WEEK 20 REVIEW: Round-up of all the Corinthian League action from the weekend

CORINTHIAN CUP

The second round action in the Corinthian Cup finally reached a conclusion as Division One's Gants Hill hosted a Hatch Lane side at Flanders for a place in round three of the competition. A close game was settled by a couple of goals with Daniel Couldridge and Amaree Robinson-Jones scoring those efforts to with the game in Hatch's favour, 2-0. They head on to face Barking Riverside in the next round.

TROPHYLAND CUP

Second round football was also completed in the Trophyland Cup with Mansfield Rangers from Division Five ensuring they avoided any kind of slip-up in a strong 5-1 win at home against Epping Forest Falcons. A brace of goals from both Billy Happe and Jake Magson, plus a Jack Cousins effort, proved enough to send Rangers through into the third round against Horse & Well.

Also through to the same stage of the competition are Ultimate Vision Reserves who ensured their place in the last sixteen with a strong performance of their own, defeating Mayfield Kings on home turf in Dagenham in a 6-0 scoreline. The reward for that result is an away trip to Division Four high-flyers Belfry Reserves in the next round.

SENIOR DIVISION CUP

It was a good morning for FC Ballr in the Senior Division Cup first round as they hosted a United Dian side, trailing their opposition by three places and three points in the league going into this game. But league form accounted for little as Ballr completed a 2-1 win in the game to take their place in the quarter finals where they now face FLY.

SENIOR DIVISION

Manford Way have resumed their position at the top of the table but were held to a score draw in their game on Sunday, their match with El Valiente producing a thrilling 4-4 scoreline in ninety minutes of football. Terrell Miller netted twice for El Valiente, Akil Agyemang and Kane Malone striking the other goals to ensure their side took a share of the spoils.

Over in east London, there was a local derby game between East Way Athletic and Baiteze Squad who met at the County Ground, Baiteze starting the day a point behind East Way prior to the game. But by full-time, they had leapt above their opponents, winning 2-0 to climb up into fourth spot in the table ahead of a busy run of fixtures.

DIVISION ONE

Leaders Theydon Green took full advantage of results around them to open up a three point gap on Sunday, scoring the only goal of a very close game against Critics in Barkingside to secure an important three points in the title race. Joe Bricknell's goal for Green proved the only scoring moment in the fixture, taking their wins tally to nine in ten for the unbeaten side.

That result was made all the more impactful as Roose had a dent put in their title charge, slipping to a 5-2 defeat at home against co-tenants Oceana at Fairlop Oak. Oceana put an indifferent spell of form behind them to take a big win, Jesse Jones scoring a hat-trick, Lewis Belcher and Robert Coe the others, to record a second league win of the season.

With plentiful games in hand to make up on the sides above them, county cup quarter-finalists Barking Riverside will still be there or thereabouts come the business end of the campaign and recorded a third league success with a 5-2 win at home against Royal Lions A in the Forest Road derby. Goals from Aaron Matthews, Tommy Kavaz, Godfrey Kambaza, Ryan Gardiner and Solomon Asomah proved enough.

Also on the climb were Total Football who used results around them to their advantage, moving fifth in the standings following a 1-0 win against Benchviews over in East Ham. Charlie Smith scored the only goal of a close game to earn his team another important three point haul, a result which also saw the hosts move into the bottom two.

And that was because St Augustines secured themselves a vital win in their fight against relegation, picking up an important home win against FC Galaxy despite starting the game twelve points adrift of their visitors. Leon Appiah made the difference scoring twice for the Saints with James Harvey on the scoresheet with the other in a 3-1 final result.

DIVISION TWO CUP

Division Two's leaders, Barking & Dagenham Wanderers, have ensured themselves of a place in the quarter finals of the cup this season as they came through their tough looking trip to Higham Hill with a victory under their belt, winning the game 5-1. Adam Burgess, Dwayne Francis-Riley and Raphael Olu-Jide all netted in the win, ahead of another key game next weekend in the county cup quarter-finals.

DIVISION TWO

Back in the league action, it was a good morning for Cloud 9 who moved themselves to within a couple of points of the promotion places with a thrilling win by the goal in seven, 4-3, against Newbury Forest. Draydon Eduite-Jones, Brady Jones and Daniel Ross all struck for the Forest but those goals proved in vain as Cloud netted four to win the game.

Sitting just a further point behind are fourth-placed Abridge Village who added another win to their record this season with a closely fought victory against Leytonstone Athletic as the game ended 3-2. Pat Ambrose and Harry Burton both struck for Athletic but those proved not enough for the visitors as Abridge confirmed win number six this season.

One further place down, fifth placed Debden Sports Reserves remain in touch with matters above them and kept up the pace with a solid home win on Sunday against Inside Success at Chigwell Lane. Joseph Cloake and Callum Thomas were both on the scoresheet for Sports, a result which saw them confirm win number five in the league this term.

DIVISION THREE

There was just the one game in Division Three this week but what a big fixture it was as Singh Sabha Barking and United Amateurs went to battle in Newbury Park. And it was United who came away the happier of the sides, moving level with the league leaders on goal difference in a 3-1 win. Jack Chawner scored two and Bradley Bennett once, Indervir Virdi striking in reply for Barking.

DIVISION FOUR CUP

There was a good game in the first round of the Division Four Cup also where Prospect Protégé and Brymans Park went head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals over in Hainault, the sides finishing level at ninety minutes at 2-2. Alexander Brennand and Ethan Knight scored the Prospect goals with Kieran Varndell and Shane Taylor responding for Park, before the latter held their nerve in the shootout to win 4-2.

DIVISION FOUR

In the Division Four league action, adjustments this week see Warren Senior move top of the table for the timebeing as they secured a nervy win against seventh placed Chingford Athletic, coming out 4-3 winners at Town Mead. Anthony Cooke scored twice, Daniel Galvin-Law and Scott McGlynn netting the others to ensure they stayed top.

With a couple of games in hand now on the sides above, second place Belfry Reserves’ perfect start sees them remain as the bookies favourites and they confirmed a ninth league win over the weekend with a 6-2 win at home against Byron Red Star, their cup final opponents last year. Ryan Bourne, Robert Mitchell, Nathan Casey, Jamie Redington and Jordan Riches were the players on the mark for Belfry.

Ninth placed Ace Athletics will also be pleased with their morning’s efforts as they overcame a side fifteen points better off in the table, Eastern Avenue, to secure a win which saw them move off the bottom of the table. Alex and Tom Mason both scored for the hosts to hand their team a 2-1 win, moving to within a couple of points from safety.

A five-goal thriller completes the action in the fifth tier where Horse & Well faced City Site in Debden with both sides keen to make a move up the table. Well started the day a point behind the county cup quarter-finalists but ended the day two points above, winning 3-2 through goals from Chris Marsh (2) and James Marsh. Harry Watkins and Alex Paraskeva struck the City goals in reply.

DIVISION FIVE

It’s as you were towards the top of Division Five where Colebrook Royals Reserves remain in pole position at the top, aided by their most recent success, that being a 2-1 away win against Dagenham Rangers over at Barking Park. Archie Shipp and Phorell Brooke were the scorers with those key goals to move them a step closer to a possible title.

Second placed Royal Lions B will certainly not have given up hope just yet of mounting a challenge of their own though games are beginning to run out. They picked up all three points from their trip to Dagenham, confirming a 2-1 win against Lonsdale through a goal apiece from Keenan Lewis and Subhan Asgher. Kalium Fletcher notched his customary goal for Lonsdale in reply.

Over in Hainault, there was a big win for Manford Way Reserves who moved into fifth on the back of a solid 5-0 performance against Titans United, their fifth league win of the campaign. James Duley, Robert Green, Jake Lie, Charlie Saltmarsh and Jake Foster all scored for Manford to ensure their side were victorious.

DIVISION SIX

There were some huge results affecting the top of the table in Division Six where Young Royals have now been able to open up a three point lead at the top following a comprehensive 6-0 winning performance at home against Ridgeway Rovers. Panushanth Kulenthiran scored four of their goals in a top showing, Sujiven Jeyaratnam and Millensebas Montfort netting the others.

And that result was made all the more important as second placed Valence United Reserves slipped to a reverse away at Royal Lions C, the game ending 2-1 to the hosts in Hainault to close things up for the promotion race. Valentin Ghebu and James Egbo scored those crucial goals, Billy Biggs netting the Valence goal in reply.

Epping Royals will certainly have taken note of those results and they moved level with second place, trailing just by goal difference, after they made light work of their home game with Ping City Phoenixes at Stonards Hill. Joseph Bothwell has regularly been the scourge of many defences and his four goals set them on their way, Thomas Harvey and Marcelo Mendes also striking in a 6-3 win.

There were six goals in the game in Newbury Park where hosts Havering Palace were up against a Zone 4 Athletic side, the two teams separated by just a couple of points at the start of the game. But by full-time, Havering had moved up a place into fifth as they won 4-2 through a Joshua Taylor hat-trick off the bench and a Joe Hack effort. Victor Rosca and Oswald Nyahunda struck the Zone consolation goals in reply.

In the battle of the bottom two, Warren United started their home game with London Legacy sitting bottom of the table albeit with an excellent scoring record. But by full-time they had moved above their opponents, switching places on the back of a 2-1 win, Oliver Regan and debutant Ken KiaKeta scoring the goals for United, Lucas Tavares accredited with the consolation goal for Legacy.

COUNTY CUP

It was another excellent morning for Corinthian clubs in county cup competitions with three sides confirming places in semi-finals. In the London Sunday Challenge Trophy, AC Milano secured their place in the last four, producing a 2-0 home win against Oakwood A in their quarter-final, setting up a trip to Yeni Bogazici in a few weeks’ time.

There was another home tie for Brook Athletic who progressed through to the last four with a 4-0 win over south London based, Farnborough Old Boys Guild, in Newbury Park to extend their cup form once more. They now head south of the river in early March to take on Croydon in the semi-final.

In the Essex Sunday Junior Trophy, Valence United are now one performance away from repeating their efforts of last season, reaching the semi-final of the competition with a hard fought 1-0 win against a strong Danbury Athletic side, a game which could have gone either way. They now await the winner from the other side of the draw in a few weeks’ time.

In the same competition, albeit a couple of rounds further back, Colebrook Royals Vets and Debden Sports A finally had the chance to complete their first round tie and it was a comprehensive win for Colebrook who took their place in round two with an 8-0 victory. They now head to Harlow Hurricanes in the next round next weekend.

There was one side who did make an exit from a county cup as Ainslie’s run to the quarter-finals of the London Sunday Junior Cup finally reached a conclusion with a home defeat to Kensington Town at Wadham Lodge, losing 3-0, though will still an Essex Cup to fight for next weekend.