WEEK 12 REVIEW: Round-up of all the league and cup action from the weekend

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 victory against Blue Marlin at the Harlow Arena. 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 three Newham goals in reply 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 with a solid 3-0 performance to give them a real boost ahead of upcoming fixtures.

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 all three points 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 hail 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.

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 to end their cup run.

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.

Photo Credit: Something From Nothing FC