WEEK 22 REVIEW: Round-up of all the league and cup action from the weekend

SENIOR CUP – GROUP STAGE

East Way Athletic have all but confirmed their place in the next stage of the competition as they completed a second victory in the group with a 4-1 away win against Barking Riverside over at Castle Green. Shakeel Morris came off the bench to score twice with Dylan Eivers and Charles Brown-Bampoe adding further strikes to final scoreline.

Also top of their group with a perfect record so far are Secret who made it two wins from two after a victory at home against Roose in Rainham to all but put their name in the hat for the Senior Cup knock-out. A 5-2 win was assured through Eden Nelson’s brace plus goals from Giovanni Palmer, Nickal-David Luzolo and Palvy Manduakila.

Avintul picked up their first win of the group stage to place themselves just a point off the pace after they saw off fellow Premier Division side Barking & Dagenham Wanderers in a 3-1 win in Chigwell on Sunday. Gheoca Dumitru scored twice and Anatolie Sandu once to allow the hosts to walk away with maximum points.

In the same group, the battle of the top two sides so far saw El Valiente and Hatch Lane lock horns once again following their battles in the league. El Valiente will perhaps be the happier of the teams as they came from behind to Hatch goals from Ashaan Siddik and Jermaine Francis to rescue a draw to leave both sides taking home a point apiece at 2-2.

DIVISION ONE CUP

In the weekend’s Division One Cup action, the first round saw a cup shock as second bottom side FC Mexico A put in a top performance to defeat top half FC Galaxy, overcoming an eight point deficit and winning the game 4-1 to put themselves through to the last eight. They will now head on to face Abridge Village next weekend in the quarter finals.

There were two quarter finals completed, the first of which saw Chingford Athletic take their place in the semi finals after they held second placed Oceana to a 3-3 draw at full-time before going on to win the shootout. Tom Parsons scored twice and Joe Belcher once for Oceana to give their side a chance but Chingford know their way through a cup competition and progressed on here.

Also into the hat for the final four are Theydon Green who followed up their county cup progress last weekend with another quarters win this weekend, defeating Barking in a 3-0 scoreline to set up a semi against Chingford. Josh Steele, Sam May-Parrott and Harry Barrett all found the back of the net to put their side through.

DIVISION TWO CUP

There was a bit of a shock in the Division Two Cup quarter finals where second placed Roneo Colts were knocked out of the competition following a defeat to sixth placed Total Football who put in a 2-1 winning performance in Loughton. James Smith grabbed the Roneo goal but his effort proved just consolation as Total booked a semi final spot.

DIVISION THREE CUP

In the day’s first round action in the Division Three Cup, Dagenham Town put themselves in the hat for the last eight of the competition with an away victory against Alpha in Collier Row. Town were 3-0 winners as they set up a home quarter final against Leytonstone Athletic in the next round of the competition.

There were two quarter finals completed also where Upshire Forest put in a sparkling performance once again in front of goal to beat Mayfield Kings in Hainault to see themselves safely into the hat for the semi finals, winning 6-0. Tom Lawn was in great form with a hat-trick while Rhys Thurgood and Luke Robinson also netted to round things off.

Also into the semi finals are Higham Hill who overcame the disappointment of their county cup exit to make their way into last four with a solid victory away against Imperial Row in Aveley. Hill travelled back down the A13 with a 3-0 victory under their belts, Billy Jago scoring twice and Jeffrey Erhabor once.

DIVISION FOUR CUP

Three semi finalists were confirmed in the Division Four Cup competition and Romford Athletic Dons pulled off a stunning victory despite their league travails, seeing off Chingford Athletic Reserves in a big 5-1 scoreline at London Marathon. Chris Ratty was in scoring form once again with two goals, Billy Pearmain, Shane Hovell and Scott Buckland notching the others to send their side through.

Also into the hat are United Amateurs who came through a close game by the odd goal, seeing off the efforts of Lonsdale in a 4-3 scoreline. Billy Biggs netted two, Johnny Gallagher and Paul Bennett striking the others for United but Lonsdale goals from Aldo Coku, Kalium Fletcher and Denis Hilaj ensured their side remained in the contest, albeit without reward.

It was third versus first in the other tie played where Singh Sabha Barking were looking to get back to winning ways following their recent league defeat with a trip to a decent Ainslie side in Walthamstow. But it will be the visitors, Singh Sabha, who walked away the happier of the teams as they won the game 4-1 through goals from Jordan Hamilton (2), Manshaant Mahil and Oluwatobi Adekunle.

DIVISION FIVE CUP

There was one Division Five Cup tie played on Sunday with the rearranged action between Byron Red Star and Eastern Avenue as the sides met at Hylands Park. With just three points between the sides in the league, a close game was expected and it was Byron who walked away with the accolades, winning the tie 4-1 to head into the quarters.

DIVISION SIX CUP

In first round action in the Division Six Cup, it was Epping Royals who ended the day the happier of the two sides in their tie as they saw off Ivory United in a 4-1 scoreline to go through to next weekend's quarter final at home to London Legacy. Joseph Bothwell, Fraser McCarthy, Matthew Robinson and Louie Brownlie all netted to render Leon Barzey's goal as just consolation for Ivory.

The first two quarter finals in the cup were completed at the weekend with league leaders Mansfield Rangers making their way into the last four on the back of a 3-0 win on Sunday against local rivals Ping City Phoenixes. Debutant Harley Hicks scored twice off the bench with Jake Magson netting the other to put them through.

The second side to make their way into the hat for the semi finals were Royal Lions C who kept hopes alive of a cup double this season, safely navigating their way through a home tie against Epping Forest Falcons over in Hainault. They now await the winners of the tie between Colebrook Royals Reserves and Woodford Green United this weekend.

DIVISION TWO

Back in the league, Royal Lions A were able to make up ground on the sides above who were not in league action as they took maximum points from their trip to local rivals Frenford over in Ilford. The experienced Paul Iseghohi struck for Frenford but Lions goals from Randy Adele, Kasbon Tokenge and Nico Macaia were enough to earn their side a 3-1 win, their ninth victory of the season.

There was a huge result for eighth placed East London Harriers who moved further clear of the relegation zone as they took down fourth placed Asianos despite the hosts being seven points behind going into the game. That was slashed to four as Frankie Worboyes’ late penalty saw Harriers to a narrow 1-0 victory.

DIVISION THREE

There was a goal-filled game in Division Three where Leytonstone Athletic exacted some revenge for a defeat earlier in the campaign to beat Inside Success 5-2. Athletic goals from George Burton, Bruno Dos Santos, Talvin Sandhu, Rimel O’Sullivan and Jordan Tredgett proved sufficient for their side to take the win and move above their rivals into second spot.

DIVISION FOUR

Blackwall Rovers are in a good spell of form at present and followed up a terrific win against the league leaders recently with another three point haul as they beat Raphael Park Rovers 2-0 in Romford on Sunday. That win was Blackwall’s eighth of the season and saw them move fourth, just a point outside of the promotion places.

DIVISION FIVE

The big result in Division Five at the weekend saw Colebrook Royals’ long unbeaten run come to an end as they suffered a home defeat against United Borough in Chigwell to put the title race back into the melting pot. Jake Griffin scored a hat-trick, Ben Miller bagged a brace and Sam Wilson also struck to give Borough a memorable 6-4 win against the leaders.

That result enabled Valence United to close the gap at the top of the table to twelve points with four games in hand as they came through their away trip to Dagenham Rangers in a 6-2 scoreline to retain renewed hopes of silverware. Rowan Newland led the way with a hat-trick, Jordan Cook, Michael O’Brien and Ryan Knight also scoring for United.

The biggest winners of the day were Royal Lions B who were in fine form in front of goal, scoring ten without reply to defeat Young Royals. Emmanuel Ejembi scored four after coming on as a substitute, Tyler Adams-Sinclair and Joel Minganu both scored twice, while David Olodude and Aman Islam goals completed the scoresheet as Lions moved up to ninth.

DIVISION SIX

There were two games played in Division Six where Colebrook Royals Reserves warmed up for their upcoming quarter final with an away win against the same opponents, beating Woodford Green United 4-1 to keep them in pole position mathematically for the title. James Rose, Phorell Brooke, Kamran Latif and Leo Winer all netted for Royals.

Second placed Valence United Reserves also kept themselves in the mix as they copied their first team’s efforts in recording a 6-2 win against London Legacy in Dagenham to confirm a tenth league win of the season. Keenan Mitchell had a day to remember, netting all six goals for his side, while Walid Benmouna and Mohamed Noor strikes accounted for the Legacy efforts.

NATIONAL CUP

It was third round day in the FA Sunday Cup at the weekend with Baiteze Squad in away action for the first time as they visited reigning London Cup champions, Grand Athletic, in their tie in Dulwich. Falling behind in wet conditions to a first half penalty, a spirited fightback in the second half saw Baiteze win 3-1 to make it into the quarters where they now head north to Doncaster next month.