WEEK 32 REVIEW: Round-up of Saturday's EAL league and cup action

PREMIER DIVISION

On one of the warmest days of the season so far, the Premier Division title moved a step closer to be heading back to Chigwell this season as Colebrook Royals made their return to action against Lopes Tavares London. With the visitors having had a much improved second half of the campaign this looked a potential banana skin if there was one. But a professional performance from the hosts saw goals from Michael Clarkson and John Elmes complete a hard fought 2-1 win to move to the cusp of the title glory. One more victory from their remaining two games will be enough as they head to Cranes next weekend.

That match between London Cranes and Colebrook will have a massive impact on both ends of the table next week as Cranes head into the fixture knowing that they still need a win from their remaining two games to beat the drop themselves. In a real six-pointer on Saturday, they took on London APSA with the latter recording a hugely important 3-1 victory to move up to seventh place but realistically still needing a point to be safe.

In the division’s remaining match, cup final bound West Essex Reserves ensured they will finishing the season no lower than third in their debut top flight campaign, edging a tight contest with Jolof Sports to win 2-1. With two games to go, they have reached the thirty point mark which can’t be achieved by the other sides just below them.

DIVISION ONE

It was a busy day of football in Division One with plenty of sides in action from both ends of the table. Docklands Albion have opened up a three point gap at the top of the table as they headed to Newbury Park to face Singh Sabha Barking in a double header on Saturday. A 2-0 victory for the leaders in the first game was achieved through goals from Jack Blackburn and Kamal Creary. But the second fixture saw the tables turn as Singh Sabha gave rise to their own promotion credentials to send Albion to a 4-2 defeat, despite another Kamal Creary effort and a Samuel Daminabo strike. The promotion picture in this division will most certainly be heading deep into May with all of the clubs down to ninth in the table still, incredibly, in with a shout.

Cup finalists, Three Colts, who will face Albion in May continued to preserve their own outside hopes of a promotion place finish as they took on Melbourne Sports, themselves still very much in the frame. In a high-scoring game of eight goals, Colts goals from Thomas Jakob, David Watson and a brace from Richard Blackwell were just enough to earn a 5-3 victory on the day.

Forest Green’s remarkable form continues as they earned themselves another victory this week, travelling to face Wapping with just a small number of points separating the teams. Green’s run of form sees no end as they beat their mid-table opposition 4-2 to close the gap on the promotion-chasing sides.

Ryan Reserves are another of the sides who may still harbour hopes of appearing in the Premier Division next season for whom, despite being eighth in the standings, five games and fifteen points remain on offer to them. Their quest saw a slight spanner in the works at the weekend however as they dropped two points in a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Cowley Community.

DIVISION TWO

There was a big twist at the top of the table in Division Two at the weekend as title chasing Chingford Athletic Reserves slipped to a second successive defeat, going down 2-1 away at Newham United Reserves. Jack Knowles got himself on the scoresheet for Chingford but Newham did enough to make it nine wins from nineteen this season, remaining safely in the middle of the table.

That result gave added impetus to a roaring ACD United side at the moment who dismantled their opponents on Saturday in an 11-0 victory, their last match before they head to Dagenham for the Fenton Cup final next weekend. The unfortunate opponents were Forest Green Reserves as Scott Perkins scored five goals, substitute Michael Wade scored four and Robert Clark added two to complete the resounding win, handing ACD the advantage in the title race.

There was also an exciting match in West Ham where Inter Plaistow and Lymore Gardens shared the small sum of nine goals. Inter goals from Matyas Svatom, Ben Nyman, Izuchi Ijoma and Jahvid Irish proved not quite enough on the day as Lymore ran in five goals of their own to edge this exhilarating match 5-4.

There were also plenty of goals in Romford where Custom House were the visitors to take on United London Reserves at Frances Bardsley School. Luke Macdonald scored twice and Tre McDon got United’s third but Custom House also scored three goals to level it up at 3-3 to take home a share of the spoils.

In the day’s remaining match in this division, Rainham Working Mens Club were the hosts as the cup finalists, Lionside, were in town looking to gain some confidence for their big May showdown. But Rainham had other ideas and kept alive their outside hopes of a top two finish to secure a 6-2 win against their opponents and within touching distance of the promotion places with three matches to go including a huge match at second placed Chingford next weekend.

DIVISION THREE

In Division Three, FC Baresi have one hand on that league title as they opened up a four point gap at the top of the table on Saturday. They were on the road at Glendale and secured a 6-3 victory in an entertaining match. Abbas Khabbasz, Mouhamed Gueye and Khari Pobi got themselves on the scoresheet with the Dales’ goals but an Andre Whyte brace and singles from Zuhayr Amjad, Esat Saiti, Adnan Miah and Sikander Khan proved enough to earn the win and establish a cushion at the top.

Results have played into the hands of promotion challenging Chigwell who now look odds on for runners-up after their main contenders, Old Esthameians Reserves and Redbridge Development, both dropped points in their respective clashes. Redbridge ran into a New Star Soccer side who are just finding form at the right time as the cup final bound side secured a 3-3 draw with Marvin Sterling, Nathan Bailey and Kemston Allen scoring a goal apiece for New Star.

Old Esthameians Reserves were at Kitroom on Saturday with their own promotion chances hanging by a thread after a recent dip in form. A Kitroom goal from Thomas Carding levelled up the fixture at 1-1 as the sides took home a point each to leave the sides third and fourth place respectively in the table. With two games remaining, Old E’s will likely need to win both and hope for a Chigwell slip to overtake them in the final standings.

Gatcliffe’s resurgent form in recent weeks has transformed a relegation battle into mid-table solidity and they were involved in a ten-goal thriller at the weekend as they faced Frenford A in Chadwell Heath. Louis Andreou scored twice for Frenford with Adam Andrade and Paul Iseghohi also on target but a Michael Desmond brace and efforts from John O’Brien, Simplice Lukuamusu, Klodan Meta and Pat Dee were enough for the hosts to earn a 6-4 win.