Essex Senior League – Premier Division
Venue: Wadham Lodge Stadium
Attendance: 57
2021-22 Season: Match 33
Saturday 16th October 2021 – 3pm KO
West Essex: Yellow & Black Shirts, Black Shorts, Yellow Socks
Takeley: Royal Blue Shirts, Blue Shorts, Blue Socks
West Essex crest 
Takeley emblem
Takeley outpace West with strong performance at Wadham Lodge
West Essex 2 – 4 Takeley
Match Report & Photos by Scott W [Twitter: @ScottMHC14]
This weekend’s match was a interesting match between two mid-table sides in West Essex and Takeley, in a hastily-arranged Essex Senior League match at Wadham Lodge, after both sides’ initial opponents this weekend had to withdraw because of Covid-related reasons. West had Dan Russell between the posts, with a defence of Michael Morris, Emmanuel Oluwole, Nick Walk and Sam McNally. Skipper Cameron Gray led the forward line here, alongside Symeon Taylor and Moyo Ajibade. The likes of Samraj Gill, Callum Bloss and Demitris Frangeskides were all options from the bench for Kwame Kwateng’s side. Takeley were managed here by Kevin Riley, with manager Marc Das on holiday. Sam Soutar was the goalkeeper for them, with Glenn O’Hanlon captaining the side and a youthful front three of George Frodsham, Elliott Long and Kieran Southgate. Options on their bench included stalwart George Wappett and Theo Campbell.
It was the visitors who got the match underway with the most promise as the stags looked somewhat devoid of energy and focus. Takeley were not going to pass up a chance to obtain the impetus here though and their direct style was rewarded with a goal after five minutes. In a good move involving Kieran Southgate, he found forward George Frodsham who in turn unselfishly played in Elliott Long who slotted home calmly under West stopper Dan Russell’s legs to give the visitors the lead. West Essex were not finding their usual rhythm going forward though Symeon Taylor did make a good run down the right channel and the eventual cross was forced behind by full-ed James Darvill who got in a good position to clear. The hosts were starting to have more possession but didn’t look entirely like they would get back into the match at this point.
Skipper Cameron Gray curled a set-piece from 20 yards wide of the right-sided corner of the goal but it was Takeley who looked stronger on the counter-attack. In another decent move, Frodsham’s initial strike was blocked though the ball was recycled well and captain Glenn O’Hanlon’s stinging drive needed the time intervention of full-back sam McNally for the hosts. West responded with a good mazy run by attacking midfielder Mohamud Kaudeer in a passing move with ended with Taylor’s low shot being gathered well by visiting custodian Sam Soutar.
Takeley did get that crucial second goal nine minutes before the break. Southgate was prevented from breaking past the home defence by covering defender Nick Walk too strongly in referee Matt Rowling’s view and so awarded Takeley a free-kick in a dangerous area (see picture). Long stepped up to curl it towards goal, and although Russell got a glove on it, it still curled in off of the right-side post and into the net. You couldn’t really argue with the visitors having a decent lead at the interval, and West had a lot to do to get back in this game.
Half-Time: West Essex 0 – 2 Takeley
We certainly had enough action to entertain the crowd in the early part of the second period. A minute into the half, a good run down the left flank by Frodsham ended with the ball being half-cleared but Takeley continued the pressure as Freddie Burrell fired narrowly over the woodwork. However, West did get that crucial next goal on 48 minutes. Forward Moyo Ajibade’s initial strike on goal was well-blocked, but the ball did fall kindly to skipper Gray who calmly struck low past Soutar to get his side back in the contest.
Or so they thought. Unfortunately for the hosts, Takeley responded immediately at the other end as Burrell powered in a fine low effort beyond the reach of Russell a minute later to restore Takeley’s two-goal lead. West Essex were starting tocreate chances somewhat more readily as the hour mark approached but Gray was unable to defeat Soutar, when one-on-one as he sent another effort on goal wide of the left-side post. The hosts’ day got worse on the hour as Southgate was felled in the penalty area by goalkeeper Russell, which earned him a booking. Long took the resulting penalty, smashing it into the left corner to surely put the game beyond doubt.
To be fair to West, they did show more attacking promise in the last twenty-five minutes, as Demetris Frangeskides came on to replace Ajibade. With 73 minutes on the watch, a rare defensive error allowed Frangeskides to slot home past Soutar with a low strike to make it 2 – 4. The tiring Takeley defence did maintain their focus well as the Stags really pushed forward in numbers. Energetic full-back Michael Morris made a fine late run into the box and was only denied a chance to bypass Soutar one-on-one by a well-timed tackle by teenage midfielder Charlie Dobinson.
Long skewed another chance wide of goal in thew last few minutes but it was without doubt his day anyway as Takeley held on well to claim a very good win here, which takes them up to 12th, while West drop down to tenth.
Full-Time: West Essex 2 – 4 Takeley
In summary, this match showed that you can’t have a poor start to the match as West did in the opening half-hour, which Takeley took advantage of to give them a two-goal advantage at the interval. West did threaten a comeback soon after the in
In a match of some quality as this was, I’ll start with the victors. Elliott Long continued his fine season with a fine treble, and he harried the home defence well, giving them little respite, particularly in the first half with his pace, energy and finishing. Strike partner George Frodsham also played his part in that effort too, and was unselfish in playing in Long for the opening goal early on. I also felt right-back James Darvill had an excellent match, both in defence and going forward, making several important tackles and contributing to his team’s counter-attacks well. Finally, skipper Glenn O’Hanlon put in a fine display in central midfield which unsettled the hosts’ rhythm at times. For West, skipper Cameron Gray put in a tireless performance and kept going well showing decent movement and dribbling, deserving his goal at the start of the second half. Centre-back Emmanuel Oluwole put in a good display to stop Takeley ending the match as a contest before the interval, making several good interceptions and showing good positioning. Mohamud Kaudeer also had a good game, looking to build his side’s attacking moves and made a few dangerous runs and telling passes. Finally, Emmanuel Wazola merits a mention for a good performance to assist his defence and build forward moves as well.
Best wishes to both sides for the remainder of the season.
Teams
West Essex | Manager: Kwame Kwateng | Assistant: George Karsa
Starting XI (Subs): 13 Dan Russell (GK), 15 Michael Morris, 5 Emmanuel Oluwole, 23 Nick Walk, 4 Sam McNally (10 Callum Bloss 78′), 6 Oliseh Okganu, 17 Emmanuel Wazola, 21 Mohamud Kaudeer, 11 Cameron Gray (Capt), 9 Symeon Taylor (20 David Bell 79′), 18 Moyo Ajibade (7 Demitris Frangeskides 67′)
Goal-scorers: Cameron Gray [48′], Demitris Frangeskides [73′]
Booked: Russell | Subs Not Used: Hardy, Gill
Takeley | Interim Manager: Kevin Riley | Interim Assistant: Steven Pridmore
Starting XI: 1 Sam Soutar (GK), 2 James Darvill, 3 Andre Humphrey, 4 Charlie Dobinson, 5 George Powell, 6 Tom Jelliman (15 Theo Campbell 61′), 7 Freddie Burrell (14 George Wappett 66′), 8 Glenn O’Hanlon (Capt), 9 George Frodsham, 10 Elliott Long, 11 Kieran Southgate (16 Charlie Allum 69′)
Goal-scorers: Elliott Long [5′, 36′, (pen) 62′], Freddie Burrell [49′]
Booked: Campbell | Subs Not Used: L Powell
Referee: Matt Rowling
Assistants: Martin Quinn & Muzackir Hussain
survivor16b 