WEEK 9 REVIEW: Cup giant-killings in Fenton Cup

FENTON CUP

There were two big shocks on a massive day of Fenton Cup football on Saturday with sides knocking out higher division opposition along with a number of games that had to be settled by the dreaded spot-kicks.

Division Three’s Custom House produced a fantastic performance carrying on their superb recent form in beating Division One’s St Johns Deaf 9-1. Paul Wooster’s name is regularly on the scoresheet this season and he recorded himself a hat-trick with Kelvin Bartlett and Jamie Wooster both netting braces. Sam Wilkinson and Bradley Routledge completed the scoring as the Dockers booked a third round spot against London Falcons.

There was another shock at West Ham Memorial Park where Premier Division title chasers, United London, took on the unbeaten Kitgum Boys outfit from Division One in what looked like a great tie even before a ball was kicked. And it was the Division One side who prevailed as Mathius Sendawula’s double plus a goal for Nsubuga Muhamed were enough to book Kitgum a third round tie against Ryan Reserves.

There was another shock on the cards in Hainault where Division Three’s Kitroom took on Sporting Hackney Reserves from Division One all the way through to a penalty shootout in a tight game. Desmond Owusu scored Kitroom’s goal but it was Hackney who came through the dramatic shootout, winning 4-3 to go into round three.

St Francis put in a good performance of their own as they took on higher division opponents in the shape of Premier Division Blue Marlin. Marlin goals from Ethan Morris and Samraj Gill were cancelled out by Saints’ levellers from Jack Hall and Steven Porter in a close encounter but it was the Premier Division side who prevailed in the shootout, winning 5-4 to confirm a spot in round three.

Premier Division side Grove United avoided a potential cup shock by the narrowest of margins as they hosted Division One’s Cowley Community. In a tight match which ended level, Izunna Ogedi-Uzokwe’s double for Cowley was equalled by strikes from Kieran English and Will Pendley to send the game to a shootout. It was Grove who now continue their cup run, recording a 4-3 shootout victory to progress on.

Another side into the hat for round three are London Falcons who came through a difficult looking all-Premier Division tie away at Melbourne Sports in a comfortable 4-1 scoreline. Harry Rouse, Daniel Vearer, Jason Anthony and Henry Williams all found the back of the net for Falcons who now take on an in-form Custom House in the next round.

Ryan Reserves join them in the next round as their sparkling start to the season continued with a 4-1 home win on Saturday against co-tenants Chingford Harriers. Edwin Jabbari was on target with the Harriers goal but proved not enough as Ryan completed victory and take on Kitgum Boys in a mouth-watering third round match-up.

Rounding off the day’s Fenton Cup action was a Division Three vs Premier Division encounter which saw St Francis Reserves host Rainham Working Mens Club at the Flats. Josh Hunt scored for the Saints but his goal proved mere consolation as Tony Maynard (2), Dillon Anderson and Lucas Adeyefa all netted to see last season’s finalists safely through to the next round.

PREMIER DIVISION

With the spotlight on cup football this weekend, the top two sides had the chance to open the gap further in the Premier Division and they duly obliged.

Chingford Athletic had Charlie Heatley to thank for their victory as his hat-trick took his season’s goal tally to fourteen for the season and helped his side to a 4-2 win over Old Esthameians with Michael Johnson notching the other goal.

The leaders, Jolof Sports Club, were also victorious although found their opponents tough to break down as they edged to a 2-1 victory over Lopes Tavares London on Saturday to keep their lead at the top of the table. Seydou Ba and Ayman Ahmed scored the all-important goals to see their side to maximum points.

DIVISION ONE

Colebrook Royals are the new leaders in Division One having taken advantage of Three Colts being out of action to move top by two points. They achieved that through a 5-1 win away at West Essex Reserves with John Elmes scoring twice and further goals arriving through George Brislen-Hall, Matthew Judge and Nicky Steward.

Also securing an important win on Saturday were Ferns Seniors who made it two wins in three games with a 3-1 home victory over Singh Sabha Barking. A brace from Jamie Redington proved the difference between the sides with Kane Greene also on target to move their side up to sixth place in the table.

DIVISION TWO

Chingford Athletic Reserves came through a nine-goal thriller on Saturday, seeing off Chigwell Rovers 5-4 in an entertaining match. James Clarke scored twice for the Chingford side with Patryk Sienkiewicz, Lenroy Wilson and Luke Primett also scoring to carry their side to an important win.

Forest Green’s run of form continued also as they beat Inter Plaistow 5-2 to close the gap on their opponents in the middle of the table. Kristos February ended a profitable October with two goals with Warren Lynch, Marcel Destouche and debutant Darren Francis also scoring for Green.

There was an important win for Lymore Gardens who saw off Glendale in a 4-1 win at Jubilee Park in Leyton. Goals for Simeon Clark, Lee Benjamin, Ashley Godwin and Teriq Roberts-Wright cancelled Ricky Hall’s strike for the Dales to record victory for the hosts.

DIVISION THREE

Wapping have moved to the summit of Division Three, taking full advantage of their rivals being out of league action in beating Upminster Reserves 5-2. Kemar Thompson clearly knows how to find the back of the net with a hat-trick this week adding to further goals from Fuad Ibrahim and Mohammed Hussain. Tom Bonnett and Matthew Taylor were on target for Upminster who remain seventh in the table.

Newham Royals ended a recent dip in form with a narrow 2-1 won on Saturday over Royal Forest. That victory moves the Beckton side up a place to fifth in the table with Forest remaining winless so far but off of the bottom on goal difference.

Photo credit: LamoTheLion