Saturday 23 March 2024

Romford 2 Coggeshall Town 0 - Sam Deering & Michael Bakere net in final twenty minutes as hosts battle to a hard fought win over bottom side Coggeshall Town at Rookery Hill

Essex Senior League, Saturday 23rd March

A change of plans for the weekend meant I was now able to attend a game on Non League Day, so I decided to jump in the Essex Senior League life president's car, Robert Errington, and join him and my good friend Scott W for a trip to Rookery Hill, Corringham, and for me at least see Romford there for the first time since they made it their home earlier this season.

They were up against bottom side Coggeshall Town, and this was one of several games that were taking place in the ESL this weekend, more on those later after I have spoken about and let you know what happened in the game I attended at Rookery Hill, every point counts now as the season enters it's latter stages.

That was most certainly the case for today's game too, Romford began the day in third spot and only behind second placed Woodford Town on goal difference and nine points behind leaders Tilbury, this with eight games remaining, so in theory the rest are just trying to secure a play off spot behind champions elect Tilbury, but, you just never know what might happen as pressure does funny things to some.

Romford were fifteen points clear of sixth placed Hullbridge so their play off position was pretty much secure anyway, but they had to keep the ones above honest and jump on any slip ups from Tilbury/Woodford may make, and be there to pounce if need be, and with their opponents today sitting bottom of the table, it would be easy to dismiss this one as an easy home win.

However, The Seedgrowers come into this one off the back of a marvellous 1-0 win at Buckhurst Hill four days ago, this the same Hill side who had smashed leaders Tilbury 4-0 last weekend, and with a rare clean sheet been obtained too, the bottom side came into this one with some renewed confidence and belief, so this may not have been as straightforward as it seemed, Coggeshall still find themselves in a pretty precarious position though despite this win.

They are still ten points behind Ilford in second bottom, and with just five games to go and with only fifteen points available, wins were pretty much paramount now for them to survive and not find themselves down in Step Six next season (assuming that only one goes down as have been hearing recently two might be relegated, which would mean that Coggeshall would already be down, but that's another story!!!). Whatever the outcome of that grabbing a win here would not be easy against a Romford side who were on a seven match winning run in the league, and had also reached the FA Vase semi finals too, the first leg which of course is next weekend on Easter Saturday.

And some of those wins for Romford were against play off contenders too, winning at Sporting Bengal United and Barking, the latter ending the Blues long unbeaten run in the process, an then last time out they defeated fellow Vase Semi Finalists Great Wakering Rovers at Rookery Hill, so they were certainly expected to see off Coggeshall Town, right?

The opening few minutes certainly suggested that it could be a long day for the visitors, Hassan Nalbant almost got in after barely a minute gone, and Romford certainly looked a threat, but once the visitors had settled they did look pretty nippy on the break and going forward, so the hosts had to be wary of there potential threat, but despite the encouraging start, the game failed to really ignite and remained goalless as the half time whistle blew, it certainly was not a classic thus far.

The Seedgrowers would have certainly been the happier of the two sides for sure, and early in the second period they glanced an effort against the bar as they almost grabbed the lead, and they continued to look a threat led by their young winger Lester Ward, who looked very useful for someone so young, could they possibly grab back to back wins this season and give themselves a fighting chance.

Well, Romford did have their moments too, and with seventeen minutes of the ninety to go they edged ahead as a throw on into the box by (I think) Charlie Morris was flicked on by centre half Darren Phillips to the back post where Sam Deering was totally unmarked to convert from close range, could the visitors respond to this setback?

Sadly for them no, and two minutes into stoppage time Romford sealed the points when Michael Bakere turned on the turbochargers to burst though the Coggeshall back line which parted like the red sea, and then loft a beautiful finish beyond keeper Dev Bhamra as the hosts claimed an eighth straight win in the league.

It had been a far from convincing performance from the hosts, but a win is a win at this stage of the campaign, and it kept them third on goal difference and still nine points behind leaders Tilbury, and with them now having a eighteen point gap back to sixth place, they are all but assured of a play off spot now, it doesn't look so good for the visitors now though.

They are ten points behind second bottom Ilford with just four games to go, Ilford have a game in hand as well, so if they win that game it's all but done for The Seedgrowers, so regardless of how many are relegated, it's almost certain that Coggeshall will now end the season bottom and in Step Six next season, they battled so hard today and probably deserved something from the game, but that's been the story of their season, hopefully they can rebuild and come back stronger from this season, it's certainly been a tough one for them.

Full time Romford 2 Coggeshall Town 0












Ok, let's now see what else happened in the Essex Senior League this weekend:-

Friday
Ilford 1 West Essex 1
The Foxes were denied what could be a crucial win after Ruben Bartlett-Antwi's stoppage time leveller denied the hosts all three points, which looked on the cards after Daniel Izekor's goal on the hour mark had given them the lead.

Saturday
Buckhurst Hill 0 Little Oakley 1
Hill lost at home for the second time in a row, this after defeating leaders Tilbury 4-0 a couple of home games ago. The only goal of the game came early on when Harry Mann netted inside the first fifteen minutes, and that proved enough for Oakley to grab all three points.

FC Clacton 0 Woodford Town 2
Woodford kept second spot on goal difference after they saw off The Seasiders at Rush Green Bowl, Luke Steele gave the visitors the lead midway through the first period before Andre Anderson sealed the points with six minutes to go.

Frenford 0 Sporting Bengal United 2
Sporting Bengal opened up an eight point gap to sixth spot to enhance their play off aspirations after defeating Frenford at The Drive. Rian Patel gave the visitors a 26th minute lead before Joe Gregory's goal nine minutes from time sealed the deal here.

Halstead Town 0 Barking 1
Shaye La-Rose netted the only goal of the game with just over fifteen minutes remaining to enhance Barking's play off chances, opening up a nine point lead to sixth spot now.

Saffron Walden Town 1 Athletic Newham 0
Walden kept up their late charge for a unlikely play off spot after Stanley Leech netted the only goal on 82 minutes to hand them victory over Athletic Newham at Catons Lane, they are now nine points off the top five with seven games to go and have games in hand as well.

Stanway Rovers 4 Great Wakering Rovers 1
FA Vase semi finalists GWR have now lost three straight in the league after they were humbled at Stanway Rovers, George Okoye handed the hosts a 26th minute lead, a lead that was doubled two minutes later by Jose Santa-De La Paz. Reece Conway then made it three a minute after the break and although Danny Cossington pulled one back twenty minutes into the second half, Freddy Cooper netted a fourth for Stanway with twelve minutes to go and make it five straight wins in the division, taking them up to eighth in the standings.

Tilbury 2 Hullbridge Sports 0
League leaders Tilbury got back to winning ways after two games without one after they netted victory over Hullbridge Sports a Chadfields. Alex Akrofi handed the Dockers a 47th minute lead before Troy Osei-Bobie sealed the points and took them a step closer to the title and promotion in stoppage time, they now hold a nine point lead over both Woodford Town & Romford with just six games to go.

White Ensign 0 Takeley 2
Takeley netted maximum points at Burroughs Park against Ensign after a fifth minute goal from Kieron Southgate and a second by Kyle O'Byrne with eleven minutes to go helped them earn victory.

Let's have a look at the table as we edge ever closer to the end of the season:-

Tilbury need ten more points in their final six games to claim the title and promotion back to Step Four and likely a place in the Isthmian North next season, and the top five looked pretty well set now too as the gap to sixth gets ever more, now eight points between fifth placed Sporting and sixth placed Hullbridge.

Down at the bottom it seems Coggeshall will fall another step, that's two in two seasons, regardless of how many sides are relegated, Ilford will be hoping and praying it's only one that goes down as if two are relegated then they are now in serious bother, eight points from safety with just five games to go.

That concludes my latest blog and look at the ESL, thanks again for reading, I hope you enjoyed!!!




Spain 0 Colombia 1 - Daniel Munoz nets second half goal as Colombia defeat Spain in front of a partisan crowd at The Olympic Stadium in London

International Friendly, Friday 22nd March

It was a rare international match for me for the start of the weekend as I joined several other friends at The London Stadium (or the Olympic Stadium) in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford for a friendly between Spain & Colombia.

This wasn't the first time I had seen Spain, I saw them win at Wembley early on in the first ever season of the Nations League against England, although that was before the days of Covid back in 2018, so a good six years ago, and it's fair to say I'd never seen Colombia before in the flesh, so this was a good opportunity to watch one of the big South American outfits close up.

Now the Spanish had just come off the back of a pretty successive qualifying campaign for the Euros in France this summer, topping their group by four points having won seven of their eight qualifiers, although in a group containing Scotland, Norway, Georgia & Cyprus, this really was to be expected. The Spanish had also claimed the latest UEFA Nations League title back in June after defeating Italy in the Semi Finals before beating Croatia on spot kicks after a goalless draw.

And this match against Colombia (as well as Monday's match against Brazil in Madrid) would be a good warm up before manager Luis de la Fuente has to pick his squad for the Euros, it was the first match of 2024 for both sides and like the Spanish, the South Americans were having a good run of form in 2023, twelve games played and no defeats, including wins against Germany in Gelsenkirchin, & Brazil and Paraguay in the World Cup Qualifiers in the South American section, a table they sit third in currently behind world champs Argentina & second placed Uruguay after six games each.

A good test for both then, Colombia have Copa America coming up this summer as well and also have two more friendlies coming up against Romania & The USA, that match against the Europeans also takes place in the Spanish capital, so maybe they can share a flight back there after this one, who knows?

Maybe it depended on how 'friendly' this contest would be, they two countries had not met since a friendly back in summer 2017 which ended in a 2-2 draw, would we get a similar outcome in this one?

Well, the match itself was not memorable at all, a typical international friendly if truth be told, chances were at a premium at best, and there was lots of possession based football but not much else, what was memorable was the atmosphere created by the Colombian's fans, we were sat in their end and they certainly know how to party and cheer on their side.

And although their side probably conceded more possession to the Spanish, unsurprisingly, they were able to keep them at arms length and even attack themselves on occasions, raising the noise and general excitement amongst our now 'fellow' South Americans who were very friendly and happy that we were supporting their side!!!

We managed to leave our seats at the front of the upper tier and down to the lower bowl and behind the goal Colombia were attacking in the second half amongst a sea of craziness amongst the Colombia fans, it was amazing, I won't lie, and just past the hour mark they managed to break the deadlock when Crystal Palace defender Daniel Munoz volleyed home spectacularly after fantastic play from Liverpool's Luis Diaz.

Cue, absolute bedlam in our end and in most of the stadium, there were way more Colombian's present that was for sure even though officially it was Spain's home game, it certainly felt like you were in Bogota and not Madrid, what a superb experience it was, and with the South Americans managing to hold on to win, that was even better, as said not the best of games, but the atmosphere and the people more than made up for that.

So Spain start their 2024 with a loss, whereas The Colombian's back up an unbeaten 2023 with a winning start to 2024, and it was Spain's first friendly loss since they were humbled by Georgia back in June 2016, so a rare loss for them, Colombia though are a very good outfit who work hard for each other, and that right now is making them very hard to beat. And as a now honouree Colombian, that makes me very happy!!! 

Full time Spain 0 Colombia 1

















Wednesday 20 March 2024

Benfleet 2 Tower Hamlets 0 - Goals from Matthew Stevens-Brown & Taylor Lawrence help hosts to yet another win as their quest for the Thurlow Nunn First Division South title & promotion to Step Five continued

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Wednesday 20th March

It has been a while since I had made a trip over to Canvey Island for a football game, so I decided to go and watch Thurlow Nunn South league leaders Benfleet continue their quest for the title and promotion to Step Five and the Essex Senior League as they welcomed relegation threatened Tower Hamlets to Park Lane.

Now both teams needed the points for differing reasons, Benfleet currently sit top of the division and are two points clear of second placed Hutton having played six games less than them, therefore Benfleet's closest challengers were third placed Wormley Rovers who were only three points off the leaders and have only played one game more, and with Harlow Town not being able to gain promotion and with the others way behind on points and having played more games, Benfleet's eyes were solely on Wormley as said.

Fleet's form has been almost perfect since the turn of the year, ten games played nine wins and just one loss, who was that against, yep Wormley, as the chasers netted a magnificent 4-0 at Wormley Sports club, but apart from that Benfleet had netted thirty-six goals in the other nine games they had won, conceding just nine as well, meaning that 4-0 loss was very much out of character but showed just how good Wormley have been too.

Fleet were therefore expected to win this contest against a Hamlets side who sat four points above the bottom three at kick off in 14th place, although they do have a few games in hand on those below, so were hoping to pick up some more points in those games to get them away from the danger zone down at the bottom of the table.

The Mile End sides form since the turn of the year has seen them net just two wins from seven games, one draw and four defeats, one of which came against Benfleet which ended with a narrow 2-1 win for the Canvey based side, a couple of months or so ago in East London, so if that is anything to go by, maybe tonight's contest would be tighter then some had anticipated.

The most dramatic moment of the first half though wasn't anything to do with either side as it turned out, as midway through the first period referee Dwayne Uylett's calf muscle popped, meaning he was unable to continue officiating the game, and although one of the assistants, Liam Dawson, was able to take over in the middle, who was going to replace him in the assistant referee role?

Thankfully, there was a chap in the stands who used to referee in the local leagues and at the ripe old age of nearly sixty, he came on to take the assistant referee role meaning the game could continue, and ran the line in a pair of jeans, needs must as they say, and kudos to him as well as he did a pretty good job for the rest of the contest, right place and right time you could say, and as said it meant the game could continue.

Benfleet did have a couple of decent openings when Taylor Lawrence saw a curling effort from outside the box saved fairly comfortably by visiting keeper Lamar Johnson, before skipper Aaron Russell really should have scored when after a ball was squared to him by Joey Hardingham, he could only fire wide of the post, Hamlets did have their moments too, and should have scored when a ball into the six yard box was somehow poked straight at keeper Archie Cunningham.

But four minutes before the break Benfleet managed to find a breakthrough to ease their frustrations, a corner swung in with the left boot of Lawrence wasn't cleared and eventually saw Matthew Stevens-Brown blast home from close range and it meant the hosts went into the break a goal to the good and on track for another three points.

Benfleet upped the anti after the break and went close to a second goal on a few occasions, one such moment saw them screaming for a goal after they were adamant that they had forced the ball over the line from close range, however the linesman on the near side, Alistair Lloyd, disagreed and said it had not, and whilst the game remained 1-0, Hamlets were always in the contest and just like the first period did have their moments in the opponents box.

But, with just under twenty minutes to go, Benfleet found a second to pretty much seal this contest, a ball into the mixer saw keeper Johnson try and punch clear whilst under pressure, and he could only punch the ball into the air and into the path of Lawrence who was lurking to send a first time left footed volley back across goal and into the far corner, and hand the hosts breathing space finally in the match.

It proved to be enough too as the home side continued their march towards the title and promotion, they have a three point lead at the top with a game in hand over second placed Wormley Rovers as the two most likely challengers for the title are now in the top two places, whereas despite a hard working performance from Hamlets they left with nothing and remain in 15th spot, flour points above the drop zone.

Full time Benfleet 2 Tower Hamlets 0










  

Colchester United 0 Redbridge 0 (Redbridge won 5-4 on penalties) - Motormen win Essex Senior Cup for the very first time in their history after hard fought final ends with penalty shoot out success at Victoria Road

Essex Senior Cup Final, Tuesday 19th March

Tuesday night saw me over at Victoria Road, home of Dagenham & Redbridge, for this seasons finale of the Essex County FAs flagship event, The Senior Cup Final, and this season it would be contested between Sky Bet League Two side Colchester United and Isthmian North side Redbridge.

Now the final normally takes place at Colchester's own Community Stadium, but with their pitch suffering lately due to the awful weather we have had over the last month or two, it meant the final was switched further south to Victoria Road, a venue that has staged the final of the this competition before, so they were more than ready to take it on and accommodate all who came to see this one.

Now both sides had come into this competition at the Third Round stage, which meant they had to win four games each to reach the final, below is how both sides got to this prestigious event to have a crack at winning this competition for the 2023/24 season:-

Colchester United

Third Round - Heybridge Swifts (H) W 4-0

Fourth Round - Walthamstow (a) D 0-0 (won 3-1 on penalties)

Quarter Final - Buckhurst Hill (H) W 5-1

Semi Final - Hashtag United (H) W 3-2

After seeing off Isthmian North side Heybridge Swifts at home their only away game in the run saw them squeeze through on penalties against another Isthmian North side Walthamstow, they then breezed past Essex Senior League side Buckhurst Hill before they netted a tough win at home to Isthmian Premier side Hashtag United. They now face another Isthmian North side in the final of course, will they get the job done against Redbridge too?

Redbridge

Third Round - Southend United (a) W 4-0

Fourth Round - Chelmsford City (a) D 2-2 (won 4-3 on penalties)

Quarter Final - Concord Rangers (a) W 2-0

Semi Final - Maldon & Tiptree (H) W2-0

The Motormen had a pretty tough run to the final, with nearly all their opponents technically above them in the pyramid, they saw off Southend's U18s at Roots Hall pretty comfortably before stunning National League side Chelmsford City on penalties at Melbourne Stadium and then knocked out Isthmian Premier Concord Rangers at Thames Road. And then in the Semi Finals they finally had a home tie and defeated fellow Isthmian North side Maldon & Tiptree to reach this evenings final and a chance to beat another EFL club to take the trophy.

Now obviously The Us have been using mostly youth players for this competition, but it's a chance for those players to show the club what they can do against some very good sides in the County of Essex as they continue their quest to get to the football league and a chance to progress into the First Team or even elsewhere, and it would be another tough task against a Redbridge outfit who had knocked out some pretty good sides on route to Dagenham.

These sides don't have much success in this competition though, The Us one and only win in this competition came in the 2009/10 season when they defeated AFC Hornchurch in the final, this is one of only three finals they have appeared in, Redbridge's only appearance in the final came sixty years ago in the 1963/64 season when they were known as Ford United, and they suffered a 4-3 aggregate loss to Tilbury back in the days when the final was two legged.

So, with just one win and four finals between them, this was at least a final between two sides who rarely get to this stage of the competition, so a possibility of a first time winner then in the shape of Redbridge, or could The Us grab a second Senior Cup title and a first in fourteen years, only time would tell so let's get into the match action shall we. 

The first period was tight, with neither side really wanting to give each other the edge, as is often the case with most finals, so chances were at a premium as neither were really tested, The Us best chance of the half came late on in the period when a lovely bursting run though midfield by Samson Tovide saw him play a perfect through ball to Hakeem Sandah, but the forward could only fire over the bar, The Motormen's best chance saw Solomon Ogunwomoju head over from fifteen or so yards out, seeing his effort land on the roof of the net.

And towards the end of the half things started to get rather niggly too, especially between Us forward Tovide and Redbridge's Ronnie Winn, who clashed twice off the ball in a matter of moments, which ended up with Tovide receiving a booking for his troubles, whether this was why the Us player was subbed at half time only they will know, but it certainly showed how much this trophy meant to both, no quarter given that was for sure.

Also, whatever was said in the Col U changing room at half time certainly galvanised them somewhat as they were certainly on the front foot from the get go of the second period, and saw Sandah strike an effort against the underside of the bar before the loose ball was somehow headed wide by Taleel Green, although a corner was the result so maybe it was headed wide by a defender, who knows, it was a great chance all the same.

Redbridge also had keeper Connor Wheatley to thank for keeping them level in the tie as well thereafter, making three decent stops to deny the Us a breakthrough, the impressive Sandah again testing the visitors stopper on one such occasion, but on the whole The Motormen defended solidly, and although chances for them in the second period were fleeting, they did have a couple of moments to take the lead.

A great ball into the box failed to find anyone at the far post, and then five or so minutes into six minutes added on came possibly their best chance of the entire contest as Souman Nandi suddenly had the chance to win it for the Isthmian North side, but his effort was brilliantly stopped by Us keeper Sam Hornby, who had not really had a save to make before that, but his vital stop meant penalties would be needed to decide this competition.

The Us went first and saw their first two kicks from Riley Harbottle & skipper Ryan Lowe successfull, as were Redbridge's first two as well from Johnson & Mekeal Williams, Green then saw his effort saved by the superb Wheatley, however Redbridge also saw their third kick from Winn saved by Hornby, meaning it remained 2-2 after three kicks each.

Archie Oliver then slotted home Col Us fourth kick, only to see Redbridge level it up once again, and after The Us netted their fifth spot kick, Joe Elliott had to score The Motormen's fifth and final kick to remain in the shootout, and he absolutely rifled one into the roof of the net, showing no nerves whatsoever, 4-4, heading into sudden death.

Who could hold their nerve then? Well, Owura Edwards was the next one to take a kick for The Us, and he did look nervous and was rushing to take it, and it wasn't the best penalty and saw Wheatley save his second kick off the shootout, giving Redbridge skipper Lewis Clark the chance to win the final and hand his side their first Senior Cup success, and he duly converted to send his side wild with delight and win the shootout 5-4.

Commiserations to the young Us side who just fell short of winning their second Senior Cup, and a first one in fourteen years, but congratulations to The Motormen who grab their first ever Essex Senior Cup triumph in only their second ever appearance in the final, and a first under the name Redbridge of course, well done to them, it was certainly a hard fought win that was for sure.

Finally may I thank the Essex Alliance League for getting me a match ticket and hospitality for the game once again, it is very much appreciated, and I feel so blessed and privileged to be provided with the opportunity to do this, so thank you once again.

Full time Colchester United 0 Redbridge 0 (Redbridge won 5-4 on penalties)











      

 

Saturday 16 March 2024

Leigh Ramblers 1 Rayleigh Town 3 - Visitors see goals from Matt Tapley, Adam Wright & Gianni Frankis in final twenty minutes help them come from behind to net a hard fought win at Belfairs and keep their promotion charge on track

Essex Olympian League Premier Division, Saturday 16th March

I was over at Belfairs Park on the outskirts of Southend for an Olympian Premier match up between to local rivals, hosts Leigh Ramblers welcoming Rayleigh Town down the A127 to their surroundings on what originally was a lovely warm sunny day (although the sun then went in and the wind picked up, so I was very glad to be in my coat!!!)

Conditions were at least dry and the pitch wasn't in too bad condition considering all the rain that had fallen over the last few weeks and months, it was a little sticky and the grass perhaps a tad to long, but it was the same for both sides and I have definitely seen worse at higher levels, so not bad overall, and I also got a lovely welcome too and I appreciated the drink that club president Paul Cannon bought for me after the game, it's very much appreciated, as was the other drink Town assistant Jason Davis bought for me after the game too. It's as well I had these afterwards otherwise I may have struggled to concentrate on the game!!!

Now Leigh Ramblers had been in a rather difficult position prior to Christmas/New Year down towards the bottom of the division, but since then they had picked up somewhat as after they lost in early January at home to Springfield, they had gone on a decent run which saw them pick up eight points in their five league outings and only one league defeat in five too, that was a narrow 1-0 loss at Catholic United.

It meant they had put some daylight between themselves and the bottom two, they were in tenth, with nine points down to second bottom Harold Wood Athletic, assuming two go down of course, which may not be the case anyway, and their gap to bottom side Canning Town was ten points, and with only a few weeks of the season to go, the Rams could now start to breathe a bit easier.

Today's task was a tough one though, especially as the hosts were missing some key players, the spine of their team if truth be told, and they were up against arguably the best side in the division this season in the shape of Rayleigh Town who had just seen a twenty three match winning streak end in the cup last weekend, but in the league they were still on a thirteen match winning run, having won sixteen of their seventeen games, and losing just one all season.

They came into this one having reached the Essex Premier Cup final the week before, and they were four points behind leaders Old Southendian with four games in hand, and with OS not in action this weekend, that lead would be cut to just a single point with a win, and they would also maintain a four point gap back to third placed Sungate, their only challengers for promotion, having played a game less too, therefore maximum points was certainly the aim in this one.

Despite the sides differing positions in the league though this was a derby and Rayleigh are everyone's cup final right now, and Leigh Rams would make it a very difficult game for sure, and that was exactly how it panned out too, the visitors said afterwards they were very poor in the first forty five minutes and the hosts were making things very difficult for them, and in a half of few chances it probably wasn't the best spectacle either, but in some ways I enjoyed the battle and the tussles across the pitch between two committed sides.

Rayleigh to me looked nervy, especially first half, and you could see the frustrations growing amongst them two, especially from player manager and centre half Rob Hogdson, who was less than impressed with a number of his side on more than one occasion, and their mood was not helped when Rams took a surprise lead right on half time when a ball found an unmarked James Spencer who sent a header back across goal, glance off a defender, and creep inside the far post.

Now the linesman had raised his flag, but after the referee had spoken with him, the goal was given, which seemed the right call in the end, neither side moaned about it once it had been given, and Rayleigh trudged into the dressing room a goal down and certainly with some things to sort out, Rams would have been delighted with how it was all going so far, a goal up against the promotion chasers, was the visitors long winning streak coming to an end?

The early parts of the second period saw the visitors applying more pressure onto the hosts but they were standing up to everything that was thrown at them, it was one hell of a shift they were putting in, and it was adding to the visitors frustration, and then with a rare attack in the second period the hosts so nearly doubled their lead which could have ended this contest, it was superb skill and play from Luis Bracci, he turned his marker inside out before sending an effort at goal which deflected off a defender and came back off the post and was hacked clear, it was so close and had that gone in things may have turned out differently. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to win championships and promotion, and Rayleigh got one their.

They certainly capitalised on this good fortune as well as the final twenty minutes saw the promotion chasers turn the match around, firstly with eighteen minutes to go when Owen Barratt, on as a substitute, play a pass out to the dangerous Arnold Achempong who then sent a ball across the edge of the box for Matt Tapley to run onto and fire home a leveller, and after this went in you felt their would only be one winner.

Rams did their best to hang on, but they were running out of puff after such a hard shift, and with seven minutes to go a ball in from the right found it's way to the far post where another substitute Adam Wright managed to convert from close range to give the visitors the lead, and then two minutes into stoppage time a loose ball back from the visitors saw a third substitute, Gianni Frankis, run onto the ball, cut inside onto his left foot, beating a defender in the process, before firing home to seal what was a hard earned win for the visiting side.

Rayleigh had made hard work of this win for sure, but after a poor first half showing they managed to dig in and show character to come back and win this one in the end, hard on Rams who worked so hard for each other, but in the end they just did not have enough to keep the promotion chasers at bay, a very good battle it was though, played in a good spirit too.

Full time Leigh Ramblers 1 Rayleigh Town 3













Let's see what else happened in the division today and what it does to the table, their were four other league games which included Rayleigh's promotion rivals Sungate in action too:-

Old Chelmsfordians 3-0 Bishop's Stortford Swifts

Springfield 0-0 Kelvedon Hatch 

Sungate 4-2 Harold Wood Athletic

Toby 4-0 Canning Town


Rayleigh close the gap to leaders Old Southendian, it's just one point now and Rayleigh have three games in hand, they only need to finish above Sungate to win promotion to Step Six and Senior football for the first time, Sungate themselves remain four behind having played a game more with victory over strugglers Harold Wood Athletic, who are seven points behind third bottom Toby now after they thrashed bottom side Canning Town. Old Chelmsfordians climb to fifth after they netted a home win over Bishop's Stortford Swifts, whilst Springfield & Kelvedon hatch drew a blank in Chelmsford.

Now the bottom two normally go down, and if that is the case then those two occupying it have some work to do to get out of it, but if it is only one to go down then one of those two will survive, and with Wood having several games in hand you would probably say it would be them and not Canning Town who will survive, but it does seem the ones above may have enough to stay up now, although stranger things have happened of course!!!

Promotion and the title though is still in Rayleigh's hands, fourteen straight league wins now but with Old Southendian and Sungate to come at home before the season is out, it's not over just yet, still a lot of work and blood sweat and tears to come before they can achieve that, should be fun to follow!!!