Sport
We bring you exclusive sports updates, scores and news as it happens, right from our sports desk. With four daily sport updates on Breakfast and Drivetime during the week, and a specialised local sports bulletin on a Monday, we try to bring you the very up to date sports news. As well as this, our dedicated sports team are out and about all the time reporting straight to our website with the latest results and scores.
East Thurrock United v Carshalton Athletic – LIVE
East Thurrock United 1-1 Carshalton Athletic
Canvey Island 3-2 Lowestoft Town
Hastings United 0-0 Billericay Town
Kingstonian 0-1 Concord Rangers
Tilbury 2-1 Grays Athletic
Thurrock 0-0 Havant & Waterlooville
Crewe Alexandra 4-1 Dagenham & Redbridge
Shrewsbury Town 2-1 Southend United
Barking 2-1 Bowers & Pitsea
Stansted 1-2 Basildon United
Rugby
Diss 3-10 Thurrock
Woodford 15-20 Basildon
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FULL TIME: Great, great fun. A travesty of justice but oh so entertaining. Possession, territory, chances on and off target, the Rocks were dominant. Carshalton get a somewhat lucky break. That’s how it goes. A really great spectacle for the punters though.
Next up, both live and for the Rocks, is the FA Trophy replay at Hampton & Richmond Borough. Until then, enjoy the weekend, and your football.
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90th min - You have to laugh or you’d cry. A stinging East Thurrock shot finally beats the keeper but cannons off the right hand post!
88th min – Still the Rocks lay siege to the Carshalton goal, with Matt Hall replacing Kye Ruel. Crosses and centres are flying in but no final touch.
83rd min - Continuous Rocks pressure. Higgins tries to get his head to a centre on the right but the keeper gets there first. Completely one-sided, this game. Carshalton have literally had just one chance. Ridiculous!
78th min – They get spoilt here. In the teeth of a gale, with Carshalton kicking what they can long-ish, a couple of home supporters gently chide the Rocks for not playing football on the deck. Hmmmmm, perhaps they mistook Rookery Hill for New Lodge …..
Attendance – 161 supporters are freezing themselves to the bone watching this entertaining encounter. Credit for staying. It really is freezing.
72nd min – Back on pitch, Ryan Sammons puts in a last ditch tackle on a rare Carshalton break. The Rocks go upfield and keeper Hamman again saves brilliantly, this time from Sam Collins, his low shot from 10 yards looking a dead cert.
69th min – Not too much going on, but some spectators behind us were making far too much noise and kicking seats. Dire warnings were issued as to what would happen if they didn’t stop. And …… well, it’s not my fault. I didn’t think seven year olds would cry and run away scared. Still, chortle.
66th min – Oh, what a save! East Thurrock pile forward, Kris Newby is in the clear, his shot from 15 yards looks bound for the top right hand corner of the Manorway End net, but Carshalton keeper Nick Hamann somehow gets a hand to it. Liquid football all round.
61st min – GOAL! ….. EAST THURROCK UNITED 1, Carshalton Athletic 1 And that patience finally starts to pay off. Lovely play from Reiss Gilbey, he finds Kye Ruel on the right hand edge of the area, and from his cross SAM HIGGINS heads home unmarked from six yards. Get. In. There.
59th min - And still East Thurrock come forward, efforts from Sam Collins and Kye Ruel coming in. Still no goal but at least the natives aren’t getting restless. It’s too cold to be anything except popsicles really.
56th min – Nice shot from the edge of the area by Sam Collins, which was smartly saved low down by the Careshalton custodian. Nice stuff from the Rocks. Patience.
54th min – Great cross, almost from the left hand corner, by Greg Cohen, and Sam Higgins header from the edge of the six yard box at the far post goes just wide.
49th min – A dangerous Kris Newby centre on the ref, almost from the bye-line, causes momentary panic before the danger is cleared. Ooh, it’s getting nippy here.
4.05pm – KICK OFF! Again. That’s twice, you know.
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HALF TIME: And so it’s proven that this could go either way. The Rocks have had much the better of things, and it could be argued that the visitors goal was a little fortuitous, but it matters not. Carshalton have battled well and are ahead. Special mention to Basildon United, though, amazingly 2-0 up at Stansted. Something amazing would be nice here, too, but at the moment I’ll settle for a pie and Bovril. Laters.
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44th min – Reiss Gilbey has what in football terms is known as ‘copped a bad ‘un’, after the Carshalton defender went in late. To everyone’s bemusement, though, the ref has given a drop ball.
38th min – Lovely build-up play across the pitch from Reiss Gilbey, Sam Higgins and Kris Newby, which ends with the latter’s volley just inside the right hand edge of the area missing by about an inch. Patience, gentlemen, patience.
34th min – I’m not say it’s ridiculously windy here. But it is. A Sam Collins shot from 25 yards would in normal conditions have just gone past the post. Today, though, it’s been cleared by air traffic controllers en route to Copenhagen.
31st min – Kye Ruel plays a 1-2 off a Carshalton player’s knees and then with Kris Newby, and is then hacked down on the edge of the area. Although it’s a free kick, Jimmy Hill would call it a ‘moral penalty’. The ‘reality free kick’, though, goes just wide of the Bus Stops End left hand post.
24th min – Another home attack down the right, the cross goes in, and Sam Higgins half bicycle kicks it, leaving one foot on the ground and whacking it at mid-riff height from about 8 yards. It smacks off the keeper. Bah.
20th min – Lucky escape for Kris Newby. He kicks out at goalscorer Vines. Neither the ref or lino spotted it but it was clearly seen by the rest of us. Birthday boy Kris would definitely had been given a stright red for that if the ref had a view of it.
17th min – GOAL! ….. East Thurrock United 0, CARSHALTON ATHLETIC 1 Bother. From absolutely nothing Carshalton take the lead. A shot at goal evaded everyone, including the goal and corner flag. Such was the Rocks luck, though, that it found an attacker on the right in half a yard of space, and from his cross PAUL VINES headed into Manorway End net. Totally undeserved but it’s goals that count.
12th min – The Rocks are given a free kick, after Kye Ruel is tackled without the Carshalton player touching him, and without Kye hitting the deck. I suspect the ref gave it because he doesn’t like the Carshalton kit. I do. Why, it could almost be as if Fiorentina are visiting. Without the bribery of course.
8th min – Again the Rocks come forward. The corner on the right isn’t cleared and the resultant shot from about 15 yards isn’t so much as blocked as rebounded off unknowing defenders who just happened to be in the way. A very bright start by East Thurrock.
5th min – My goodness, how did that not go in! The Rocks break on the right, Sam Higgins wriggles clear of his marker inside the area, his shot from 10 yards has the keeper beaten all ends up, but it rebounds off the inside of the post and back into play. So, so unlucky.
3rd min – Nice early shot from Kye Ruel, about 20 yards out on the left hand edge of the area, tests the visitors keeper, who parries clear.
3.03pm – KICK OFF! Oh yes!
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2.58pm – The teams come out to polite and wind chilled applause. I do like Carshalton’s purple kit.
Pre Match Cuddles
2.55pm – Mick has read the teams out over the tannoy. Sorry, but that was just a noise.
2.50pm – My, but it’s a windy one here. And that’s before tonight’s curry. Lovely and mild getting here, but as soon as we took our seats in the press box a gale started blowing through. So pleased I didn’t bring a jacket. Harumph. Is it time for the final whistle yet?
2.40pm – Team News East Thurrock United’s team is in. There’s no team sheet but I saw Jenny type it into their official twitter account so it’s almost exclusive. They go with: Wray Sammons Stephens Wood Peddie Gilbey Newby Collins Higgins Ruel Cohen. Subs – Elbi Hall Hewitt Gorbell Riley
2.30pm – FULL TIME: TILBURY 2, GRAYS ATHLETIC 1 – There was an early kick-off at Chadfields between Tilbury and Grays, fuelled by last season’s mini-riot, no doubt. Two teams that needed the points in a big derby clash. It looked early on as if the nomadic Athletic would grab them with an early Louis Dennis but the Dockers came storming back to take a deserved win. A cracking game by all accounts.
2.25pm – Good afternoon from a blustery but surprisingly mild Rookery Hill, although people describe me as that too. The Rocks return to league action, and could, might, maybe, perhaps be in with a shout of the Ryman Premier play-offs should they carry on their winning run.
Standing in their way today are perennially difficult opponents in Carshalton. The Rocks beat them last month with the only goal of the game, but it could have gone either way, and today’s clash will be no different. A decent side, Carshalton. So are East Thurrock United, though. This could be a great one.
As ever, keep refreshing the page every few minutes, and the thrills and spills of a thrilling, spilling afternoon of footballing jolly japery will come your way.
Game on!
Today’s Football And Rugby Fixtures
Forget about everything coming down to the finish, or the start influencing how things go, it’s the heart of the season where most games are played, where most points are won or lost.
It doesn’t decide things but, my, this phase of the season is probably more important than the start or end, despite popular belief.
So this weekend has absolutely massive meaning to our sides. All bar three of our football and rugby sides are involved in battles at the top or bottom of the table. It could and should be another cracker.
FOOTBALL
Canvey Island v Lowestoft Town
East Thurrock United v Carshalton Athletic
Hastings United v Billericay Town
Kingstonian v Concord Rangers
Tilbury v Grays Athletic (note – 12 Noon kick-off)
Thurrock v Havant & Waterlooville
Barking v Bowers & Pitsea
Stansted v Basildon United
Crewe Alexandra v Dagenham & Redbridge
Shrewsbury Town v Southend United
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RUGBY
Diss v Thurrock
Basildon v Romford & Gidea Park
Hampstead v Canvey Island
Clacton v Billericay
Thames v Stanford-le-Hope
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Today’s featured live game on Gateway Sport from 3pm will come from Rookery Hill where East Thurrock United, in with a shout of the Ryman Premier League play-offs should they win their games in hand, take on Carshalton Athletic.
There will be live updates and reports throughout the afternoon, as well as latest scores from both local and national games, so if you can’t get to the game, do the next best thing and tune into Gateway Sport on 97.8 FM from 3pm.
Rugby: Thurrock Title Bid Buries St. Edmunds
Another busy weekend of rugby, another triumphant day for Thurrock. The Blackshots based club had a tricky task on their hands, and it wasn’t until the latter stages of the match that they put the game to bed against a determined Bury St. Edmunds.
Thurrock continue to lead the way at the top of London One North, with a promotion now a huge possibility.
Here’s a full run-down of our teams’ results:
London One North
Thurrock 27-15 Bury St. Edmunds
Thurrock remain top
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London Two North East
Canvey Island 12-34 Enfield Ignations
Canvey Island remain 10th
Basildon’s trip to Woodford was postponed but they still remain a very healthy 3rd.
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Essex One
Billericay 14-18 Old Cooperians
Second defeat in a row for Billericay, who drop out of the promotion spots to 3rd
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Essex Two
Stanford-le-Hope 3-59 Ilford Wanderers
Stanford-le-Hope stay bottom of the table.
Saturday Football – LIVE
East Thurrock United 1-1 Hampton & Richmond Borough
Aveley 2-4 Canvey Island
Billericay Town 2-0 Wingate & Finchley
Concord Rangers 4-2 Bury Town
Harlow Town 3-0 Tilbury
Sutton United 1-1 Thurrock
Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 Hereford United
Northampton Town 2-5 Southend United
Basildon United 2-3 Eton Manor
Bowers & Pitsea 1-1 Witham Town
Ted Hankey 5-6 Christian Kist
Thurrock 27-15 Bury St. Edmunds
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Full Time: So there we have it. Late goals, points gained and thrown away, a replay and an absolute darts classic. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Great afternoon for all our Ryman Premier sides, including East Thurrock United, who at least going into the draw for the last 16 of the FA Trophy. Great win for Southend United, too. Heartbreak, though, for Thurrock with that late equaliser and disappointing results for Tilbury and Dagenham & Redbridge.
Thanks, as ever, for logging and tuning in. Until the next time, enjoy your weekend, and your football.
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90+ mins – GOALS! ….. Aveley 2, CANVEY ISLAND 4 Late, late drama at Mill Field. Jason Hallett is the hero as he comes up in injury time to take the points home to Park Lane. Oh yes!
90+ mins – GOAL! ….. Northampton Town 2, SOUTHEND UNITED 5 Bilel Moshni at it again. Lots of players getting two today. Unfair on the home side but who cares?
90+ mins – GOAL! ….. SUTTON UNITED 1, Thurrock 1 Agony it is, too, for the ‘Fleet as three points turns into one in the blink of an eye. Bother.
Injury time: And always the most agonising part of the afternoon!
86 mins – GOAL! ….. Northampton Town 2, SOUTHEND UNITED 4 Liam Dickinson makes the game safe with his second and Southend’s fourth. Oh yes!
82 mins – GOAL! ….. Northampton Town 2, SOUTHEND UNITED 3 Say what you like about him, and most people do, you can’t keep Bilel Moshni out of the headlines. For the right reasons today, though, as he gives the Shrimpers a priceless lead! Get. In. There.
81 mins – GOAL! ….. EAST THURROCK UNITED 1, Hampton & Richmond Borough 1 Yes! Yes! Yes! Sam Higgins is the hero of the hour as the Rocks dominance finally pays off late on. Go on!
79 mins – GOAL! ….. AVELEY 2, Canvey Island 2 David Knight gets a brace and the hosts have snatched a late equaliser having been a couple of goals behind at the break. The Gulls must be gutted. Rightly so, too.
74 mins – GOAL! ….. HARLOW TOWN 3, Tilbury 0 Game over at the new town. Jack Haverson makes it three. Bother.
72 mins – GOAL! ….. Concord Rangers 4, BURY TOWN 2 Lee Smith scores his and Bury’s second, but Shirley that’s just a consolation?
70 mins – Explosive scenes here at Lakeside. Ted Hankey has a meltdown on stage and gives the last three legs away, clearly riled at the crowd and complaining about a non existent breeze on stage. Christian Kist cleans up and is in the final after a remarkable game of darts. Bedlam here! What a game.
65 mins – GOAL! ….. Northampton Town 2, SOUTHEND UNITED 2 Spot luck for the Shrimpers. Liam Dickinson equalises from the penalty spot. Game on everywhere it seems!
63 mins – Here at Lakeside, we’re going to a final set. Christian Kist won three leags on the bounce to take the tenth set and Ted Hankey is letting the crowd get to him. Liquid darts.
62 mins – GOAL! ….. AVELEY 1, Canvey Island 2 Ex Billericay Town striker David Knight halves the deficit at Mill Field. Game on there and here too …
61 mins – GOAL! ….. BILLERICAY TOWN 2, Wingate & Finchley 0 Rob Swaine doubles ‘Ricay’s lead. He has to be up there with the leading scorers in the league, Rob!
60 mins – Brilliant darts. Ted Hankey hits a 12 darter to go within a leg of the final but Christian Kist takes a gutsy double top to stay in it. He still needs to win the next two legs to stay in it though.
58 mins – GOAL! ….. Concord Rangers 4, Bury Town 1 Sherwin Stanley’s second of the afternoon has Shirley made the points safe. Hurrah!
55 mins – GOAL! ….. Harlow Town 2, TILBURY 0 A long way back for 10 men Dockers now. Michael Deane doubles the hosts’ lead. Ho hum.
50 mins – Hearing the half time score at Gardiners Close. Poor old Chris Wood really does have his work cut out. By all accounts the Bees have had plenty of play, too. Meanwhile, here at Lakeside, is building up to a brilliant finish. Hankey went 5-3 up but Kist has hit back. Anyone’s game.
47 mins – GOAL! ….. Sutton United 0, THURROCK 1 Oh yes! The ‘Fleet are in the Hunt for all three points at Gander Green Lane. How vital could that be?
4.03pm – KICK OFF! Again. And game on too.
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HALF TIME: Apologies for the absence of updates. I did type them up but with the Lakeside crowd going mad with a possible real upset in the darts, the connection just went. Late goals at Thames Road, Sixfields and Mill Field and The Count is on the verge of dispensing with The Lipstick! And still one half to go!
42 mins – GOAL! ….. CONCORD RANGERS 2, Bury Town 1 That’ll do for me! Sherwin Stanley restores the home side’s advantage. Yay!
41 mins – GOAL! ….. Northampton Town 1, SOUTHEND UNITED 1 What was I saying about the Shrimpers doing no favours? They are now! Dave Martin levels things up at Sixfields. So timely, too, not only for them as well.
39 mins – GOAL! ….. Dagenham & Redbridge 0, HEREFORD UNITED 1 Trouble at Victoria Road. The Bulls open the scoring, and with Southend failing to do the Daggers a favour at Northampton, the storm clouds gather despite the beautiful sunshine this afternoon.
35 mins – GOAL! ….. HARLOW TOWN 1, Tilbury 0 Another yellow card picked up in the process, too, as Danny Brown gives the hosts the lead from the penalty spot. This could be a long afternoon for the Dockers.
31 mins – GOAL! ….. Concord Rangers 1, BURY TOWN 1 Oops. Lee Smith evens it up on the island. That’s not playing the game at all, chaps, scoring like that.
30 mins – Red card for Tilbury Having already picked up three yellow cards, the Dockers task at Harlow is made that much harder by having to play an hour or so with 10 men. A daunting task for Tilbury now.
28 mins – Just to keep you up to date with the local rugby, London One North leaders Thurrock are just about in front at home to Bury St. Edmunds, leading by a goal to two penalties.
22 mins – GOAL! ….. CONCORD RANGERS 1, Bury Town 0 Steve is the King of Thames Road by giving the Beach Boys a very gratefully received lead. Get in there!
21 mins – In the FA Trophy tie at Rookery Hill, Sam Higgins is desperately close to equalising for East Thurrock United, his effort smacking the post. Meanwhile, is an upset on at Lakeside? Ted Hankey has gone 3-2 up at the break, with one leg finished off with two double 20′s!
18 mins – GOAL! ….. Aveley 0, CANVEY ISLAND 1 Huzzah! John Easterford heads the Gulls in front at Mill Field. Just the start they needed.
14 mins – GOAL! ….. BILLERICAY TOWN 1, Wingate & Finchley 0 Much better news at New Lodge, as Richard Halle orchestrates an excellent start for the home side. Hurrah!
11 mins – GOAL! ….. East Thurrock United 0, HAMPTON & RICHMOND BOROUGH 1 Oh no! Just the start the Rocks could do without. An own goal. Plenty of time to pull this one back, though.
10 mins – GOAL! ….. NORTHAMPTON TOWN 1, Southend United 0 Cobblers at Sixfields as they take an early lead, John Johnson opening the scoring. Bah.
3.08pm – No news on the football side, apart from a Canvey near miss at Aveley, but it’s now even stevens here at the Lakeside. You can see Christian Kist is the more in-form player, but Ted Hankey just doesn’t give up. The crowd have gone quiet, getting absorbed into a fascinating battle.
3.02pm – The Dutchman bounces back to re-take the lead here. He’s looking good but The Count is hanging in there.
3.00pm – KICK OFF! Oh yes!
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2.58pm – Team News Can Thurrock win at Sutton United? They will try with: Hughes Goodhind Harris Gillman White Thurgood I’Anson Terry Hunt Boylan Cutler. Subs – Davis Bowditch Osborn Furlonge Okah.
2.55pm – Ooh, it really is game on! Ted Hankey fights back tenaciously to draw level. Must say it’s strange watching the darts in person though. There are large screens about so you can see exactly what’s going on but somehow you don’t watch them, you get drawn to the players on the oche instead, even if you can’t see much.
2.50pm – Team News Here’s the Canvey Island team to play Aveley: Russell; Ward, Sheehan, Easterford, Matthews; Rhodes, King, Kerrigan, Curran; Heale, Woods-Garness. Subs – Hallett, Dobinson, Gordon, Levett, Game.
2.46pm – My goodness, it could be over quick here at Lakeside. Three chances of a double, three taken, and ‘Lipstick’ Kist takes the first set in no time at all.
2.45pm – Team News East Thurrock United go into their FA Trophy clash with Hampton & Richmond Borough with: Wray Sammons Stephens Wood Peddie Gilbey Newby Collins Higgins Ruel Cohen. Subs – Elbi Hall Hewitt Scott Riley.
2.42pm – Team News Billericay Town face Wingate & Finchley with: Brightly, Oates, Hawes, Sobers, Swaine (c), Wild, Berry, Halle, May, Cousins, Poole. Subs – Blackwell, Onwubiko, Chatting, Radley, Ottley.
2.40pm – Ted Hankey and Christian Kist have come out to a Lakeside that, well, went nosily berserk. This could be a cracker. Game on here!
2.35pm – Must say, if you’ve never been to see the darts before, go. Absolutely bouncing here. Plenty of alcohol without any of the menace you sometimes associate with football. Loads of fancy dress, loads of Dutch supporters, plenty of women drinking harder and having more fun that the blokes. Superb stuff!
2.30pm - Team News Here’s the starting XI for Dagenham & Redbridge as they search for points against Hereford: Lewington, Ogogo, Doe, Spillane, Ilesanmi, Bingham, Abdulla, Dom Green, Montano, Woodall, Nurse.
2.25pm – Team News Southend United’s team against Northamptopn will be: Morris, Clohessy, Phillips, Barker, Gilbert, Hall, Timlin, Kalala, Martin, Dickinson, Benyon. Subs – Sampson, Harris, Grant, Mohsni & Ferdinand.
2.20pm – Team News Concord Rangers face Bury Town with: Young, Miller, Robinson, Beckford, King, White, J Elmes, Lee, Stanley, H Elmes, Stokes. Subs – Ware, Hahn, Gonnella, Scott-Durojaiye, Dudley (GK).
2.15pm – Good afternoon from, erm, Lakeside in Frimley Green. Something different today. The first semi final of the BDO World Championships will soon be starting.
That’s not to say the football will be ignored. A huge day for East Thurrock United as they take on another Conference club in the FA Trophy. Wins are also desperately needed by all our Ryman Premier clubs for varying reasons, though not perhaps as much as Thurrock in the Cnference South.
As ever keep refreshing this page every few minutes, as well as tuning into Jimmy’s fine show from 3pm on 97.8 and online, and not only another afternoon of football thrills and spills will unfold, you will also find out if Mr. Hankey will count out the Dutch bloke here.
Let’s. Play. Darrrrrrrrts. And game on!
Rocks Trophy Challenge Tops Weekend Sports
All eyes will be on Rookery Hill this afternoon as the Rocks look to progress on their unlikely road to Wembley.
East Thurrock United have already played 17 cup matches during the course of this season, and this afternoon face perhaps their sternest test, outside of that epic FA Cup 1st Round tie, when Conference South side Hampton & Richmond Borough come to town.
John Coventry’s side, though, have been in great form, winning nine and drawing one of their last 10 games, and will certainly have no fears. A thrilling afternoon is again in prospect.
Elsewhere, Billericay Town must fancy their chances of boosting their Ryman Premier promotion hopes, Tilbury face a tough trip in Ryman One North, whilst in rugby London One North leaders Thurrock will be confident of a home victory.
Should you fancy a trip to see your local side (and Rookery Hill looks particularly tempting this afternoon), here’s today’s fixtures:
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FOOTBALL
FA Trophy
East Thurrock United v Hampton & Richmond Borough
Ryman Premier
Aveley v Canvey Island
Billericay Town v Wingate & Finchley
Concord Rangers v Bury Town
Ryman One North
Harlow Town v Tilbury
Conference South
Sutton United v Thurrock
Essex Senior League
Basildon United v Eton Manor
Bowers & Pitsea v Witham Town
Football League 2
Dagenham & Redbridge v Hereford United
Northampton Town v Southend United
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RUGBY
Thurrock v Bury St. Edmunds
Woodford v Basildon
Canvey Island v Enfield Ignations
Billericay v Old Cooperians
Stanford-le-Hope v Ilford Wanderers
East Thurrock United v Concord Rangers – LIVE
East Thurrock United 4-1 Concord Rangers
Thurrock 1-1 Salisbury City
Stansted 1-1 Bowers & Pitsea
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FULL TIME And the curtain comes down on a cracking evening’s entertainment. You have to feel for Concord, having three shots cleared off the line. No doubt that East Thurrock United deserved the win, with the goalscorers outstanding, but the margin of victory is somewhat flattering. That’s football though.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this evening’s jolly japery. Until the weekend, enjoy yourselves, and your football.
Injury time – GOAL! ….. EAST THURROCK UNITED 4, Concord Rangers 1 Life is cruel. So is football. So was Kye Ruel with his run on the right, on the break. His low centre found SAM HIGGINS and he whacked in a low shot from about 12 yards. Cracking goal but so unfair on the Beach Boys.
87 mins – GOAL! ….. THURROCK 1, Salisbury City 1 Oh yes, get in there! A late, late equaliser for the Fleet. On the back of goals like this seasons can be revived.
84 mins – Nothing to watch here at the moment. Huffing and puffing but not blowing the house down. We’re instead gossiping about Graham Roberts and Tony Currie, though I’m not sure how we got onto the subject.
79 mins As Brian and I argue over who said Concord deserve a goal first, yet another goalbound shot is somehow cleared off the line. Nobody even saw the Rocks defender pop up either. I think it must have been the shopkeeper from Mr. Benn who saved the Rocks that time.
76 mins – Another Beach Boys run at goal, a shot from the edge of the area, but it’s easily saved by Richard Wray. Credit to the visitors, not only have they not given up, they’re playing the better football and creating chances. They deserve a goal.
72 mins Another corner for Concord on the right, Harry Elmes rises to head the ball goalbound, but I’d hesitate to say it was another clearance off the line as there were plenty of Rocks defenders between the ball and the goal line.
70 mins – Sam Higgins disposesses the Concord rearguard, bears in on goal on the left, but Andy Young is equal to the task and saves well.
Attendance: A very healthy 182 braving the mild spring-like Rookery Hill elements for this deby match.
65 mins – Concord come forward, and from a corner on the right, a goalbound header is cleared off the line. Another goal for the visitors would make this very interesting indeed. Squeaky bottom time, that’d be, for all involved. And for those of us impartial, so much fun to watch.
60 mins – GOAL! ….. EAST THURROCK UNITED 3, Concord Rangers 1 A pivotal couple of minutes, this. A corner on the right, the far post is left unguarded, and KYE RUEL again has the simplest of tasks, this time to nod into the Bus Stops End goal. Not exactly liquid football but the Rocks won’t care.
58 mins – GOAL! ….. EAST THURROCK UNITED 2, Concord Rangers 1 Ooh, not sure what happened there. A break down the left, a centre into the box, there seemed to be little danger with a couple of Concord defenders there to guide it away from KYE RUEL, but somehow they failed to do so, and he shot home from 6 yards whilst on the floor. Calamitous goal for Concord but, on the balance on play, deserved for the Rocks.
54 mins – A nice run by Sam Higgins on the right hand side isn’t closed down as he runs inside the area. He dithers, though, and the Beach Boys dispossess him before he even has a shot.
52 mins – First substitution of the evening for Concord. Sherwin Stanley replaces Ashley Miller.
49 mins – Kris Newby runs menacingly towards the Beach Boys box (which sounds mildly crude) but Steve King puts in a super tackle to dispossess and clear things up.
46 mins – Early Rocks pressure results in a free kick. From that a Sam Collins shot from just outside the area narrowly misses Corringham Social Club.
8.49pm – KICK OFF! Ooh, it’s gonna be a good ‘un.
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HALF TIME A very watchable first half. The home side, as you would expect from any home side in good form, have had the better of it territory and possession wise, but Concord, as you would expect from an away team on good form, have looked dangerous themselves. This could go any which way. But loose. Time for a tea and a Twix. Laters chaps and chapesses.
45 mins Oh what a miss! Schoolboy error from the Concord centre halves leaves Greg Cohen clear on goal just inside the area but his tame shot goes wide of the left hand post. Football pie crumbs down the front of his shirt, that.
43 mins – Corner to Concord on the right. Again a Beach Boys head gets to it first, and for a moment there’s panic, but no visiting player gets inside the six yard box and the danger passes, to the mild frustration of the healthy visiting support.
40 mins – GOAL! ….. Thurrock 0, SALISBURY CITY 1 More bad news, predictably, from Ship Lane. The high flying visitors take the lead and the Fleet are ran aground again. I’m beginning to run out of bad puns to try to raise a wry smile for them this season. Still, only one goal, plenty of time to turn it round.
37 mins – Corner for Concord on the left. Goes to the edge of the area, a Messi-esque flick from Stokes, which Wray does well to get down to. Some very decent football in amongst the endeavour and commitment. And f words from Covo. I like it here.
32 mins – The home side sweep downfield, though, and a shot from the edge of the area hits a Concord defender’s foot and rebounds off what may have been his hand but looked like his body. The home fans appeal, though, and routinely abuse the ref for waving play on. Chortle. Warming up nicely amongst the crowd now as well as it being a decent match on the pitch.
31 mins – Concord try to respond, and a good swift punt upfield sees Tony Stokes momentarily look like bearing down on goal. Keeper Richard Wray, though, comes out and comfortably clears.
28 mins As you can imagine, the equaliser has re-energised the Rocks, who are putting together some nice, slick passing. No end product. Much like my school reports and workplace reviews down the years. Ho hum. At least I care a bit about this though.
23 mins – GOAL! ….. EAST THURROCK UNITED 1, Concord Rangers 1 Striker! Another free kick, this time central and 30 yards out. SAM HIGGINS hammers into the bottom left hand corner of the Manorway End goal. He must have a foot like a traction engine and we have a real game on our hands here. Hurrah!
21 mins A carbon copy reply from the Rocks. Aprt from the free kick being on the right, not the left. And near the bye-line, not midfield. But Simon Peddie did head over unmarked at the far post. Bang on journalism there.
19mins That was dangerous from the Beach Boys. A free kick wide on the left came in, and Steve King was unmarked at the far post, but his header was off target, rising over the bar.
16 mins Although having said that a brief bout of handbags breaks out which the ref does well to sort out quickly. Meanwhile, my leggy assistant Brian continues to take mini-videos of the ‘action’. He’s keen – and has nice legs, you know.
13 mins There really hasn’t been much to it. The ball has been a a-pinging and a-ponging like a pingy-pongy thing in the middle third. Lots of shouting, lots of effort, competitive without being niggly.
8 mins – GOAL! ….. East Thurrock United 0, CONCORD RANGERS 1 A goal out of nothing. Tony Stokes does well on the left, he puts in a low centre, and ASHLEY MILLER taps it in from inside the six yard box. Game on already!
5 mins – Nice play down the right from the Rocks, which ends in a shot on the edge of the area that Beach Boys custodian Andy Young does well to parry clear.
3 mins – A possible handball in the Concord penalty is quickly turned down, then play switches upfield towards the Bus Stops End. Richard Wray has to come outside the right hand edge of the area,near the bye-line, to clear.
7.48pm – KICK OFF! Oh yes!
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7.44pm – The teams come out to a wave of apathy. Must be something to do with these warm winter nights.
That vital pre-match morris dance.
7.40pm – Team News: East Thurrock United go with: 1 – Eichard Wray 2. – Ryan Sammons. 3 – Tom Stephen. 4 – Ben Wood. 5 – Simon Peddie. 6 – Reiss Gilbey. 7 – Kris Newby. 8 – Sam Collins. 9 – Sam Higgins. 10 – Petrit Elbi. 11 – Greg Cohen.
Concord Rangers go with: Young, White, Robinson, Cowley, King, Tafazolli, J Elmes, Lee, Miller, Stokes, H Elmes.
7.35pm – No team news as yet, so a quick look at elsewhere. In the Essex Senior League, Bowers & Pitsea have yet another tough task away at Stansted. In the Conference South it’s a similar case for bottom side Thurrock, who have a tricky game at home to FA Cup heroes Salisbury. Still, just one win can ignite a season, so how knows?
7.25pm – Good evening, one and all, to an unfeasibly mild Rookery Hill for this evening’s intriguingly poised clash.
Less than a month ago this would have been a Ryman Premier relegation six pointer but a remarkable turnaround in both clubs fortunes have seen them both move up into the realms of mid table comfort.
The Beach Boys will be full of confidence after reaching the Essex Senior Cup semi final and coming through unbeaten over Christmas and New Year, including a fine derby win at Canvey and a decent draw against then leaders Billericay Town.
The Rocks, though, are just as ebullient. Unbeaten in 9, and having won five games on the trot, Covo’s side even have an outside chance of a play-off challenge if they continue winning their games in hand. Safety, however, is what they are looking for first and foremost, making sure they don’t run before they can walk.
It promises to be a spiffing evening’s entertainment and you won’t miss any of the main action. Just keep refreshing this page every few minutes, and tune into Mark Hardie’s 90′s Revival on 97.8 FM or here on the interweb, and all shall be revealed. Including the meaning of life.
Another Weekend, Another Mixed Set Of Results
Everything from the Essex Senior League to the FA Cup, via London One North rugby, took part for our locals sides over the weekend, and the only predictable thing, again, was the unpredictable nature of the results.
Bad weekend for our Ryman Premier sides, with East Thurrock the only victors, and poor results in the Essex Senior League and Conference South.
Good weekend, though, in Ryman One North, League 2, the FA Cup and (by and large) our rugby sides.
Here’s the results:
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FOOTBALL
Ryman League Premier Division
Canvey Island 1-2 Cray Wanderers
East Thurrock United 3-0 Leatherhead
Margate 1-0 Concord Rangers
Tooting & Mitcham 4-2 Billericay Town
Ryman One North
Cheshunt 0-1 Grays Athletic
Tilbury 4-1 Ilford
Conference South
Dorchester 3-0 Thurrock
Essex Senior League
Bethnal Green United 4-2 Bowers & Pitsea
Burnham Ramblers 2-0 Basildon United
FA Cup 3rd Round
Dagenahm & Redbridge 0-0 Millwall
Football League Two
Southend United 3-0 Port Vale
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RUGBY
London One North
Braintree 5-29 Thurrock
London Two North East
Basildon 17-7 Ipswich
Beccles 31-17 Canvey Island
This Weekend’s Sports Fixtures
New year, new weekend, and a new set of enthralling local sports fixtures are on offer, from the bottom of the pile to the top of the tree.
Billericay Town have a tough ask to keep their place at the head of the Ryman Premier, whilst East Thurrock and Concord will be looking to move further away from the drop zone.
Grays and Tilbury both have winnable games as they strive to cement their promotion credentials in Ryman One North.
At the other end of the spectrum, Conference South outfit Thurrock and ESL sides, Basildon and Bowers all have tough looking away trips as they bid to haul themselves off the bottom of their leagues.
In rugby, Thurrock and Basildon will be confident of building more on their great seasons, too.
FOOTBALL
Ryman League Premier Division
Canvey Island v Cray Wanderers
East Thurrock United v Leatherhead
Margate v Concord Rangers
Tooting & Mitcham v Billericay Town
Ryman One North
Cheshunt v Grays Athletic
Tilbury v Ilford
Conference South
Dorchester v Thurrock
Essex Senior League
Bethnal Green United v Bowers & Pitsea
Burnham Ramblers v Basildon United
FA Cup 3rd Round
Dagenahm & Redbridge v Millwall
Football League Two
Southend United v Port Vale
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RUGBY
London One North
Braintree v Thurrock
London Two North East
Basildon v Ipswich
Beccles v Canvey Island
A Rocking Start To 2012 As Covo Conquers Canvey
Phew! A hectic festive feast of football frolics is over and, as you can imagine, this afternoon was yet another 90 minutes of thrills and spills, ups and downs for our sides. That was before the kick-off too.
Pride of place, undoubtedly, over the Christmas and New Year period has been East Thurrock United. Without the distractions of cup competitions, John Coventry’s side racked up four wins out of four, three of them away, to haul themselves away from the Ryman Premier drop zone.
Hot on their tails come Concord Rangers, with three out of three, and also look more and more secure from relegation by the game.
Anyhow, enough of the review, here’s this afternoon’s results where that leaves our sides.
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Ryman Premier
Bury Town 1-1 Billericay Town
Billericay remain top.
Concord Rangers 3-0 Aveley
Concord up to 15th, five points and four places from the drop zone, unbeaten in five.
East Thurrock United 2-1 Canvey Island
Rocks up to 16th, four points and three places away from the relegation zone, unbeaten in eight.
Gulls slip to 10th after a mixed festive period.
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Ryman One North
Chatham Town 3-0 Tilbury
Dockers remain fifth, in a play-off place, despite the rare defeat.
Great Wakering Rovers 0-1 Grays Athletic
Conversely, Blues stay fourth despite the win, but will be looking at a title bid and automatic promotion.
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Football League Two
Southend United 1-1 Dagenham & Redbridge
Shrimpers remain in a solid third position, an automatic promotion place.
Daggers with a late equaliser earn a very good point. Unbeaten over the festive season, and out of the drop zone, by one place and three points.
New Year’s Eve Results
Ryman Premier
Billericay Town 3-0 Harrow Borough
Canvey Island 4-1 AFC Hornchurch
Cray Wanderers 2-4 Concord Rangers
Hastings United 1-2 East Thurrock United
Ryman One North
Tilbury 2-1 Enfield Town
Football League 2
AFC Wimbledon 1-4 Southend United
What a great way to see out 2011! Six local sides in action, six wins,
As you would have heard on Gateway Sport, East Thurrock United manager John Coventry was delighted with how his side came back from a goal behind at half time, a Kris Newby header and comical own goal turning things around for the Rocks, who are now out of the Ryman Premier drop zone.
It’s a similar story for Concord Rangers. They rounded off the year in style with an impressive 4-2 win at Cray Wanderers. The Beach Boys are now moving well clear of relegation.
Canvey Island looked to be in trouble at half time, trailing promotion contenders AFC Hornchurch at the break. Whatever John Batch put in their half time tea at Park Lane, it certainly worked, with four second half goals and an impressive 4-1 victory.
Billericay Town shook off their festive doldrums, too, seeing off Harrow Borough with two Richard Halle strikes in the first half and a Rob Swaine effort late on. In front of another 1,000+ crowd, and sitting proudly on top of the table, the New Lodge outfit will see in the New Year in fine fettle.
In Ryman One North, Tilbury once again had a superb win against play-off rivals, this time Enfield Town, at Chadfields. The 2-1 victory leaves the Dockers right in the mix of the play-off fight and manager Paul Vaughan must be delighted with just how well things are going right now.
And in League 2, Southend United, after missing a first minute penalty and falling a goal behind, made no mistake after that, thumping AFC Wimbledon 4-1 away to cement their place in the promotion spots. It augurs well for Paul Sturrock and his side if he is allowed to keep them together,
Grays Athletic were due to play yesterday evening but their Ryman One North home game with Waltham Forest was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Dagenham & Redbridge did play last night in League 2, though, and defeated Gillingham 2-1 to pull themselves further clear of the relegation zone.
The next featured game will be on Monday when there will be coverage of East Thurrock United v Canvey Island. Until then, enjoy the weekend, and see you next year!
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About Gateway 97.8
Gateway 97.8 is the local community radio station for the Basildon and East Thurrock areas of South Essex, providing news, sport and information to the local population. 