Hornchurch take the title- whilst Borough and K’s have relegation confirmed

Leaders Hornchurch welcomed their only challengers for the title, Chatham Town, the Urchins needing just one point to take the prize. With ten points between the clubs at kick off the Chats chances of the title were rather slim, and they went from slim to virtually non-existent on sixty four minutes when Femi Akinwande put the Urchins ahead, his eighteenth Hornchurch goal adding to the eight he got for Hastings United earlier in the season. The Chats levelled with two minutes to go through Rowan Liburd, but shortly afterwards they went down to ten men, a red card for substitute Khale Da Costa, and the Urchins took advantage, Liam Nash properly starting the party by winning the match four minutes into added time, and that was that. The Urchins are deserved champions, a title confirmed whilst they still have five matches left to play.

Third place Enfield Town had been in fine form, boss Gavin MacPherson picking up our Manager of the Month award for March, and they were looking to avoid a curse and take their unbeaten run to eleven matches as they travelled to face Dulwich Hamlet. Two defeats over Easter had badly hit Hamlet’s play off hopes, and they fell behind on twenty three minutes as Sam Youngs took his tally for the season to twenty six. Marcus Wyllie has also been scoring goals for fun, and his thirtieth of the campaign doubled the lead just before the break, and the Towners added a third nine minutes into the second half, silencing a large number of the three thousand, three hundred and thirty four watching on. The home fans were soon even more miserable as Wyllie got a fourth, and that was that, Town remaining third- six points clear of sixth place- whilst Hamlet’s season seems likely to end without a play off spot, given they are six points away from fifth place with only three matches left.

Wingate and Finchley took a run of one defeat in ten to the seaside, where they faced second bottom Concord Rangers. The Beachboys hopes of avoiding the drop looked slim at kick off, and they looked slimmer still when Ruben Carvalho put the North Londoners ahead on the stroke of half time. Carvalho added a second just after the hour, and the hopes of the home faithful departed with a red card for their leading scorer Harrison Day with twenty one minutes left. Rangers lost another player to a red card just before the end, Simon Omope also heading to the dressing room early, and the visitors held on for three comfortable points. Wingate remain fourth, five points ahead of the chasing pack, whilst Rangers hit the bottom, with their chances of salvation looking to have similar odds as their chances of winning the lottery.

Horsham needed victory if they were to continue to hold the upper hand in the play off race, and the Hornets headed to Folkestone Invicta looking for a fourth win in a row- but they were left stunned in the opening stages after the Stripes hit them not once but twice. Ian Gayle got the opener on fifteen minutes, and just over ten minutes later an own goal doubled the advantage, and it remained that way at half time- but it got even worse for the visitors nine minutes into the second half, Eddie Allsopp making it three-nil. Three minutes from time the visitors finally found the net, James Hammond scoring from the spot, but it was too little, too late. The Hornets drop to sixth- but they do have three games in hand over Billericay Town, who are ahead of them only on goal difference.

Carshalton Athletic travelled to Whitehawk hoping for three more points in their play off chase, but it looked like they’d have to contend with one, the match reaching the ninety minute mark goalless. As it turned out they didn’t even get that, as a goal five minutes into added time from Josh Nandhra gave all of the points to the Hawks. The Robins drop to eighth.

Billericay Town needed victory at Haringey Borough to keep their play off hopes alive, whilst Borough were on the verge of relegation and knew that, whatever they did, their fate was hanging by a thread- and that thread had snapped within twenty two minutes, as by that point the visitors were four goals to the good. A Bradley Stevenson penalty put Town ahead after just four minutes, and Stevenson had a hat trick with less than a quarter of the match played, adding the third and fourth after Moses Emmanuel had got a tenth minute second. Twenty minutes into the second half the hosts went down to ten men, Olu Durojaiye dismissed, and the visitors soon added a fifth goal, Moses Emmanuel with that one. Eleven minutes from time it was six, Ruben Soares with that one, a result which sent the Blues into the top five- and sent the hosts down.

Bognor Regis Town welcomed Hastings United for a Sussex seaside derby, the visitors needing the points to keep their play off chase alive- and they broke the deadlock on sixty three minutes, Davide Rodari with his thirty first of the season, this one from the spot. The goals started and stopped there, United up to seventh- two points away from the top five.

Cheshunt (pictured, Local Bus Driver) were looking to bounce back after two defeats, and were beginning to feel a little heat in eighteenth place as fourth bottom Margate had begun to close the gap. Three points for the Ambers against Lewes was more than desirable, and they had a fine start, Nathaniel Orafu putting them ahead on the quarter hour and an own goal doubling their advantage just three minutes later. The Rooks, with only one win from their previous six, had seen their play off hopes evaporate over recent weeks, and their misery continued when Nnamdi Nwachuku made it three-nil with twenty three minutes left. Nwachuku got his second of the afternoon, and his sides fourth, eight minutes from time- a result which ensured they maintained their six point lead over Margate with both sides having four games to play.

Margate needed victory to keep the pressure on Cheshunt in the battle to avoid relegation, but knew that if that victory arrived it would relegate their hosts, Kingstonian. The Blues took only five minutes to go ahead, Jeremiah Pinder with his first goal for the club, and just before half time Ben Greenhalgh’s eleventh of the season made it two. The K’s had to win, and they got back into the game when Nasim Regragui scored just after the hour mark, but four minutes from time Greenhalgh scored from the spot to make it three-one and that was that. The K’s go down- the Blues still have to make up six points between themselves and Cheshunt, and a significantly worse goal difference, with four matches remaining.

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