WEEK 8 REVIEW: Round-up of all the league and cup action from the weekend

CORINTHIAN CUP

It was a busy weekend of cup football in the Corinthian League with the usual thrills and spills associated with cup competitions. Oceana claimed the biggest scalp of the day in the Corinthian Cup as the Division One leaders took down Premier Division side Barking & Dagenham Wanderers in a 4-3 scoreline. Oliver Turner scored twice with Robert Coe and Morgan Seaman efforts sending their side through.

Senior Division side Secret had their work cut out as they travelled to Harold Hill to take on Division One’s Emerson Park with the sides combining for a seven goal thriller. The top flight side made their league position count in the end, edging the game 4-3 to send them through into the second round next month.

An all-Senior Division match up saw Baiteze Squad and FC Ballr get reacquainted once again with the sides facing up next weekend also. On this occasion it was Baiteze who got the better of the match outcome, edging the game 2-1 with the experienced Shomari Barnwell striking both goals for the hosts to see them safely through.

Another big hitter in the competition, in-form Hatch Lane, booked their place in the final sixteen of the cup with a home win against Chingford Athletic in a local derby match. Ashaan Siddik and Jermaine Francis both found their shooting boots, scoring twice each to ensure their side won 4-0 and continued their run in the competition.

It was a similar result for El Valiente who complete the clean sweep for top flight sides on the day with a home win against Barking Riverside in East Ham. Experienced pair Sam Edwards and Calvin Poku were the difference between the sides, Sam netting twice for his to carry them over the line to a 3-0 win.

There were two seven goal performances from Premier Division clubs where Flyhouse Athletic kept up their very good start to the campaign with a big away win, defeating FC Mexico A 7-0 over in Hainault. Kieran James scored a hat-trick, Gabriel Ogunwomoju struck twice with Joshua Davis and Tyrone Scarlett goals completing the rout.

And repeating that performance were fellow Premier Division title chasers, Belfry, who had a home draw in the first round and saw the visit of Avintul to Hainault. Nicolae Rusu (2) and Nicolae Turculet both got on the scoresheet for the visitors but home braces from Jamie Redington and Lee Newton, plus goals from Besmir Hoxhaj, Tom Harvey and Patrick McDonald sent them through 7-3.

TROPHYLAND CUP

In the Trophyland Cup, the shock of the day came over in Hainault where Division Four’s Romford Athletic Dons put some indifferent form in the league behind them when they faced Division Two’s Total Football. The Dons put in a strong performance to beat their lofty opponents as Scott Buckland and Tom Mitchell goals cancelled out a Nile Painter effort to go through in a 2-1 scoreline.

Division Three’s Dagenham Town also caused a shock of their own as they travelled up to Barkingside to take on Division Two’s FC Mexico B with the game ending 5-5 at full time as Alex O’Halloran netted a Mexico hat-trick while Rhys Tyrell and Seghei Scupoi all netted too. And it was the home side, FC Mexico, who held their nerve in the shootout to win it 6-5 on spot kicks.

Although in the same division, there was a small upset in the all-Division Two match up in South Ockendon which pitted East London Harriers against Korona Redbridge, Harriers winning the league fixture between the sides a few weeks back. But on this occasion it saw a Korona 4-3 victory as Milan Pajak, Waldek Szydlowski, David Pietras and Jakub Downar efforts earned them a win.

The Division Two leaders, Eastbrook United, had to come from behind in their game against Frenford. Trailing to a superb Frenford first half goal at the break, United completed the comeback in the second period with goals from Heavenly Bende, Regan Downes, Joe Walsh and Matthew Morris carrying them to a 4-1 win.

Over in Aveley, there was a hotly contested game between hosts Imperial Row and their visitors, Upshire Forest, with five points and three places separating the sides in the Division Three standings. Three goals from Daniel Roult set Forest on the way to victory while Aaron Rich netted two and Rhys Thurgood got the other to win the tie 6-1 and head into round three.

The remaining tie saw an east London derby match over at Flanders in East Ham as Blackwall Rovers were the visitors to take on Thames Ironworks Community, the former seeking to overcome a two division deficit. Danny Bird and Ben Hodgson both struck for Rovers but Thames were in fine fettle themselves in front of goal and scored five of their own for a 5-2 victory. Bradley Drisdale scored two with Tayo Felstead and Ewan Macaulay also netting.

ENDEAVOUR CUP

There were two Endeavour Cup ties over the weekend and in-form Custom House Community were in action with a home tie against Dagenham Rangers, positioned five places apart in the Division Five table. Jamie Wooster was in good form and struck a hat-trick for Custom House with goals from Matthew Guy, Jack Field and Thiago Alves completing a solid 6-1 win to head on through.

The other cup tie saw a closely fought game as Ping City Phoenixes faced up to Ivory United at Wanstead Flats, settled by the odd goal in three as Ivory fought back late on. Jamie Laws and Michael Henry both struck for Ping but Zac Riches’ effort for Ivory ensured a nervous but eventually fruitless ending for his side as Ping went through 2-1.

SENIOR DIVISION

Due to cup action elsewhere, there was just the one Senior Division match played and it was an important one for Repton Park who managed to net their first league win of the season as they defeated Alliance Stars 6-3 over in Loughton. That result saw the hosts leapfrog their opponents on goal difference, now sitting eighth in the standings.

PREMIER DIVISION

With other sides also in cup action, Brook Athletic were able to open up a three point gap at the very top of the Premier Division table as they overcame a stubborn East Stars side in Newbury Park. Brook were two up early doors as Liam Adams and then Tim Monsiju both struck to give them a lead but Stars fought back through Joshua Adu, the game eventually ending 2-1 in the leaders’ favour.

DIVISION ONE

The race for the title in Division One is certainly hotting up and Theydon Green moved to within just two points of the leaders, picking up a fifth league win of the campaign on Sunday with a 7-1 win against Barking. Ben Brookes and Daniel Hearty both scored hat-tricks with George Johnson scoring the other, rendering a Justin Lopes goal as just consolation for the Blues.

Abridge Village are now up to third also and still in contention with the other sides and they increased their own chances of a title tilt with a solid home win on Sunday as they defeated FC Galaxy 6-2 at the Village Hall. Iulian Udriste struck for the visitors but a home hat-trick from Jake Clarke plus goals from Sam McDonough, Joe Parrott and Leon Adeyemi were more than enough.

DIVISION TWO

There was just the one game in Division Two but it was s big one in the context of the title race where St Augustines moved to within two points of the leaders as they earned a narrow 1-0 home win against Roneo Colts. Kyran Allen was on target with the only goal of the game in Highams Park to confirm a fourth league win for the Saints.

DIVISION THREE

In Division Three, the game of the day saw two close rivals face each other with Leytonstone Athletic the visitors to the Jubilee Sports Ground to take on the unbeaten Higham Hill. A seven goal thriller ensured between the two teams and Hill suffered their first reverse as a Reece Simpson hat-trick gave Athletic a 4-3 victory, despite Hill goals from Chris Hambris, Zachery Leitch and Corey Stewart.

Alpha’s prolific goal scoring form continued on Sunday with an emphatic 13-2 win against Mayfield Kings over in Hainault. Troy Jules scored seven of those goals, there were braces from Tafari Miller and Miles Whittingham with Anthony Joseph and Nicholas Muir rounding off the action to see them move up to third in the standings.

DIVISION FOUR

Leaders Ainslie have gone seven points clear at the top of the table in Division Four with another typically hard fought victory as they overcome Ace Athletics at the weekend at Wadham Lodge. Jack Gillett was the scorer of the only goal in the game, proving to be the moment that separated the teams as Ainslie won 1-0 and put another cleansheet on the board for their club.

Singh Sabha Barking are sitting second in the table and, with games in hand, could yet apply pressure to the leaders as they came from behind to take a crucial win at home on Sunday against Hillside. Thomas Davis netted an early penalty but goals from Dilan Thandi and Josh Birdi in the second half turned the game on it’s head to hand Barking a 2-1 victory.

Sitting sixth in the table are Chingford Athletic Reserves who won a classic on Sunday as they took down previously second placed United Amateurs, defeating the title hopefuls 5-4 over at Town Mead. Luke Campbell’s brace plus singles from Robert Kirk, Jeff Coby and Pep Schiorlin did the damage, overcoming United goals from Deividas Sertvietis, Billy Biggs, Jack Chawner and Luke Howell in a 5-4 scoreline.

The highest scoring game in the division came from Hainault on Sunday where Raphael Park Rovers were the visitors to the Rec to take on Lonsdale, both sides well renowned for being involved in goal-filled contests. And so it proved as a five goal performance from Rovers’ Charlie Moore, two from Oliver Dosad and one each for Jake Li and Jake Crump confirmed a 10-3 win, Kalium Fletcher scoring a hat-trick himself in reply for Lonsdale.

DIVISION FIVE

Matters are the top of the Division Five table remain well poised and as you were going into the weekend with Belfry Reserves staying top as they confirmed a sixth league win of the season on Sunday, defeating Ultimate Vision A in a 3-1 scoreline. Alex Robinson was the hero, scoring all three of the Belfry goals to give them another victory.

Valence United remain well in the hunt themselves and are position three points adrift with a game in hand, aided by their most recent success, taking all three points back to Dagenham after a narrow win away at Byron Red Star. Ryan O’Connell struck for Star but his efforts were in vain as Burt Cardy and James Cook efforts confirmed a 2-1 win.

The third side with an almost identical record is Colebrook Royals Vets and they sit third on goal difference following a successful weekend, completing a 6-2 win in Barkingside against Young Royals. Brace performances from Thomas Sellers and Ben Sitki set them on their way with Ben Porter and Michael Farley also finding the onion sack on their way to three points.

Eastern Avenue moved themselves onto the cusp of the top half, trailing the side above by just goal difference after making a successful trip to Athletico City on Sunday with the sides battling it out in Newbury Park. Avenue came away 2-1 victors as Miguel Conceicao’s sparkling performance earned him a goal, alongside substitute Boamah Kwakye who grabbed the other.

Over on Hainault Rec, Royal Lions B were the hosts to United Borough with the sides separated by just three points going into the fixture on Sunday. And the theme of three continued with the teams sharing the spoils in an eventual 3-3 draw as Ryan Rodwell scored twice and Luke Suchley once for Borough, maintaining a three point gap between the teams.

DIVISION SIX

In Division Six, the lead at the top remains at five points after wins for all of the leading sides. Mansfield Rangers were victorious in their home game against London Legacy, running out 4-1 winners with Billy Happe extending his scoring record with two goals, Jay Kanber and Jake Magson netting the others. Legacy manager and keeper, Zakariya Benammor, grabbed the consolation goal from the spot for his side.

The division’s other unbeaten side, Royal Lions C, kept up their promotion push with an emphatic win against Epping Royals at the Rec. Lions were 9-2 winners to record a fourth league win to go with their two draws, with a game in hand on the leaders too.

Third placed Valence United Reserves are ready to pounce if any of the sides above slip up and they kept their push for promotion on course with a 5-1 home win at the weekend, seeing off the efforts of Epping Forest Falcons in Dagenham. Keenan Mitchell scored a hat-trick and Kamal Mahoney grabbed the other to help their side to three points.

The division’s final game was a thriller with Woodford Green United the visitors to take on a high flying Colebrook Royals Reserves side over in Debden. Phorell Brooke, Harley Stevens and Oscar Simmons all netted for the Royals but Green were in good form themselves to edge the game 4-3, picking up a first league win of the season in the process.

COUNTY CUP

There were plenty of goals in the London Sunday Challenge Trophy where AC Milano made safe passage into the third round of the competition, seeing off Hatcham down in south London, winning the game 4-2 to set up another away day trip down to Crayford Athletic next month.

Asianos were also in second round action and saw the visit of Enfield United to Walthamstow in an entertaining game, the hosts leading the game three times only for United to level and take the game to spot kicks. Enfield held their nerve to win 9-8 from the spot to progress on.

It was a trip to west London for Roose who headed to Osterley on Sunday to face Indian Gymkhana for a place in round three. Unfortunately it wasn’t as fruitful a trip as Roose would have hoped for, defeated 5-2 on the day to exit the competitions and keep their focus on league competitions.