Saturday 26th July, 2025 | Buckhurst Hill 3-1 Ilford FC | Essex Senior League Premier | Att: 92
By Anthony Mercer
Buckhurst Hill kicked off the 2025/26 campaign with a hard-fought 3–1 victory over local rivals Ilford, in front of a crowd of 92 at Roding Lane.
Manager Mark Williams handed debuts to no fewer than seven new signings, despite being without several key players on a grey and overcast afternoon.
The game began cautiously, with little to separate the two sides in the opening minutes. The first real chance came in the 10th minute, when Ilford’s Tylla Addai saw his low effort well saved by debutant goalkeeper Andrew Zambrano.
Buckhurst Hill soon responded with efforts of their own. On 16 minutes, Callum Maltese struck an effort straight at Ilford keeper Boateng, before Reece Simpson was also denied by a sharp save.
The breakthrough came in the 27th minute. A corner from the right was met at the back post by skipper Ollie Williams, who calmly played the ball back across goal for Callum Maltese to smash into the roof of the net—opening the scoring for the season in style.
Just four minutes later, it was 2–0. A loose ball in midfield was seized upon by Dimitri Nicolaou, who spotted Boateng off his line and audaciously lobbed him from 40 yards with a sublime chip—a contender for goal of the season already.
Buckhurst Hill went into the break with a deserved two-goal cushion.
Ilford came out strongly in the second half and put the home side under sustained pressure. That pressure paid off in the 57th minute when Nickal Luzolo pulled one back, though there were strong appeals from the home side claiming the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.
Ilford continued to dominate possession, making it difficult for Buckhurst Hill to settle. Defender Alfie Harris had a good effort saved on 77 minutes, before the home side restored their two-goal advantage just a minute later. A Maltese corner was met powerfully by Billy Titley, who headed home to open his account for the Stags.
Zambrano was called into action twice late on to deny the visitors a route back, and in the final minutes, a flowing Buckhurst Hill move saw substitute Fenton Kehinde strike the post.
The final whistle confirmed a winning start for Buckhurst Hill, who finished the day in 4th place after week one.
After the game, manager Mark Williams said:
“It was a tough opening fixture—Ilford kept the ball well. I think we could have retained possession better, but we scored two great goals from Callum and Demetri in the space of four first-half minutes. Overall, I’m pleased with the performance. We now look forward to welcoming Soul Tower Hamlets on Wednesday night.”
TEAM :
Zambrano(gk), Ambroisine, Edwards, Harris, Daniels, Nicolaou (Kehinde 57), Maltese, Williams (C), Simpson (Banfield 57), Titley, Tacine
SUBS :
Subs not used: Paddington, Buchanan and Sayer
