Pitching In Isthmian Performance of the Month Awards, October 2022

By Ian Townsend

We honour the best performances of October- and remember a collection of slain giants!

October regularly delivered magnificent performances, but we started with a longlist, whittled it down to a shortlist, and eventually agreed on some winners. Here are the recipients of our Performance of the Month prize for October- and they are all giant killers!

Pitching In Isthmian Premier

On October 1st Folkestone Invicta travelled to take on one of our former clubs, Dulwich Hamlet- these days mainstays of National League South- in the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. More than eighteen hundred people turned up at Champion Hill, most in anticipation of a home victory- but they didn’t get one, because Ade Yusuff had other ideas. Invicta were down to ten men before the first half came to an end, but ten turned out to be a magic number as Yusuff put them ahead just after the restart, and they held out for a famous victory. They’ll now have a shiny memento of that win, and our congratulations.

Pitching In Isthmian North

Heybridge Swifts have been in magnificent form in League and Cups this season, but October was particularly special, and they ended up with the top two nominations for this prize courtesy of two Trophy trips where they comfortably dumped out a side from a higher level. Potters Bar Town, challenging for top spot in our Premier Division, were their first victims on October 8th- Andy Fennell and Kieran Jones doing the damage; and then to prove that wasn’t a one-off they travelled to Royston Town in the next round and delivered another two-nil victory, Rhys Henry and Ross Wall doing the damage on this occasion.

We’ve plumped for the victory over the Scholars, but in truth they could have picked up the prize twice. Congratulations- and good luck against Hereford in the next round.

Pitching In Isthmian South Central

Wingate and Finchley were in fine form as they travelled to Honeycroft to take on Uxbridge, having won their two previous matches by an aggregate of eight goals to nil. Uxbridge, however, cared naught for the form book, and defeated their Pitching In isthmian Premier visitors by four goals to two, with Alex Witham, Alan Hedley, Scott Donnelly and Victor Osobu finding the net. Dover Athletic await in the next round, and perhaps another giant can be slain- after all, they’ve form for this kind of thing, having knocked Dover’s National League South rivals Chippenham Town out of the competition last season.
Congratulations to Uxbridge and their red army!

Pitching In Isthmian South East Division

Sevenoaks Town were magnificent in the FA Cup this season, but the highlight was a trip to National League South side Bath City on October 1st. City were on a five match unbeaten run and flying high in the table when Harry Hudson and his Oaks came to call, but they ended up with their tails between their legs as the visitors scored the only goal of the game to claim a famous scalp at Twerton Park. Jordy Ndozid got it, ten minutes before the break, and his side held out to complete a perfect day in the West Country. Now they have a trophy to remember it by, and our congratulations.

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