Aiwone's East Side Of That LDN

ABBEY’S CUP HOPES DASHED IN THE MIDLANDS

300 fans travelled to the Ricoh Arena, home of Coventry City to watch possibly the biggest game of Barking Abbey’s season, the reds put on a display most Premier League and Championship sides would be proud of against their Midlands opponents but it wasn’t enough to progress to the Quarter-finals of the UK schools championships which is very much our own version of The FA Cup.

Two goals inside seven second half minutes left the reds with a huge mountain to climb but after playing some real good football once the pressure was off, they grabbed a goal with nine minutes to go which set up a grand finale but they just couldn’t find that second goal that would’ve taken the tie into extra time and the possibility of a penalty shootout.

Gateway Sixth Form College started the game on the front foot and within the first minute Macaulay Roberts whipped in a free kick from the right which flew past everything and everyone including the right hand post. In the 20^th minute, Gateway midfielder Kane Kissert headed against the reds bar after good work from Danny Jones. Down the other end the reds finally registered their first real attempt on goal as Sean Clark headed against the bar and no more than a minute later John Aiwone went on an amazing run down the left, cut in on his right foot before sending his shot past the near post.

As the half came to a close Jones saw his 25 yard strike go wide. The second half started the same way it ended with the visitors in control and dominating possession. The team from Leicester finally took the lead in the 62^nd minute after Jacob Batth flicked on a long ball into the path of Jones who hit a thunderous strike from 20 yards out which flew into goalkeeper Joel Fontaine’s top corner. Less than 10 minutes later Gateway doubled their lead in a rather unfortunate fashion after some good work down the right from Macaulay Roberts; his shot rebounded off Tommy Fletcher and straight into the path of Kissert who finished from 12 yards. Gateway almost added a third in the 78^th minute when Kissert’s cross was flicked on from Roberts but his effort struck the top of the crossbar.

The reds finally got their reward for settling down and playing some good football in the 81^st minute when a long throw from the right was headed into the box by John Aiwone and met by striker Eljay Worrell who struck a powerful drive into the roof of the net. Abbey pushed forward in search of an equalizer and almost came close to grabbing levelling when Gabriel Oniretti managed to wriggle free in the box but headed over after some delightful footwork from fullback Daniel Constance.

Defeat bought an end to the reds run in the cup for another season and ended a seven match unbeaten run in all competitions. 

THE LIONS TAMED AT HOME AS THE PHOENIX TRIUMPH

The London Lions were beaten 88-92 by the Cheshire Phoenix and drew level with them in fifth place in the BBL Championship on Friday evening in a game which they dominated for large periods. The Lions were scoring 20 plus points per quarter and were in control until the fourth when forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning went off after rolling his ankle and everything fell apart. Victor Moses and Dominique Coleman sharing 25 points each for the Phoenix.

The Lions stormed into a 20-9 lead inside the opening 5 minutes with Bryan-Amaning and Rod Brown dominating the first quarter with Bryan-Amaning and Brown combining for three 3 pointers and an offensive rebound. Adrien Sturt got the away side off the mark with a long range three pointer.

Reggie Middleton and Victor Moses then decided to spring into action and take the game into their own hands in the second as Phoenix pulled away from the host with Coleman also joining in on the fun and dropping four 3’s, one being exceptionally good when he had 3 defenders all around him but he still managed to get the shot off to claim 16 points as the Phoenix led 45-53 at the break.

But a massive finish to the third quarter was to ensue, led by Rod Brown who scored a season high 28 points on the night, full court pressure saw the Phoenix turn the ball over an amazing 6 times in a row and this saw the home team surge into a 72-70 lead after a dominant 17-3 run.

The Lions still led at 77-76 in the decisive fourth period, before three rapid lead changes ensued. But Coleman hit a crucial three-pointer for the visitors, who soon after emerged from a timeout with consecutive scores in what became a game-winning 10 unanswered points for a 79-88 lead with two and a half minutes to play.

The Lions had one last go, with Adrien Sturt's triple and were back to within one shot at 88-91 with six seconds to play, but they could not turn their last piece of possession into a bucket as time ran out.

CHELMSFORD PROGRESS AS BARKINGSIDE CRUMBLE AT HOME

A cold, wet, windy evening at Oakside Stadium saw Ryman North side Barkingside FC knocked out of the Essex senior cup 3-1 by Conference Skrill south side Chelmsford City.

Barkingside started the stronger of the two teams and took the lead inside eight minutes when defender Adam Salmon crossed for Shaun Clarke to head into the path of George Tubey who broke from midfield and fired into the roof of the net. It was an excellent start to the game but the lead wouldn’t last long as Chelmsford drew level within six minutes of going behind. Dave Rainford was brought down in the box by Joe Christou after some good work on the right from Tom Derry and picked himself up to fire City level. It was all going wrong for Barkingside after a bright start as City got a foothold of the game and became dominant in all areas of the pitch and were ahead after 15 minutes. A corner whipped in by Rainford and Tom Derry powered his header into the top corner.

Gabriel Oniretti had a great chance to level before half time but his effort went just a few inches wide of the post. Chelmsford pushed forward in search of another goal but couldn’t find a way past Barkingside keeper Leigham Stone who was in fine form denying Rainford again who despite being 34 years of age was looking instrumental in the middle of the park.

The visitors increased their lead in the 64^th minute through Marcus St Aime when Rainford’s corner fell to him unmarked in the area and he poked home from literally four yards out. Barkingside had a great shout for a penalty when Oniretti was upended in the penalty box but nothing was given with the players and manager furious with the decision.

Both teams had chances to score with Barkingside’s best effort of the second half falling to defender Aaron Scott but his left foot strike flew past the post and into the stands. Chelmsford dominated possession throughout the half and ran out worthy winners as they progressed into the quarter finals of the cup.

It will be worth seeing whether Barkingside can pick themselves up from this home defeat.