My First XI 21/22: Tony Osborne

This is my first X1, although there are a bucket load of players that could have made the squad. I could easily have another 11 subs as good as my first team. The Isthmian Premier League is certainly stacked with talent.

My Team:

Goalkeeper: Jack Giddens - Bishop’s Stortford; An ever present for the blues this season who also broke a record for 12 straight clean sheets and 1000 minutes without conceding, He’s had a great season.

Right-Back: Micky Parcell - Hornchurch; An ever present Urchin and an unbelievable player who somehow scored from inside his own half against Regent! There isn’t many better in our league IMO.

Left-Back: Ryan Henshaw - Bishop’s Stortford; I have always admired him since his AFC Sudbury days as a youngster, his bio says a lot about how good he is. Surprised he’s not played at a higher level. The blues skipper has had yet another very good consistent season.

Centre Back: Adam Crowther - Cheshunt; Only joined the Ambers in the summer, but I remember him on the team sheet for Royston Town previously. An old-fashioned, no-nonsense defender who has been key in Cheshunt’s promotion. He will do very well in the National League

Centre Back: Aarran Racine - Worthing; Played for some massive clubs in his time and now Assistant Manager at the Champions. A major part of that solid defence and is sure to win plenty of accolades for the season.

Right Wing: Razz Coleman De-Graft - Lewes; This guy is lively! We failed to contain him in our two matches with Lewes this season, Razz can play anywhere on the field and has been very impressive in his 40 appearances this season.

Left Wing: Dean Cox - Worthing; This is more of an appreciation vote. Being a Leyton Orient supporter, Deano was one of my favourite players over the years! Just watch the YouTube video of his 50 goals for the O’s, some absolute rockets in there. What a player.

Midfield: Tom Wraight - Hornchurch; 17 goals from Midfield for the Urchins, a big player for them this season with some excellent stats. The former Chelmsford City man has certainly been in fine form and his injury was a blow to the team in the playoff final. Let’s hope his injury isn’t too serious and we see him back to his best as soon as possible.

Midfield: Sam Youngs - Enfield Town; An absolute work horse in midfield, Sam has everything in his locker, you must just stand back and admire him. Another very impressive season leading the Towners to the playoffs

Striker: Ollie Pearce - Worthing; a goal machine at Bognor and a goal machine at Worthing. 38 goals this season making up over a third of the Champions goals! We can’t wait to see the back of Ollie (In a light-hearted way).

Striker: Joe Taylor - Lewes; Joe always scores against Regent for whoever he plays for! Another 30 plus season added to his tally, another fantastic season from Taylor. Arguably the best striker at Step 3.

Thanks Tony, see you next season! Now, let’s be hearing from the rest of you! Send in your First XI to Ian at townsendaround@gmail.com and you’ll see it here soon.
Follow the Pitching In Isthmian League on Instagram. Head here or search for theisthmianleague on your app. We're also on Facebook and Twitter.