Sat 1st November, 2025 | Buckhurst Hill 4-1 Benfleet | Essex Senior League Premier | Att:120
By Anthony Mercer
An explosive start to the game saw Buckhurst Hill race into a 3–0 lead inside nine minutes, with Harry Lusher scoring twice in the first three minutes.
On a warm November afternoon, The Stags went into the game buoyed by their impressive midweek Errington Cup win over league leaders Tower Hamlets. The match also saw the return of Harvey Brown at the heart of defence and new striker Devine Samuel named on the bench.
Before the spectators had even settled, Buckhurst Hill were ahead after just 48 seconds when Callum Maltese played in Lusher, who slotted home calmly. On three minutes, the same combination struck again — Maltese threading a perfect through ball for Lusher to fire low into the corner.
With The Stags rampant, it became 3–0 on nine minutes when Maltese went on a mazy run before finding Tyler Dolan, who made no mistake from close range. The home side were completely on top and almost added a fourth soon after, with visiting keeper Gislette saving well from an Ollie Fernandez effort. From the resulting corner, he produced another fine stop to deny Lusher’s header.
Buckhurst Hill eventually extended their lead to 4–0 on 33 minutes, Dolan this time turning provider for the impressive Dimitri Nicolaou, who fired home from six yards.
Benfleet pulled one back just two minutes later when a cross from the left found Max Jobson, who finished low into the net. The visitors looked sharper as the half progressed, but The Stags went into the break firmly in control.
With the lead intact, manager Mark Williams made changes after the interval, introducing new signing Devine Samuel. The lively forward could and perhaps should have scored a hat-trick in a ten-minute spell — first shooting just wide on 76 minutes, again on 85, and seeing another late effort well blocked before Jack Ferris fired the rebound wide.
In the final minute, substitute Yannis Mengou forced another strong save from the Benfleet keeper, who prevented the scoreline from becoming even more one-sided.
The game ended on a sour note for the visitors as Billy Purdy, already cautioned, was shown a straight red card for a late tackle in stoppage time.
Soon after, the referee’s whistle confirmed Buckhurst Hill’s second consecutive victory — their first back-to-back wins of the season.
After the game, a delighted Mark Williams said:
“An encouraging win for the boys against a useful Benfleet side.”
TEAM :
North, Knight (Harris 60), Fernandez, Williams, Johnson, Brown, Massingham (Ferris 59), Nicolaou, Lusher (Samuel 72), Maltese (Mengou 78) and Dolan
SUBS :
Subs not used Edwards