Old Esthameians 0 Ocean Pacific 2 - Goals from Jossue Sierra & David Banegas hand Ocean Pacific victory over Old Esthameians to net Essex Alliance Division One cup glory

Essex Alliance Division One Cup Final, Tuesday May 20th

The final Essex Alliance Cup Final took place at New Lodge, Billericay, on Tuesday as it was the turn of the Division One Cup Final which saw third placed Old Es take on runners up Ocean Pacific, and a decent contest was expected.

Despite them only finishing one place between each other, Pacific did finish eleven points ahead of their opponents in the table and only lost one of their league games although lost out to the title by two points to Condor who themselves won sixteen of their eighteen games, I do believe though that both still get promoted to the Premier Division, could Pacific add the cup to their promotion success and end a decent campaign in style?

Old Es would certainly hope not and themselves were looking to also end their season in style, a sold season which saw them the best of the rest culminated in this final at New Lodge, ironically Pacific were knocked out of this competition by who else but Condor in the Quarter Finals, however, Condor were then removed for admin issues and Pacific were duly reinstated and then won their semi final against West Essex Reserves to take their place in this final.

Old Es themselves defeated Loughton Town in the last eight before thumping FC Alpha in the semi final, giving them a chance of glory, Pacific started the stronger and missed two great chances before being awarded a penalty when David Banegas was felled inside the box, and Jossue Sierra stepped up to convert the spot kick in the 13th minute, and Pacific had a deserved lead. (Now I thought number twenty, who was down on the teamsheet as Dragos Aneasoaie had scored, but it appears not, as Sierra, who was number twenty one on the sheet was credited the goal, the joys of this level of football eh!!!)

Whoever had scored it though resulted in the same outcome, a 1-0 lead for Pacific, who for some reason I kept calling Ocean Drive in error for the first hour of the game, oops, but hey we all make mistakes don't we!!! Pacific, not Drive, saw Banegas & go close late on in the half and they also blazed over from six yards out in another golden opening, but Old Es were not without their moments in an entertaining first period.

Henry Wood so nearly equalised midway through the half & only a superb stop from Pacific keeper Daniel Popescu denied a Brad Harris thunderbolt finding the net, and despite plenty of chances for both the only goal was that penalty inside the opening quarter hour mark, how would the second half fare?

It certainly had way less chances at goal, in fact the first meaningful attempt in the second period came in the final twenty minutes, Banegas forcing a brilliant low diving stop from Old Es keeper Jamie Brown, ironically it was Old Es who were staring to look the more lively of the two sides though, and Popescu for the second time in the game thwarted a Harris thunderbolt as they pressed for a leveller.

But, with just over ten minutes remaining, Pacific doubled their lead to virtually seal their victory, it was a lovely ball in by Ariel Amador found that man Banegas, and he duly fired past Brown from inside the box and hand his side a two goal cushion which they were not to relinquish.

It meant that Ocean Pacific added Division One Cup glory to their (I Think) promotion, whereas Old Es would have to settle for runners up in this one and see their season end with no silverware but nonetheless a decent and solid campaign.

Full time Old Esthameians 0 Ocean Pacific 2

Corinthians 2 Harold Hill 0 - Second half goals from Jamie Skinner & Riley Weir hand Corinthians victory over Harold Hill in EOFL Division One top of the table clash & take them to the brink of the title

Essex Olympian Division One, Saturday 17th May

Mid may and the football rumbles on, and today their was the small matter of the top two going head to head at Stambridge Memorial Ground as unbeaten league leaders Corinthians welcomed second placed Harold Hill to a sunny Stambridge with a win for either side handing them pole position for the title.

Both sides had already clinched promotion to the Premier Division for next season but the title was still on the line, Corinthians had a two point cushion over second placed Hill so the visitors knew a win would see them go a point clear at the top with two games remaining and go into pole position for that league title.

However a win for the hosts would pretty much seal the title with two games left, and see Hill having to overturn a five point deficit in those two games, so this still mattered for both sides clearly, Corinthians wanted to go up with the title in the bag, and so did Hill, how would this one play out?

Unsurprisingly the first forty five minutes was tight and saw little between the sides, the hosts best moment saw Riley Weir strike the bar with an effort from inside the box, whilst down the other end Flynn Hamilton saw a free kick well saved by hosts keeper Dylan Skinner, but there was no goals thus far as the teams took a well earned break in the dressing rooms at half time.

Early in the second half it was Hill's turn to strike the woodwork when full back Teddy Desmond thumped a left footed effort against the near post, but on the hour mark Corinthians had a golden chance to take the lead when after defender Jack Hurley was adjudged to have fouled Connor Summerhill inside the box a penalty was awarded.

Upped stepped Riley Weir to take the spot kick, but he saw this saved by visiting keeper Brad Simpson, meaning the game remained goalless and in the balance still, however, this did not deter the hosts who did manage to take the lead in the 69th minute when skipper Jamie Skinner slammed a free kick beyond the reach of Simpson, you felt the way the keeper had played so far he would get to it, so it was some surprise when the ball went past him into the net although it was powerfully struck and may have moved/dipped late on and deceived him.

Could Hill respond from this set back? In a word, no, because the hosts really took a huge leap towards winning the game when they doubled their money in the 80th minute, a long ball saw Weir run onto it and he kept his composure to loft past the onrushing Simpson and see the ball end up in the far corner, and the striker had made amends for his earlier penalty miss, and Corinthians were on their way to the win they needed to all but rubber stamp that title.

Hill did apply some late pressure on their opponents, a thumping left footed effort from Harry Glennister flew just over the bar after taking a nick on the way through, and the game was to end in a sour note for the home side when Mike Edgar was given a straight red deep into added on time for a poor challenge in midfield, in fact the game ended with both sides losing their temper after some more shenanigans, which carried on for a brief spell after the final whistle, thankfully things calmed down, and Corinthians could celebrate a big win and take a huge step to that title.

A good battle in lovely sunny conditions though, enjoyable to watch for sure, and even though Hill did lose the battle today, they have still achieved what they set out to do and gained promotion to Step Seven along with their opponents today, the title is still not over yet mathematically, but it will take something special for them to deny the still unbeaten league leaders lifting that trophy at the end of the season.

Full time Corinthians 2 Harold Hill 0

  

 

Woodford Town Reserves 2 Kulture 0 - A second half double from Bailey Brown sees Woodford Town Reserves edge out Kulture to net Essex Alliance Senior Division cup glory

Essex Alliance Senior Division Cup Final, Wednesday 14th May

The penultimate Alliance league cup final was upon us, and the final one at Dagenham & Redbridge too, as it was the turn of the top division's cup final and it would be contested between Woodford Town Reserves & Kulture on another lovely sunny evening in East London/Essex.

Woodford Town Reserves had just completed a solid season in the top flight, ending up seventh in the table having won thirteen of their thirty league games, drawing seven and losing ten, so not spectacular by any means but solid and a top ten finish, not so bad, it was a damn sight better than their opponents this evening who had finished fourth bottom and had been relegated from the Senior Division.

Kulture ended up conceding 97 goals in their thirty league games and ended up way short of safety, and a huge twenty points behind their opponents in this final, but this competition had at least given Kulture something to cheer about this campaign, netting wins against some teams who finished way above them in the division.

Their journey began with victory at Waltham Forest Borough in Round One, the team who ended up finishing just above them in the table in 12th although with a nine point deficit, before they then saw off league runners up Lymore Gardens on penalties in the next round, and they set up this final by defeating eighth placed FC Petrocub, again away from home, in a seven goal thriller, so they had some cup pedigree for sure, even if their league campaign had been a disaster.

Woodford's run to the final should have ended in Round Two, the Quarter Finals, as after they had seen off third placed Haringey Borough U23s in Round One, they were soundly beaten at home 4-1 by Ongar Town, but Ongar had fielded a player who was cup tied in that game meaning they were removed from the competition and Woodford were put through to the semi final.

And they capitalised on this good fortune by netting a 1-0 win at Frenford Development, setting up a final against Kulture, could they go on a win the competition after being reinstated, or could Kulture end their disappointing season on a high?

Jayden Alexander fired over a decent opening for Kulture before Kris Ozols produced a decent diving stop to prevent Woodford's Arthur Massingham's curling effort from finding the net, but on 27 minutes Kulture had a golden opportunity to go ahead when striker Olu Durojaiye was brought down inside the box by keeper Callum McEvoy to see Kulture awarded a penalty.

But Woodford skipper McEvoy redeemed himself by saving Durojaiye's spot kick, meaning it remained goalless, and in my view Woodford received another slice of luck and a let off just before half time when Kian McEvoy swung an arm into the face of Durojaiye who was trying to challenge him for the ball, however it was deemed only a yellow card offence with Kian McEvoy's view that he was merely trying to get away from the attentions of the Kulture striker. On another day it could have been a different colour.

Kulture though had certainly been the better side in the opening forty five minutes and would have been the happier of the two although that penalty miss would have been a frustration for them, however, six minutes after the break they would find themselves behind as Woodford were the ones to find the breakthrough, Louie Cooper managed to get through on the right hand side and although his effort was blocked on the line, it fell perfectly for Bailey Brown who duly side footed home into the empty net, advantage Woodford.

And only eight minutes later in the 59th minute they doubled their advantage to really give Kulture a mountain to climb, and it was the Cooper/Bailey combo once again, Cooper lifting a lovely cross to the far post where Brown was waiting to rise and plant a lovely header into the bottom corner of the net, 2-0 Woodford with around half an hour to go.

Could Kulture get back into this? Well, they had plenty of openings but just like the first half were found wanting in the final third, had they had more composure in that area the result may have been different, but they didn't, and were unable to find a way back into it, Woodford had chances themselves to kill the game but couldn't either, but those two Brown goals early in the second half proved enough for Woodford Town Reserves to claim the trophy and end their season on a high.

Full time Woodford Town Reserves 2 Kulture 0

  

Hackney Wick 2 Rayleigh Town 0 - First half goals from Issa Sidibe & Adam Cheniti prove enough for Hackney Wick to see off Rayleigh Town in the Thurlow Nunn South play off final & earn themselves promotion to Step Five

Thurlow Nunn South Play Off Final, Tuesday 13th May

I was over at my spiritual home of football for the second time in nine days, Spa Road, Witham, for the eagerly anticipated Thurlow Nunn South play off final which saw league runners up Hackney Wick host fourth placed Rayleigh Town for the chance to earn promotion to the next level in the non league pyramid, Step Five.  

Wick had agonisingly missed out on automatic promotion and the title to Harlow Town on goal difference after both sides had amassed 92 points from their 38 games, that was a good seventeen points ahead of anyone else in the division, despite this though Wick would have to go through the play off system if they wanted to join Harlow in Step Five next season.

They managed to gain some revenge on Harlow by defeating them in the League Challenge Cup final at Aveley on Bank Holiday Monday, but promotion was their main goal & after Wick had seen off Hutton in the semi final 4-1, giving them a shot at promotion in this final, Rayleigh themselves were just happy to be in this final in what was their first season in Senior Football.

Their semi final, after a delay due to well documented issues involving AS London, their semi final opponents, dating back to late last year after their game at home to Cannons Wood was abandoned for reasons I will not go into, meant that semi final didn't take place till a week before this final, and once the game was determined to be played at Thames Road, Rayleigh's home ground for the last two seasons, Town netted a surprising 4-1 victory over a side that had beaten them three times in the season.

Wick were clear favourites for this final though, they had netted 4-1 & 5-2 victories over Rayleigh during the league campaign, and Wick had finished a massive eighteen points above them over the campaign, however, that mattered very little in this contest as both now had an equal chance to gain promotion on the night, such is the way with the play offs, but it was clear to see from the off that Wick were very much the ones to take control of this contest.

Only three minutes had elapsed when they broke the deadlock, a lovely ball in from the right found Issa Sidibe completely free in the six yard box, and he duly powered a header home to give them the perfect start to this one and settle any nerves prior to this big game, for Rayleigh though it was a disastrous start and the only positive being they had most of the game to find a way back.

This did not look likely though as Wick dominated the opening exchanges, and in the 25th minute broke in devastating fashion to double their lead and were threatening to blow their opponents away, the goal saw a fast break down the left, and after a shot was saved, Adam Cheniti was on hand to bury the rebound, and Wick were in total control.

The visiting keeper had plenty to do in the opening forty five minutes, the hosts one did have a few crosses to deal with but the visitors didn't have a shot on target until first half stoppage time, although this was weak and easy for the keeper, and at half time Wick were two goals to the good and in pole position to grab promotion.

A note of caution though, Wick had thrown a two goal lead away in their penultimate league outing against second bottom Newbury Forest, a game that effectively cost them the title, so Rayleigh knew if they could get a goal back then things could get interesting, they certainly were much more competitive in a second half that saw the ball in Wick's final third a lot more. The hosts had certainly gone off the boil for sure and taken their foot off the gas.

And with around fifteen minutes left Rayleigh's pressure and vast improvement from the first period looked to have got a route back into the game when they were awarded a penalty kick, but what happened next was something I'd never ever seen in 35 years of watching football.

Javed Irish, hero from the semi final win against AS London, was given the task of taking the kick, but after the referee blew his whistle he began a slow stuttering run which he briefly stopped just before he went to take the kick, before firing the kick into the net, however, the referee had blown once this happened and awarded an indirect free kick as he had deemed that Irish had broken law 14.2 under IFAB, which states that "feinting to kick the ball once the kicker has completed the run-up (feinting in the run-up is permitted); the referee cautions the kicker".

It's a law that i'd certainly not been aware of, and I'd never seen it applied before, Rayleigh were obviously very annoyed about the outcome, and it also meant no goal and they were still two goals behind, and to be honest this kind of killed the momentum for the visitors and they never really threatened a comeback after that.

It was therefore left to Wick to see the remainder of the game out and earn themselves victory and promotion to what will probably be the Essex Senior League next season, exciting times ahead for them, for Rayleigh, yes tonight was disappointing but they had played out a very good season so should be proud of themselves for achieving what they did in their first season at this level.

Well done to Wick though, they deserved to gain promotion after the season they had, onwards and upwards for them no doubt.....

Full time Hackney Wick 2 Rayleigh Town 0

Non League Finals Day 2025 - Whitstable Town net extra time win over AFC Whyteleafe to take FA Vase glory, Aldershot Town net three second half goals to see off Spennymoor Town & see them to FA Trophy success

Non League Finals Day 2025, Sunday May 11th

It was that time of year again, the annual Non League Finals Day at Wembley Stadium which sees the FA Vase & FA Trophy Finals take place one after the other, bringing together four sides right from Step Five up to Step One over the two finals (ok so teams below step five can reach the final too but rarely ever do, if at all!!!) and also sees four sets of fans along with neutrals like myself brought together to celebrate what is a great day for the non league game.

The day is normally well attended too, and almost 39,000 fans turned out over the two games to witness joy and success for two of the sides and despair and disappoint for the other two, sadly in finals there has to be a winner and a loser, that's how it goes, and the four sides aiming to gain the former feelings were AFC Whyteleafe, Whitstable Town, Aldershot Town & Spennymoor Town, who would grab the trophies then, let's find out shall we.....

Isuzu FA Vase Final - AFC Whyteleafe Vs Whitstable Town

The first final of the saw Combined Counties Premier South AFC Whyteleafe lock horns with Southern Counties East Premier Whitstable Town, now Leafe had finished runners up (at the current state of play) having amassed 95 points in their 38 league games, and finished only a point behind Champions Redhill, now this is because Jersey Bulls had three points deducted for fielding an ineligible player in one of their league games, meaning they went from winning the league on goal difference to ending up third and joining Leafe in the playoffs.

However, Jersey Bulls are appealing and with several other clubs now potentially having the same issue, it's rather all up in the air in that division, I will say no more it because I don't know enough to be able to discuss, and also it's got nothing to do with this final, but anyway Leafe had that doubt hanging over them so they had this focus at least and wanted to claim the Vase in only their fourth season as a club after they were formed following the demise of the original Whyteleafe.

Whitstable (I think) have no such issues as after they finished third in their league, some thirteen points behind Champions Faversham Town, they lost their home semi final in the playoffs to Fisher, meaning they missed out on promotion, that league also has some potential issues re ineligible players too, so their could be some changes to that table as well although I don't think it affects anyone involved in the promotion/play off picture, otherwise it wouldn't have taken place (VCD beat Fisher in that final to gain promotion along with Faversham).

So, Whitstable wanted to finish the season in a high after that disappointment, although they did come into this final as underdogs for many, but this is a final so it was still a hard one to call as well, although I did have a feeling for Whitstable, just a gut feeling, but would I be correct or would Leafe go on and win like many thought they would?

Very warm conditions greeted the players for this lunchtime kick off, so fitness would be tested for sure, who would settle the quicker? Leafe certainly did just that and grabbed a 16th minute lead after a superb move saw Daniel Bennett make a surging run into the box and was found unmarked before he lofted a lovely finish over keeper Daniel Colmer and into the far corner, and Leafe had that advantage.

Seven minutes later came a pivotal moment in the contest, with Colmer making a superb save to deny Leafe's Aaron Watson and prevent them going two goals up, you felt if they had of done it could of turned out very different to how it did, as thereafter Whitstable began to get themselves into the contest and were looking far more threatening than they had been earlier in the half.

Leafe though did go into the break a goal ahead, and we were no nearer to to knowing who would be winning this final, well, seven minutes after the break, we had an equaliser, when Harvey Smith hit an effort at goal from outside the box which seemed to deceive keeper George Hill and end up in the net, and now we were back on level terms, with the momentum now with the side from Kent.

But they had keeper Colmer to thank again just before the hour mark when he saved brilliantly from Ryan Gondoh & Watson in quick succession after they had caught Whitstable on the counter, and then it was the turn of Leafe keeper Hill to someone deny Robbie Rees from point blank range with twelve minutes to go, it seemed impossible not to score but Hill had other ideas.

Ten minutes of added time were shown, and with extra time looming it's not what a tired set of players wanted to see, could someone win it and take the vase at the last knockings perhaps? Well, both sides had openings in that added on time, Leafe came the closest when they were inches from netting a 95th minute goal, Rodney Eruotor smashing an effort against the bar, Whitstable then saw scramble inside the Leafe box result in nothing, and it meant extra time, would anyone win it before those dreaded penalties came along?

Six minutes into the extra period and Ronald Sithole looked odds on to give the Kent side the lead, but someone hit the inside of the post from barely three yards out with the goal at his mercy, but, he was to make amends in the 100th minute when after his initial effort was saved by Hill, he kept his cool before lashing home and giving Whitstable the lead and saw them twenty minutes or so from Vase glory.

Could Leafe fight back, they were a tired outfit, much like their opponents, but only a last ditch challenge from Jerald Aboagye denied Leafe's Eruotor, but Whitstable should have sealed the contest in the 119th minute when Joe Healy broke clear, but he could only dink wide of the target, but the Kent side held on to record a superb comeback victory and win the FA Vase for the very first time!!!

AFC Whyteleafe 1 Whitstable Town 2 (aet)

With the Vase final lasting almost three hours from when it first kicked off, it meant their was only about an hour between games, thankfully their were no delays, so let's see how the FA Trophy final panned out.....

Isuzu FA Trophy Final - Aldershot Town Vs Spennymoor Town

This pitted Vanarama National League Shots against Vanarama National League North Spennymoor, so many felt the National League outfit would be big favourites over their opponents who were a level below, however Aldershot, who I believe had never reached Wembley ever, even the old Aldershot didn't do this, had just completed a rather disappointing season in the league, finishing down in 16th and only five points above the drop zone.

They had even finished below their bitter rivals Woking as well, although they had defeated them in the semi final of this competition, Spennymoor themselves had finished ninth in their league and had just missed out on the playoffs by one point, so although they would have been disappointed with this, they had a final to compete in, this after a very dramatic semi final win on penalties at Rochdale, a side who had reached the National League play offs after finishing fourth in that division, so this game at Wembley was far from being a one horse race, that's for sure.

The Shots would have the advantage fans wise though, with 18,000 of them making the trip to Wembley, and outnumbering the Spennymore fans by almost four to one, but the game is played on the pitch, and not the stands, how would this one play out, we were almost ready to find out, again in very warm conditions, and with the sun now making it's way up to us in the section we were sitting in, it was now a warm one for us too!!!

Aldershot had plenty of the ball in the opening twenty minutes or so, and had the most of the half chances that were created, but it was Spennymoor who had the first real chance of the game midway through the half, Finley Shrimpton broke clear down the right flank and found the unmarked Rob Ramshaw who seemed destined to slot into the bottom corner, but got no power behind it and side footed straight at keeper Marcus Dewhurst.

And almost immediately down the other end Shots nearly took the lead themselves when Jack Barham forced a decent save out of Brad James, the game you felt had finally burst into life, however, for the remainder of the opening forty five minutes it didn't really have much to report, and at half time it remained goalless with many of us hoping somebody would find a goal in the second period to prevent another extra time period in the day. 

It had been a largely disappointing final so far, and no doubt Spennymoor would have been happier of the two sides heading into the break, but, four minutes into the second half Aldershot grabbed the lead, a ball in from the right saw Barham get a foot on the ball and guide it beyond James just inside the post and into the corner of the net, sending the 18,000 Shots fans wild.

It was the perfect start to the second period for the favourites, and a disaster for the underdogs, it gave Aldershot the belief they could now go on and win this, and with twenty minutes to go they affectively sealed the contest when doubling their lead after Dan Ellison guided a header into the far corner and now you felt they could enjoy the final part of this game.

And in the 87th minute came the moment of the final, and probably non league day, goals wise at least, it was certainly a great way for Aldershot to stamp their victory as a bouncing ball sat up in front of Josh Barrett who sent a wonderful looping effort from outside the box beyond James into the far corner for a truly superb goal, the keeper had no chance at all, and it sealed The Shots Trophy glory in the process!!!

Full time Aldershot Town 3 Spennymoor Town 0

 

So, well done to both Whitstable Town & Aldershot Town on their first ever wins at Wembley on their first visits, commiserations to AFC Whyteleafe & Spennymoor Town on their losses although they played a huge part in the day and should be more than proud of even reaching the final.

So as ever another enjoyable Non League Finals Day, six goals, a comeback win after extra time and a superb goal to end the day, not to bad eh, here is to next year's one!!!