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RYMAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE – WEEKLY NEWS AND MATCH BULLETIN

Season 2009-2010 No: 30 - : - 8th March 2010

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THE CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER CUP

The draw for the Semi-Finals of The Championship Manager Cup competition has been made as follows:

Leatherhead vs. Aveley (to be played Thursday, 11th Match)

Sittingbourne or Wealdstone vs. Croydon Athletic (to be played Thursday, 18th Match)

The Final will be played on Wednesday, 24th March.

LUCAS FETTES YOUTH CUP

The draw for the Third Round of the Lucas Fettes Youth Cup competition has been made as follows:

Thamesmead Town vs. Aveley or Tilbury

Cray Wanderers vs. Brentwood Town

Tonbridge Angels or Eastbourne Town vs. Maidstone United

AFC Wimbledon vs. Sutton United or Worthing

Fleet Town or Wealdstone vs. Woking

Metropolitan Police or Kingstonian vs. Croydon Athletic

Hayes & Yeading United vs. Dulwich Hamlet

Lewes vs. Staines Town

The Final will be played on Monday, 3rd May, 2010

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WEEKEND REVIEW

Premier Division

Billericay Town are out of the Premier Division relegation zone – and in style. They powered to a 4-1 victory at Dartford on Saturday, completing a double over the champions-elect after beating them 1-0 at New Lodge last month. The result was a fair summary of the game. The Essex boys took the game to their hosts from the start and bounced back from the blow of falling behind to a 21st-minute Lee Burns goal which was very much against the run of play.

Dave Wareham equalised within three minutes and then gave his side the lead with a superb strike 55 seconds after half-time. When Billy Bricknell made it 3-1 with another good finish five minutes later Darts were in desperate trouble and they rarely looked likely to find a way back. The visitors had Chris Wild sent off with ten minutes left but piled on the misery with a late fourth goal from Danny Charge.

Consolation for Dartford is that they still have an 11-point lead and four games in hand over their nearest challengers.

Two other sides who started the day in the bottom four also won – and for reviving Waltham Abbey it was the fourth three-point haul in five games. They had sent Margate to the foot of the table in midweek and on Saturday they nailed them there with a 3-0 victory on the Kent coast. Ricci Crace scored midway through each half and George Chanda wrapped it up near the end. Abbey even missed a penalty, Jamie Turner saving James Elmes’ kick.

Bognor were the other strugglers to take full points, though they remain in 21st place despite their 2-1 victory at Harrow. Top scorer Jason Prior headed Rocks in front after 15 minutes and Jacob Walcott doubled the lead with nine minutes left, a goal that proved invaluable when Kurt Morlese pulled one back. Bognor keeper Anthony Ender, who was outstanding, denied Dewayne Clarke an equaliser.

Carshalton are back in the bottom four after their 3-1 defeat at Hastings, who moved into second place for the night. Sean Ray’s header gave Hastings an interval lead which was wiped out by Charley Ide immediately after the restart. Ade Olorunda restored Hastings’ advantage on the hour and an injury-time effort by Harry Pell completed the scoring. Sutton would have gone second had they beaten Maidstone but the Kent side held out for a useful away point in a goalless draw despite having Chris Saunders sent off after an hour.

Typically for a team in this topsy-turvy division, Horsham lost for the second time in succession since putting themselves among the favourites for a play-off place. Tooting joined them on the 44-point mark with a 2-1 away win. All the goals came in the first half, with Simon Parker and Paul Vines putting the Terrors 2-0 up before Claude Seanla replied for Horsham.

Canvey moved back into play-off contention when Jay Curran’s 90th minute header earned them a 1-0 win at home to Hornchurch. They should have scored 89 minutes earlier, but Darren Behcet saved Kevin Dobinson’s weak penalty.

Wealdstone are right back in the picture, too. They trailed to a 42nd minute Kevin Bremner goal at Cray but Jamie Osborne and Danny Spendlove turned it round with two goals in three second-half minutes. Callum Martin made it 3-1 with a penalty, clinching Stones’ first win in four games.

Martin Tuohy hit his 20th goal of the season to give Aveley a half-time lead at home to Ashford (Middx). Jones Awuah punished one of his former clubs with the equaliser, only for Junior Dadson to complete a 2-1 home victory with 13 minutes to go. Hendon and Tonbridge battled out a goalless draw in Saturday’s other game. Hendon’s Peter Dean came closest, hitting a post.

The hot potato that is second place passed back to Kingstonian on Sunday when they beat Boreham Wood 4-1 at Kingsmeadow. Bobby Traynor put them ahead in the fifth minute with a thumping header at the near post, his 28th goal of the season, but the rest of the first half belonged to Boreham Wood and they might have had more than Greg Morgan’s equalising header in the 24th minute.

K’s, though, dominated the second half. Francis Duku restored their lead with a header in the 56th minute, Christian Jolley drilled home a low shot for the third on 81 minutes and yet another header, by Simon Huckle, wrapped up what was, in the end, a decisive victory. Wood therefore stayed in fifth place.

Division One North

After the shock of two midweek defeats, it was back to business as usual for Division One North leaders Lowestoft Town on Saturday. It took them until the second half to break through at Great Wakering but the Trawlerboys took the points with three unanswered goals in 18 minutes. Matt Nolan opened their account with his 25th of the season after 55 minutes, after which Andy Fisk and Scott Mitchell sealed victory.

Concord, who drew level with Lowestoft on points by thrashing them 5-0 on Tuesday, lost ground again when they had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Tilbury. Seeking their tenth successive league victory, Concord led at half-time through Kayan Kalipha, who scored after 23 minutes against his previous club. But a Liam Hopkins own goal after 63 minutes left it all square.

Thamesmead were the big losers among the promotion-chasing group, going down 2-0 at fifth-placed Enfield Town despite having most of the game. Ben Hammond put the home side ahead at the end of the first half and Stuart Blackburne struck five minutes after the break. Most of the credit for the victory, though, went to keeper Rob Blackburne. Enfield are two points behind Thamesmead with four games in hand.

In between them are East Thurrock, for whom Sam Berry headed an 80th minute winner at Maldon. Louis Collins had given Rocks an early lead with his first goal since moving from Leyton and Benson Paka replied nine minutes before half-time.

Wingate & Finchley strengthened their challenge by coming from behind to win 3-1 at Potters Bar. Jake Parratt’s 54th minute opener was quickly answered by Chris Chase before Ahmet Rifat saw Wingate home with two goals in the last five minutes. They are sixth, three points behind Thamesmead with three games in hand.

At the other end of the table, bottom club Harlow came within two minutes of averting a ninth successive defeat before Will Hudson’s header gave hosts Northwood a 2-1 victory. Chris Seeby put them ahead with a deflected shot three minutes after the interval, Aaron Scott equalising with 15 minutes left.

A scrappy goalless draw at VCD was enough to lift Redbridge out of the bottom two. They were replaced in the relegation zone by Leyton, who took a 13th minute lead through Sam Adesola at home to Cheshunt before going down 3-1. Boniek Forbes levelled it before half-time and the dismissal of home defender Glen Harvey on the hour proved decisive as Cheshunt scored twice in the next four minutes through Bradley Harrison and Nick Mountford.

Unlucky referee Dave Buck took no further part in the game at Waltham Forest after being laid out by a free-kick from Heybridge’s Luke Hammond. It was an odd way for the visitors to show their gratitude to a man who had awarded them a penalty for handball after 15 minutes and sent off Andre Humphrey-Modeste for the offence. Reece Morgan converted the spot-kick but Swifts could not add to their score against ten men, though another Hammond free-kick hit the bar, and Rob Carter’s goal right after half-time earned Forest a 1-1 draw.

There was controversy at Ware as they beat Romford 4-3 with a last-gasp own goal. Romford thought they should have been given a ‘free’ goal after Ryan Wade’s fluke and Toran Senghore was sent off in the arguments that followed. Jamie Libby and Matt Toms gave Romford a 2-0 half-time lead and it was 3-1 after Matt Turpin and Toms exchanged headers. Then came Wade’s disputed goal and he also equalised. Neil Finn’s penalty save kept Romford in the game before Libby, who had started the scoring, ended it by heading Luke Marshall’s free-kick into his own net.

Brentwood beat Ilford 1-0 with a 41st minute goal by Ben Boyce, recently signed from Hornchurch. That produced an unusual statistic. Boyce is the tenth player to score for Brentwood after previously finding the net for another Ryman League club this season. He, in fact, had been on target for both Hornchurch and East Thurrock.

Division One South

The clash between promotion contenders Walton & Hersham and Fleet Town was an explosive affair which produced five goals, including an injury-time winner, and four red cards. It started with a bang as Martin Grant gave Walton a first-minute lead with his 23rd goal of the season. Then Elliott Brathwaite saw his free-kick from his own half elude keeper Lyall Beazley to make it 2-0 after 16 minutes.

Fleet hit back a minute later through Dan Read and Ty Smith’s penalty made it 2-2 soon after half-time. Smith, though, became the first player to receive marching orders and he was followed by teammate Leigh Rumbold and Walton’s Ryan Lake. Michael Charles stabbed in a last-gasp goal to put Walton 3-2 up and the visitors were reduced to eight men when Luke Evans was dismissed. When the dust had died down Walton, in fifth place, found themselves a point behind their opponents.

The top three, meanwhile, all won, with new signing Brendon Cass marking his Folkestone debut with the goal that provided their tenth 1-0 victory of the season, this one at Metropolitan Police. The former Chatham man made the most of a miskick by keeper Mo Maan to find the net after 40 minutes.

Croydon Athletic remained a point behind with two games in hand, beating Burgess Hill 2-0. Gareth Williams put the home side ahead after 11 minutes but they had to wait until the dying seconds for Leon Noel’s clincher, his 25th of the season.

Third-placed Worthing beat Eastbourne Town 2-0 at Woodside Road. Eager to avenge a shock 3-0 defeat at Eastbourne earlier in the season, Rebels looked set to do so when Paul Kennett gave them the lead after 57 seconds. But Evan Archibald’s 38th minute effort was the only addition to the score.

Eastbourne are now at the foot of the table after Ashford moved above them with a 4-2 home victory over Corinthian-Casuals. Carlton Murray-Price gave Casuals an early lead but they were stunned by three goals in ten minutes either side of half-time. Tom Murphy equalised just before the break and, thus encouraged, the Nuts and Bolts started the second half in style with goals from Lee Hockey and Mark Lovell. Murray-Price pulled one back on the hour but Ashford quickly regained their two-goal lead through Ross Morley.

Fellow-strugglers Whitstable picked up three precious points when Ian Pulman scored the only goal of their home game against Chipstead with three minutes left.

Those results have dragged Walton Casuals into the thick of the relegation battle and they were grateful for Nick Burton’s 85th minute goal which earned them a 1-1 draw at Merstham. The hosts should have put the game out of their opponents’ reach but managed only a 58th minute goal by Dale Marvell.

There was no shortage of action at sixth-placed Godalming, where Horsham YMCA were twice two goals up before going down 5-3. Terry Dodd struck twice in three minutes for the visitors around the half-hour mark and, although Paul Williams replied in the 45th minute, there was still time for Matt Geard to make it 3-1 at the break. Williams pulled one back after 53 minutes and then it was over to Glenn Stanley, who transformed the game with a 13 minute hat-trick; a fierce shot, a lob and a penalty.

Sittingbourne stayed on Godalming’s heels with a comfortable 2-0 win at Dulwich. They went ahead after 35 seconds through Tom Bradbrook, scored again in the fifth minute when Kevin James headed into his own net and cruised the rest of the way.

The division’s second quickfire hat-trick of the day came from Leatherhead’s Greg Andrews in a 3-1 home win over Ramsgate. He took a minute longer than Stanley for his treble after opening his account with a 65th minute equaliser. Joe Taylor had put Rams ahead early in the second half.