Pitching In Isthmian Performance of the Month Awards, February 2022

February was a fine month for many sides across the league, with some exceptional performances despite weather-related challenges. Here are our deserved winners of the Pitching In Isthmian Performance of the Month Awards.

Pitching In Isthmian Premier

Wingate & Finchley welcomed local rivals Enfield Town on Tuesday 15th February with the Towners looking to bounce back from their first defeat in eight matches and the Blues in rather mixed form. The visitors were in second place, had closed to within five points of leaders Worthing and were hoping to close that gap still further, but their hosts had rather different ideas.

Wingate & Finchley were three goals to the good by half time, Thoe Ofori and a double from Antonis Vasiliou doing the damage, and although the Towners got one back soon after the restart the hosts got a fourth eleven minutes from time, Dylan Kearney making sure of three points.

Our congratulations to all at the Maurice Rebak Stadium on such a fine performance.

Pitching In Isthmian North

Hullbridge Sports, bottom of the table for most of the season, welcomed promotion-chasing Dereham Town at the beginning of February. The Magpies were fifth, and Sports nineteenth, the hosts having won their first match in five the Saturday before. Anyone new to the Pitching In Isthmian League would have struggled to identify which side was relegation-threatened and which was chasing promotion, as the hosts put their visitors to the sword, triumphing by three goals to nil. Joe Gregory got them underway midway through the first half, whilst Abdus Salami and Tony Stokes added two more in the closing stages, a result which lifted Sports to within three points of third-bottom Witham Town and spoiled the Magpies chances of taking fourth place.

Congratulations to all at Lower Road.

Pitching In Isthmian South Central

Promotion-chasing Marlow arrived at Whitehall Lane on February 8th knowing that a win would take them to within one point of the top five, and with a game in hand and with a better goal difference than three of the four sides directly above them. Not only did hosts South Park deprive them of that win, but they breached a rearguard that had previously conceded only thirteen goals all season a rather incredible FIVE times. The Sparks opened the scoring in just the fourth minute through Sam Tutt, and another Sam, King, added another before the break. Then, in the closing changes, they walloped three more in eight minutes- King, Melford Simpson and Dom Pires sending the visitors back to Buckinghamshire in a bad mood.

Many congratulations to the Sparks!

Pitching In Isthmian South East Division

Promotion-chasing Ashford United made the journey to Three Bridges, home of the rail replacement bus service, looking to get back on track after defeat to title-favourites Hastings United the week before. Not only did they not get back on track, but they were firmly derailed, as Bridges hammered home five goals, with forward Dan ‘Hitman’ Perry scoring five of them.

There were nineteen points between the sides at kick off, but not for one moment did that bother the hosts, who had scored three goals in each of their previous three matches. Curtis Gayler opened the scoring for Bridges shortly before the break, but after it Perry scored in groups of two, getting his first brace before Johan Ter Horst gave the visitors hope, then another two to firmly extinguish that hope.

Many congratulations to the fine folks of Jubilee Field- and by the way we’re loving your large illuminated fixture board by the main road!

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.

Follow the Pitching In Isthmian League on Instagram. Head here or search for theisthmianleague on your app. We're also on Facebook and Twitter.