WEEK 14 REVIEW: Round-up of all the league and cup action from the weekend

TROPHYLAND CUP

On a largely weather affected weekend, Roneo Colts put themselves into the hat for the quarter finals of the cup with a hard fought 3-0 victory away versus Asianos. Shemar Marshelleck, Bryan Paredes and Archili Lomidze-Walsh all found the back of the net to send Colts into the last eight of the competition where they now face Division Three leaders Alpha.

ENDEAVOUR CUP

There were two Endeavour Cup ties played on Sunday with a further triumph for Colebrook Royals Vets who carried on their league form with a 3-0 win of their own, beating Valence United Reserves to make the quarter finals. Their reward is a home tie in the last eight with the visit of United Borough to Grange Farm.

The first of the competition’s quarter final ties also beat the weather with a Hainault derby match seeing Woodford Green United and Royal Lions C finishing level at full time at 3-3. Radu Istvan scored twice and Benito Grana once for Lions and then saw their side hold their nerve to win the shootout 4-2, progressing to a semi final early next year.

SENIOR DIVISION

There were two tight games in the Senior Division where, firstly, leaders Hatch Lane came through a close game, combining with El Valiente to produce a five-goal thriller in East Ham. Hatch held on though to win the game 3-2, their eighth success of the season and extending their lead at the top to five points.

Also on the move were FC Ballr who had a trip to Hornchurch ahead of them on Sunday with Secret the hosts as the sides started the day six points apart. By full-time that was increased to nine as FC Ballr goals from Ayodele Awosika and Jamie Age carried them to a 2-1 win, despite a Reece Simpson goal for the hosts.

PREMIER DIVISION

Two goal-filled contests were witnessed in the Premier Division where leaders Brook Athletic had a tough game with the in-form Avintul who made the trip to Newbury Park in search of more league points. Dorian Postolachi scored a hat-trick for the visitors but his efforts were not quite enough in the end as two Samir Bihmoutine goals plus one each from Tom Canham and Mitchell Collymore made it a 4-3 Brook victory.

There were eight goals in the division’s other contest as the two “Barking” sides met with Barking Riverside the hosts to Barking & Dagenham Wanderers, the sides starting just four points apart. By full-time however that had increased to seven as Riverside made it five wins for the season, winning 5-3 courtesy of a Joshua Thompson brace and one apiece from Hamid Ibrahim and Ansalem Obi.

DIVISION ONE

Just the one game survived the elements in the third tier where Theydon Green took full advantage to go top of the table on goal difference on the back of a narrow 2-1 away win at Abridge Village. Joe Parrott scored the Abridge goal with two Noah Friend strikes accounting for the visitor’s crucial goals as they moved level with Oceana at the top.

DIVISION TWO

The only surviving game in Division Two also produced a big result affecting the top end of the table as East London Harriers moved onto the cusp of the top half, edging a five goal thriller against third placed Eastbrook United. Heavenly Bende and Callum Harris scored for United but Harriers efforts from Connor Brown, Tommy Carter-Hamilton and Billy Wright gave their side a 3-2 win.

DIVISION THREE

There continues to be much intrigue about the race for promotion in Division Three with seven sides still very much in the frame. Alpha lead the way by three points as they defeated rivals Leytonstone Athletic 7-4 in a top performance. A hat-trick from Troy Jules, two from Kai Brown and one apiece for Bradley Williams and Jake Dallison gave them the win with Pat Ambrose (2), George Burton and Andre Rashford netting in reply for Athletic.

Third placed Dagenham Town have hit a real purple patch in front of goal in recent weeks and took their goal tally to sixty eight on Sunday with a thumping 15-4 win away at Windmill Warriors. Chris Bird and Jordan Samuels were flying away with a five goal haul each, Anthony Connor scoring twice and singles from Rhys Cawdron and James Field completing the rout.

Another huge result at the top end of the table saw Higham Hill in action at home against Debden Sports Reserves with Hill starting a point behind their rivals. A seven goal epic ensued which was edged by the hosts who saw Zachery Leitch and Asim Khan score twice each to propel them up above their opponents and second in the table.

At the other end of the standings, it was a big day for Imperial Row who managed to move away from any imminent danger, taking their points tally to ten with a home win against Inside Success in Aveley. Mitch Bllard scored twice and James Hutton once with Success unable to respond as Row won the game 3-0.

DIVISION FOUR

The gap at the top of Division Four is down to just a point as Singh Sabha Barking moved closer to the leaders with a terrific win away at Ace Athletics on Sunday, winning the game 5-2. Tom Mason and Craig Cagehin both scored for Ace but Singh Sabha goals from Baldip Boparai (2), Dilan Thandi, Arjun Bhogal and Aaron Kahlon proved enough to hand victory to the high-flyers.

There were also plenty of goals over in Romford where Raphael Park Rovers and United Amateurs combined to produce thirteen goals. The in-form United side will have come out of the clash the happier as they won 9-4. Bradley Bennett scored four goals and Billy Biggs a hat-trick with strikes from Jack Chawner and Thomas Springer completing the scoring. Jack Merry, Robert Green, Jake Crump and Charlie Moore all scored in consolation for Rovers.

The remaining game was a far more subdued contest with a single goal separating sixth placed Blackwall Rovers and bottom of the table Titans United over at Old Dagenham Park. It was the higher placed side who benefitted from that key moment in the game to win 1-0 and move into the top half of the table at the half way mark of their season.

DIVISION FIVE

A full fixture list survived in Division Five where Belfry Reserves regained their leadership of the division, moving a point clear courtesy of a 5-0 win against Young Royals in Barkingside. Alex Robinson and Tarron Tennant scored twice and Stefan Willis once to put the Hainault based side back into pole position.

Valence United continued their fine form with another win as they closed the gap on the promotion spots to six points with a couple of games in hand, scoring five themselves in a 5-1 win at third placed Eastern Avenue. There were five different scorers too with James Cook, Burt Cardy, Michael O’Brien, Ryan Knight and Jordan Cook all scoring for the Dagenham based side.

There were some big results for side in the bottom half with Ultimate Vision A the biggest movers in the division, out of the relegation zone with an important win against sixth placed Byron Red Star. Scott Watkins and James Hunt goals proved crucial for Vision who edged it 2-1 to pick up just their third win of the season.

The biggest winners in the division were Royal Lions B who were in home action over in Hainault with the hosting of Athletico City, both sides keen to advance their respective points tallies. But it was the Lions who will have been the happier of the teams, winning 7-2 as Reno Jesuratnam netting a hat-trick alongside goals from Merveil Kasanganay, Henry Omorogieva, Jason Tokenge and Emmanuel Ejembi.

Completing the action in Division Five was the mid-table clash from Barking Park which saw Dagenham Rangers in action at home against United Borough with the Borough starting five points adrift of their opponents. But they cut that to just two by full-time as Callum Gater and Jake Griffin both netted in a hard fought 2-1 win to keep in touch with the sides above.

DIVISION SIX

There was just the one game in Division Six which saw Colebrook Royals Reserves make the short trip down to Newbury Park to take on London Legacy at Oaks Park, the visitors keen to continue their recent run of form. And that was what they did as Royals completed a comfortable looking 4-1 result as Kamran Latif scored a hat-trick and Phorell Brooke scored the other. Yaqub Khichane scored the consolation goal in reply for Legacy.

FA SUNDAY CUP

Completing the weekend’s action game from Oakside which saw Baiteze Squad start their national cup quest with a tie against Borussia Martlesham who made the journey down the A12 from Suffolk. In some challenging conditions, it was a game largely dominated by Baiteze but Martlesham’s stoic defending saw the game finish level at 0-0. But the hosts held their nerve to win an excellent shootout 5-4, progressing on to a second round tie at home against the famed SE Dons.