Pitching In Isthmian Performance of the Month Awards, January 2022

We’ve had an exceptional start to 2022, with a number of performances making us sit up and take note. Despite that, however, we had far less debate than usual this time around, and a unanimous outcome. Here are our deserved winners of the Pitching In Isthmian Performance of the Month Awards for January 2022.

Pitching In Isthmian Premier

Reaching the Fourth Round of the FA Trophy had already set a club record for Cheshunt, even before the Ambers travelled to face St Albans City- but Craig Edwards’ side weren’t content with that! A second half storm saw them wipe out their hosts by a rather incredible three goals to nil- City’s biggest home defeat of the season!

St Albans, in eighth place in National League South, reached the interval level- and that turned out to be their biggest achievement of the match. Only four minutes after the restart a Reece Beckles-Richards piledriver made it one-nil, and that was followed nine minutes later by a Rowan Liburd header. Liburd already had ten goals in only nine matches for the Ambers, and seventeen minutes from time he had twelve in ten, finding the bottom corner of the net after his first effort was blocked.

Congratulations to the Ambers on a truly remarkable victory.

Pitching In Isthmian North

Canvey Island, in second place as we kicked off on the first Bank Holiday of the New Year, hosted Great Wakering Rovers, newly managed by former East Thurrock Utd legend John Coventry. The promotion-chasing Gulls went two goals up- and then Rovers got going. Jermaine Anderson reduced the arrears, Martin Tuohy levelled from the spot, and then Anderson shocked the home faithful by getting Rovers third thirteen minutes from time. The shellshocked Gulls had no reply, and Rovers took a famous victory which is now giving them a famous prize! Congratulations to all at Burroughs Park on a magnificent victory.

Pitching In Isthmian South Central

When Hanwell Town and Staines Town met for the first time this season, back in September, the Geordies won a rather extraordinary match by six goals to five, coming back from a rather improbable four goals down to do it. On that note we expected both goals and drama in the return match, but we suspect nobody had ever considered that the final score could possibly be twelve-nil!

Sam Saunders started things off, tapping in a cross from Tom Collins in the sixth minute, and only one minute later the tally was two, as Massimo Giamattei got into the act. Collins made it three-nil on the night and nineteen for the season in the thirteenth minute. A missed penalty made little difference to the visitors, as Collins got his twentieth of the season on twenty eight minutes, before Edon Pruti made it five, four minutes before the break.

Saunders made it six nine minutes after the restart, before Ogo Obi, on as a half time substitute for Collins, got into the act. He got his eighteenth of the season eleven minutes after entering the fray. Hutchinson got number eight just after the hour, before Salhin Abubakar made it nine.

Obi sent the Geordies into double figures on seventy three minutes, Tomasz Siemienczuk got number eleven from the spot nine minutes from time, and Harry Rush grabbing number twelve just before the end.

Congratulations to the Geordies, who now have a physical momento from a rather remarkable night to look forward to.

Pitching In Isthmian South East Division

Hastings United had opened up a seven point gap at the top of the division, and looked to extend that as Burgess Hill Town made the journey to the seaside. With only two defeats from their last ten the Hillians weren’t expected to be pushovers, and so it turned out, as they took all three points and were deserved winners. Tom Chalaye silenced the bumper home crowd after just three minutes, and another goal from the same player followed by a winner from Martyn Box- after the hosts had twice equalised- sealed a famous win for the visitors.

Fifteen hundred and two watched the match, and only the green hordes heading back to Mid Sussex left delighted. We hope this award will bring them even more delight. Congratulations to Jay Lovett and his side.

Pitching In is a Grassroots Sports Investment Programme launched by GVC, the multi-national sports-betting and gaming group which owns Ladbrokes and Coral. The partnership covers all three leagues that make up Steps 3 & 4 of the National Leagues System.

Pitching In has been set up with the objective of supporting, protecting and encouraging grassroots sports in the UK through a range of initiatives.

In addition to financial support, a key focus of the partnership will be to facilitate and encourage members of the community to become volunteers, and do some pitching in of their own. A Pitching In volunteering scheme will be established to link GVC’s Ladbrokes and Coral shop colleagues with their local clubs.

For more information on Pitching In please visit the website here.

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