WEEK 35 REVIEW: Round-up of all the Corinthian League action from the weekend

CORINTHIAN CUP

The flagship Corinthian Cup competition finally came to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon as a new side to the league this season, London All Stars, took on a Flyhouse Athletic side harbouring hopes of a quadruple. And it was Athletic who took a lead with a sensational Kai Brown overhead kick which looped in before Prince Williams brought the game level before half-time as he curled an effort into the far corner for All Stars. Flyhouse will rue a missed penalty saved by Haskins who made a sequence of big saves to keep his side in it before Luke Parrott popped up deep in stoppage time to slot home an All Stars winner and make it 2-1.

TROPHYLAND CUP

The action on Sunday morning saw United Amateurs and Belfry Reserves go to battle for the Trophyland Cup at Parkside. It was the lower-ranked Belfry side who made a fast start with an own goal opening things up and then and a Ryan O’Connell goal handing them a lead. But it was in the second half the goals begun to fly in with Nathan Casey, Luke Macdonald and Lee Newton all finding the back of the net either side of United goals from Sabjan Kukaj, Leon Arif and Jack Chawner as Belfry eventually prevailed with a 7-3 win to add the cup to their league winners trophy.

DIVISION SIX CUP FINAL

It was the turn of the Division Six Cup to take the spotlight on Friday evening as Ridgeway Rovers and Ping City Phoenixes sought to add their names to the trophy at Barking. It will certainly be an evening for Rovers to remember as they struck early on through Tommy Sheridan before further goals from Harley Hillman and Sheridan again gave them a 4-1 lead at the break, Will Salter netting for Ping. Further Rovers goals came in the second half with Bolassa netting twice, the final scoreline ending 8-1.

SENIOR DIVISION

The week’s action began back in midweek where, on Tuesday evening, Flyhouse Athletic bounced back well from their defeat on Sunday to record an important 3-1 win at East Way Athletic to go top of the table. Goals from Jake Fenton, Kai Brown and Kieran James proved enough to move top with just three games to go.

On Wednesday night it was the turn of Hatch Lane to keep themselves in the race developing for the title and their opponents were London Cup winners Brook Athletic, the sides meeting at The Drive under lights. It was a close game settled by just a single goal on the night with Ryan Ramsay the man to find the back of the net for Hatch as they were 1-0 winners.

The action on Sunday saw a double header between two sides still in the hunt for the title with Hatch Lane taking on Manford Way in Loughton. Hatch were 5-0 winners in the first game with Ayrton Coley scoring twice, Jermaine Francis, Gebrai Samrai and Amaree Robinson-Jones netting the others. Game two saw them win 4-1 with Samrai scoring twice, Robinson-Jones and Francis adding the others to put them in a strong position.

Over in Newbury Park, two sides with a big say in where the title goes saw fourth take on fifth with Brook Athletic facing rivals Baiteze Squad. Baiteze have certainly seen some improved form in recent weeks and were able to pick up a tenth win of the campaign with a 2-0 success, leaping above Brook into fourth spot as a result.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, cup finalists Critics have kept alive their hopes of a top-two finish in the league with win number twelve this season as they defeated Oceana 3-1 in Barkingside. Luis Teixeira, Kazim Bishop and Afolabi Obafemi were the players on target for Critics to hand them a vital points haul, needing one more win to take the runners-up spot.

DIVISION TWO

AC Milano have moved to the cusp of the Division Two league title following their result at the weekend as they defeated Debden Sports Reserves in a 5-0 scoreline to move three points clear at the top with a game to go. Mohamed Kidia scored four for his side in a top performance, Ronaldo Dariri adding the other to leave them needing just a point.

Over in Collier Row, last weekend’s cup winners, Barking & Dagenham Wanderers, confirmed a third place finish for themselves in the league as they edged a five-goal contest with Leytonstone Athletic by the odd goal to win 3-2. That was their fourteenth win of what can be considered a strong season while Leytonstone sit seventh with a game to go.

DIVISION THREE CUP

It was the last semi-final action of the season on Wednesday evening, a game which saw Colebrook Royals Vets seeking to make another final against a United Amateurs side also with multiple honours on the line this year. Ivan Machado and Alexis Nicolas both struck for the Royals but United scored four in response with two Aldair Doci efforts and strikes from Bradley Bennett and Sabjan Kukaj winning it 4-2 and sending United Amateurs into this weekend’s final.

DIVISION THREE

The race for the title in Division Three looks to be heading to the final hours of the season with Ainslie’s late season charge putting them in a strong position. They sit four points clear following a double header victory against FC Mexico B who saw Eric Kelly score twice and Ryan Radley once in a 4-0 win. In game two, an Eric Kelly hat-trick, James Sims Williams brace and Ryan Radley single completed a 6-1 win.

Another side battling for the title are Colebrook Royals Vets who have a busy last week of the season and kicked it off in a positive fashion by winning 4-0 against Alpha to stay in the hunt. Omar Mahmood, Alan McCormack, Nedret Ozkasim and Ivan Machado were all on the scoresheet for Royals ahead of this weekend’s vital clash with the leaders.