Tuesday 12th August, 2025 | Frenford 1-0 Buckhurst Hill | Essex Senior League Premier | Attendance : 75
By Harry Biggs
Buckhurst Hill FC suffered back-to-back defeats after conceding a 90th-minute winner against Frenford FC on a warm Tuesday night, despite dominating the entire game.
Manager Mark Williams made five changes to the side that lost to Barking FC last time out. Demetri Nicolaou was replaced by Samuel at the back, while George Edwards came in for the injured Yannis Ambroisine. Youcef Tacine was unable to play after picking up an injury in the warm-up, so Fenton Kehinde stepped in to take his place. The final two changes saw Reece Lee Simpson come in for Billy Titley, with Callum Maltese also returning, meaning Archie Hammond dropped to the bench.
First Half
The Stags started brightly, creating a big chance inside the first minute when George Edwards’ shot from the edge of the box flew just over the bar.
Five minutes later, Buckhurst Hill earned a free kick on the edge of the area. Josh Banfield delivered beautifully, but no one could make the crucial connection to turn it into the net.
Stags’ keeper Christian North was called into action for one of the few times in the game on 12 minutes, making a low save to deny Frenford after a headed effort.
Just three minutes later, Maltese and Simpson linked up well to create another opening, but a promising delivery towards Simpson in the box was deflected away, leading to a corner.
Noor Mbaza Samuel then caused a flashpoint when he rashly dived into Frenford winger Blackford, conceding a free kick on the edge of the box. Frenford’s appeals for a penalty were waved away. The free kick itself was fired into the wall and cleared to safety.
The final chance of the half fell to Tony Martin, who received the ball on the edge of the box after a good phase of play, but his shot struck the wall.
Second Half
The second half saw more dominance from the visitors in black and blue, but still no breakthrough.
Ten minutes in, Williams made a double change, replacing Martin and Kehinde with Titley and Hammond. The impact was immediate—two minutes later, Hammond glided through midfield to link with Maltese, but Maltese’s shot failed to trouble keeper Haylock.
After repeated fouls, Reece Lee Simpson was booked for impeding a Frenford player while jumping for the ball, his third infringement of the game.
Buckhurst Hill’s biggest chance came soon after. Simpson’s brilliant run and cross found an unmarked Titley in the box, one-on-one with the keeper, but he volleyed over the bar.
That miss gave Frenford hope. Blackford went close with a strike from the edge of the box that shaved the post. Williams responded by replacing the injured Maltese with Nicolaou, who had scored The Stags’ only goal in the 4–1 loss to Barking.
But almost immediately after the change, Frenford broke forward. George Edwards fouled Blackford to stop a dangerous attack and was booked.
From the resulting free kick, Frenford grabbed the winner. The delivery was headed clear, but only as far as Troubridge on the edge of the box, who fired low into the bottom corner to spark home celebrations.
Before full-time, tempers flared after the goal celebrations. A Frenford substitute, Orcan, appeared to throw a punch and was shown a red card for violent conduct.
The final whistle confirmed a harsh defeat for The Stags, who had dominated but were punished in the dying moments.
Thank you to all our travelling supporters who came to The Drive—your numbers outmatched the home fans. We hope to see you this Saturday for our BBC Essex Senior Cup match away to Harwich & Parkeston.
TEAM :
North 🧤, Samuel, Edwards, Harris, Daniels, Williams ©, Maltese, Banfield, Martin, Simpson, Kehinde
SUBS :
Hammond (64’ – Martin), Sayer, Nicolaou (86’ – Maltese), Titley (64’ – Kehinde), Perry (GK)
NEXT MATCH :
Saturday 16th August – Harwich & Parkeston (A) – The Royal Oak Ground (CO12 4AA) – BBC Essex Senior Cup Round One
