Saturday 29th November, 2025 | Buckhurst Hill 2-1 Athletic Newham | Essex Senior League Premier | Attendance : 81
By Harris Biggs
Buckhurst Hill FC made it six wins on the bounce with a 2–1 victory at Roding Lane, overcoming another strong opponent in Athletic Newham on a damp Saturday afternoon.
Mark Williams made two changes to the side that beat Basildon United 3–1 the previous weekend. Club captain Ollie Williams, fit enough only for the bench against Basildon, returned to the starting XI in midfield in place of Josh Banfield, who was unavailable. The other change saw Callum Maltese recover from injury to replace Jack Johnson, who dropped to the bench.
It wasn’t the ideal start for The Stags, who fell behind inside the opening two minutes. A miscommunication at the back allowed Newham’s Joao Cruz to tap into an empty net after Christian North was caught in possession.
Buckhurst Hill responded well, and ten minutes later they were close to an equaliser. Harry Lusher was inches away from turning in a superb cross from Maltese, just missing the chance to level the game. Moments before the half-hour mark, Lusher had another opportunity — this time from an Arthur Massingham cut-back — but his shot was blocked at the crucial moment.
The Stags’ domination since the early setback finally paid off with nine minutes left in the half. Dimitri Nicolaou smashed home the equaliser after Massingham drove down the right and fizzed the ball across goal. Nicolaou connected cleanly, drilling low past the keeper to make it 1–1.
They really should have gone into the break ahead. Just a minute after the leveller, Lusher went close again, before the ball dropped to Liam Foster at the back post. Foster, under pressure, fired over from point-blank range. Chances kept coming — Ollie Williams had one saved, Tyler Dolan struck from distance, and Lusher’s final effort before the whistle was also kept out — but the sides went in level at half-time.
The Stags came out lively in the second half. Nicolaou’s early strike was saved comfortably, but ten minutes after the restart Buckhurst Hill finally took the lead. After a flurry of blocked and saved attempts in the box, Harry Lusher pounced, tapping home to score his first of the afternoon and spark celebrations with his teammates in front of the camera.
One of the standout moments of the match came at the other end when Christian North produced a brilliant reflex save. After an unfortunate deflection wrong-footed him, North recovered superbly, twisting back across goal to claw the ball away and even hold onto it. A sensational stop.
The bench was introduced shortly after, with Callum Maltese replaced by Yannis Mengou. As the clock ticked down, Arthur Massingham saw a shot deflected narrowly wide as the tension grew around Roding Lane.
With ten minutes to go Ollie Williams was replaced by Jack Johnson, and three minutes later Massingham made way for Youcef Tacine as The Stags looked to manage the closing stages.
After dropping points late against Athletic Newham last season, game management was crucial — and almost perfect. In stoppage time Mengou had a golden chance to seal the win when he raced through on goal, but his shot bent agonisingly wide with the home supporters holding their heads.
Fortunately, it didn’t prove costly. The Stags saw out the final moments with composure and secured all three points, stretching their winning run to six games.
Momentum keeps building — and so does the belief.
TEAM:
North 🧤, Foster, Edwards, Fernandez, Nicolaou ⚽️🟨, Brown, Massingham, Williams ©, Lusher ⚽️, Maltese 🟨, Dolan
SUBS:
Johnson (80’ – Williams), Longman, Mengou (74’ – Maltese), Nicholson, Tacine (83’ – Massingham)