Hutton 6 Dunmow Town 0 - Elliott Howson nets hat-trick as Thurlow Nunn South leaders Hutton smash six past Dunmow Town, there were also wins for Cannons Wood, Brimsdown, Stansted & Burnham Ramblers in today's league action

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Saturday 10th January

For the second weekend in a row I found myself over at New Lodge, Billericay, but this time it was for a Thurlow Nunn South contest between league leaders Hutton & third from bottom Dunmow Town as the hosts looked to keep up their promotion charge, and the visitors were looking to cause a surprise and improve their chances of getting away from a relegation fight.

The league leaders were eight unbeaten in the league and had won their last four netting fourteen goals and conceding just two and began the day three points ahead of Newbury Forest with a game in hand, and with Forest's game being called off today, they had the chance to increase that gap at the top with what most thought would be an expected win over a side sitting third bottom in the division.

Dunmow's last two league games had resulted in goalless draws away from home against promotion chasing Brimsdown & in form Hoddesdon Town, although those two games were a month apart due to Dunmow's will documented issues off the field which almost saw the club go to the wall, but thankfully they did not and are now looking to rebuild and see if they can indeed create a side who can get away from the drop zone.

It certainly created a feeling of what Dunmow would be like, obviously after the issues they did have recently they have had to pretty much rebuild as said, so their position in the table could well be false and Hutton would have to be aware of what they were coming up against, however despite this Hutton were still expected to get the result here and increase their lead at the top.

The hosts certainly did most of the running in the opening half hour but Dunmow did look a threat on the counter for sure, in the 34th minute though Hutton did grab the lead when they were awarded a penalty after a barge inside the box, and Adam Vyse duly stepped up to net the spot kick and hand the hosts the lead.

That proved to be the only goal in the opening half, and Dunmow actually finished the half stronger and showed more than enough to suggest they were right in this contest, their number seven, Nathan Kamavuako, was their biggest threat to Hutton, but we were all surprised when he did not appear for the second half as was part of three changes the visitors made at the break, so unless he was carrying a knock or something, it was baffling if you ask me, but there you go.

Hutton though knew they needed a second goal to make it more comfortable because Dunmow were a threat when they did attack, and they managed to grab this eight minutes after the break when a lovely ball in from Solomon Asamoah found Elliott Howson who side footed home first time and Hutton now had that two goal cushion.

Dunmow to their credit kept plugging away and if they could grab a goal back could make the game interesting perhaps, but in the 65th minute Hutton were to add a third goal when a beautiful pass from George Vile split the defence and saw Ryley Duggin run onto it, round keeper Michael Doyle, and slot into the empty net, and this you felt was game, set & match although Dunmow were still competing well although they just could not deal with the hosts attacking prowess.

The hosts made it four with 77 minutes on the clock as they continued to be ruthless, William Vile had only been on the pitch a few minutes when he looped a header back across goal where Howson was in hand to convert from pretty much on the goal line, and Howson completed his treble in the 84th minute when the brilliant Duggin crossed for the sublime hosts number eight to convert and make it five.

And a rampant hosts added a sixth in the 88th minute and it was the best of the lot as Duggin curled home a beauty into the top corner to cap a fine performance from himself and his side, Howson & Duggin were the hosts best players in my view, I felt Howson may have edged it but Duggin was given the MOTM award by his team, and that's fair enough as either could have won this award.

A thumping win for Hutton then, which sends them six clear at the summit, a heavy loss for Dunmow but they can take plenty of positives from this performance despite the result, and with games in hand on the sides around them can soon move up that table if they start picking up points, which I am sure they will do, they just came up against a side in Hutton who are extremely good and are going for the title.

Full time Hutton 6 Dunmow Town 0

Let's now see what else happened in the division today, only four other games went ahead, here is how they panned out:-

Cannons Wood 3 Lymore Gardens 1 (Cannons Wood continue to climb the table after they defeated promotion chasing Lymore Gardens, Noah Adejokun handed the hosts a third minute lead and this lead was doubled seven minutes before the break after Sam Wilson netted as the hosts went into the break 2-0 up. That lead was increased further four minutes after the break when Warren Kayembe netted a debut goal for his new club and although Lymore found the net through James Smith twenty minutes into the half, Cannons Wood had done enough to earn another impressive win)

Clapton Community 0 Brimsdown 2 (Brimsdown netted a fine win in front of almost 600 at The Spotted Dog ground to get closer to the play off places, they grabbed the lead just past the half hour mark before doubling that lead soon after the half time break, and although Clapton did try and get back into the contest, even they said afterwards the best team won on the day)

FC Baresi 2 Stansted 3 (A late Nathan Scarborough header saw The Airportmen take all three points against FC Baresi, the hosts did grab a ninth minute lead but were pegged back by a Michael Mignot leveller in the 26th minute, Stansted then took the lead when Mignot netted again eight minutes before the break, only to see the hosts level it up just before half time. Alfie Gleghorn was then sent off for the visitors with twenty minutes remaining but it was they who were to net a winner when Scarborough looped home a header to win it for the ten men)

May & Baker 1 Burnham Ramblers 7 (Ramblers bounced back from their narrow loss at Hutton in midweek in style as they netted seven at Parsloes against May & Baker. The game was as good as done inside half an hour after Noah Hayes netted a hat-trick by the 27th minute, Stuart Zanone then added another just past the half hour mark before netting again six minutes before the break to hand the visitors a 5-0 half time lead.  The hosts netted a penalty just after the break but were soon five goals behind again when Tom Franks headed home in the 50th minute, and the scoring was completed late on through Aiden Brown to complete a thumping win for the visiting side)  

Let's now look at how the table looks following today's results:-

Hutton's thumping win over Dunmow sees them six clear at the top, Dunmow remain in the bottom three but have multiple games in hand still, they are only three behind May & Baker who were thrashed at home by Burnham Ramblers who themselves now are only five points off the top five, Clapton CFC, who occupy that final play off spot, are only a few points ahead of the chasing pack which includes Brimsdown who beat them today.

Stansted climbed up to fourth today after their late win against an FC Baresi side who are six points above the drop zone, and The Airportmen are only two points off third now after Lymore slipped up at Cannons Wood who are now up to 11th themselves after a superb revival which has seen them climb from the bottom three to the cusp of the top ten in a few weeks.

It is tight at both ends, only six points separate Stansted in fourth and Rayleigh in ninth, whilst down at the bottom only six points separate 14th placed FC Baresi and 19th placed Dunmow Town, so plenty still to play for at both ends of the division heading into 2026.

Anyway, that concludes my second blog of 2026, hope you all enjoyed reading!!! 

Billericay Town 1 Hashtag United 2 - Goals from Max Cornhill & Luke May-Parrott see Tags to important win over Blues, Chatham, Cray, Burgess Hill & Chichester also picked up wins in Isthmian Premier today

Isthmian League Premier Division, Saturday 3rd January

My first game of 2026 saw me over at New Lodge, Billericay, for an Isthmian Premier division contest between local rivals Billericay Town and Hashtag United, this was after most other games in the area fell foul of the freezing conditions, but thanks to the hosts 3G pitch, this one went ahead.

The club were duly rewarded with a decent turnout, 1,381, with around a couple of hundred travelling and seeing if their side could pick up an important win to help them get out of that bottom four of the division, they began the afternoon three points from safety knowing if they could grab a win at New Lodge then they would be level on points with fifth bottom Cheshunt albeit having played a game more.

They would have to do something they hadn't done since 6th September and only the third time this season though, win away from home, in fact they had only won five times in the league all season with their last win coming a month ago when they thrashed fellow strugglers Canvey Island 4-0 at home.

They had claimed a decent 2-2 draw at home to Aveley in their last league outing, ending a run of back to back losses, and they were up against a Billericay side who after a slow start were trying to rebuild their campaign, in fact at kick off they were as far away from the play offs as they were from the drop zone, nine points, in 11th spot, so if they could win today it would take them closer to the top five, however a loss would see them closer to the drop zone, so important for both for differing reasons.

The hosts had only one once in four league outings in December though, including a very disappointing loss at struggling Canvey Island last time out, so they definitely did not want to lose back to back to sides in the bottom four and especially lose a derby at home too in front such a big crowd, the majority who were hoping they could win this contest as well.

The hosts certainly started the game the better and looked the likelier to open the scoring, but just past the half hour mark they were stunned as Tags skipper Max Cornhill rose to power home a header totally unmarked despite their being several hosts players inside the box, but they all just stood and watched as Cornhill powered home, and for the rest of the half the Tags dominated and could easily have added a couple more, Town had lost their way and needed the half time whistle when it came that was for sure.

Could the Blues respond? They certainly did that as after starting the second half like they had begun the first, Alfie Cerulli produced a moment of magic with an overhead/shoulder flick to find the far corner, giving them a huge boost and the momentum, and they saw Charlie Ruff's long range effort strike the bar not long after as they came so close to taking the lead.

Had that gone in maybe the hosts would have gone on to win the contest, who knows, but instead it was Hashtag who retook the lead just beyond the hour mark, a lovely ball into Luke May-Parrott saw him control, take a touch before curling a lovely effort into the far corner, it was a beautiful finish and it had handed the visitors the advantage once again.

This knocked the stuffing out of the hosts who had been getting up a head of steam, and frustration had set in amongst the home fans and players once again, and again they seemed to have lost their way again, but after a period where they had to get over this set back, they began to apply pressure on the visiting back line as they searched for a route back into the game.

Hashtag though battling gamely and kept the Blues at arms length, their were some hairy moments for them though, one coming in stoppage time when an almighty scramble inside the box eventually saw Tags clear, and then with the last attack of the game Billericay thought they had salvaged a last gasp point, only for the goal to be ruled out for an infringement in the build up, I think it was for handball, but to be honest I wasn't quite sure, it kind of summed up the hosts day, but The Tags did hold on to record a fine win and an important one too.

The hosts management team came to chat to the referee at full time as well, they were obviously asking why the goal had been chalked off as well, nobody really knew why but it's another disappointing loss for The Blues who are now only six points above Hashtag United who are only in the bottom four on goal difference following this result.

Billericay Town 1 Hashtag United 2

Four other games survived the freezing weather today in the division, shall we see how those went:-

Brentwood Town 1 Cray Wanderers 4 (Att: 622)

It was second against sixth at The Brentwood Centre Arena but nobody saw what was to come as the visitors blew away their hosts in a devastating first forty five minutes. Saul Kader had given Cray a sixth minute lead before Alex Hernandez, a second from Kader & a Lateef Adaja late in the first half handed the visitors a 4-0 advantage at the half. Kymani Thomas did pull one back for the home side in the 77th minute but the damage had already been done as Cray inflicted only Brentwood's second home defeat of the season.

Burgess Hill Town 2 Lewes 1 (Att: 1,148)

The hosts charge for the play offs continued as they netted a late winner to see off Lewes at The Medical Travel Compared Stadium, Ben Pope put the hosts ahead in the 13th minute, Charlie Walker responded for Lewes on the half hour mark, but George Vorster netted in the 80th minute to hand the home side the win.

Chichester City 2 Carshalton Athletic 1 

Hosts Chichester kept their play off charge on track after they came from behind to see off Carshalton Athletic at Oaklands Park, Noah Etienne Nzuzi had given the visitors the lead in the 21st minute and they held this advantage until twenty minutes into the second half when Joseph James Moore levelled, and he netted again with 75 minutes on the clock to help his side to all the points.

Folkestone Invicta 1 Chatham Town 2 (Att: 2,166)

A bumper crowd were in for this contest at Alcaline Stadium and it was Chatham who took all the spoils to keep themselves well inside the top five as they inflicted only league leaders Invicta's second loss of the season, and a first at home. Sam Sene-Richardson handed the visitors a 17th minute lead and this lead was doubled by Kian Moynes just before the hour mark, Berr Mason did net a consolation in added on time but it was too little too late as Chatham recorded a fine win at the runaway leaders.

Let's see the table after todays games:-

Chatham & Cray edged closer to Brentwood after they both won today, the latter failing to capitalise on a rare slip up from Folkstone who still hold an eleven point lead despite their loss today.

Burgess Hill & Chichester moved closer to the top five, Lewes & Billericay stay in mid table after disappointing losses today, Carshalton are now only a point above the drop zone after they lost and Hashtag won, there are only two points between the fourth bottom Tags and 15th placed Wingate & Finchley.

That concludes my first blog off 2026, hope you enjoyed!!!