Saturday 16th August, 2025 | Harwich & Parkeston 2-1 Buckhurst Hill | BBC Essex Senior Cup Round 1 | Attendance : 130
By Harry Biggs
The Stags exit the BBC Essex Senior Cup after a first-round defeat to Harwich & Parkeston in the dying minutes, as a late goal sends the Shrimpers through to Round 2, while The Stags suffer yet another loss on the road.
Mark Williams made five changes to the starting eleven that lost to Frenford FC last time out. Christian North was unavailable due to his loan from Aveley FC, meaning Andrew Zambrano made his third appearance of the season between the sticks. Both Josh Banfield and Callum Maltese were unavailable, with Archie Hammond and Demetri Nicolaou stepping into midfield. The final change came in attack, with Fenton Kehinde dropping to the bench to make way for Alfie Padington on the wing.
First Half
The Stags should have been ahead within four minutes of kick-off. Harwich’s keeper failed to clear with a header, and the ball fell kindly to Tony Martin on the edge of the box. However, Martin’s two efforts couldn’t find the net, and the hosts escaped punishment.
The decision to start Alfie Padington quickly looked justified, as he caused Harwich all sorts of problems down the right-hand side. Seven minutes in, he linked up with Archie Hammond to create a great chance, but Hammond couldn’t get the ball under control and the opportunity slipped away.
The hosts responded with a dangerous chance of their own, a powerful strike inside the area flashing narrowly past the post.
Buckhurst Hill continued to threaten, with Padington again involved. He switched play beautifully to Ollie Williams, whose effort was well struck but saved strongly by the keeper.
Crosses from Padington continued to find teammates, but The Stags failed to convert. Martin was next to try his luck, but his shot lacked the power to trouble the Shrimpers’ keeper.
Finally, the breakthrough came after 33 minutes. A cross from Reece Lee Simpson was aimed for Martin, but Freddy Cooper’s attempted clearance deflected into his own net, giving The Stags the lead just before the break.
Second Half
At half-time, Williams was forced into an early change as standout performer Padington was unable to continue. Tyler Dolan was introduced for his first appearance since returning to the club — welcome back, Tyler!
Just two minutes after the restart, Harwich levelled. A sloppy giveaway at the back gifted possession, and the Shrimpers capitalised, with the ball ending up in the net via an own goal.
The Stags almost hit back immediately. A brilliant cross into the area found Martin, whose header from close range flew just over the bar.
Tensions rose on the hour mark when a late challenge from Freddy Cooper on Nicolaou saw the referee brandish only a yellow card, much to the frustration of the visitors.
Zambrano was then called into serious action for the first time, pulling off a superb double save to deny Harwich from taking the lead.
Williams turned to his bench once again, replacing Reece Lee Simpson and Hammond with Billy Titley and Kehinde.
Harwich grew stronger as the game wore on, and they came inches from scoring in the 75th minute when a header from a corner was cleared off the line brilliantly by Nicolaou.
A final substitution saw Tony Martin replaced by Dylan Whitelock, who made his first appearance for the club.
The Stags carved out one more golden chance late on, as Dolan delivered a fine cross to Titley, whose shot was well struck but saved to keep Harwich in the game.
The Decisive Moment
From that save, the hosts broke forward with one last attack. A ball fired into the box wasn’t dealt with, and Jack Wood pounced to bury the chance, putting Harwich 2–1 ahead with just two minutes to play.
Buckhurst Hill pressed for an equaliser, but Dolan’s deflected effort was comfortably gathered by the keeper. The Shrimpers held on to book their place in Round 2, while The Stags were left empty-handed.
It’s back to the drawing board for Buckhurst Hill, with a huge clash against Basildon United in the Isuzu FA Vase up next, before returning to face Harwich in the league in two weeks’ time. After three consecutive defeats, improvements are badly needed.
TEAM :
Zambrano 🧤, Foster, Edwards, Harris, Daniels, Nicolaou, Hammond, Williams ©, Martin, Simpson, Padington
SUBS :
Titley (65’ – Hammond), Dolan (46’ – Padington), Kehinde (65’ – Simpson), Whitelock (79’ – Martin), Sayer
NEXT MATCH :
Saturday 23rd August 2025 – Basildon United (A) – Izusu FA Vase
