WEEK 23 REVIEW: Round-up of all the Corinthian League action from the weekend

TROPHYLAND CUP

In the third round of the Trophyland Cup on Sunday, there was a cupset as Division Five’s Mansfield Rangers pulled off a win against Division Four’s Horse & Well to bag themselves a place in the quarter-final of the competition. Billy Happe and Jay Kanber both struck for Rangers to hand them a 2-1 victory.

SENIOR DIVISION

It was a a big morning for previously bottom of the table FLY who, after their first win last weekend, added two more with a double header success in both games against United Dian in Hainault. They were 4-0 winners in game one with Dimeji Shonuga’s hat-trick and Adam Sheikh’s single doing the damage. Two more Shonuga goals in game two plus a Guilherme Monti effort made that one 3-0.

There was a six goal thriller in the game between hosts London All Stars and their Manford Way counterparts as those sides shared the spoils in an exciting 3-3 draw. Reece Simpson, Jonathan Ogunsanya and Chris Adu-Gyanfi all struck for Manford to give them another point, remaining second in the process.

The division’s final game came from East Ham and saw two sides keen to improve their points tallies with FC Ballr the visitors to take on El Valiente. The visitors started the day trailing their opponents by five points but, as scorers of the game’s only goal, FC Ballr were 1-0 winners to make it three wins for the season, moving up to eighth in the table.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, the big game affecting the top of the table saw Theydon Green record another victory to stay unbeaten, beating fellow title rivals Roose in a 3-0 scoreline. Josh Steele, Harry Carter and George Johnson all got on the Green scoresheet to round off win number eleven this season, keeping them as the bookies favourites.

Gants Hill took full advantage of that result to jump up above Roose into second place with a win of their own, beating co-tenants Benchviews in a 4-2 win in the East Ham derby. That was Hill’s eighth league win of the season and, with five games of the season still remaining, they will hope to still be in the promotion picture at the business end of the campaign.

Lurking with intent in fourth place, with games in hand, Critics are in a good run of form and could still impact things around them in the remaining eight games, picking up a solid win in a hard fought game at Royal Lions A. Deyonte Anthony and Dylan Florence were the Critics scorers on the day as they rounded off a seventh league success.

Remaining in the top five, Total Football stay in close proximity with the sides above them aided by  their most recent success, beating St Augustines in a 3-0 win at Newbury Park on Sunday. Charlie Smith, Sonny White and Nile Painter were the men on target with the goals to make it six wins for the season.

Over in Dagenham, hosts FC Galaxy started the day nine points clear of their latest opponents with Oceana the visitors to Castle Green. In a game of six goals, it was the hosts who will have left the happier of the two teams as Luchian Grigore (2), Mihai Mareniuc and Alexandru Saru all scored in a 4-2 win, overcoming Oceana goals from Joseph Belcher and Ebonom Mfam.

DIVISION TWO

The Division Two race continues to excite with three sides well involved in the mix, Abridge Village joining that group in recent weeks following a catch-up of games, their latest success taking in a 4-0 local derby victory against Debden Sports Reserves. Rodney Capemba scored twice, Leon Adeyemi and Michael Bello netting the others.

The other side sitting in the mix are AC Milano who, ahead of a big county cup semi-final next weekend, earned themselves another valuable three points haul in the league with an important 2-0 win away at fourth placed Cloud 9. Tayyab Akhtar and Ronaldo Dariri were the two players to find the back of the net for AC to net a ninth win.

Those results enabled Newbury Forest to make up the ground and move up a place into fifth as they produced a sixth success of the season on Sunday with a 6-0 away win against bottom of the table Barking. Daniel Ross, Harry Glenister and Lloyd Ross all scored braces to account for their goals in the game.

The remaining game in the division came from Hainault Rec where hosts Leytonstone Athletic were up against East London Harriers, the teams beginning five points apart in seventh and ninth respectively. A close game ended with the sides level at 1-1 meaning they took a point each. Jack Peters scored the Athletic goal with Billy Wright netting for Harriers off the bench.

DIVISION THREE

Things are really hotting up in Division Three where an in-form Valence United side produced another winning performance with a 3-2 success at home against Upshire Forest side they could yet face in a county cup semi-final. Rowan Newland scored two and Michael O’Brien once for the Dagenham side, Daniel Roult and Mark Lawn scoring the Forest goals in consolation.

Over at Newbury Park, another side who had been involved in length county cup campaigns this year are Ainslie who, with those games in hand accrued, could well enter the promotion mix and aided that with a 3-1 win at Singh Sabha Barking. Jonathan Carter scored two and Freddie Wrighton once, rendering Sarwan Birak’s goal as just consolation.

DIVISION FOUR

The Division Four race is also an intriguing one and now sees Warren Senior moving into a two point lead at the top as they picked up all three points from their trip to east London where they were able to beat Eastern Avenue 5-1. Anthony Cooke scored four and Carter Jordan one for Warren to push them clear at the top.

That outcome was made all the more important as Belfry Reserves dropped their first points of the season against their cup final victors last year, Byron Red Star, who managed to take a valuable point in a 4-4 draw. Adrian John’s hat-trick proved crucial, Finlay Goff scoring the other for Star. Jamie Redington struck twice in reply with Lee Newton and Ryan O’Connell scoring the others for Belfry.

Down at the other end of the table, a key fixture in the battle to avoid relegation saw Brymans Park bounce back admirably from a heavy defeat last time out to record all three points from their trip to Town Mead to take on Chingford Athletic. Daniel Munroe scored two and Jamie Greenoff once, completing a hugely important 3-1 win.

DIVISION FIVE

There were goals plenty in Division Five, beginning with a massive result from Dagenham which saw Ultimate Vision Reserves produce a terrific performance in beating promotion chasing Royal Lions B. Vision goals from Harry Byford, Nathanael Joseph, George Matthew, Ricky Rose and Jack Shiels all netted in a 5-0 success, a big dent in the title hopes for Lions.

Another key battle came from Chigwell Lane and saw Titans United move off the bottom and out of the relegation zone on the back of a 5-3 success at Debden Sports A, moving above their opponents. Brendan Anamole scored two and Braeden Creasey both scored for Sports but United goals from Charlie Foran (2), Robert Devlin, Jack Dooney and Ricky Phillips took the points home with their side.

Manford Way Reserves had a good morning in front of goal, scoring seven in their game at home against Lonsdale, eventually winning the game 7-2. Callum Owen and Jake Li both scored twice, Jake Foster, Brandon Pointer and Shea Madigan-Smart also on the scoresheet. Kalium Fletcher and Denis Hilaj struck with the Lonsdale goals in consolation.

DIVISION SIX

The Division Six race for the title is producing an extremely close battle and that took a different shape following the results at the weekend which saw Epping Royals go top of the table with a narrow 3-2 win against promotion rivals Valence United Reserves. Fraser McCarthy’s brace and Louie Brownlie’s single earned the points with Billy Biggs and Jo Megege scoring the Valence efforts.

Fourth placed Royal Lions C sit five points further back from the promotion group but did manage to secure a seventh league win of their own on Sunday with a 4-1 away win against Havering Palace in Newbury Park. David Onyekaba scored twice for Lions, Valentin Ghebu and Qasim Yunis scoring the others to take the points.

There was a seven goal thriller at Oaks Park High School where Zone 4 Athletic picked up a big win to move them seventh, taking the points in a 4-3 thriller against Warren United. Oliver Regan scored twice and Ziyad Zikrya once for United, Zone winning the game however through a Craig Janes brace and strikes from Iyiegbuniew Johnpaul and Michael Oladehin.

There are now three clubs locked on fourteen points from eighth downwards with London Legacy joining that group following a 3-1 away win at Ridgeway Rovers on Sunday. Two goals from Walid Benmouna and a Musa effort were enough to take home the points, Regan Marshall netting the Rovers goal in reply.

The final game from the division came from Barkingside where Ping City Phoenixes were the hosts to an Epping Forest Falcons side, the teams beginning the day with six points between them at the start. And that was how it remained by full-time with a 1-1 draw being the final scoreline, the teams taking a point each from the game.

COUNTY CUP

It was quarter-final day in the Essex Sunday Premier Cup where and three Corinthian clubs made it safely through to the semi-finals confirming it will be an all-Corinthian final this year. Barking Riverside produced perhaps the best result, being the lowest ranked side remaining, defeating Sparta Broomfield in a 2-1 scoreline.

It was that same scoreline for Flyhouse Athletic who had a tough away trip up the M11 on their hands with a visit to the much vaunted Rouge 21. Going behind to their hosts, Flyhouse scored twice in reply to take a 2-1 and send themselves through to the semi-final next month.

It was a tight affair in the other completed quarter-final where Brook Athletic were the hosts to an East Way Athletic side who they had beaten in the league last weekend. This one finished at 1-1 after extra time before Brook held their nerve in the shootout to win that 4-3.

Over in the Essex Sunday Junior Cup competition, it was semi-final day for one of our clubs with Barking & Dagenham Wanderers making a trip down to Chadwell St Mary to take on Grays Athletic. With the game locked at 1-1 after extra time, it was the hosts Grays who managed to go through on penalties putting an end to a memorable run in the competition for Wanderers.

In the Essex Sunday Junior Trophy, Colebrook Royals’ lengthy run in the competition will continue for at least another week following a third round success away at Risden Wood A on Sunday, the Chigwell based side taking a 3-2 win to set up a home clash with Mayland Village next weekend.