Bad Day at the Office

Saturday 1st February, 2025 | Stanway Rovers 5-0 Buckhurst Hill | Essex Senior Premier League | Attendance : 99

By Harry Biggs

Buckhurst Hill’s first away day of the new year ended in a heavy defeat against league leaders Stanway Rovers at The FND & KMCO Community Stadium.

Mark Williams made six changes to the starting eleven that lost to Athletic Newham ten days ago. Jude Carolan started on the bench, with new signing Kai Peters coming into the defence alongside Alfie Harris, Liam Foster, and Chama Torsiello. Archie Hammond returned to the starting lineup for the first time in January due to personal reasons. Up front, Suley Zuhdu retained his place, joined by Ibrahim Kehinde, who replaced the unavailable Jaime Obama-Nvumba.

First Half

Unfortunately, from a Buckhurst Hill perspective, there wasn’t much to report. However, The Stags had a brilliant opportunity inside the first five minutes when Alfie Padington played a great pass to Archie Hammond. With his first touch of 2025, Hammond struck at goal, but Stanway’s goalkeeper stood firm and made the save.

Despite Stanway’s early dominance, Buckhurst Hill created another chance through Tim Moncur, who managed to keep the ball in play near the hosts’ goal. As both teams hesitated, believing the ball had gone out, there was no one at the back post to convert what was effectively an open goal.

Stanway Rovers eventually took the lead on the half-hour mark. The hosts had an initial effort cleared off the line, but Harrison Chatting was quickest to react and slotted the ball into the net to put them ahead.

Just two minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead. The Stags were pushing forward on a counter-attack when Moncur slipped, allowing Stanway to regain possession. They had two shots on goal, both cleared off the line, but the linesman ruled that the second effort had crossed, awarding Stanway their second goal of the afternoon.

Just before the break, Anthony Page produced a brilliant fingertip save to deny the hosts a third goal. Stanway had already had the ball in the net minutes earlier, but the effort was disallowed for offside. This time, however, the goal stood, as Ross Wall calmly slotted past Page to give Rovers a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Second Half

The Stags aimed to respond after a difficult first half against high-flying Stanway. Within the first four minutes, both sides looked lively, and Buckhurst Hill came close to pulling a goal back, but Callum Robinson in the Stanway goal was equal to the effort.

Stanway extended their lead to 4-0 early in the second half. Winger George Okoye was given far too much time on the ball and made the most of it, rounding the keeper with ease before finishing into an empty net.

Moments later, Stanway made it 5-0 almost straight from the restart. A well-worked move found Ross Wall again, and he calmly slotted past Anthony Page to grab his second of the afternoon.

Mark responded with a triple substitution in an attempt to change the game, bringing on Daniels, Carolan, and new signing O’Neil for Torsiello, Peters, and Padington. Ethan Daniels made his first appearance since the Hullbridge game at the start of the season, having been sidelined with injury.

Despite the daunting scoreline, The Stags continued to push for a consolation goal. Oliseh Okuguni forced a save from Robinson, though the Stanway keeper was rarely troubled. At the other end, skipper Ollie Williams prevented a sixth goal with a crucial goal-line clearance—something he seems to have made a habit of.

Buckhurst Hill enjoyed more possession in the final 30 minutes as Stanway began to tire, but the five-goal deficit was always going to be too much to overcome.

The final major chance of the match fell to Stanway, who once again had the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Anthony Page in the build-up. The referee then blew the full-time whistle, confirming a tough defeat for The Stags.

It was a disappointing result, especially after the competitive battle between the two sides at Myrak Park earlier in the season. However, there are some crucial fixtures ahead for The Stags (listed below), featuring teams in and around them in the table—games that will be vital in shaping the remainder of the season.

TEAM :
Page 🧤, Foster, Peters, Moncur, Harris, Torsiello, Hammond, Williams ©️, Padington, Zuhdu 🟨, Kehinde

SUBS :
Carolan (52’ – Peters), Buchanan, O’Neil (52’ – Padington), Okuguni (38’ – Moncur), Daniels (52’ – Torsiello)

UPCOMING GAMES:
Tuesday 4th February – Great Wakering Rovers (A) – KO 7:45 PM – Essex Senior League

Saturday 8th February – White Ensign (H) – KO 3:00 PM – Essex Senior League

Saturday 15th February – Barking (H) – KO 3:00 PM – Essex Senior League