WEEK 3 REVIEW: Round-up of all the Corinthian League action from the weekend

SENIOR DIVISION

Manford Way are setting the early pace at the top of the Senior Division as they made it two wins from two on Sunday, following up their win against FC Ballr with a home success against Secret. Nganda Cedric scored twice for Manford with Richard Kone and Garjay Thompson netting the others in a 4-2 success. Warren Kayembe and Nickal Luzolo struck the Secret goals in reply.

Last season’s league treble winners, Hatch Lane, are back underway with a win under their belts as they produced a terrific victory to beat United Dian 6-0. Ryan Ramsay came off the bench to score twice, coupled with an Amaree Robinson-Jones brace and strikes from Ashley Wackers-Kyricou and Billy Golledge.

Also off the mark with three points are Baiteze Squad who saw the visit of their cup final opponents on Sunday, Brook Athletic the visitors to Chigwell School. A similarly competitive game saw Squad edge the contest 3-2 with two Toby Coker goals and a Shomari Barnwell effort overcoming Brook goals from Reece Simpson and Samir Bihmoutine.

League new boys, London All Stars, are sitting second in the standings after their first round of games after overcoming FC Ballr in Dagenham in a 7-1 scoreline. Daniel Brock scored the Ballr goal as they continue to search for their first points of the campaign while All Stars will strive to build on their opening success.

There was a cracking seven goal thriller over in Leyton where East Way Athletic came through by the odd goal in their fixture against El Valiente. Nathan Wilson scored a hat-trick for the visitors but that wasn’t quite enough to earn the win as East scored four of their own to secure all three points on the day.

The final game came from Newbury Park where promoted Flyhouse Athletic were up against new side FLY with both looking to start their seasons in a positive fashion. Flyhouse were ahead very early on in the game and didn’t relent, eventually coming through in a 6-0 win to sit third in the table as we approach the end of the first month.

DIVISION ONE

The early leaders are Critics in Division One who followed up their opening day draw with a win this time around as they defeated Repton Park in a 7-2 scoreline in Loughton. Dylan Florence and Afolabi Obafemi were the men in the goals with a hat-trick each, accompanied by Marc Porter-Brown’s effort too. Jayden Ambrose struck both Repton goals in reply.

Sitting second after their first outing of the new season, returning Gants Hill started their new season with a bang, defeating promoted St Augustines 8-0 in East Ham to make a stunning start to the season. That win means they sit just a point off the pace with a game in hand on the leaders so far, of course with a large part of the season still to go.

Just behind the two leaders on goal difference alone are Roose who got three points on the board early with their first win of the season against Benchviews. Amazigh Laoudi scored the first competitive goal for the hosts but two goals from Charlie Hawes and Joe McDermott and one apiece from Calli Barnard and James Runham carried the visitors to a 6-1 win.

Barking Riverside are sitting fourth, just behind a point off the pace following their first match of the season which saw them victorious against FIFE in Hainault. Ryan Gardiner scored two of the goals with Aaron Matthews and Terence De Souza efforts ensuring their side confirmed a 4-0 win in their opening performance.

There were wins for two further promoted sides as Oceana opened their season in the second tier with a good win at home to Royal Lions A in Hainault. A goal each from Joseph Belcher and Charlie Fry were the difference in the two sides as they recorded an opening 2-0 win for the new season.

A similar scoreline was recorded by Theydon Green as their Loughton derby fixture saw them come away with all three points in a 3-1 win against Total Football at Roding Valley. Carl Parsons scored for Total but his efforts were in vain as Sam May-Parrott, Harry Carter and Noah Friend all found the back of the net to give Green a winning start.

DIVISION TWO

Two teams are locked at the top of the Division Two table with just goal difference between them after Barking & Dagenham Wanderers recorded their second win in two on Sunday with two strikes from Dwayne Francis-Riley and a Deji Akinyemi goal seeing them over the line against Leytonstone Athletic, despite two Bruno Dos Santos strikes from the visitors.

The other side sitting in the top two are Newbury Forest who made it two wins from two themselves with a hard fought 1-0 win against Barking in Hainault. Just the one goal, scored by Abidemi Lamina, was enough to win the game although a late missed Barking penalty could have changed the outcome.

Sitting unbeaten, AC Milano added a win to their opening draw with a 7-1 success against Inside Success on Sunday at Oakside. Tayyab Akhtar was in fine scoring form with a four goal haul, Mohamed Kidia scoring two and Bilal Hussain one to run out comfortable winners and move to third in the table. Halameen Agbaje struck the Success goal in reply.

There were some high scoring games in the division, starting with two of the promoted sides as Higham Hill came through a nine goal thriller against Debden Sports Reserves to take all three points in their opening outing of the year. Billy Barr, Callum Thomas, Will Osmond and Antonio Vullo were both on target for Debden but those were not quite enough.

It was similarly the case for Cloud 9 who went into their second game looking for successive wins but found themselves edged out in a 3-2 scoreline by Abridge Village. Louie Baker and Ross Cosson goals got them in the game but proved just not quite enough as Abridge picked up an opening win of the new campaign.

DIVISION THREE

There were hard fought wins for both of the sides sitting at the top of the Division Three table where Singh Sabha Barking ensured they stayed top of the pile with a single goal victory against one of their rivals from last season, Ainslie. Ryan Dubb’s only goal of the game proved enough in the end as SS returned home with a 1-0 win under their belts.

It was a similar story for United Amateurs who followed up their opening day success with another win, this team coming out on top by the odd goal against Valence United in a 2-1 scoreline. Rowan Newland struck his customary goal for Valence but United goals from Amadu Jalloh and Bradley Bennett proved just enough to win again and sit second on goal difference.

Alpha are sitting third after two games as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Korona Redbridge on Sunday, both sides unbeaten so far this season. Stefan Willis’ goal for the visitors was equalled by a Dawid Smolarek strike as both sides had to settle for a share of the points on the day.

It was a winning start following promotion for Colebrook Royals Vets who faced the short trip to Town Mead on Sunday to take on Upshire Forest in the Epping Forest derby. Riley Bowers and Daniel Roult both scored for Upshire but those goals were not quite enough as Royals won the game 4-2 to move fourth after their first game.

Over in Barkingside, FC Mexico B were the hosts to an Ultimate Vision side who both went into the game searching for their first points of the season. It was “Ultimately” the visitors who went away the happier of the sides as goals from Reece Kelly, Ricky Rose and Phil Roberts won them the game 3-1 to open their account.

DIVISION FOUR

There are four sides battling away at the top of the Division Four table after two completed rounds of games with Warren Senior adding win number two to their record following a 5-1 win against Prospect Protégé. Anthony Cooke scored a hat-trick, Harry Da Costa and Scott McGlynn the other scorers to render Loui Grech’s goal as just consolation for the debutants.

Belfry have made a good start and are one of the sides with maximum points so far following an 11-0 success at home against Chingford Athletic. Jamie Redington rolled back the years with a five goal performance, with some of the newer recruits also netting with Nathan Casey (2), Ryan O’Connell (2), Jordan Riches and Alex Robinson also on the scoresheet.

Romford Athletic Dons were also in the goals as they overcame a Brymans Park fightback to win their game 8-3. Despite being behind in the first half, Brymans fought back to just 4-3 behind through goals from Daniel Munroe, Shane Taylor and Matthew Newman. But it was Dons who came out on the winning side with late goals taking them to three more points.

It’s been a good start for City Site too who edged a close game in their first outing and this weekend, saw off the efforts of Eastern Avenue in a 4-1 success. City goals from Robert Garvan, Frederick Mattock, Luke Maydell and Ben Vainola off the bench were enough to earn their side a second win in succession as they sit fourth.

Two close draws round off the division action, starting over in Barkingside where Ace Athletics and United Borough both put their first points on the board for this season with a 1-1 draw. Louis Vallis scored for Ace with Callum Gater netting for Borough as the two teams had to settle for a share of the spoils in the end.

Over in Debden, Byron Red Star were the visitors to IG10 to take on hosts Horse & Well with both sides keen to open their points account for the new season. A close game saw the match end level at 2-2 with Chris Marsh and Daryl Noble efforts for the hosts but a goal from Adrian John in reply helped Red Star end the game level to take a point.

DIVISION FIVE

In Division Five, it’s two newly promoted sides who sit top after the opening games with Colebrook Royals Reserves top on goal difference after a terrific 4-1 win at home against Debden Sports A in a local derby. Phorell Brooke scored a hat-trick to do most of the damage, Kamran Latif netting the other for Royals while Enis Demirbala struck back in reply for Sports.

It’s two from two for Mansfield Rangers, last season’s Division Six champions making a positive start once again, this time sending Ultimate Vision Reserves to their first defeat, winning 3-1 in Dagenham to secure the points. Max Brett scored for Vision but two Billy Happe goals off the bench for Rangers plus a Jake Magson effort carried their side to the win.

Titans United have made a winning start on their return to action this season, winning their Dagenham derby fixture against Lonsdale to sit fourth after one fixture. Charlie Foran, Tommy Edwards and Ricky Phillips were the scorers for United to hand them a 3-1 success, overcoming a Kalium Fletcher goal from the hosts at Castle Green.

Dagenham Rangers are up into the top half as they bounced back from an opening day defeat to put a win on the board early doors, edging past Mayfield Kings in Hainault in a 2-1 scoreline. James Scotcher and Jack Field found the onion bag for Rangers, Trevor Alexander’s goal in reply from Mayfield not quite enough to force a point on the day.

DIVISION SIX

Three sides sit top with a perfect record so far in Division Six, headed up by Valence United Reserves who made it two wins from two on Sunday with a 3-1 win away at London Legacy. Krystus Coleman, Billy Biggs and Keenan Mitchell were all on target with Mohamed Noor netting the Legacy consolation effort as his side move to sixth.

Epping Forest Falcons have recruited well this year and are another side with a perfect record to date, the Woodford based side sitting second after two games following their second win, this time a 4-1 success against Zone 4 Athletic. Jake Sweetman scored for Zone but Falcons goals from Soma Sundhu, Elliott Taylor-Wheeler, Sameer Hussain and Emmanuel Addo sent the points home with their side.

It's a similar story for Young Royals who have made a very good start themselves and, after their opening day success, added another win to that record with a terrific 4-2 home success against cup holders, Royal Lions C. Giovanni Asiedu and Valentin Ghebu both netted for Lions but those efforts proved in vain as Royals took victory.

Ridgeway Rovers are off the mark with their first points in the league as they moved up to fourth on the back of a 4-0 home win on Sunday against Ping City Phoenixes. Ryan Vallance scored twice for Rovers, Sanchez Bolessa and Regan Marshall notching the others in a solid performance that secured the three points.

And another side to put a first win on the board following an opening day defeat was Havering Palace who saw the visit of Warren United to Newbury Park and edged past their opponents in a 2-1 scoreline. Oliver Regan struck for the United goal but the experienced Ian Sawyer’s goal helped Palace record a first league win.