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PREVIEW: Haver Town meet Avondale Rangers in Tuesday's Division 4 Cup Final

PREVIEW: Haver Town meet Avondale Rangers in Tuesday's Division 4 Cup Final

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This Tuesday night, we head to Dagenham & Redbridge FC once again as the Division Four Cup reaches it’s climax with Haver Town Reserves looking to complete a league and cup double as Avondale Rangers stand in their way of that accolade. We now look ahead to the game and provide some insight into who might be crowned cup winners on Tuesday night.

For Kevin Chapman’s Haver Town side, this season is their first with the league and they have taken the competition by storm, making a very successful start to life with the Essex Alliance League. Their form in Division Four saw them wrap up the title very early in February having been defeated just the once to win it by a comfortable margin.  With a goal difference of +75, they have performed equally well at both ends of the field with a near century of goals scored offset by just conceding 16 in their 15 matches played. Their run in this competition started with a 5-0 win against Brentwood United Reserves before a 4-2 defeat against Newham Royals put their place in the last four at jeopardy. However, a walkover win in the remaining game confirmed their place as they travelled to Debden Park in the semi-finals. In that semi-final, Michael Brown scored twice and Jack Phillips once as they rode out a second half comeback from Debden to secure a place in Tuesday night’s cup final. Michael Brown is the league’s top scorer this season with 37 goals making him the man to watch for their side although Zak Robinson has also scored 23 goals of his own so between them, they are a real attacking threat.

As we look into the away dressing room, we find an Avondale Rangers side managed by Tony Leach who are in their third season with the league having joined from the Bishops Stortford League.  They are a side who are famed for their liking of a good cup run with numerous cup final appearances down the years. Their league form this season has been a little patchy but reaching this Tuesday’s final will undoubtedly be what matters. Their appearance in the final will also serve as a fitting tribute to the recent loss of club founder, Tony Monk, who passed away recently having served them for many years. They begun their run in the cup with a group stage 4-1 defeat to Debden Park but recovered to go through with wins against Brooks City (5-1) and Dagenham United Reserves (3-1) which booked their semi-final against Royal Forest. In that semi-final, a very competitive match saw the sides finish level at ninety minutes as 1-1 which sent the match to a dramatic penalty shootout. There were well over twenty spot-kicks taken with Rangers eventually rolling out 10-9 winners to confirm their place at Dagenham. Their top goal scorer this season is Paul Regan who has netted 11 goals this year for his side and will look to add to that in the final if he can.

When you look at who might be lifting the silverware at around 9.30pm, you would have to put Haver Town as the favourites given their lofty league position and the sheer number of goals they have scored this season which would frighten the best of sides. But if there ever was a better analogy in football, it’s all about what happens on the night and cup football can often bring unexpected results so they cannot take anything for granted. Avondale have a rich history of cup final appearances and therefore know the biggest stage well. The side who deal with the occasion better will most likely by victorious at the end of the night.

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 well-respected Paul Kemp is the man with the whistle and will be ably supported by Lanray Alapafujah and Jason Hale from the touchlines. Keith Everett completes the quartet on the evening with the fourth official duties.

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