East London Old Boys and FC United of Hornchurch earn hard fought cup final victories

Division 1 Cup Final
East London Old Boys 1-0 Barking & Dagenham Wanderers

The weekend's opening cup final saw two of Division One's finest come head-to-head as East London Old Boys looked to keep hopes alive of a league and cup double, taking on fellow debutant finalists in the form of Barking & Dagenham Wanderers.  An even start to the match saw plenty of good football on the deck but a shortage of efforts on target with neither goalkeeper really tested out. The Old Boys did however strike the upright from a close range effort which was the best chance of the half.

The second half began much the way of first as the sides "felt" each other out but lacked that final third penetration. The Old Boys were unlucky to strike the woodwork once again from a set piece before the best of Wanderers' efforts saw a powerful drive from the edge of the box saved by the feet of the Old Boys' keeper to keep it level. With the game looking like heading to extra-time, there was still one huge chance and it was taken by the East London forward who slotted away having found space inside the box. They weathered the late Wanderers storm to secure a 1-0 win and take home the silverware.

Congratulations to all involved with East London Old Boys and commiserations to Barking & Dagenham Wanderers who played their part in an excellent contest that could have gone either way on the day.

Division 3 Cup Final
Goresbrook 1-2 FC United of Hornchurch

In the day's second final, a huge crowd of nearly 200 turned out to watch two of Division Three's title challengers face each other in a real hum-dinger of a cup final. It took just three minutes for FC United to get the lead as the Goresbrook keeper didn't fully deal with a ball into the box allowing a header from United to creep into the net and make it 1-0. The match continued to flow from end-to-end before a long punt down field from the Goresbrook keeper sent the nippy forward in the clear to equalise on the half hour. Their joy was shortlived though as moments later, FC United' forward got the better of his marker to place him one-on-one with the keeper, making not mistake with the finish to secure a 2-1 half-time lead.

The second half saw Goresbrook mount a comeback but rarely troubling the FC United keeper who stood firm all afternoon. They had chances to extend their own lead but a combination of some solid defender and wayward finishing kept the sides seperated by a single goal. As time ran out, Goresbrook were camped mostly in their opponents half but FC United held firm to record a 2-1 cup final victory, the first in three attempts on the big stage.

Well done to FC United of Hornchurch and all of their players involved on their success and to Goresbrook for making this a real cup final spectacle for the massive crowd that showed up to witness it.