CUP FINAL PREVIEW: Central Colts and Hornchurch Oakmont meet in Division 3 Cup climax

This Sunday sees the fourth of seven cup finals take place as we head to Redbridge FC’s Oakside Stadium for the climax of this season’s Division Three Cup Final.

There will be bar and refreshment facilities available at the ground on the day which you are all welcome to make use of.

Each club involved has been allocated tickets which 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 £5 each.

We now look ahead to the games and provide some insight into who might be crowned cup winners at full time.

Division Three Cup Final – 2.30pm Kick-Off
Hornchurch Oakmont vs Central Colts

On Sunday afternoon, we will witness the conclusion of this season’s Division Three Cup competition as second placed, Central Colts, take on third placed, Hornchurch Oakmont, in an intriguing cup final contest.

For Hornchurch Oakmont, Sunday’s final represents their first opportunity to claim some silverware for their club which has been in existence for a relatively short amount of time. It has been an interesting roller-coaster of a season with multiple cup runs including a terrific run in the Essex Sunday Junior Trophy where they were agonisingly beaten by fellow Corinthian side, Royal Albert at the semi-final stage. Couple that with a quarter-final appearance in the Trophyland Cup competition and this final at the weekend, it hasn’t been the worst of seasons despite their indifferent form in the league at times. They started their run in the competition at the quarter-final stage of the competition, taking on rivals Alpha. A solid performance that day saw Hornchurch win 4-1 and book a place in the semi-final against West Essex. In that semi-final, Hornchurch were second best in the contest and were actually beaten by West Essex, going down 5-2 at home. However, following a subsequent post-match hearing, they were reinstated into the competition and thus booked their slot in the final this weekend. I’m sure they would be first to admit that it’s not the preferred nor orthodox way to reach a final but they will be looking to take full advantage of their second bite at the cherry. When you analyse who might be the key men for Hornchurch Oakmont on Sunday, you would not bet against Tom Gibson having a big say on things with his haul of 20 goals at better than a goal a game seeing him as their leading goalscorer. Nonetheless there have also been solid contributions from Lewis Minton and Ross Woolward in front goal too so they are far from being a one-man show.

Taking on Hornchurch Oakmont in Sunday’s final are one of the best up and coming sides in the league, Central Colts, who return to the big stage of a cup final for the third time in two seasons. During the early part of Colts’ existence, you would never have envisaged the success that would follow after a couple of barren years at the very start. However, the key introduction of certain personnel within the playing staff turned their fortunes on their head and they will surely be needing to invest in a new trophy cabinet in the near future! It's been a great season for Colts, perhaps only tinged by the narrowest of league title defeats as Thames Ironworks eventually hauled in their points tally in the final days of the season. Nonetheless, a runners-up position is not something to be baulked at and they will surely be a threat in their elevated division next season. Their run in the cup this season started at home against Dagenham United Reserves in the battle of Castle Green and it took an extra-time win to see off the Daggers in a 4-2 victory, booking their semi final slot. In that semi-final, that came up against their biggest rivals, Thames Ironworks, with the intensity as high as always between the sides in their fixtures. But on the day an early goal from Donavan Reynolds and a second from Tunde Olagunju were enough to edge a thrilling contest 2-1 to confirm yet another cup final appearance. One of the main reasons behind the Colts renaissance in the last two seasons has been the form of Olagunju in front of goal who has netted a staggering 29 goals this season in just 21 appearances and he continues to be a key man. There have been other big performances this season with new acquisiation Donavan Reynolds plus Ansel Abrams, Kevin Ituko and Liam Mulcare all finding the net regularly for their side and turning them into a formidable force.

Looking at how the sides might fare, there is very little to pick between the teams who have taken a share of the spoils this season with a victory each. The early season encounter in October saw Colts pick up a 3-2 win away at Hornchurch while the latter returned the favour in February by securing a 2-1 victory on away soil, a match which would have been a title decider for Colts had they been victors that day. Those results would suggest that the two sides are unlikely to be far apart in terms of performance on the day with both very comfortable with the ball at their feet. As is always the case however, the key will be who handles the big occasion the most effectively and the first goal could be an important one. 

Congratulations to our appointed match officials on this final, a reward for the continued hard work put in by our referees across the season. The experienced Alan Steward will be the man in the middle with the whistle and he will be ably supported by a pair of Adams, those being Adam Howell and Adam Chester, from the touchlines.

We wish everybody the very best of luck for the cupo final and look forward to a terrific match!