BBC Essex Senior Cup 2021/22 - A look back at at this season's edition

 (Action from the Fourth Round tie at New Lodge which saw Billericay Town defeat Canvey Island 3-1)

So, we have our finalists for the 2021/22 edition of the BBC Essex Senior Cup, with Vanarama National South side Billericay Town taking on Isthmian Premier Bowers & Pitsea at Colchester United’s Weston Homes Community Stadium on Tuesday 12^th April, but let’s see how the competition unfolded over the last few months…

Preliminary Round

Eighteen sides got their campaigns under way, with sides from the Essex Senior League and the Thurlow Nunn South division entering (and the ones not lucky enough to get byes into the First Round!!!) so let’s see how they got on…

Takeley 2 West Essex 2 (West Essex won 4-2 on penalties)

Benfleet 1 Wivenhoe Town 4 (here is my blog on this game (http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2021/10/benfleet-1-wivenhoe-town-4.html)

Walthamstow 2 Newbury Forest 2 (Walthamstow won 4-2 on penalties)

Coggeshall United 1 Harwich & Parkeston 2

FC Clacton 0 Buckhurst Hill 2

Barkingside 2 Holland 3 (here is my blog on this game (http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2021/10/barkingside-2-holland-3.html)

Burnham Ramblers 1 Ilford 0

Redbridge 3 Frenford 0

Halstead Town 1 May & Baker 2

West Essex won their all ESL clash at Station Road against Takeley after winning a shootout, Elliott Long had given Takeley the lead but goals from Samuel McNally and Samraj Gill saw West ahead, a late Carl Mullings goal took it to penalties, but West prevailed from twelve yards, whilst in the all Thurlow Nunn South contest at Park Lane, Wivenhoe got the better of Benfleet, click on link above for more details.

Samir Bihmoutine and Jason Hallett netted for Walthamstow as they were given a scare by lower league opposition in the shape of Newbury Forest at Wadham Lodge, the hosts even saw Adebola Sotoyinbo sent off, but they managed to squeeze through on penalties, whilst in another all Thurlow Nunn South contest at West Street, Harwich & Parkeston got the better of Coggeshall United to progress into the next round of the competition.

Buckhurst Hill stunned ESL FC Clacton at The Austin Arena to continue their superb start to life in Senior Football, and at Cricklefield Holland survived a late comeback from Barkingside to take their place in Round One, click on link above for my take on that evening’s proceedings, and at Leslie Field Burnham Ramblers caused an upset after a stoppage time penalty saw them defeat Ilford to take their place in the next round.

Finally, Redbridge saw off Frenford at Oakside thanks to goals from James Barlow, Tony Martin and Sergiu Maximov, and May & Baker netted a fine win at Rosemary Lane against Halstead Town to progress.

 

First Round

The remaining seven Essex Senior and Thurlow Nunn South sides entered the competition at this stage (the ones lucky enough to have been given byes!!!) and they joined the sides that progressed from the Preliminary Round as another seven ties took place, here is how they went…

West Essex 0 Stanway Rovers 1

Stansted 1 Redbridge 1 (Redbridge won 5-4 on penalties)

Harwich & Parkeston 0 White Ensign 3

Holland 1 Wivenhoe Town 0

Southend Manor 2 Buckhurst Hill 3 (here is my blog on this game http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2021/11/southend-manor-2-buckhurst-hill-3.html)

May & Baker 1 Saffron Walden Town 2

Athletic Newham 2 Burnham Ramblers 2 (at Burnham Ramblers FC, Burnham Ramblers won 4-3 on penalties)

Walthamstow 1 Little Oakley 0

Stanway’s campaign began with a narrow one goal win at Wadham Lodge against fellow ESL side West Essex, and in the first of many meetings between the two, Stansted and Redbridge ended up going to penalties at Hargrave Park, with the visitors going through, Daniel Okah netted for The Airportmen, whereas Ibrahim Kehinde netted for the visitors who also had Timothy Ogunrinde sent off, but it did not affect them as they ended up prevailing.

White Ensign Senior Cup campaign began with a 3-0 win at Royal Oak against Harwich & Parkeston, Connor Barnby netted a brace and there was also one for Zack Littlejohn as the Great Wakering based boys marched on into Round Two, and in an all Thurlow Nunn South contest at Dulwich Road, Holland netted the only goal of their contest with Wivenhoe Town to progress.

Buckhurst Hill took a second successive ESL scalp away from home as they downed Southend Manor at Southchurch Park, for more details on this game click on link above, Saffron Walden Town needed a Craig Calver brace to see off May & Baker at Parkside, and Burnham Ramblers caused another shock as they downed high flying ESL side Athletic Newham.

The match had supposed to been taking place at The Terrance McMillan Stadium in Newham, but this was unavailable so the tie was switched to Leslie Field, and with Burnham 2-0 up things looked good for them, however the ever impressive Richard Kone pulled one back for the ESL outfit before an 84^th minute leveller from Leon Hasani took the tie to penalties, but, Ramblers held their nerve to cause a big surprise and go through to Round Two.

Finally for this round, Walthamstow sneaked through to Round Two after a Jason Hallett first half goal proved enough as they saw off fellow ESL side Little Oakley at Wadham Lodge.

 

Second Round

The eight remaining sides from the previous two rounds did battle in the four ties that took place in this round to determine who would go through to round three and potentially draw one of the big boys entering the competition at that stage, so plenty of incentive in these games, let’s see how it unfolded…

Holland 3 Burnham Ramblers 2

Buckhurst Hill 0 Walthamstow 1 (here is my blog on this game http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2021/11/buckhurst-hill-0-walthamstow-1.html)

Saffron Walden Town 2 Redbridge 0

White Ensign 4 Stanway Rovers 2

Burnham Ramblers run in the competition ended after they were knocked out by fellow Thurlow Nunn South side Holland, and the North Essex side ended up being the sole Thurlow Nunn South survivor heading into Round Two after Buckhurst Hill were dumped out by Walthamstow at Roding Lane in what was an eagerly awaited contest, for more on that click on the link above.

In another heavy weight second round tie at Catons Lane, Saffron Walden Town saw off Redbridge 2-0 to book their place in Round Three, and finally in another all ESL contest at Burroughs Park, Ensign hit four as they saw off Stanway Rovers in a very impressive showing, Dominic Locke netted a brace whilst there were also strikes from Joe Gregory and Zack Littlejohn as they made it seven goals in their two outings in the competition so far.

 

Third Round

The remaining 28 sides who had entered the competition came into the fray in Round Three, along with the four sides who had progressed from Round Two to make up the Last 32 of the cup, so teams ranging from the EFL down to Step Six of the non-league pyramid were now in the mix, let’s see who made it through to the Last 16…

Basildon United 3 Hornchurch 2 (Isthmian North Basildon United caused a big surprise after they dumped Isthmian Premier Hornchurch out at Gardiners Close, Ellis Brown had given The Urchins a seventh minute lead but Ruben Carvalho levelled two minutes before the break, David Enakita restored the visitors lead with eighteen minutes to go but late goals from Robbie Farrell and Carvalho sealed a shock win for the hosts.)

Heybridge Swifts 4 Harlow Town 1 (Swifts saw off Harlow at Scraley Road to progress into Round Four, the hosts found themselves three goals up in fifteen minutes thanks to strikes from Dylan Logan, Daniel Walker and another from Logan, and it was 4-0 before half time when Archie McFadden netted, and although Alex Read pulled one back on the hour mark for the visitors, the game was already over for some time and was a mere consolation)

Walthamstow 0 Brentwood Town 1 (An Ashley Nzala goal a minute before the break saw Isthmian North Brentwood Town edge out Essex Senior League leaders Walthamstow at Wadham Lodge, this could well be a league game next season so was a good barometer for Stow to see what they could be facing week in week out next season, and they more than played their part but just fell short and it was Town who progressed)

Bowers & Pitsea 6 Great Wakering Rovers 0 (Isthmian Premier Bowers & Pitsea thrashed Isthmian North side Great Wakering Rovers at The Len Salmon Stadium, goals from Mitchell Gilbey, Joshua Rusoke and Callum Boyle had the hosts three goals to the good after 32 minutes, Michael Ademiluyi then added a brace before Luca Albon completed the rout to send the hosts into Round Four)

Waltham Abbey 0 Grays Athletic 2 (Grays Athletic saw off Waltham Abbey at Capershotts to progress, Anointed Chukwu edged the visitors ahead seven minutes before the break before Joe Paxman doubled their lead just past the hour mark and it proved enough to earn the visitors victory and progress into the Last 16)

Brightlingsea Regent 1 East Thurrock United 2 (East Thurrock United won the all Isthmian Premier tie against Brightlingsea Regent at Taydal Stadium, Oliver Spooner gave the visitors the lead three minutes before the break before Ben Search doubled that lead fifteen minutes from time, and although Valter Cachicote de Rocha pulled one back with nine minutes remaining, it wasn’t enough to prevent the hosts from exiting the competition)

Aveley 1 Barking 3 (The Millers were surprisingly beaten at home by Barking, George Okoye gave the Blues a third minute lead before Aveley responded ten minutes later through Ryan Scott, however, Okoye restored Barking’s lead early in the second half before Charlie Heatley sealed their passage into the Last 16 with a late third)

Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Concord Rangers 2 (Concord Rangers caused a surprise after the Vanarama National South side saw off Vanarama National League side Dagenham & Redbridge at Victoria Road. Danny Green put the visitors ahead from the spot after just three minutes before they doubled their lead on the half hour mark from a Mamadou Jobe header, and although The Daggers pulled one back four minutes later through an Ibby Akanbi strike, Concord held on to record a fine win)

Hullbridge Sports 1 Tilbury 3 (Drey Mensah was amongst the goal scorers as Tilbury won the all Isthmian North battle at Lower Road against Hullbridge Sports)

Braintree Town 3 Witham Town 0 (Isthmian North side Witham Town fell at their first hurdle after they were beaten at Cressing Road by Vanarama National South side Braintree Town)

Hashtag United 1 Romford 0 (Toby Aromolaran netted a 90^th minute winner as Hashtag United defeated struggling Romford at The Len Salmon Stadium to progress into Round Four of the competition)

Billericay Town 1 White Ensign 0 (Essex Senior side White Ensign put up a brave fight against a youthful Billericay Town at New Lodge, but an Ipanga Mbambo goal proved enough for the Vanarama National South hosts to get through to the next round of the competition)

Holland 0 Canvey Island 5 (The sole surviving Thurlow Nunn South side Holland were well beaten by Isthmian North high flyers Canvey Island at Dulwich Road, Liam Oliver netted twice inside the opening ten minutes to put the visitors in control, Evans Kouassi then made it three just before the half mark. Oliver then completed his hat-trick just past the hour mark and the scoring was completed with thirteen minutes remaining when Callum Fitzer found the net to seal a comfortable passage into Roudn Four for The Gulls)

Maldon & Tiptree 1 Chelmsford City 2 (A Simeon Jackson brace helped steer Vanarama National South Chelmsford into Round Four at their former landlords and Isthmian North Maldon & Tiptree at the Wallace Binder Ground. A shock looked on the cards after eighteen minutes when Maldon grabbed the lead through Philip Brown-Bampoe but City levelled just past the hour mark through Jackson before Charlee Hughes was then sent off just before half time leaving the hosts down to ten men. It took City until ten minutes from time though to find a winner, with Jackson netting his second, meaning the visitors progressed)

Colchester United 6 Saffron Walden Town 1 (Essex Senior Saffron Walden Town put up a good fight against EFL League Two Colchester United’s U23s, and even went into the break level after a Scott Piggott goal, however, the Us overran their lower league opponents to progress into Round Four of the competition)

Southend United 0 Coggeshall Town 3 (Coggeshall Town recorded a famous victory at Roots Hall as they downed The Blues U23s to progress into Round Four, Alex Teniola gave the visitors a 21^st minute lead before Jayden Gipson doubled that advantage with just over twenty minutes remaining. And Kudos Oyenuga completed a memorial evening for the Isthmian North visitors when adding a third with twelve minutes remaining)

 

Fourth Round

Last 16 stage now, with teams three wins away from a place in the final in April, lets see how those eight ties panned out…

Bowers & Pitsea 2 Chelmsford City 2 (Bowers & Pitsea won 5-3 on penalties) (Isthmian Premier Bowers & PItsea stunned Vanarama National South Chelmsford City on what was a dramatic night at The Len Salmon Stadium to progress into the Quarter Finals. Mitchell Gilbey gave the hosts the lead midway through the first period, but a Charlie Sheringham brace seemed to have sent the visitors through, however, a stoppage time leveller from Lewis Manor took the tie to spot kicks which Bowers prevailed in to take their place in the Last Eight)

Barking 5 Grays Athletic 1 (Freddie Parker netted a hat-trick as Barking cruised to victory in their all Isthmian North contest against Grays Athletic at Mayesbrook Park, Parker netted on eleven minutes to give the Blues the lead but James Smith brought Grays level nine minutes before the break, only to see Parker restore the hosts lead five minutes later. James Folkes then extended Barking’s lead early in the second period before Parker completed his treble just past the hour mark, and the scoring was completed six minutes later when Tom Salter added a fifth for a rampant Blues)

Concord Rangers 1 Colchester United 1 (Concord Rangers won 8-7 on penalties) (A last minute penalty from Danny Green saw Concord Rangers take this game to penalties before they triumphed 8-7 in the shootout to progress into the Quarter Finals of the competition and knock out another side higher up the pyramid than themselves in the process)

Hashtag United 2 Heybridge Swifts 1 (here is my blog on this game http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2022/01/hashtag-united-2-heybridge-swifts-1.html)

Brentwood Town 1 Tilbury 1 (Brentwood Town won 4-3 on penalties) (Brentwood Town needed penalties to see off fellow Isthmian North opponents Tilbury at The Arena, Tom Richardson’s 64^th minute spot kick looked to have seen them through, but Chris Millar levelled for the Dockers in stoppage time, taking the tie to penalties, but Town held their nerve to win through to the Last Eight)

Braintree Town 4 Basildon United 1 (A first half hat-trick from McKeown helped Vanarama National South side Braintree Town ease past Isthmian North Basildon United at Cressing Road, McKeown netted in the 13^th, 20^th and 32^nd minute to give his side a 3-0 lead at the break. Brayley did pull one back for the visitors eleven minutes into the second period, but Morgan sealed the hosts passage into the Quarters with nine minutes to go)

East Thurrock United 2 Coggeshall Town 6 (Isthmian North Coggeshall Town thrashed Isthmian Premier strugglers and current holders from the last completed competition East Thurrock United at Rookery Hill to take their place in the Quarters. The hosts did head themselves ahead, but Alex Teniola levelled before Isaac Skubich and Callum Harrison netted to send the visitors into the break 3-1 to the good, and the game was as good as over when Oyenuga added a fourth. East Thurrock pulled one back to briefly reduce the arrears but further goals from Byrne-Hewitt and Francis sealed another memorable night in this competition for the Seedgrowers)

Billericay Town 3 Canvey Island 1 (here is my blog on this game http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2022/01/billericay-town-3-canvey-island-1.html)

 

Quarter Finals

Eight sides now remained, with sides from the Vanarama National South, Isthmian Premier and North representing their particular leagues as they aimed to progress closer to that final in Colchester, let’s see how the four Quarter Final ties panned out…

Barking 1 Concord Rangers 4 (Barking’s run in this year’s competition came to an end after the Isthmian North side were beaten at home by Vanarama National South Concord Rangers. Ben Allen gave Concord the lead a minute before the break but Charlie Heatley then levelled just before the hour mark, however Concord’s lead was quickly restored through Danny Green before Jayden Randell and Temi Babalola added further goals for the visitors as they pulled away to win and take their place in the Final Four)

Billericay Town 1 Hashtag United 0 (Sam Skeffington’s first half goal was enough for Vanarama National South Billericay Town to take their place in the Semi Finals, beating Isthmian North Hashtag United at New Lodge. The winning moment came midway through the first period when Skeffington fired home from the edge of the box)

Bowers & Pitsea 3 Braintree Town 0 (Bowers & Pitsea dumped out another Vanarama National South side at The Len Salmon Stadium after they defeated Braintree Town to reach the semi-finals. Michael Ademiluyi handed the hosts a 33^rd minute lead before Danny Norton doubled that advantage right on half time, and Norton netted again with five minutes remaining to seal the hosts passage into the Last Four)

Coggeshall Town 2 Brentwood Town 2 (Coggeshall Town won 3-2 on penalties) (Coggeshall Town’s fine run continued after they netted a penalty shoot out win over fellow Isthmian North opponents Brentwood Town at West Street. Jermain Francis had put The Seedgrowers ahead on sixteen minutes, but Tom Richardson levelled on the half hour mark as the sides went into the break all square, Alex Teniola looked to have won it with five minutes to go but Brentwood netted a stoppage time equaliser through Rob Harvey to take the tie to spot kicks. Town though managed to hold their nerve to win the shootout and progress into the Semi Finals)

 

Semi Finals

And then there were four, an all Vanarama National South contest and an Isthmian Premier against North to determine who would play for the BBC Essex Senior Cup for 2021/22, let’s see how both Semi Finals went…

Concord Rangers 3 Billericay Town 4 (at Billericay Town FC) (Billericay Town won through to the Final after winning an absolute classic against Concord Rangers in a tie that was switched to New Lodge late on. Dylan Gavin latched onto a dipping through ball to volley home and give Town a fifth minute lead, but a good Concord move was finished off by a fine near post finish from Lamar Reynolds to bring them level after only ten minutes. Concord then led midway through the first period after James Blanchfield fired in off the post, but it was 2-2 right on half time after Gavin fired home his second of the contest from close range. And that wasn’t it for the opening forty-five either as Billericay then grabbed the lead two minutes into first half stoppage time when Jack Munns free kick was flicked home by Michael Chambers to see them into the break with a 3-2 lead, a lead that was to be snuffed out immediately at the start of the second half when Reynolds slid home from close range. The winning moment though came with twenty minutes remaining when Niko Muir’s ball across goal saw Aron Pollock turn the ball into his own net, and Billericay Town had reached the final of the BBC Essex Senior Cup.

Bowers & Pitsea 3 Coggeshall Town 0 (Bowers & Pitsea powered past Coggeshall Town to reach the final and set up a tie against Billericay Town, the hosts made a perfect start to proceedings by netting in the opening minute thanks to Dan Trendall, and just past the half hour mark it was two for the hosts thanks to a lovely finish from Pedro Silva Barbosa. Bowers were reduced to ten men though nine minutes after the break when Jamie Dicks was shown a straight red after a tackle that was deemed to be out of control, however this did not affect them as they sealed their passage into the final by adding a third goal midway through the second period when Callum Leahy converted a cross from Trendall)

 

Final

Billericay Town Vs Bowers & Pitsea (at Colchester United, Tuesday 12^th April, 7.45pm)

Vanarama National League Billericay have won this competition three times with their first one coming back in the 1975/76 season when they defeated Epping Town, and then they won it for the second time in 2010/11 after beating Aveley, and the last time they lifted the BBC Essex Senior Cup was in 2017-18 when they beat Chelmsford City.  They have also lost four finals too, losing three in a row back in the 1990s to Grays Athletic twice in a row and then to Braintree Town, and then losing the 2014/15 version to Concord Rangers.

Bowers & Pitsea, who play one level below Billericay in the Isthmian Premier, have never even been to the final of this competition, so this will be a first for them, and shows how far the club have come in such a short space of time after spending much of the past years in the lower reaches of non-league football, so this is a brilliant achievement for them, can they win their first one on April 12^th?

There is no reason why not, they have already slayed two Vanarama National South sides in Chelmsford City and Braintree Town on route to the final, so they will not be afraid of a Billericay Town side who have struggled for a major part of the campaign, but equally this would be a fourth triumph if Town were to pull it off, and they will be more than confident of doing that.

It should be a good final at Colchester United Weston Homes Community Stadium in April, we will find out who comes out on top in around a months time…

 

Fisher 1 Lordswood 2

Southern Counties East Premier Division, Saturday 5th March

The first weekend of March saw me head south of the river for a Southern Counties East Premier Division tussle at St Pauls in Rotherhithe which saw a superb second half volley from Zak Jakubowski help Lordswood to a first win in over four months at the expense of Fisher on a chilly South London afternoon.

After putting out a tweet on Friday evening suggesting that I was looking for a game on 3/4G due to the amount if rain that was and had fallen over the past 48 hours, several clubs responded.  Fisher boss AJ was one of those to invite me to St Pauls, and after much deliberation I accepted his invite and made my way to South London, or Rotherhithe to be exact.

I got to Rotherhithe at midday so I could try out The Mayflower Pub, which is two minutes walk from Rotherhithe station right on the river, it had been recommended to me by a couple of people and I was not to be disappointed, the Steak and Ale pie was marvellous and I definitely recommend it if your planning to visit the area, it has some lovely views, as I snapped below...

The staff were very friendly, and with heaters outside it wasn't to bad, even on a typical March day in the UK!!! It's very cosy inside too, a marvellous pub which should be visited if you do plan to go to a Fisher game at any point, I'll certainly be heading back there if I do!!!

After my lunch I headed up towards St Paul's Sports Ground but stopped off on route to take a peek at where Fisher's old ground, the Surrey Docks Stadium, once stood, now called Mayflower Park. Fisher Athletic used to play here and some of the old terrace still remains, Athletic went bust in 2009 and Fisher were formed not long afterwards and remain till this day, below are some snaps of what remains of the old ground anyway...

It's a shame I never got to visit this ground when it was in use, but it's nice that some of the old ground still remains till this day, even if small, but certainly an historic piece of land for every Fisher fan I am sure, so it was nice to go and take a look.

Anyway, after that I carried on my merry way to Fisher's current home, this was my second visit to St Pauls, and when I had visited back in October 2020, I had been impressed with the set up there, and this time was no exception, it’s a well-run club and a decent facility to visit too, and many thanks to AJ who had kindly put my name down on the gate, so that saved me some money, thank you.

Of course, that made me want the home side to win as kind gestures like these certainly win your support, and Fisher, in 13^th spot, had lost three straight before the new year, but since January 3^rd they had won three, drawn three, and lost just once, and last time out they held second placed Sheppey United to a 2-2 draw at St Pauls, which was a very good effort as Sheppey had won twenty four of their twenty eight games up till that point as they battle Chatham Town in a two horse race for the title.

Lordswood, who were the visitors in this one, have had a terrible season so far, having only won two games all season, with their last win coming way back on October 30^th, and since then have lost all but two of their fifteen games since, and had lost twenty one of their twenty-seven outings overall and were bottom of the pile, two points behind second bottom Tower Hamlets and seven points from safety too.

So surely this would be a home win? Fisher could have jumped up three places to tenth with a win in this one, whereas a first win in over four months for Lordswood could see them climb off the bottom of the table, and it was also worth noting that the visitors were much changed recently after a change of stewardship and some new personal in the side, and they had certainly looked more competitive in recent games even if the results had not shown that.

Early on it seemed that Lordswood would take control of the contest after they edged ahead on twelve minutes, Grant Brown's wonderful long range effort was superbly tipped onto the crossbar by home keeper Tommy Taylor, but the ball was then recycled back into the box and saw Nat Murray fire home from close range, an the visitors had grabbed the early advantage.

This advantage though was wiped out just before the half hour mark, visiting keeper George Bentley tried to play centre half outside his box and ended up losing the ball to Fisher forward Julio Da Mata, and he found his teammate Vincent Follea around thirty yards from goal, and he duly drilled a lovely effort into the net vaccated by Bentley from that distance, and it meant a very fast paced competitive first period ended all square, it had certainly been an enjoyable watch thus far.

The hosts had started slow in the first period before building some momentum after they levelled, and they carried that momentum in the early exchanges of the second period, thumping one such effort against the post, and also forcing Bentley into a decent stop too, but for all of Fisher's attacking play, they could not find a second goal, and then midway through the second period, the inevitable happened. 

Lordswood attacked down the left and Josh Reid got the ball on that side before producing a wonderful cross into the mixer, and he found striker Jakubowski perfectly to volley a first time finish past Taylor and into the hosts net and see them restore the lead, a lead they were not to relinquish as it turned out.

The visitors thereafter had to withstand a lot of pressure to hold onto that lead though, Fisher struck the woodwork again, and Bentley made another brilliant stop to preserve his sides lead, Fisher's frustrations were clear, and whilst their full back Temi Oladejo received lengthy treatment as the game entered stoppage time, Luke Thomas said too much to the referee and was duly sin binned, meaning the hosts would end the game with ten men.

There was still plenty of stoppage time to come though, almost ten minutes in fact, but the visitors held on to record a first victory in months, a victory that also took them off the foot of the division too, so a good day and maybe some building blocks onto better things for them after an horrendous campaign to date.

It just was not Fishers day today ultimately, they had enough chances to win the game, but fair play to Lordswood who battled gamely for a huge win and a massive three points, so well played to them for achieving this, I certainly enjoyed my day, and also the game too, it was a very entertaining encounter played in cold and at times soggy conditions.

Full time Fisher 1 Lordswood 2

So what else happened in the division today, let's find out...

Results

Crowborough Athletic 4-1 Rusthall

Erith & Belvedere 0-3 Sheppey United

Fisher 1-2 Lordswood

Glebe 0-0 Chatham Town

Hollands & Blair 0-1 Erith Town

Holmesdale 2-1 K Sports

Kennington 5-2 Bearsted

Tower Hamlets 1-3 Welling Town

Tunbridge Wells 4-0 Deal Town

And this is what those results did to the table....

League leaders Chatham Town dropped points in their goalless draw with third placed Glebe, Sheppey took full advantage to go level at the top after they netted victory at sixth placed Erith & Belvedere, and as mentioned Lordswood's first win in over four months sees them climb off the foot of the table after Tower Hamlets lost at home to Welling Town. Wood also close the gap to safety to just four points too after third bottom Rusthall were well beaten at Crowborough Athletic. It's probably between Rusthall, Lordswood and Tower Hamlets for relegation, whereas the top two, Chatham Town and Sheppey United, look pretty secure for promotion to the Isthmian League, it's just who will take the title now.

Anyway a good day it was, I might be blogging from Norway this time next week, but we will see, stay tuned.....

  

BBC Essex Saturday Premier Cup 2021/2022 - A look back at the four Semi Finalists route to the Final Four

 (Basildon Town and Hutton do battle in their Fourth Round tie last month, a tie Town edged 2-1)

Next weekend (Saturday 5th March) sees the Semi Finals of the Essex Premier Cup take place, lets remind ourselves of those ties:-

Clapton Community Vs Woodford East

Sungate Vs Catholic United

Clapton Community are representing the Middlesex County League and are having a very good season in the Premier Division, sitting third and only four points off league leaders FC Soma with two games in hand in them too, and they take on Woodford East who will be representing the Essex Alliance League and they too have been having a good season so far, sitting fourth in the Senior Division, nine points off leaders DTFC, and also with two games in hand having only lost one game in the league all season to date.

The other semi final sees an all Essex Olympian League Premier Division match up as Sungate take on Catholic United, both sides are pretty much locked together in seventh and sixth respectively, Sungate have played three games less then their opponents though and are just one point below them, both have won nine of their league games this term, but both have also lost several too in what has been a mixed season for both, and are both well of the pace for the top positions as a result, so a run in this competition has certainly helped both sides.

Let's now look back in detail how all four sides managed to reach the semi-final stage:-

First Round

The competition got underway way back on September 18th, but only one of the four semi finalists, Sungate, actually played in this round, as Clapton Community, Woodford East and Catholic United all got byes through to the Second Round, so just one game to look back on at this stage, and it saw Sungate travel to Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division side AFC Barnston:-

AFC Barnston 0 Sungate 3

Sungate begin their Premier Cup campaign with a three goal victory at High Easter Road against their Border League hosts, and according to the hosts they were beaten by a very good Sungate side, so the Olympian side certainly got their cup run off to a decent start, and joined the other three now semi finalists in Round Two.

Second Round

The second round took place on October 16th, with only three of the four now semi-finalists taking to the pitch (reason explained below), let's see how their campaigns began and how Sungate's continued:-

Clapton Community H-W Wakebury

Wivenhoe Town Reserves 0 Sungate 6

Herongate Athletic 1 Catholic United 2

White Ensign Reserves 1 Woodford East 2

Clapton Community's tie against Olympian Division Two side Wakebury didn't take place as the visitors withdrew from the competition, meaning the hosts effectively had two byes through to the Third Round, Sungate continued their comfortable run in the competition after they netted six second half goals against Wivenhoe's Reserve side to progress, making it nine goals without reply in their two away ties thus far, however the other two sides it was anything but comfortable. Catholic squeezed past Olympian One side Herongate thanks to goals from Aaron Baldwin and Jay Nash, whilst Woodford East needed goals from Frank Glock and Adam Tabbani to squeeze past Ensign's Reserve side in what was a superb result for Halil Hassan's side, with Joe Kemp putting in a solid defensive display to earn the MOTM award.

Third Round

After another month went by the Third Round action took place on November 20th, here is how the four semi-finalists progressed:-

Catholic United 3 West Essex Development 2

Sungate 4 Wakering Sports 0

Leigh Town 3 Clapton Community 5 (aet)

May & Baker 'A' 3 Woodford East 5

Catholic had another tough game and needed a brace from James Warder plus a solo strike from Temiloluwa Adebayo to win against West Essex Development in the odd goal in five, Sungate continued to smash everyone before them in this competition as they netted another four goals without reply in seeing off Olympian Division One side Wakering Sports, and the other two ties yielded plenty of action and goals it's fair to say. Clapton Community had to survive a scare against Olympian One side Leigh Town, with goals from Briggs, Kwakye, Taylor and a Wright brace seeing them through after extra time in an eight goal thriller, and Woodford East were also involved in an eight goal thriller against May & Baker's A side,  Adam Tabbani put in a goal scoring MOTM performance and there was a brace from Billy Barr as well as further goals from Ben Smith & Lucio Uare.

Fourth Round

The Fourth Round saw teams return to action after a small break for Christmas and New Year, and Covid of course, meaning most sides went straight back into competitive action with a Last 16 Premier Cup tie to contend with, not ideal but it is what it is, so let's see how they got on:-

Colne Athletic 3 Catholic United 5

Sungate 5 Harold Hill 1

Dunmow Town 3 Woodford East 1 (Woodford Town awarded tie and given away walkover win)

Clapton Community 4 Leigh Ramblers 2

Catholic were involved in an eight goal thriller away at Border League side Colne Athletic but saw a brace from James Warder plus strikes from Aaron Baldwin, Jay Nash and Alfie Whiteaker enough to send them into the Quarter Finals, and although Sungate finally conceded a goal in the competition, they netted another five themselves as they thrashed Olympian Two side Harold Hill. Now Woodford East thought they had exited the competition after they were beaten at Border League Dunmow Town with the East goal coming from Will Letchford, but Woodford were subsequently awarded the tie I suspect after the hosts made an administrative error, although I cannot find any info online, so am not sure what happened there, anyway Woodford were reprieved and put through to the Last Eight. Finally for this round Clapton Community netted four as they saw off Olympian Premier side Leigh Ramblers, with the goals coming from J Adejokun, N. Adejokun, Austin and Stevens.

Quarter Finals

And so to the previous round, which took place at the end of January/begging of February, let's see how the four semi-finalists won through to next weekend's ties:-

Catholic United 2 Stanway Pegasus 1

Sungate 5 Basildon Town 3 (aet)

Clapton Community 3 Manford Way 2

Tiptree Heath 2 Woodford East 5

Catholic netted a superb win over Border League side Stanway Pegasus thanks to goals from Harley Kee and Michael Sammut, they are the only side to have defeated Pegasus this season as the visitors have won 20 of their 22 league games so far and are unbeaten, so thus was no mean feat for Catholic, whilst at Ilford Wanderers Rugby Club Sungate netted another five goals but this tie was their first real test. Sungate had netted eighteen goals and only conceded one so far in the competition but came up against fellow Olympian Premier side Basildon Town and after the game ended 3-3, Sungate managed to net twice in extra time to progress in what seemed like a cracker of a cup tie. Clapton Community were given another scare against Division Two Olympian side Manford Way, but goals from Briggs, Smyth and Taylor saw them squeeze through, and Woodford East netted five as they took full advantage of their reinstatement into the competition by thrashing Border League side Tiptree Heath. Connor Brathwaite put in a goal scoring MOTM performance for the visitors, netting a brace, and there were also goals for Ben Smith, Adam Tallani and Frank Glock.

So that is where we stand going into next weekend's semi finals, I hope to be at the Clapton Community Vs Woodford East tie, both ties look sure to be good contests, hard to call who will win through to the Final which takes place at Billericay Town on Wednesday 13th April with a 7.45pm kick off.  Who will be there competing for the prestigious Premier Cup trophy??? We will find out soon enough..... 

Shoebury Town 2 Manford Way 2 (Manford Way won 4-3 on penalties)

EOFL Denny King Memorial Cup Second Round, Saturday 26th February

Saturday saw me at my first football match for two weeks, and it saw me make my first ever trip to Cupid's Country Club to see Manford Way edge out Shoebury Town on penalty kicks to set up a Last Eight tie back at Cupid's against Wakering Sports.

Cupid's is a lovely venue and belongs to Wakering Sports who have several sides competing in the local leagues, and it is also Shoebury Towns home for this season too (although the club are looking to move to Ecko Sports and Social Club next season perhaps), it has four full size football pitches, two of which are suitable for Olympian Football.

The main pitch has a seated stand and is used by Wakering Sports who play in the EOFL Division One, whilst Shoebury use the second pitch alongside it, both these pitches are roped off with permanent wooden stakes holding them up, and dugouts too, and the facility also has smaller seven a side pitch too which also has a small stand, and then there is a lovely clubhouse too with all the amenities you could want, so very impressive indeed for the level they are at. There are some senior clubs who could learn from Cupid's that is for sure.

Today's match was an all Division Two affair in the Denny King Memorial Cup, this was a secontd round tie although 15 of the 17 sides who compete in this competition got byes to Round Two anyway (the only two sides who haven't are Southend Manor Development and Snaresbrook, who are to play their First Round tie in two weekends time, with the winners meeting Epping Town at home in Round Two, and the winners of today's game at Cupid's would return to play on the main pitch in the Quarters against Wakering Sports.

Could Shoebury set up an all Cupid's Quarter Final against their landlords? They certainly began the better and saw two golden chances pass them by early on, Garry Johnson somehow slotted wide after getting in on goal, and then centre half Boosey somehow headed wide from point blank range as the hosts had the better of the first period, although hosts keeper Sebastian Godwin-Turner had to make two decent stops down the other end when the visitors did mount some attacks themselves.

Ten minutes before the break though Shoebury did grab the lead when miscommunication between keeper and defender allowed the ball to go between the keepers legs, and allow Steven Valente to ghost in behind and have an empty goal to slot into and hand the hosts a deserved lead.

However, this lead was only to last five minutes as Manford Way got themselves back on level terms with a fortuitous goal, Samuel Oramadike cut inside onto his right foot and fired an effort at the near post, keeper Godwin-Turner managed to tip it onto the inside of the post, but it came back and hit the keeper before going back onto the inside of the post and into the net for an own goal, leaving the hosts frustrated.

Shoebury were to get their noses back in front in first half stoppage time though as more calamitous defending from the visitors saw them give the ball away inside the own box and see Kyle McAlindon brought down for a spot kick, and although Johnson's penalty wasn't the best, the visiting keeper could not keep it out and the hosts had the half time lead.

Shoebury's levels dropped off somewhat in the second period and allowed Manford Way to get more of a foothold in the tie, and they were given an advantage with just under twenty minutes to go when Johnson was adjudged to be offside even though he had looked to have made a run from inside his own half to go clear on goal, and his frustrations saw referee Phillip Clarke send him to the sin bin for ten minutes, meaning the hosts would have to dig deep to keep the visitors out.

Despite some pressure from Manford Way the hosts held firm and were looking dangerous on the counter, but it looked as if Shoebury would hold out and make it through to the next round, but, a minute into stoppage time the visitors found a leveller to take the tie to penalties when Fuad Ibrahim managed to squeeze an effort beyond Godwin-Turner at his near post.

It had been a decent cup tie, and now it would be decided on spot kicks, the first six were all dispatched, and then the hosts saw a poor kick saved by the legs of the keeper, and after Manford netted their fourth it meant Shoebury had to net theirs to keep the shootout going, but they struck the bar and it meant Manford Way progressed into the Final Eight. Well played to both teams though who certainly entertained the small crowd at Cupid's.

Full time Shoebury Town 2 Manford Way 2 (Manford Way won 4-3 on penalties)

Before I go, let's see how the Denny King Memorial Cup stands after today's games:-

First Round

Southend Manor Development Vs Snaresbrook (Saturday March 12th)

Second Round

Southend Manor Development/Snaresbrook Vs Epping Town

AS Rawreth 3-0 Leytonstone United

Old Chelmsfordians Vs Wakebury (Saturday March 5th)

Old Barkabbeyans 2-4 Beacon Hill Rovers

Pitsea Athletic 2-6 Runwell Sports

Rochford Town 1-3 Collier Row

Wakering Sports 1-1 Hullbridge Sports Reserves (Wakering Sports won 5-4 on penalties)

Shoebury Town 2-2 Manford Way (Manford Way won 4-3 on penalties)

 

Quarter Finals

Southend Manor Development/Snaresbrook/Epping Town Vs AS Rawreth

Old Chelmsfordians/Wakebury Vs Beacon Hill Rovers

Runwell Sports Vs Collier Row

Wakering Sports Vs Manford Way

The Quarter Final ties should be finalised by the end of March once the sole first round tie and the two second round ties are completed over the next couple of weekends or so I'd suspect. Expect Snaresbrook to defeat Manor's Development side as they are three Divisions above meaning they would then take on fellow Division One foes Epping Town.

Going on league positions Epping Town may edge that game, so would hosts Division Two strugglers AS Rawreth for a place in the final four, whilst the other Second Round tie, which is played next weekend, is between mid table Division One side Old Chelmsfordians and third placed Division Two Wakebury, that is a hard one to call although the visitors would certainly fancy it that is for sure.

If I was a betting man I'd say Wakebury may just edge it, meaning they would be at home to Division One side Beacon Hill Rovers, who are worse off than OS, so they would fancy a last four berth if they can get through next weekends tie. And of the other two Quarter Final ties, expecting both Division One sides Runwell Sports and Wakebury Sports to progress as they are both at home to lower league opponents, but of course this means nothing as football is not played on paper.

Anyway that's all for now, the next few weekends will show if I know anything or not.....

Chadwell Heath Spartans 2 Lymore Gardens 1

Essex Alliance League Senior Division, Saturday February 12th

I was over at Chigwell Hall on Saturday and saw a late Harry Payne brace help Chadwell Heath Spartans come from behind to defeat Lymore Gardens in a big top of the table clash in the Essex Alliance Senior Division.

This was second against third in the division and the hosts knew three points would see them take a firm grip on second spot and possibly reduce the gap to league leaders DTFC, whilst a win for visiting Gardens would reduce the gap to second to just a point, so this was a big game in terms of the championship picture.

So how was the teams form coming into this? Well Spartans since the new year had won two and lost two in all competitions, bouncing back from a 5-1 loss to Jolof Sports to net five themselves last time out in a 5-2 slaying of Kit Out London, whereas Gardens had netted two wins this year against Leyton Royal and Blue Marlin so were after three straight wins in the division.

The two sides had met back on December 4th, and it saw a four match winning run from Spartans ended with a bump after Gardens netted a 4-0 success, this in the midst of a decent winning run themselves, so the visitors at least had previous this campaign, so they were looking to repeat that whilst the hosts wanted to gain some revenge for that painful loss.

It looked like the visitors might repeat the performance of a few weeks ago too early on, they began the better and only took themselves seven minutes to get in front when a ball found Ryo Brown, and he ran into the box before unleashing a superb curling effort into the top corner, and it was not the start the hosts were looking for, and a perfect one for Gardens.

However, once Spartans had settled, they began to create chances, even though they were playing into a rather strong wind, and saw two Aaron Hunwicks free kicks headed off target from good positions, and then a long range effort brilliantly saved by the visitors keeper, so although Spartans went into the break a goal behind, they had the wind second half and hopefully for their case continue that momentum they were starting to build.

The continued to pin the visitors back and put a lot of pressure on the Gardens back line, but try as Spartans might they could not find a way through a stubborn visiting defence who were digging in and holding onto what was a fragile lead, but with just under fifteen minutes to go they saw that lead evaporate as the hard working centre forward Payne got onto a through ball and slotted beyond the keeper and net a well deserved leveller, could they now go on and win it?

Momentum was all with the hosts now, as well as the wind, and sure enough they were to net what proved to be the winning goal seven minutes from time when after the referee had given a penalty for handball just inside the box, Payne stepped up to convert the spot kick, this after the wind had stopped blowing the ball off its spot, he did well to maintain is composure and concentration, and it was a big goal too and handed Spartans a vital win.

A bit of a melee broke out after full time over on the far side, but after all had calmed down it was nice to see both teams shake hands and congratulate each other on a fine game, there was no quarter given out there but once the game is done it's all left on the pitch, so that was good to see that outcome.

The result sees Spartans remain four points behind DTFC (who did manage to win 5-4 today!!!) and now six points ahead of third placed Woodford East, who they play at home next weekend (oooooh!!!) and now seven points ahead of Lymore Gardens, it was a big result and will give Spartans a big boost ahead of another huge game at Chigwell Hall next Saturday. 

This result was a big blow to Gardens on the flip side and the league title has just got tougher after this result that is for sure, they are now a massive eleven points off the top having played a game more. They travel away next weekend once again, and take on second bottom Tower United looking to bounce back and hope that teams above them slip up.

Finally would just like to thank the hosts for their wonderful hospitality as always, was nice to have some beers with you all in the bar afterwards, so thank you, added to the enjoyment of the day.

Full time Chadwell Heath Spartans 2 Lymore Gardens 1