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!!!

Burnham Ramblers 1 Southend Manor 0 - Aiden Brown's second half goal enough for Burnham Ramblers to defeat local rivals Southend Manor & continue perfect start to their Thurlow Nunn South campaign

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Wednesday 29th July

My third Thurlow Nunn South outing in five days saw me over at Leslie Field, home of Burnham Ramblers, as they welcomed local rivals Southend Manor for their second game of the season & the visitors first as they were not in action on the opening weekend.

Ramblers got their season off to a winning start at the weekend courtesy of goals from player manager Stuart Zanone & Tom Franks as they saw off Enfield Borough 2-1 at Leslie Field, and they were looking to earn another three points this evening to grab a maximum haul in their first two outings of the season.

Manor themselves were getting their season underway in this one, and with a new look squad and management were hoping the latest carnation of the club could begin in a positive way, there were certainly positive noises coming out of the club so could they back that up with victory over Ramblers on what was a very hot evening on the Crouch.

Ramblers certainly began the contest better and had two good chances early on to get their noses in front, Ethan Brien, who gave the visitors a torrid time down the left, burst in down that flank but dragged his shot so far wide it almost went for a throw on, and then player boss Zanone glanced wide when he should have hit the target, Manor took a while to settle but when they did created chances of their own, the best falling to one of the new signings, Michael Clark, who volleyed over from close range following a very decent move.

Neither side then could find the breakthrough in the opening forty five minutes but both would have had reason to be positive at half time as both had created openings and had played some good football too, Manor then began the second half the better and were on the front foot, but it was the hosts who were to take the lead ten minutes into the second period.

It appeared that Manor had dealt with a threat but instead of clearing the ball to safety, they could only play it into an area where Aiden Brown had the opportunity to pounce and get to the ball to fire a shot at goal, he did just that and it found the bottom corner via Manor keeper Harry Carter's foot, and Ramblers now had a lead to build on.

Manor to their credit kept plugging away and continued to go on the offensive, but they found a resolute defence and a very experienced keeper in James Pellin a tough nut to crack, and try as they might, they could not muster a leveller in this contest, Burnham also looked very dangerous on the counter but they once again showed their battling qualities and big heart, just like in their opener at the weekend, to take another hard fought win and make it six points from six.

Manor would have been disappointed to come away empty handed, they created more than enough to at least earn a point here, but lack of guile in front of goal cost them, and one mistake at the back punished, they have plenty to be positive about though and have much to work with for sure, two local clubs looking in good shape heading into the latest season, that's good to see.

Full time Burnham Ramblers 1 Southend Manor 0

There were some other games in midweek in the division, so here is a quick look at what happened in those:-

Tuesday 28th July

Coggeshall Town 2-1 Dunmow Town

East Thurrock Community 2-1 Basildon Town

May & Baker 2-0 Cannons Wood

Coggeshall Town got their new season underway with a come from behind win against Dunmow Town who have now lost both their games so far, Liam Adams had given the visitors the lead but Todd Hollocks & Tyler Hayes netted in the final twenty minutes to win that one, East Thurrock made it two from two with a comeback against Bas Town, I did attend that one and my blog is here to view https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2026/07/east-thurrock-community-2-basildon-town.html 

And finally on Tuesday, May & Baker made it two wins from two without conceding a goal after they saw off Cannons Wood thanks to a brace from Addae Paponette, Wood have one point from their opening two games and are yet to find the net.

Wednesday 29th July

FC Baresi 1-4 Hertford Heath

Lymore Gardens 3-0 Athletic Newham

NW London 0-4 Hoddesdon Town

Hertford Heath bounced back from their heavy defeat at Parsloes at the weekend in fine style as goals from Kachi Njoku, Mark McElligot & a brace from substitute Ollie Babbage saw them to victory at Wodson Park against an FC Baresi side who have lost both games so far, Richard Arhin netting their in stoppage time, Lymore Gardens are two from two after they saw off Athletic Newham courtesy of goals from Dylan Roberts, Wisley Baltazar & Tyrique Peters, Newham have three points from two so far.

And finally for Wednesday and indeed midweek, NW London's terrible start continued as they shipped another four as Hoddy saw goals from Connor Bolton, a brace from Jack Gibbs, and Harrison Cage see them to their first three points of the season after their goalless opener at Parkside.

Here is how the table looks after two rounds of games:-

Everyone is now underway for the season apart from AS London, Brimsdown & London Fennecs, but those three will all get their campaigns under way at the weekend, there has been plenty of drama and action already, may it continue!!!

East Thurrock Community 2 Basildon Town 1 - Second half goals from Thomas Barnacle & Lewis Rowe see East Thurrock Community come from behind to defeat Basildon Town and make it two wins from two in the Thurlow Nunn South

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Tuesday 28th July

I was over at Rookery Hill for the first time in two years to see the first competitive game there for sometime as East Thurrock Community played their first ever home game in Senior Football and there first home game of the new season against local rivals Basildon Town who themselves were getting there season underway after not being in action on the opening weekend.

The hosts are playing their home games at Rookery Hill this season whilst their ground, Wyldecrest Sports Country Club, is brought up to standard for this level, therefore the old girl had one more season to hosts competitive football once again, something we all thought may never happen, so it was nice to be back there to watch this great old sport & a great crowd of 272 were in attendance too, to see whether East Thurrock could continue their perfect start to the new season or if Bas Town could get their season off to a winning start.

The first half was quite scrappy and bitty, typical of a local derby, and there wasn't a great deal of quality, the hosts thumped a close range effort against the bar but the flag had gone up so it would not have counted, but it was the visitors who edged in front just past the midway point of the half, it came after East Thurrock lost the ball in their own final third, Bas Town recycled it and some nice play resulted in a wonderful ball being played into the box where Freddie Smyth nodded perfectly past hosts keeper Max Seymour.

It was a wonderfully worked goal, a lovely cross and perfectly onto the head of Smyth, and it meant the visitors led at the break after having the better of the half, the hosts had competed for sure but they knew they needed to up it in the second forty five minutes to ensure they kept their winning/unbeaten start to the season intact.

Well, they certainly did that and were much better after the break, they missed a golden chance to level when they saw visiting keeper Jake Reeve somehow keep out two efforts from the hosts, it was a heads on hands moment for the home side and it could have got to their heads thinking this wasn't their night, but they kept plugging away and with twenty minutes to go they drew level.

Thomas Barnacle managed to burst clear of the visiting defence, and after looking keeper Reeve in the eye, he slotted beyond the onrushing keeper and brought his side back on level terms, and three minutes later, the hosts had struck again to turn this one around, Reeve making a superb save from point blank range but Lewis Rowe was quickest to react to force the ball over the line from close range and hand the hosts the lead.

It had been a brilliant second half fightback, and one that proved enough for them to take a second win of the season and make it two wins from two to start their first ever season at this level in the best possible way, for Bas Town, they lose their first game of the season and will be disappointed after leading at the break and being the better side up till that point, a good game in all though in front of a decent crowd at Rookery Hill, just like the old days the hosts are probably thinking, they will be immensely proud of where they have come in a short space of time so far.

Full time East Thurrock Community 2 Basildon Town 1