Ramble Round the Everards Divisions
Week Ending 21st December by Mason Norton
23/12/24
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Week ending 14th September by Mason Norton
This week in Everards Brewery Division One saw Loughborough Students Development go top after a 9-0 thrashing of Birstall United Reserves on Tuesday night, Luke Abdy (4), Hussein Issa (2), Tom Speake, James Thew and Adam Wallis leading the way. The Students then went one better on Saturday, winning 10-0 at Saffron Dynamo Development, Issa scoring a hat-trick, Wallis a brace, Thew scoring again, with Josh Bryan also scoring, and three of the five subs also getting on the scoresheet; Shaun Barwuah, Tom Green and Adam McCormack, with the Students rattling in eight goals without reply after the break in an utter rout. The Students already look like they are bossing it at the top of the table, and with term not due to start at Loughborough for another fortnight, it looks ominously as though their squad will only get stronger yet.
Hinckley LRFC Development are at least keeping in touch. They sit second, behind the Students on goal difference, but having played a game more. Road won 3-0 at Kirby Muxloe Reserves on Saturday, Ryan Ambroise, Joshua King and David Mensa-Bonsu scoring. Lutterworth Athletic Reserves are two points behind in third. They won 3-2 at home to Saffron on Tuesday night, Callum Harris, Alex Rhodes and Josh Spreadbury for Lutterworth, Mark Asman and Blake Mackness for Saffron, and Lutterworth then staged a comeback on Saturday at Holwell Sports Reserves, after A-J Faulkner and Max Fisher gave Holwell a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes. For the second week running though, Holwell blew an early two-goal cushion, as Max Jones put Lutterworth on the scoreboard midway through the first half, and Oliver Whiting equalised just before the interval, before the hosts were swept away after the oranges, Harris scoring again, and Barnes Gladman scoring a brace, Lutterworth winning 5-2.
Ingles Development round off the top four, three points off the lead, after winning 2-1 away at Birstall United Reserves, Jake Turner and Keegan Crozet for Ingles, Louis Biggs-Neal for Birstall. Loughborough Dynamo's promotion push took a big dint after they fell to a 4-0 defeat at home to St Patricks, Jamie Bottomley (2), Ashley Day and Sheunesu Kanonda for Pats to leave Dynamo stunned.
At the bottom of the table, Sutton Bonington stay at the foot of the standings, despite almost pulling off an incredible comeback at home to Sileby Town Reserves on Saturday. Sileby raced into a 3-0 lead at the break, but three goals in 16 minutes midway through the half turned the game on its head, and brought the score back to 3-3, before Sileby hit back and scored late on to win 4-3. Sileby's scores were a Finley Jones hat-trick and Josh Carter, Sutton's goals coming through Jack Tormey (2) and Henrijs Bosko. SB remain a point behind Birstall, who like SB, are also without a win so far this term, and sit in the drop zone, with Holwell a point ahead of Birstall.
In the other games played in Div1 on Saturday, Barrow made it three wins on the spin, and climb into the top half of the table after a 3-2 win at home to Dunton & Broughton United, Joe French, Dean Hopewell and Shakour Benjamin for Barrow, Ben Marvell and an OG for Dunton, whilst Mountsorrel Amateurs won 3-1 at home to Heather St John Reserves, Oliver Rowley (2) and Liam Turner for Mountsorrel, Harli Skeete for Heather.
In Everards Brewery Division Two, leaders Brookside Athletic and chasers Community Football Academy both took advantage of Whetstone Athletic's week on the sidelines. Brookside thumped Barrow Town Reserves 6-2, Karl Duncan (2), Muhammed Ebrahim, Jonathan Powell-Hayles and sub Theo Baker (2) for Brookside, Alex Carter and Joe Turner for Barrow. Community went 1-0 down at home to Highfield Rangers Reserves, but Jaseem Khamkar, Adam Modan and Zak Yusuf turned it round in the second half, the home side winning 3-1, Highfield's first half scorer still not yet in.
After Burbage & Friar Lane's wins in the Prem this weekend, Leicester United are the last side in the LSL left without a point, but they showed some signs of improvement this weekend, losing 5-2 at Magna 73 Reserves, Jamie Simons scoring a hat-trick for Magna, with Luke Shaw and Brandon McKagan also scoring, Jordan Brown and Connor Masters getting first-half goals for Leicester United. Loughborough FC climbed away from the bottom but one spot, trading places with Barrow Reserves, after the Luffs won 2-0 at home to Rothley Imperial, David Amole and Ashton Whiley scoring for Luffs.
Elsewhere in Div2, Hinckley Borough won 6-1 at home to Leicester Nirvana Reserves, Kai Abrahams (2) and Cameron Faxon scoring in the first half, and Jake Tomlinson (2) and Pele Molyneaux coming off the bench late on to add flourish to Borough's margin of victory, and finally, Glen Villa returned to winning ways, recording a 5-2 triumph at home to Friar Lane & Epworth Reserves, a brace of braces for George Fry and Sam Swift, George Parker also scoring, Isaac Bramley-Brown and Aaron Topliss replying for Lane.
So the LSL takes stock and League action pauses, as next Saturday sees the first round of both the Everards Tiger League Cup and the City Goldsmiths President's Trophy, and no fewer than 20 ties across both competitions. There will be separate rambles for both the Tiger Cup and the President's Trophy, and just a brief one for the League, the only action in the divisions coming on Tuesday night in Div1, as Kirby Muxloe Reserves welcome Heather St John Reserves, and the Premier clash between Hathern and Aylestone Park Reserves on Saturday. Back next week for a bumper special. See you then.