CSM London – survivor16b

Guest Blog 22/23: Essex Alliance Lge & Cups (Sat 8 Oct) [EAL 22-23 10.10.22]

Hello and welcome to the ninth week of the season in the Essex Alliance League, as well as action in the Essex Premier Cup in which EAL sides represent the League in the inter-divisional competition. My thanks in advance to the EAL’s Rob Parker. Thank you for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

With Introduction & additional reporting by Scott W

Essex Alliance League Round-up- Saturday 10 October

FENTON CUP

The Fenton Cup action continued on Saturday and FC Baresi continued their excellent league form into the cup competition with a comprehensive 10 – 1 victory away at Premier Division side, Barkingside Under 23s. Tyreece Robinson scored a hat-trick for Baresi with Raymond Poku and Paul Benfield both scoring twice. Nicola Rapacchiani, Korede Da Silva and Umaru Kabia netted the others, Leo Gaspar scored the ‘Side consolation.

FENTON TROPHY

The Under 23s of FC Baresi followed the lead of their first team counterparts as they also ran in double figures in the Trophy competition, defeating Avondale Rangers in a 12 – 2 scoreline. Adam Friend and Jake Clarke both scored for Rangers but four Hamza Hafesji goals in reply for the hosts, plus goals from David Poirier (2), Zaahir Patel (2), Marco Perkola, Abbas Osman, Junior Ouattara and Adam Patel were plenty enough to secure their place in the next round. In the day’s other tie in the competition, it was an in-form Ilford Reserves side who played host to Division Four’s Collier Row Wheels, both sides having made decent starts in their respective competitions. But the Foxes avoided any kind of slip up with a 4 – 0 home win to put themselves through to the next round.

SENIOR DIVISION

With cup football top of the agenda for many this week, Sporting Hackney took full advantage to move to within two points of the leading sides as they returned home from Rapid Chingford with all three points in a 6 – 1 success. Tyler Springer and Percival Winter both bagged a brace with Joel Akuwudike and Richard Balogun goals rendering Andrei Boga’s effort as just consolation. FC Petrocub also took the chance to shut the gap on the sides above them as the fifth placed side put a 6 – 1 win of their own on the board with a terrific performance away at mid-table Walthamstow Reserves at Wadham Lodge. Ion Spinu came off the bench to score a hat-trick, adding to goals from Nicolai Gutu, Vasilica-Cristinel Ilie and Nicolai Cotruta.

It was a hat-trick of away wins in the division when Brimsdown ran out victors at Fairlop Oak against Blue Marlin, the Hertfordshire based side cruising to a 5 – 1 success to take maximum points back home with them. Cory Rose & Jason Rice both notched twice for Brimsdown with Sterlange Nzeza also scoring to secure the win which saw Brimsdown move up to sixth in the standings as they continue their quest for an immediate return to senior football.

PREMIER DIVISION EAST

Four sides remain with a perfect record at the top end of the Premier Division East standings with Fairlop Rovers top on goal difference following their 6-1 success on Saturday, beating Freetown 6 – 1 to make it three from three. Donald Adaakwah scored the ‘Town goal but his efforts proved in vain as his side remain in the hunt for their first points.

Chingford Athletic’s strong start has seen them make it three wins from three in the league also as they beat a struggling Wapping side 5-1 at Castle Green to stay in touch with the leaders. Harry Rouse scored a hat-trick with Mario-Angelino Lipetz and Dylan Scutt goals carrying them to victory, Juber Ahmed the scorer for the hosts with their consolation. Sitting third but only by the virtue of goal difference, RCXI are also on nine points and put their third league win on the board on Saturday with victory in the Newbury Park derby as they beat Cowley Community 3-1 with Ayo Matthews scoring twice and Daniel Williams once. Rajpal Bumbra scored the Cowley goal in reply, the visitors remaining in mid-table.

Waltham Abbey A bounced back well from defeat last time out to move fifth in the standings after recording a second win in three, beating London Park City 2 – 1 at Seven Kings School over the weekend. Alexandru Gheorghe scored for City but it was the Abbey who ran out winners by the odd goal in the end to extend their decent start.

PREMIER DIVISION WEST

There are new leaders in the West division as North East Lions took full advantage of results around them to move top by a point following an away victory against G7 in east London. A goal apiece from Jae Smith and Alex Zambrano off the bench done the damage as Lions were 2 – 0 winners on the day to put themselves top. That outcome was made possible after CSM London put their second successive league win on the board, defeating the previous leaders, AEK London, over at Mabley Green. Ali Jalo & Tay Chambers got the goals for CSM here. After three wins on the bounce last month, October has been tough for AEK so far with a draw last weekend followed by a 2 – 0 defeat to CSM this weekend.

Priory Park Rangers are another side to take full advantage of the matters around them as the Marshes based outfit recorded a third win to remain unbeaten, defeating Soul in a 6-2 scoreline to move second. Shepdherd Ndlovu has led the way so far for his side this season and he scored four more, adding to strikes from Ali Salama and Deri Fnu. Another side to make strong progress on Saturday were Wanstead who travelled to East Ham on Saturday to face Athletic Newham Under 23s and returned with their first maximum point haul in the league this season, winning 3 – 0. That result saw the visitors leap up to sixth place in the standings and just two points behind the side above them.

DIVISION ONE

There are some big battles ahead in Division One where at least two sides are making waves at the top, Unitey presently leading the way on goal difference after they put five goals past Atholl without reply on Saturday to record a 5 – 0 win. Devontae Young, Chris Tshimanga, Bubintende Masadi and Akhlad Miah all netted for their side to keep their top form going. Newham Wanderers are treading heel to heel with their rivals at the top and came through a stern test away at Forest Green to take home all three points. Wanderers were 3-0 winners, making it three wins from three with Addae Paponette, Robertson Morais and Manuel Sanuo all netting for the visitors.

Sitting three points further back, Redbridge Community’s first home game of the season saw the visit of Old Esthameians make the short journey to Mayfield but it was the hosts who made the most of their homecoming, earning themselves a 6 – 1 win on the day. Frankie Francis led the way with two goals for the victors, Jahsial Weekes, Michael Kiflezgji, Akiljo Balliu & Merrill Appiah also were on target. That was Redbridge’s second win of the season, moving third with six points.

DIVISION TWO

In Division Two, it’s as you were at the top end of the table with Snaresbrook making it four wins from four, returning home from Chadwell Heath Spartans Reserves with all three points in a 3 – 0 success at Hainault Rec. George Bacon, Ife Ogunbayo and Chris Huggins were the men on target to ensure the continuation of their perfect start. Rainham Phoenix have risen back up to second spot and trail the leaders by three points as they took maximum points from their trip to Old Barkabbeyans on Saturday. The Billys, Humphries and Broadbridge, were both on the scoresheet, Sean Tormey scoring the other as Rainham won the game 3 – 0.

It was a good afternoon for St Francis who got their first win of the season over the weekend as they took three points in their clash with Barking Potters at Castle Green, moving up to fifth with an 8 – 2 win. Teyon Weston was the hero scoring four while Ahmed Zaghloul scored twice and one each from Godwill Kumpana and Aley Khaled finished things off for the Saints.

DIVISION THREE

Newbury East remain the leaders at the top of Division Three, staying a point clear following the weekend’s efforts as they defeated Melbourne Sports at Oaks Park in a 6-2 scoreline. That saw East record a fourth league success of the season, along with their draw, to remain as one of two unbeaten sides in the division. The other unbeaten side are Chingford Harriers who trail by a point but have a game in hand on the leaders following their strong win against another top half side, Jolof Sports Reserves. Andrew Bowring and Grant Coy were the scorers for Harriers as they overcame their east London rivals to win the game 2 – 1.

Promoted Dagenham United Reserves are up into third spot as they leapt above their weekend opponents, Flyers Under 21s, in a heavily congested middle area of the table. Lewis Bennett and Isa Khan both scored twice with Peter Runham accredited with the other as their United side won 5 – 0 at King Georges. Just behind Dagenham sit Frenford A who are now up to fourth after a successful home performance against Romford Under 21s at The Drive which saw them win 5 – 1. Two Kyran Chiedozie goals plus efforts from James Rowlatt, Adam Andrade and Kishawn James done the damage with Eugenio Balde netting the Romford reply.

Buckhurst Way returned to winning league form on Saturday with a solid home performance in a home victory against Football Club of Riverside. Way were 4 – 0 winners at Bancrofts as George Martin, Tom Richardson, Dolapo Gbadamosi and Myles Croxford all struck with goals to see their side move up to sixth in the standings.

DIVISION FOUR

Inter London have closed the gap at the top to just three points following the weekend’s results as they made a successful trip to league leaders, West Essex Under 23s, returning home with all three points in a 3 – 1 success. Ace Soyemi, Nasser Salum and Fahad Abdallah scored the Inter goals to overcome a Ciaran Farrell-Christian strike for West. Results around them also allowed Romford Under 19s to move in touch with the sides above them, recording a 3-1 away win of their own, defeating Fairlop Rovers Reserves at Fairlop Oak. Abel Woldergiorgis scored twice with Oskar Plusa also on the scoresheet to make it two wins from three for Romford.

There was a ten goal thriller in the six-pointer affecting the bottom end of the table where two winless sides, Newham & Havering Borough and Old Esthameians Reserves, met in Rainham. An incredible game eventually saw Old E’s walk away with the points as they won 6 – 4 on the day to pick up their first win of the season, moving off the bottom of the table in the process. The division’s remaining game saw second placed London APSA Under 23s at home to their Flyers Under 23 counterparts in Barkingside, the sides going into the game with three points between them. That gap remained by full-time as neither side could trouble the scorers, the game ending in a 0-0 scoreless draw to take a point each.

COUNTY CUP

There was tremendous success for the league in the county cup competitions, starting with the London Senior Trophy where Jolof Sports faced a difficult first round tie against higher league opposition, facing Thurlow Nunn League side Tower Hamlets at Mile End Stadium. With the game ending level 1 – 1, it was Jolof who took the honours, winning the shootout 4-3 to go through.

It was also a winning start in the competition for Crookz United who were also on the road with a trip to Redbridge Reserves of the Essex Senior League Reserve Division Two. But Crookz were in fine goal scoring form and recorded a thumping 6 – 0 away win to book a spot in round two.

In the BBC Essex Premier Cup, all bar one tie went the way Essex Alliance League sides with last season’s finalists, Woodford East, overcoming a tricky first round trip to the coast, coming away 3 – 2 winners at Old Southendian to ensure their safe passage to round two. The longest trip was made by Chadwell Heath Spartans who travelled up the A12 to Essex & Suffolk Border League opponents, Tiptree Heath. A seven goal thriller went the way of Spartans as they edged through 4 – 3 and now face an even longer trip to West Bergholt next month!

There was more away day success for Frenford Development who made the trip down the A406 to Beckton to face Essex Olympian League side, Canning Town. A close game ensued between two sides similarly placed in their respective leagues but it was Frenford who went through, winning 3-2 on the day.

Completing a quarter of away wins for EAL sides, Dagenham United had a fruitful trip to West Thurrock where they took an Essex Senior League side Grays Athletic Reserves in a later kick-off. The Dagenham side came through by the odd goal, winning 2 – 1 to book a place in round three.

Extra-time was needed at May & Baker EC Reserves where the hosts were facing up to Thurlow Nunn visitors in the form of Halstead Town Reserves. With the game level at full-time, the extra thirty minutes saw Jimmy Donald’s side to win 4 – 2 and secure passage into the next round.

The only loss of the round came in the game at Fairlop Oak where it took an extra thirty minutes to eventually separate Oakside from Harold Wood Athletic, the visitors winning the game 2 – 1 in extra time to progress on.

In the AFA Intermediate Cup, the league had representation in the form of Lymore Gardens Reserves who faced a trip to south east London to face West Wickham 3rds. In a game of five goals, Lymore returned empty handed as their interest in the competition ended following a 3-2 defeat.

Guest Blog: Essex Alliance League (Sat 3 Sept) [EAL 22/23 5.9.22]

Hello and welcome to the round-up of the action in the Essex Alliance League, as all divisions outside the top-tier began in earnest.

My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. Thank you for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

With Introduction & additional reporting by Scott W

Essex Alliance League Round-up – Saturday 3 September

SENIOR DIVISION

The week’s Senior action began on Wednesday night where Woodford East put a second win of the season on the board with a home success against Blue Marlin at Gardiners Close, edging the game by the odd goal. Connor Brathwaite and Will Osmond both found the net, overcoming a Troy Morris goal in response from Blue Marlin in a 2 – 1 scoreline.

The Friday night action came from Mayesbrook Park as May & Baker EC Reserves made the short trip to face Jolof Sports in a local derby. But it was Jolof who raced into a first half lead and, despite a Baker fightback through goals from Oliver Beadle and Brandon Johnson, Jolof held on to win the game 3 – 2, handing their opponents a first defeat of the season.

Things couldn’t be much tighter at the top of the Senior Division after the first month of action with three sides sitting level on points. It’s FC Baresi who sit top on goal difference as their 3 – 0 away win at Dagenham United on Saturday was assured through goals from Edson Lami, Paul Benfield and Tyreece Robertson, extending their unbeaten start.

Sitting second are Lymore Gardens and they had a tough task ahead of them with the visit of Chadwell Heath Spartans to Coles Park, the sides combining for a five goal contest. Aaron Hunwicks and Samir Aboulainaf both struck for Spartans but Gardens goals from Gaston Mendy, Andre Rashford and Bradley Williams meant that the points went the way of the hosts in a 3 – 2 success.

Walthamstow Reserves make up the trio of sides just edging ahead at present as they made it three wins and a draw from four fixtures with a terrific 8 – 0 win against Rapid Chingford at Lakeside. Mekhi Charles-Armstrong led the scorers with a treble, Matthew Walsh got two goals along with Michael Osei, Taylan Gul and Pooya Karami adding one each. That win backed up their previous success in a dramatic late win last weekend, moving them third with ten points so far.

Moving into the top half, Sporting Hackney’s unbeaten start to the campaign has continued as they picked up their first win of the season, defeating Woodford East 4 – 2 at Wadham Lodge. A pair of braces from Joel Akuwudike and Richard Balogun proved enough to cancel out East goals from Billy Barr and Harry Robinson.

Frenford Development will be pleased with their weekend’s efforts as they secured their first points of the season with a hard fought win away at Kit Out London in Noak Hill. Alex Solomon and Krishan Singh strikes were not quite enough to Kit Out with Damilola Olaiya scoring twice for Frenford and Kyron Chiedozie and Gabriel Alves netting the others in a 4 – 2 win.

PREMIER DIVISION EAST

The opening Premier Division action of the season saw two games in the newly restructured East division and Chingford Athletic top the division on their return to the competition, defeating London Park City 3 – 1. Josh Flood, Jack Newbury-Neale and Dylan Scutt goals were the difference in the game as Chingford took all three points.

Over in Newbury Park, Cowley Community’s elevation to the second tier saw them pick up a good win in their first outing, defeating last season’s league cup finalists, Wapping, in a 2-0 success. It was a ‘Taylor made’ win for the hosts as Sean and Michael Taylor both struck one apiece to give their side the win.

PREMIER DIVISION WEST

The action from the West division also got underway with a glut of goals, starting with the early season leaders, AEK London, who got their participation in the competition underway with a 4-1 success at home against London Cranes. Paulo Machado scored a hat-trick with Marlon Nascimento notching the other to render Moses Kazibwe’s effort as just consolation.

There was also a strong win for North East Lions who got their season started with a 3 – 0 success against promoted Wanstead over at Wadham Lodge in the Walthamstow derby match. Charles Akingbade, Ibrahim Gakou and Shane Thomas all found the back of the net for the visitors to give Lions their opening points of the season.

CSM London made winning start in the second tier following their drop over the summer and will have the experienced Fahad Nyanja to thank for their opening day win as he notched twice to help his side to a 3 – 2 win over league debutants, G7. Musa Manneh also found the back of the net for the hosts to help them over the line.

The division’s final game came from Castle Green where Soul’s return to the league saw them up against another new side, Priory Park Rangers. A closely fought battle saw the scores finish level at 1-1 at full-time which meant both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils on the opening day of action.

DIVISION ONE

Division One’s sole surviving game came from Hackney Marshes where Renegade entertained another new entrant to the competition with Atholl in action for the first time. Another close contest saw Mitchell Edmonds net the first Atholl goal in the league but Renegade were also able to net and meant that the teams took home a point each in a 1-1 draw.

DIVISION TWO

The goals were flying in Division Two, beginning with an incredible twelve goal contest at the Marshes where Woodford East Reserves met their reserve counterparts from Chadwell Heath Spartans. Tom Osmond’s hat-trick and single efforts from Tyla Fenlon and Taylor McLaughlin would ordinarily been enough to win but Spartan goals from Leon Kasozi (2), David Johnson, Mehdi Ahorbi, Abraham Ladoja, Thamindi Kahatadeniya and Ibrahim Basri gave their side a 7 – 5 success.

It was also a winning opening day for Rainham Phoenix whose rise from the ashes began in positive fashion with victory against last season’s promoted Division Three champions, FC Baresi Under 23s. Oliver Barracks got himself on the visitor’s scoresheet but Rainham goals in reply from Cameron Shakes, Grant Obeney and Sean Tormey gave their side a 3 – 1 win.

Snaresbrook’s first outing in the competition was certainly a positive one too as they travelled to Loughton to take on Royal Forest in their opening game of the season. The visitors were comfortable 6 – 1 winners on the day to give themselves the early bragging rights at the top of the table.

DIVISION THREE

Promoted Chingford Harriers lead the way after week one of the season in Division Three as they came away from one of the bookies early season favourites, Buckhurst Way, with all three points in a 3 – 1 win. Andrew Bowring, Darnell Lamothe and Grant Coy were all on the scoresheet on the day to ensure Harriers opened their season with maximum points.

The division’s other game came from Dagenham where hosts, Dagenham United Reserves saw their first game in fifth tier as Newbury East headed to Castle Green. The vastly experienced Chaka Barnett struck with both of the East goals but Dagenham were up to the task and ensured they took a point with Jordan Akinpelu and Isa Khan goals earning a 2-2 draw.

DIVISION FOUR

Division Four’s sole action on the opening day came from Dagenham where Collier Row Wheels and London APSA Under 23s were both in action in their first fixtures in the league. It was hosts Row who ended up the happier of the two sides with the substitutes having great effect, Luke Woodgate coming off the bench to score twice, Max Hodgson, Hamoud, Lewis Deacon and Farhaan Korimbocus netting the others in a 6 – 2 win.

Guest Blog: Essex Alliance League Round-up (Wk 23 – Sat 5 Feb) [EAL 21-22 8.1.22]

Hello and welcome to the latest action from the Essex Alliance League, which continues on this blog this season under the “Guest Blog” strand. This edition looks at the action across the League divisions and action in the respective Divisional Cups on Saturday 5 February. My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

With additional reporting by Scott W

Essex Alliance League Round-up- Saturday 5 February

SENIOR DIVISION CUP

There was a shock in another of the Senior Division Cup first round clashes where bottom of the table Chigwell Town followed up their victory in the league last time out by sending Leyton Royal out of the cup. Ellis Morgan was the scorer of the game’s only goal, his effort sending Town through 1 – 0 to a quarter final away at Lymore Gardens.

SENIOR DIVISION

In the Senior Division action, DT FC got themselves back on the winning trail, bouncing back from last week’s disappointment to record a narrow victory by the odd goal away at FC Petrocub. Goals from Lewis Evans, new recruit Robbie Farrell and the returning Jermaine Francis were enough to take home the points from Noak Hill in a 3 – 2 scoreline. Chadwell Heath Spartans remain at the head of the chasing pack with a four point deficit to make up but done their best to keep the title challenge ongoing with a big home win, defeating Kit Out London 5 – 2 in Chigwell. Marlon Ortiz scored twice for London but Spartan goals from Meer Ishanzadeh, Michael Ramsay, Harry Payne, Jordan Thomas and Rashid Matabaro were decisive.

Jolof Sports missed the chance to break into the top four as they could only take a point back with them from their visit to Walthamstow to face FC Baresi, the sides ending 2 – 2 at the Britannia. Ali Shikheey and Paul Benfield both struck for the hosts as they moved up a place to seventh and into the top half. Mussa Jamanca and Mamadou Sene responded for Jolof there. In a crucial battle at the bottom to avoid the drop, Blue Marlin played host to fellow relegation threatened CSM London, the latter looking to make up for the disappointment of their last trip to Hainault. CSM started the game a point clear of the drop zone but CSM had extended that to four by full time, winning 2 – 1 courtesy of key goals from Leon Barnard and Ramone Senior. Lindsey Marsh got the solitary reply for Marlin.

PREMIER DIVISION

There were huge results affecting both ends of the Premier Division standings as second placed Dagenham United’s recent run of poor continued, going down to a 2 – 0 defeat against sixth placed Oakside. The victors kept up their push for the title thanks to a double from Kieren Huddart and they still have twelve games left in their season to complete the job, many more than that their closest rivals. That result also enabled Crookz United to move to within two points of the promotion places after they came through a tricky game away to Athletic Newham Under 23s. United were 3 – 2 winners at Flanders through a Stephane Trah brace and an Abdouaziz Jeng goal, taking their wins tally for the season to nine.

And there was a massive result for sides trying to avoid the drop as London Park City gave themselves a fighting chance as they scooped a first league win of the season, beating London Cranes 3-0 at Seven Kings High School, a result which moved them off of the bottom of the table though still eleven points adrift from safety.

DIVISION ONE

Belfry’s stranglehold at the top of Division One continues for another week as they confirmed a tenth straight league victory to keep their perfect record, defeating promotion chasing RC XI 3 – 1 in Aveley. It was a family affair on the scoring front with Solomon Ogunwomoju netting twice and Gabriel Ogunwomoju striking the other to help their side take the win. Eugene Duah got the solitary reply for RC. Just a couple of points behind, Cowley Community’s own push for silverware was maintained as they put in a winning performance against Forest Green over in Newbury Park. Cowley were 5 – 2 winners on the day as Lekan Bakare struck twice with Chris Wright, Michael Taylor and Rotimi Balogun also getting on the scoresheet.

Ilford Reserves have shot up into the top five of the standings as they won both games of a double header against Barkingside A in Wanstead. They were 4 – 0 victors in the first game as Joseph Sulola and Rhys Clements both scored twice to help them cruise to victory. Game number two was tighter but the Foxes were winners once again as Denzel Essuah-Mensah and Rhys Clements netted to finish it 2 – 0. There was a big win for Something From Nothing as their local derby game against Wanstead went their way, running out 3 – 1 winners to sit sixth in the table. Nicola Rapacchiani scored for the hosts but his efforts proved in vain, missing the chance to go third as SFN scored three of their own to pick up a fifth league win of the season.

A nine-goal thriller was witnessed over at Hackney Marshes where Francis Luke and their co-tenants Renegade played their part in a goal filled contest. Luke’s Jahvarn Steward scored a hat-trick and Brighton Tutalamon one but those efforts were not quite enough as Nana Baah (2), Mundhir Omar, Nathaniel Williams and Prince Eze struck to win the game 5 – 4 in Renegade’s favour. The division’s remaining game was another from the Flats which saw Kwanzas London Sport the visitors to take on Newham Wanderers, both sides occupying mid-table berths and separated by three points. That gap remained by full-time with the teams settling for a 2 – 2 draw with Robertson Morais notching both efforts for Wanderers.

DIVISION TWO

The top of the Division Two table couldn’t be tighter with one point separating the top four sides. Fairlop Rovers closed the gap on the leaders to just a point but had their work cut out, edging a nine-goal thriller at home to Redbridge Community over in Hainault. Rovers were 5 – 4 winners despite Redbridge goals from Opeyemi Salami, Melanijus Butkus, Frankie Francis and Dylan Broadley. Top of the table Old Esthameians slipped to a third league defeat of the season as Ryan Under 23s exacted revenge for a defeat earlier in the season to take home the points in a 3 – 1 win at Wadham Lodge. Their goals came from Pooya Karimi, Mekhi Charles-Armstrong and Jedd Coster. That was Ryan’s fifth win the competition this season while E’s missed the chance to extend their lead at the summit.

There was also a defeat for second placed Unitey who were on the road ono Saturday with a trip to Debden to take on Loughton Lions but returned empty handed with Lions’ recent form from the cup extending to the league as they picked up a 2 – 1 win. That was the host’s fourth league victory as they attempt to move clear of relegation difficulties. Another key result saw Royal Forest shoot up to seventh in the league standings as they took down fourth placed Emerson & Upminster Reserves in Loughton. Martin Cannon fired in two goals, Jonathan Hick and Joe Meader also netting. Ross Braybrooke and Archie Pitfield struck for Emerson in reply with their consolation efforts as Forest won the game 4 – 2.

The biggest winners in the division were Rainham Working Mens Club who managed to find the net with regularity during an 8 – 1 away win at Newbury East over at Oaks Park. Two goals apiece from Nick Tormey, Scott Gormer and Sean Tormey led the way with Cameron Shakes and Charlie Perry efforts finishing things off. Christian Autunno scored the East consolation goal in reply. Fifth placed FHN Athletic enhanced their promotion credentials as one of only two winning sides in the top five on Saturday, defeating eleventh placed St Francis with a 3 – 0 win in Hainault. That was the host’s eighth league win and, with games in hand, could climb to second in the coming weeks if they can convert those to victories.

DIVISION THREE

The big result in Division Three came from Walthamstow on Saturday as Together United pulled off one of the biggest results of the season to end Royal Forest Reserves’ long unbeaten run in the league, defeating the title contenders 5 – 2. Tom Alexander scored twice for the Trees but those goals were not enough to get anything from the contest. Old Barkabbeyans Reserves took full advantage of that slip by a rival club to return to the top as they exacted some revenge for dropping points last time out against Buckhurst Way by beating them 5 – 0 this time around. Michael Ryder scored a hat-trick with Luke Harradine and Mitchell Day efforts giving the leaders an eleventh win of the season.

Just a point behind Old Barks are FC Baresi Under 23s who moved into second place following the weekend’s results, coming through a comfortable home victory against Terin at the Britannia. Leo Siki scored a hat-trick, Joshua Adu scored twice and one each from Zach Aliane and Kii Jean-Baptiste confirmed a 7 – 0 win for the host club. Sitting three points off the top three, Lymore Gardens Reserves will potentially still have some impact on who finishes in the promotion places and got back to winning ways this weekend with a 3 – 1 away win over ASA at Hackney Marshes. That result, Lymore’s ninth of the season moved their points tally onto twenty-eight.

Fifth placed Melbourne Sports are not too far back themselves after a difficult spell of form but they were in fine goal scoring form on Saturday, putting seven goals past Flyers Under 23s in a 7 – 1 win for the Mels. Ethan Sowonola scored for Flyers but his effort was not quite enough as the hosts walked away comfortable winners.

DIVISION FOUR

Matching the two divisions above for its closeness, it’s one point separating four in Division Four also where Fairlop Rovers Reserves cut the gap at the top to just goal difference on Chingford Harriers as they won 4 – 1 in Walthamstow. Nick Shawyer scored for Harriers but the leaders’ luck ran out as Rovers were victorious. That result means that Sporting Pillars are in pole position for the title and sit just a point off the lead, with a game in hand, following a big 7 – 1 win away at Newham & Havering Borough as they reigned supreme in Dagenham. A Rayan Allam hat-trick, Emanuel Jacob brace and efforts from Daniel Gutierrez and Ousmany Dibaga were more than enough, Andrew Elie striking Borough’s consolation.

Fourth placed Flyers Under 21s missed the chance to go top of the table after they were held to a rare goalless draw in their game away to ninth placed West Essex Under 23s. The teams were unable to breach each other’s defences, taking away a point apiece to put a dent in Flyers’ promotion push, that being West’s fourteen point this season. In fifth place, Dagenham United Reserves got back to winning ways as they closed the gap on the four sides above to three points, coming away winners from a closely fought home game against Avondale Rangers at Castle Green. Blaijan Kitufueni scored for Rangers but United goals from Lucas Pereira and Imad Khan confirmed a 2-1 win for their side.

COUNTY CUP

The league will have it’s first representation in the semi finals of the BBC Essex Premier Cup as Woodford East returned home from their trip to Tiptree Heath with a dramatic 5-2 win. East fell behind in the first minute but battled back to hold a half-time lead then withstood a Heath fightback before scoring twice late on. They will now head on to face Clapton Community in the semi finals next month, one game away from the final.

Fixtures – Saturday 12 February

EAL Senior Division

Chadwell Heath Spartans v Lymore Gardens | Chigwell Hall

Chigwell Town v Woodford East | London Marathon Sports Ground

CSM London v FC Baresi | West Ham Community Ground [3G]

Leyton Royal v Kit Out London | Fairlop Oak Playing Fields, Hainault

Rapid Chingford v DT FC | Lakeside Sports Ground

EAL Premier Division

All Prospects v Athletic Newham U23 | Fairlop Oak

London Cranes v Oakside | Flanders Playing Fields

North East Lions v Frenford A | Peter May Centre, Walthamstow

Wapping v Dagenham Utd | Victoria Park, E9

Guest Blog: Essex Alliance League Round-up (Wk 14 – Sat 20 Nov) [EAL 21-22 22.11.21]

Hello and welcome to the latest action from the Essex Alliance League, which continues on this blog this season under the “Guest Blog” strand. This edition looks at the action across the League divisions and action in the Fenton Cup & Fenton Trophy on Saturday 20 November. My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

With additional reporting by Scott W

Essex Alliance League Round-up- Sat 20 November

FENTON CUP

There was further Fenton Cup action this weekend as the first round action came to a close with Jolof Sports at home to Kit Out London, both seeking a place in the last sixteen. A close game saw the two teams finish level at 2 – 2 at full-time, forcing the game into a shootout in which Jolof held their nerve to win it 4 – 2. They now head on to face FC Petrocub in the next round.

In the day’s second round action on an adjoining pitch, two of the league’s Premier Division sides met in East Ham with hosts London Cranes taking on Oakside with a place in the quarter finals the reward for the winner. In an eleven goal thriller, it was ‘Side who eventually prevailed by the odd goal, winning 6 – 5 to confirm a home quarter-final against DTFC. Oakside’s scorers were Brandon Burgess, Kieren Huddart, Jed Ofori, Luke Caston, Demi Elegushi and Mussa Jamanca.

FENTON TROPHY

In the Fenton Trophy, there were four further ties completed with Royal Forest Reserves’ perfect record put to the test as the Division Three leaders faced Division Two St Francis. A very closely fought contest was won by a youthful Saints side as Ross Basunda’s goal proved the pivotal moment in the game in a 1 – 0 victory.

Division Two’s Loughton Lions also had a stern test ahead of them as they welcomed an in-form Melbourne Sports side to Debden for their second round clash. Lions have been in some decent form themselves in recent weeks and progressed with 3 – 1 home victory thanks to strikes by Thomas Osmond, Lucas Maxwell and Jordan French to ensure their run in the cup continued.

Another Division Two side safely through are Rainham Working Mens Club as they navigated what proved to be another very competitive game against Division Three’s Glendale. An own goal midway through the first half of the game in Rainham’s favour proved to be the only scoring moment of the game as the Dales couldn’t convert second half pressure into chances, Rainham winning 1 – 0.

The final game from this competition saw six goals as Together United looked to cause a surprise as they were paid a visit by Division Two’s Unitey at Peter May. But it was the higher placed side who made their advantage count with Bubintende Masadi’s hat-trick doing the damage with Mohammed Abaker and Jordan Vib also finding the back of the net in a 5 – 1 win.

SENIOR DIVISION

There was plenty of Senior Division action too over the weekend, despite some sides being involved in cup action, and Chadwell Heath Spartans opened up a five point lead at the top of the table after coming out on the right side of a 2 – 1 win at FC Baresi. Abdirahman Sabriye struck for the hosts but Jack Evans and Aaron Hunwicks replies for Spartans gave them a crucial three points. Lymore Gardens also took advantage of others being out of action to move into the top four, earning themselves a solid win away at FC Petrocub in Noak Hill. Another close game was settled by the odd goal with Andre Rashford and Dylan Roberts efforts the difference as Garden won 2 – 1, their fifth win of the season so far.

Moving into mid-table, Leyton Royal have joined a cluster of clubs sitting on thirteen points following a terrific win on Saturday, defeating Tower United in a 4 – 0 scoreline at Fairlop Oak. That result saw Royal confirm a fourth league win and with games in hand, could still be pushing for a solid top half finish. For Tower, they remain in the bottom three, four points adrift of safety approaching the half way mark. Not far behind Leyton Royal are CSM London who moved to the cusp of mid-table themselves after a hugely important win at Lakeside, beating Rapid Chingford 5-2 to pick up three points. Munnir Saad scored twice with Kamran Khan, Ramone Senior and Leon Barnard goals completing the win in favour of the visitors.

Just a point behind CSM lie Blue Marlin who moved themselves out of the relegation zone on Saturday with a local derby victory against Chigwell Town in Hainault. The journey of just a few yards proved a fruitful one for Marlin, overcoming a John Lye goal for Town with strikes of their own from Nile Laidlaw and Lindsey Marsh to win it 2 – 1.

PREMIER DIVISION

In the Premier Division, there was a huge result affecting the top end of the table as Wapping produced a top performance to send leaders Frenford A to their first defeat of the season. Meeshaq Malone scored twice and Shahid Ali grabbed the other to overturn the only goal in response by Damilola Olaiya for the visitors and give Wapping a 3 – 1 victory to move second, albeit eight points behind the leaders. The top goal scorers in the division are Eastside with thirty-five so far this campaign and they now sit third after coming through an entertaining game against All Prospects. Michael Dager and Abid Haque scored twice each and Basekou Gassama netted the other to overcome a Prospects fight back to win it 6 – 4. It was also a winning Saturday for another side sitting on thirteen points as Dagenham United continued their promotion push with a solid performance on the road away at London Park City. Iaia Jau netted a brace and Shaquille Mathurin grabbed the other to win 3 – 1, United’s fourth league win and placing them just goal difference away from a spot in the promotion places.

With games in hand, Crookz United are one of the sides who could still spoil the party in the promotion places and presently sit eighth in the table from five games after defeating North East Lions in a 2 – 1 scoreline at Peter May. Ben Joao and John Afrane-Kesey goals were the difference between the side, Mace Johnson striking the Lions consolation off the bench.

DIVISION ONE

Belfry have moved to the cusp of the promotion places once again in Division One as they secured a big win at the Marshes, defeating Francis Luke in a 9 – 0 scoreline. Kieran James was in fine fettle with a five-goal haul for his side with Victor Davis, Warren James, Gabriel Ogunwomoju and Luke MacDonald also scoring to confirm a fifth league win on the spin. Second placed RCXI moved a point closer to the leaders but missed the chance to go top as they were held to a 2 – 2 draw away at Something From Nothing. Despite the eleven point gap between the sides going into the game, SFN put in a solid performance against their promotion chasing opponents to earn a big point.

Wanstead remain well placed to make a charge for promotion, sitting fourth and on the back of another league win, having defeated Barkingside A 5 – 0 at the Flats on Saturday. That win saw the in-form Wanstead move to twelve points, five adrift of the promotion places as Edson Lami’s tremendous form continued with another four goals, adding to Suhaib Abeid’s strike. Just a few goals behind Wanstead sit their local rivals Newham Wanderers who are fifth in the table after seven games following their weekend’s efforts, defeating Forest Green 5 – 1 at Leyton Sixth Form College. Nuno Dentampol netted twice off the bench with Seco Embalo, Robertson Morais and Macane Caleir goals rounding off the scoring.

It was also a good afternoon’s work for Kwanzas London Sport who will hope to build on an excellent result as they defeated Ilford Reserves 2 – 1 in Hainault to pick up their first points of the season. Despite a difficult start, that will give Kwanzas plenty of confidence and saw them move off the bottom, just a point adrift from safety.

DIVISION TWO

The high-scoring Old Esthameians have pushed themselves up into the promotion places following the weekend’s results as they earned a local derby victory at home to strugglers Newbury East, winning the game 5 – 0. That confirmed a fifth win in seven this season and became one of four teams level on fifteen points. Another side in the fifteen point club are Emerson & Upminster Reserves who reached that mark with a home win on Saturday as ninth placed Ryan Under 23s were the visitors to Hall Lane. Tobi Onafeko and Danny Gillham were the scorers in the game for Emerson to edge the game 2 – 1, netting their own fifth league victory in the process. Mekhi Charles-Armstrong got the only goal for the Ryan side here.

There was a five goal thriller in the division’s final game where Redbridge Community were the hosts to an FHN Athletic side, the teams beginning the game just three points apart. But that had increased to six by full time as FHN came through a five goal thriller, winning 3 – 2 thanks to goals from Carl Gbolade, Merrill Appiah and Kieran McKoy.

DIVISION THREE

With the leaders out of action in Division Three, FC Baresi Under 23 took full advantage of that situation by recording maximum points at home to Harlow Inter to go top, edging a tight game 4 – 3. Akins Subair scored twice and Jamal Harvey once for Harlow but two Kii Jean-Baptiste efforts plus goals from Harrez Aliane and Hanza Hafesji gave the points to Baresi.

Lymore Gardens Reserves also took advantage of other sides being out of action to move third in the standings following the weekend’s results as they came through 5-3 winners with Flyers Under 23s. Rob Small struck twice and Warren Isoka, Marcel Destouche and Omani Green one each to render Flyers goals from Kai Eaton, Ethan Sowonola and Aaron Weymouth as just consolation. There was an impressive win for ASA too who made home advantage count with a big 6 – 1 victory against Old Barkabbeyans Reserves at the Marshes, leapfrogging their opponents into the top half of the table. A hat-trick of braces done the damage with Jubayed Miah, Atif Haider and Arun Jeyashankar goals proving the difference, Klodian Meta netting the Old Barks reply.

Also in the top half, Buckhurst Way sit fifth in the standings approaching the half way point in the season, aided by their most recent success as they defeated Terin 3 – 0 at Oaks Park High School. Andrei Rizea, Dolapo Gbadamosi and Segun Dickson struck for the visitors to made it five wins from ten so far this campaign.

DIVISION FOUR

In Division Four, Dagenham United Reserves have moved to within three points of the promotion places after an entertaining away victory on Saturday against sixth placed Emerson & Upminster A where the teams share seven goals. Dagenham came out on the right side of a 4 – 3 win with two Cain Dash goals and one each from Mamadou Soumare and Tyler Leon handing their side the win, despite two Robert McKnight efforts and a Bradlee Birch goal for Emerson.

There was also an impressive win for the division’s third highest scoring side, Avondale Rangers, who picked up their third win of the season with a 4 – 2 win at Newham Royals to move their points tally onto nine. Daniel Bordman, Chris Harper, Mark Hayden and Harry Callagher were the scorers to render Gary Adams and Ashley Evett efforts as just consolation in the end. The remaining league game came from Romford where top half Flyers Under 21s were in action against an in-form Newham & Havering Borough side. The sides starting the day just two points apart and that was how it ended also with the teams sharing the spoils in a 1 – 1 draw. Andrew Elie scored for Newham to add another point to their tally, with Alex Grant responding for Flyers.

COUNTY CUP

Woodford East are into the hat for the next round of the BBC Essex Saturday Premier Cup as they came through a competitive game against May & Baker EC A over in Dagenham. East were 5 – 3 winners on the day, thanks to a brace from Billy Barr and one each for Ben Smith, Lucio Uare and Adam Tabbani. Halil Hassan’s side now face a trip to Dunmow Town in the fourth round in January.

It wasn’t such a successful afternoon for DT FC who saw their unbeaten run come to an end this season with a defeat away at Colne Athletic. They were beaten 4 – 1 against the Essex & Suffolk Border League side to end their run in the competition. In the Essex Saturday Junior Trophy, the delayed tie between Felsted Rovers and Fairlop Rovers finally got played and it was the Mid Essex League hosts who took the honours with a solid 2 – 1 win against a previously unbeaten Fairlop Rovers side.

Fixtures – Saturday November 27th (top two tiers only)

EAL Senior Division

Chadwell Heath Spartans v Jolof Sports | Chigwell Hall

DT FC v FC Baresi | Harlow Arena 3G

Kit Out London v Lymore Gardens | Noak Hill 3G

Rapid Chingford v Leyton Royal | Lakeside Sports Ground

Woodford East v Chigwell Town | Hackney Marshes

EAL Premier Division

Crookz Utd v London Park City | Peter May Centre, Walthamstow

Dagenham Utd v London Cranes | Castle Green Leisure Centre 3G

Eastside v North East Lions | Peter May Centre, W’stow

Oakside v Athletic Newham U23 | Fairlop Oak Playing Fields

Wapping v All Prospects | Victoria Park, E9

Guest Blog: Essex Alliance League Round-up (Wk 10 – Sat 23 Oct) [EAL 21-22 25.10.21]

Hello and welcome to the latest action from the Essex Alliance League, which continues on this blog this season under the “Guest Blog” strand. This edition looks at the action across the League divisions and action in the Fenton Cup & Fenton Trophy on Saturday 23 October. My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission with additional reporting by Scott W. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

Essex Alliance League Round-up- Sat 23 October

FENTON CUP

It was a busy cup weekend in the Essex Alliance League on Saturday with the Fenton Cup and Trophy taking centre stage and, although there were no big cup shocks, some near misses did occur. Unbeaten Senior Division side, Jolof Sports, almost endured a big shock as Ilford Reserves from Division One held them to a 2 – 2 draw through Rhys Clements and Seghei Scupoi efforts. But Jolof held their nerve in the shootout to win 3 – 0.

There was a similarly close game over in Hackney where Division One’s Renegade were facing Senior opposition in the shape of Tower United. The game saw a five goal thriller with Tower edging through into the second round with a 3 – 2 win. Bashir Ali scored a hat-trick and proved the match winner on the day.

Another Division One side, Kwanzas London Sport, were also facing up to a two division deficit as they travelled to Lakeside to take on another Senior Division side in the shape of Rapid Chingford. It was the higher ranked side who prevailed from the tie, winning 5 – 2 to take their spot in round two of the competition.

Oakside were the highest scorers of the day as they faced fellow Premier Division side, All Prospects, over at Fairlop Oak. ‘Side were in fine form in front of goal with Luke Caston striking five goals, Darnyl Stanley scored a hat-trick, Mussa Jamanca scored twice and one apiece from Jack Swaby, Demi Elegushi, Kieren Huddart and Sam Blackholly confirmed a thumping 14 – 0 win.

Leyton Royal were also in goal scoring form on Saturday facing up to third tier opposition in Hainault with Forest Green the visitors to Fairlop Oak seeking to cause a surprise. But Royal were too clinical on the day with Bogdan Toana and George Mirea scoring twice and singles from Florin Porceanu, Vlad Farcas, Tamer-Andrei Bogdan and Marian Nedelea completing an 8 – 1 victory.

Premier Division leaders, Frenford A, are into the hat for the second round themselves, extending their great start into the cup competitions with a hard fought victory at home against Wapping in Ilford. Kingsley Morris netted for Wapping but Frenford goals from Isima Iguisi and Adam Andrade were the difference for the hosts who won it 2 – 1.

FC Baresi were in Preliminary Round action on Saturday with a tough looking tie ahead of them against one of the Premier Division high-flyers, North East Lions, in the Crooked Billet derby match. The Senior Division side made no mistake however and were comfortable 3 – 0 victors on the day as Tyreece Robinson continued his form with two more goals and Abdirahman Sabriye netted also.

Also in First Round action were Woodford East who comfortably defeated Chigwell Town 7 – 2 at Hackney Marshes. Lucio Uare led the way for Halil Hassan’s side with a treble, with the support on the goalscorers’ sheet coming from Keiran Bruns, Ben Smith, Frank Glock and John Gilley. Chigwell responded therough strikes from Leon Harris and Wesley Adeyemi but exited the competition.

Also into the hat for round two are London Cranes who faced familiar opposition again, taking on Athletic Newham Under 23s for the second time in as many weeks, following up their big league win last time out with a 4-1 victory on Saturday. The experienced Mathius Sendawula struck twice with Dennis Mahadha and Muhammad Mutesasira also on target to render Luis Reinoso’s effort as just consolation.

FENTON TROPHY

In the Fenton Trophy, there were again no shocks based on league position aside from narrow victories. Division Two’s Loughton Lions put themselves into the second round as they faced a tricky trip to Division Three’s Old Barkabbeyans Reserves. Barks’ goals from Jarode Mbungu and Robbie Osborne made the game competitive but Lions squeezed through 3-2 to continue their run.

It was a similar story for Division Four’s Fairlop Rovers Reserves who went into their clash at Division Three Glendale with confidence after a strong league start but found themselves three down through Dales goals from Mouhamed Gueye, Attila Szabo and an own goal. But Rovers rallied well, scoring twice to make the ending nervous but it proved not quite enough with the game ending 3 – 2.

The Fairlop Rovers first team had a far more routine afternoon but didn’t have everything their way, taking on Division Four’s Avondale Rangers in Hainault. Two Rangers’ goals from William Cloakley and one each from Johnson Santos and Jake Clarke made things interesting but a Rovers hat-trick in reply from Jack Kibblewhite, two from Sam Beaman and one each from Ellis Simmonds, Kian Millward-Burton, Harry Oliver and Dylan Scutt ended the game 10 – 4 in the hosts’ favour.

The theme of goals continued over in Newbury Park where Old Esthameians ensured themselves of a place in the second round of the competition as they secured a big 9 – 3 home win over Emerson & Upminster A. Carl Holroyd’s brace and a Bradlee Birch effort accounted for the Emerson goals but those efforts were not enough as E’s struck regularly to win it. It was a good day for all of the other Division Two sides also as Ryan Under 23s made safe passage through to the next round themselves, returning home from their trip to Rainham with a 7-3 win under their belts against Newham Royals. They now play host to Old E’s in the last sixteen in the coming weeks.

After a difficult last couple of weeks for the club, Newbury East showed some improved form in the cup on Saturday but were eventually knocked out of the competition with defeat at home to Unitey in Newbury Park despite a Mohammed Janneh goal. Mohammed Abaker and Brandon Fulton goals for the visitors in reply edged the game 2-1 to see Unitey through safely in the end.

Division Two’s Redbridge Community had to overcome lower division opposition on Saturday with the visit of Flyers Under 23s to Castle Green with Redbridge starting to show some real form this season. They were able to confirm a solid 7-2 win as Akiljo Balliu bagged a hat-trick while Tevini French scored twice and singles form Suny Jadeja and Frankie Francis completed a good showing.

There was also a really strong performance from the new Saints of St Francis who made their competitive bow this term with a home fixture against Newham & Havering Borough at the Flats and were emphatic 8-0 winners. Codey Cosgrave, Godwill Kumpana and Jaiden Belfon all scored braces with Chavez Rose-Sterling and Peter Luvualu efforts rounding off a positive performance.

The sole Preliminary Round action was an action packed affair as Together United made the short trip around the Crooked Billet roundabout to take on FC Baresi Under 23s at the Britannia. A seven goal thriller ensued with Maamoon Khan, Harrez Aliane and Ronnie Kabongo all finding the back of the net for FC Baresi but those efforts proved not quite enough as United edged it 4-3 themselves.

SENIOR DIVISION

Aside from the cup football action, there was a sprinkling of league football also with two big results in the Senior Division affecting top and bottom. CSM London picked up a hugely important win in their quest to move away from danger, winning at title chasing Lymore Gardens in a 3-1 scoreline. Goals from Ayodeji Adelekan, Munnir Saad and Chris Anele proved enough to take a second win. And if that result wasn’t exciting enough for you, the game over at Noak Hill produced a ten-goal thriller as hosts FC Petrocub were paid a visit by struggling Blue Marlin, both sides showing some improved form of late. The game ended in an incredible 5 – 5 draw as Lindsey Marsh struck a hat-trick for Marlin, Triston Foster and Scott Campbell netting the others to take a vital point.

PREMIER DIVISION

With others around them in cup action, Crookz United used that to their advantage, moving up a number of places in the Premier Division to fifth following a solid 4 -2 win away at Eastside in familiar surroundings. That was United’s second win of the season and positions them well in the race for promotion into the National League System.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, the gap at the top is down to just goal difference once again as Cowley Community moved level with the leaders on points after scooping their fourth league win of the campaign, defeating Newham Wanderers 4 – 0 in Newbury Park. Chris Wright scored twice for the hosts with Aiden Gentle and Lekan Bakare also one the scoresheet. Two of the division’s in-form sides also secured important wins with RCXI just two points off the pace and sitting third after defeating Francis Luke in a close game at the Marshes. RCXI overcame two Jahvarn Steward goals for Luke with a Oluwaseun Koya brace and one apiece from Derek Feyi and Omololu Onabolu to win it 4 – 2.

Wanstead’s impressive start shows no end anytime soon and they had Edson Lami to thank once again as he scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win away at Something From Nothing. Zoltan Balogh also got in on the act with a brace as their side confirmed a third league win from three this season and sit in fourth, well in sight of those above. Giovanni Alberto got both goals for SfN.

DIVISION TWO

There were two thrillers in the fourth tier with Emerson & Upminster Reserves combined with Royal Forest for a game of nine goals, the teams beginning the day level on six points in mid-table. But by the end, Emerson had moved three points clear, confirming a third league win through goals from Ross Braybrooke, Aaron Costello, Sonny scott, Tobi Onafeko and Joshua Gibbins to edge it 5 – 4.

Two unbeaten sides went head to head in the division’s other fixture with FHN Athletic’s solid start put to the test against leaders Rainham Working Mens Club on Saturday. Another close game saw Kieran McKoy on target for FHN but that goal was not quite enough as Cameron Shakes and Sean Tormey efforts turned the match in favour of the Workies who won it 2 – 1 to stay top.

DIVISION THREE

The six-point club gained another member in Division Three on Saturday where Melbourne Sports were able to secure their second win of the season, defeating ASA 3-1 at the Marshes and moving above their opponents to move into eighth in the process.

DIVISION FOUR

There was just the one game in Division Four over the weekend where the leaders, Chingford Harriers, were in action with a home fixture against Sporting Pillars, both sides having made perfect starts to their seasons – something had to give. The two sides were well matched and couldn’t be separated, finishing 2-2 with Darlington Ojo’s brace ensuring Harriers stay top while Pillars enhanced their credentials for a title tilt.

Fixtures for Saturday 30 October (Top Two tiers only)

In Senior Division

Chigwell Town v Leyton Royal | London Marathon Spts Grd

DT FC v Lymore Gardens | Harlow Arena 3G

Kit Out London v FC Baresi | Noak Hill 3G

Tower Utd v Rapid Chingford | Mabley Green 3G

Wodford East v CSM London | Hackney Marshes

In Premier Division

Athletic Newham U23 v Wapping | Flanders Playing Fields

Dagenham Utd v Frenford A | Castle Green Leisure Green

Eastside v All Prospects | Peter May Sports Centre, Walthamstow

London Park City v London Cranes | Seven Kings Sch 3G

Oakside v North East Lions | Fairlop Oak Playing Fields

Guest Blog: Essex Alliance League & EPC Round-up (Wk 9 – Sat 16 Oct) [EAL 21-22 18.10.21]

Hello and welcome to the latest action from the Essex Alliance League, which continues on this blog this season under the “Guest Blog” strand. This edition looks at the action across the League divisions and the Essex Premier Cup as EAL sides joined sides from EOFL & ESBL as well as other divisions on Saturday 16 October. My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission with additional reporting by Scott W. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

Essex Alliance League Round-up- Sat 16 October

SENIOR DIVISION

FC Baresi were the weekend’s biggest movers in the Senior Division as they took advantage of results around them to move sixth in the standings, earning a 4 – 2 away win at Blue Marlin in Hainault. Tyreece Robinson bagged two for the visitors with Abdisamad Mohamed and Raymond Pok goals completing the victory.

There were two close games in the other fixtures completed where Jolof Sports saw their perfect start come to an end with the points shared in their trip to Lymore Gardens, Jolof conceding their first goals of the season in the process. The Lymore scorers were Braley O’Donovan and Tyrique Peters in a 2 – 2 result that saw Lymore move level with two other teams on fourteen points while Jolof sit a point further back in fifth position.

The Noak Hill derby match also saw a very closely fought contest as the two tenants of the ground, FC Petrocub and Kit Out London, faced off with both seeking to break into the top half of the table. The game ended in another score draw with the sides settling for a share of the spoils, finishing 2 – 2, to stay ninth and seventh respectively.

PREMIER DIVISION

The league leaders were back in action at the weekend and Frenford A extended their advantage at the top to six points on the back of a 2 – 0 win at home against North East Lions. Damilola Olaiya struck both of the goals for the hosts which saw them record a fifth league win in six, keeping them as the favourites for the title at present.

It was a good afternoon for Dagenham United who took advantage of results around them to move second on goal difference though they did have a real battle on their hands facing fellow promotion chasing Wapping. Debutant Jordan Mills-Smith struck twice for Wapping but his efforts were in vain as Lewis Bennett, Shaquille Mathurin and Iaia Jau all netted to edge it 3 – 2 in favour of United.

Oakside remain unbeaten following their second league fixture of the season on Saturday as they completed a solid victory at home against London Park City in Hainault. They added a 3 – 1 win here, with Mussa Jamanca and Demi Elegushi among their scorers to take a place in the top half of the table while City remain eleventh and without a point so far.

There was a local derby game in East Ham over the weekend where London Cranes took on Athletic Newham Under 23s at Flanders. And it was London Cranes who turned the tables on it head, ending Newham’s unbeaten start as they completed a 5 – 1 win to open their points account. Bruno Mwasnje was the hero with a hat-trick while Dennis Mahadha and Mathius Sendawula also struck the net.

DIVISION ONE

The top game of the day in Division One came from Dagenham where the division’s top two faced off with Cowley Community the visitors to take on Belfry, renewing old acquaintances. Kieron James was the difference between the two sides, netting both goals for the hosts to take their perfect start to four games in a 2 – 1 scoreline. Chris Wright grabbed the Cowley consolation effort.

Wanstead’s recent run of form has not gone unnoticed and they made the most of sides around them dropping points on Saturday with to move fifth as they ran out winners by the odd goal in seven, beating Ilford Reserves 4 – 3. Edson Lami scored a hat-trick with Zoltan Balogh also netting to render Foxes efforts from Jack Newbury-Neale, Mario Lipetz and Rhys Clements as consolation.

Barkingside A’s league form so far this term has brought them two wins from two and they are up to sixth, coming out on the right side of a ten-goal thriller at Nutter Lane, defeating Kwanzas London Sport 6 – 4. Maximillion Murariu led the way with a treble for the hosts, with Harry Nicholson, Mohamed Sheikhnor and Joshua Fagbohun also on target. That result keeps ‘Side in touch with the sides above them with games in hand while Kwanzas stay rooted to the bottom from their three games.

With games in hand, Newham Wanderers are another side who will another with a big say in the promotion race this season and they moved to six points from three games following a 5 – 3 home win against Forest Green at the Flats. Robertson Morais is a man who knows where the goal is and he scored twice with Amir Gurji, Miranda Silva and Otto Bolton finishing things off.

It’s been a good couple of weeks for Francis Luke who have picked up a couple of handy wins now across league and cup competitions, their latest at the weekend earning them a first league victory, beating a high-flying Renegade side in the Hackney derby. Jose da Silva scored twice and Abser Abdul once to give the visitors a 3 – 1 win.

Completing the action in the third tier, Something From Nothing made the journey to Aveley to take on RCXI seeking to improve on their league form so far this season, the teams starting five points apart in tenth and fourth respectively. And that gap remained by full time as the teams finished level at 1 – 1, securing a point apiece.

DIVISION TWO

It’s as you were at the top of Division Two where Fairlop Rovers have continued their title tilt with a fifth win from five in the league, returning home from Walthamstow with all three points in a 4 – 1 scoreline against Ryan Under 23s. Dylan Scutt scored twice with Toby Stephens and Harry Oliver efforts extending their great start.

The leaders are closely trailed by Rainham Working Mens Club who themselves have made a terrific start in the division, winning all four of their games to date. Unitey were the visitors on Saturday and saw Mohammed Abaker net for them but two Sean Tormey goals for the Workies did the damage to edge a close game 2 – 1.

With the sides above them dropping points, mid-table FHN Athletic and Redbridge Community both had the chance to cut the gap and that was exactly what they both did though had to settle for a point each in a 2 – 2 draw. Amos Agyei and Kieran McKoy both scored for unbeaten FHN while Akiljo Balliu and Samuel Oramadike struck in reply for Redbridge to level it.

Emerson and Upminster Reserves made ground on a number of sides above with the only win amongst the sides placed third to seventh and it was a terrific result to boot as they ended Old Esthameians unbeaten start with a 6 – 3 victory. Braces from Tobi Onafeko and Dan Lane plus singles from Harry Wilkins and Reece Martin did the damage to make it two wins from three.

There was a crucial clash at the bottom end of the table also where Loughton Lions and Newbury East were up against each other in Debden seeking their first points of the season. Both will be relatively satisfied to have fixed that by full time after an incredible game ended in a 4 – 4 draw. Sehraan Hussain scored twice with Bhajandip Purewal and Connor Goom also striking for East.

DIVISION THREE

Two sides sit locked on twelve points at the top of Division Three where Royal Forest Reserves presently lead the way on goal difference after confirming a fourth league win on Saturday, beating Flyers Under 23s 3 – 0 over in Romford. Jamie Cooper, Will Casasola and Will Asenso all found the back of the net to hand their side another win.

The side keeping close track on the leaders are Buckhurst Way who also sit on twelve points though from a couple of games more than Forest. Way were 2 – 0 winners on Saturday are putting in a good performance at home against Lymore Gardens Reserves. Goals from Benjamin Noonan and Andrei Rizea secured their fourth league win in six this season while Lymore drop a place to fourth.

FC Baresi Under 23s took advantage of that result also as they moved up to third in place of Lymore, coming through a closely fought game against an improving Terin. Leo Siki scored twice for Baresi with Zack Aliane also netting to render Terin goals form Ahmed Abdulrahman and Ali Swamad as just consolation on the day in a 3 – 2 scoreline.

Moving up into the top half of the table, Harlow Inter have joined a group of clubs all on six points as they entertained Glendale at Chigwell School over the weekend in an entertaining fixture for the neutral. Glendale lead early through Sam Izaini but Inter led themselves by the break. Was Lawal scored to level it again for the Dales but two further Inter goals won it 4 – 2 in their favour.

Together United are up to seventh now in the table with two wins on the bounce as they joined the six point club with a six goal performance on the road away at ASA in Hackney. Jubayed Miah struck twice for the hosts and Atif Haider once but United got it ‘Together’ in the end with six goals of their own to take a 6 – 3 win.

DIVISION FOUR

Things are incredibly tight still at the top of Division Four where Chingford Harriers continue to lead the way after scooping an impressive fifth win with a local derby victory away to West Essex Under 23s. Goals from Darlington Ojo and substitute Cedric Onchuru were enough to earn a 2 – 1 win in the E4 derby and stay clear at the top on goal difference.

Second placed Fairlop Rovers Reserves are certainly doing their bit to make this an enthralling title race and will hope to be in the mix in a few months time still. Their hopes were further improved with an away victory of their own, defeating Dagenham United Reserves 4 – 1 at Castle Green despite an Amran El-Kaouny goal for the hosts.

There was a terrific win for Emerson & Upminster A on Saturday as they replicated the reserve team performance in taking a 6 – 3 win of their own as they entertained Collier Row A at Hall Lane with both sides having started well. Emerson goals however from Bradlee Birch (2), Ryan Whitton, Ryan Cook, Ronnie Bryan and Elliot Kaye were too much in the end as their side won the contest.

Avondale Rangers will be pleased with their efforts also over the weekend as they moved to the cusp of the top half with a win by the odd goal as they edged past Flyers Under 21s. Debut goals from Dylan Fagan, Liam Cole and Johnson Santos were supplemented by a Phillip Heinen goal to win the game 4 – 3.

The final league game of the day saw Sporting Pillars make their competitive debut as they entertained Newham Royals over in Leyton seeking to make a positive start. And that was what they did as two goals apiece from Rayan Allam and Ousmany Dibaga earned a 5 – 0 win and a first ever win for the club.

COUNTY CUP

In the BBC Essex Premier Cup, it was a great afternoon for Woodford East who made the trip down the A127 on Saturday to the Len Forge Centre as they took on Essex Senior Reserve League side White Ensign Reserves and returned home to east London with a 2-1 win under their belts, thanks to goals from Frank Glock and Adam Tabbani. Zach Somerset-Butler responded for Jack Caten’s side. They will now face Essex Olympian League Division Two side May & Baker A in the next round in November.

There was a terrific contest in Chigwell where Chadwell Heath Spartans were up against a highly-rated EOFL Division One side in Leigh Town with the sides finishing 3 – 3 by the end of extra time. Leigh’s scorers were Dan Driscoll, Shane Cooper and Junior Lawrence though Spartans commendably levelled through strikes by Ray Hunwicks, Samir Aboulainaf and Jonathan Evans. In the ensuing shoot-out, Town held their nerve, winning it 3-2 to secure their passage into round three.

Leyton Royal’s run in the competition came to an end as they made the trek up the A12 to face another Essex & Suffolk Border League side with Tiptree Heath the hosts. Heath ran out comfortable 5 – 1 winners thanks to a brace from Charlie Green and goals by Joe Chester, Ryan Knill-Jones and Cameron Ward to end Royal’s cup hopes in this competition. There were also some away day blues for CSM London who also ventured east to take on Olympian League Division Two side Rayleigh Town Reserves. A 4 – 1 winning performance from Town thanks to a treble for Byron Down and one from Matthew Oaten was more than enough to counteract Munnir Saad’s goal in response and end CSM’s participation for another year.

Guest Blog: Essex Alliance League Round-ups (Wk 4 – Sat 11 Sept) [EAL 21-22 14.9.21]

Hello and welcome to the latest action from the Essex Alliance League, which continues on this blog under the “Guest Blog” strand. This edition looks at the action across the divisions from Saturday 11 September. My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

Essex Alliance League Round-up- Saturday 11 September

SENIOR DIVISION

It’s as you were at the summit of the Senior Division where Chadwell Heath Spartans continue to lead the way after securing a third league win in four with victory in Chigwell against FC Baresi. Raymond Pok got on the visitors scoresheet once again but Spartan strikes from Samir Aboulainaf and Thomas Callagher were enough to see their side to a 2-1 win and maximum points.

Sitting in second and with a perfect record thus far, Jolof Sports continued a spirited start to the season as they recorded a solid 3-0 win against FC Petrocub at Lakeside, putting the memories of their county cup defeat in June behind them. Mody Gaye, Serigne Samb and Bogdan Ursica notched the goals as they also extended their cleansheet run to three matches.

Woodford East’s start since promotion has also shown their potential and the Peacocks are in third place after the first four weeks of the season with two wins and a draw to their name thus far. Their most recent victory came from the Marshes where they ended Lymore Garden’s unbeaten start as Billy Barr’s hat-trick and an Adam Tabbani effort proved decisive in a 4-2 scoreline.

Trailing just behind East by a single goal scored are Leyton Royal who themselves have made the step up in level with aplomb and extended their unbeaten start to a third game with a comprehensive 7-1 home win against Blue Marlin in Chingford. Tamer-Andrei Bozgan scored four of the goals with Catalin Gavril, Marian Nedelea and Bogdan Toana efforts completing a Royal win.

Kit Out London are another of the division’s seven sides to yet be defeated and after a couple of opening draws, they finally got their wins account into the plus as they defeated Tower United 4-1 at Noak Hill. Yasin Zougui, Oliver Holmes, Marlon Ortiz and substitute Abbas Yassin were all on the scoresheet for the hosts to continue their good start.

Two of the sides having made indifferent starts met in Beckton as Chigwell Town made the short trip down the A406 to face CSM London, both sides beginning the game without a point. Despite a Ross Chimes goals for Town, it was Ramone Senior’s brace for CSM that made the difference in the end as the hosts won 2-1 to take their first points of the campaign.

PREMIER DIVISION

In the Premier Division, Frenford A have opened up a two point gap at the top after two rounds of fixtures as they made it two wins from two, coming away victors in their clash against London Cranes on Saturday. Moses Kazibwe scored for the visitors but two Nesar Torkamani efforts off the bench and strikes from Isima Oguisi and Damilola Olaiya gave Frenfor d a 4-1 win at The Drive.

Marcelona just behind the leaders in the chasing pack after they followed up an opening day draw with a first victory in the competition to remain unbeaten so far. They were up against Wapping at Paringdon and came away winners by the odd goal in five, edging a close game to take their points tally to four.

In similar fashion, third placed North East Lions also made it four points from six in their opening two games and sit just one point off of the top two after recording an impressive 2-1 win at London Park City, one of the sides expected to challenge at the top this year. Shane Thomas and Tashan Benjamin had other ideas however as their Lions side edged to a narrow but crucial win in Seven Kings.

DIVISION ONE

The Division One table sees two of the league’s new member clubs leading the way as RCXI made it two wins from two in their opening fixtures to move three points clear of the rest. They were visitors to Newham Wanderers on Saturday and edged to a close 2-1 win through goals from Hassan Sesay and Jide Lewis. Robertson Morais was on the scoresheet for Wanderers with his customary goal.

Sitting in second, Ilford Reserves made their debut in the competition with a solid home win against Francis Luke, winning 5-1 in Dagenham. Luke Newbury-Neale scored twice with Joseph Sulola, Serghei Scupoi and Abdulrahman Cheraitia efforts finishing things off. Jose Da Silva grabbed the Luke consolation goal in response.

Cowley Community are a side who will be seeking to convert cup success from the last two seasons into a league title and they made a terrific start in new surrounds, defeating Forest Green 4-1 on Saturday in Newbury Park. Josh Coulson scored a hat-trick for Cowley with Ryan Thompson-Cobham also netting to earn all three points for their club.

The division’s final game came from Hackney where two of the league’s new members met with Renegade up against debutants Something From Nothing. After their opening day defeat, Renegade got a point on the board in a 1-1 draw as SFN netted late on to share the spoils, the sides sitting fourth and fifth in the table.

DIVISION TWO

Two sides presently sit atop of the standings in Division Two with a pair of opening victories and Rainham Working Mens Club lead the way on goal difference after securing a second win, seeing off the efforts of Royal Forest. Sean Tormey scored twice with Connor Kain and Odo Osei-Tutu efforts finishing things off in a 4-2 win.

Just behind Rainham sit Old Esthameians who followed up their opening day success with a hard fought win against new side Redbridge Community after the sides met in Dagenham. E’s were 2-1 winners on the day to confirm maximum points and sit just a few goals off top spot so far.

Fairlop Rovers started the new season how they ended the last with a solid opening win on the road, picking up all three points in a win against Newbury East. George Montgomery scored twice for East but Rovers goals from Sam Beaman (2), Sam Balmforth, Brandon Dillon, Dylan Scutt and Joe Reynolds finished the job in a 6-2 scoreline.

The last game of the day in the top division came from Walthamstow where Ryan Under 23s were up against Unitey in both sides’ second fixtures after opening day defeats. It will be the visitors, Unitey, who left the happier of the clubs as Ahmed Dousa’s brace and a Matthew Pitchford effort were sufficient to see their team to a 3-1 win on the road.

DIVISION THREE

FC Baresi Under 23s made a great start to their first season in the competition as they returned home with all three points from their trip to fellow new side, Buckhurst Way. Zach Aliane scored twice while Leo Siki and Kii Jean-Baptiste also netted as Baresi ran out 4-1 victors to move third in the standings.

There was an eight goal thriller over in Barking where Melbourne Sports were the visitors to face Old Barkabbeyans Reserves at Barking Abbey. Jarode Mbungu, Callum Elliott and Robbie Osborne all struck the net for Old Barks but those efforts proved in vain as the Mels scored five of their own to win 5-3 on the day.

DIVISION FOUR

It’s been a great start to the campaign for Fairlop Rovers Reserves who head up the Division Four standings after two weeks, earning themselves a 2-0 win on Saturday to follow up their opening win last time out. Their opponents this week were Emerson & Upminster A who made a good start themselves but two Joe Head goals on debut were the difference for his Rovers outfit.

Collier Row A sit second in the table as they started their second season with the league with a thumping win away at Newham Royals in Rainham. Row ran in nine goals with the Royals only able to respond with three of their own as the visitors returned home the happier of the two teams.

It was a better second week of the season for West Essex Under 23s who responded to an opening day defeat to win 3-2 against Avondale Rangers who remain winless thus far. Anthony Adeoba and Phillip Heinen both got on the score-sheet for Rangers but West goals from Javen Cole, Amari Dixon and Daniel Mincer provided the platform for a hard fought victory.

The day’s final action came at King George’s Park in Romford where Flyers Under 21s made their competitive debut as hosts to Dagenham United Reserves. Lewis Bennett scored twice for Dagenham with Shaquille Mathurin netting the other as the visitors went away with the points in a 3-1 scoreline, that result moving them up to sixth in the standings.

S20-21 Round-ups: Essex Alliance League (Wk 9 – Sat 31 Oct) [EAL 20-21 3.11.20]

Hello and welcome to a guest blog, going through the action in the five Essex Alliance League divisions on Saturday 31st October (the last weekend of action before the Lockdown-enforced break of all Grassroots action in England), along with the Olympian League action, it is good to have guest content on other Grassroots Leagues, thank you Rob. This updated round-up is posted with the author’s permission, with thanks. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

Essex Alliance League – Saturday 31st October

SENIOR DIVISION

The October action was rounded off this weekend amidst the speculation of an impending suspension of the sport. FC Baresi will go into the break as the leaders, extending their advantage to four points with a 3-1 home win against FC Petrocub. Zachery Leitch scored twice and Mark Matthews once to render Pavel Stirbu’s goal as consolation for the visitors.

After the disappointment of their first defeat last weekend, West Essex Reserves bounced back in positive fashion with a thumping 5-1 home win in Hainault against London Cranes. Callum Bloss scored twice adding to strikes from Josh Flood, Abiola Balogun and Adam Norris to keep them well in the frame in third spot. Shadrack Sibasa netted for Cranes who remain in the bottom two.

Moving up to fourth position were Lymore Gardens who picked up a fifth league win with victory at home in Loughton where they edged past Blue Marlin a 3-2 win. James Rufus and Tyreese Robinson got on the score-sheet for Marlin but two Dylan Roberts efforts plus an Andrew Rashford goal handed the points to Lymore.

Tower United will also have been pleased with their afternoon’s work as they met another of the division’s promoted outfits with a trip to Hainault to face All Prospects. Abdullah Jama scored twice and Abubakar Maxamed once to help their Tower side record a 3 – 0 win, their third victory of the campaign.

CSM London were also able to pick up a third league win of the season as they took on an in-form Rapid Chingford team in Beckton with the two sides keen to move clear of any relegation difficulties. CSM had to come from behind to edge the game 2-1 with Lewis McCarthy and debutant Joshua Izu goals seeing them to maximum points. Andrei Boga netted for Rapid who remain third-bottom.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, Leyton Royal’s first two months of the season have been productive as they moved into a seven-point lead at the top of the standings after they came through a close game against fellow promotion contenders, Woodford East, in their clash in Debden. Leyton were 2 – 1 winners on the day to remain the only unbeaten side in the second tier. Billy Barr struck for Woodford East in this match.

Kit Out London made ground on the promotion chasing sides as they defeated third placed Eastside which helped Kit Out move fourth in the standings. Goals from Darnell Kitambo, Erik Rusnak and debutant Aourid Ismael were enough to carry their side to a 3 – 1 victory, moving within a point of their opponents, who netted thanks to Johnathan Odutolu..

There was a hugely important result for one of the struggling sides at the bottom as Frenford A record their first points of the season with a terrific 4 – 1 win away at Chadwell Heath Spartans. Ricky Reid scored for Spartans but a Gouly Djikalou hat-trick plus a Malachi Hercules effort confirmed the win for Frenford, moving off the bottom in the process.

Sixth-placed Wapping sit on the cusp of the top half of the table with three wins from six so far this season which was aided by their 5-2 home win on Saturday against Kwanzas London Sport. Abderrahmane Berri scored a hat-trick for the hosts with Charlie Ayes and Yusuf Nasir rounding things off, rendering Antonio Semedo’s brace as just consolation.

Completing the weekend’s action in Division One, London Park City were able to pick up a third league win of their season as they made the trip to Hackney to take on Francis Luke at the Marshes. Paulo Luke scored for the hosts but City goals from George Montgomery and Meelad Hamdard got their side over the line in a 2-1 win.

DIVISION TWO

There were plenty of goals in Division Two where the leaders, Belfry, made it seven wins from seven with a 6 – 2 victory at home against Chingford Athletic A in Dagenham. Eric Kelly scored twice for Athletic but goals from Sam Paterson (2), Aaron Rich, Jamie Redington, Mujib Ayoola and Patrick Macdonald were sufficient to extend their good start.

Remaining three points behind are Cowley Community who now have six wins from their opening eight matches this season and they took home all three points from their trip to Rainham Working Mens Club. Chris Wright grabbed his customary goal with Aiden Gentle’s effort rounding off a 2 – 1 victory. Cameron Shakes scored for the Workies in this one.

Third-placed Dagenham United got their season back on track with a really important win as they were paid a visit by fourth placed Newham Wanderers who were sitting just a point behind as the game began. United extended that lead to four points however with two goals from Jordan Akinpelu plus one each from Ruben Silva, Brandon Johnson and Rodeny Varela to win 5 – 2. Malam Injai and Marcelino Rodrigues grabbed the Newham goals in reply.

There was a massive result also at the other end of the table where promoted St Francis got their wins account underway for the season as they took on fellow strugglers Unitey at the Flats. Shaquille Mathurin scored twice and Jorginho Gomes once to earn the Saints a 3 – 0 win and a move off the bottom.

And there was just the nine goals in the final game in Division Two where the Forest Green hosted Old Esthameians at Leyton Sixth Form College, the E’s trailing their opponents by five points going into the game. This was slashed to just two by full time, coming out on the right side of a 5 – 4 thriller.

DIVISION THREE

In Division Three, FHN Athletic have opened up a five point gap at the top after they returned home with all three points in their clash away at Old Barkabbeyans Reserves in Barking. Faraz Khan scored for the hosts but it proved not quite enough as FHN scored twice themselves to win it 2-1.

Fairlop Rovers are up to third in the standings, level on points with just four goals separating them from Melbourne Sports as they took home the points with a 2-0 win in the Forest Road derby. Jack Kibblewhite’s brace was the difference on the day as Rovers continued a great patch of form which has seen climb into promotion contention.

There was a second league win of the season for Lymore Gardens Reserves who made it seven points from six games with a 3-1 away victory in Harlow against Epping United. Stefan Willis scored two and Eugene Goumou once to pave the way for a Garden victory which moved them seventh in the standings.

The division’s two draw specialists completed the action in Division Three where ASA, with three draws in four, met Glendale with four draws in eight this season. The outcome was expectedly… a draw. Mithurn Vijayarajah opened the scoring for ASA but Paul Oriakhi’s leveller just a minute later made it 1 – 1 and the sides shared the spoils once again.

DIVISION FOUR

Weather curtailed much of the Division Four action but in the two remaining games, there were seventeen goals with Newham Royals’ home 7-4 win against Together United getting that started. The Royals had an ensemble cast of scorers, led by Anthony Adade’s hat-trick with Ronald Asante getting a brace plus one each for Philip Norman and Richard Smith ending the goal-scoring credits. On the back of a big defeat, that saw Royals move up to third in the standings while Together United remain sixth.

There were six goals in the final game of the day in Dagenham where Brentwood United Reserves were the visitors to face Dagenham United Reserves. Giovanni Morgan (2), and Diego Sotelo grabbed the Dagenham goals but Brentwood efforts from Bradley Jackson, Connor Goom and Christian Pankui levelled it up at 3-3 to share the points.

S2020-21 Round-ups: Essex Alliance League (Wk 4 – Sat 26 Sept) [EAL 20-21 28.9.20]

Hello and welcome to a guest blog, going through the action in the five Essex Alliance League divisions on Saturday 26th September, along with the Olympian League & ESBL action, it is good to have guest content on other Grassroots Leagues, thank you Rob. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission, with thanks. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

Essex Alliance League – Saturday 26th September

SENIOR DIVISION

There is another new leader at the top of the Senior Division this week with FC Baresi the latest custodians of that position following their third win in four on Saturday, beating London Cranes by the odd goal at West Ham Memorial Park. Ali Shikheey got that only goal of the game as Baresi were 1 – 0 victors.

Three sides sit just behind the leaders with a perfect record with DTFC winners once again this weekend following victory at the Harlow Arena against Chigwell Town. A goal apiece from Chris Smith, Billy Golledge and Kieran Hipgrave were enough to see their side over the line to a 3-1 win.

West Essex Reserves are hot on the trail too and they made it three wins from three on Saturday with a comfortable looking 4-1 away win at Tower United. Abdi Abdikarim scored for the hosts but a brace for West from Mason Iley added to further goals from Adam Norris and Hassan Sufi to give their side the points.

Another side with a 100% start to their season are Jolof Sports who made it a pair of narrow 1-0 wins on their return to the league. Blue Marlin were the side to suffer said reverse as Moustpha Kane’s strike proved the only goal of a close game down in Newbury Park, that result moving Jolof up to sixth in the standings.

Lymore Gardens’ good start to the season continued on Saturday as they moved to fifth place on the back of a 2-1 away win against Rapid Chingford at Salisbury Hall. Andrei Boga’s goal had given Rapid the lead but a pair of goals from Marcel Destouche and Ashley Godwin paved the way for a Garden win.

After an indifferent start, CSM London have climbed into mid-table as they secured a second league win of the season, defeating a presently winless All Prospects side 4-1 at Fairlop Oak. Keifer Cole’s hat-trick proved the main difference between the sides with Ramone Senior’s strike rounding off the win in some style.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, Leyton Royal took full advantage of the leaders being out of action to move level on points at the top of the table as they made it three wins from three with a hard fought 1-0 victory away at Eastside. Alin Cosma was the man on target with their solitary effort to give his side maximum points so far.

Wapping have moved up to fourth as they picked up a second league win of the season, taking home all three points from their trip to Frenford A. The visitors scored both of the goals in the game, running out 2-0 winners to help move their side up the table following an indifferent start.

Sitting fifth are Chadwell Heath Spartans who added a win to their opening draw to keep themselves unbeaten in their maiden campaign at this level. They brought London Park City’s perfect start to an end, winning 4-2 at Mayfield through a Janel Alexander double and single efforts from Rashid Matabaro and Courtney Holness.

Kit Out London started their maiden league campaign in positive fashion with an opening victory in their first fixture, returning home with all three points from their trip to face Kwanzas London Sport in Walthamstow. Amalraj Kakamanu scored twice and Olajide Akala once to edge their side to a 3-2 win.

It was also a memorable afternoon for North East Lions who tasted victory at the fourth attempt on Saturday after beating seventh-placed Francis Luke 2-0 at the Marshes. That win gave them a first victory in Saturday football and helped them move to within goal difference of their opponents.

DIVISION TWO

There were plenty of goals in Division Two where Belfry continued their early form with another win, this time beating Unitey 3-0 at Roding Valley High School. A brace from Sam Paterson led the way with Jamie Redington scoring the other to make it a maximum points start for the new side.

Just behind the pacesetters on goal difference, Cowley Community’s solid start sees no end as they added another victory to their start, beating Newham Wanderers in a local derby match. Chris Wright was in some form, scoring all four of their goals in a 4-0 victory to keep his side well involved at the top end of the table.

Another side who have made a great start are Dagenham United who also made it three wins in four at the start of the new campaign as they returned home with all three points from their trip to Old Esthameians. Neil Robinson found the back of the net for Old E’s but United scored five in reply to make it a 5-1 winning score-line in their favour. Rodeny Varela got a hat-trick here, with Filipe Silva and Brandoon Johnson also netting for Utd here in their win.

Forest Green will be very pleased with their efforts in September having won all of their fixtures in the month to sit fourth in the placings going into October. They came through a real seven goal humdinger over the weekend, edging past Chingford Athletic A in a 4-3 scoreline to end the day as the happier of the two outfits.

The final game in the third tier came from Rainham Working Mens Club where the hosts were up against St Francis in this key battle between two sides having made indifferent starts so far. Joshua Shakes threw two goals into the Rainham mix but Saints stirred things up by scoring twice themselves to make it a 2-2 draw and sharing the spoils.

DIVISION THREE

The Division Three leaders after the first month are Melbourne Sports who lead the way on goal difference having won both of their fixtures, their latest victims being Lymore Gardens Reserves. The Mels returned from Chingford with maximum points as they earned a 4-1 away victory to start the season in great style.

Moving up to third place are Bailey Football Academy who picked up their maiden league victory following a big 4-1 away win against Fairlop Rovers in Barkingside. Ross Basunda scored twice with Berdan Yelken and debutant Luke Deslandes goals helping their side to a memorably first win.

Completing the day’s action at this level, it was a case of de ja vu for Glendale as the Dales had to settle for a share of the points in a 2-2 draw against Epping United at Fairlop Oak. Valter Correia levelled up after an early Epping opener but the visitors got ahead once again which needed Mouhamed Gueye’s strike late on for the Dales to level things up.

DIVISION FOUR

It’s been a good start for Custom House United in Division Four as they made it two wins and a draw from their opening games with a 6-1 home win on Saturday against Dagenham United Reserves. Tim Mason scored four for the Dockers with Charlie Clarke and Kelvin Bartlett efforts finishing things off for the league leaders.

Royal Forest Reserves dropped their first points of the season but remain level with the leaders at the top following a 1-1 draw at Fairlop Oak against Newham Royals. Will Asenso scored for Forest but Royals were able to level up to maintain unbeaten starts for both of the sides thus far. It was a memorable Saturday afternoon for Collier Row A who secured their first competitive win following a 4-3 home victory against Avondale Rangers. Jake Clarke scored twice for Rangers but his efforts were in vain as Row picked up the points to move off of the bottom of the table.

Brentwood United Reserves also secured a first victory of the campaign as they returned home with all three points from their fixture against Chingford Harriers at Westlands. That win moved them up to eighth place in the table, just a point off of the sides placed in mid-table in a congested table so far.

Completing the days action, a six-goal thriller rounds things off in Division Four as Emerson United Reserves entertained Together United at Hall Lane. In a close game, the teams drew 3-3, sharing all six goals and consequently the points too as Ross Braybrooke, Jamie Fox and Sonny Scott helped Emerson move up to fourth in the standings, United just a single goal behind them.

End

S2020-21 Round-ups: Essex Alliance League (Wk 3 – Sat 19 Sept) [EALL 20-21 21.9.20]

Hello and welcome to a guest blog, going through the action in the five Essex Alliance League divisions on Saturday 19th September, along with the Olympian League & ESBL action, it is good to have guest content on other Grassroots Leagues, thank you Rob. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission, with thanks. Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]

Essex Alliance League – Saturday 19th September

SENIOR DIVISION

FC Petrocub have moved top of the standings in the Senior Division as they made it three wins from their opening three games this season. They were on the right end of a seven-goal thriller at home to Lymore Gardens as Valentin Siciov’s hat-trick and a Alexandru Iusco single earned them a 4 – 3 win, overcoming Lymore goals from Dylan Roberts, Ryo Brown and Devonte Forsythe-Young.

Moving up to second place are FC Baresi as the Walthamstow based side kept their own unbeaten start going with a narrow 3 – 2 victory on Saturday over All Prospects. Prince Eze and Zivonimur Lopes were both on target for Prospects but Mark Matthews, Hadi Osman and Ali Shikheey strikes completed a win in favour of the hosts.

West Essex Reserves continued their perfect start to the campaign, making it two wins from two so far as they defeated winless Rapid Chingford in Hainault by two goals to nil. The all-important goals arrived through Adam Norris and Josh Flood goals helping last season’s title chasers resume where they left off.

CSM London will be pleased with their afternoon’s efforts over the weekend as they recorded their first win of the season, beating winless London Cranes 1 – 0 in Beckton to take all three points. The all important goal came from Keifer Cole who netted the only goal of the game to move ninth in the standings.

There was a winning return to the league for Jolof Sports as the East Ham based outfit got underway with three points from their home fixture against Chigwell Town. The former, and technically current, league champions from 2018/19 were narrow 1 – 0 winners as they started off their season in positive fashion.

Tower United have moved to fifth place in the table with two wins from their first three fixtures in the top flight following promotion. After last week’s reverse, they battled past Blue Marlin in Newbury Park with Guled Abdirahman, Sayid Abdi and Abdi Abdikarim all netting in a solid 3-1 victory.

DIVISION ONE

Woodford East have made a terrific start to life in the second tier as they wrapped up a third league win in three so far and are yet to concede a goal. Their flying start continued with a terrific 7 – 0 win on Saturday as they beat Wapping, helped by a Billy Barr hat-trick plus further efforts from Ben Smith, Frank Glock, Callum Maltese and William Letchford.

Another side with a perfect start to the campaign so far are Leyton Royal as the new boys made it two wins from two to go second. They were 5 – 1 home winners this week as they saw off the efforts of North East Lions to continue their positive start. George State scored twice, accompanied onto the score-sheet by Tamer-Andrei Bozgan, Cosmin Capatina and Catalin Gavril.

It’s also been a great start to the new season for London Park City who made it two wins from two with a massive local derby victory over a well-rated Frenford A side in Ilford. City made the short trip back to Seven Kings with maximum points, earning a 3-0 win to go third in the table after three weeks.

Another of the league’s new sides, Francis Luke, got their points account underway for the season as they defeat fellow new side, Kwanzas London Sport. An eight-goal thriller ensued between the sides as Joel Malundama, Benjamin Sokomay, Aliu Balde, Saico Djop and Reumel McIntosh all netted for FL to give their side a maiden 5 – 3 win.

Completing the day’s action in Division One, promoted Chadwell Heath Spartans finally got their season underway as they made the trip to Mabley Green to take on Eastside. The defences reigned supreme in this one with a rare goalless draw the outcome as the sides settled for a share of the spoils, just alphabetical order separating these teams in the table!

DIVISION TWO

Belfry are top of Division Two on goal difference following their opening two matches of the campaign as they completed their first home fixture with a 5 – 2 win against Rainham Working Mens Club. Jamie Redington scored a hat-trick to help his side towards victory, with Patrick Macdonald and Liam Pickett scoring the others.

Just behind the leaders are Newham Wanderers whose elevation to this level has been quite successful thus far with a second win in two games. The latest victims of said success were Royal Forest who have made a difficult start themselves, succumbing to two Robertson Morais efforts and further Newham goals from Bradley Harris and Macane Caleir in a 4 – 2 score-line.

Cowley Community move up to third in the table after securing a second win in three games so far, this week winning a local derby against St Francis at Wanstead Flats. Chris Wright was on target once again with Ryan Thompson-Cobham netting the other to hand Cowley a 2 – 0 win.

Sitting fourth in the standings, Forest Green couldn’t have wished for a better start to the season as they wrapped up win number two on Saturday, taking all three points from their away trip to Old Esthameians in Newbury Park. In a five-goal thriller, Green came out on the right side of a 3 – 2 scoreline to return home the happier of the sides.

Just behind Forest Green, Dagenham United are up to fifth in the standings as they were victorious on Saturday in their home clash against Chingford Athletic A. United were 3 – 1 victors, with a double from Agbor Sobeh and one from Charlie Fiander overcoming a Warren Isoka goal for previously unbeaten Chingford to ensure the points remained at Castle Green with the hosts.

DIVISION THREE

Melbourne Sports opened their account for the new season with a big home win in their opening fixture, defeating Flyers Under 23s 5 – 0 who themselves were making their league bow. That win sees the Mels move straight up into second place in the table ahead of what they hope will be a successful campaign.

Also taking part in their first fixture of the season, Loughton Lions made a winning start to life at this level as they came through with all three points against FHN Athletic at Mayfield School. In a topsy-turvy game in which Lions had to come from behind, they netted the all important fifth goal which saw them take a 3-2 victory.

The day’s other action came from Walthamstow where Bailey Football Academy led then had to come from behind against Glendale to take a late, late point. Maryis Shamku and Paul Oriakhi goals appeared to have given the Dales the points but Bailey strikes from Ayo Dosunmu and Berdan Yelken made it 2 -2 to share the spoils.

DIVISION FOUR
Royal Forest Reserves have made a good start to life in Division Four with a pair of opening wins, their latest coming at the expense of Together United in Walthamstow. Tom Alexander and William Asenso both scored twice for Forest to set their side on the way to a 4 – 2 win that keeps them clear at the top.
There was a first win of the season for Chingford Harriers over the weekend as they were victorious in their win at home against Collier Row A. Andrew Bowring, Jake Kemp and Stephen Duberry all found the back of the net to earn their team a 3 – 1 win, taking their side up to second place while Row remain in search of their opening points.

Sitting third on goal difference, Custom House United have kept their unbeaten run going for another week and had to come through a close battle against Emerson United Reserves. Anthony Reeve and Archie Pitfield both netted for Emerson but their efforts proved in vain as Charlie Clarke, Robert Wooster and Tim Mason scored for the Dockers to win 3 – 2.

Newham Royals are up to fourth in the standings, extending their own unbeaten run to two games with another 3-2 score-line in the division. They edged past Dagenham United Reserves at Castle Green as Anthony Adade scored twice and Desmond Wilson once to render a Dan Lane brace as just consolation.

Completing the weekend’s action, Avondale Rangers bounced back from their opening reverse last week to take a big 4 – 0 victory home with them in Loughton. Brentwood United Reserves were the side on the wrong end of this result as Jake Clarke scored twice and further goals arrived from William Coakley and Paul Regan.

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