WEEK 30 REVIEW: Round-up of Sunday's league and cup football action

Division One Cup

The cup final line-up for next Sunday’s Division One Cup Final is now complete with the final now set to feature two clubs taking part in their very first cup finals of their history. Barking & Dagenham Wanderers played host to Park Tavern in their victory on Sunday as goals from Robert Eden, Daniel John-Baptiste and Ashton Lord overcame a David Hornsby effort to record a 4-2 to and book their place at Thurrock where they will face East London Old Boys.

Division Four Cup

Also completing a cup final line-up was the Division Four Cup semi-final which saw Oak Royals taking on Central Colts seeking to halt the progress of their in-form opponents in Newbury Park. In an entertaining match in which Royals had pulled back the score to 3-3, two late goals saw Colts through to their second final of the season in a 5-3 victory. Tunde Olagunju scored a hat-trick with Ben Hodgson and Shannon Nyabunze also on target to render Oak goals from Bill Gregory, Ryan Mitchell and Max Harris as just consolation.

Division One

The destination of the Division One title is still very much up in the air following this weekend’s top of the table clash that saw FC Mexico travel to East London Old Boys. Adam Roberts got himself on the scoresheet for the visitors but strikes from Reece Morgan, Bekim Dushku and Jack Stevenson were enough to secure a 3-1 win for the Old Boys to place them in the driving seat once more.

The day’s other match action saw Korona Redbridge take on Waltham Athletic in Walthamstow with the latter knowing that victory was essential to stand any chance of finishing outside of the bottom two places. But a goal apiece for Lukasz Dywanski and Dawid Pietras secured a win for Korona to send Waltham down and all but secure their own place in the division for next season.

Division Two

In Division Two, Chingford Athletic have gone top of the table in a tight division as the cup finalists put Barca to the sword in a 6-3 victory in Hainault. Michael Mignot scored four goals with Alex Foss and Michael Johnson also scoring to give them a two point lead at the top, albeit with the chasing sides having numerous games in hand still.

In the crucial battle at the other end of the table, Masterman were taking on Dagenham United in a real relegation six-pointer with the hosts very much in need of points to keep up their recent charge. All of the scoring was done in the first half with United notching twice through Lee Huckle and Thomas Mason with just a Robert Lyons effort to show for the hosts’ efforts in a 2-1 Dagenham win.

The day’s remaining football action saw another key result for a club at the wrong end of the table as London Fire Brigade made the short trip to Barkingside to take on St Augustines with the side knowing that a win was crucial in the fight to avoid the drop. With the Saints still in with a chance of a promotion place, a 2-1 Brigade win proved to be a bit of a shock as James Pringle and Yomi Popoola goals overcame a Sam Prendergast effort to win it.

Division Three

In Division Three, a real top of the table clash saw Ridgeway Rovers complete their penultimate league fixture of the season as they saw the visit of FC United of Hornchurch to Walthamstow in a hugely important match for both clubs. Hornchurch goals from Ben Walker and Shaun Allen proved to be enough to help their side to a 3-1 win that moves them up to second with three games to play with any one of four clubs still in with a shout of the title.

Division Four

The game of the day in Division Four saw Thames Ironworks Community taking on Emerson Park Under 21s with both sides still in with a shout of challenging Central Colts for the title, although realistically more of a battle for the second promotion place. In a tightly contested match between two quality sides, a Jake Noble goal for Park was not quite enough as Theo Towli and Liam Tracey-Cesay both netted for Thames to secure top spot and a 2-1 win.

The day’s remaining league action took place in Chadwell Heath where Grey Area were up against a resurgent Newham Athletic side who had been stringing together some excellent performances in recent weeks. This came to an abrupt halt however as braces from Connor Frost and Moyo Oba plus goals from Harry Norfolk and Jack Richardson saw Grey Area record a thumping 6-1 win to move sixth with three games to play.

Charity Cup

In the West Essex Sunday Charity Cup, Leyton Celtic are through to the semi-finals of the competition as they pulled off a huge shock result, seeing off Premier Division side Romford Elite in a penalty shootout victory on Sunday. With the game level at 1-1 at full time, a 4-2 win in the shootout saw Division One’s Celtic through to face holders Eva Hart in the semi final in a fortnight’s time.

The cup final line-up for the West Essex Sunday Charity Trophy was completed on Sunday as Flyhouse Athletic and Goresbrook met once again this season with the sides aiming to take the second cup final place against New Fairlop in May. In another tight contest between these well matched sides it was Division Three’s Goresbrook who put paid to Flyhouse’s run to another final, seeing them off by the odd goal in five in a 3-2 win.