CUP FINAL PREVIEW: Wapping face Custom House in Division 3 Cup climax

The inaugural Division Three Cup reaches it’s conclusion for the season at Dagenham & Redbridge FC on Wednesday as Wapping take on Custom House. We look ahead to the cup final and provide some insight into who might be crowned winners on the night.

Division Three Cup Final
Wapping vs Custom House
At Dagenham & Redbridge FC, 7.30pm Kick-Off

This final brings together a battle of the London boroughs as the Division Three league champions from Tower Hamlets, Wapping FC, take on the side who pushed them all the way in the form of Custom House FC from Newham.

As the inaugural competition for Division Three, the winner of this final will be the very first name engraved on the trophy with both sides being very eager to add cup success to a solid campaign in the league too. Custom House are returning finalists have been at Dagenham last year in the Division Two Cup where they went down 3-2 to a dramatic late winner by Chingford Athletic Reserves despite the Wooster father and son combination famously scoring the goals for the Dockers.

For Wapping, this final represents a chance for the club to secure a league and cup double in their maiden season with the league, something that would be a remarkable achievement. They have already secured the Division Three league title having secured the point they needed on the last day of the season against great rivals, Custom House, a battle that has been going on all season. They only lost two games during the season in the league, scoring 82 goals in the process as they kept the pace at the top of the division. Their run to Dagenham has taken in a walkover win in the quarter finals against Upminster Reserves before hosting Kitroom in the semi-finals. That semi-final saw a comfortable 4-1 win which ultimately secured through goals from Mohammed Hussain (2), Adel Mouaden and Kamrul Ahmed to book their place at Dagenham on Wednesday. The man to watch within the Wapping ranks is Fuad Ibrahim who has managed to net himself 23 goals in just 17 matches this season proving that he knows where the back of the net it. There have also been 13 goals apiece from Adel Mouaden and Abdulwahid Zerkouki proving that goals can come from different areas of the pitch as well within this progressive Wapping side.

For Custom House, this is a match in which they will hope to be victorious and have something to remember their season by having just missed out on league title glory at the last. It’s also an ideal opportunity for them to finally rid the disappointment of last year’s cup final defeat by getting their name engraved on the trophy this year instead. Nick Field’s Dockers have reached this final on the back of some big away victories, opening with a 3-1 win at Newham Royals in the opening round before seeing off Wanstead Warriors in a 7-1 victory in the quarter finals. In the semi-finals they came head-to-head with a difficult looking tie away at Brentwood United Reserves. An astonishing first half performance from Custom House saw them go 7-0 up at half-time through braces from Sam Wilkinson and Paul Wooster and further goals from Tim Mason, Jamie Wooster and Jack Field. A goalless second half saw them take the foot off the gas but the damage had been done as they cruised through to the final! The experience of Paul Wooster leads the line for Custom House and he will be the man to watch after scoring 30 goals this year in just 23 matches. The other man to look out for in the Dockers’ highly regarded goalkeeper, Ian Whitmore, who has recorded six cleansheets this season.

The league games between these sides have seen two closely contested clashes, with one victory to Wapping (3-2) before a score draw in the very last game of the season recently (1-1) suggesting that this final could also be a tightly fought battle. You would have to make Wapping the favourites on paper to record a cup final victory but, as the old cliché goes, how many games are actually played on paper? What you can be sure of is that this Custom House side will be out to gun down their rivals and take some silverware back to Newham.

Congratulations to our appointed match officials on this final, a reward for the continued hard work put in by our referees across the season. The highly regarded Adam Chester is the man with the whistle and will be ably supported by two new referees to our league this season, John Conaghan and Ken Jackman, on the touchlines. Completing the line-up, Harry Dhillon, completes the quartet with the fourth official duties on the evening.