PREVIEW: New Star Soccer face FC Baresi in climax of Division 3 Cup

This Thursday night, we head to Dagenham & Redbridge FC once again as the Division Three Cup reaches it’s climax with FC Baresi looking to complete the first part of a probable league and cup double as New Star Soccer 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 Thursday night.

For Jeff Khan’s New Star Soccer side who are in their first season with the league, this cup final represents a high point of an otherwise indifferent season which has seen many ups and downs. But if there is one way to end the season on a high, throw a cup final into the mix and that could be just the boost they need. They are currently sitting ninth in the standings although clear of any relegation difficulties with still three matches remaining. They opened up their run in the cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home to Glendale in the first round before hosting Custom House Community in the quarter-finals. They edged that encounter by the odd goal in five, winning 3-2 to go through to the semi-finals to face a high-flying Old Esthameians Reserves outfit. That semi-final also proved to be a nervy, tense affair with both sides scoring twice as they finished level at 2-2 at the end. New Star stepped up from the spot to record a 4-2 penalty shootout victory that saw them safely through to Dagenham & Redbridge FC. The New Star top scorer this season is Samson Ogunwole who has found the back of the net on seven occasions marking him as the man to watch on the night.

Their opponents FC Baresi, run by the Amjad family, are another side who are marking their debut season with the league by making a cup final as they head into the match knowing this could well be the first part of a league and cup double this season. They have taken to football in the EAL like a duck to water and are steaming towards the Division Three league title needing just a further five points from four matches to secure the coveted silverware. They remain unbeaten in the league and have dropped just four points all season so far, scoring 76 goals and conceding less than a goal per game too. In the cup, they began their run with a 3-0 victory in the tie of the round as they took on Chigwell in the quarter-finals of the competition, overcoming a serious injury to their player in the process. In the semi-final they took on the very much in-form Gatcliffe side but came through that test with flying colours, earning a 6-1 win to make the final. Delano Lloyd is the side’s top goalscorer this season with 34 goals so far and his ability in front of goal could prove important on Thursday night.

These sides have yet to meet each other in the league this season so have no prior record for us to analyse previous performance against but, given their lofty league position, you would have to mark down FC Baresi as the favourites for this match. But New Star Soccer have put in some good performances in reaching this stage of the competition and their improving league form in recent weeks says that they could just be hitting top form at the right time. Can they be the party-poopers to the Baresi double winning celebrations??

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 recently promoted Adam Chester is the man with the whistle and will be ably supported by Mike Locke and Kenneth Jackman from the touchlines. Toby Stutley completes the quartet on the evening with the fourth official duties.