WEEK 27 REVIEW: Chingford Athletic Development crowned Division 2 champions

DIVISION 2 CUP – SEMI FINAL

It was a weekend of high drama and high winds, in equal measures, as the first three cup finalists of the season were confirmed on Saturday. The Division Two Cup saw Rainham Working Mens Club make the long trip up to Waltham Abbey to face Upshire Forest with both sides eager to end their seasons with a cup final appearance. George Oake and Leighton Hughes-Franklin both netted for the hosts but Rainham goals from Scott Meyers and Nick Tormey sent the game to a penalty shootout. Danny Davey then made some key saves in the shootout as Rainham went through with a 3-2 win. They will now face either CSM London or Eastside in the final in May.

DIVISION 3 CUP – SEMI FINAL

An equally competitive match was witnessed down in Beckton where last season’s finalists, New Star Soccer, were up against twice finalists from previous years, Custom House, albeit in their new “United” guise. Just a single goal would be able to separate these sides on the day with New Star the beneficiaries of that key moment as Dwaine Hitchman’s strike sent Jeff Khan’s team back to Dagenham for another crack at the cup this year.

DIVISION 4 CUP – SEMI FINAL

Completing the semi-final action for the weekend, the first Division Four Cup finalist for the season was finalised in Hainault where Dagenham United Reserves were the visitors to face Loughton Lions with both sides keen to put indifferent league form aside and round off their seasons in the best way possible. Another tight game saw the sides share three goals but it was the hosts who took the “Lions” share of that tally, earning a 2-1 win to book a cup final place at Victoria Road in their debut season.

FENTON CUP

Continuing the theme of cup football, the second of the Fenton Cup quarter finals took place over the weekend with an all-Senior Division clash between title chasing Jolof Sports and high-flying East Ham Inter over at Flanders Playing Fields.  In an exciting game of seven goals, it was Jolof who continued their quest for a treble this season, winning 5-2 to book a semi final place at home next month. They will now face the winner of the tie between Chigwell and Wapping for a place in the showpiece cup final.

DIVISION ONE CUP

There was also quarter final action in the Division One Cup where Chigwell made it two wins on the spin in the competition having had a tough draw away to league leaders, FC Baresi, in this round of the competition. With just three points separating the sides in the league, there was always going to be very little between the teams and such it proved with the scoreline ending locked at 2-2 after ninety minutes, aided by Baresi strikes from Ali Shikheey and Maamoon Khan. And Chigwell then held their nerve in a lengthy shootout which ended 10-9 to the Hainault based side.

SENIOR DIVISION

Back in the league, ACD United’s final league game of the season saw Docklands Albion head to Chadwell Heath with the hosts knowing that a win would have placed them strongly for a title tilt with Jolof Sports chasing them down hard. An eight goal thriller ensued between the two sides with Michael Wade scoring a hat-trick for United and Greg Knock notching a fourth, cancelling out Albion goals from Kamal Creary, Kris Brown, Marcel Destouche and Samuel Daminabo to settle for a share of the spoils in a 4-4 draw.

In the other game in the top flight, Singh Sabha Barking’s excellent form continued into their final league match of the season as they took on eighth placed Blue Marlin in the Newbury Park derby. Singh Sabha were emphatic 5-1 winners on the day, a result which confirmed a third placed finish for the visitors who were promoted from Division One last season, a solid return for their inaugural season in the top tier.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, fifth placed Rapid Chingford were at home as they took on seventh placed Lymore Gardens with just two points separating the sides prior to kick off. With the wind having a big say on the flow of this contest, Rapid strikes from Bogdan Galan and Iulian Coluig were enough to see their side over the line in a narrow 2-1 win, bringing an end to their maiden league campaign. They do have a big semi final to look forward to however in a couple of weeks time.

Over in Leyton, there was a big East London derby match as Wapping made the short trip to face Forest Green knowing that they needed to urgently get some points on the board in an effort to avoid the dreaded drop. Mohammed Rahman scored twice and Yacine Teladjati also netted for Wapping but their efforts proved in vain as Joshua Thompson scored twice for Green with Ekundayo Maddy and Amoz Abraham scoring the others in a 4-3 win for Forest Green.

DIVISION TWO

In Division Two, the big game of the day was over at Town Mead in Waltham Abbey where Chingford Athletic Development just ninety minutes and three points away from taking the league title in just their first season together in adult football. Cowley Community were the side looking to play party-poopers but the Devs proved too strong, running out 5-1 winners and securing the points they needed to confirm themselves as league champions! Congratulations to Shane, Glen and to all the players on an excellent first season!

That result meant, of course, that Chingford could no longer be caught for the title with Eastside being the team that could have chased them down. That possibility was also ruled out as Side slipped to defeat at home to Old Esthameians in Hackney. In an exhilarating match consisting of eleven goals, Old E’s penultimate fixture of the season will be one to live long into the memory as they edged a 6-5 thriller to record a sixth win of the season.

DIVISION THREE

The race for the title in Division Three could not be much closer with just two points separating the top three sides going into the last few games of the season. Haver Town Reserves have moved back to the top of the tree following a crucial win in Ilford on Saturday, taking home all three points in their contest against Frenford A. Reece Simpson and new signing, Owen Rice, scored the goals for the visitors to record a 2-0 win.

This race could well go to the final day of the season and Royal Forest will remain one of the sides in the mix as they confirmed a comfortable win at the Rec in a Forest derby, winning 4-0 against Forest Green Reserves. This was Royal’s twelfth win of an increasingly impressive season having been promoted from Division Four with Haver Town last season.

The final game in the division was a topsy-turvy contest as Glendale led twice against Flyers Reserves at wind-affected King Georges Park in Romford. Dave Hennessey’s rocket opened up a 1-0 lead for Glendale before Flyers battled back to lead 2-1. But the Dales levelled up then led once again through a Mohammed Ahmed finish and another Hennessey effort. But with ten minutes to go, Flyers summonsed one last push and scored three quick goals to stun the visitors in a 5-3 result.

DIVISION FOUR

The title race in Division Four is now down to a last day of the season showdown as Sungate Reserves got back to winning ways in their penultimate fixture of the season, seeing off the efforts of a vastly improving Chigwell Mens Club side to win 2-1. Lewis Rix was on target for Gate with a debut goal, helping his side back to the top of the table, leading by a single point with one round of games to go for the leading sides. They now face Soul Youth next Saturday knowing that victory will seal the league title with anything less leaving the door ajar for Avondale Rangers.