Blues and Millers cut the Urchins lead to three points

Leaders Hornchurch, ten matches unbeaten, had a relatively short trip to White Hart Lane, where they faced Haringey Borough. The Urchins, five points clear at the top with a game in hand, had gone two down before coming back to take a draw against Borough the last time the two sides met, and they soon knew they would have to come from behind once more, Bobson Bawling opening the scoring midway through the first half. It looked as if the Urchins were heading to defeat, and then right at the end Charlie Stimson grabbed a point. Both matches between the sides this season have ended level.

Bishop’s Stortford, in second place, looked to arrest a run which had seem them win only one of their last five- and take one point from the last nine available. The Blues were on the road to face another set of Blues, Wingate & Finchley, who saw a four match unbeaten run come to an end at the hands of the leaders in midweek and who must have been be cursing the fixture computer after having the top two come to visit in four days. Stortford took the lead from the spot six minutes after the break, David Olufemi keeping his nerve, and that turned out to be that.

Third place Aveley were on the road to Margate. Nine games unbeaten- and, even more impressively, having won eight of them- the Millers went ahead just before the break through Harry Gibbs, and it turned out that Gibbs goal was enough to deliver another three points- and see them close to within three points of the leaders and do the double over their opponents.

Canvey Island, in fourth, made the first of two long away trips to Sussex in four days as they headed to Bognor Regis Town. The Gulls took a six match unbeaten run to a different seaside, and indeed had only one defeat from their last ten matches, and they looked to be on their way to another victory when Evans Kouassi got his seventeenth of the season and scored for the third Saturday in a row, five minutes before half time. That’s how it turned out, as that was the only goal of the game and sealed an important double for the Gulls.

Fifth place Enfield Town were off around the M25 to Tolworth to take on Corinthian-Casuals, their hosts without a win since New Years Bank Holiday Monday and looking rather doomed, thirteen points from safety. It started badly for the side in pink and brown, as the Towners took only eight minutes to go ahead, Khale Da Costa, who scored on his debut in midweek, making it two goals in two games. Jake Cass added his fifteenth of the season just after the half hour, making it two-nil from the spot, and with twenty minutes left it was game over, as Andre Coker made it three.

Carshalton Athletic welcomed relegation-fighters Herne Bay to Colston Avenue on the back of a run which had seen them lose only one of their last six; whilst Bay started the day five points from safety and, with seven matches left, really needed to head back to Kent with something to show for their efforts. The visitors went ahead on the hour, their talisman Michael Barrington opening the scoring, but the Robins were quickly level through Calvin Ekpiteta. They weren’t level for long, Barrington doing it again for the visitors, and it was dreamland for the visitors with six minutes left, Finn O’Mara with a third. The result sees Bay close to within two points of fifth bottom Kingstonian.

Cray Wanderers gave their promotion hopes a boost when walloping five goals past Potters Bar Town last weekend, and Wands would have been hopeful of three more points as they headed to face our bottom side Brightlingsea Regent. Thirteen points from safety, Regent surely needed a win to have any chance of survival, but they went down to ten men just after the hour mark with the match goalless, Jermain Anderson seeing red. The visitors took advantage with only eight minutes to go, Destiny Oladipo with the opening goal, but Wands then went down to ten themselves, Shaun Rowley seeing red. It didn’t make a difference to the outcome, and Wands are up to sixth, three points behind fifth place Enfield Town.

Lewes, in ninth a kick off, started the day two points ahead of their hosts, Folkestone Invicta, and went ahead on the Kent coast nine minutes before the break, Deon Moore scoring for the second Saturday in a row. The equaliser arrived seventeen minutes from time, Scott Heard for the hosts in front of a crowd of eight hundred and sixty three, but Heard then found himself sent off in the closing stages and the hosts would live to regret that, as Moore grabbed the winner right at the end. The Rooks are up to seventh, and have a big match as they host Canvey on Tuesday night. We’ll be reporting on that one.

Image from Stuart Fuller.

Horsham looked to reinforce their play off credentials as they welcomed Bowers & Pitsea. With only one defeat from their last eight the Hornets have been in good form, and it took them less than a quarter of an hour to go ahead, Daniel Ajakaiye opening the scoring- and scoring for the third game in succession, making it eleven for the season. In two crazy minutes before the break that eleven was thirteen, as he added two more to give his side a comfortable three-nil advantage at the break. Jack Mazzone added a fourth thirteen minutes from time, and although Henry Sinai got one back four minutes from time it made little difference to the outcome, the Hornets up to eighth.

Potters Bar Town welcomed Kingstonian in a match that was far more important to the visitors. The Scholars had gone nine matches without a win, but they went ahead on seven minutes, Lewis Smith opening the scoring- and the advantage was doubled with twenty five minutes left, Charncey Dash with the second. Tom Collins then got his first goal since returning to the K’s, converting from the spot, and with fifteen minutes left the K’s drew level, David Nyarko with the equaliser. Right at the end the Scholars took the points, Adam Martin making it three-two and lighting up the Lantern Stadium. K’s are only two points clear of the bottom four.

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