasons.

The Us began the weekend four points outside the play off places down in 12th spot which is bang in the middle of the division, only six points separated seventh placed Grimsby Town, who occupied the final play off spot in seventh, and 13th placed Fleetwood Town, so a very tight part of the league several sides, including the Us, looking to get themselves top of that pack and in the top seven.

The hosts form since the beginning of February had been inconsistent though, three wins, three losses and a draw, so some good performances mixed with some awful ones, although their last outing saw them net a 2-1 win away at Newport County, a side who like tonight's visitors are in danger of being relegated out of the football league altogether, so The Us knew they were facing similar opposition in this contest.

Crawley sat just a point above Barrow in third bottom and second bottom Newport County and the drop zone before kick off and knew if they could grab a surprise win here would pull a gap of four points ahead of the weekend fixtures, on the flip side though they knew defeat here could see them vulnerable and find themselves in that drop zone if the bottom two picked up wins later on in the weekend. (Only two points separated Crawley in 21st and bottom side Harrogate in 24th).  

However, Crawley's form is alarming since the beginning of February, their last win came at the end of January where they picked up seven points from three games, but since then it's only three points from a possible twenty one, four defeats in seven games, which is relegation form sadly for them, although they picked up a decent point at home to Swindon Town last time out, could they build on that and get themselves away from the danger zone?

The visitors actually started the better but once the hosts had got up to speed it was they who had the first effort on target when a lovely move saw a cross diverted towards his own goal by defender Scott Malone who was trying to stop the cross coming in, and visiting keeper Jacob Chapman had to scramble across his goal to tip round the post, but this was pretty much the only save the Crawley keeper had to make in the entire game.

And in a first half devoid of many goal scoring chances, it was Crawley who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Malone almost turned provider down the other end, crossing for Dion Periera whose downward header was saved well by the knees of Us keeper Matt Macey, but it was no surprise that the first half ended goalless with both sides struggling somewhat in the final third.

The one bright spark from the hosts was speedy winger Kyreece Lisbie, who was causing the visitors some alarm down the flank, but even he could not provide a killer pass or touch to help the hosts get in front, the visitors were just happy to sit in and prevent the hosts from breeching their back line, the most serious of pressure they did come under came in the final quarter of the game where they faced a barrage of corners, Jaden Williams then fired over a decent chance and Will Goodwin saw a close range effort blocked too.

Goodwin then was sent clear of the visiting backline but instead of shooting at goal decided to pass across goal to try and find team mate Williams but failed to find him and the chance was gone, much to the frustration of the home support, and that frustration could have grown when Crawley saw a Ronan Darcy effort saved at the near post by Macey, and earlier in the half they saw an effort flash across goal and inches wide of the far post in a rare break up the pitch.

However, it seemed inevitable that the game would end goalless, and so it did, meaning the hosts missed the chance to close in on the play off places, whereas the point for Crawley could be very valuable indeed in their battle against the drop and they will now hope the teams around them fail to pick up points, as do The Us who could lose ground to the top seven places come the end of the weekend if the sides above them pick up points too.

Despite the goalless draw it was lovely to spend the evening watching it with my brother Marc who is over from Norway for the weekend, so this made the evening enjoyable despite the lack of goals on offer.

Full time Colchester United 0 Crawley Town 0

Ilford 5 Athletic Newham 1 - Braces from Daniel Izekor & Soloman Ofori help Ilford thump Athletic Newham to strengthen their position inside the top five of the Essex Senior League & enhance their play off chances

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 11th March

It was more Essex Senior League action for me on Wednesday night as I made a trip to Seven King and Cricklefield Stadium for a match between play off chasing Ilford and an Athletic Newham side who were trying to pull themselves away from the drop zone of the division.

The Foxes have surprised many this season with their lofty position in the table, but they are more than deserved of this top five position with only eight games to go, they came into this one in fourth spot and having the chance to increase the gap to the sides on the cusp of the play off positions too, that gap was five points ahead of this game.

They would also close the gap to third placed Barking as well if they could pick up maximum points, and they were on a run of five unbeaten in the league as well coming into this contest, and up against an Athletic Newham out only above the bottom two on goal difference, it was surely a home win right?

Well, not quite, as despite their latest form and having not won in the league since January 3rd, they have put in some decent performances and have held Little Oakley & Woodford Town to draws as well as pushing the likes of SOUL Tower Hamlets and Barking all the way too, they just haven't got the results to show for their efforts, so Ilford knew they would be in for a tough game, as we all thought they would be, and an exciting close contest was indeed expected, despite the positions and gap between the sides in the league table.

However, what was to follow in the opening forty five minutes was anything but, as The Foxes put in one of their best showings in the first half all season as they blew away their opponents, it took them less than a minute to go ahead, Daniel Izekor breaking the offside trap to bear down on goal, although initially it appeared he had blown the chance by not shooting and trying to round keeper Harvey Simson, he did manage to fire the ball across goal from the left and see the ball cannon into the net off defender Jonathan Ogubsanya who could do nothing to prevent this happening and see the hosts lead after just 52 seconds.

And it was only the fourth minute when Ilford doubled that lead, Izekor going through clean on goal once again, and this time he made no mistake by slotting beyond Simson into the far corner, Newham had no answer to this onslaught from the hosts who then made it 3-0 after just twelve minutes when, you guessed it, Izekor broke the offside trap for a third time, and he had all the time in the word to pick his spot and fire in off the post.

It had been an unbelievable start from Ilford, and they looked like scoring every time they came forward, they did have to wait twenty five minutes for the next goal though, but it was worth the wait, Soloman Ofori receiving the ball inside the box before shifting the ball inside onto his right foot and curling an absolute beauty beyond Simson into the top corner, 4-0 at half time and game over, a truly superb first half performance from the play off chasing side, and Newham just needed to tighten up and try and put in a positive second half showing otherwise they were going to be embarrassed.

Ofori and Ilford only needed five minutes of the second half to add to their tally, the diminutive attacker getting in behind the back line before slotting past Simson into the far corner, fair play to Newham though as they kept plugging and did make more of a fist of it in the second period, and were rewarded with a consolation goal late on as substitute Chuks Ozor got in on goal to slot nicely beyond hosts keeper Wilkinson Boateng.

However, it was a rare positive on the night for Newham who were well beaten, especially first half where all the damage had been done, mostly inside the first fifteen minutes, and they remain just above the bottom two on goal difference, a goal difference got battered in this one, only two better than West Essex now who are the side occupying the second bottom spot.

Ilford would have been disappointed at conceding so late on and not getting that clean sheet, but this was a rare blip in what was otherwise a terrific night for them, it strengthens there position in the top five and also enhances their chances of finishing in the top five come the end of the regular season, they have an eight point gap to sixth placed Woodford now and are three points behind third placed Barking, things are looking good for the hosts you could say.

Full time Ilford 5 Athletic Newham 1