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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
Repton Park vs Warren United

The morning final brings together two sides who have met at Thurrock FC before having faced each other in an astonishing 2016 Premier Division Cup Final. On that occasion, Repton almost pulled off one of the great comebacks in cup final history before Warren United eventually prevailed 6-4 with a late goal.

Hainault-based Repton Park, now in their third season with the Corinthian League, have had mixed success this season with indifferent league form seeing them out of the title race despite a good finish last season. They are clearly a side who like the cup competitions having also sealed a place in this season’s Premier Division Cup semi-finals later in the month and will be hoping to wet their appetite for that with a positive performance in Sunday’s final. They have reached the Corinthian Cup final on the back of fine performances with a 4-1 quarter-final win away at Flanders before a dramatic semi-final against Emerson Park, Repton Park running out 4-3 winners in the replay victory to secure their spot at Thurrock this Sunday. Jayden Ambrose is their top goal scorer this season with 23 goals to this name but it’s fair to say they are a side who like to find the back of the net, looking to outscore their opponents.

Taking on the Repton side are Mark Dawkins’ Warren United outfit who continue their own liking of a cup run in making this season’s Corinthian Cup final. Despite the stop-start nature of a weather-affected season, Warren remain in contention for a treble with plenty of league matches still to play and five games in hand on the leaders. As with Repton, they remain in the Premier Division Cup semi-finals as well so the season shows a lot of promise as they look to pick up a league crown having missed out narrowly on a couple of occasions. Their own run to Sunday’s final needed two very big performances, seeing off Romford Elite in the quarter-finals in a 2-1 margin before being taken all the way to a penalty shootout against Division One’s Leyton Celtic following a 3-3 draw. They won the resultant shootout 4-2 to confirm their place at Thurrock on Sunday. As ever, the man to watch for Warren United is the old stalwart of the side, James Peagram, who has netted himself 17 goals this season in just 13 games.

If their past results are anything to go by, this is sure to be an exciting game with goals very much on the cards for both sides you would imagine. Repton will start the match as favourites having already beaten Warren on a couple of occasions this season but who can rule out a Warren United side who have been there and done it in terms of big cup final performances.

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 Paul Stratton is the man with the whistle and will be ably supported by Richard Alford and the recently promoted Gavin Bailey on the touchlines. 

Trophyland Cup Final – 2.30pm Kick-Off
Wanstead United vs Westferry Elite

The afternoon final on Sunday sees two of Division Two’s sides meet in the second of our showpiece finals with league leaders, Wanstead United, taking on cup final debutants, Westferry Elite, at Ship Lane.

For Wanstead United, the last two or three seasons have really shown a marked improvement to their side as they make their climb through the divisions. These cup final appearances are also becoming a regular feature with their third in successive seasons after two Division Three Cup crowns. Their league form continues to also impressive and they remain the bookies favourites for promotion to Division One with still a fair few matches to go after a weather-affected campaign. For Daniel Hennessey’s side, their run to the final started with a narrow victory against old rivals London Fire Brigade, edging through that second round encounter with a 4-3 win. Their quarter-final pitted them up against Barca which saw a more routine 5-0 victory before taking on Flyhouse Athletic in the semi-final last weekend. With Flyhouse a side who have a lot of cup pedigree, this was on paper a tough assignment. But the previous weekend’s disappointment of losing out in the Division 2 Cup semi final spurred Wanstead on to a terrific 4-1 win to book their place in Sunday’s final. Their top goal scorer this season is Johnnie Offei who has found the back of the net on 18 occasions this season to springboard his side to many a victory.

Taking on Wanstead United are another of our east London sides with Westferry Elite making their cup final debut on Sunday. As a side who are in their third season with the Corinthian League, they are an ambitious outfit who have mirrored Wanstead’s own climb through the divisions in recent seasons. Based at Wanstead Flats and managed by Perry Loomes and Dean Fitzgerald, their league and cup form has differed greatly with a mixed set of results in Division Two seeing them placed seventh in the table presently. But their cup exploits have been outstanding, coming through some very difficult looking clashes against high-flying sides to reach this final. In the second round, they played host to Division Three’s title chasing Ridgeway Rovers side and managed to secure a 4-2 victory before taking on the county cup finalists, Upshire, in the last eight. Following a great performance, they again rolled out 4-2 winners to book their semi-final spot. Their opponents in the last four were St Augustines and this proved to be a belter of a match. Elite led early but Saints pegged them back in the second half before missing a penalty that would have won it. However, having survived that scare, an extra-time winner from Elite confirmed a nervy 2-1 win and a place at Thurrock. Their joint top goal scorers this season are Dominic Cummins and Lee Thomson who have nine goals apiece.

If matches were played on paper, you would have to place Wanstead United as the favourites based on their superb form this season and top quality acquisitions to their squad. But with Westferry Elite taking part in their first cup final and having already knocked out some good sides along the way, this match is far from a formality and a cup shock could well be on the cards.

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 very experienced Emile McKenzie is the man with the whistle in the middle and will be ably supported by Dave Rivett and the recently promoted Adam Chester on the touchlines.

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