WEEK 28 REVIEW: League titles confirmed for Dagenham United and Newham Athletic

CORINTHIAN CUP

The first Corinthian Cup finalist was confirmed on Sunday as Repton Park and El Valiente met in sun-soaked Loughton with the sides just ninety minutes away from a place at Dagenham & Redbridge. Jack Taylor, Sam Edwards, Kane Malone and Aaron Marston were all on target for El Valiente but Repton responded with a four-goal haul from Jayden Ambrose and single efforts from Stanley Dady, George Johnson, Ross Fraser and Joe McEvoy to win it 8-4. Repton will take on either Warren United or Chingford Athletic in the showpiece final on 5^th May.

DIVISION TWO CUP

The first half of the Division Two Cup Final line-up was also completed on Sunday as Walthamstow Avenue travelled to Mayesbrook Park to face Barking for a place in the final at Aveley in April. A goal in each half for Barking saw Michael O’Brien net from the penalty spot then a late Bradley Marston goal earned Barking a hard-fought 2-0 win. They will now face either Goresbrook or Royal Albert in the final.

PREMIER DIVISION

In the day’s Premier Division action, Warren United completed their league campaign with a big win away at Brook Athletic as the reigning champions earned a 6-1 victory. Daniel Bell scored three of their goals with a George Cranfield brace and a Harry Agombalor effort seeing them over the line and cancelling out a Harry Beveridge goal for Brook. That result saw Warren complete a fourth placed finish this season.

Ultimate Vision’s positive late season form has continued at the weekend as they faced Barking & Dagenham Wanderers in Chadwell Heath in a real six-pointer as both sides attempt to avoid the dreaded drop. A brace of goals from Ryan Chapman for Vision saw his team edge a close game by the odd goal, winning 2-1 to see them up a couple of places to sixth.

Another side who picked up a vital league point was FC Mexico as they took their points tally to fourteen for the season with a draw in their clash away at Flanders in East Ham. Adam Roberts grabbed the goal for the Mexicans but the cup finalists, Flanders, also netted once to see the sides share the spoils in an eventual 1-1 draw.

DIVISION ONE

The sole game in Division One saw SL Menfica move to the brink of a second league title in three seasons as they entertained Wanstead Albion in Aveley. Charlie Fink scored for Albion but David Hornsby scored twice in reply with Kristopher Brown, George Boffa and William Sheehan also finding the back of the net in a 5-1 scoreline. One more win could now be enough for Menfica providing they avoid heavy defeats in their remaining matches.

DIVISION TWO

The Division Two action centred around Dagenham United’s attempts to secure the league title for a second successive season as they faced Lonsdale. They had to do things the hard way, trailing to an Arjan Gjergji goal at the break. But leading marksman, Sean Thomas, came off the bench to score with Thomas Carter also netting, seeing the Daggers to a 2-1 win. That victory was enough to see them over the line and secure a well deserved league title in the process. Congratulations to all of the players and officials at Dagenham for another terrific season!

The other action from Division Two saw Ferns Seniors move up to third place in the table as they faced London Fire Brigade down in Chadwell Heath. David Moore was on target once again for Fire but Ferns warmed up nicely for their upcoming quarter final with a big win. Liam Coney scored a hat-trick, Tyler Rothon notched a brace and Samuel Oakley got the sixth to round off a 6-1 win.

DIVISION THREE

Thames Ironworks Community’s hopes of chasing down Central Colts for the league title will carry on for another couple of weeks at least as the east London side cruised to a comfortable 7-1 victory away at Ping City Phoenixes. Wyane Gittens scored two of the goals with Charlie Kerr, Ewan Macauley, Billy Scott, Paul Scanlan and Jeffrey Nketia also hitting the net in the win.

Hornchurch Oakmont have moved up to fourth place in the standings following seventh league win this season, defeating Dagenham United Reserves 9-2 at Castle Green. Jay Simmons scored twice for the Daggers but Thomas Gibson’s four goal haul plus a Lewis Minton hat-trick done the majority of the damage in reply, adding to Ellis Marsh and Jake Young efforts.

Staying in the race for a top half finish this season are Roneo Colts who moved up a place to sixth following victory at home against Masterman at Robert Clack. Derek Hawtin scored a hat-trick for the Colts with Chris Pope’s goal rounding off a big 4-0 win for the hosts, this being their sixth win of the season thus far with two games to go.

DIVISION FOUR

In Division Four, we start out round-up from Beckton where Newham Athletic bounced back from the disappointment of Friday night’s cup final defeat to record the point they needed to take the league title. Christopher Baptiste scored the side’s crucial goal as they drew 1-1 at home against Monkhams to finish the job. Big congratulations to all involved with Newham Athletic who have transformed their side in the space of twelve months.

The promotion race continues to hot up and is far from resolved with four sides in the hunt for a top two finish this year still. East Ham Inter are the side in pole position with the points on the board, aided by a big 6-1 win away at Epping Forest Falcons on Sunday. Joshua Gonsalves scored twice with Nicolae Apostol, Harinder Sanghera, Shivnash Shakti and Kasey Singh all netting.

The other side who are well in the frame still are the recent cup winners, Asianos Reserves, but they saw their credentials take a blow in their home fixture against Oak Royals. Oak came from 3-1 behind at half time with a Mitchell Drewe double and a Daniel Gotobed goal rescuing a point in a 3-3 draw, taking home a share of the points for the eighth placed outfit.

CHARITY CUP

As games of football go, you’d have to a long way to beat the West Essex Sunday Charity Trophy semi final on Sunday as Royal Albert continued their quest for a cup treble this season, facing up to Alpha. There were the small matter of eight goals shared after ninety minutes before both sides scored a fifth each in extra-time. That saw the tie go to a shootout with Albert holding their nerve to win it 4-2. They will now take on either Goresbrook or Walthamstow Avenue in the final in May.