Ramble Round the Everards Divisions
Week Ending 21st December by Mason Norton
23/12/24
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Week ending 24th August by Mason Norton
The divisions are now taking shape in Divisions One and Two as well. In Everards Brewery Division One, the early leaders are Hinckley LRFC Development, who made it four wins from four with a 2-0 win over Sutton Bonington, Casmir Umeh scoring either side of the break for the hosts. Loughborough Students Development also have a 100% record with three wins from three; they would have gone top with a win, but were sidelined when their game at Heather St John Reserves was called off. Kirby Muxloe Reserves are two points behind Road after a 6-2 win at Mountsorrel Amateurs, Ewan Lilleyman scoring a hat-trick, Drew Lilleyman a brace, Theo Sjoberg also scoring, Alex Keen and Oliver Rowley for Mountsorrel. Loughborough Dynamo sit just behind them, winning 4-2 at home to Sileby Town Reserves, James Wagemakers, Jasper Clarke, James Allen and sub Cory Armson for Dynamo, Shaun Smith and sub Isaac Hetterley for Sileby.
Sutton sit at the bottom with a solitary point. Also searching their first win are Barrow Town, who are a point above SB, but are now 22 games without a win, after losing 3-1 at home to Lutterworth Athletic Reserves, Alex Rhodes (2) and Callum Harris for Lutterworth, Mohamed Sesay for Barrow. Birstall United Reserves are also without a win, losing 1-0 at St Patricks on Saturday, Jamie Bottomley with the only goal of the game. Dunton & Broughton United continue to pull away from the bottom with their second win on the spin, 5-0 at home to Holwell Sports Reserves, Jancy Mbomba blowing Holwell up with a hat-trick, Charlie Galley and Joe Waddington off the bench also scoring for DBU. In the other game, Conor Bennett, Louis Clarke and Harvey King gave Ingles Development a 3-0 win at Saffron Dynamo Development.
In Everards Brewery Division Two, Brookside Athletic are the leaders, making it four from four on Saturday as they thumped Highfield Rangers Reserves 8-0, Jonathan Powell-Hayles scoring a hat-trick, Talvin Shankar (2), Andrew Baum, Ford Taylor and sub Theo Baker for Brookside. It's three from three as well for Community Football Academy, who won 5-1 at home to Glen Villa, a brace of braces for Zak Yusuf and Usamah Zerroug, Adam Modan also scoring, James Parker for Glen Villa. Those two sides were also in the news in the past couple of weeks, after Community Football Academy's draw against Houghton Rangers at the end of last season's County League Premiership was reinstated on appeal, handing the title back to Glen Villa after Houghton had been crowned champions when the result had been initially quashed. Hinckley Borough sit in third after a 5-1 win at Loughborough FC, Acer Szilak's hat-trick, with Jake Davis and Harry Taylor also scoring for the visitors, sub Luke Hathaway replying late on for Luffs.
At the other end of the table, Leicester United are the only side in Div2 without either a win or even a point, and they crashed to another heavy defeat on Saturday, losing 9-0 at Whetstone Athletic. On a weekend with many hat-tricks, Jacob Makepeace was the weekend's top scorer with four goals, with Harvey Coulson, Lewis Johnson, Ryan Richmond and subs Lewis Ingram and Ben Smith also scoring. Leicester United, after just four games, are already on a goal difference of minus 20. Rothley Imperial got on the board with a 2-0 win at home to Leicester Nirvana Reserves, Bradley French and Shane Underwood for Rothley, lifting them above Luffs, who are second bottom. Finally for this week, Ethan Carter, Macaulley Carver-Hamill and sub Aaron Topliss gave Friar Lane & Epworth Reserves a 3-1 win at home to Magna 73 Reserves, Luke Shaw providing a second half consolation.
Off the pitch, draws have been made for the first rounds of the Everards Tiger League Cup and the City Goldsmiths President's Trophy, with the respective holders, Aylestone Park Reserves and Loughborough Students Development, both receiving byes to the second round, along with Hathern and Desford in the Tiger Cup. The first round fixtures are now on Full-Time, and will be played on 21 September. Details around County Cup competitions and dates are not yet out, but should be announced in the next few weeks.
And that's it for Ramble Round next week. We'll be back on Monday night next week to look at the weekend action. See you then.