WEEK 34 REVIEW: Round-up of all the league and cup action from the weekend

FENTON TROPHY

The finalists for this season’s Fenton Trophy competition were confirmed over the weekend with the big result seeing a cupset at Mayfield School where Division Three’s Newbury East kept alive their hopes of a treble, ending Snaresbrook’s run in the competition with a 3-1 success. Two Junior Milla goals and one for Muhammed Seif were enough to put East through to another cup final.

And their opponents in that final will be FC Baresi Under 23s who made it two finals in successive seasons, overcoming Division Three’s Glendale in Hainault 3-1 to send their side to New Lodge next month. Hashim Hussain struck twice and Zaahir Patel once, despite Joshua Adeojo’s powerful leveller for the Dales which proved not quite enough.

SENIOR DIVISION

A very busy week in the Senior Division has taken Brimsdown to the cusp of the league title and a promotion finish, their efforts beginning in midweek as they were up against Woodford East, one of the sides with chance of catching them. Two Taylan Gul goals and a Zion Sinclair effort were enough in the end, either side of Woodford goals from Ben Smith and Luke Dimond in a 3-2 winning scoreline.

Back on Monday evening, at Peter May, FC Baresi were able rack up win number eighteen for the season as their local derby clash saw them beat relegation threatened Crookz United in a 2-1 scoreline in Walthamstow. Yannick Kamanan and Noyan Tajbakhsh both found the back of the net to take their side to three points.

On Tuesday night, two of the sides sitting just above the danger zone met in Barkingside where Kit Out London were the visitors and needing crucial points against an Oakside outfit just above them. But it was hosts ‘Side who took the points on the night, Jahvid Irish’s two goals vital, along with a Joseph Omogiate goal making it 3-1, Felicien Bradeo’s strike proving just consolation.

A busy Wednesday night fixture list saw FC Petrocub bounce back well from a string of league defeats to earn all three points, defeating Jolof Sports in a 4-1 scoreline at Noak Hill to hit Jolof’s title hopes. Papa Ndiaye struck for the visitors but Petrocub goals from Ion Spinu (2), Nicolai Cotruta and Valeriu Gurgurov ensured the points went home with the London champions.

There were some vital games affecting matters at the bottom end of the standings as Rapid Chingford closed the gap to safety substantially with a vital away win against Blue Marlin, putting the latter on the cusp of relegation. Ionut Labunt and Vlad Bucur both netted for Rapid to render Casey Yankey’s goal as just consolation in a 2-1 scoreline.

That result was made all the more important as the match over at The Drive saw hosts Frenford Development take all three points against Dagenham United to pull them back into the mix, Frenford securing a 3-2 win as Kyron Chiedozie scored twice and Wisley Baltazar once. That result was enough to move the hosts back up into tenth while United remain thirteenth.

Over in east London at Wadham Lodge, hosts Sporting Hackney were in action with the visit of a Chadwell Heath Spartans side in some decent form in recent games, the gap between the sides having closed up. It took just a single goal to separate these sides with Peter Adeleye the scorer, for Spartans, to earn them a 1-0 victory, their thirteenth of the season.

On Friday night, the last home game of the season for Lymore Gardens saw an entertaining fixture as May & Baker EC Reserves were the visitors, the teams closely locked in the league standings. By the end, Bakers had moved three points clear after winning 5-3, Gabriel Odili and Brandon Johnson both scoring twice, Alexander Best netting the other. Alex Coster scored twice in reply for Lymore and Richie Dorcas once but those efforts proved in vain in the end.

On Saturday afternoon, Brimsdown were able to maintain a six-point gap at the top with two games to go of their season, earning all three points in a 2-0 success against Chadwell Heath Spartans in Wormley. Zion Sinclair and Napier Brown were the scorers for the hosts to net their side a twenty-first league win.

FC Baresi remain in second place in the standings but with only one game of their season still to go, their penultimate fixture of the season seeing them earn all three points in a 4-2 home win against Dagenham United. Raymond Poku was the difference between the sides, netting a hat-trick, Ahmed Abdulla scoring the other. Diego Panessar and Tejean Lewis struck the United goals in reply.

Fourth placed Jolof Sports remain the only side now able to match the leaders’ points tally and they kept their hopes alive of doing so with a hard fought away victory against Blue Marlin at Fairlop Oak, winning 4-1.  Luke Deslandes scored a hat-trick for Jolof with Nelly Martins grabbing the other to keep their title challenge in play.

Woodford East will hope to end their season in a positive fashion and can still make the runners-up spot, aided by a big nineteenth win of the campaign on Saturday, defeating Frenford Development in an 8-3 result at The Drive. Luke Dimond and Callum Maltese hat-tricks proved vital, Kaya Karbeyaz and Lucio Uare also on the scoresheet, rendering Kyron Chiedozie’s hat-trick for the hosts as just consolation.

It was a vital Saturday for Crookz United in their bid to avoid the drop, the Walthamstow based side making the trip across to Noak Hill to take on Kit Out London, a side not quite out of the mire themselves. And it was the visitors, Crookz, who will have been happiest with the outcome, winning 2-1 to send them to three points, two short of safety.

FC Petrocub’s strong week extended into Saturday as they made it two wins on the spin after a difficult period, overcoming a Sporting Hackney side who were winless in five coming into the game. It was the visitors who walked away with the points from the game, FC Petrocub winning 2-0 to take the spoils at Wadham Lodge, win number sixteen in the league for them.

PREMIER DIVISION CUP

There was Premier Division Cup semi-action on Thursday night as a packed out Capershotts bore witness to a terrific tie between Waltham Abbey A and Fairlop Rovers. Abbey raced into a two goal lead in the first twenty minutes before Jayden Francis’ double for Rovers pulled it back level at 2-2, to send it to a shootout. And it was Rovers themselves who held their nerve to win on penalties and earn themselves another cup final appearance.

PREMIER DIVISION EAST

In Premier Division East, the weekend’s sole fixture came from Walthamstow where Freetown were the hosts to Waltham Abbey A, the latter looking to bounce back from their defeat on Thursday night. And they did just them, completing a 5-1 win against the hosts, despite an Elijah Dapaah goal, to keep alive hopes of a top two finish.

PREMIER DIVISION WEST

The West division action saw two fixtures with CSM London wrapping up yet another win to make it fifteen in the league for this season, scoring the game’s only goal in a tight contest against North East Lions. Bilal Hussain struck with that goal for the divisional champions, that effort enough to earn the visitors a 1-0 success.

There were seven goals in the day’s other fixture where Soul overcame the remarkable late charge of Athletic Newham Under 23s this season, winning by the odd goal in a 4-3 result in east London. That was Soul’s fifth league win of the season as they moved three points clear of their opponents with one game of their campaign to go, keeping alive hopes of a top half finish.

DIVISION ONE

Something From Nothing have retained their chances of a league title in Division One, coming out on the right side of a five-goal thriller, winning 3-2 against Kwanzas London Sport. Goals from Aidan Odwyer, Success Eguzoro and Cyril Pluche were vital in the end as they remain three points off the top with two games to go, needing to better the leader’s results in those remaining games.

DIVISION TWO

The battle at the bottom of Division Two to avoid the wooden spoon saw rivals Barking Potters up against Redbridge Community Reserves on Saturday and it was Potters who took home the honours, winning 1-0 to move them up into ninth, that being their first league win of the season, in their penultimate game of the campaign.

DIVISION THREE

Tenth placed Football Club of Riverside have given themselves a terrific chance at avoiding the drop this season, racking up a fourth league win on Saturday to move to within two points of staying up with a game to go. Chingford Harriers were the beaten opponents as Nathaniel Edwards, Sion Daley and Eldon Koleci goals earned them a 3-1 success, Andrew Bowring scoring for Harriers.

At the other end of the table, Frenford A have given themselves a great shout of finishing third in the division, moving up into that spot following a 5-0 win on Saturday against the side still able to catch them, Flyers Under 21s. Adam Andrade and Able Alexiou-McCrae both struck with braces, Abdulramon Jaji scoring the other.