Stonewall 0 Larkspur Rovers 0

Middlesex County League Premier Division, Saturday 26th March

Non-League Day for 2022 saw me over at the London Marathon Community Track to check out Britain’s top ranked LGBT side Stonewall as they welcomed Larkspur Rovers to Stratford for a Middlesex County League Premier contest, but neither side could break the deadlock as the game ended goalless.

Stonewall FC were established in February 1991 in London when a founding member placed an advert in a gay publication asking if any like minded people wanted to play competitive football, well since that ad the club have gone onto fielding three eleven a side teams, as well as three Women & Non-binary teams and also offering regular training and five a side sides too.

They have been successful in a number of international LGBT tournaments too, reaching a final every year since 2000, and whilst doing this they are still committed to creating footballing environments where people can be comfortable as their authentic-selves, and are proud to be a driving force in helping tackle discrimination with the game and are determined to continue to challenge homophobia, transphobia and biphobia through football.

They are also the first LGBT side to obtain FA Chartered Standard status, and the club is open to all players with a sizable amount who do not define themselves as LGBT, so they must be commended for what they have achieved so far and will continue to hopefully achieve in the future, so I applaud them for that.

Their opponents today were Larkspur Rovers who have been in the Northolt area of London for over 50 years, and they provide quality football coaching and player development and have youth sections from Under 7s to 18s, as well as the Men’s senior teams and Women’s senior teams with their mission statement being ‘To Provide a positive community environment to allow players to develop to their full potential and enjoy the game of football’.

They play their home games at Lord Halsbury Memorial Playing Fields but today they were making the trip over to the Olympic Park and in the shadow of the London Stadium, home of West Ham United of course, for a Middlesex County Premier Division contest, Stonewall sat in fifth spot, three points ahead of Larkspur who were in sixth, although the visitors had four games in hand.

The hosts form since the new year has been good, four wins, two draws, and just one defeat to leaders Clapton CFC, whereas the visitors have only played three games since the turn of the year incredibly but have won two of those three with their last game a 2-0 loss at Sporting Hackney last weekend. And when these two did met on the opening day of the season way back in August, Larkspur thrashed Stonewall 5-1.

Would that be repeated, or would Stonewall continue their decent form and gain revenge for that opening day loss, well let’s see how the match unfolded.

Well, on arrival in very warm and sunny conditions I noticed how poor the pitch looked, there were lots of bare patches that had been sanded and parts of the pitch had actual holes in it, and I overheard the referee say that if no sand could be found then the game may have to be postponed for safety, luckily this being an athletic venue too there was a sandpit behind one of the goals, so home players and staff of the venue filled up buckets with the sand and filled in the areas in question so we could have a game.

I heard afterwards that the pitch was once the best in the division until November when it was relayed, and since then kids have been playing on it and have ruined it by all accounts, so another relay is necessary, bit of a shame really and not really on considering the amount it must cost Stonewall to hire out for every game, but at least we had a game!!!

Whether this had an impact on the game who knows, but the pace and tempo of the game throughout was rather lethargic it has to be said, both sides struggled to really get a foot hold in the game and the only effort on target in the opening forty five minutes was a header from the visitors that was straight at the keeper.

The hosts did see a couple of corners swung in that caused a bit of alarm for the visiting keeper, having to tip one away from goal and then see another go narrowly over the bar, whereas the visitors saw another header fly over the bar, but chances continued to be at a premium and the second half was not much better, with the tempo and quality not especially high.

Larkspur for a time looked the likelier to score if anyone was too, and they almost netted a freak goal when a free kick into the box bounced off the rock hard surface and needed a smart tip over from the keeper to stop the ball going into the top corner, but as the game edged closer to the ninety minute mark it was Stonewall who had openings to snatch a win, but they could not find the target and the game ended goalless.

It is nonetheless a point a piece for both sides so at least they do earn something from the game today, but it was a game to forgot in the main, at least the weather was nice though!!!

Full time Stonewall 0 Larkspur Rovers 0

Let's see how the Middlesex County League Premier Division panned out today and how the results affected the table...

AVA 1 Cricklewood Wanderers 1

Brentham 0 CB Hounslow United Reserves 2

Kensington Dragons 1 Sporting Hackney 0

Pitshanger Dynamo 0 NW London 1

Stonewall 0 Larkspur Rovers 0

The Wilberforce Wanderers 2 Indian Gymkhana Club 5

NW London took advantage of Clapton CFC's inactivity and hit top spot on goal difference and with two games in hand after a narrow win at relegation threatened Pitshanger Dynamo, and with fellow strugglers AVA and CB Hounslow United Reserves picking up points it wasn't an ideal day for Dynamo.

Kensington Dragons and Indian Gymkhana Club pulled further away from the bottom three as well with positive results, Gymkhana thrashing bottom side The Wilberforce Wanderers who looked pretty doomed. And although Stonewall and could not find the net, they do go up a place to fourth after Brentham lost at home, Larkspur stay in sixth after their point at Stonewall.

Next weekends fixtures are...

AVA Vs CB Hounslow United Reserves 

Clapton CFC Vs Cricklewood Wanderers

FC Soma Vs Pitshanger Dynamo

Indian Gymkhana Club Vs Kensington Dragons

Larkspur Rovers Vs The Wilberforce Wanderers

Thanks for reading, I hope your enjoyed my latest blog  

  

  

Sporting Bengal United 0 Southend Manor 3

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 23rd March

Wednesday night saw me in at Mile End to see a big game down towards the foot of the Essex Senior League, and it saw three late goals hand Southend Manor a big three points and almost certainly condemn Sporting Bengal United to relegation from the division.

Sporting's task before kick off was simple, they had to win, and keep on winning for the remainder of the season if they were to make a miracle escape from the bottom two, they started the evening eight points behind second bottom Sawbridgeworth Town, and eleven points behind third bottom St Margaretsbury, so wins were all that would be required.

Manor were just the five points above the bottom two so needed probably two more wins from their remaining six games to be almost certain of avoiding the drop, but although three points here was expected, a point would not have been a disaster, the pressure was very much on the hosts to get the points as they were in a far more precarious position shall we say.

Wins and goals have been hard to come by for the hosts although they had netted wins against Woodford Town and Ilford recently so they were certainly capable of getting the points in this one, as did Manor who had encouraging draws against Redbridge and Hoddesdon Town, with the former result a very impressive one away at a promotion chasing side.

The game itself however was a hard watch at times, with quality lacking for the majority and chances at a premium, the best chance in the first period fell to Manor but they saw a close range header superbly kept out by Bengal keeper Chris Villanucci but both sides struggled on a very hard bobbly surface, and up until the 70th minute or so the only other real shot on target saw the hosts force a decent stop from Manor keeper Christian North.

The final twenty though saw Manor end the game well and net three goals as they finally found their shooting boots and picked up what were three very important points in the process, Isaac Acquah, who had just come on as a substitute, volleyed home a cross from the left to give Manor a 72nd minute lead, and then four minutes later they doubled that lead when good work down the left ended with a ball over to Ben Allen, and he shifted the ball onto his left foot before curling beyond Villanucci.

Sporting now had a mountain to climb and to be honest it never looked like one they would even get close to climbing, they just haven't got the gear to do it, and this has been their problem, scoring goals, as well as keeping them out at the other end, not a good recipe for success, hence their current predicament at the bottom of the table.

And a minute or so into stoppage time Manor added gloss to the score line when Allen twisted and turned his way past several defenders inside the box before firing into the far corner for a lovely individual goal, 3-0 probably flattered Manor slightly as nether side had played that well, but Manor won't care one jot and will be delighted with a 3-0 success.

It all means Sporting now have the same amount of points to make up to the ones above before kick off, but with one less game to get them in, which looks very unlikely now, whereas for Manor they probably need just one more win from their remaining five games just to be sure of their place in the division next season although they now have an eight points gap to second bottom so can breathe easier than before at least.

Full time Sporting Bengal United 0 Southend Manor 3 

Newbury Forest 1 Barkingside 2

Thurlow Nunn Division One South, Tuesday March 22nd

Oakside was my venue for a first game in the UK since March 5th, and it saw first half goals from Archie Hammond and skipper Elliott Scott enough for Barkingside to edge to victory over Newbury Forest in their Thurlow Nunn South contest.

Neither side really have a lot to play for now as the season draws to a conclusion, Forest are third bottom but ten points clear of second bottom Haverhill Borough and a further three points ahead of Brimsdown, so realistically they should be fine, whereas Side were in mid table and to far away from the play off pack, starting the evening fifteen points from fifth placed Wivenhoe Town.

But footballers are a competitive bunch, so they will always want to win any game they play, and finishing the season strongly is always a good thing to take into the summer of course, so this game would still be played at a fair pace and fiercely competed, the two met at Cricklefield on Valentines Day and it was Forest who edged that one 2-1, so could Side gain revenge for that?

In fact Forest have lost all four games since that victory, scoring only once and conceding eleven, so their form had dropped off alarmingly since that win in Seven Kings, Side have won two, drawn one and lost two since that defeat to Forest so a mixed bag you could say lately for Side, which is not uncommon for the Cricklefield outfit.

How would this one go anyway? Well, it was the visitors who struck first on ten minutes when Hammond caught out the keeper at his near post, firing a surprise left footed effort into the corner from the left side of the box, and twelve minutes before the break Hammond was involved again, sending a free kick to the far post and finding an unmarked Scott to head home and double the visitors advantage.

It was an advantage that looked to have been increased further three minutes later when a ball into the Forest box found a group of Side players all alone, and the ball was squared to Dan Jones who side footed home, and with no flag going up Forest were dismayed at this and were certain that at least one of them were offside, anyway after a minute or so of deliberation between referee and assistant, the goal was then chalked off for offside.

Both sets of players had lined up ready for kick off, so it was a rather delayed decision and a rather bizarre moment it has to be said, but it meant Side's lead was still only two, and then two minutes before the break it was down to just a single goal lead as Forest found a route back into the contest after full back Brendon-Jay Osholake powered home a close range header, and it meant the hosts were only a goal behind heading into the break.

Side had plenty of openings to increase their lead after the break, but Forest also had their moments too and had it not been for a superb save from Duncan Smith late on, diving away and clawing a superb effort from the hosts, they may well have grabbed a point, however Side did manage to hold on and claim the points and move up to eighth spot in the division, although as said before their chances of a top five finish look slim to none, twelve points off them with only five games to go.

Forest have now lost five games on the spin since that win at Side in February, but they still have a ten point buffer to second bottom and with eight games still to go will probably pick up a few more before the season is out, so as said previously they should be ok.

Full time Newbury Forest 1 Barkingside 2

Sandnes Ulf 0 Stromsgodset 4

NM Cup 2021 Quarter Finals, Saturday 19th March

My final evening in Norway for this trip saw me back at The Oster Hus Arena in Sandnes, and saw a brace from Kreshnik Krasniqi help see Eliteserien visitors Stromsgodset into the Semi Finals of the NM Cup 2021, ending the First Division hosts historic run in the process.

Sandnes Ulf had seen off fellow first division side Start in last weekend's Last 16 tie at Oster Hus Arena (here is my blog on that game (http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2022/03/sandnes-ulf-2-ik-start-0.html) to set up a home Quarter Final against a Stromsgodset side who almost came a cropper against another First Division side in the shape of Raufoss in the Last 16, edging through 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Raufoss Storhall.

Ulf therefore could look to this game and see that their Eliteserien visitors could be got at if things went right for them, so an ideal start was necessary if they were to have any chance of an upset and continue their historic run, however with just three minutes on the clock their game plan was out of the window as Krasniqi was left totally unmarked to volley home and hand the favourites an early advantage.

To Ulf's credit they were the better side thereafter for the remainder of the half, but despite creating several decent openings could not really test visiting keeper Saetra, but the hosts knew they were still well in this tie at the break, and probably felt they should have been at least level, so it was imperative that the hosts started the second half well and grab the next goal, but sadly this was not to happen for them.

This is because just like the first half Godset netted an early goal in the period to give the hosts a mountain to climb after a lovely sweeping move ended with Krasniqi firing home inside Falch's near post and seeing him and the rest of his teammates run over to the 50-100 Godset fans who had travelled from Drammen for this one, they were now in a more comfortable position with a two goal cushion.

And five minutes later, just before the hour mark in fact, the game was a good as over after the home defence backed off and backed off and allowed Tobias Fjeld Gulliksen to let fly from twenty yards out, and his effort flew past Falch and into the net and Godset were now three goals to the good and pretty much out of sight.

This made for the game to become like a pre season game, Ulf had no chance of getting back from this position, whilst Godset just passed the ball around between them when they did have the ball, both sides league campaigns begin in two weeks, whilst Godset obviously have a semi final to compete in next weekend.

Frustrations were getting the better of some, Ulf striker Tommy Hoiland was booked for leaving his mark on an opponent, whilst pacey winger Sander Finjord Ringberg was also booked for a stupid challenge, I turned to my brother and said that they need to take Ringberg off before he gets sent off, and low and behold three minutes after his first booking, he pulled back Fred Friday and was shown a second yellow, so needless and it summed up the hosts evening.

The hosts kept going though but were caught out with seven minutes to go when a slip at the back allowed Lars-Jorgen Salvesen to run in at goal, and although the defender got back to try and stop him, a wonderful turn inside and finish beyond Falch saw a fourth goal added by the visitors, and he ran over to celebrate with his adoring fans who had by now let off a flare in celebration.

The scoreline certainly flattered Godset who did not outplay their opponents like the score may suggest, but they were just far more clinical in front of goal when the chances came, which is normally what separates the top sides from the rest, it certainly did here that's for sure, but it's a job well done for Godset who take their place in the semi finals.

For Ulf it's a disappointing evening, and the majority of the 3,029 crowd would have gone home sad but also proud of their team who reached the Quarter Finals for the very first time, time now to turn their attentions to their huge opening league game against local rivals Bryne at home, these two cup games would have been very useful for their warm up to the new season that's for sure.

Full time Sandnes Ulf 0 Stromsgodset 4

Midweek ESL/Thurlow Nunn South round up (Tuesday 15/Wednesday 16 March)

 (Action from Sawbridgeworth Town 1 Walthamstow 3 at Crofters, thanks to @walthamstowfc for the photo)

Decided to do a round up of the midweek action in my local Step Five and Six divisions of non league, the Essex Senior League and the Thurlow Nunn Division One South, there were ten scheduled games in total, lets see what happened and how it affected the tables...


Tuesday March 15th
Essex Senior League
Hoddesdon Town 1 Cockfosters 1 (A late late Reece Mosanya goal salvaged a point for ten men Fosters, denying the hosts all three points in the process. The visitors were reduced to ten men just before the break when Reece Barrett was dismissed, and then Hoddesdon edged ahead in first half stoppage time after Larry Asare-Bediako was sent through on goal and his driven shot found the empty net past the onrushing Charlie Mann. That seemed to be enough to take the points, but deep into added on time at the end of the game Fosters won a penalty after Bailey Stevenson was brought down by keeper Luke Nugent, and although Mosanya's spot kick was saved by Nugent, Mosanya was on hand to net the rebound and earn a point for his side)

Sawbridgeworth Town 1 Walthamstow 3 (League leaders Stow had to come from behind to net another big three points as their charge to the title and promotion to the Isthmian North got closer. Sawbo took a shock early lead with a header from a corner but the visitors levelled when after Callum Ibe had put in Charlie Cole, he held off a defender before rolling home. Ibe was then hooked down in the box resulting in a penalty for Stow, and Connor Scully slotted home the spot kick to give them the lead, and then the points were sealed as from a corner a combination of Tendai Quamina and a drop from the keeper saw the ball nestle in the bottom corner)

St Margaretsbury A Saffron Walden Town A (The match at The Recreation Ground was sadly abandoned after half the floodlights went out meaning the referee called an early halt to proceedings)

Stansted 2 Athletic Newham 0 (Two first half goals were enough for Stansted to net a very important three points against Athletic Newham at Hargrave Park, a fantastic front post header by Mike Salako from a Billy Coyne corner handed The Airportmen a sixth minute lead, and the lead was doubled seven minutes before the break after Paul Clayton netted a bullet header, and it was enough to see the hosts to victory)


Thurlow Nunn Division One South
Harwich & Parkeston 0 Holland 4 (Anthony Spyrou netted a brace as Holland thrashed local rivals Harwich & Parkeston at The Royal Oak, there were also goals from Ben Dixon, whose effort from outside the box went in off the far post, and Charlie Ellis-Hall, who also netted a superb effort from outside the box too in what was a superb performance from the boys in Orange)

Haverhill Borough 5 AFC Sudbury Res 0 (Leon Scarlett netted a brace as second bottom Borough made it back to back wins without conceding after thrashing AFC Sudbury's Ressies. Scarlett put his side ahead on 21 minutes after the keeper fumbled inside the box, and it was two for Scarlett and Borough nine minutes before the break after an excellent finish from the RWB. Spencer Sykes then made it 3-0 ten minutes after the break before Joe Morris netted a flying header after the ball was crossed in by Sykes for another brilliant goal with just over twenty minutes remaining. And the scoring was completed deep into stoppage time when an own goal made it five, capping off a fine evening for the home side)

May & Baker 0 Barkingside 2 (Side picked up all three points despite some difficulties against May & Baker at Parkview. Striker James Peagram, not for the first time, had to take over in goal ten minutes before the break, but it mattered not as he kept a clean sheet and saw an own goal and a 30+ yard strike from Archie Hammond seal the win for the visitors)

Wormley Rovers 2 Newbury Forest 1 (Rovers netted all three points despite serious pressure from the visitors as they held out. An early goal for The Worms from Cav Clarke gave them the advantage and then a header from Louie Offer put the hosts 2-0 up, this after withstanding a lot of decent play from Forest which saw the hosts under the cosh for a while. Forest's possession and attacking play finally paid off when they pulled one back, but it wasn't enough to avoid defeat here)


Wednesday March 16th
Thurlow Nunn First Division South
Benfleet 1 Ipswich Wanderers 2 (Wanderers took a step closer to promotion after they saw off Benfleet at Park Lane. It only took the visitors two minutes to grab the lead as Benfleet gave Matthew Blake too much space down the left, and the striker produced a great, powerful finish past Flo Gislette at his near post, and just before half time they doubled their advantage when the hosts gave the bal away outside the penalty area, and a pass to Jacob Lay saw him produce a great finish. Benfleet, who were left scratching their heads at how they were two down at the break after dominating and striking the woodwork twice, managed to pull one back inside the opening minute of the second period thanks to a great strike by Ben Foord, but those two first half goals proved enough for Wanderers to take all the points back to Ipswich)

Hackney Wick 2 Burnham Ramblers 4 (Ramblers grabbed three very important points as they netted four at Spa Road against Hackney Wick. Samir Ali gave them the lead after twenty minutes but a mistake at the back allowed Wick to level, however Ramblers managed to get their noses back in front to lead at the break, only to see Wick respond once again and restore parity. Ramblers were not to be denied though and goals from Adebolu Adeyemi and Said Issa sealed the points for the visitors)


Let's check out those tables and see how this week's results affected them...
Essex Senior League

Stow's come from behind win at Sawbridgeworth Town means they increased their lead to fifteen points, and only need another ten points from their remaining five games to confirm the title and promotion back to the Isthmian North after a few seasons out, whilst defeat for Sawbo leaves them second bottom and still three points off St Margaretsbury whose game against Saffron Walden was abandoned of course. Stansted's grip on second was strengthened after victory at Hargrave Park against Athletic Newham.


Here are this weekend's fixtures...
Athletic Newham v White Ensign
Cockfosters v West Essex
Enfield v Sporting Bengal United
FC Clacton v Saffron Walden Town
Ilford v St Margaretsbury
Little Oakley v Woodford Town
Sawbridgeworth Town v Redbridge
Southend Manor v Hoddesdon Town
Takeley v Stanway Rovers
Walthamstow v Clapton


Thurlow Nunn Eastern Senior South...

Ipswich Wanderers increased their lead to eight points over Buckhurst HIll at the summit and fourteen points from their final five games will get the job done, Benfleet do remain third after defeat to the leaders but their is now just five points between them and sixth placed Ramblers who grabbed a vital win in Witham to keep their play off hopes alive. It looks likely three of Benfleet, Hastead Town, Wivenhoe Town and Burnham Ramblers will claim those other play off berths along with one of the top two, likely now to be Buckhurst Hill, so all to play for!!!


Here are the fixtures for the weekend...
AFC Sudbury Res v Burnham Ramblers
Benfleet v Brimsdown
Buckhurst Hill v Coggeshall United
Haverhill Borough v Barkingside
Holland v Wormley Rovers
Newbury Forest v Harwich & Parkeston
Park View v Frenford

Vidar 5 Madla 2

NM Cup 2022 Qualifying Round, Thursday March 17th

St Patrick's Day saw me over at Lassa Idrettspark, Stavanger, Norway, for a NM Cup 2022 Qualifying Match between Third Division Vidar and Fourth Division Madla, and the hosts recovered from an early set back to take their place in the main First Round draw.

Vidar were having to qualify for the First Round of the NM Cup for the first time since the 2009 season when they were promoted to the second division, a division they remained in until relegation in 2019 back to the third division, with their best run in the cup coming in 2016 when they reached the Fourth Round, knocking out local Eliteserien side Viking on the way in what was a mammoth shock before bowing out to Oslo Premier side Valerenga in the last 16.

Madla have never been high enough up the divisions to qualify for the First Round so this was a usual beginning to a season for them, and they currently play in the Fourth Division so were definitely underdogs, they had played in the First Round in the last two seasons (2018, 2019) but had come unstuck against Viking in 2018 and then First Division Sandnes Ulf in 2019, but they were attempting to reach that stage once again with a surprising win in this one.

Vidar were using their artificial pitch for this cup tie as the main grass pitch they use is still being readied for the new season which starts next month, and also the grass pitch does not have floodlights whereas the artificial pitch does, there was no entry fee as you literally just walked onto the side of the pitch and watched so you were very close to the action which was fantastic.

So could Madla cause a surprise, they didn't have far to travel, just the 3km between the two grounds, so this was quite a local derby for sure, and after seventeen minutes the Fourth Division side got their noses ahead when the ball broke to Christoffer Talge and he sent an effort into the ground and found the bottom corner. Shock on perhaps?

They held onto that lead until ten minutes before the break when Vidar finally managed to break through when Chris Andre Formo cut in from the right flank onto his right foot and unleashed a powerful effort from range which although visiting keeper Viljar Gronnevik got a hand too, could not prevent it from finding the corner of the net.

They did go in level at 1-1 though so all was still to play for although you expected Vidar to probably go on a win it eventually, but ten or so minutes into the second period came a pivotal couple of minutes which probably decided the direction this game was to go.

Madla attacked in numbers and Talge found himself with a sight of goal but as he was about to shoot he appeared to be taken out and everyone expected referee Cecille Froyland to award a penalty, but amazingly she didn't and Madla were more than furious it had to be said, well a couple of minutes later Vidar went down the other end and saw their centre half, Simen Aleksander Aanonsen, loft a header over keeper Gronnevik and hand the hosts the lead, and now an angry visiting side had to try and come from behind themselves if they wanted to progress in the competition.

It got worse for them though with twenty minutes to go when a defensive slip allowed Oyvind Nilsen to nip in and round Gronnevik before firing home, and now the hosts had a two goal cushion, and despite Madla's best efforts to claw their way back into the contest they conceded a fourth goal with a minute left after Havard Vindenes had nodded home a cross from the left. Game Over.

Vidar still had time to add another a minute into stoppage time when a cut back found Andreas Malde Haestad whose first time effort was deflected home, and the scoring wasn't completed just yet as Madla did manage to find a second goal when Talge, who was one of their main threats going forward, swept home from close range five minutes into stoppage time, but it was merely a consolation for the visitors who had been undone in the second period.

They will look back at the non penalty award incident at 1-1, things may have worked out differently had that been given and they gone 2-1 in front, but we will never know now and Vidar took full advantage of their attacking prowess in the second period to take their place in the First Round draw.  It was an entertaining game to watch though so fair play to both sides.

Full time Vidar 5 Madla 2