Monday August 31
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY
Banstead Athletic 0-1 Lewisham Borough
Bridon Ropes 6-2 Tooting Bec
Croydon 2-0 FC Elmstead
Lydd Town 1-3 Hythe Town
Minster 0-1 Greenways
Rochester United 0-0 Lordswood
Sheppey Sports 1-1 Halls
Stansfeld 2-1 Welling Town
Staplehurst Monarchs 0-4 SC Thamesmead
Rochester United remain top of the SCEFL First Division following a busy Bank Holiday Monday, but the race behind them is getting increasingly crowded after big wins for SC Thamesmead, Croydon and Hythe Town.
The headline game at Rede Court Road saw Rochester United and Lordswood play out a 0-0 draw.
Rochester were looking for an immediate response following Saturday’s shock 5-1 defeat at Lewisham Borough, while Lordswood arrived sitting second and knowing victory would take them level with the leaders.
Neither side could find a breakthrough, though, and a point apiece leaves Rochester top on 13 points from six games. Lordswood move onto ten points, but other results saw them drop to fifth in an increasingly congested chasing pack.
Perhaps the biggest statement of the afternoon came from SC Thamesmead, who ended Staplehurst Monarchs’ 100% record with an emphatic 4-0 victory at Jubilee Sports Field.
Wale Odedoyin struck twice in the first half, opening the scoring after 15 minutes and doubling the advantage on 34. Staplehurst were unable to find a way back and late goals from George Dennis in the 84th minute and Joseph Ikuesan in stoppage time completed a superb away victory.
Thamesmead have enjoyed an outstanding Bank Holiday weekend. Following Saturday’s 5-1 win at FC Elmstead, they have scored nine goals without reply in the space of 48 hours and climb to third on ten points.
Staplehurst, meanwhile, suffer their first defeat after beginning the campaign with three successive victories.
Croydon remain unbeaten and move into second place after a 2-0 victory over FC Elmstead.
The Trams had to be patient, with the game remaining goalless until the final 15 minutes. Charlie Dale broke the deadlock with a 75th-minute penalty, before Cameron Macmillan doubled the advantage just three minutes later.
Croydon now have 11 points from five games and sit just two behind Rochester having played one game fewer.
Another side making an impressive early promotion case are Hythe Town, who maintained their perfect league record with a 3-1 victory at Lydd Town.
Jake Embery opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Josh Byford struck in first-half stoppage time and again four minutes after the restart to put the Cannons firmly in control.
Lucas Dent pulled one back for Lydd in the 69th minute, but there was to be no comeback. Hythe have now played three and won three, scoring eight goals and conceding just two.
The most spectacular scoreline of the afternoon came at Bridon Ropes, where the hosts climbed off the bottom of the table by recording their first victory of the season in some style – 6-2 against Tooting Bec.
Yedidja Kossi gave Bridon the perfect start after just five minutes, but Tooting turned the game around before half-time through Oscar Black and Sirak Negasi.
Whatever was said in the Bridon dressing room certainly worked.
Abdulai Turay equalised in the 55th minute before Kossi grabbed his second on 80 minutes to restore Bridon’s lead. The floodgates then opened, with Rizgar Bedir scoring on 84 minutes and Emmanuel Oshinowo striking twice in the 86th and 89th minutes.
Four goals in the final ten minutes transformed the afternoon and earned Bridon a memorable first win of the campaign.
Lewisham Borough backed up their stunning 5-1 victory over Rochester on Saturday by collecting another three points at Banstead Athletic.
The only goal arrived after just eight minutes, with Jhon Padilla Garcia putting Borough ahead. That proved enough for a 1-0 victory and completes a superb six-point Bank Holiday weekend for Lewisham, who move onto ten points and sit fourth.
Greenways also enjoyed a productive weekend and followed Saturday’s draw against unbeaten Croydon with a 1-0 victory at Minster.
Max Cutler scored the decisive goal after 39 minutes, taking Greenways onto eight points and up to eighth place.
There were also back-to-back victories for Stansfeld, who followed Saturday’s impressive 4-1 win against Lydd with a 2-1 success over Welling Town.
Obinna Igwe struck in first-half stoppage time to give Stansfeld the lead. Alfie Kilbey levelled for Welling in the 82nd minute and looked to have earned the visitors a point, only for Nana Kufour to grab a dramatic winner in the first minute of stoppage time.
Stansfeld have now collected six points in the space of three days and climb into the top half.
The points were shared between Sheppey Sports and Halls AFC following a 1-1 draw.
Halls struck first through Stephen Gbopo deep into first-half stoppage time, but Jack Marsh equalised on the hour for Sheppey. Both sides move onto two points and continue their search for a first league victory.
After a hectic Bank Holiday weekend, Rochester United remain top on 13 points, but their advantage has been cut.
Unbeaten Croydon are second on 11, while SC Thamesmead, Lewisham Borough and Lordswood are all on ten points. Hythe sit sixth on nine – and with a perfect three wins from three, the Cannons have games in hand on everyone above them.
Rochester are still setting the pace, but after two rounds of fixtures in three days, the First Division promotion race suddenly looks very crowded indeed.