Leigh United 3 Grays Athletic 2 - Hosts Leigh United go four points clear at top of Essex County Women's Football League Division One after edging out fourth placed Grays Athletic in a very entertaining battle at Chase High

Essex County Women's Football League Division One, Sunday 8th March

It was a rare Sunday outing for me but I was over at Goals (Southend) at Chase High School for an important game at the top of the ECWFL Division One as league leaders Leigh United were taking on Grays Athletic, the two had met back on January 18th in a cup tie, which was won 3-2 by Leigh, however their was some off the ball trouble shall we say so this one could be spicy as well as competitive.

Added to that the importance of the contest, it was the first one in their league campaign against each other, Leigh came into the contest top by a point over East Thurrock, six ahead of third placed Hutton Development (who had a game in hand) & twelve ahead of today's opponents although Grays did have three games in hand, so if they could win this battle today it would be possible for them to catch the leaders if they won those games in hand.

But if Leigh could edge to victory in this one, then they would open up an even bigger down to the ones below, and strengthen their chances of winning this division and also gaining promotion to the Premier Division, I also had a personal attachment to this contest, my friend and next door neighbour Chantelle Boland was part of the hosts team so it would be nice to finally see her in action in the midfield area.

Who would grab the early initiative then? Well, it was the hosts who got the ideal start after just two minutes when heading home a corner from close range, and truth be told had they been more clinical in front of goal early on they could have been three goals up, but they failed to capitalise on their early dominance and as the half wore on Grays got themselves more and more into the contest, and probably should have been level at the break, they missed a golden chance right at the end of the half, but early in the second period they would level.

The half was barely 45 seconds old when Leigh were caught cold as the visitors got in behind the hosts backline to finish beyond the keeper, and it had set the game up perfectly for a second half battle to see who would prevail, momentum seemed to be with the visitors now but Leigh struck twice in eight second half minutes to seemingly grab control of the game.

In the 52nd minute they got in on goal to fire beyond the keeper to make it 2-1, and then a lovely pass from my next door neighbour Chantelle Boland sent a teammate clear who rounded the keeper, kept her composure, and fired into the empty net, a two goal cushion for the home side, with half an hour to go, job done right?

Well, it wasn't going to be straightforward that's for sure, and Grays fought hard to try and get back into the contest and make the final minutes very interesting, and with sixteen minutes or so left, they pulled a goal back when a long bouncing ball wasn't dealt with by the hosts, and the visitors nipped in to beat the keeper to the ball and find the net, setting up a nervy last fifteen minutes for the home side.

Leigh did have chances to seal it late on, but couldn't, and that meant it was a very nervy last few minutes and only a super save from their keeper and a wonderful last ditch block right at the end prevented Grays from grabbing a share of the spoils, but Leigh did hold on to net a very important win and repeat the score line from the cup game they played out in January.

I must say it was a brilliant watch, two superb teams playing against each other, and played in the right way too, which was good to see, hard but fair, and it's a shame one team had to lose, although I was glad Chantelle was on the winning side and I didn't bring her or the team bad luck!!! I really enjoyed the contest, so good players on show, and I am sure Leigh enjoyed it too after picking up the points.

Full time Leigh United 3 Grays Athletic 2

There were four other games in the division today so let's have a quick look at those results and also the table after all of today's contests.....

Results

Brett Vale 0-6 Wickford Town

Broomfield 1-1 Great Bradfords

Clacton Regent 0-1 Hutton Development

Emerson & Upminster 0-2 South Woodham Ferrers United

Table

Leigh United's win today takes them four clear at the top, yes teams below them have games in hand but you would rather have the points, and they are in a very strong position with a handful of games remaining to win the league and promotion, Grays are now fifteen points behind the leaders and today's loss was a blow to them catching them by the end of the season.  

Hutton Development netted a narrow win over Clacton Regent meaning they increased the gap to Grays below them so it looks harder for Grays to even break into the top three of the division now and will have to rely on others faltering in order to do this, Broomfield & Great Bradfords shared the spoils to remain eighth and sixth respectively, giving Broomfield another point to edge them even further away from bottom few places, Great Bradfords point moves them closer to fourth spot.

Finally down the bottom Brett Vale's tough season continued as they were beaten 6-0 at home by Wickford Town, the hosts are still to pick up a point this season and Wickford's win put's four points between them and the teams immediately below them, one of those sides, Emerson & Upminster, lost at home to a South Woodham Ferrers United team who are only five points off a top four position now.

Anyway, that's all for the ECWFL Division One for the weekend and for this blog, I hope you all enjoyed reading and on International Women's Day it was also a pleasure to go and cover a very enjoyable contest between some good female players, thanks for reading and until next time, bye bye..... 

Braintree Town 1 Wealdstone 4 - Micah Obiero nets brace as Wealdstone record important win against Braintree Town to pull themselves further away from Enterprise National League drop zone as hosts remain three points from safety

Enterprise National League, Saturday 7th March

It was a rare National League encounter for me on the first Saturday in March, and it was a return to Cressing Road for the first time in a number of years to watch a very important game down the bottom of the division, fourth bottom Braintree Town taking on Wealdstone side who were only three places above them and six points better off.

The hosts also knew that if they could get the win today they would go level on points with fifth bottom Brackley Town and only be in the bottom four on goal difference after Brackley were beaten 5-3 at Boreham Wood in the early kick off in the day, Wealdstone knew that if they could win they could put nine points between themselves and the relegation places, so either way it was a big game in terms of the shake up down in that area of the division.

The hosts form though since their last win at the end of January against Eastleigh hasn't been great, although not the worst either, if that makes sense, in six games they have won one, against the bottom side Truro City, drawn against Sutton United and Solihull Moors, but they have lost three of their last four including a stoppage time loss at Gateshead in midweek who are also in the bottom four with them.

Wealdstone though have been even worse, in their last six league games since the start of February they have only picked up four points,  three of those came in their last home league outing against Brackley Town and they came into this off the back of a home loss to Morecambe who are just below Braintree, they have reached the semi finals of the FA Trophy though so this has certainly boosted the clubs morale in a tough period of results, how this one would go was anyone's guess, it was an important game so who could grab the early advantage?

The Stones actually began the game the better of the two sides, but in the 12th minute Braintree were given a golden chance to get themselves in front when Zavier Massiah-Edwards was brought down inside the box, and John Akinde, who was copping quite a bit of stick off the Wealdstone fans behind that goal due to his ex-Barnet connections, fired home the spot kick to hand Town the lead, against the run of play it has to be said.

However, if the hosts thought this would change the momentum they were to be very disappointed as Wealdstone did not let that set back deter them, and five minutes later were level when Nathan Tshikuna chopped back onto his left foot before firing into the bottom corner, and then nine minutes after that they led when hesitant defending from the home side allowed Micah Obiero to muscle his way past his markers before finishing from close range.

It was a deserved lead for the visitors, and quite frankly they could have been further ahead at half time, Braintree just looked physically and mentally worse than their opponents who were certainly finding their form in this contest, and Town were still suffering a hangover from that long trip to Gateshead and that late late disappointment, but they did manage to get to half time only a goal behind but needing much improvement if they were to get back into the contest.

After the hosts almost gifted Stones a third early in the second period they actually then had their best period of the contest and were finally putting the visitors under some stress in their final third, but Wealdstone kept them at bay and then hit them with a killer third goal with fifteen minutes or so remaining, substitute Sean Adarkwa seeing his effort parried across goal but into the path of Obiero who had the simple task of tapping home in front of his adoring fans behind that goal.

Braintree tried to find a second goal to make the final moments more interesting, and they almost got one when Lewis Walker struck the post after good work down the right, had that have gone in who knows, but in the end Wealdstone were more than worthy of the points and added another goal deep into stoppage time with the last kick of the contest, Junior Tiensia bursting down the left before his ball across goal was slid home by hosts player Matt Dibley-Dias although I thought it was Stones player Dylan Kadji, and I'd rather give it to him than have the own goal, but whoever got the final touch, it mattered not for the visitors who recorded a fine win and a very important win too.

It means Wealdstone are now nine points above the bottom four and up two places to 16th in the table, and only three points off a top ten position, whereas for Braintree they actually slip a place to third bottom now after Morecambe picked up another three points today after a 5-0 win at Sutton, but they still remain three points from safety so in terms of that they are no worse off, but things need to improve sooner rather than later if they are to have a chance of survival.

Full time Braintree Town 1 Wealdstone 4

Basildon Town 2 Barkingside 0 - Goals from Lucas Polyblank & Josh Davenport help Basildon Town continue unbeaten run after victory over bottom side Barkingside on a foggy night in South Essex

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Wednesday 4th March

It was a second Thurlow Nunn South match up in two nights for me as I made my way over to The Hive in Gardiners Close for a game between Basildon Town & Barkingside, the hosts came into this one on a five match unbeaten run in all competitions and were looking to pick up more points to not only take themselves further away from the bottom three but also get themselves closer to a top ten position in the division.

Visitors Barkingside had more pressing matters on their minds, they sat bottom of the division and seven points from safety with nine games to go, obviously three teams may not go down when the season is all said and done, but they didn't want to take that risk and finish in those bottom three positions, a win could take them off the bottom of the table although second bottom Enfield Borough, who were a point ahead of them, have six games in hand, and were also in action this evening.

It was imperative then that Side started winning sooner rather than later, but they came into this one having lost five on the bounce and only netting one goal in those games in total, not brilliant form and not what you need when your fighting for your Senior status, and after just two minutes it had already become a difficult night as a thumping effort from range by Lucas Polyblank saw the keeper misjudge the effort and could only help it on its way into the net although their was a lot of power and swerve on the shot.

Foggy conditions had greeted the players from minute one, although conditions were not to bad for the majority of the opening forty five minutes, but after that early goal many expected the visitors to crumble and see Bas Town go on and take control of the contest, but this didn't materialise and a even first half ensued, Town did have a few moments where they fired balls across the box but were not converted, and Side had their moments too, the best one seeing home keeper Joe Durrant thwarting the visitors from a one on one situation.

The game then was in the balance at half time, but the increasing fog, which by the second half was becoming worse, meant that many of us could not make out what was going on when the play was on the far side of the pitch, although obviously the players and officials could see, which was the main thing, we could see enough to make out a superb save from Durrant to deny a superb effort from the visitors, whilst down the other end multiple blocks on one occasion denied the hosts a second goal to seal the game.

Both teams battled hard in the foggy conditions and it looked as though that early goal would be the only goal of the night, that was until the 87th minute when Bas Town did finally seal the points, a flick on saw Josh Davenport ghost in behind the back line to fire an effort beyond the keeper, thankfully I could see that just about, and it meant three points to the hosts which takes them 12th and only a couple of points off the top ten now.

For Side it's now six straight defeats and another game where they drew a blank, they played ok tonight but haven't got anyone to put the ball in the net, had they had this it could have been different, but they still find themselves bottom and with Enfield drawing this evening are now two points behind them and still seven off fourth bottom Dunmow Town, worrying times for Side then, their Senior Status hangs in the balance right now.

Full time Basildon Town 2 Barkingside 0

 

Southend Manor 2 Coggeshall Town 6 - Braces from Alex Banyard & Joshua Ambrose help Coggeshall Town net six against Southend Manor to bounce back from weekend disappointment in style & end hosts three match unbeaten run in Thurlow Nunn South

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Tuesday 3rd March

My first game of March came from The Southchurch Park Arena in Southend as Manor hosted Coggeshall Town in a Thurlow Nunn South fixture, the hosts were on a three match unbeaten run after holding high flying Newbury Forest to a goalless draw, netting a 1-0 win at FC Romania & then holding Burnham Ramblers to a 2-2 draw at the weekend.

This had helped the home side pull themselves seven points away from the bottom three and given themselves some breathing space, they were up against a Coggeshall Town side this evening who were in the top five of the league (in fourth spot) and knowing if they could get back to winning ways this evening they could increase the gap to sixth spot and make their top five position a bit more comfortable.

The Seedgrowers had been on a nine match unbeaten run before they succumbed to fellow play off chasing Rayleigh Town at the weekend, but there was no hangover from that early on in this contest as the visitors took just three minutes to break the deadlock when a corner from Hollocks was headed into the net by a hosts player, and after just eight minutes it was two when Chandler Wray played in Alex Banyard who fired a lovely finish over the keeper and into the far corner.

A stunned Manor tried to stem the tide against them and attempted to get themselves back into the contest but after 25 minutes it was three for the visiting side when Wray grabbed another assist, crossing for Tyler Hayes to apply the finishing touch, and it seemed at that point how many would Coggeshall get, they were cruising with less than half an hour on the clock.

However, two minutes later came a spectacular own goal from the visitors, a ball into the box saw a defender attempt to volley clear but got it completely wrong and sent a superb volley whistling past his own keeper and into the far corner, and it gave the hosts a route back into the contest, a contest they actually edged for the remainder of the first half, but Coggeshall did get to the break with a two goal cushion.

It was still all to play for though, especially if Manor could find the next goal, and they did just that nine minutes after the break, Finlay Ledger was played in behind the visiting back line but his finish seemed weak, but the keeper somehow let it through his grasp and the ball tricked inside the post and Manor were now right back in the contest and it most certainly was game on!!!

That hope though lasted five minutes as Coggeshall restored their two goal cushion just before the hour mark, Wray with his third assist of the game, crossing for Banyard to prod home from close range and add his second of the night, and with just over twenty minutes to go the visitors added a fifth goal, you know who, Wray, produced some lovely skill before crossing the ball for Joshua Ambrose to tap home from close range.

The visitors then added a sixth goal with twelve minutes to go when Adam Hewitt's ball found Ambrose who beat the offside trap to cut inside and fire a lovely finish beyond the keeper, and the hosts day got worse late on when they were reduced to ten men following a professional foul by Ole Richards, and although Manor continued to battle and fight, they were well beaten in the end by a good Coggeshall outfit.

The visitors then bounce back from their weekend disappointment in style, and they remain fourth but increased the gap to sixth placed Brimsdown to six points and still with three games in hand too, so they are a strong bet for the play offs right now, for Manor there three match unbeaten run comes to an end in disappointing style this evening, they showed glimpses in this one and almost came back from three goals down, but in the end they fell well short but do remain in 15th spot and seven points above the drop zone.

Full time Southend Manor 2 Coggeshall Town 6

Mayesbrook Park double header (Saturday 28th February) - Barking U23s into Semi Finals of Len Cordell Memorial Trophy after dramatic win over Takeley Reserves, Barking see off Athletic Newham in Essex Senior Premier

(Action from Barking's win over Athletic Newham at Mayesbrook Park in the Essex Senior League)

The final day in February saw me over Mayesbrook Park for a rare double header so thought I would get two games for the price of one, Barking U23s were in action first up against Takeley Reserves in the Quarter Finals of the Len Cordell Memorial Trophy, and then Barking took on Athletic Newham in the Essex Senior League after that, shall we see what happened in both games, starting with that Quarter Final.....

Barking U23s Vs Takeley Reserves (Len Cordell Memorial Trophy Quarter Finals)

These two sides are 7th and 5th respectively in the ESL Reserve Division, but they were playing for a last four spot in this competition, the winners would take on Rayleigh Town Reserves who saw off Aveley U23s in their Quarter Final back in December, this was the final Quarter Final to be completed after Bowers & Pitsea and Billericay Town Reserves had set up the other Semi Final after they both won their Quarter Finals in mid Janaury.

Barking themselves actually lost their First Round tie at home to Hashtag United Reserves back in September on penalties after a 2-2 draw, but Tags Reserves then folded so Barking took their place in this Quarter Final against a Takeley side who smashed May & Baker Reserves 9-0 in the First Round, five points separated the teams in the Reserve Division, with Takeley above Barking in the table as said before.

However, Barking's form this side of new year hasn't been great, in nine games since the turn of the year they have played nine games, and only drawn two of them and lost the rest, Takeley in the same period have only played a third of the games Barking have, three, and have lost two of those and won one of them, so neither side were in great form, who would find that edge in this one to take their place in the Semi Final, the league match at Mayesbrook Park saw Barking run out 3-2 winners back in October, so it would be a tight game you'd suspect.

Barking started the game on the front foot, but they were undone by a long ball over the top of their defence in the 11th minute and allowed the visitors to run onto this and slot home and take the lead against the run of play, the Blues though kept attacking and creating openings and just before the half hour mark levelled with a deflected long range effort, and seven minutes before the break they deservedly lead thanks to a lovely strike across goal into the far corner.

The hosts then started the second half on the front foot and continued to knock on the visitors door, but then switched off and allowed Takeley to level the score up at 2-2 just before the hour mark, a long ball saw the defence stop and allow two visiting players to just run in behind and one of those stooped to head past a totally exposed keeper, but the hosts then regained the lead twenty minutes into the second period, a brilliant strike thumped off the post, moments later another strike hit the bar before the rebound was blasted home from close range.

Then came two moments of madness from the double goal scorer for Takeley, he prevented the keeper throwing out by putting his hand up to stop the ball after one of his teammates was on the floor injured, and then a few minutes later he kicked the ball out of the keepers hands as he attempted to clear from them, and then stuck the ball into the net after the whistle had gone, second yellow, and an early bath, madness.

Barking though could not find that killer fourth, and five minutes into stoppage time Takeley took the tie to penalties after an absolute belter from range which flew into the top corner, Barking only themselves to blame for not sealing it in normal time, but they now had to endure the dreaded spot kicks to see who prevailed.

The penalty shoot out that followed was just as dramatic as the game itself, Takeley took control of it early on and had match point at 3-2, but missed, meaning it went to sudden death, at 5-5 Takeley struck the underside of the bar and the ball was close to going over, it may well have done, but it was ruled not over the line, allowing The Blues to strike home the winning kick and take the tie 6-5 on penalties, a brilliant cup tie and a very entertaining watch for sure.

Full time Barking U23s 3 Takeley Reserves 3 (Barking U23s won 6-5 on penalties)

So it's Barking who prevail, just, and they take on Rayleigh Town Reserves in the semi final, and the winner of that players either Bowers & Pitsea or Billericay Town Reserves in the final.

Phew, follow that Barking & Athletic Newham in the ESL Premier, they would have to go a long way to better the first game, but if this game was anything like the corresponding fixture at Parsloes then we would be in for a treat, let's see how it went.....

Barking Vs Athletic Newham (Essex Senior Premier)

This pitted play off and promotion chasing Barking against relegation threatened Athletic Newham, The Blues had been on a nine match unbeaten run in all competitions until they came unstuck at Hullbridge Sports in midweek, Newham themselves began the year in fine style, beating Benfleet 4-1 at home but since then they have only picked up two points from six league games and have dropped alarmingly close to the relegation zone as a result.

Barking then would have been confident of bouncing back from their disappointing loss at Hullbridge on Tuesday, but when these two met back in September Newham held a 3-0 lead until a second half fightback of epic proportions saw Barking run out 4-3 winners, so these two have played out a rather entertaining encounter already this season, we all hoped it would be a similar story in this one.

The hosts though started this one slowly and it was Newham who had the better of the game early on, but, Barking's first real attack saw them grab the lead in the 14th minute, Akiljo Balliu burst down the left side brilliantly before he crossed along the deck for Alfie Attrill to time his run perfectly and slide in to send the ball past visiting keeper Harvey Simpson, and the Blues now had a slender advantage.

It was an advantage that Newham really should have wiped out on more than one occasion, but they just did not have anyone in the final third to convert openings that came their way, Barking did have a decent chance to double their lead just before half time, but that would have been very cruel on the visitors, but twenty minutes after the break, Barking did double their lead as a lovely through ball from Attrill sent substitute Celeany Filho in on goal, and he kept his composure well before slotting beyond Simpson.

Newham kept creating openings but were wasteful, and when Abdi Ali struck the post, you kind of thought it wasn't going to be their day, and in the 90th minute Barking were given the chance to increase their lead further still when after Saliu Lo Seye was brought down inside the box after he pinched the ball off a defender, another substitute Ryan Pickles thumped home the resulting penalty and seal a 3-0 win for the home side.

The scoreline flattered Barking if truth be told, but they did what they needed to do in this game and bounce back from that loss in midweek, taking them up to third in the table and put a six point gap to sixth placed Woodford Town who sit just outside the play off zone, they are eight points behind leaders Little Oakley but with ten games to go they will be hard to overhaul.

For Newham it was a tough loss to take, they really didn't deserve to lose 3-0 but wasteness in front of goal mainly cost them here, and the defeat sees them drop into the bottom two after West Essex remarkable win at Halstead Town today, they are a point from safety now and only four points off 15th placed Sporting Bengal, so it's going to be some fight between the five sides all down their trying to avoid the drop.

Full time Barking 3 Athletic Newham 0

Well that was a fun day, two games, nine goals, and plenty of drama, thanks to all who took the time to read this blog, I hope you enjoyed it!!!

Concord Rangers 5 Brantham Athletic 1 - A Stephen Toussaint treble & a star performance from Owen Moore helped Concord Rangers climb into top ten of isthmian North after seeing off bottom side Brantham Athletic

Isthmian League One North, Tuesday 24th February

There was a bonus game over at New Lodge in Billericay on Tuesday night which saw Concord Rangers take on Brantham Athletic in the Isthmian One North, Concord had to get games played and with their pitch at Thames Road out of action because of the weather, Billericay accepted their wishes to hire the ground and 3G facility for the evening. (This game had originally been scheduled on January 3rd but was abandoned due to a freezing pitch at Thames Road)

The hosts have been out of action for a whole month due to the constant rain that has fallen in the UK over the past weeks, so catching up on games and also getting back to action on the pitch was necessary, and a win this evening would see them climb into the top ten on goal difference, a top ten finish was probably the best they could get from this season as the play off places are probably too far out of reach now.

Brantham Athletic were the visitors, and after winning promotion from Step Five last season by winning the Thurlow Nunn Premier, it's been an extremely tough season for them, one win in thirty games and just six points all season saw them rock bottom of the division and only a matter of time till their relegation is confirmed, this was not helped when the entire squad from last season and the management left the club, leaving them a total rebuild for this season in a much tougher league and step up. (This was what I was informed of prior to the game anyway).

Concord then were expecting to win this game, but being out of action for a month can be a hindrance sometimes, although they were certainly fresh and raring to go no doubt, Brantham had played three times in that same period that Concord hadn't, but had lost all three of those games, and after nine minutes of this one, it looked like a very long evening for the visiting side as the hosts flew out of the traps.

There were only four minutes on the clock when Owen Moore floated a lovely ball into the box were Stephen Toussaint leapt highest to nod home the opener, and after nine minutes it was two when Moore turned goal scorer this time, thumping an unstoppable effort into the top corner from an angle inside the box, and you felt at this point it was a matter of how many the hosts would net.

Brantham though didn't cave in and actually got themselves back into the game after twenty minutes when a ball played across the edge of the box was whipped past home keeper Charlie Brown brilliantly first time into the top corner by skipper Tom Lawson, and suddenly we had a game on, although the hosts so nearly restored that two goal cushion moments later but Oli Spooner's brilliant long range effort was superbly tipped onto the bar by visiting keeper Roan Tucker.

It was a superb game to watch and plenty going on, the action continued for the remainder of the half but no further goals meant a 2-1 score line at the break, and after half time Brantham had a couple of decent openings to level the game, but in the 57th minute some superb wing play by Moore saw him fire the ball across the goal and find Toussaint who applied the finishing touch and hand Concord a two goal cushion once again.

And in the 65th minute came the moment of the game when Spooner, who had seen an earlier effort saved of course, gave keeper Tucker absolutely no chance whatsoever as the ball sat up nicely for him some twenty five or thirds yard out and he duly smashed a brilliant effort beyond the keepers dive and into the top corner, it was a superb strike and the hosts were now cruising to victory, which didn't look likely earlier in the half.

Concord's number seven, Moore, was replaced in the 75th minute, but he has to be mentioned again, the attacker caused the visitors untold problems all game, and for me was MOTM for his terrific play and added to that a goal and two assists to boot, and the other star performer on the night, Toussaint, would complete the scoring with seven minutes remaining, as after he was pulled down inside the box by visiting defender Ross Mcguire, the picked himself to convert the spot kick and complete his hattrick as well.

A great night for The Beachboys then which at times looked difficult but they had enough in them to comfortably win the game & could have added more before the end as well, the win sends themselves into the top ten, for Brantham it was another difficult night although at 2-1 they were well in the game and had they levelled who knows what may have happened, they certainly didn't give up, so kudos to them for that, but they remain rock bottom with six points with relegation another step closer to being confirmed.

Full time Concord Rangers 5 Brantham Athletic 1

  

Sunderland 1 Fulham 3 - Raul Jimenez stars as his brace helps Fulham end a run of three successive Premier League defeats by completing double over a Sunderland side who have now lost back to back home games

Premier League, Sunday 22nd February

A rare premier league outing for me but it was that time of year again where I make the annual pilgrimage to The Stadium Of Light to watch my late fathers beloved Sunderland, and they were taking on Fulham on Sunday afternoon with both sides going through a rather tough run of form in the last week or two.

Sunderland have surprised many this season, including myself, at how well they have adapted to their first Premier League campaign for a decade, a lot has happened since they were last here but the Black Cats are certainly giving their long suffering fans something to cheer about this season, although they were going through what was probably their first sticking patch of the season.

Three defeats in their last four outings had seen them slip into the bottom half of the table, but despite this they were well clear of the bottom three and were looking to try and bounce back into the top ten with victory against a Fulham side who were trying to stop a run of three successive losses by grabbing victory in Wearside, the two sides met in November and it was Fulham who netted a narrow 1-0 win, it was bound to be another tight contest here too.

The first half however was a rather drab affair with a lot of stop start action, rather in keeping with two sides who were not having their best run of form lately, Fulham did carve out two openings in the first half but both were off target, Sunderland had the only shot on target in the entire opening forty five minutes but it was a routine save from Bernd Leno, and it was no surprise that the game entered the half time break goalless.

The second half however would bring much more goal mouth action, and Sunderland should really have taken the lead early in the second half, Romaine Mundle was played in by Lutsharel Geetruida, but he could only slice wide of the target with only Leno to beat, and in the 53rd minute, Fulham would be the ones to get their noses in front, an Alex Iwobi corner found Raul Jimenez totally unmarked to head home and hand The Cottagers the advantage.

And it was Jimenez who was to double Fulham's lead from the spot after VAR asked referee Craig Pawson to go to the screen after Brian Brobbey had pulled back Calvin Bassey inside the box, and suddenly Fulham had a two goal cushion just past the hour mark and the hosts had it all to do in this one.

Sunderland made some changes and one of those was the return of skipper Granit Xhaka who had been absent from the side for the last few weeks due to injury, and with around fifth teen minutes remaining The Black Cats were given a lifeline when determined play from Dab Ballard saw him pulled down by Ryan Sessegnon, and Enzo le Fee duly thumped the spot kick into the top corner and you really felt Sunderland could go on and grab something from the contest.

However, there was to be no comeback as Fulham netted a superb third on the break, the superb Harry Wilson received the ball just outside his penalty box, and he broke at pace and charged almost to the edge of the opposite box before playing in Iwobi with a wonderful pass and the forward duly clipped a lovely finish beyond Robin Roefs into the far corner and seal a very welcome win for the visitors.

A disappointing afternoon for Sunderland then, that's four defeats in five now, but they are still in touching distance of the top ten and eleven points clear of the drop zone, so that really shouldn't be in question, a couple more wins should guarantee their PL status for next season which in all honestly is all they need to achieve this season.

For Fulham that's three points that takes them into tenth and above today's opponents too so maybe now they can begin a decent run of form and a possible top seven finish which is possible for both these sides and a whole host of others in a congested mid table of the PL, this was Fulham's day though, sadly for me and others who were hoping Sunderland could grab a win here.

Sorry Dad, I could not bring your Black Cats any luck in this one, but it was still an enjoyable visit to a wonderful arena.....

Full time Sunderland 1 Fulham 3