Eastern Senior League – Division South
Venue: Cricklefield
Attendance: 100
2022-23 Season: Match 11
Wednesday 31st August 2022 – 7.45pm KO
B’side: Blue Shirts, Navy Blue Shorts, Black Socks
May & Baker: Red & Black Shirts, Black Shorts, Black Socks
Late leveller sees Bakers to a point at Barkingside
Barkingside 1 – 1 May & Baker
Match Report & Photos by Scott W [Twitter: @ScottMHC14]
The midweek Non-League matches resumed at the end of August, as Barkingside hosted their second Wednesday home match of the season as they welcomed May & Baker in another Eastern Senior League South tie. The hosts are still under the management of Steve LeSage, and he named Hayden West in goal, with a defence of Jordan Cornelius, Elliot Scott and Josh George. Archie Hammond skippered the side, with the forward line being led by James Ross, supported by Michael James-Akerele & Codey Cosgrave. May & Baker returned to league action after a tough battle with Stotfold in the FA Vase just three days before. Seb Barford was their goalkeeper, with a defence of Cain Brougham, Kunle Adeyemi and centre-backs Toulouwa Dada and captain Jamie Marsh. Remi Awosanya led the forward line, with Jayden Silcott-Brown & Idris Aminu on the flanks.
It was ‘Side who began the match with a flourish and stated their intent in the first minute as skipper Archie Hammond’ strike from a freekick was only narrowly over the crossbar. Visuting custodian Seb Barford was the busier stopper as Bakers just about managed to deal with the impetus and pace from Steven LeSage’s side. There was definitely some pushback from a big penalty decision on 14 minutes as the hosts were awarded a spot-kick. Midfielder Harrison Burke’s penalty was initally saved well by Barford but Burke got onto the rebound to slot home at the second attempt, as the visiting defence were unable to prevent it, much to the ire of Barford.
To be fair to ‘Side, they were having the better of the first half which was tight and more than a little scrappy. Chances were not plentiful either and Bakers were probably grateful to get to the interval with a slim disadvantage, given how little they tested home stopper Hayden West.
Half-Time: Barkingside 1 – 0 May & Baker
Into the second half now, which did liven up somewhat. Bakers were starting to get themselves going towards the hour mark, with Jamie Marsh firing an effort off-target from the edge of the penalty area. On 62 minutes, Barkingside responded as Demi Elegushi’s strike was denied by a decent save from Barford. As we went into the last 25 minutes, Barkingside were defending deeper and deeper in their own half as Bakers maintained the pressure with some decent passing.
With 77 minutes on the clock, Bakers substitute Trevor Harding fizzed a strike narrowly over the goal frame, and Idris Aminu being denied twice in four minutes by ‘Side stopper Hayden West. Moments after fellow substitute Shaun Omogbai’s low effort dribbled agonizingly wide, Bakers finally did make their pressure tell.
Bakers substitute Daniel Barth took full advantage of his marker being unable to clear by firing home a fine strike from inside the area, giving West little chance to deny him as the ball flew high into the net.
Full-Time: Barkingside 1 – 1 May & Baker
To sum up this match, it had glimmers of good play but it didn’t quite find the spark of consistent creativity that said glimmers had perhaps promised, particularly in the first half when the hosts were at their strongest. Bakers definitely had the better of the last 25 minutes though and although they left it late to earn a point, it isn’t a bad result. I suspect boss Jordan Harris will know though that they will need to play better to rack up the wins required in order to reach their target for this term.
There were some good performances from both sides here. For hosts Barkingside, midfielder Harrison Burke looked lively and made some good runs down the middle, as well as some neat passes and got his goal after seeing his spot-kick saved by Barford. Forward James Ross was a good presence too in their forward line, making a welcome return to Football at start of this term. Also, a mention for Codey Cosgrave as well who contributed to his team’s all-round performance, particularly in the first half.
For May & Baker, winger Jayden Silcott-Brown had a good game, testing the Barkingside left side with his quick runs and decent passing. Idris Aminu also had a good game, particularly in the second period when Bakers’ were posing problems and had a couple of decent chances to score himself. Finally, determined centre-back Jamie Marsh was typically resolute defensively as their team gave less oppurtunities away for their opponents to hurt them after the interval.
This may have been a bit of a scrappy game but the food went down well with quite a few of the spectators, which helps when it gets a bit chilly as it did here. I’d like to wish both teams well for the season ahead.
Teams
Barkingside | Manager: Steven LeSage | Assistant: Tommy Shelts
Starting XI (Subs): 1 Hayden West (GK), 2 Jordan Cornelius, 3 Josh George, 6 Elliot Scott (12 Josh Peach 68′), 5 Shaquel Foyewa (16 Jon Vanvdyck 63′), 4 Harrison Burke, 7 Codey Cosgrave, 8 Demi Elegushi, 9 James Ross, 10 Archie Hammond (Capt) (15 Joe Oates 74′), 11 Michael James-Akerele (14 Dan Jones 59′)
Goal-scorer: Harrison Burke [14′]
Subs Not Used: Gayer | Booked: James-Akerele, George, Foyewa, Elegushi
May & Baker | Manager: Jordan Harris | Assistant: Scott Harding
Starting XI (Subs): 1 Seb Barford (GK), 2 Cain Brougham (16 Ryan Leavens 74′), 3 Kunle Adeyemi, 5 Jamie Marsh (Capt), 6 Toulouwa Dada, 4 Kalum Bama (17 Trevor Harding 70′), 7 Jayden Silcott- Brown (15 Shaun Omogbai 67′), 8 Robert Bagnell, 9 Remi Awosanya (18 Daniel Barth 67′), 10 Anthony Cooke, 11 Idris Aminu
Goal-scorer: Daniel Barth [87′]
Sub Not Used: Breen
Referee: Jordan Dixon-Walker
Assistants: Grant Moody & Abu Taher
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