Great Wakering Rovers 0 White Ensign 2 / SOUL Tower Hamlets 1 Hutton 0 - White Ensign earn derby day win over Great Wakering Rovers, SOUL Tower Hamlets net late on to take all the spoils against Hutton

(Action from the Burroughs Park derby between Great Wakering Rovers & White Ensign on Tuesday night)

Essex Senior League, Tuesday 3rd/Wednesday 4th November

November already hey, and the season is starting to take shape, and my latest blog is a midweek double header in the Essex Senior League which saw me take in the Burroughs Park derby & a game at Cricklefield Stadium, they were part of three league games happening this midweek as well as a County Cup tie involving one of the ESL sides, let's see how the games I attended went.

Tuesday 3rd November

Great Wakering Rovers Vs White Ensign (Burroughs Park)

Now normally GWR would be the team most people would look too to be the dominant side in this fixture, the landlords have often been fighting towards the top of this division and even been up at Step Four on more than one occasion, whereas tenants Ensign have often punched above their weight since reaching Senior Football a few years ago, and were always classed as the underdogs in fixtures between these two.

Well, that isn't the case this season as Ensign are actually above their landlords in the standings, the 'visitors' on this occasion sit one point and three places above their opponents in 13th spot, and only one win from the top ten, and with their superb 5-0 home win over Wormley Rovers in the FA Vase at the weekend, they were coming into this one with plenty of confidence.

This did come after back to back losses in the league without scoring, although they had won back to back home games prior to that, so up and down form wise, however they were taking on a GWR outfit who are by no means having the season everyone expected, down in sixteenth spot with only twelve points from their ten league games thus far, with only three wins.

Many will point to the fact they lost some quality players before the season began, but they still have quality in their squad, so it is still a surprise to me that they are down where they are, & until recently they had won no league games before victories over three of the four sides immediately below them, which was very important indeed, with the last outing a 3-0 home win over a Woodford Town side who have slipped alarmingly down the standings in recent weeks and like GWR were many peoples tips to do well this season.

This derby then was even more intriguing this time around, with both sides hoping to grab a win over the other, these games are normally very well contested shall we say, it was a decent start to the contest too, both sides went close early on but Ensign thereafter began to carve out the better openings as they were the better side after an initial burst at the beginning from the hosts.

It appeared that the first half would end goalless too despite plenty of goal mouth action, especially at the end Ensign were attacking, but they did finally manage to make one of their chances count, and it came four minutes before the break when a ball over to the far side saw a lovely guided volley from George Godfrey go back across goal and into the opposite corner, and Ensign had a deserved lead.

You felt GWR, who did have some moments in the opening forty five minutes, could not be as bad as they had been in the opening forty five minutes in the second period, and they would show some fight and desire to get themselves back into this contest, well it was the complete opposite, and only some wasteful finishing prevented them from going further behind, Ensign finding the woodwork twice in quick succession as well as some goal bound blocks from GWR thwarting Ensign from going further ahead.

GWR made some changes to try and inject something into their performance, Ensign were still only one goal ahead despite their dominance and almost paid for their misses when GWR came close when firing over, and they then saw Ensign keeper Jordan Williams make a top top save to deny a wonderful long range effort, but thereafter Ensign recovered their composure and were the ones looking to end the game with a second.

Things were made harder for GWR when they were then reduced to ten men, centre half Kye Jude being dismissed for a second yellow in the 76th minute, and this only added to their woes, and in the 85th minute Ensign finally sealed a deserved win when George Briton-Watkins burst through to slot beyond George Marsh & give them some breathing space heading into the final part of the contest.

GWR did see a late goal bound effort blocked, and they dragged a free kick wide of the post with the final kick off the contest, a contest they had been second best in and were just outworked, outrun, and outfought by their opponents in every department, concerns for GWR then heading forward, but for Ensign this was a very comprehensive win, a win that takes them to the cusp of the top ten, not bad at all, they were very good in this one.

Full time Great Wakering Rovers 0 White Ensign 2

Wednesday 4th November

SOUL Tower Hamlets Vs Hutton (Cricklefield Stadium)

Last season's runners up SOUL have had a mixed campaign so far you could say, not helped by the fact their home ground, the Mile End Stadium, has had some issues with the playing surface hence some disruption to their season so far, and it was also the reason this game was being played at Cricklefield, as Mile End is now out of action for the time being.

Not ideal then, SOUL are down in 14th right now although they have only played nine games and have games in hand, mind you, having had four wins and four losses in those nine matches, it's been a mixed campaign as said, and they were welcoming a Hutton side to their home for the evening who have suddenly clicked into action after a slow start to the season.

Whereas SOUL netted a narrow win at strugglers Hackney Wick, their first win in six matches in all competitions, Hutton have been in scintillating form of late, having won five of their last seven in all competitions, that included a win at home to Vanarama National League South Braintree Town in the County Cup, and last time out smashed six past Romford to make it nineteen goals in those seven games, the only loss being a narrow defeat to unbeaten Heybridge Swifts.

It means that Hutton are now into the top ten and three points ahead of tonight's opponents & not fearing anyone right now, although SOUL did have three games in hand on their opponents, but this promised to be quite a contest I felt, the two games I'd seen Hutton play this season had seen fifteen goals in them, so I was quite confident their would be some in this contest too. 

Well, as it turned out, goals would be scarce in this contest, the opening forty five minutes certainly was a lively contest, with the hosts posing more of an attacking threat, mainly through Solomon Ofori down the left hand side, and even when they were reduced to ten men just before the half hour mark when Jack Ashford was sin binned, they still continued to pose a threat, and did actually find the net through Kieran James, but he was flagged offside after the ball had gone in, chalking that one off.

Hutton did have some attacks for sure, but they were nowhere neat as frequent as the hosts, and even in a second half where the hosts were not as productive as they had been in the first period, and one where Hutton did have a couple of very decent openings, SOUL were still the ones looking the most likely to nick one if anyone was too, which was becoming more and more unlikely.

Ofori, who had been a huge threat in the first half but had dropped off quite a bit in the second half, ended up having the last laugh, as he was played in in the 90th minute, and after rounding keeper Tommy Burley, he kept his composure to fire home despite a defender trying to keep it out with his hands, but found the shot to hot to handle, and it handed SOUL a deserved win overall and one that took them level on points with Hutton in the table and on the cusp of the top ten with games in hand.

Full time SOUL Tower Hamlets 1 Hutton 0

Let's see how the table looks now after the latest midweek games:-

Heybridge Swifts went top on goal difference after they saw off Romford 3-1 in the one other game this midweek, they are still the only unbeaten side left in the division this season, Romford stay in ninth and have lost back to back games since the departure of manager Darren Manning, and will no doubt want to appoint someone permanently soon and get themselves back on track.

White Ensign move to the cusp of the top ten after their superb derby win over GWR who remain down in 16th spot, and SOUL's win over Hutton also sees them on the cusp of the top ten, they are locked together on sixteen points with four other sides now in a very tightly packed mid table which sees only four points separating sixth placed Halstead Town & fourteenth placed Basildon United!!!

Anyway that's the latest dealings in the ESL for now, thanks for reading!!!

Lymore Gardens 1 Biggleswade United 2 - Spartan South Midlands Premier Biggleswade United into the next round of the Isuzu FA Vase after late Liam Smyth goal proves enough to see off Thurlow Nunn South Lymore Gardens

Isuzu FA Vase Second Round Proper, Friday 30th October

My weekend football came on Friday night this weekend as I took in my first FA Vase contest of the season (I have been away for every other round so far!!!) and it came from Parkside in Aveley as Thurlow Nunn South Lymore Gardens took on Spartan South Midlands Premier Biggleswade United, the visitors therefore one step above their opponents in the pyramid.

Both sides are having similar seasons so far in their respective divisions, Lymore sit eighth in their division with seven wins from their thirteen league games so far, whereas Biggleswade sit in seventh spot with six wins from their twelve games thus far, and both sit just outside the play off zones too.

However, it was Vase action this evening, and Lymore were heading into their second campaign in the competition having reached the Last 16 in their debut Vase campaign last season, hence they came into the competition at this stage, whereas for Biggleswade, this was their fourth Vase tie of the season, after starting in the Qualifying Rounds.

All their games had been away from home, but in those three games they had netted an astonishing SEVENTEEN goals in the process, a 6-0 win at Arlesey Town was followed by a 4-1 win at Great Wakering Rovers, and then in the last round they netted a 7-2 win at FC Peterborough, so to say they were coming into this Vase tie with confidence was an understatement, and up against an attack minded hosts, this proved to be some contest under the lights.

Yes Biggleswade may have started as favourites being the Step Five side against a Step Six outfit, but Lymore showed last season that means nothing, and the hosts thought they had headed themselves in front in the 13th minute, only to see the flag go up for offside, and barely a minute later, the visitors were ahead themselves, Scott Metcalf slotted home the rebound after hosts keeper Michael Doyle had saved, handing the early advantage to the visitors.

The hosts though should have levelled when a wonderful long range effort thumped off the inside of the post, and then moments after that Biggleswade could and should of doubled their lead, it was a breathless contest, as expected, Lymore then saw another goal chalked off for offside after they tapped home following a save from visiting keeper Karl Daley, leaving the hosts more than frustrated.

It meant the visitors would lead at the break, but Lymore thought they had levelled almost immediately after the restart, but this time the goal was chalked off for a handball, so that was three goals disallowed now, it certainly was not their night, their cause was then helped a bit when Liam Smyth was sin binned for the visitors when after a penalty shout was turned down, he complained to much at the referee who sent him off for ten minutes.

And Lymore managed to take advantage of this by finally netting a legal goal, a deflected effort from outside the box by Wisley Baltazar, and the hosts were now level and totally in the ascendency, but, they just could not put that ball in the net, and as the half went on you felt it may come back to bite them hard, and sure enough it did.

The visitors to their credit battled hard and managed to stay in the game, and as the clock struck ninety minutes, they netted the winner, Smyth, who had been sin binned earlier in the half, was the man to strike, firing beyond Doyle to send his side into the hat for the next round, yes it was the definition of a 'Smash and Grab', but it mattered not as they did enough as it turned out to take the win.

So, Lymore's run ends before it even begins, they certainly did not deserve to lose this game for sure, but if you don't take your opportunities, this can happen, and Biggleswade took their chance when it came, and took maximum advantage of their luck and their opponents poor finishing, a great contest and a very enjoyable watch, not a bad way to spend a Friday night for sure!!!

Full time Lymore Gardens 1 Biggleswade United 2

Concord Rangers 2 Newmarket Town 5 / Grays Athletic 3 Walthamstow 1 - Newmarket Town new leaders of Isthmian North after come from behind win at Concord Rangers, Grays Athletic end seven match losing run after seeing off Walthamstow

(Action from Grays Athletic Vs Walthamstow at Chadfields on Wednesday evening)

Isthmian League Division One North, Tuesday 20^th/Wednesday 21^st October

My latest midweek action saw me do an Isthmian North double as the majority of the sides in the division were in league action across Tuesday & Wednesday, that’s nine games in total, seven of which were on the Tuesday, my choice of venues were Thames Road on Canvey Island & then Chadfields in Tilbury.

First up then on Tuesday evening was a trip to the Island of Canvey, let’s see how that one panned out…..

 

Tuesday 20^th October

Concord Rangers Vs Newmarket Town

This was a game between two sides who have had decent starts to their campaigns, Concord have won six of their ten league games so far and sit in eighth, just one place and two points off the final promotion play offs, the visitors had won eight of their twelve games so far and were seven points better off up in third spot and only three points off top spot.

Concord’s form over the last month or so in the league had been mixed though, four wins & three defeats although they did end a run of back to back losses with a thumping 5-0 win at home to struggling Lowestoft Town, Newmarket on the other hand hadn’t lost in the league since losing their two opening games of the season and were on an unbeaten run of ten league games since.

And that last defeat, back on August 18^th, was against tonight’s opponents no less, after Concord won 3-1 in Newmarket against the then hosts who played with ten men from the 12^th minute and found themselves 3-0 down at half time, well, their was to be no red card in this one, but, Concord were to go in front once again, after Kai Torres pounced on a defensive mistake in the 19th minute to slot beyond keeper James Young.

Young was on hand to prevent the hosts from doubling their lead when saving a close range header onto the post superbly, and then just beyond the half hour mark saw his side level, although who scored it remains a mystery to me at least, I think Jake Eady's ball in was kept out by keeper Charlie Brown and hadn't crossed the line, but Ryan Cole followed in to make sure the ball did hit the net, whatever happened, the were level. (It may have been the other way round, but who knows!!!)

They were not level for long though, as barely a minute later Concord had gone back up the other end and saw a sublime pass find Torres whose first time finish found the bottom corner, and hand the home side a half time advantage and if truth be told a deserved half time lead after a decent first half showing, the second half however was to be a totally different ball game.

The visitors were awarded a penalty eleven minutes into the second period and saw Cole (he definitely scored this one) convert the resulting spot kick, and then just before the mid point of the second period, Newmarket were ahead, after a lovely cross found Elliott Reeves who headed home from point blank range, and with the visitors in total command now, added a fourth in the 73rd minute thanks to a lovely strike from outside the box from Theo Goddard which found the bottom corner.

It had been a very impressive comeback for sure after their first half showing, whereas for Concord it has been a bit of a nightmare after such a promising opening forty five minutes, but there was to be one more goal in this game, again it went to the visitors, and it was the best of the lot, a sublime strike from Taylan Kilinc who fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner to cap a brilliant second half for the visiting side who made it eleven games unbeaten in the division.

It also drew the visitors level on points with leaders Gorleston, who were in action the following evening, for Concord it left them still outside the play offs and in eighth spot, but their second half collapse will certainly alarm them, although they were dismantled by a very good team playing with confidence at the moment and don't know what defeat is right now, on a crest of a wave you could say.

Full time Concord Rangers 2 Newmarket Town 5

Onto Wednesday then, and another short trip to Tilbury’s Chadfields ground, let’s see how that one went…..

 

Wednesday 21^st October

Grays Athletic Vs Walthamstow

It’s been a tough opening few games for the hosts Grays Athletic, they are third from bottom in the division having only picked up seven points from a possible thirty six on offer, have lost nine of their twelve games so far and this week saw manager Mitch Hahn & his assistant Ash Miller step down from their roles following this difficult start & personal reasons.

It means for now in the interim, Lewis Clark, Sam Walker, Nick Strizovic and Mitch Baldock will continue to manage first team affairs until a new manager is appointed, and their first task was to try and grab a positive result against a Walthamstow side who were sitting bang in mid table after a mixed campaign so far but only five points off the play off places.

However, since their last league win, against Redbridge back on September 12^th, they had gone on a run of seven straight league defeats, so anything positive would be an improvement no doubt, Stow’s run over the last month or so has seen them win four, including a 9-0 win over Lowestoft Town & victory at second placed Hashtag United.

But it has also included four defeats as well, one of which was last time out against Felixstowe & Walton United, they had met Grays earlier in the season, & it saw Stow net a 2-1 win at Wadham Lodge thanks to an 83^rd minute winner, so a close fought contest, would we get a similar game here?

Well, Grays certainly began the game on the front foot, and it took them less than five minutes to break the deadlock after Samuel Wade burst through on goal to slot past visiting keeper Luke Mewitt and hand them the perfect start, and if truth be told they could easily have added further goals as they dominated the early exchanges as the visitors could barely get a foothold in the contest.

And midway through the first half it was 2-0 to the hosts, and one that Mewitt will want to forget, as a free kick from Gabriel Chapps curled towards the near post saw the keeper make a complete hash of trying to save it and saw the ball squeeze under him and into the bottom corner, Grays were flying and in total control of the contest, and they continued to boss the first period.

But, late on in the half, they allowed the visitors a route back into the match, and with five minutes of the first half to go, Stow pulled one back, home keeper Ayaz Kazi calling for a cross but not dealing with it, and the loose ball was nodded in nicely by Elijah Grant, and all of a sudden, the hosts looked nervy but did manage to get to half time with their lead in tact, and could have actually increased it had Mewitt not pulled off a decent stop.

It was very much game on now though after that late first half goal from the visitors, and the next goal was crucial, Grays knew if they could grab it they would certainly be well on their way to ending that dismal run in the league, and ten minutes into the second half they did manage to, this after missing a couple of decent chances to extend their lead, it was a messy goal but they all count, with Chapps netting his second of the contest.

Stow did have a good chance to level earlier in the half but saw Kazi make a good stop, but apart from this he was fairly untroubled as Grays comfortably dealt with the visiting attack, and this third goal certainly settled the hosts down again and it allowed them to play with freedom once again, like they had done for the majority of the opening forty five minutes.

This game will certainly have given the hosts the confidence going forward, and whoever does take charge on a permanent basis certainly has a good set of players to work with, they certainly showed this evening that they have what it takes to get themselves out of trouble and up that table, they just need to now put in more performances like this one if they want to achieve that.

For Stow it was a fairly poor showing, they had good spells either side of half time but apart from that they were second best all over the pitch and will be disappointed with how they played this evening, a night to forget for sure, and continued their inconsistent performances this season so far.

Full time Grays Athletic 3 Walthamstow 1

Here are the other results from the midweek games…..

Tuesday

Bowers & Pitsea 1 Redbridge 2 (A late own goal handed Redbridge the points at Len Salmon, Jack Chawner's 45th minute penalty gave Redbridge the lead, Finlay Dorrell levelled in the 63rd minute but the visitors saw a 92nd minute own goal win them the contest) 

Brightlingsea Regent 1 Canvey Island 1 (Ten man Regent levelled in stoppage time to rescue a point, George Forrest was dismissed just before the half hour mark and then Canvey grabbed the lead through Jack Cawley mid way through the second period.  But, despite playing with a man light for two thirds of the contest, Regent summoned one last effort and earned a point thanks to Luca Terminiello's late goal)

Cambridge City 2 Buckhurst Hill 0 (Two penalties were enough for Cambridge City to net a home win over Buckhurst Hill, Fletcher Toll's early spot kick had them in front, and then another penalty, five minutes from time, courtesy of Charlie Royle, sealed the hosts win)

Felixstowe & Walton United A-A Wroxham (Sadly tonight's game at The Martello Ground was abandoned after visiting keeper Billy Johnson suffered a serious injury which required an ambulance, so wishing Billy all the best here & the game will be rearranged for a later date, and the hosts also announced this would be free entry for all) 

Hashtag United 0 Tilbury 2 (The Tags lost for only the second time this season as Tilbury humbled them at Oakside, Issa Sidibe handed the visitors a 28th minute lead, and the points were sealed late on through Soumen Nandi)

Mulbarton Wanderers 3 AFC Sudbury 1 (Mulbarton grabbed a very important win at Mulberry Park, Ashley Jarvis gave them a first minute lead, but were then pegged back by Archie Jolland's 54th minute leveller. Jorginho Gomes was then shown a second yellow as the visitors were reduced to ten men, and Wanderers managed to take advantage, Kieran Smith restoring their lead in the 75th minute before Jarvis added his second in the 83rd minute to seal the points)

 

Wednesday

Gorleston 2 Little Oakley 3 (League leaders Gorleston knew that Newmarket had drawn level of points with them after their win at Concord, so knew this now game in hand was one they wanted to win in order to restore that three point cushion, well they went into this game still top on goal difference, but by the end of it they fell to second on goals scored after Oakley stunned them with victory.  It started well enough for the hosts, Joe Marsden handing them a seventh minute lead, but Tobias Braney levelled levelled from the spot in the 33rd minute before Luke Mayhew handed Oakley the lead in the 64th minute to turn this one around, Aaron Bullent restored parity in the 73rd minute, but, Daniel Keeble netted an 83rd minute winner as Oakley continued their brilliant start to life at Step Four. Only Gorleston's second loss of the season, and they ended the game with ten men after Travis Cole was given a second yellow deep into added on time. 

 

Here is the updated Isthmian North table after the latest round of fixtures…..

Newmarket Town then are your new leaders of the division on goals scored over Gorleston, with Hashtag, Redbridge, Cambridge City, Wroxham & Felixstowe all occupying the play off spots.  Little Oakley are now the closest chasers to those top seven places after they continued their amazing start to their campaign, with several other sides below them in touching distance too.

Down at the bottom, Grays climbed to just a point from safety after ending their seven match losing run, with several sides above them only a handful of points further ahead in what is a tight early season table, Lowestoft & Fakenham hold up the rest, although the bottom side do have two games in hand. 

So, a decent couple of nights in the division then, and for me plenty of decent action to witness, and eleven goals over the two contests, which is always nice to see, that completes this blog, thanks again for reading and giving your time to do this, it's always very much appreciated.