Wadham Lodge 1 Ilford 3

Essex Senior League, Sunday 27th December 2015

The day after Boxing Day took me to the Matchday Centre for a big local derby in the ESL as Wadham Lodge hosted Ilford.

Both teams were well in the top ten of the league with Lodge up in fourth in what had been a brilliant first season in Senior League football whilst Ilford sat seventh after a more than solidseason so far, so all these ingredients along with local pride made for a possible belter of a game.

And it was the visitors who almost made the perfect start as a cross from the right saw WaleOdedoyin poke inches wide of the goal. Wadham responded with a chance of their own on ten minutes when after a bit of a scramble in the Foxes area the eventual effort from Ashley Bankole was sliced well wide. These were the only real clear cut chances in the first twenty five minutes or so as the match had really failed to take off thus far.

On 27 minutes a free kick from the hosts into the Foxes area fell to Andre Bennett who could only hook his effort over the bar but then a minute later the visitors pounced as a ball forward
saw Odedoyin beat keeper Danny Mulrooney to the ball and poke home beyond the stranded keeper and give the visiting side the advantage.

The hosts almost made an instant response on the half hour mark when Bennett found himself in front of goal and forced a fine stop from Ilford keeper Chris Clark and then almost found themselves two behind when a ball into Lodge area two minutes later saw Luke Thomas left all alone but his poke at goal was tipped wide by Mulrooney.

Right on half time however the hosts missed a golden chance to level when after Charlie Georgiou had managed to squeeze a ball through to Bennett the Lodge striker saw Clark make a great point blank save to keep his side in the lead at the break.

Half Time Wadham Lodge 0 Ilford 1

The next goal was going to be crucial in this tight derby game and straight from the restart Ilford should have been two up as Odedoyin found himself clean through but could only strike his effort wide of the post. It was a big let off for hosts and they were let off again eleven minutes into the second half when Odedoyin again saw an effort blocked before Chris Stevens follow up was also blocked on route to goal as the hosts survived again.

This looked like it would come back to haunt the Foxes as on 57 minutes they found themselves pegged back when after Georgiou was fouled on the edge of the box, Denzel Williams stepped up to strike the set piece past Clark into the bottom corner. This seemed to galvanize the hosts in what was becoming a very hard fought local derby and this threatened to boil over when Georgiou and visiting full ball back Edas Valionis went hard into a challenge leaving the full back on the deck and seeing Ilford less then happy, causing a flare up between the sides. However in my view it was a fair challenge although their was now a definite edge to this game.

Lodge were now edging the contest sligtly and they almost capitalised on this on 67 minutes when Georgiou almost released Williams in on goal but brave keeping from Clark thwarted the Lodge chance. Then with twenty minutes to go the match swung back in favour of the visitors when a terrible back pass saw Odedoyin stride in to nip around keeper Mulrooney and slot home and punish the hosts mistake to the maximum.

This seemed to effect the hosts and on 82 minutes great skill from Odedoyin saw the Ilford striker hit an effort at goal but Mulrooney managed to save between his legs to deny the forward his hat trick. However in the first minute of stoppage time he was to get his hat trick, when after another defensive lapse, Thomas nipped down the right and cross for Odedoyin to finish across Mulrooney from close range in off the post and settle this match.

Deep into stoppage time more pressure from Lodge saw an effort whipped over but it had not been their day today and the Foxes came away with the points in what had been a hotly contested derby.

Full Time Wadham Lodge 1 Ilford 3

Chelmsford City 0 Dartford 1

Vanarama National South, Saturday 26th December 2015


Boxing day and my now usual trip to Melbourne Park to see hosts Chelmsford City as it’s local to where I spend Christmas.  Today the Clarets hosted Dartford in a National League South encounter on a cloudy but dry mild day in Chelmsford.

The Clarets were on a run of three successive defeats and sat mid table whilst Dartford had been on a decent run which sees them just outside the play off positions in seventh.  However the opening ten minutes were fairly low key and the only chance of note saw hosts winger Luke Daley strike over a venomous effort from an angle.

The next few minutes saw barely any chances as both teams were cancelling each other out in a tight opening although on 17 minutes came a hilarious moment to draw giggles from the crowd when the referee collided with a visiting player which saw them both fall to the floor in comical fashion but it was the only entertaining moment in the first twenty minutes if truth be told.

Soon after this both sides created chances but saw both keepers barely tested and this remained the case for the opening half hour of the game which was being played in a rather subdued atmosphere, maybe down to the fact the hosts had been struggling of late perhaps.

Just past the half hour a deep cross from the visitors saw a looping header go just over at the back post, this after the hosts had put some pressure on the visitors defence although again without really troubling keeper Ibrahim. Then on 34 minutes came the best chance by far, and it came for the visiting team when after a mistake from the defence, Andy Pugh was laid in and after cutting inside onto his right foot forced an excellent save from Brown to keep the score at 0-0.

You felt the game was finally starting to warm up and eight minutes before half time the hosts went up the other end and saw a curling effort well plucked out of the air by keeper Ibrahim. Five minutes before half time another Clarets attack saw Mark Haines goes over in the box and the Dartford players were furious claiming the hosts centre half had dived.  This caused pushing and shoving between both sides and after the referee had calmed it down he duly booked Haines for a dive.


It had certainly livened up a match which had taken over half an hour to really get going but at the half time break there were no goals in what was a fairly tight battle between to solid sides.

Half Time Chelmsford City 0 Dartford 0

It was the hosts who had the first sight of goal in the second half on 49 minutes when Billy Bricknell almost got in behind the defence and only a great defensive block thwarted the City striker. Moments after this a great move from the visitors saw full back Onyemah burst into the City box and forced a decent save from Brown down to his left.

On 54 minutes Darts player Danny Harris forced another decent save from Brown as the hosts had failed to clear their lines and then just before the hour mark the visitors were really cranking up the pressure as a free kick saw a header saved at the near post from Brown, who was now starting to become City’s busiest player. And then on the hour mark came the breakthrough from the hosts and it had been coming, as Pugh controlled the ball before hammering past Brown from the edge of the box and see the visitors edge in front.

The Darts were well on top now and flashed a dangerous ball across City’s six yard box on 64 minutes as they threatened to increase their lead. City though, whilst only a goal behind, were still always in the game and made a double change with fifteen minutes left when they brought on Morgan and Gordon as they looked to try and find a way back into the game.

Moments later though the visitors could have doubled the lead when Pugh found himself with a decent sight of goal direct from an Ibrahim goal kick but the striker dragged his effort well wide of the hosts goal.   Then with eight minutes left the hosts had a decent sight of goal themselves when a long ball saw Bricknell latch onto it but saw his effort comfortably saved by Ibrahim.


A decent Boxing day crowd of 810, most who were willing on the hosts to find a leveller, knew their side only had two minutes plus stoppage time to find that elusive equaliser. On 89 minutes the hosts almost saw a looping header find its way into the far corner.  The hosts had been huffing and puffing but had not quite found that final touch in the last third.

In the first of three added on minutes the visitors almost sealed the win after almost capitalising on a defensive slip but saw the eventual cut back blasted way over from twelve yards out. However the Darts held on relatively comfortably to pick up the three points and see them remain in 7^th and just two points off the play off positions.

For the hosts it was another defeat and it saw them drop to 14^th and only four points above the drop zone.  The Clarets will need to try and bounce back when they take on Dartford in the return league fixture on January 2^nd.

Full Time Chelmsford City 0 Dartford 1

FC Romania 5 Sporting Bengal United 1

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 23rd December 2015


I was at the final ESL game before Christmas on Wednesday evening as I made the trip to Cheshunt’s Theobalds Lane for a league match between league leaders FC Romania and mid table side Sporting Bengal United.

The hosts have been on a fantastic run of late which has seen them take over at the top of the Premier Division whilst visitors Sporting have been solid and hard to beat under Anwar Uddin’s guidance this term and sees them sitting in tenth before this game.

The opening exchanges saw an early chance for the hosts which saw Sergiu Pitaru fire one over the top of the Bengal goal in a warning to the visitors that this was going to be a tough evening for them no doubt but apart from this their wasn’t much else to report in the opening ten minutes of the contest.

On 13 minutes a hosts corner came out to the edge of the box but the resultant effort deflected wide off a hosts player in the six yard box and behind for a goal kick but Sporting were more than holding there own in this one and backing up that ‘solid and hard to beat’ tag labelled to them this season so far.

The visitors then had a sight of goal themselves when a mis-kicked clearance from the hosts defence saw the visitors in behind but the resulting volley was wide in what was a disappointing effort at goal.  And then only a minute after this FCR went up the other end and got their noses in front when the ball eventually fell to the feet of Florin Pop about six yard out and he turned and smashed home to give the league leaders the advantage.

This seemed to settle the hosts down as they started to play their brilliant pass and move football and began to take control of the contest and duly doubled their lead just past the half hour mark when after pinching the ball from the visitors attacked with venom and saw Ilie Vasile laid in and the winger fired home inside the keepers near post.

The visitors were getting ragged now and were giving any possession away that they were having, which wasn’t a great deal, as the hosts were controlling that part of the contest too by now.  It was no surprise when FCR grabbed a third a minute before the break when a fabulous long range strike from Sorin Bugiu thumped off the bar but saw the alert Pitaru get the ball and finish from close range, slotting into the corner of the net.

Due to a couple of lengthy injuries to FCR players early on their was a few minutes of stoppage time added on and during this the visitors almost grabbed a reply when a from a rare attack a deep cross saw Tunde Adewunmi's header cleared off the line by a defender as the keeper was caught in no mans land but the hosts survived that and made sure they went into the break three goals to the good in what had been a fairly comfortable forty five minutes for them if truth be told.

Half Time FC Romania 3 Sporting Bengal United 0

To their credit Sporting came out and tried to take the game to their opponents when many would have been forgiven for sitting back and doing a damage limitation job.  However the hosts seemed to be able to find a way through when they felt like doing so and ten minutes into the half made it four when a lovely passing move saw a cross from the right find Pitaru who totally mis-hit his effort but in doing so wrong footed the keeper and the ball duly rolled back across goal into the far corner. 

And just past the hour mark it was five as the hosts were threatening to run riot once again as they broke the offside trap and saw the ball squared to Vasile who took a touch before hitting home through a couple of bodies on the line.  However the expected onslaught never really came thereafter as the hosts seemed to take their foot of the gas somewhat, allowing Sporting to get more of a foot on the ball and have a decent spell of play in the hosts half.

On 68 minutes Sporting saw Adewunmi get in on goal after getting the right side of the defender but he dragged his effort wide but with fifteen minutes to go the visitors won a penalty when Adewunmi’s was kicked on the foot and saw the referee point to the spot.  Adewunmi duly converted the penalty and saw the visitors finally have a goal there second half showing had probably deserved.

The final few minutes saw the match turn into a rather tetchy affair as some naughty niggly challenges were going in.  It had been out of context as the rest of the game had been played in fairly good spirit.  It had got to that stage where both teams wanted the final whistle which duly came after several more minutes of stoppage time and saw the hosts build a four point lead at the top going into their boxing day clash at Mayesbrook Park against Barking.

For Sporting Bengal it was a sixth defeat in 22 league games to remain in tenth spot in what was a rare heavy defeat in a season which has seen them come on leaps and bounds from last term.  They had some decent spells in this game but came up against an FC Romania side who on their day could beat teams far higher than Step Five as some of their football is that good at times so no shame in that.

Full Time FC Romania 5 Sporting Bengal United 1

 

Ipswich Town 0 Derby County 1

SkyBet Football Championship, Saturday 19th December

So part two of this weekend's Football League double header came from Portman Road as Ipswich Town hosted Derby County in a top six clash in the SkyBet Football Championship.

With Brighton losing at home to Middlesbrough earlier in the day Derby knew a win would take them into second spot whilst the hosts knew a win would take them closer to those converted places as they sat sixth in the division, the last play off spot, some seven points behind their opponents.

The opening exchanges saw the hosts take the game to Derby as they looked to gain an early advantage and use their home status to maximum effect in front of a 20,000 strong crowd inside Portman Road.  Freddie Sears in particular looked threatening down the Ipswich left hand side, going on several threatening runs towards the visitors penalty area.

Ipswich though failed to test Lee Grant in the visitors goal though and as the half wore on Derby began to see more of the ball and looked dangerous on the counter attack through Tom Ince down the right.  The Derby line up included three ex Norwich players, Bradley Johnson, Chris Martin and Jason Shackell, which added an extra dimension to proceedings.

Martin was being his normal self, being a nuisance for the Ipswich defenders, whilst Shackell was partnering Andy Keogh at centre half.  The main receipient of the home fans booing though was reserved for Johnson, who seemed to be the pantomime villan, and it certainly seem to fire him up somewhat.

However as the half went on neither side really tested each others keepers and the only real save of note was when Dean Gerkin made a comfortable save to his right to field a Ince free kick.  It was as expected, a tight match between two good sides although Derby had probably shaded it by a small margin.

And then with six minutes of the first half remaining came the opening goal, amid some controversy.  Johnny Russell saw the ball bounce of his leg after he went into a tackle and it fell into the path of Ince, who in my eyes and to most others around me looked a yard or so offside, but crucially the linesman in front of us didn't and Ince ran on to slot under Gerkin and give the visitors the lead.  Ipswich were slightly unhappy as they had a player down injured in the build up too so they felt a little hard done by by the visitors probably deserved their slender half time advantage all the same.

Half Time Ipswich Town 0 Derby County 1

The second half began much like the first, with the hosts taking the game to their opponents, as they looked to get back into the contest.  But like the first half, Ipswich failed to test Grant in the Derby goal and the visitors gradually began to dampen the hosts fiery start to the half.

The Rams were trying to slow the game down and stop the Ipswich attacking threat and this only added to the hosts frustration and the home fans were starting to become restless as they knew their side needed a goal to at least take something from this game.

Derby rarely threatened the Ipswich goal in the second period and as the match entered its final fifteen minutes the hosts began to crank up the pressure once again on the visiting defence.  The hosts forced numerous corners as they looked to grab that all important goal but found a white wall of defence keeping them out.  The only time they breached that wall they found Grant in excellent form as he turned a header away from goal.

Wasteful finishing also let the hosts down as they were running out of time to find a leveller.  The hosts of course were prone to counter attacks from their opponents although the visitors were more interested in running the ball into the corner to waste more time.  Johnson also made it a totally miserable afternoon for the home side when his powerful effort in stoppage time saw Gerkin beat away smartly but alas it was Ince's first half goal that ultimately separated the sides.  County move up to second after this win whilst Ipswich remain sixth, only a point ahead of the chasing pack.  There proves to be many twists and turns to come over the next few months no doubt.  So another enjoyable contest was seen and it concluded my football weekend.

Full Time Ipswich Town 0 Derby County 1