Saturday 20th December, 2025 | Buckhurst Hill 3-3 Sporting Bengal United | Essex Senior League Premier | Attendance : 88
By Harry Biggs
Mark Williams’ Stags kept their unbeaten run going thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser from Tony Martin to tie the contest late on.
The gaffer made just two changes to the side that beat Hackney Wick 5–0 last time out. Liam Foster would be unavailable for the remainder of the calendar year, so George Edwards returned to the side, with Ollie Fernandez moving over to right back. The other change saw a rotational switch, with Josh Banfield dropping to the bench to avoid the risk of a possible injury, which meant Dimi Nicolaou returned to the starting eleven for the first time since the cup away game against Hackney Wick two games ago.
Onto the action now, and the first real chance of the game for The Stags came when a shot from Ollie Williams was blocked on the line inside the opening fifteen minutes. Buckhurst Hill kept looking for an opener and, just two minutes later, a shot from Tyler Dolan struck the side netting.
The Stags went very close yet again on the twenty-fourth minute mark after Harry Lusher had his one-on-one saved by the visitors’ keeper — a surprising sight for Stags fans watching on, who rarely see Lusher miss in those types of situations.
Buckhurst Hill kept the domination going and took the lead on the 34th minute mark when Harry Lusher netted yet another goal and, this time, didn’t fail to put the ball away. Tyler Dolan beat his man and crossed towards the back post, finding Lusher, who appeared to flick the ball into the net after a deflection off a Bengal defender — but nevertheless, The Stags were ahead.
A few minutes after the goal, the visitors started to come alive after Dino Maras was forced into making a save to deny them a quick equaliser.
The Stags should have been two up just before the break after Callum Maltese glided through the visitors’ defence and released a shot on goal which went inches wide of the post.
Buckhurst Hill were made to pay for their missed chance when Sporting Bengal netted an equaliser just before the break, with Evander Lopes pouncing on a mistake at the back.
Onto the second half now, and Callum Maltese missed yet another great chance in front of goal after the visitors’ keeper made another outstanding save to deny Buckhurst Hill at point-blank range, with Sargsyan having an outstanding game so far.
A moment of controversy followed, with Harry Lusher going down off the ball holding his neck after appearing to be strangled by a Bengal player right in front of one of the referee’s assistants, who decided to ignore the claims. A minute later, that decision proved costly, with the visitors grabbing their second of the game as Darnell Fuller went up the other end and scored on the counter.
Just before the hour mark, Mark Williams made a double change, with George Edwards and Dimitri Nicolaou replaced by Josh Banfield and Preston Knight.
Just after the hour mark, The Stags went close to an equaliser when Ollie Williams struck the bar. Arthur Massingham’s shot was brilliantly saved before the skipper followed up from outside the area, hammering the ball against the crossbar as Buckhurst Hill crept ever closer to an equaliser. The action was not done there — Massingham looked to follow up again but was brought down inside the area before he could do so. Despite strong appeals from the home support, the referee waved them away.
The Stags finally equalised just before seventy minutes with surely the goal of the season from Arthur Massingham. A free kick from Josh Banfield was cleared only as far as Massingham, who curved his run onto the ball and struck it sweetly into the top corner, leaving the keeper with absolutely no chance.
After the goal, The Stags kept pushing and nearly went ahead when Harry Lusher drove through on goal again, but Sargsyan pulled off yet another fine save.
Another contender for goal of the season nearly followed when Preston Knight struck a screamer from the edge of the area following a corner, only for a Bengal defender to block the effort that was heading for the top corner.
A crucial moment arrived with eight minutes of normal time left when Bengal were awarded a penalty. Harvey Brown was booked after making a last-ditch tackle following a defensive error. Jack Johnson was forced off injured before the spot kick and was replaced in a double change, with Ollie Williams also making way for Archie Hammond.
After the delay, Evander Lopes stepped up and sent Maras the wrong way to give Sporting Bengal a late lead, seemingly securing three points for the visitors.
It looked like it wasn’t going to be Buckhurst Hill’s day when Harry Lusher missed his third one-on-one in stoppage time, Sargsyan producing yet another huge save.
The Stags threw everything forward in the closing minutes, with shots from Tyler Dolan and Arthur Massingham flying just over the bar as full-time crept ever closer.
Then delirium. With one final chance to equalise, the Stags snatched a point at the death. A corner was crossed to the back post and found Ollie Fernandez, whose header was saved, but the rebound fell to substitute Tony Martin, who had just returned from a lengthy injury — he flicked home with one of his first touches of the game.
That was the final action, and The Stags kept their unbeaten run alive with a dramatic late equaliser.
TEAM:
Maras 🧤, Fernandez, Edwards, Nicolaou, Johnson, Brown 🟨, Massingham ⚽️, Williams ©, Lusher ⚽️, Maltese, Dolan
SUBS:
Knight (57’ – Edwards), Banfield (57’ – Nicolaou), Hammond (84’ – Johnson), Mengou (70’ – Maltese), Martin (84’ – Williams)
NEXT MATCH:
Saturday 27th December – Woodford Town (H) – KO 3PM – ESL Premier