Hello and welcome to the new season in the Essex Alliance League, as the Senior Division (top-tier) started last weekend. The interesting bit of information is that the EAL have extended their top division to encompass 17 clubs now, with Brimsdown coming down from Eastern Senior South. There are four promoted sides from last term’s Premier division – Frenford Development, Oakside, Crookz Utd & Dagenham Utd. Also joining the top tier are May & Baker Res & Walthamstow Res, who both competed in the Essex Senior Reserve League last term.
My thanks in avance to the EAL’s Rob Parker for allowing me to post this round-up. 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 13 August
SENIOR DIVISION
The new Essex Alliance League season is underway with the Senior Division’s earliest start seeing eight fixtures on a scorching opening weekend of action.
On Friday night, FC Petrocub made a terrific start to their season against one of the bookies’ contenders for the title as they defeated Jolof Sports at Mayesbrook Park in a 5 – 0 scoreline. They were ahead early with two penalties and didn’t relinquish that position to win comprehensively to top the table on night one.
Over at Coles Park, Lymore Gardens’ first game at their new home ground saw them in action in front of a big crowd, Crookz United the first to visit in their maiden game at this level. Abdouaziz Jeng put United ahead early in the game to lead at the break but a George Dwobeng effort in the second half from Garden meant they shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
The most emphatic result came at Wodson Park where FC Baresi’s tenure at Ware saw them rattle ten goals past Blue Marlin on the opening weekend. Tyreece Robertson scored a hat-trick, Ali Shikheey and Paul Benfield netted a brace each with Korede Da Silva, Raymond Poku and Edson Lami all netting in an emphatic 10 – 1 success.
The goals were also flying in over at Noak Hill 3G where Kit Out London and May & Baker Reserves repeated their draw from pre-season though this time a 3-3 scoreline. Darius Egualeonan had a first game to remember as his hat-trick gave Bakers a share of the points following their maiden voyage in the competition. Kit Out responded through two goals by Alex Solomon and one from Rio Mudlar-Hedley
Two of last season’s title chasers, Chadwell Heath Spartans and Woodford East, faced each other in their first game of the season at Chigwell Hall and there was little between the sides as just one goal was enough to separate the teams by full-time. East’s Ben Smith was the man to make the difference on the day as his goal gave Woodford a 1 – 0 success.
Oakside’s first game in the top flight saw them face a tricky trip to West Thurrock as they took on Rapid Chingford at Lakeside in scorching conditions. A five goal thriller was ensued between the sides as ‘Side’s secured their first win in a 3-2 success to give them the best possible start to their season.
Over at Wadham Lodge, two of the division’s new entrants met as Walthamstow Reserves opened their campaign with the visit of last season’s Premier Division champions, Frenford Development. A close game was settled by Elijah Grant’s decisive strike to give Walthamstow a 1-0 success.
The final game saw another new ground in use in the league as Barking & Dagenham College saw hosts Dagenham United in action for the first time in the Senior Division with a tough looking opening day clash against relegated Brimsdown who moved down from step six last season. A close game saw the sides finish at 1-1 with Fredericus Cunningham netting for Dagenham for their goal.
Chadwell Heath Spartans about to grab another goal this weekend [Image Credit: CH Spartans/ @ABridgeTooFar16]
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 2 April. My thanks to the EAL’s Rob Parker. This round-up is posted with the author’s permission. Thanks for reading. Image used is thanks to CH Spartans / @ABridgeTooFar16, Used with thanks.
Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]
With additional reporting by Scott W
Essex Alliance League Round-up- Saturday 2 April
COUNTY CUP FINAL
The Essex Saturday Junior Trophy reached its conclusion on Friday evening at Heybridge Swifts where Cowley Community represented the league against Mid Essex side, Haver Town Reserves. Cowley started strongly but failed to convert early chances, enabling Haver to get a foothold in the game and took a solid 3 – 0 lead into the break, thanks to goals from Harry Andreetti (2) and Luke Dallison’s opener. Cowley started strongly again in the second half and cut the deficit down to just one with efforts from Wright and Taylor, leaving around twenty minutes to go. But Haver responded well to those setbacks and comfortably held on to win the game 3 – 2, despite the valiant efforts of Cowley.
DIVISION TWO CUP
The line-up for the Division Two Cup semi-finals was completed on Saturday afternoon as Emerson & Upminster Reserves took their place in the last four after winning 4 – 1 at Old Esthameians. Billy Biggs was in great form, netting a hat-trick for his side, while Tobi Onafeko also struck to put the Upminster side just ninety minutes away from a possible final. They now face Unitey in the semi-final.
DIVISION THREE CUP
There were two ties in the Division Three Cup where a shock was seen in the first round game between hosts Melbourne Sports and Buckhurst Way in Hainault. Despite an eight point gap in between the sides in the table, it was Way who progressed on to the quarter-finals, winning 6 – 1 to book a trip to Old Barkabbeyans Reserves in the last eight. There was also a big shock in the quarter-final tie completed over the weekend as sixth placed Together United were eliminated from the competition on the back of a defeat to ninth placed ASA, despite the latter being fourteen points and three places behind their opponents. A 0 – 0 draw saw the sides finish level at ninety minutes before ASA held their nerve to win the shootout 7-6.
SENIOR DIVISION
There were big wins for all of the top ranked Senior clubs ahead of a crucial run of games for all sides, Chadwell Heath Spartans remaining top of the standings by two points as they put seven goals past FC Petrocub in Chigwell. Elie Fanga scored twice coupled with further strikes from Tom Callagher, Harry Payne, Samir Aboulainaf and manager Aaron Hunwicks to complete that 7 – 0 success. DT FC sit just behind Spartans with a game in hand as they completed a solid victory of their own with a 5 – 0 home win against Chigwell Town at the Harlow Arena. Billy Jones, Cory Ugbomah, Alex Paraskeva, Izaih Antoine and Jacob Melford all found the back of the net for the hosts to ensure they remain the side with everything in their hands.
Third placed Lymore Gardens also racked up another win, making it twelve for the season with a 3 – 0 home success at the County Ground against CSM London. Dylan Roberts, Andre Rashford and Gracia Muhemba were the men to notch for Garden to keep them well in the mix at the business end of the league table. Sitting just a point further back from Garden are Woodford East who can still make a major impact on the title race with a busy April ahead and they started their month with a 5 – 0 win against Rapid Chingford at Lakeside. Two Connor Brathwaite goals plus one each from Matthew Stacey, Adam Tabbani and Jack Smith helped East to a comfortable winning scoreline with seven league games still to go.
Jolof Sports still sit fifth and made it ten league wins for the season on Saturday as they ran out 3 – 1 home winners against bottom of the table Tower United at Flanders. A goal apiece from Joshua Kweifio-Okai, Khadim Mbacke and Papa Ndiaye were enough for the hosts to take the points home with them and keep Tower trailing safety by three points. A huge game in the context of the relegation fight took place at Fairlop Oak where eleventh placed Blue Marlin were in home action against eighth placed Kit Out London knowing how vital points are for both clubs. A five goal thriller saw Kit Out edge the game 3 – 2, Lewis Jacobs scoring twice and Yasin Zougui once to all but seal their place in the top flight one again while Marlin’s place remains in the balance.
PREMIER DIVISION
Top of the table Frenford A will be celebrating as they confirmed promotion to the Senior Division on Saturday with results going their way and their own success earning a 3 – 0 home win against local rivals London Park City. Isima Iguisi scored a brace and Joel Opara netted the other to confirm their ascent to the top flight while a win in their next game will ensure they go up as champions. Oakside are now the only side that can catch the leaders mathematically and they faced a tough London Cranes side at Fairlop Oak in the sunshine on Saturday knowing they had to win to keep up the pressure. And a win was what they walked away with, defeating Cranes 1 – 0 to make it nine victories for the season, with four games left to play in their chase for promotion.
An entertaining game at Peter May rounds off the Premier Division action where Athletic Newham Under 23s were the visitors to Walthamstow to take on a promotion chasing Crookz United side, the latter knowing that victory was vital if they were to challenge for top spot. But the sides had to settle for a point apiece as the game ended in a 3 – 3 draw.
DIVISION ONE
It was a glorious afternoon for Belfry who took the Division One title in dramatic fashion on Saturday coming from 3-1 down in their first game against Newham Wanderers to win it 4 – 3 late on, sealing the title. Solomon Ogunwomoju struck twice with Lewis Warren and Kieran James scoring the others to seal the points they needed. In game two, a rather more sedate affair saw a narrow win once again as Ryan O’Connell scored the only goal of the game for Belfry to win 1 – 0.
The focus now turns to the race for promotion where Ilford Reserves saw their quest put in doubt, going down to a 2 – 1 away defeat against Something From Nothing at the Flats. The Foxes remain second with two games to go but games in hand for others may well cost them while SFN were able to move into the top half on the back of that result and others around them.RC XI have thrown themselves back into the promotion mix, moving up to third at the weekend as they defeated eighth placed Kwanzas London Sport over at Belhus Park. Tobi Alabi, Michael Temitayo and Tosin Blacky goals were enough to seal the points in a 3 – 0 win, the hosts’ eleventh success of their maiden season.
Wanstead have all but assured themselves of a top half finish in their first season as a club after they recorded a solid 2 – 0 home win in their game against Forest Green at the Flats on Saturday. Their ninth of the season while taking their points tally to thirty-one for the season. Eleventh placed Barkingside A have given themselves the best chance of avoid the drop this season as they took a vital three points against fellow relegation threatened Renegades in Wanstead. Side were 3 – 1 winners at Nutter Lane, recording win number four and moving to within six points of their opponents with five games in hand.
DIVISION TWO
It’s Fairlop Rovers who remain top of the pile in Division Two entering the penultimate month of the season and they will have been pleased with their efforts on Saturday, defeating rivals Loughton Lions in a 5 – 1 scoreline in Hainault. Sam Beaman opened the scoring, setting the platform for Harry Oliver and Logan Simmonds to both score twice in a big victory. Second placed Unitey remain the closest to Rovers but with just two games to go, following a thumping 6 – 0 away win in Hainault on Saturday, defeating FHN Athletic. Unitey goals from Matthew Surry, Nathan Lupumba, Romario Christian, Matthew Pitchford, Mohammed Abaker and Ahmed Dousa were plenty enough to earn their side the points.
An incredible game at Wanstead Flats saw St Francis and Ryan Under 23s combined for an eleven-goal thriller with attacks certainly dominating an open game. It was the visitors who ultimately prevailed in this incredible game, Ryan winning it 6 – 5 to move into the top half of the table for the first time this season, in their penultimate game of the campaign. Michael Bryan and Kemar Bello both netted twice for Ryan here, with Mekhi Charles-Armstrong & Adam Sodimu also scoring. Skye Salmon got two goals for St Francis, with their other scorers being Omar Hafid, Peter Luvualu and Theo Jacobs-Aaron.
The goals were also flying in down at Roding Valley where hosts Royal Forest were in home action against Newbury East. While not yet mathematically certain of survival, Forest have all but done enough now you feel to stave off the drop as they won the game 4 – 0 to record win number eight for the season.
DIVISION FOUR
The penultimate game of the Division Four season took place over the weekend where Avondale Rangers were the hosts to a Dagenham United Reserves side in Loughton with Rangers holding a vital say in the title race. Chris Harper scored for Rangers with Josh Michaels netting for Dagenham in a 1 – 1 draw, with next week’s fixture between Rangers and Sporting Pillars deciding the destination of the league title.
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 12 March. 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 12 March
FENTON CUP
The penultimate semi final place was up for grabs on Saturday as Division One’s RCXI made a tough looking trip to top flight Jolof Sports, the holders of the trophy. A seven-goal thriller was produced by the two sides with Jolof made to go all the way before coming out 4 – 3 victors as Abib Diop, Serigne Samb, Papa Ndiaye and Bogdan Ursica all netted to book a home semi final versus DTFC. Oluwaseun Koya scored all three RC XI goals in reply.
FENTON TROPHY
It was semi-finals day in the Fenton Trophy competition as the first ever finalists were confirmed following two tight games. Over in Hainault, Fairlop Rovers entertained Rainham Working Mens Club as the two sides battled to a 1 – 1 draw at full-time, Nick Tormey the Workies goalscorer. But it was Rovers who held their nerve in the shootout, winning 4 – 3 on spot-kicks to confirm their first final!
A couple of miles away in Newbury Park, there was another all-Division Two battle as Old Esthameians hosted Unitey in their own semi-final as both sides took their part in a five-goal thriller. Devontae Young and Ahmed Dousa scored for Unitey but two Neil Robinson strikes and a Nelson Goncalves goal were enough to secure a 3 – 2 win for Old E’s and through to their second cup final with the league.
DIVISION TWO CUP
In the Division Two Cup, it was quarter finals day for two clubs as an improving Loughton Lions side took to the field to face FHN Athletic. And despite Lions having an eleven league point deficit, they were comfortable winners in this tie, winning it 5 – 2 to book a home semi-final against either Redbridge Community or Rainham Working Mens Club.
DIVISION FOUR CUP
Another semi-final was completed in the Division Four Cup which saw Flyers Under 21s make the long trip to east London to take on title favourites Sporting Pillars at Ive Farm. An expectedly tight game was produced but it was fourth placed Flyers who took the accolades, with goals from Bradley Maycock and Alex Grant overcoming a goal from the experienced Chris Rowlatt to win 2 – 1.
SENIOR DIVISION
In the Senior Division, it remains tight at the top with just a three-point gap between the leaders as DT FC ensured they remained top with another high scoring victory on Saturday against Tower United. Alex Paraskeva bagged himself a hat-trick with Robbie Farrell and Harry Watkins goals giving the hosts a 5 – 1 win. Michael Brown was the Tower scorer for their consolation effort. Second placed Chadwell Heath Spartans maintained the pressure on the leaders with a victory of their own, taking home all three points from their trip to Chigwell Town in a 2-0 scoreline. Elie Fanga and Harry Payne both got on the scoresheet to keep Spartans within three points reach and with that all important battle between the top two to come.
Woodford East are still well within reach themselves but will need to convert games in hand to victories as they continue their quest on multiple fronts. They were able to pick up another three points with a tight 2 – 1 win against Blue Marlin as Frank Glock and Billy Barr both netted to secure a tenth league win of the season. Ronaldo Lleshi got the goal for Marlin. In the big Noak Hill derby, Kit Out London were in action as the hosts, taking on their co-tenants London Cup semi-finalists FC Petrocub. Ahead of that big match next weekend, it was FC Petrocub who walked away with the points on Saturday, winning the game 3 – 1 to earn an eighth league win and keeping them comfortably placed in sixth.
At the other end of the table, a crucial battle between two sides eager to stay in the division saw Rapid Chingford in town to take on CSM London, both needing the points. An entertaining game finished 3 – 2 to Rapid as Andrei Boga’s brace and a Vlad Bucur goal were enough to overcome CSM goals from Plamedi Kinkela and Abdi Karim.
PREMIER DIVISION
Frenford A have moved a step closer to confirming their place in the Senior Division following a solid 3 – 0 win at the weekend against fellow promotion contenders Crookz United at The Drive. Daniel Francis, Damilola Olaiya and Joel Opara all netted in a win means they are now one victory away from completing at least a top three finish and three further victories will be enough for the title outright. The closer contenders for the title appear to be Oakside presently who are catching up on games and moved to within twelve points of the top of the table with three games in hand after they picked up a terrific home win, beating Dagenham United 5 – 1 in Hainault. Charlie Fiander got on the Dagenham scoresheet but his efforts proved in vain.
Wapping remain just two points off the lead but from two games more than their rivals, having picked up their tenth league win of the season on Saturday, beating London Cranes 3 – 1 in East Ham. Muhammad Mikaeel, Jordon Mills-Smith and Shamsun Noor were the Wapping scorers as they kept their hopes alive. In the bottom half, London Park City kept their slim hopes alive of remaining in the second tier as they picked up a valuable point against North East Lions in a 1 – 1 draw. Nester Boansi struck the Lions goal but City also struck to ensure they shared the points. City will know that other results will have to go their way to avoid the drop this season.
DIVISION ONE
In Division One, Belfry are now just a couple of wins away from confirming at least promotion after they racked up win number fourteen with a big 7 – 1 home victory against Something From Nothing at May & Bakers. Kieran James’ fine form continued with a hat-trick for his side with Ryan O’Connell netting two, the scoresheet completed by goals from Gabriel Ogunwomoju and Daniel Osborne. Khai Bailey struck the SFN consolation goal in reply.
The two are set to meet next weekend with Cowley Community warming up for that clash with a strong performance of their own on Saturday, defeating Renegade 3 – 0 at Hackney Marshes. Elias Tackie, Michael Taylor and Chris Wright all found the back of the net for the county cup finalists to ensure they remain in touch with their rivals at the top. Ilford Reserves have been in a good vain of form in recent weeks and are now up to third in the standings after they defeated Forest Green 4 – 0 in their home clash on Saturday. A pair of braces from Rhys Clements and Serghei Scupoi were the difference between the sides as the Foxes maintained their outside hopes of promotion with five games to go.
Fifth placed Wanstead will still have a say in that battle after they returned to winning ways over the weekend with a 5 – 3 home win against Francis Luke at the Flats. Jahvarn Steward scored twice and Kennerly Cassius once for Luke but two Edson Lami goals and efforts from Jake Nicolas, Mohamed Solaimani and Zoltan Balogh proved enough to earn their team some valuable points.
Also at the Flats, a local derby game saw Barkingside A making the short trip to face Newham Wanderers with the teams starting the game ten points apart. That was extended to thirteen as Wanderers won 4 – 0 though two goals from Mahein Zaman and singles from Robertson Morais and Michael Sarpong, leaving ‘Side still in danger of relegation.
DIVISION TWO
In Division Two, Redbridge Community put a serious dent in Emerson & Upminster Reserves’ promotion push as the eighth placed side defeated their visitors in a 2 – 1 scoreline. Reece Stringer got himself on the Emerson scoresheet but his effort wasn’t enough as the hosts completed their sixth league win of the season.
It was the battle of the bottom two in the division’s other contest and what a game it was as St Francis and Newbury East both led at various stages of their game at the Flats. Eventually, the two had to settle on a point apiece in a 4 – 4 draw. Francesco Di Giovanni scored twice while Aenayat Nesari and Lewis Goulbourne scored the others to give Saints a point.
DIVISION THREE
The big game of the day in Division Three came from Hainault where it was first versus second as Old Barkabbeyans Reserves strived to hold onto top spot in their game against Royal Forest Reserves. And it was the league leaders who walked away the happier of the sides as goals from Daniel Margiotta, Mitchell Day and Mehdi Ahorbi were enough to take a 3 – 0 win home with them. That result enabled FC Baresi Under 23s to move into second spot as they made the trip to Hackney to face ASA at the Marshes. A close game saw the promotion favourites secure a 2 – 1 victory, a goal apiece from Daniel Adutwum and Harrez Aliane the difference between the sides to confirm a vital three points in their quest for the title. Atif Haider got the solitary reply for ASA.
Two of the sides in mid-table, Together United and Lymore Gardens Reserves, met in Leyton with the sides starting the game level on points. And that was exactly the way it ended with the sides finishing level at 2 – 2 to share the spoils. Richie Dorcas and Warren Isoka were the scorers for the hosts while Together remain one position higher on goal difference. Buckhurst Way have moved to within four points of that mid-table cluster of clubs, albeit from two games more, after they earned win number seven on Saturday with a 3 – 1 away victory at Glendale over in Hainault. They led 1-0 at the break and extended that to three early in the second half before Matt King’s first goal for Glendale made it interesting but Way held firm to take home the points.
The game between bottom of the table Terin and Flyers Under 23s saw the latter go into the game knowing they had to secure at least a point to remain, mathematically, in the race to avoid the drop. Neither side were able to make a breakthrough in ninety minutes as the game ended in a goalless draw. Flyers must now win all of their remaining games and hope for a sizeable goal difference swing.
DIVISION FOUR
The sole game in Division Four came from Rainham where Newham & Havering Borough were in action with a home game against West Essex Under 23s, the latter’s final game of their debut campaign. West ended the season in fine style, winning the game 5 – 1 to record a fifth league win. George Sadler-Stephens scored twice while Aytan Cohen, Javen Cole and Joel Hart all netted too.
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
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 29 January. 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 29 January
FENTON CUP
The penultimate name was placed in the hat for the quarter finals of the Fenton Cup and it saw a big derby match between two rivals as Rapid Chingford were the visitors to Hainault to take on Leyton Royal. Despite Royal holding a small advantage in the league, it was Rapid who put themselves into the last eight, winning 2 – 0 courtesy of goals from Darwin Romero and Andrei Boga. They will face Barkingside A in the next round in February.
FENTON TROPHY
The Fenton Trophy quarter finals also saw a game between two big rivals, just a few pitches away, as Division Two’s Fairlop Rovers and Loughton Lions both produced enigmatic performances in front of a sizeable crowd. The two sides couldn’t be separated in ninety minutes with the game ending 2 – 2, with Jake Roberts & Tom Ratican netting for Lions. And it was Lions who pulled off a big of a shock win in the shootout, overcoming a fifteen point deficit to win it 3-2 from the spot. They head on into the semi finals of the competition.
SENIOR DIVISION CUP
In the first round of the Senior Division Cup, there was a five goal thriller in the game over at the County Ground where Lymore Gardens were hosts to a Blue Marlin side looking for improved cup form. A close game was edged by the hosts with Ryo Brown, Gracia Muhemba and Andre Rashford goals seeing their side win 3 – 2 to make the quarter finals. Ni Acquaye’s brace was not enough prevent the visitors exiting here.
DIVISION THREE CUP
The cup excitement extended to the day’s Division Three Cup tie too as Glendale played host to Lymore Gardens Reserves at Fairlop Oak. An entertaining game saw Lymore lead three times through goals from Eugene Goumou (2), Daniel Crowie and Omani Green. But the Dales fought back on each occasion to force spotkick as Attila Szabo (2), Valter Correia and Mohammed Gueye efforts made it 4 – 4. Glendale prevailed 5 – 4 in the shootout to book their place in the quarters.
SENIOR DIVISION
There were some big results at the summit of the Senior Division as Woodford East kept their hat in the ring for the league title with a key victory against DTFC at the Marshes. A goal apiece from Frank Glock and William Letchford for East ended DT’s long unbeaten record with Mickey Mesmin’s effort proving just consolation in a 2 – 1 scoreline, though they do remain top. Jolof Sports also had an afternoon to remember with a crucial win of their own over a title rival as they defeated Chadwell Heath Spartans in a 5 – 1 scoreline at Flanders. Meer Ishanzadeh netted his first Spartans goal but Papa Ndiaye was in fine form for the hosts, scoring a hat-trick, to go with goals from Fode Diakhite and Yan Manzan.
There were some fine victories for the division’s two bottom sides as they continued their quest to avoid the drop with Chigwell Town taking home the points against CSM London in a 4 – 1 win, dragging their opponents back into the dogfight. Ross Chimes scored twice with further efforts from Mark Howe and Lewis McGillicuddy taking them home. Jayden Mitchell-Brown grabbed the CSM goal in reply but his efforts proved in vain. It was victory also for second bottom Tower United who picked up a critical third league win of the season with victory at home against mid-table Kit Out London in a 3 – 0 scoreline. Abdi Mohamed netted twice and Abubakar Maxamed scored the other for the Mabley Green based side as they put themselves to within four points of safety.
PREMIER DIVISION
It was the battle of the top two in the Premier Division on Saturday with Dagenham United making the trip to Ilford to take on leaders, Frenford A, in a huge game for those title chasing sides. And it will be the leaders who walked away the happier of the teams as they earned themselves a 3 – 0 win through goals from Joel Opara (2) and Carlos Barahona to open up a three point gap at the top. Third placed Wapping ensured they moved to within a point of the second place after they came through a potentially tricky game against an in-form North East Lions side who sit just a couple of places below. A close game was settled by the odd goal with Wapping goals from Kamrul Ahmed and Muhammad Mikaeel overcoming Shane Thomas’ goal for Lions in a 2 – 1 scoreline.
With games in hand over the top three, Crookz United sit just outside the promotion places presently but kept their excellent run going with a thumping 6 – 1 away win against London Park City at Seven Kings High School. A terrific five goal performance from Abdouaziz Jeng was the difference, Stephane Trah scoring the other to make it eight league wins for United. Sixth placed Oakside were also in scintillating form on Saturday with a big away victory in their local derby game against co-tenants All Prospects at Fairlop Oak, putting them to the sword in a 10 – 0 scoreline. Luke Caston scored four for ‘Side, Mohammed Hassan added two with Freddie Anderson, Jed Ofori, Andy Adomakoh and Kieren Huddart goals completing a comfortable win.
London Cranes have moved themselves into mid-table after picking up a home win on Saturday against ground neighbours, Athletic Newham Under 23s. They were 2 – 0 victors to make it five wins for the season with Arafat Lubega the man on target for both goals to move his side up two places in the standings to seventh.
DIVISION ONE
Belfry have returned to the top of Division One on the back of the weekend’s results, scooping a big 11 – 2 home win against Forest Green to top the table on goal difference. Kieran James was in super form, scoring four for the hosts, Ryan O’Connell and Gabriel Ogunwomoju bagging twice each, with Lewis Prainer, Luke MacDonald and Daniel Osborne finishing things off. That change at the top also came about after second and third met in another big game at Fords where Cowley Community were looking to make up ground against RCXI who themselves have been in good form. And it was county cup semi-finalists, Cowley, who assured themselves of another crucial victory with Michael Taylor and Chris Wright scoring for them in a 2 – 0 win.
There were some important wins for the mid-table sides as Newham Wanderers pushed themselves up into sixth place in the standings after edging a close game away at Barkingside A. Goals from Amir Gurji, Malam Injai and Robertson Morais were the difference for Wanderers as they won the game 3-2, ‘Side remaining in the bottom two as a result. Just a point behind Newham, Ilford Reserves put a fifth win of the season on the board at the weekend with a solid 2 – 0 home win against Renegade over at London Marathon. Goals by Joseph Sulola and Mario Lipetz forThe Foxes kept them in the mid-table mix, taking their points tally to fifteen while Renegade stay tenth with eleven points from their fourteen games so far.
Just a couple of points further back sits Kwanzas London Sport who started the day six points behind their opponents, Something From Nothing, as those teams met at the Flats. But by full-time, Kwanzas had reduced that deficit to just three points as they beat their top-half opponents by the odd goal in a 2 – 1 victory, Antonio Semedo coming off the bench to score twice. A dramatic high-scoring draw rounds off the division’s action which saw Francis Luke take on high-flying Wanstead at the Marshes on Saturday. The sides combined to produce six goals as Luke took home a crucial point against their lofty opposition with Louison Kamba, Ramar Roberts and Adam Rowe all netting for them in a 3 – 3 scoreline.
DIVISION TWO
Old Esthameians are the new leaders on Division Two following the weekend’s results as they took advantage of the situation to record a big 5 – 1 home win against one of the other promotion contenders, FHN Athletic. That was E’s tenth league win of the campaign and puts them top on goal difference with games in hand too.
The division’s only other win on the day was earned by Royal Forest who continued their journey away from relegation difficulties with an away victory against St Francis at Wanstead Flats. Forest were 5 – 2 winners on the day to take their wins tally to five with still nine games for them to play this term. Forest’s goals came from Joe Meader (2), Joe Owers, Charlie Palline and Joshua Kane. The other three games all ended in draws with previously top of the table Unitey being held to what looked to be an entertaining 4 – 4 draw against tenth placed Redbridge Community, that being a vitally important point for the relegation threatened side. Bubintende Masadi was once again in fine form, scoring a hat-trick for Unitey, though it proved not quite enough to force victory.
Two more of the top half sides were up against each other over in Upminster where Emerson & Upminster Reserves saw the visit of Rainham Working Mens Club, the sides proving well matched in the game. A Tobi Onafeko effort for Emerson was equalled by Joshua Iyen’s strike for Rainham to ensure both teams walked away with a point in a 1 – 1 draw. Over at Hainault Rec, there was a crucial game for hosts Newbury East who were searching for some improved league form against eighth placed Ryan Under 23s. The sides started the day twelve points apart and that was how it remained by full-time with the game ending 2 – 2, Abdurahman Hassan and George Montgomery both netting for East.
DIVISION THREE
Royal Forest Reserves have hit the top in Division Three as they took advantage of results around them to move clear on just goal difference, beating Melbourne Sports at Fairlop in a big game for both clubs. Luc Harpon struck for the Mels but Trees responded with efforts from Dodou Lette, Tom Alexander and Will Asenso to win the game 3 – 1. Just a point behind the leaders, FC Baresi Under 23s had a battle on their hands on Saturday as they came from behind to earn a crucial win with a 4 – 2 victory against Together United in a local derby match. Baresi goals from Zach Aliane, Daniel Adutwum, Marco Perkola and Leo Siki eventually enabled their side to win the game and remain unbeaten as a result.
Old Barkabbeyans Reserves missed the chance to stay top of the table after they dropped points from their trip to seventh placed Buckhurst Way at Bancroft Rugby Club. Kacper Kasprzycki and Robbie Osborne both got on the Old Barks scoresheet but Liam Wallis and Tom Richardson notched for the hosts to ensure they shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw. Over at Oaks Park High School, hosts Terin were looking to recreate their performance from their first win last week but faced the challenge of mid-table ASA. And it was the visitors who came through the game in relative comfort, winning 5 – 2 with Jubayed Miah scoring twice, Ramanan Selvarasa, David Rigby and Irfan Bahadur also netting. Edmund Adade and Ali Mohammed were the Terin scorers in reply.
DIVISION FOUR
There were some huge results at the top of Division Four on Saturday with Flyers Under 21s moving to within two points of the leaders as they defeated top of the table Chingford Harriers in a big 4 – 1 scoreline. Dave Birchnall struck for Harriers but Flyers goals for Bradley McPharlane, Sam Maydell, Jamie Randall and Paul Garrett-Hammond mean this race goes on. Sporting Pillars were the other side to benefit from that first result as they closed the gap on the top two to just two points, with games in hand, to ensure they remain firmly in control of their destiny. They were comprehensive 8 – 2 winners against Dagenham United Reserves, Rayan Allam scoring four for this side along with braces from Emanuel Jacob and Daniel Gutierrez. Cain Dash scored twice in reply for the visitors.
Third placed Fairlop Rovers Reserves missed the chance to cut the gap on the promotion places themselves as they slipped to defeat against an in-form Emerson & Upminster A who built upon their recent cup success by adding a 4 -3 league victory here. Tyler Huggett scored twice and Martin Gray put the gloss on the result to move their side seventh. In the battle of the two sides at the wrong end of the table, there was a rare but important success for Newham Royals who made up one of their games in hand with victory at home against West Essex Under 23s. Matthew Horan scored for West but his goal was just consolation in the end as Royals won 2 – 1 to make it three wins for the season.
COUNTY CUP
Last year’s London Junior Cup finalists, FC Petrocub, are just two performances away from recreating that feat as they came through a tough away day trip to south London to take on Chelsea Rovers on Saturday. But they returned home buoyed by a 3 – 0 winning performance to set up a last eight tie away once again versus Old Plymouthians.
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 Trophy on Saturday 27 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 27 November
FENTON TROPHY
There was just one Fenton Trophy tie played over the weekend where Division Two’s runaway leaders, Fairlop Rovers, were the visitors to Division Three’s Lymore Gardens Reserves with the higher ranked side safely booking their place in the last eight with a 12-1 win. Ellis Simmonds and Jack Kibblewhite netted hat-tricks, Harry Oliver scored two and one each from Logan Simmonds, Kian Millward-Burton, George Birch and Bailey White completed the scoring with Marcel Destouche netting the Lymore goal in reply.
SENIOR DIVISION
The lead at the top of the Senior Division remains at five points after leaders Chadwell Heath Spartans put in a sterling performance to end Jolof Sports’ unbeaten record, winning the game 4 – 2 over in Chigwell. Jonathan Evans scored a hat-trick for the Spartans with Janel Alexander scoring the other in an important win. The chasing pack sees two sides level on twenty-three points with Woodford East’s goal difference advantage keeping them clear in second, aided by their most recent success, a 3 – 1 home win against Chigwell Town. Ellis Morgan scored for Town but his efforts were in vain with Joe Kemp, Ben Smith and Adam Tabbani goals for East carrying them to victory at the Marshes.
Making up the top three are DT FC who, with games in hand, will still be expecting to pose the biggest threat to the destination of the title. They were up against FC Baresi at the Harlow Arena on Saturday and two goals from Emmanuel Chitongo off the bench plus strikes from Billy Golledge, Kieran Hipgrave and a long range effort from goalkeeper Alex Jennings helped them win 5 – 2. Paul Benfield and Tyreece Robinson efforts accounted for the visitors’ consolation goals. Lymore Gardens sit just outside of the top three by a couple of points but still with a big say on how things progress after they scooped a sixth win of the campaign, defeating Kit Out London 3 – 0 at Noak Hill to keep pace at the top. Tyrique Peters scored twice and Benjamin Sumaili once as their goals proved the difference between the teams. The division’s remaining game saw two close rivals come together at Lakeside Sports Ground where Rapid Chingford were the hosts to a Leyton Royal side looking to avenge a narrow defeat earlier in the campaign. It was another close game, this time in favour of Leyton who won 2 – 1 to move into the top six.
Additional Midweek match – FC Baresi defeated Blue Marlin 1 – 0 in a rare midweek match played at Barking FC’s Mayesbrook Park.
PREMIER DIVISION
The Premier Division title race has suddenly tightened up at the top with Wapping now just two points off the pace of the leaders on the back of their huge 15 – 1 victory on Saturday against All Prospects. Jordan Mill-Smith was in fine form with a six-goal performance, Shamsun Noor struck a hat-trick while Kamrul Ahmed, Mohammad Asrar, Joshua Morris, Meeshaq Malone, Yusuf Nasir and Aminur Rahman goals finished it off.
Just a further point back in the race for silverware and promotion, Dagenham United made it five wins from eight in the league with a solid home win against a decent London Cranes side at Castle Green. Iaia Jau’s brace set them on their way with Dante Vincent and Fabio Cunha goals completing a 4 – 2 in United’s favour. Fifth placed Crookz United are in a strong position to contend for honours themselves with games in hand and moved into the top half of the table on Saturday with a terrific 7 – 2 home win against London Park City in Walthamstow. Utd had Luke Stewart to thank for his four-goal haul here, with further goals from Anselmo Gomes, Andrew Appiah and Steven Tshiamala enabling the hosts to pick up a fourth league win in six as they continue their own quest for success.
The only side with a perfect and unbeaten record in the division are Oakside who are sitting in seventh place after a hard fought 1-0 win at the weekend at home to Athletic Newham Under23s. That result made it four wins from four for the Hainault based side with a number of games in hand against the sides above them. The remaining game in the division saw fourth placed Eastside and sixth placed North East Lions meet in a local derby game at Peter May, both keen to press on up the table albeit with other sides having more games in hand. The point gap between the teams pre-match remained the same by full time as they had to settle for a 1 -1 draw, Adnan Miah netting the Lions goal and Ifeanyi Umeh scoring for ‘Side.
DIVISION ONE
It’s all change yet again at the top of Division One as the leaders were in cup action, allowing RCXI to take advantage to move top themselves on the back of a 3 – 2 home win against Renegade in Aveley. Ayo Matthews, Harold Ofori and Stephen Duberry all found the back of the net to give the hosts a sixth league win of the campaign. Daekwon King-Douglas and Nana Baah scored for Renegades. Wanstead have moved to within three points of the promotion places in the division, doing so after scooping themselves a big away victory on Saturday, returning home with the points in a 5 – 0 win at Kwanzas London Sport. James Robjant, Robert Clarke, Dan Gardner, Suhaib Abeid and Edson Lami were all on target to make it five wins in six in the league.
There were some hugely important wins for sides in the bottom half where Something From Nothing moved to the cusp of a top half position with a 3 – 2 win at co-tenants Newham Wanderers. Robertson Morais and Nuno Dentampol both found the net for Newham but their efforts were not quite enough as Cyril Pluche, Oscar Walton and Micah Innocent goals gave SFN victory. Barkingside A are another side who will be pleased with their weekend’s efforts as they picked up three vital league points with a win at bottom of the table Francis Luke. Luke goals from Adam Rowe and Tito Sijuwade proved just consolation as ‘Side won the game 4 – 2 to earn their side a third league win of the season, moving to eighth place.
Another side who will hope to build upon their weekend performance are Forest Green who despite not having had the best of starts in the league, picked up a important win against Ilford Reserves, overcoming a six point deficit on their opponents in the process. Green were 3 – 0 winners at Leyton Sixth Form College to give themselves a little cushion on the sides below them.
DIVISION TWO
Division Two was one of many goals on Saturday and with the leaders in cup action, the focus was on the chasing pack with things looking very tight. Old Esthameians are now second in the standings as one of three clubs on eighteen points, their tally extended with a 4 – 2 win at home against Redbridge Community, who responded through goals from Abbas Osman and Melanijus Butkus. Sitting in third position are Unitey who hold that position on goal difference after a terrific win against an in-form St Francis side at Roding Valley High School. Bubintende Masadi extended his recent scoring record by netting twice with Ahmed Dousa, Matthew Pitchford and Matthew Surry goals seeing their side to a solid 5 – 0 win.
Also part of the eighteen point club are Emerson & Upminster Reserves who had an interesting afternoon and fell 3-0 down to bottom of the table Newbury East through goals from Bhajandip Purewal, George Montgomery and Rafai Bentick. But they amazingly found the strength to claw their way back and ended up winning it 4 – 3 with Archie Pitfield scoring twice off the bench to go with efforts from Reece Martin and Tobi Onafeko. FHN Athletic are well in the frame for promotion themselves and sit just a couple of points back on the chasing clubs as they won at home against Rainham Working Mens Club to leapfrog their opponents in the process. Merrill Appiah scored twice and Terron Fordjoe once to overcome a Joshua Iyen goal for the visitors, FHN therefore confirming a 3 – 1 win.
There has been plenty of entertainment value in Ryan Under 23s’s recent fixtures and this week’s was no exception as they shared a ten goal thriller against Loughton Lions, the teams beginning the day just two points apart. And that is the way it stayed as they drew incredibly 5 – 5 in a result which really doesn’t aid either side’s chances. Loughton’s scorers were Thomas Osmond with a hat-trick with Harrison Andrews and Taylor McLaughlin also on target.
DIVISION THREE
It was first versus third in Division Three where an entertaining game saw Melbourne Sports romp into a 3-0 lead against leaders FC Baresi Under 23s in Hainault. But the Mels couldn’t quite hang on to take three points as Baresi responded with goals from Maamoon Khan, Zach Aliane and Ronnie Kabongo to take a 3 – 3 draw by full time. Old Barkabbeyans Reserves were able to take advantage of that result to close the gap on the sides above them, now sitting just three points outside of the promotion places after edging a tight game at home against Together United. Geovany Cruz, Robbie Osborne and Jalen Davis efforts were just enough to give Barks a 3 – 2 win.
There was a third league win of the season for Glendale who made the trip to Buckhurst Way with eight points separating the sides going into the game. But that was cut to five by full time as Dales goals from Maryis Shamku, Seyi Agboola, Mo Fadel-Mboupe and Mouhamed Gueye gave them a 4 – 2 win, despite Way threatening a comeback in the second half through strikes by Joey Butcher and Dolapo Gbadamosi. The goals were also “flying” in down at King George’s in Romford where Terin were the visitors to take on Flyers Under 23s with the bottom two sides battling it out to move closer to safety. The accolades went to Flyers who scored seven in a 7-1 win Kai Eaton (2), Deren Kale, Joshua Adu, Rafin Alam, Mohammad Miah and Aaron Weymouth. Fahad Abdallah scored the Terin goal in reply.
DIVISION FOUR
There were some big results affecting the top of the Division Four standings where Chingford Harriers became the only unbeaten side as they were triumphant against an in-form Dagenham United Reserves side, beating their rivals 3 – 1. Suleman Yusuf, Darnell Lamothe and Jake Kemp all netted for Harriers with Mamadou Soumare responding for United. Avondale Rangers produced what must be their best performance of the season as they took an second placed Fairlop Rovers Reserves and won an entertaining twelve goal thriller 7 – 5. Debutant Fraser Bolton scored a hat-trick, Liam Cole also scoring a hat-trick himself as Harry Callagher finishing things off to give Rangers a fourth league win.
Flyers Under 21s also produced one of their best results of the season to end Sporting Pillars’ unbeaten record in the division in a 4 – 3 victory, moving level with their opponents. Two Jamie Randall goals and a Frederick Every effort accounted for the Flyers goals with two Emanuel Jacob goals and a Kain Betty effort giving Pillars their consolation goals. There was also an important win for Emerson & Upminster A who faced up to a trip to West Essex Under 23s with a three point deficit on their opponents. Their trip proved to be a fruitful one however as they recorded a 2 – 0 win with Tyler Huggett scoring both goals in the game to move level on nine points with West.
COUNTY CUP
In the Essex Junior Cup, Frenford A faced a trip up the M11 to the very north of the county as they took on Cambridgeshire County League based side Debden in the fourth round. Frenford were on the wrong end of a narrow defeat however, going down 2-1 to see their run in the competition ended.
There was all-EAL clash in the Essex Junior Trophy as Belfry renewed old acquaintances with Cowley Community. With the two sides already going hammer and tong in the league, it was Cowley who secured progression in this county cup tie, edging the game 2-1 to go through. Completing the weekend’s action, FC Petrocub continued their passage in the London Junior Cup as they successful in their third round clash against Middlesex County League based Hilltop Reserves. Petrocub won 2-0 at Hainault Rec to progress through to the fourth round after being finalists last season.
Fixtures – Saturday December 4th (top two tiers only)
EAL Senior Division
Chigwell Town v Tower Utd | London Marathon Sports Ground
CSM London v DT FC | West Ham Community Ground 3G, Beckton
FC Baresi v Raid Chingford | Britannia Sports Ground, Walthamstow
Jolof Sports v Woodford East | Flanders Playing Fields, East Ham
Kit Out London v Blue Marlin | Noak Hill 3G
Leyton Royal v FC Petrocub | Lakeside Sports Ground
Lymore Gardens v Chadwell Heath Spartans | Leyton County Ground, E10
EAL Premier Division
Frenford A v Athletic Newham U23 | The Jack Carter Centre
London Cranes v All Prospects | Flanders Playing Fields
London Park City v Oakside | Seven Kings Sch 3G
North East Lions v Dagenham Utd | Peter May Centre, W’stow
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
EAL logo
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
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 an rain-affected day of action on Saturday 6 November. 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 6 November
SENIOR DIVISION
The top two sides in the Senior Division remain locked on twenty points at the top of the table as Woodford East held off a late fightback to defeat Kit Out London 3 – 2 in Noak Hill. Billy Barr, Joe Kemp and Lucio Uare all netted to take the points, cancelling out London goals from Keyshawn Greenaway and Marlon Ortiz.
Remaining second with a slight goal difference disadvantage, DTFC remain unbeaten and picked up a sixth win of the season on Saturday with a hard fought 2 – 0 victory against Blue Marlin at the Harlow Arena. The goals came from Emmanuel Chitongo and an OG for Allan Fenn’s side. With a game in hand, they still will be the favourites with the bookies but with a long season still ahead.
There was a sizeable victory for third placed Chadwell Heath Spartans who returned to league action with a big win, defeating Tower United 7 – 0 at Mabley Green. Jack Evans scored twice for Spartans with Joe Robb, Harry Goodwin, Courtney Holness, Jonathan Evans and Thomas Callagher goals helping their side to maximum points. Fourth-placed Jolof Sports are continuing their charge up the table with games in hand and remain unbeaten following the weekend’s results, this weekend securing all three points with a 3 – 1 home win in East Ham against Leyton Royal. That saw the hosts pick up a fifth league victory which, combined with just a single draw, keeps them as one of the favourites in the division.
It was a good afternoon’s work for FC Baresi who won handsomely at the Britannia, confirming a solid 5 – 0 victory against Chigwell Town to see them move up to fifth place in the table. Raymond Pok scored twice with further efforts arising through Abdisemed Giama, Tyreece Robertson and Abdisamad Mohamed. The remaining two games in the division ended in draws as Rapid Chingford overcame a six point deficit against top half Lymore Gardens to earn a valuable point in their quest to stay clear of the drop. Vlad Bucur netted the Rapid goal with Dylan Roberts’ effort for Gardens taking a share of the spoils in a 1 – 1 draw.
The final game saw CSM London host FC Petrocub over in Beckton with the sides going into the game just a point apart. And by full-time, that was how the gap remained as an entertaining game finished 2 – 2. Ramone Senior and Zakaria Ahmed goals accounted for the CSM efforts but the visitors were up to the task and ensured they levelled to walk away with a point.
PREMIER DIVISION
With the league leaders in cup action, there was a great opportunity for others to make up ground on them with Oakside doing just that, moving second in the standings with a big 5 – 1 away at Wapping to remain unbeaten. Jordan Mills-Smith netted for the hosts but ‘Side goals from Jed Ofori, Brandon Burgess, Kyrone Scotland, Joseph Omogiate and Thomas Senyah completed the win. There were some important results for sides hovering around the middle of the table with sixth placed Eastside staying in touch with the sides above as they defeated London Cranes 3 – 1 in East Ham to make it three wins for the season. Joshua Duyile scored twice and Michael Morgan once to move to within a point of the top two, albeit from more games played.
Seventh placed Athletic Newham Under 23s are another side lurking with intent around the middle of the table and, with a number of games in hand, could yet pose a danger to those further up after taking home the points from their trip to North East Lions. Samuel Titi-Lartey had scored for the hosts but Newham goals from Michael Senghor, Tajean Lewis and Nathaniel Adjei helped them finish as 3 – 1 victors. There will a sense of much relief in the All Prospects camp who, after a very difficult start to the season, finally managed to get a win on the board as they took on fellow strugglers London Park City over in Hainault. The hosts won the game 3 – 0 with strikes by Tyrese Smith Grant, Tyler Anthony and Kane Drysdale securing the points.
DIVISION ONE
There’s a new leader in Division One where RCXI took advantage of the top two sides being in cup action to leapfrog both into top spot in the table. They were 4 – 0 winners at home against Barkingside A where Stephen Duberry’s brace led the way and further goals came from Jayson Sam-Franks and Oluwaseun Koya put their side a point clear.
Fifth placed Ilford Reserves kept their hat in the promotion mix following a top performance over the weekend, taking the win from their home game against Newham Wanderers, the sides going into the game level on points. Two goals from Serghei Scupoi and efforts from Joseph Sulola, Rhys Clements and Arandell Robinson helped the Foxes win 5 – 0. The Forest Green camp will be a much more content one as they earned themselves a three point haul for the first time this season on Saturday, defeating Renegade at Leyton Sixth Form College to move up a place with tenth in the standings. They were 5 – 1 winners, despite a Nana Baah goal, to move their points tally onto three and give them something to build upon for upcoming games.
DIVISION TWO
It was a great afternoon’s work for Fairlop Rovers on Saturday as they put a dent in their opponents promotion hopes, defeating Emerson & Upminster Reserves 3 – 1 in Hainault to make it seven from seven in the league this season. Sonny Scott got on the Emerson scoresheet but that proved just consolation on the day as Rovers took home the points.
The high-scoring Old Esthameians got back to winning ways at Newbury Park, moving third in the table as a result of teams dropping points around then, following a terrific 9 – 1 victory against Royal Forest. That saw E’s pick up a fourth league win in a greatly improved outing to date this term, placing them just three points off the pace in the promotion race. The remaining game saw a close contest at the Flats where St Francis’ first league outing of the season saw them host high-flying FHN Athletic. A hard fought game saw FHN take the win, scoring both goals in a 2 – 0 victory to help them maintain their push for promotion from the division.
DIVISION THREE
Royal Forest Reserves’ maintained their lead at the top of Division Three at the weekend following a solid home win, beating mid-table Buckhurst Way 3 – 0 at Fairlop Oak. Tom Alexander, Josh Trainor and Will Asenso were the men on target for the Trees as they made it five wins from five to stay two points clear of the chasing pack. Sitting in second and closest side to the leaders, FC Baresi Under 23s ensured their promotion charge continued but didn’t have things all their own way with a five goal thriller at home to Lymore Gardens Reserves. Omani Green and Ashley Dixon both netted for Gardens but two Harrez Aliane efforts and a Leo Siki goal were just enough to earn Baresi a 3 – 2 win on the day.
Old Barkabbeyans Reserves are sitting third in the table and fought back from behind twice in their game at Glendale on Saturday to take all three points in a 5 – 3 scoreline. Wesley Kangi had twice given the Dales a lead, along with an Attila Szabo effort but two Callum Elliott goals and one apiece from Christopher Plummer, Kacper Kasprzycki and Robbie Osborne were enough for Barks to win. Melbourne Sports are in a run of good form and are up to fourth in the table after picking up a fourth league win of the season on Saturday with a 5 – 3 win of their own against Flyers Under 23s. Joshua Adu, Kai Eaton and Muhammed Waqas had got their names on the Flyers scoresheet but those efforts proved to be in vain as Mels took the win.
The biggest win of the day came from Walthamstow where Together United’s top form in the league continued with a thumping 8 – 0 victory against Terin to see them move up a place in the table. Stanley Kweya netted a hat-trick, Rocky Bush scored two and one apiece from Fifi Banin, Remel Green and Aaron Vernege finished things off.
DIVISION FOUR
Fairlop Rovers Reserves are following closely in the footsteps of their first team counterparts and moved top of the Division Four table on Saturday as they earned themselves a 2 – 0 home win against Avondale Rangers over in Barkingside. That was their sixth win this term and places them a point clear of the chasing pack. Moving up to third, Sporting Pillars continue to show their prowess and made it three wins and a draw on Saturday with a 5 – 1 win on the road away at Collier Row A. A recognisable name from the past, Chris Rowlatt, scored a hat-trick for Sporting with Rayan Allam grabbing two for his side to keep them well in the mix.
Dagenham United Reserves are up to fourth and put into the biggest win of the division in Rainham, running out 7 – 0 winners against Newham Royals. Cain Dash was in a rush to help his side, scoring four, with George Martin, Imad Khan and Michael Whitelock efforts helping United to take the points back down the A13.
After picking up their first win of the season only recently, Flyers Under 21s are really starting to find some form now and doubled their points tally with a terrific win on the road, taking maximum points in a 5 – 0 win at Emerson & Upminster A. That enabled Flyers to move off the bottom and up three places to eighth. And completing the league action, another side who have struck a little bit of form are Newham & Havering Borough who, after taking a point from the league leaders on Saturday, went one better to beat West Essex Under 23s 3 – 1, making it two wins for the season. George Sadler-Stephens scored for West but Borough goals from Afam Okafor, Alexander Gerada and Andrew Elie were enough to claim the win.
COUNTY CUP
There were some mixed results in the county cup competitions where Frenford A put themselves into the hat for the fourth round after returning back down the A12 with a 2-1 victory to their name, defeating Ramsey & Mistley Reserves. They face an equally lengthy trip to the Cambridgeshire border to face Debden in round four.
Crookz United had what looked on paper at least to be a tasty looking tie away at Hashtag United Development on Saturday as the Premier Division side faced a trip down to Billericay. But their hopes were dashed, going down 6 – 0 thanks to a treble from Samuel Pratt, plus one each from Chandler Wray, Matthew Gauci and Charlie Drew.
In the Essex Junior Trophy, Division One high-flyers Cowley Community are through but needed an extra thirty minutes to see off Division Two’s Rainham Working Mens Club, the 2020 finalists going through to the next round with an eventual 4 – 2 win under their belts. Also through are Belfry who faced a trip up the A12 to Great Baddow on Saturday and came away with a solid win under their belts, winning 3 – 1 to set up another tie against their close league rivals, Cowley, later in the month.
Something From Nothing saw their cup run come to an end with defeat against Chingford Athletic A at the Flats. SFN came out on the wrong side of a seven goal thriller, losing 4 – 3 to exit the competition. Another side who saw their run come to an end were Francis Luke who had a tough game against one of the semi finalists in the 2020 competition, Brentwood Athletic Reserves. Luke went down 5 – 1 on the day at the Marshes to end their participation.
In the day’s rearranged London Junior Cup tie, Wanstead made the trip to south London to take on Bromley & South London League side Eltham Town. They will be disappointed with the end result, going down 10 – 1 to make it feel like a very long trip home.
Fixtures – Saturday November 13th (top two tiers only)
EAL Senior Division
Blue Marlin v Rapid Chingford | Fairlop Oak Playing Fields
Chadwell Heath Spartans v CSM London | Chigwell Hall
FC Petrocub v Chigwell Town | Noak Hill 3G
EAL Premier Division
Athletic Newham U23 v London Park City | Flanders Playing Fields
Dagenham Utd v North East Lions | Castle Green Leisure Centre 3G
Eastside v Wapping | Peter May Sports Centre, Walthamstow
Emergency ‘keeper (& player-boss) Aaron Hunwicks pulls off good save for Spartans in Fenton Cup this weekend
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 an rain-affected day of action on Saturday 30 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.
Image by Chadwell Heath Spartans FC (@CH_SpartansFC)
Guest Blog written by Rob Parker for EAL [EAL Twitter: @EssexAllianceFL]
Essex Alliance League Round-up- Sat 30 October
FENTON CUP
Despite the incessant rainfall on Saturday morning, most football survived at the weekend with the day’s only Fenton Cup action seeing Chadwell Heath Spartans make the trip over to Hainault to take on Blue Marlin in first round action. A hard fought game saw Spartans edge through, winning 2 – 1 thanks to goals from Harry Amoah and Thomas Callagher.
FENTON TROPHY
There was also one Fenton Trophy tie too over the weekend as Royal Forest hosted FHN Athletic over at Roding Valley High School as the two sides fought for a place in round two. Tom Osmond is a regular feature on the Forest scoresheet and he scored four for his team which, combined with Joe Owers’ brace, was enough for Royal Forest to win the tie 6 – 2.
SENIOR DIVISION
It was a busy afternoon in the Senior Division which has new joint leaders after Woodford East moved top of the table following their solid home win, defeating CSM London 3 – 0 to go clear on goal difference. Adam Tabbani scored twice and Lucio Uare grabbed the other to keep them well in contention though the chasing teams do have a game in hand. One of those also well in contention is DTFC who trail by just goal difference on East and remain one of only two unbeaten sides in the division after they came through a tough test at home against Lymore Gardens. Jake Kissiedu and Billy Golledge goals proved the difference in the end to win the match 2 – 0, continuing their unbeaten run.
It was a good afternoon for Kit Out London who were made to work hard for their latest win with FC Baresi the visitors to Noak Hill, the sides starting level on points before the game. Mark Matthews and Hadi Osman both got on the Baresi scoresheet but three Kit Out goals from Amalraj Kakumanu, Alex Solomon and Yasin Zougui saw them take the points late on in a 3 – 2 victory. There were two big results at the other end of the table where Rapid Chingford picked up just their second league win of the campaign, edging a close game with relegation threatened Tower United, winning 2 – 1. Abubakar Maxamed’s goal had given Tower a chance in the game but the two Rapid goals saw them over the line, shifting them up to ninth place.
It was a similarly big result for Rapid’s rivals, Leyton Royal, who had a trip to Chigwell Town to contend with as the sides met over at Fairlop Oak. Mark Howe struck for Town but Royal goals from Muresan Razvan and Vlad Farcas were the difference to help their team record a narrow 2 – 1 win, their third success of the campaign.
PREMIER DIVISION
It was the battle of the top two sides in the Premier Division over the weekend with Frenford A making the trip to Castle Green to take on Dagenham United, both sides going into the game sporting unbeaten records. Shaquille Mathurin grabbed a United goal but his efforts proved in vain as Frenford recorded an important 4 – 2 win that saw them move nine points clear of the rest. It’s been a season of mixed successes for Eastside so far but they had a day to remember on Saturday with a huge win against All Prospects to move themselves clear of danger. Five goal performances from Joshua Duyile and Michael Morgan set the tone, Abid Haque and Ifeanyi Umeh netted twice each with Junior Mandeng-Fotabong and Johnathan Odutulu goals completing a 16 – 0 win.
Oakside moved up a number of places, taking advantage of results around them to gain territory on the sides above following an emphatic 5 – 0 home win against one of the other promotion chasing sides in the division, North East Lions. Mussa Jamanca scored twice while Freddie Anderson, Demi Elegushi and Luke Caston all struck to take ‘Side to the win. The division’s other fixture saw Athletic Newham Under 23s seeking to improve their indifferent start to the season as they were paid a visit by promotion chasing Wapping in East Ham. Athletic struck through Rodney Botuli and Christopher Barbosa goals but two Wapping efforts off the bench from debutant Josh Morris saw the game end level at 2 – 2.
DIVISION ONE
Division One has new leaders this week as Cowley Community made the most of others being out of action to move two points clear at the top, taking maximum points in a 3 – 0 home win against Renegade. Chris Wright, Michael Taylor and Lekan Bakare efforts took them to victory in Newbury Park, their fifth success of the season. There was also a shift up the table for RCXI who moved up to second as they came away victorious from their trip to Kwanzas London Sport, edging the game 3 – 2. Michael Temitayo scored twice and Ayo Matthews also netted to give their side an important win, taking their points tally to thirteen for the campaign.
DIVISION TWO
Division Two was a goal-fest at the weekend with some big scorelines with one of the most important results coming from Debden where tenth placed Loughton Lions had a tough looking game against Rainham Working Mens Club who had won every game this season. But football proved it can throw up a few surprises and the Lions roared to an incredible 4 – 0 win.
If that performance was miraculous enough, you’d go far to beat an incredible Ryan Under 23s comeback on Saturday which had seen them trail 6 – 2 to Redbridge Community with Akiljo Balliu (3), Frankie Francis (2) and Tevini French all striking for the visitors. But that wasn’t the end of the game by any means as a stirring fightback thanks to a four-goal haul by William Amoah plus one goal each for Ryan Washington, Luke Hillier and Leon Humphrey then win it for Ryan 7 – 6. Incredible.
With their rivals dropping points, Fairlop Rovers had the chance to give themselves a bit of daylight at the top and they duly obliged with a stunning win away at Old Esthameians, scoring nine in a 9 – 2 victory in Newbury Park. Jack Kibblewhite scored a hat-trick, Harry Oliver netted twice and one apiece from Logan Simmonds, Dylan Scutt, Harry Rouse and Bailey White finished things off. The remaining game in the division came from Loughton where Emerson & Upminster Reserves were the visitors to face Unitey, the sides locked on nine points each going into the game. Emerson will be pleased with their efforts on the day though as they came through 2 – 0 with goals from Ross Brabrooke and Reece Martin.
DIVISION THREE
Old Barkabbeyans Reserves are up to fifth in the table in Division Three as they closed the gap on sides above with a solid 7 – 3 home win against Flyers Under 23s. Robbie Osborne scored a hat-trick with further efforts from Kacper Kasprzycki, Alex Donkor and Mehdi Ahorbi. Two debut goals from Joshua Adu and an Ethan Sowonola effort accounted for the Flyers efforts in reply.
It was also a seven-goal day for ASA over at the Marshes where Terin were the visitors and looking to open their points account for the season. Miran Miran and Fahad Abdallah both got on the Terin scoresheet but an ASA hat-trick for Mithurn Vijayarajah, two from Atif Haider and singles from David Rigby and Irfan Bahadur made it a comfortable 7 – 2 win for their side. There was also victory for now sixth placed Melbourne Sports as they saw the visit of high-flying Buckhurst Way to Hainault on Saturday. The Mels were in fine form however and turned the tables on their head with a good performance to win 4 – 0, picking up a third league win and move to nine points in the process.
There was plenty of entertainment in the division’s remaining game where Glendale were the visitors to Lymore Gardens Reserves and led early through a Wesley Kangi strike. But Lymore battled hard and were 3 – 1 up at the break and well in control. A stirring fightback from the Dales earned a point however as Wesley Kangi struck again and Was Lawal’s close range effort finished it 3 – 3.
DIVISION FOUR
Chingford Harriers remain top of Division Four but have seen their lead cut in recent weeks, including a disappointing draw against strugglers Newham & Havering Borough on Saturday. Nick Shawyer struck twice and in-form Darlington Ojo once but three Borough goals led to this one finishing 3 – 3 in the end. It will feel like an important milestone for Flyers Under 21s who opened their points account for the season on Saturday with a terrific win against fourth placed West Essex Under 23s down at King George’s Park. They were 2 – 0 winners on the day to ensure they closed the gaps on the sides above, though they remain bottom for now.
The early season form for Sporting Pillars suggests they will be there or thereabouts by the end of the season and they maintained their unbeaten run in the league with a 2 – 0 win against Emerson & Upminster A. Emanuel Jacob scored twice off the bench for this side and proved the difference between the two teams in the end. Meanwhile, Dagenham United Reserves joined the six point club in Division Four as they record a second win of the season with a 2-0 home victory against Collier Row A, closing the gap on their opponents to just goal difference. Cain Dash and substitute Mamadou Soumare were the men on the scoresheet to complete United’s victory.
COUNTY CUP
It was a mostly disappointing afternoon the London Junior Cup although last year’s finalists, FC Petrocub, did continue their run in the competition with a win against their semi final opponents last season, Jolof Sports. Petrocub were 3 – 1 winners on Saturday to see them through into the next round. There was a narrow defeat for Together United who faced a trip to south London to take on Standard Ballers in a nine-goal thriller. That contest was edged by Ballers who netted late on to take a 5 – 4 win.
Fixtures – Saturday November 6th (top two tiers only)
EAL Senior Division
CSM London v FC Petrocub | West Ham Community Ground 3G, Beckton
DT FC v Blue Marlin | Harlow Arena 3G
FC Baresi v Chigwell Town | Britannia Sports Ground
Jolof Sports v Leyton Royal | Flanders Playing Fields, East Ham
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
survivor16b 