Essex Senior League – Len Cordell Plate Final
Venue: Burroughs Park
Attendance: 122
2021-22 Season: Match 79
Monday 2nd May 2022 – 11am KO
Hashtag: Blue & Yellow Shirts, Blue Shorts, Yellow Socks
Ensign: White Shirts, Navy Blue Shorts, Blue Socks
Hashtag Reserves battle hard to overcome resilient Ensign Res in LCP Final
Hashtag Utd Res 2 – 1 White Ensign Res (AET)
Short Match Report by Scott W [Twitter: @ScottMHC14]
with Photos by Scott W & Katie Dorling (on behalf of ESL)
The first match of ‘ESL Finals Day’ saw an early kick-off for the Len Cordell Plate Final between Hashtag Utd Res and White Ensign Res. Both sides have good campaigns in their respective Reserve Divisions (One and Two) for different reasons, and the Tags side was looking to end the campaign on a high after losing out of the League title to Billericay Town U23 recently.
This match got underway with both sides looking to gain an early advantage but also content to keep things tight and give their opponents an edge. Central defender Joe Burgess had a header gathered by Tags stopper Jack Gannon and layer-boss Kiernan Hughes-Mason’s free-kick also came off the woodwork but there were relatively few chances. That was until the deadlock was broken on 25 minutes as forward Emmanuel Abudiore stole in ahead of his marker from yard out to head home past Gannon and give the Ensign team the lead.
Hashtag did respond well to that setback and importantly, they levelled before the break. Hughes-Mason was again involved as his set-piece was powerfully headed in by Brandon Chapman, who did have a strong all-round performance here. Ensign custodian Archie Matthews could do nothing to prevent that fine header. The tension was exacerbated just before the interval as Jonny Vandyck was given a straight red card for kicking out at an Ensign defender, after the Tags player had won a free-kick at the edge of the penalty area. Even so, we went into the break all-square and that feeling continued into the second half though Hashtag were having more ball time, with winger Ed Cooper having a few good darting runs down the flank, assisting creative forward Tommy Sykes, who was also posing problems.
The match itself was getting gritty with chances not overly apparent, although substitute Kieran Wilson-Fowler was giving Ensign an important outlet down the flanks to keep the Tags defence alert. They were well marshalled by Tags stalwart Marcus Stamp. Ensign nearly won it in added-time as Abudiore was in on goal with only Gannon to beat but the Tags stopper did well to gather the forward’s strike.
Full-Time (90 mins): Hashtag 1 – 1 Ensign
So Extra Time was required and seven minutes in, Hashtag replacement Brad Bunker did well to guide a header from another good Hughes-Mason centre on target, but Matthews did well to judge the trajectory of the ball and gather. As it turned out, that was a let off for the robust but tiring Ensign backline and four minutes into the second part of Extra Time, another Hughes-Mason free-kick was angled into the back post and Bunker was there to pounce with a firm header past Matthews.
The last chance of note for the Division Two side came seven minutes from time as a set-piece by Ensign skipper Zach Somerset-Butler was on target but lacking the power to bypass Gannon. The Final whistle blew and Hashtag could at last celebrate a victory in a match that will many watching may mention as gritty. Ensign have every reason to be proud of their efforts though some would debate that they needed to create more to test a good Hashtag backline here.
Full-Time (AET): Hashtag Res 2 – 1 Ensign Res
Congratulations to Hashtag Utd Res on their Plate victory and best wishes to White Ensign Res who made the Tags work hard for the win, despite them being a division below their opposition in the Reserve divisions.
You have to give the Tags’side credit though for pushing on well in extra time and they were the more attacking side in the latter stages of the contest, despite playing more than 75 minutes with ten men. Good performances in this match for Hashtag were led by captain Tommy Sykes who really looked to instigate forward moves by way of good passing & had several decent efforts on goal. Winger Ed Cooper and player-boss Kiernan Hughes-Mason also played their part in a good team performance, as did Brandon Chapman, who got awarded man of the match.
The young Ensign side also put in a good display and kept things tight for long periods with a hard-working display. Forward Emmanuel Abudiore took his goal well and put a good shift in, while defender Owen Dixie also did well to make it difficult at times for the opposition forwards and made some good passes. Finally, Josh Reilly also made a difference when he came on or the last hour or so of the game and gave his team some more impetus with some timely tackles.
Teams
Hashtag Utd Res | Player-Manager: Kiernan Hughes-Mason | Assistant: Paul Prosser
Starting XI (Subs): 1 Jack Gannon (GK), 2 Nathan Wilson, 3 Matas Skarna (14 Ali Alanezi 84′), 5 Marcus Stamp (16 Joel Bevan 105′), 6 Brandon Chapman, 7 Ed Cooper (9 Brad Bunker 69′), 8 Jonny Vandyck, 4 Iyiola Adebayo, 12 Tommy Sykes (Capt), 10 Kiernan Hughes-Mason, 11 Rujorn Tuitt (15 Tommy Kilcast 116′)
Goal-scorers: Brandon Chapman [39′], Brad Bunker [109′]
Booked: Skarna, Stamp, Sykes | Sent Off: Vandyck [43′] | Subs Not Used: None
White Ensign Res | Manager: Liam Phillips | Assistant: Joe Phillips
Starting XI (Subs): 1 Archie Matthews (GK), 18 Owen Dixie, 16 Joe Burgess, 5 Joshua Hayward, 10 Joss Pountney (3 Josh Reilly 59′), 2 Yaw Danso, 7 Zach Somerset-Butler (Capt), 8 Daniel Wringe (15 Emmanuel Grey-Coker 98′), 13 Emmanuel Abudiore, 17 Lewis Brown (11 Kieran Wilson-Fowler 72′), 9 Shemarie Perkins-Palmer
Goal-scorer: Emmanuel Abudiore [25′]
Booked: Hayward, Dixie, Reilly, Grey-Coker | Subs Not Used: Curtis
Referee: Dwayne Uylett
Assistants: Andy Wheaton & Darrell Adams
Fourth Official: Joe Lannon
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