WEEK 23 REVIEW: Review of all of the weekend's league and cup action

PREMIER DIVISION CUP

Booking a place in the semi-finals of the Premier Division Cup this weekend were Ainslie Wood who followed up their win in the first round with a victory in an eight goal thriller against Downs. In this goal filled encounter it was Wood who came through 5-3 to potentially be just ninety minutes away from a place at Thurrock later in the season. Eric Kelly scored a hat-trick with further goals from Ryan Radley and Niall Mullins.

Upshire have booked themselves a place in the quarter-final of the Premier Division Cup but were taken all the way to a penalty shootout by Lactico as the sides could be separated in 120 minutes of football. John Gregory netted once again for the hosts but Ibrahim Ndimbalan's goal for Lactico levelled things at 1-1. In the resulting shootout, it was Upshire who prevailed winning 5-4 on spot kicks to book a tie away at Warren United in the quarter finals.

DIVISION TWO CUP

In a closely fought and entertaining Division Two Cup quarter-final on Sunday, league leaders Docklands Albion travelled to current holders, FC Mexico, with a place in the semi-final at stake for the winner. A first-half goal from Dean Hendrickson for the hosts and Rhys Tyrrell’s winner in the second half separated the sides and sent FC Mexico to a 2-0 victory and progress into the semi-finals once again.

PREMIER DIVISION

Repton Park are now up to second place in the Premier Division table after a 2-0 win on the road on Sunday at Liberty Stars. Having recently knocked the same opposition out of the cup, goals from Sonny Tovey and Jobe Ambrose proved decisive and kept up Repton’s outside chances of causing an upset in the title race.

Flanders picked up another important point in the race to avoid the drop, sharing the points in a 2-2 draw with fourth-placed Warren United in Barkingside. Ben Rippongale and Daniel Bell both netted for the hosts but Flanders levelled it up on the day through goals from Lawal Alhada and Matt Hunt.

DIVISION ONE

There is sure to be a fascinating climax to proceedings in Division One with a whole host of sides still in the running for honours. Barking are up to second place following a 4-1 win over Dagenham United. Michael O’Brien scored a brace with Daniel Cook and James Jacobs netting one each to lead their side to victory.

Another side in the running are county cup semi-finalists, Barking & Dagenham Wanderers, who moved up a number of places to fourth position in the table with a 4-1 victory of their own against Valley Park. Daniel Alexander found the back of the net for the visitors but Wanderers goals from Ashton Lord, Robert Eden, Liam Roney and debutant Darren Thomson confirmed victory and maximum points.

Korona Redbridge won a tightly contested encounter at home to Aldborough Hatch on Sunday with a single settling the match to keep the hosts clear of relegation troubles. Adam Waclawczyk was the scorer of the only goal of the game as Korona ran out 1-0 winners to put a dent in Hatch’s title credentials.

DIVISION TWO

Division Two’s promotion picture is reaching a similarly exciting conclusion with Park Tavern winning 8-2 at third placed London Fire Brigade to move up to fourth in the table. Goal scoring doubles from Kristopher Brown, David Hornsby and Rodney Sarsah-Wilson plus strikes from Jeffrey Nketia and Sean Tormey saw Tavern to an important victory. David Moore and Yomi Popoola were the Brigade’s scorers for their goals.

Waltham Athletic dropped points in their own bid for title glory as Westferry Elite took a point in a 1-1 draw in Leyton. Ben Jones scored the Waltham goal to take home a point and remain within striking distance of the league leaders.

Things couldn’t be tighter at the bottom of the table with three sides level on goal difference at the bottom. Morfdown Elect done their chances a world of good with a 6-3 win over fellow strugglers Lonsdale in Dagenham. Anton Gjergji scored twice and Kalium Fletcher once for the visitors but their goals proved in vain as goals from Adam Davis (2), Terry Martin, Adam Wingrove, Colin Chafer and Gareth Edwards settled the match for Elect.

E4 Rangers secured an important win in their fight to beat the drop as they beat Romford Galaxy 2-1 to take maximum points home with them. Tim Dye and debutant Robert Port scored the crucial E4 goals with a Gary Sharpe strike accounting for the Galaxy consolation effort.

DIVISION THREE

Alpha pulled off one of the shock results of the day as they defeated top of the league Upshire Reserves 3-2 at the Flats to put a dent in the visitor’s title hopes. Goals from Ashley Godwin, Carlton Bristol and Kai Haysman were just enough to confirm a win by the odd goal and steer their side clear of relegation difficulties.

Alliance United continued some fine recent form with a comfortable 5-0 win over Asianos Reserves in Dagenham on Sunday. Billy Gray’s hat-trick led the way for the hosts with goals from Billy Clare and Allan Smith confirming victory for the third-placed outfit.

Fairlop Rangers have boosted their outside chances of beating the drop with a crucial 3-1 win at the weekend as they travelled to West Ham to face AC Milano Reserves. That victory moves them level on points with their opponents with just three games to go to try and catch the sides above them.

Tom King’s hat-trick for FC United of Hornchurch paved the way for his side to record a 4-2 victory on Sunday over Partizan CMC in Rainham. Tom Jakob and Andre Poyet were both on the scoresheet for the visitors but King’s royal efforts plus a goal from Harry Lee recorded a seventh league win of the campaign for the hosts.

DIVISION FOUR

There was just a single match in Division Four this weekend but it was an important one for Hornchurch Oakmont who bagged an impressive nine goals with a 9-3 win over Grey Area in Chadwell Heath. A five-goal performance from George Terry, two goals from Luke Sawyer and a single Harry Mardel goal saw off the goal scoring efforts from Oliver Campbell, Perry Robinson and Jordan Rodway for Grey as the visitors race to promotion continues.

CHARITY CUP

Two of our Division One sides met in the quarter-final of the West Essex Sunday Charity Cup on Sunday with a seven-goal thriller seeing Emerson Park run out 4-3 winners over Chingford Celtic in Hainault.

In the other quarter-final played, Premier Division side Valentines United edged a closely fought encounter away at St Augustines by a single goal, recording a 1-0 win and a place in the semi-finals against Emerson Park.