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CUP FINAL PREVIEWS: Corinthian and Trophyland Cup

CUP FINAL PREVIEWS: Corinthian and Trophyland Cup

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This Sunday marks the start of cup finals season with our first finals of a busy schedule taking place at Thurrock FC.

All of our showpiece cup finals 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.

All of the clubs involved have 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 each of the games and provide some insight into who might be crowned cup winners on Sunday.

Corinthian Cup Final – 10.30am Kick-Off
Upshire vs Barking

The morning final brings together two sides from different divisions, but both with similar ambitions of achieving league and cup glory this season.

Waltham Abbey based Upshire, in their first season with the Corinthian League, have taken the Premier Division by storm and are just a few points away from securing their maiden league title. Cup glory remains high on the agenda also as they continue to challenge for the treble with a place in late April’s Premier Division Cup final also secured. They have reached the Corinthian Cup final on the back of fine performances both at home and on the road with victories against Valley Park (5-1), Repton Park (6-1) and finally a 9-0 victory over Warren United in the semi-finals to secure their spot at Thurrock this Sunday. John Gregory is their goal scorer this season with an eleven goal haul but it’s fair to say the goals are spread around their talented squad.

Taking on the league leaders are Division One’s Barking who follow a fine tradition of lower league sides to have reached the Corinthian Cup final in recent years. It is quite fair to say that Barking must be one of the most exciting sides to watch this season with goals guaranteed wherever they travel. In fact, their tally of 75 league goals is unsurpassed which suggests that going forward is their strength. Their own run to Sunday’s fine as been equally straight forward with victories over Downs (5-1), Chingford Celtic (5-1) and a 2-0 victory on the road at Liberty Stars in the semi-final which completed their run to Thurrock. The man to watch for Barking is Danny Cook who has netted himself 24 goals this season in just 21 games to lead the division’s scoring charts.

This is sure to be an exciting game with goals very much on the cards for both sides you would imagine. Upshire’s dominance in the Premier Division suggests, at least on paper, that they would be favourites but who can rule out Barking taking another big name scalp as they look to forward to likely playing Premier Division football themselves next season.

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, Endrit Malaveci, is the man with the whistle and will be ably supported by fellow promotees Alan Steward and Michael Iddenden-Smith on the touchlines.

Trophyland Cup Final – 2.30pm Kick-Off
FC Mexico vs SL Menfica

The afternoon final on Sunday sees another David vs Goliath clash as Division Two’s cup specialists FC Mexico taking on Division Four’s cup killers, SL Menfica at Ship Lane.

For FC Mexico, this final continues a remarkable run of cup successes with their fourth cup final appearance in two seasons in the Corinthian League with a fifth to follow in a few weeks’ time! It’s fair to say they know their way around a cup competition. Their league form this season has been a little patchy but a top four finish looks on the cards once again with a few games left to go. Their run to the final this year has taken in victories against Hornchurch Oakmont (5-4 on penalties), Ridgeway Rovers (2-0), Westferry Elite (3-1) and finally a 3-0 win in the semi-final over E4 Rangers a few weeks ago. The men to watch are their leading scorer this season, Sam Prince, who has netted eleven goals so far and skipper Tom Terry who covers every blade of grass.

The story of SL Menfica is quite a remarkable one as a side who are yet to lose a competitive football match in their short yet fruitful existence. Having wrapped up the inaugural Division Four title in record time, this group of lads led by Connor Wheatley, have seen their league form flood across to the cup competitions having reached Sunday’s final with a fair few giant-killings along the way. They have also booked a place in late April’s Division Four Cup where they will face Central Colts. Their run to this final has involved wins at Upshire Reserves (8-2), AC Milano Reserves (2-1), Docklands Albion (3-1) and finally a 3-1 semi-final victory at Wanstead United. Their top goal scorer this season is Jake Muller who has found the back of the net on sixteen occasions this year with Thomas Rice just behind on twelve goals.

This is a really tough final to call but certainly one that everybody is excited and intrigued by. FC Mexico have the big game experience that probably makes them ever so slight favourites but who would be brave enough to bet against SL Menfica completing a quite remarkable debut season with yet another giant-killing.

Congratulations to our appointed match officials on this final, a reward for the continued hard work put in by our referees across the season. Kadir Nazif is the man with the whistle and will be ably supported by Dave Rivett and John Conaghan on the touchlines.

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