PREVIEW: Senior Division and Division 2 Cups take centre stage on double header Saturday

This Saturday, we’re back at Dagenham & Redbridge FC for our inaugural cup final double header as we witness the climax of the Division Two Cup and the Senior Division Cup Finals. We now look ahead to the two games and provide some insight into who might be crowned cup winners on the day.

RAINHAM WORKING MENS CLUBS vs CSM LONDON
DIVISION 2 CUP FINAL – 2PM

The first match on Saturday kicks off at 2pm and sees two of Division Two’s finest go head-to-head with fifth placed Rainham Working Mens club facing the runners-up, CSM London.

Saturday’s final sees Rainham make their third appearance in an EAL final in just five seasons having been beaten finalists on each of those previous occasions, a record they will look to improve upon. Following their drop into Division Two this season under Paul Tormey’s new management regime, the club have re-established themselves and put in a solid season in a highly competitive third tier, finishing fifth with nine wins from their twenty fixtures. Their run in the divisional cup competition will of course provide the highlight of their season having started their run with an away tie in the first round at Old Esthameians. The sides finished level on the day at 3-3 but Rainham pulled through in the shootout 4-3. They then received a bye in the quarter finals as FC BKT were unable to field a side against them meaning they had booked their place in the semi finals of the competition, facing another away tie, this time at Upshire Forest. Once again the sides couldn’t be separated with the game ending level at 2-2 through Rainham goals from Nick Tormey and Scott Meyers. But they held their nerve in the shootout to win 3-2 and book their place in the final. Looking at who might be the men to watch, new recruit this season, Liam Tormey, is the top goalscorer with 18 goals in just 12 appearances so far while Ricardo Teixeira has netted 7 goals as well to go with his 3 assists too.

Joining Rainham in Saturday’s cup final are maiden finalists, CSM London, making their first trip to a cup final since their formation at the start of this season. And what a first season it’s been for William Brobby’s team who, despite it being their first season at this level, have put a string of consistent performances in that saw them finish second, just eight points behind the eventual winners having won fifteen of their twenty league matches. Alongside their league successes, their run in the Division Two Cup began this season at the quarter final stage where they faced a tough test at home to Puma Kings, coming through that game with a comfortable win on the day and securing a place in the semi finals where they took on third placed Eastside. In what looked on paper to be a terrific tie in prospect, Micail Koulibaly was once again the hero for his team, scoring a hat-trick and accompanying a Keifer Cole brace onto the scoresheet in a 5-1 scoreline as they completed their Road to Dagenham. There are three stand-out players when you look closely at their ranks with Rodrique Beya (13 goals and 16 assists) one of the key men to watch out for along with Micail Koulibaly (15 goals) and Keifer Cole (14 goals) also finding the back of the net regularly for their side.

Of all the cup finals taking place this season, this has to be one of the toughest to call with both sides having had largely successful seasons and the league results between the two sides having been very close. CSM were 3-2 winners in their clash in December with a further win following in February as CSM won that one 3-1 as well. Those results suggest, on paper at least, that CSM will start the game as slight favourites but they are facing a side who have been on this stage on plenty of occasions previously and more used to the big occasion. Which set of players will step up to the plate on Saturday?

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 vastly experienced Dave Rivett has been appointed as referee for the final and he will be ably supported by the experienced duo of Jeff Mattheou and Courtney Maitland from the touchlines. Completing our team of officials, Kevin Greetham, will be on fourth official duties. Well done to all!

DOCKLANDS ALBION vs JOLOF SPORTS
SENIOR DIVISION CUP FINAL – 6PM

We bring you a Saturday night football special this weekend as the Senior Division Cup comes to a conclusion with rivals Docklands Albion and Jolof Sports going head-to-head for the silverware at Dagenham & Redbridge.

It’s been a season of two halves for Prince Obi’s Docklands Albion following their elevation to the top flight this season having started their campaign with a number defeats, sandwiched between some excellent performances in the early rounds of the BBC Essex Saturday Premier Cup. But you always felt their fortunes would turn around eventually and they recovered with a superb second half of the year to confirm a fourth placed finish with eight wins and a twenty-nine point haul to their name. You might look at their goal tally to explain one of the areas for improvement with just thirty to their name, albeit with a strong defensive unit behind them. They commenced their run in the cup at the quarter final stage where they faced up to a London Park City side who were struggling for league survival but Albion edged to a 2-1 victory to secure their spot in the semi finals of the competition. In that semi final, they had to overcome a West Essex Reserves fightback as the sides ended level at 2-2 on the day with Anthony Okadigbo scoring one for Albion to send it to a shootout. And they held their nerve from the spot to win it 4-2 and send the team to Dagenham once again. The goals have been shared around amongst the squad with Samuel Daminabo’s haul of 7 seeing him as the leading scorer with Jack Blackburn having scored 6 himself. Daminabo and his team-mate, Kris Brown, share the lead in assist stakes with 5 apiece. And of course, we can’t forget Jack Riddell’s contributions with 5 cleansheets making him one of the top performing keepers once again this season.

Taking on Docklands Albion on Saturday evening will be the newly crowned league champions, Jolof Sports. What a season it has been for the club as Danny Brissett took over the helm at the start of the new season and has carried on the great work started by Ahma in previous years. It took them until the very last game to get over the finish line however as ACD United pushed them all the way, needing fourteen wins out of eighteen to eventually secure the silverware they deserved for their efforts. Saturday’s final represents the second part of a possible treble with the Fenton Cup also within their sights, facing ACD United in that showpiece final in a couple of weeks’ time. It could have been even more had they managed to hold on the Essex Junior Cup, losing out in the semi-finals to Westhamians. Their run in the Senior Division Cup started in the quarter finals where they were up against Blue Marlin with a place in the last four at stake for the victors. They took home the victory that day with a 3-1 win, confirming their place in the semi finals against one of their long time rivals, London Cranes. In that semi-final, there was little that could separate the teams as they ended 2-2 at full time meaning a dreaded shootout was needed to pull them apart as Papa Ndiaye and Jesus Paniagua netted. They held their nerve to win 4-3 in the penalty shootout to go through to Saturday’s final. Two of the key men to look out for are Papa Ndiaye and Jesus Paniagua who have scored 14 and 11 goals respectively and lead the way in the scoring stakes.

When you look at how the contest might pan out, it’s a game with quality written all over it with both sides playing with a flair and passion to befit the top flight of the league. And in the league, they’ve taken a share of the spoils with a win each. Jolof were victorious in their opening month encounter, winning 3-2, before Docklands Albion won the return leg in a 1-0 scoreline. That suggests that we are in for a classic, both sides knowing each other’s games inside out.

Congratulations to each of our appointed officials for this final with the recently promoted, Lanray Alapafujah, rewarded for a top season by being appointed for the match. He will be ably assisted by fellow promotes, Andy Crossley and Nick Vermaat, from the touchlines. Joe Sach is the game's fourth official, controlling things on the touchline. We wish everybody the very best of luck.