CUP FINALS DAY 3 PREVIEW
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This Bank Holiday Monday sees our third cup final weekend
take place as the Corinthian Cup reaches its conclusion at Thurrock FC.
Monday’s final will once again be taking place at Thurrock
FC’s wonderful Ship Lane ground, just a stone’s throw from the M25/A13 &
Lakeside. There will be bar and refreshment facilities available on the day
which you are all welcome to make use of.
Each club has been allocated tickets they are required to
sell so please contact your clubs for tickets in the first instance. We also
have a supply of tickets on the turnstile on the day at a cost of £4 each.
We now look ahead to Monday’s game and provide some insight into who might be crowned cup winners.
Corinthian Cup Final – 12.00pm Kick-Off
EMWA vs Lonsdale
This final brings together two of the league’s most
established sides as Premier Division side, EMWA, managed by Clive Frett and
Terry Shannon take on Ian Scott’s Lonsdale side who hail from Division One.
For EMWA, their run to Monday’s final has witnessed three
very tight encounters after seeing off Aldborough Hatch 2-1 in the first round
before a seven goal thriller saw them beat Warren United in round 2. Valentines
United then pushed them all the way as they came through a close quarter-final
1-0 before a more comfortable passage through the semi final, winning 4-1 at
Ainslie Wood as Jermaine Dowe and George Ashwan scored twice each to book their
side a place in the final at Thurrock. Their joint top scorers this season are
George Ashwan and Shane Wallace, each with eight goals to their name.
Lonsdale’s passage to this final has been quite remarkable.
Despite their league form being quite poor and subsequently seeing them
relegated from Division One, their cup form has been the complete opposite having
despatched a number of quality sides on their route to Thurrock. Having seen
off M&B Club in the 2nd round, they took on Premier Division
outfit Liberty Stars in the quarter finals and managed to edge a seven goal
thriller, winning 4-3. The result of the season however was saved for the semi-
finals. Taking on the runaway Premier Division champions, Poplar Boys, you
could be forgiven for expecting a heavy defeat for the Division One strugglers
but they proved that form means nothing and that miracles are indeed possible
as they beat illustrious opponents 3-2! Kalium Fletcher is again the man to
watch for Lonsdale with a goal haul of 21 in 18 appearances.
When you are reviewing the likelihood of a winner in Monday’s
cup final, your first thought would be to go for the higher division outfit in
the form of EMWA who were of course cup final winners last season in the
Premier Division Cup. However with Lonsdale having the clear ability to put any
side to the sword on their day, would you really want to write off their
chances? Needless to say, this looks like an intriguing final for us in store!
Congratulations to our appointed match officials on this
final, a reward for the continued hard work put in by our referees across the
season. Newly promoted senior county referee, Endrit Malaveci, is the man with
the whistle and will be ably supported by David Rivett and Adam Chester on the
touchlines.