Pre Season Friendly, Tuesday 7th July
My first game of the 2026/27 campaign was a pre season friendly off course, the first of eight planned matches ahead of the new season, and it came at Rayleigh Town Sports & Social club as hosts Rayleigh Town took on near neighbours Hullbridge Sports as both sides continued their early pre season schedule.
The hosts, who will again be plying their trade in the Thurlow Nunn South (Step Six) after another heart-breaking play off final defeat at the end of last season, were taking on a Hullbridge Sports outfit who will be looking to make a real go at having a decent Essex Senior League campaign this time round, the league that Rayleigh are trying to hard to get promoted too.
It was a well contested opening forty five minutes with some crunching tackles going on, fair ones though of course, but it was the ESL visitors who certainly created the bulk of openings that came in the first half, but they only had an 18th minutes penalty to show for it, despite having the better of the half, Rayleigh did have a couple of decent chances themselves, one nearly handed to them, but Sports did hold a slender lead as the players took a well earned rest after a half running around in warm conditions.
Both sides made multiple changes at half time, as is normal practice in these types of games, especially early on in the pre season schedule, Sports though continued to have the better of the contest and made sure of the win ten minutes from time when a lovely burst into the box was squared across goal and rammed home by the incoming attacker.
A pleasing win for Hullbridge then against a decent Rayleigh side, plenty learned no doubt for both sets of managers, and lots of minutes played by their squads too in warm conditions on a very dry pitch, which is to be expected considering the lack of rain on the whole recently, and also pleased that I am back into the swing of things once again, and my 2026/27 season is now underway!!!
Rayleigh Town 0 Hullbridge Sports 2
