Buckhurst Hill 1 Barking 0 - Arthur Massingham's superb 82nd minute strike hands Buckhurst Hill victory over Barking in the Essex Senior League Play Off Final to send them up into Step Four for the very first time in their history

Essex Senior League Play Off Final, Saturday 2nd May

My fourth play off outing in a row and the fourth one in seven days came from Roding Lane, Buckhurst Hill, for a big Essex Senior League play off final, and it was between two sides who finished fourth and fifth in the standings after they both won on the road in their semi final games in midweek. 

Buckhurst Hill had been in an incredible run heading into the play offs and had finished five points ahead of Barking who also got into the play offs before the final weekend, but with them finishing in the final play off spot they knew they to win promotion they would have to do it the hard way and win on the road twice, well they achieved stage one of that in midweek, and now they faced a rampant Hill side for a place in Step Four.

Shall we see how both The Stags and The Blues won those semi final ties, below is how they achieved it....

Great Wakering Rovers 1 Buckhurst Hill 1 (Buckhurst Hill won 3-1 on penalties)

Buckhurst Hill were up against a GWR side who were in a title battle for the majority of the season, but ended up five points behind winners Little Oakley, and actually only finished above Buckhurst Hill on goal difference in the end, well, Thomas Barton handed the hosts an 18th minute lead, Harry Lusher levelled five minutes before the break, and with no further goals, the tie went to penalties, and Hill prevailed to keep their dreams of promotion going for another few days.

SOUL Tower Hamlets 1 Barking 2

And over at Mile End, Barking were taking on runners up SOUL who still had a chance of winning the title on the final day, and despite winning they saw Oakley win too to take the title by two points, Barking finished eight points behind their opponents but that meant nothing in this one, and although SOUL went in front through Samir Bihmoutine eleven minutes before the break, Barking turned it around, levelling through James Folkes midway through the second half before Ryan Pickles stoppage time winner sent the visitors into today's final.

Now these two had met in a final already this season, the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy at Billericay Town, Barking had ran out 1-0 winners in that and had also beaten them 4-1 at home in August, but, the last time the two met was the final day of the regular season only a week ago, and Hill won that 2-0 at Roding Lane, today's venue, which ultimately sees them at home tonight, had Barking won that game they would have finished fourth and Hill fifth, and it could have been a different outcome as both would have played different sides in the semi final too.

Anyway, all that was immaterial now and it was only today that counted, Hill had never been any higher than the level they are at now, Step Four was always a dream but now it could become reality, Barking of course have been at that level before and wanted to return there once again, so who could keep there nerve in front of a bumper crowd of 1,044 at Roding Lane, we would soon find out. 

The first period was certainly a cagey affair, no surprise with what was at stake, Barking were ones who probably had the better chances that did come along, but both struggled to play any free flowing football, Finlay Dorrell did have the ball in the hosts net early on but saw the flag raised after the ball had hit the net, and then Christian North had to make a smart save to deny Ryan Pickles.

Hill didn't really create much in the way of clear cut chances, which for them was very unusual, which was a credit to the visiting defence, but they almost went in front right on half time when hosts full back George Edwards curled a brilliant effort against the underside of the bar, and it would turn out to be the final action of a first half that in the main was pretty mediocre and with neither side able to find any goals.

Would either side manage to play any expansive football after the break, well not really, a similar type of contest continued as both sides tried desperately to gain an advantage, Hill were very grateful to North in their goal, he made a couple more stops, both from the luckless Dorrell in front of goal, Hill still could not find that clear cut chance to give them any advantage either, would anyone find a winner before the end came and extra time and maybe penalties would then be required.

Well, step up Arthur Massingham, on the bench for this one but being brought on in the 74th minute to try and make a difference, well, he certainly did that, as eight minutes after coming on he got the ball and ran towards the penalty area, he then cut inside onto his right foot before curling an absolute beauty beyond visiting keeper Omer Ozer who to be fair did not have much to do all afternoon, and into the top corner.

It was an absolute worldie, and completely out of context in the game itself, and it now meant The Stags had around eight minutes plus stoppage time left to keep The Blues out and win promotion to Step Four, what did, if anything, the visitors have left, they didn't have long to salvage this tie, but they could not find a way through a stubborn Hill back line.

And after a tense few minutes for the hosts, the referee brought an end to proceedings and Buckhurst Hill had completed a remarkable journey from Step Seven, even Eight at one stage, through to Step Four in only a few years, what an achievement this is for the club and for manager Mark Williams, and also chairman Simon Cornwell, these guys are good people and deserve this success, what a day for the club, and what a wonderful promotion they have achieved.

Commiserations have to go to Barking though, they more than played their part in this one and could easily have won this themselves had they taken the chances that did come their way, but their always has to be a loser in these games, and today sadly for them it was the visitors, Craig Edwards and Co have had a great season and I am sure they will be back firing again next season after a summer of reflection.

Final word to Buckhurst Hill though, amazing achievement, and now they must prepare for Step Four football next season, incredible, am sure they will celebrate a bit first before having a summer to relax before embarking on what will no doubt be a tough season next year but also a great experience too. Go well boys go well.....

Full time Buckhurst Hill 1 Barking 0

Finally it was good to spend the day with Scott W & Sam Gardiner, part of the Back Post podcast crew which sadly had to be paused in December, but good to catch up with these people as always, and a nice photo below was taken before we all left, good times and a great day all round, marvellous.....

Billericay Town 3 Chatham Town 2 - First half goals from Benton, Merrifield & Lewis-Burgess enough for Billericay Town as they survive Chatham Town fightback to set up tasty Isthmian Premier Play Off final against neighbours Brentwood Town

Isthmian Premier Division Play Off Semi Final, Wednesday 29th April

Another evening and another play off semi, this time it was the turn of the Isthmian Premier Division the tie at New Lodge between Billericay Town and Chatham Town, Essex Vs Kent, and a hug crowd duly turned up to watch to see who could make the Bank Holiday weekend final for a chance to play National League South football next term.

The hosts were looking to go all the way in this play off series, and at least get past the semi final stage after last years heartbreak when they missed out in the title on goal difference before losing at home in the play off, but they regrouped and under Danny Scopes have mounted another charge for promotion, finishing third in the division and two points behind rivals Aveley, Scopesy's old club, and miles behind runaway leaders Folkestone Invicta, who won the division by twelve points and at a canter.

This means another play off semi final, and they are up against a Chatham Town side who finished fourth and only three points behind tonight's opponents, the visitors finished ninth last season and thirteen points off a play off spot, so this season has been a much improved campaign for the Kent side, they were looking to upset the apple cart this evening and reach the play off final.

Billericay won both meetings between the two clubs during the regular season, netting a 2-1 win at New Lodge back in November before a 1-0 win in Kent in late January, both games then well competed and close, and there was no reason why tonight's game would be no different, no doubt another fiercely fought contest was going to take place in front of a good atmosphere, who could hold their nerve in such a big contest?

Well, the hosts have been in scintillating form of late, since they lost 2-0 at St Albans back on January 27th, they haven't lost and went on a run of ten straight wins until they were held by Welling United in their final league outing last time out, so to say they were coming into the playoffs in form was an understatement, in fact they have only lost two league games this calendar year, the other loss coming at home to Hashtag United, a game I attended on January 3rd, hope that's not a bad omen for the hosts!!!

That's two defeats in twenty, and seventeen wins, did Chatham have a chance, well of course they did, they qualified for this playoff on merit and will pose a stiff test for the hosts, as proven in both their league games this season, and their form towards the end of the seasn was also pretty good, after losing at Dulwich Hamlet in late February, their only two defeats came against Aveley and local rivals Dartford, that's two defeats in twelve, and before those losses they had been on a run of seven games unbeaten which had a run of five successive wins.

And they ended the season with three straight wins too, culminating in a 2-1 win over Lewis, the previous games saw them win 4-0 and 6-0, so plenty of confidence boosting from those games, so tonight's game would certainly be played between two highly confident outfits, how would it go?

Well, it looked like the hosts would cruise to the win early on, they found themselves two goals up inside the opening twenty minutes as they really settled into the tie, the opening goal was a beauty, and it came after twelve minutes, Jon Benton curling an absolute beauty into the far corner, and then in the 17th minute it was two nil, Jack Evans sending in a free kick for Frankie Merrifield to nod home at the back post, it had been the perfect start for The Blues, and the majority of the 2,717 in attendance were in good spirits.

Chatham did have a lot of the ball in the opening forty five minutes but could not find an end product, and Billericay always looked dangerous when they made their way forward, and in the 42nd minute it looked as if the tie could well be done when the hosts made it 3-0, another ball in by Evans this time found Keon Lewis-Burgess who applied the finishing touch, Chatham were furious that a free kick had not been awarded in the build up, but they now had it all to do to get back into the contest.

The large Chatham following behind one of the goals to their credit had kept singing away and encouraging their side on despite how the opening half was going, and a minute before the forty five was up they were given a life line, and yes I missed it looking at my phone, oops, but I was told it was a lovely finish from Sam Sene-Richardson and this certainly gave Chatham some hope of a revival as the teams headed into the dressing rooms.

It was weird, even though Billericay had a 3-1 lead heading into the second half, you felt some nervousness amongst the home crowd, and even the players seemed a touch nervous too, that Chatham goal right on half time had certainly given them something to think about, and the visitors sensed this knowing another goal back would really make it interesting, and Chatham certainly were doing all they could to make that happen.

The Blues though were not without their chances to seal the game and make it more comfortable, on one occasion only a spectacular clearance off the line prevented the hosts from finding a fourth, Chatham then wanted a penalty but this fell on deaf ears, much to the visitors dismay, they also struck the post too, but, in the 71st minute they found a second goal to really put this tie back in the balance, Kian Moynes thumping home from inside the box, and those Chatham fans behind that goal were now really making some noise, and the nerves amongst the home ones were cranking up somewhat.

It was tense, could the visitors complete what looked an unlikely comeback when they went 3-0 down, the home side had to survive a few nervy moments before the game was out, and seven minutes of stoppage time didn't help the heartrate amongst anyone to do with the home side, but, they did manage to hold on and see the game out, and take their place in the final on Bank Holiday Weekend.

It had been a very entertaining play off match, played in front of a big crowd under the lights in what was a decent atmosphere, but a game played in the right way with no nastiness on or off the pitch, just how it should be, so well done to all, an enjoyable night and for the hosts their promotion dreams live on for another few days. 

Full time Billericay Town 3 Chatham Town 2

So what of the other semi final tie this evening, an all Essex affair at Parkside, let's see what happened.....

Aveley 1 Brentwood Town 4

Hosts Aveley had finished runners up in the division and six points ahead of fifth placed Brentwood Town, but this meant nothing in this contest as the visitors netted three goals in added on time to take victory at Parkside.  All the goal action came after the 75th minute, it had remained goal less until then, and when Bradley Sach handed the visitors a 76th minute lead, they may have thought that would be the only goal of the contest.

But no, in the 86th minute Jesse Nwabueze levelled for the hosts and you thought ok, maybe penalties would be needed to decide this one, but, after the referee indicated their would be a minimum of FOURTEEN minutes added on, Brentwood took full advantage of this additional time, seeing Ade Cole net a 97th minute penalty before Louie Johnson than scored in the 101st minute and they made it four in the 106th minute when Jesse Okulolu netted, sending the visitors through.

Quite a dramatic end to this one then, and a sad way for it to end for the hosts who have had an incredible season, but it ends here, but for Brentwood it continues.

It all means that on Bank Holiday Monday the final will take place at New Lodge, Billericay Town Vs Brentwood Town, that will be some occasion that's for sure in front of no doubt a sold out crowd too, it is a local derby in every sense of the word, and the prize at the end of it for the winners is National League South football for next season, no biggie then.....

Fisher 1 Punjab United 3 - Jack Hopkins, Zak Byron & Will Johnson-Cole all on target for Punjab United as they stun Fisher to set up Southern Counties East Premier Play Off Final against Rusthall after they saw off Larkfield & New Hythe on penalties

Southern Counties East Premier Play Off Semi Final, Tuesday 28th April

It's play off time as the football seasons come to a close, and my second one in a few days saw me over at St Pauls, home of Fisher, who were taking on a familiar foe in the shape of Punjab United from Gravesend to see who could reach the final at the weekend and be ninety minutes away from promotion to Step Four.

The hosts had finished a distant second in the league behind runaway champions Whitstable Town (nineteen points) but it did mean a guaranteed home route through the play offs, and they were taking on a Punjab side who had finished in the final play off spot in fifth, but only five points behind their opponents this evening, and this was to be their fourth meeting with Fisher since February, so to say they were familiar with each other was an understatement.

Their first meeting in February this campaign was a biggie in the FA Vase Fifth Round which saw Punjab win 2-0 in Gravesend, and the two subsequent meetings in the league saw a 5-1 win for Fisher at St Pauls (that was three days after the Vase contest) before Punjab beat them again in Gravesend 2-1 two weeks ago, so it currently sees Punjab with a 2-1 advantage.

Play off football is different though, and those previous games will mean nothing heading into this tie, both sides will know exactly what to look out for though and know each others strengths and weaknesses, so it certainly pointed to an interesting and intriguing contest to come, although Fishers home form has been immaculate, they had won their last eleven at home netting forty nine goals in the process, which included a 5-0 win over Tunbridge Wells in their final game of the regular season.

Since mid march though Punjab's league form has been decent as well, ten games and only one defeat, which was a narrow 1-0 loss at home to champions Whitstable Town, so they were coming into this one with plenty to shout about too, they did end their season with a 1-1 draw at Snodland Town, which proved enough for them to earn that final play off spot, although they would have to play well to win at St Pauls for sure.

Whether or not the pressure of a home semi final for Fisher was too much who knows, but they were not at the races in the first half as Punjab put in a brilliant showing in the opening forty five minutes, taking the lead after just nine minutes when a superb ball in from the right by Chris Edwards found Jack Hopkins in the box and he sent a looping header into the bottom corner, slow motion like almost, and the visitors had an early advantage.

Fisher tried to respond and saw visiting keeper Mitch Beeney make a good stop before the hosts eventually lashed the loose ball well off target, I think it was from Alex Kozak, but apart from this the hosts didn't really threaten their opponents as much as many thought they would, and in fact it was Punjab who looked the likelier to find another, and in first half stoppage time, they did.

It looked to me as if a wayward effort went well wide, but the next thing I knew was the ball was then fired home, I was standing at the other end of the pitch at this point so not entirely sure what happened, but Zak Byron was the man to find the net and send Punjab into the half time break with a very handy two goal cushion, and Fisher had it all to do.

The hosts knew they had to find the next goal, and early in the second period if they were to threaten any sort of comeback, and sure enough eight minutes after the break they had that goal to really stir up the majority of the 449 inside the ground, it came when a ball sent Festos Kamara in on goal as he outpaced the back line, he still had much to do but sent a wonderful looping finish beyond Beeney and into the net, and now Fisher believed they could go on and maybe rescue this tie.

Punjab for the first time in the contest were having to cling on and dig in to try and thwart the Fisher onslaught, but fair play to them they did just that and rode out the storm, they had defended really well throughout and limited their free scoring opponents at this ground very well indeed, and with just over fifteen minutes to go, they netted a third to really put a dagger in in the hopes of the hosts chances.

Substitute Will Johnson-Cole swivled and fired an effort at goal which didn't seem powerful enough to beat keeper Isaac Ogunseri, but again I was unsighted as to what happened but the ball ended up in the net, so assuming the keeper probably should have done better going on some of the comments around me in the stand, and it meant Punjab had a two goal cushion once again.

Did Fisher have anything left, not really, and it never looked likely they would find a way back after that, and Punjab comfortably saw it out to take their place in the final and give themselves a shot at promotion to step four, as for Fisher, there decent season ends in disappointing fashion this evening, not what many of them hoped coming into these post season play offs.

Full time Fisher 1 Punjab United 3

 

So, who will the winners take on in the final, well the other semi final took place on the same evening, let's see how that one panned out.....

Rusthall 0 Larkfield & New Hythe 0 (Rusthall won 5-4 on penalties)

These two sides had finished third and fourth in the division and were separated by just two points over thirty six games, so it was no surprise that this game was as tight and tense and it appeared, neither side could find the net in ninety minutes meaning a shoot out was required, and Rusthall kept their nerve to win the shoot out and set up a home play off final against Punjab United at the weekend.

So, will Rusthall make home advantage count at the weekend and win promotion, or can Punjab win on the road once again and earn promotion to Step Four for next season, we shall find out in a few days..... 

  

Clapton Community 4 Lymore Gardens 1 - A brace from Nathan Cook helped Clapton Community see off Lymore Gardens to set up Thurlow Nunn South play off final against Rayleigh Town after they saw off Coggeshall Town

Thurlow Nunn First Division South Play Off Semi Final, Saturday 25th April

The final weekend in April saw me make a trip to somewhere that I used to visit regularly some years ago during my coverings of local non league football and the Essex Senior League, The Old Spotted Dog, and it was to see what promised to be a mouth watering clash between Clapton Community & Lymore Gardens.

Both sides were competing for a place in the Thurlow Nunn South play off final against either Coggeshall Town or Rayleigh Town, who also were doing battle over at West Street in the other semi final today, for a place in Step Five, and for many the home side were big favourites to get the job done today and set up that home semi final after finishing runners up in the division.

Clapton were close to winning the league, they finished three points behind champions Hutton having amassed ninety points in their forty games, and they had finished a whopping nineteen points ahead of today's opponents who had just squeezed into the top five themselves, the hosts were also on a run of nineteen unbeaten in the league, and were on a six game winning run too (they had won sixteen of those games on that run, including a ten match winning streak).

Despite all this though, they could not win the title, and they were up against a Lymore side who as said had just squeezed into the play offs by a point, edging out Newbury Forest & Brimsdown, this was helped by a decent run of form at the end of the season when it appeared their play off hopes were fading, one defeat in seven meant they could edge themselves into that post season lottery.

Also, if you looked at both league games these two competed in during the season, then you would fancy the hosts, Clapton won 3-0 at home and then only a month ago netted a 3-1 win at Oakside, but the play offs are a different kettle of fish, and Lymore on their day can be a match for most, which was evident in their first ever FA Vase run this season when they reached the last 16 after seeing off sides from a higher level.

The home side would again be backed by a huge home crowd once again, and after 1,712 had watched them last weekend in their final regular season game, 1,377 came through the gates for this game, an incredible effort for this level, and they were certainly creating a carnival atmosphere, and hoping their team would deliver, well James Briggs saw a powerful free kick superbly saved, but in the 19th minute the hosts were to be celebrating their opening goal.

It came after a lovely pass found Louis Brown with just the keeper to beat, again it was superbly saved but Nathan Cook was on hand to fire the rebound home and hand the hosts the advantage, and the atmosphere was cranked up a notch, Lymore always posed a threat on the counter though and did create a decent opening but saw Chris Mathers save well, despite this though Clapton were looking the better side and they duly doubled that lead six minutes before half time.

Andre Odeku burst through on goal, but with defenders chasing him down and unable to get the ball properly under control, his effort was blocked, but fell into the path of Brown who was duly wiped out by the keeper and stonewall penalty was duly awarded, Briggs then stepped up to fire home the spot kick and the hosts now had some breathing space heading towards the break.

Well, that breathing got even bigger as the game entered first half stoppage time, Brown lifting a cross towards the far post where Adam Sidky was on hand to volley past the keeper and hand Clapton a 3-0 lead heading into the break, job done almost you could say, well, after an hour it certainly game over, and the hosts added a fourth, and it was handed to them on a plate by the visitors.

Risky play at the back saw Cook bearing down on goal after a mishap, and he duly fired into the bottom corner past a stranded keeper for his second of the contest and now the home fans could really celebrate and continue what was a very enjoyable carnival atmosphere in the sunshine with a few beers, no doubt the hosts players and management still had their heads on, but they did appear to take their foot off the gas a tad for the final half hour or so.

This allowed Gardens to have a lot more of the ball, and with twelve minutes to go pulled one back when they got in on goal to fire past Mathers, but you still felt that the hosts were more than comfortable and had done the damage earlier in the contest and could enjoy the final moments of this play off tie, and maybe enjoy the superb atmosphere created in the scaffold.

No more goals were added thereafter and it meant Clapton Community would defeat Lymore Gardens for a third time this season with an aggregate of 10-2 no less, and they had in to next weekends final on the back of seven straight wins and twenty matches unbeaten, can they net one more win and grab that promotion to Step Five?

Lastly this sees Gardens excellent first season at this level and in Senior Football come to an end, but it's been a very good season, Vase Last 16 and a play off place earned, not bad at all, so well done to them on the season they have had.

Full time Clapton Community 4 Lymore Gardens 1

So, who will Clapton face at home next weekend, well the other semi final took place at West Street, Coggeshall, let's see how that one went and who would travel to East London next weekend.....

Coggeshall Town 2 Rayleigh Town 3

Rayleigh Town, who finished fourth and twelve points behind today's opponents in third, came from behind to net a fantastic win and send them into a second successive play off final in this division.  They did lead early on when Dylan Jones played in John Sasere to give the visitors a 15th minute advantage, but, the hosts levelled ten minutes before half time when Hayes nodded home an Ambrose header back across goal before the hosts led two minutes before half time when a Hollocks corner was headed in by Borein to turn the tie on it's head.  

But Rayleigh came back to level the match at 2-2 before the first half was done, levelling two minutes later when Mofi Tunde-Ojolowo smashed home from inside the six yard box to send the sides into the break all square, and it was the visitors who would strike the killer blow to win this contest, it came with fifteen minutes to go when Benny Fiadzomor out muscled a defender before driving into the box and firing home and send Rayleigh Town into next weekend's final at the Old Spotted Dog.

Commiserations then to Coggeshall Town who see their season end disappointingly, many fancied them to go on and achieve promotion through the play offs, but it's not to be and it will be Clapton Community Vs Rayleigh Town in front of no doubt another huge partisan crowd in East London, can Rayleigh surprise again and grab victory to silence the home fans, or will it be Clapton who after ten years of being this community club, achieve promotion to Step Five. We shall soon find out.....

Buckhurst Hill 2 Harwich & Parkeston 0 - Goals from Archie Hammond & Marko Protic see Buckhurst Hill to victory over Harwich & Parkeston & confirm their place in the Essex Senior League promotion play offs

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 22nd April

My first game back in the UK for a month saw me head over to Roding Lane to see if Buckhurst Hill could officially confirm their place in the play offs next week by defeating a Harwich & Parkeston side who themselves were just playing for pride and grab as many points they could muster in their final two outings of the season to try and maybe pinch 12th spot off Hackney Wick.

The Stags knew just a point would officially see them claim the final spot in the play off zone although after their weekend win at Benfleet it was pretty much guaranteed (unless Ilford could overturn a goal difference of fourteen and hope Hill lost their last two, unlikely) but they knew if they could pick up maximum points in their final two games, a home semi final in the post season was more than achievable.

Harwich though are no mugs and have had a very solid campaign this season back at this level, they sat 13th having picked up forty points in their campaign so far, 12th was still achievable if they could net wins in their last two, but it would be a tall order against a Hill side who had only lost twice in the league since late October, and those came in narrow defeats at leaders Oakley & second placed SOUL Tower Hamlets.

Hill then would have been confident, but the last time I saw Harwich was away at SOUL, and they could easily have been two or three goals up in the one before Hamlets took the lead, and only a second half five minute onslaught from the hosts ended that one, but, had Harwich been more clinical, they could easily have upset the apple cart there, and in the first half of this game they had chances to make life difficult for their opponents, but again that sharpness up front deserted them.

The hosts had chances too, and they managed to convert one of them just past the midway point of the half, Archie Hammond saw a couple of efforts blocked from close range before he prodded a third effort into the net, it's certainly not something Hill have struggled with this season, finding the net, and they managed to go into the half time break with a slender lead in what had been a very tight first half.

The second half saw The Stags dominate the ball a lot more and as the half wore on become more and more dangerous, Harwich had their moments but not like the first period for sure, they had seen Hill double their advantage on the hour mark too with a lovely flowing move following a visiting attack, Yannis Mengou went down the right and played a lovely reverse pass to Nathan Sollosi who then played a ball across to Marko Protic who calmly slotted the ball home, and in looked as if Hill had found a third when a close range header appeared to cross the line, but the officials said otherwise, much to the bemusement of some. 

Hill continued to play their lovely brand of football but Harwich hung tough and kept going too, much to their credit with nothing much to play for, but in the end The Stags ran out winners to officially confirm their spot in the play offs, well done to them, can they achieve the impossible dream of promotion to step four, well, no reason why not.

Full time Buckhurst Hill 2 Harwich & Parkeston 0

Let's then have a look at the Essex Senior League table heading the final day of the regular season:-

A little Oakley win at home to Basildon United on the final day will see them win the title and promotion to Step Four, any slip up though and SOUL could pinch the title from them with victory over Halstead Town at Rosemary Lane.  All four sides in the play off race can still achieve second and third and a home play off semi final next week, well apart from SOUL who cannot play at Mile End so will be away regardless of where they finish in play offs if they do not win the title.

Down at the bottom their are five teams who can still go down, can Frenford complete the great escape and give Forbsy and Co the greatest send off after 19 years with the club, they host West Essex who themselves officially confirmed their Step Five status recently, second bottom Athletic Newham have a monumental game at fellow relegation threatened White Ensign, Vase winners of 2024 Romford host Harwich & Parkeston needing to win to make sure they cannot be caught, and Sporting Bengal hosts Woodford, it sure proves to be a rather tense afternoon for those sides involved in preventing relegation to Step Six.

Brodd 2 Flekkerøy 1 - Second half goals from Lukas Emanuelsen & substitute Isak Hebnes see Brodd to first win of season & inflict Flekkerøy's first defeat of new campaign after they led through Andreas Endresen's first half strike

Norsk Tipping-ligean avdeling 4, Saturday 18th April

My final match of this current trip in Norway saw me back at a Fourth tier contest and again in the Norsk Tipping-ligean avdeling 4 as I made a return trip to Brodd FK and the NSE-banen Midjord kunstgras after visiting them last season in July when it was a very wam day indeed.

It wasn't quite as warm and sunny on this occasion, far from it, although the sun did peek out of heavy cloud at times, Brodd had finished last season in sixth place at this level, but this time around their start had not been so good, two games and two losses so far left them with zero points, something they were wanting to put right in this contest.

They would be up against Flekkerøy, a side who had won one and drawn one in their two matches so far, they had come down from the second division last season after finishing bottom of their section in the Post Nord ligean having won only three games in that campaign, so this year was about bouncing back so if they could remain unbeaten after this contest they would certainly have a good platform to build from.

The first half was a very scrappy affair, not many chances and to be honest neither side, especially the hosts, were not warming to referee Georg Bårdsen who was certainly stamping his authority shall we say, infuriating some of the 270 crowd in attendance too, it kind of added to the scrappy nature, both teams came close though, Rafa Mertens had a great chance for the visitors but saw his effort well saved by hosts keeper Erlend Jacobsen, whilst down the other end Brodd were screaming for handball inside the box but this fell on deaf ears from Bårdsen.

Shortly after he then gave a foul against the hosts and this resulted in some pushing and shoving between Brodd's Liban Ali Abdi & Flekkerøy midfielder Dirirsa Gamachis, both who were booked as a result, and towards the end of the half both managers also received bookings after they either said something to each other or the referee & or assistant on that side, as said neither side were happy with the decisions they were either not getting or anything else for that matter.

Their was to be a goal though before the half was out, it came ten minutes before the break, and it was a belter too, Andreas Endresen thumping an unstoppable effort beyond Jacobsen to see the visitors go into the break a goal to the good and on their way to a second win in three, and the hosts were heading for a third straight loss and needed to turn this one around if they were to get any points on the board.

They certainly came out with a bit more purpose in the second period as they certainly did not want to fall to a third defeat in three to start this campaign, and with an hour gone found a leveller, a wonderful ball in from Vergard Aasen was perfect for Lukas Emanuelsen whose volley crept over the line after keeper Markus Kristiansen did his best to keep the effort out, and then with 76 minutes on the clock Brodd had turned it around, with two second half substitutes combining very affectively indeed.

Harun Barise was the assist, playing a lovely ball through to Isak Habnes who slotted a lovely finish past Kristiansen and now the hosts had something to hold onto, what did the visitors, who were heading for a first defeat of the season, have in response.

They found a very resolute hosts defence standing up to them, and could not find a way through, several stoppages and some time wasting meant there was nine minutes added on, a point referee Bårdsen was keen to point out to everyone in the stadium, oh and he booked another coach on the hosts bench too after he disagreed with something, standard fare in this contest.

The hosts did manage to hold on though, and could even have sealed it late on but fluffed their lines, but it's an important win to get their campaign off and running points wise, although after the final whistle hosts substitute Storm Skandsen was given a straight red by referee Bårdsen for what I can only assume was dissent, not sure why you would do this when you've just won the game but nevermind, it was a small blot on the hosts copybook in an otherwise successful day.

Full time Brodd 2 Flekkerøy 1

There were some other games today in the division today, let's see how those went:-

Mandalskameratene 1 Haugesund 2s 1 (The points were shared in this one, Gustav Holmen handed the visitors a first minute lead but Simon Valand levelled for the hosts late on in the first half, and the home side would end the game with ten men after Tobias Hansen was given a straight red with four minutes remaining)

Staal Jørpeland 0 Madla 3 (Madla took all the points against Staal Jørpeland, taking the lead through Lucas Sørås in the 25th minute before doubling that lead ten minutes after the break through Sebastian Sandtorv. And they sealed the points with a third when Sandtorv netted again in the 63rd minute)

Våg 3 Hinna 0 (The final 100% record went in this one as Hinna suffered a 3-0 loss, their chances were not helped when the visitors saw Vegard Føyen was sent off just past the half hour mark before seeing the hosts go in front two minutes before the break courtesy of Ole Kristian Fuglestad. The hosts then added two late goals through Salai Mahlaw & Aleksander Kovac to add gloss to the scoreline and record an impressive win)

Varhaug 0 Vindbjart 1 (Sakarias Ringsbu netted on the hour mark as Vindbjart netted a narrow win over Varhaug)

Let's now see the latest table following today's results:-

Madla are the leagues only unbeaten side left now after three games meaning they sit top of a very early table, Våg, Vindbjart & Hinna all have six points after three games each, whereas only Stabæk 2s have zero points now after others picked up their first points of the season, they do play Åkra on Sunday so have the chance to pick up some points for the first time this season.

Anyway that completes my last blog from Norway for now at least, I will try and get back before the season is done in the autumn.