WEEK 4 REVIEW: Round-up of Sunday's league and cup action

CORINTHIAN CUP

The first cup action of the new season commenced on Sunday with the three flagship competitions and, as expected, there were no shortage of giant-killings. Brook Athletic pulled off perhaps the biggest of those with a 4-1 victory away at Baiteze, overcoming a division deficit. Tom Canham scored twice with one apiece from Brandon Martin and Samir Lee rendering Samuel Jeremiah’s strike as just a consolation at Oakside.

Another top flight side who succumbed to second tier opposition were Flanders who were part of a quite incredible eleven goal thriller away at Barking Riverside at Castle Green. Jeff Nguede’s double, singles from Khadean Campbell, Reece Simpson and Nasser Ishanzaden you would have thought would be enough for Flanders but Leithan Brimah scored twice for Barking plus further efforts from Dami Edun, Anasalem Obi, Stephen Osho and Hamid Ibrahim completing a stunning 6-5 win for their side.

Hornchurch Oakmont also joined the giant-killing club as the Division One outfit put in a super performance to take down Premier Division Ultimate Vision in the day’s late game in Dagenham. Oak were 3-nil up in no time and ended 6-0 victors in blustery conditions with Tom Gibson netting four, finished off by George Terry and Lewis Minton efforts.

There were a couple of near misses also as El Valiente eventually saw off the efforts of the lower placed Asianos in a game which went all the way to penalties after the game had finished at 3-3. Kane Malone netted two and Billy Hickford one for the hosts but goals from Zubair Haleem, Masum Hussain and Naeem Monsur levelled it up. Valiente held their nerve from the spot to run out 4-3 shootout victors.

Division One’s Abridge Village put their decent start to the season to the test as they were up against Premier Division Barking & Dagenham Wanderers on Sunday. Having fallen 2-2 down, Wanderers eventually made their division advantage count with Joshua Renwick-Smith, Reece Povey, Daniel John-Baptiste and Godfrey Kambaza all netting to send their side through.

There was a big win for Secret who overcame any potential banana skin as Panda were the visitors to Newbury Park on Sunday for their tie. Aaron Blair continued his form in front of goal with a brace and strikes from Isaac Amoah, Eamon Payne and Aundre Spencer completed a big 5-0 victory.

Also safely through into the hat for the second round are Barking who came through a battle between two third tier sides with a victory away at Korona Redbridge in Barkingside. A two goal performance from Kastriot Vata added to an Aaron King goal to round off a solid 3-0 victory for the visitors.

Hatch Lane also booked their place in the last sixteen of the competition on their debut in the cup after they overcame an out of form Goresbrook side in Walthamstow. Ricky Cripps got on the visitor scoresheet for their goal but one each for Kazim Bishop, Lee Harding, Lucio Vare and Jermaine Francis put the Senior Division side through in a 4-1 win.

Completing the action from this competition over the weekend, AC Milano had to overcome the efforts of Wanstead Albion at West Ham Park after the visitors fought back in the second half through an Aidan Bailey cool finish and Lare Ogunleye’s strike but Milano held on to earn a 3-2 win and book their place in the next round.

TROPHYLAND CUP

There was no shortage of cup shocks in the Trophyland Cup competition on Sunday as Division Four’s Leytonstone Athletic made their debut with a victory against Division Two’s St Augustines. There was just a single goal in a close game which went the way of Athletic’s George Burton to see his side through to round two in a 1-0 scoreline.

It was also a memorable morning for Alpha who also overcame higher league opposition with a victory at home to FC Mexico A at the Flats. Brandon Dillon was the main difference between the sides with a two goal performance, adding to a Kai Brown strike to see them through as 2-0 winners.

On an adjacent pitch, Division Four side Eastern Avenue also kept themselves in the cup with a spirited performance against Division Three’s Jaffna in a game which finished level at 1-1, Deluxchan Thursiyanthan netting for the visitors. In the shootout, Avenue held their nerve to take a 6-5 win and confirm their place in the hat.

Division Four sides provided another shock as a highly regarded Theydon Green side came through a tough first round assignment with a trip to top of Division Three side, Roneo Colts. Bryan Paredes continued a rich vein of form in front of goal for Colts but Noah Friend, Ben Harris, George Johnson and Joseph Jessop goals finished off a 4-1 win in Green’s favour.

There was a real thriller in Theydon Bois where Cobra were the visitors to face a side placed two divisions above them as they took on Theydon. They certainly didn’t look out of place as they played their part in a twelve-goal contest, Jordan Riches scoring twice and one each coming from Nathan Casey and Bradley Johnson. But Theydon also had their shooting boots on and scored seven of their own to run out 7-5 victors.

Romford Athletic Dons also played their part in another near-miss as the Division Four side played host to Division Two’s West Essex in Hainault, the game seeing seven goals shared between those teams. West made their advantage count eventually with George Fairhead and Josh Flood efforts overcoming a Casey Black brace and Scott Buckland’s strike in a 4-3 win for West.

Chigwell United are safely through to the last sixteen of the competition as they put their league form out of their minds to record a solid 3-1 win at home against Eastbrook United. Rhys Edwards, Bobby Wise and Matthew Curtis all got on the United scoresheet to render Callum Harris’ Eastbrook goal as just a consolation in the end.

In a five goal contest, Emerson Park made their way into the hat for round two as they edged past the efforts of an in-form FC Mexico B side in their Hornchurch derby clash, in Brentwood! Park were 3-2 winners to end the day the happier of the sides and progress on to the last sixteen.

Completing the action in the first round from Sunday, Total Football and Chingford Athletic Reserves met in Loughton as the two Division Four sides battled it out for a place in the next round. Chris Atkinson done the majority of the damage with a rare hat-trick, Jonathan Bluff completing the scoring to mean that Jamal Glick’s goal in reply was just consolation for Athletic in an eventual 4-1 scoreline.

ENDEAVOUR CUP

The inaugural Endeavour Cup competition went with form in the first round action on Sunday with the Division Five sides all safely through in their ties. Custom House Community continued their good start with a 5-1 win away at Thames Ironworks Community Reserves in the Newham derby. Jack Field (2), Andrew Blankson, Thiago Silva and Jamie Wooster all found the back of the net with Jaedon Banya’s responding with Thames’ effort.

It’s been a good couple of weeks for Colebrook Royals Vets who made it two wins on the spin as they dispatched Woodford Green United from this competition at the opening stage. Ben Sitki and Steve Summers both scored twice with Joe Richardson and Terry Ellis efforts completing a 6-1 win as Sam Garnett-Sinclair netted for Green.

Also into the hat for the second round are Tekkers Vets who also returned home victorious with a 5-1 away win in Walthamstow against Mansfield Rangers. Jay Kanber netted for Rangers but braces from Hamden Rasheed and Jenssen Clifford paved the way for a Tekkers win, Ricardo Khan’s goal completing the victory.

Dagenham Rangers also continued their positive recent form with an emphatic win in Newbury Park as they eased past Athletico City, City making their debut in the league. Rangers were 7-0 victors as they ended the day the happier of the sides and booked a place in the last sixteen.

SENIOR DIVISION

With lots of sides in cup action, London Mavericks took full advantage of that to go third in the Senior Division standings as they edged past East Way Athletic in a close game in Newbury Park. They were 2-1 winners on the day to make it two wins from two and sit just a point off the pace so far.

It was also a great morning for the boys at KLIK who picked up their first win in the top flight and move up to fifth place as they ended 4-1 winners against Repton Park. Garry Shea, Danny Brown, Sean Thomas and Thomas Carter all got on the hosts scoresheet to carry them to maximum points.

PREMIER DIVISION

FC Ballr moved top of the pile in the Premier Division after a stunning 8-0 win on Sunday away at Chingford Athletic in Waltham Abbey. Connor Beck and Ayodele Awosika both netted twice with Daniel Brock, Alfred Mills and Remy Mathurin goals completing this terrific win that keeps them unbeaten in the process.

The day’s other game at this level finished all square as Central Colts took on Kulture Klub in Walthamstow, the latter looking to preserve an unbeaten start. Both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils as the game ended 2-2, Zane Sobers and Liam Adams both on the scoresheet for Klub to keep them third.

DIVISION ONE

There were goals galore in Barkingside where Valentine United were the hosts to Gants Hill who made their debut in the competition, holding off a United fightback to secure a 6-4 win. Tyrone Scarlett scored twice plus one each from Jake Fenton and Chris Jennings accounted for the hosts total but proved not quite enough in the end.

Just a bit further along Forest Road, Roose were up against Oceana in the Fairlop Oak derby as the two in-form sides went head-to-head in search for points. In the end, they had to settle for a point apiece in a 1-1 draw with Uros Vakanjac netting for Roose and Jamie Hart scoring for Oceana.

DIVISION THREE

There was just the one game in Division Three due to cup commitments and that came from the Flats where Blackwall Rovers made their way into a 2-0 lead against Ainslie through goals from Perry Loomes and Callum Jeannevol. But Ainslie mounted a fightback and turned things around as Kailem Gayle scored twice and Albert Gardner once to secure a 3-2 win, their second league victory.

DIVISION FOUR

Upshire Forest remain top of the Division Four standings after month one of the season and they will have been pleased with their efforts as they overcame United Amateurs on Sunday in a 4-0 scoreline. Luke Robinson scored three and Callum Gater one as the Waltham Abbey side secured maximum points once again.

It was also a good morning’s work for Titans United who picked up a first league win of the new campaign with a hard fought 3-2 home win over Young Royals in Dagenham. Mathuran Sritharan and Kavinthan Sebarajah both got on the Royals scoresheet but their efforts proved in vain in the end as United scored three goals of their own.

DIVISION FIVE

Performance of the day in Division Five must surely go to Royal Lions who netted eleven without reply in their match against Fairlop Rovers to secure a first league win. Olatunja Oshodi-Glover scored a hat-trick accompanying Lekan Ejiwunmi, Reuben Popoola, Andres Andrade, Randy Adele, Charlie Burns, Darren Smith-Wellington, Emmanuel Ejembi and Nika Koridze onto a rather long 11-0 scoresheet.

Valence United have moved top of the Division Five table on the back of their latest victory as they returned home with a 4-1 victory under their belts from their fixture with previously unbeaten Ping City Phoenixes. Charlie Prevost scored for Ping but two Rowan Newland goals and further efforts from Abubakar Garba and Keenan Mitchell gave United the points.

There was a five goal thriller in Woodford where Stow Rovers took on Singh Sabha Barking with the visitors looking to preserve an unbeaten start. But that run came to an end as two Rovers goals from Ben Rimmer plus a Jack Hall goal overcame Barking goals from Oluwaseun Okeniyi and Jordan Hamilton, 3-2 the final scoreline.

DIVISION SIX

The new leaders in Division Six are Barking Reserves who took advantage of sides around them being out of action to go top on goal difference, beating Royal Lions Reserves 5-0 at Mayesbrook Park. Alfie Bellotti had a productive morning with all five goals for his side to help them take the points.

Sitting third are Byron Red Star who made it two wins and a draw from four so far with a 2-0 away win at Epping Royals. Gabriel Adeshina and Richard Oduwole both netted for Byron to make them the happier of the two sides on the day as they return home to Havering with maximum points.

WEST ESSEX SUNDAY CHARITY TROPHY

The weekend’s action was completed with a quarter final from last season’s West Essex Sunday Charity Trophy where Lonsdale were the hosts to a Thames Ironworks Community side. The sides were locked at 2-2 before Thames won in with a late goal to take their place in the semi finals.