West Ham's worst signings

West Ham are known famously for their academy and bringing through some of England's greatest footballing talents in recent years such as Frank Lampard jnr, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson. But this reputation has been ruined by some appalling signings the club have made in the past and there have been some real blunders.

1. Savio Nsereko

West Ham signed this unknown 19 year old from Brescia in January 2009. There was huge expectation from the West Ham fans after he was signed for £9 million and given the number 10 shirt. The Ugandan born striker failed to impress after only starting one game and not scoring at all at his time at the Hammers. He was soon sold on to Fiorentina. His most recent club SpVgg Unterhaching but his contract was terminated after just three months. The striker has recently faked his own kidnap and was arrested by police.

2. Kieron Dyer

The Hammers signed the injury prone midfielder from Newcastle in August 2007 for £6 million. The midfielder made on only 30 appearances for West Ham without scoring a goal in his four years at the club. It was reported that he was the highest earner at the club, raking in £83,000 a week. He was released at the end of the 10/11 season. He is now at QPR where once again he has been affected by injury.

3. Titi Camera

Harry Redknapp signed the striker from Liverpool, after failing to impress on Merseyside, in December 2000 for £1.5m fee which could have risen to £2.6m. There's not too much to say about him while at West Ham, he made only 14 appearances without scoring and left after his contract was terminated following West Ham's relegation.

4. Rigobert Song

Like Titi Camera, Rigobert Song was signed from Liverpool after failing for Liverpool. It was first said that he was brought in as a replacement for Rio Ferdinand who had left for Leeds United in a £18 million deal. The defender played only 24 games for West Ham in two years and left in 2002.

5. Mark Boogers

Another flop signing during the Redknapp era was this Dutch striker. He was signed from Sparta Rotterdam for £1 million in 1995. In his second appearance for the club he came on as a substitute and was basically sent off straight away for a horrific tackle on Gary Neville. He was the suspended for four games and after that played only two more games for West Ham.

6. Joseph Beauchamp

This was a very strange one, West Ham signed him from his boyhood club Oxford United for a big fee of £1 million. He was signed in 1994 and lasted an embarrassing 58 days at the club as he said he couldn't deal with the commute to training from Oxford. He was then sold to Swindon Town for £800,000.

7. Javier Mascherano

I think he has to be included in this despite him being a world class footballer who now plays for Barcelona. The midfielder was signed in a joint deal with Carlos Tevez and unlike Tevez he didn't make any impact at the club. He made only 5 appearances before being moved onto Liverpool. Due to dodgy third part dealings he ended up costing the club £5.5 million pounds.

8. Benni McCarthy

McCarthy was signed by West Ham for an undisclosed fee on deadline day of the 2010 January transfer window from Blackburn Rovers. In his debut he picked up an injury that would keep him out for up to six weeks. He came back extremely unfit and overweight and only went on to play another 13 games for West Ham. In april 2011 West Ham paid him off £1.5 million to terminate his contract.

9. Florin Raducioiu

Another bad signing by the so called 'wheeler dealer' Harry Redknapp. He was signed for £2.6 million after scoring the only goal for Romania in their Euro 96 campaign. His time at Upton Park was overshadowed by arguments with Redknapp and he lasted only one season at West Ham scoring three goals.

10. Gary Charles

The right back signed for West Ham in 1999 and was the club for three years where he played only five times. West Ham was his final club and he retired in 2002. While at West Ham he had a lot of off field problems and was caught drink driving on many occasions. Since leaving football he had been in trouble of the police and admitted having a drinking problem. 

Weekend Preview

Following their 9-8 defeat on penalties to Barking on Wednesday night Romford are at home to local rivals Aveley on Saturday. Romford have hit a bit of bad form in recent weeks and haven't won since early November which has meant dropping down to 12^th in the tables. The visitors have had a great first half of the season are sitting second in the table joint with Grays Athletc. Aveley have won five of their last six games and will be hoping to continue this with an away win at Ship Lane.

Hornchurch are away to Weston-Super-Mare on Saturday. The Urchins have been on a fine run of form in recent weeks but are still in relegation trouble with the league being so tight. Weston-Super-Mare are seven places above Hornchurch but a win for the Essex side would put them level on points with their opponents.

Dagenham and Redbridge are away at Bristol Rovers this weekend and will be hoping to get back to winning ways. In their last outing they lost 2-1 to play-off chasers Torquay United. The Daggers are sitting comfortably in 16^th place while their opponents are only one place and one point off the relegation zone. Bristol Rovers have only one once in their last nine games and Dagenham will be hoping that the run continues after Saturday's match.

Leyton Orient have been on a great run lately having won their last seven matches. This is the first time they have done this in 50 years. This run of form has moved the East London club away from the relegation zone and has put the play-offs in their sights. Orient will be hoping to continue this winning streak when they visit relegation contenders Bury on Saturday. Bury are currently occupying the last relegation spot but will take confidence going into the game after their last three results.

Following their great result against Chelsea last Saturday, West Ham will be going into this Sunday's match with Liverpool with full confidence of another victory. West Ham have had a tough winter period but have so far triumphed with good results at home to Chelsea and Manchester City. Liverpool will be with out top scorer and talisman Luis Suarez who is suspended for the match after picking up his fifth booking of the season against Southampton last weekend.  

Favourite Away Day

I have been on many away days in my years following West Ham from going to Dagenham & Redbridge to Man City and obviously over the river to Millwall. But one game that always sticks out in my mind is Nottingham Forest away at the beginning of last season.

I have chosen this game not only because of the great result that we had but because of the whole day and night out. From the moment we were relegated me and my friends started to plan the away days that we would want to go on in the following season. Obviously the usual games came up like Millwall and Leeds but the one away day we wanted to really do was Forest away. So we were absolutely delighted when the fixtures came out and we saw that it was only a few days into the new season.

We decided we wanted to make the most of this away trip so thought this would be the perfect opportunity for our first away weekend of the season. With the great night life and the apparent 4 to 1, girl to boy ratio up in Nottingham we thought it would be rude not to book up a hotel for the night.

THE JOURNEY/NIGHT OUT

With the game being on the Sunday we had the whole of Saturday to get up there. We arrived in Nottingham around 6ish with the beers already in full flow from the train journey. We had a ten minute walk to the hotel and we bought some more beers and chilled in the hotel for a couple of hours while we got ready.

As one of us had already been up to Nottingham a few years before he knew about Hooters so we booked a table for 9pm well in advance.

Well……… Hooters is a different experience in itself and should have a whole story just for those couple of hours in there. Lets just say the women who work there are just WOW.

We hit Nottingham town centre after Hooters and we went to a few different bars and clubs. The drinks were ridiculously cheap and the ratio’s were completely right with the amount of girls that were out that night. Anyway the night came to an end around 3 in the morning and we slowly made our way back to the hotel for the big game day in the morning. Except for two of my mates. They some how ended up in a pub that had an upstairs bar which was open to all of hours of the night. The strangest part about this is that the bar was just full of black people and they were the only white people in there and they had the times of lives. I can say this now we re-visited this pub for Derby away.

GAME DAY

After an all you can eat buffet breakfast we were out of the hotel and on our way to the City ground. It was a short walk from the hotel to the stadium and none of us were in any fit state to drink a bit of alcohol so we stood outside the ground for a bit and soaked up the atmosphere before entering the ground. Like usual we had filled our end of the ground up and despite it being an early kick off the atmosphere was buzzing especially from us. We started the game well and took the lead after 21 minutes through an own goal from Luke Chambers and we just got better as the game went on. We scored another two goals within the next 15 minutes, one from Kevin Nolan and the other by Carlton Cole. We dominated the majority of the game but Forest got a goal back in the 70^th minute thanks to Robbie Findley. Despite that goal we stayed on top and quickly restored our 3 goal advantage when Winston Reid headed in from a Mark Noble corner. The game finished 4-1 and we continued our reasonable start to the season.

WAY HOME

Our train home wasn’t until 5pm that evening so we had a couple of hours to kill before the journey home. So as we left our bags at the hotel reception we went back there and somehow managed to bring in a Mcdonalds each and a load of cans of beer into the foyer. As the song states ‘Same old West Ham taking the p**s’

The journey home was a lot longer than the way up there. After one messy weekend all we wanted to do was get into our beds and go to sleep before work the next day. This weekend will never be forgotten for the rest of my life.

COYI

Favourite Current West Ham Player

This is an extremely easy decision for me as this player stands out from the rest of our squad in my eyes. He is our current longest serving player, Mark Noble.

I remember in my GCSE english exam I had to write a piece on a role model and I chose Noble. This was over 4 years ago and my opinion still hasn't changed. As a player and a man he stands for everything I believe in. A local lad who plays for the team he supports and gives his all. I can only dream of doing this and that is exactly what I do. Even as a 20 year old, I still lie in my bed and, if I can't sleep, I imagine myself playing for West Ham. Sad? Maybe. But we all have dreams.

One thing that I have always said is that I don't think our midfield would have been able to run with without Noble in it. He always picks up the pieces and can find that killer pass. I feel that he has always been at the heart of the midfield even when our midfield four was himself, Parker, Behrami and Collison. The team just always seems to tick when he is in it and especially when he is playing well.

During the transfer window we obviously signed a number of midfielders including Diame, Diarra, Jarvis and Benayoun and apparently Fulham came in and asked the availability of Mark Noble. The club decided it would be in his best interests for him to know and to find out if he would like to move on. From what I know he said there is no way he would want to leave West Ham and that he would want to fight for his place. I am so glad he did that because along with Nolan and Reid he has been one of our best players so far this season. Since Parker left us for Tottenham he has stepped up to the plate as our main midfielder and I personally feel he has grown into the player into what all hoped he would be. He has never had an England call up and I wonder if he ever will but with some of the players that are being called into the squad I definitely feel he deserves a chance. Don't get me wrong players like Osman and Shelvey are great players but I honestly think that Noble should be casted in the same bracket as them.

Every match he plays for our beloved club you can see it means the world to him and he will always give the best of his ability as I am sure he knows he is living the dreams of every West Ham fan sitting inside Upton Park. When we beat Man Utd in the last game of the season to stay in the Premier League you could just see in his face how much it meant to him and in moments like that you remember and at the same time realise he is one of us and lives with all the ups and downs of our famous club the way we do.

As I said earlier 'our longest serving player' says it all and shows his dedication to the club and not just what West Ham means to him but also what Mark Noble means to West Ham.

Sam Hodges

AFC Hornchurch vs Eastleigh

The link below is for a match report I did for the Romford Recorder website.

http://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/football/non-league/hornchurch_end_losing_run_1_1697466

There will be an extended version in the Romford Recorder newspaper on Friday 23rd November.

Dagenham & Redbridge News

Dagenham had a great result in the last match away Oxford United, on Tuesday night, finishing the match 3-2 winners. The goals came from Williams, Howell and Wilkinson. This coming Saturday Dagenham are at home to Rotherham who are currently 7^th in the table. Rotherham will be favourites for this game as they are a good 8 places above Dagenham and are also unbeaten in 5. Rotherham draw 1-1 away with Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night and had won their preveious 4 matches before that.

Youth player Tom Davie has extended his loan move at Harlow Town by an extra month. He first moved to Harlow on the 11^th October. He will be joined their by team mate Andrew Burns who has also joined for a month.

Dagenham’s match away at Torquay united has been changed. The original date was the Tuesday 20^th November and the match will now be played on Saturday 1^st December.

Romford News

Romford are unbeaten in their last 4 games in the league and currently sit 6^th in the league on 22 points. Their last outing was nearly 2 weeks ago now and it was a great result as they beat Potters Bar who are two places above them in the table. Romford’s match against Waltham Abbey on Saturday was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and also this weeks game away at Brentwood Town has also been cancelled. Romford’s next scheduled match is on the 17^th November away at Waltham Forest who are nearer towards the bottom of the table and are placed 16^th. Romford will be hoping that the gap they have had will not scupper their recent good form.

Romford F.C. vs Concord Rangers

Romford F.C. 1 – 4 Concord Rangers

Isthmian League Cup 12-13 2nd Round

Attendance 84

Romford were last night up against Ryman Premier League’s Concord Rangers. Romford put up a good fight but Rangers were just too strong and came out 4-1 winners.

After nearly going a goal down in the first minute when Concord broke the offside trap and created the first chance Romford took control of the game and had some really good opportunities to take the lead. Firstly Ryan Imbert went through on goal but had Michael Jordan in his way to make a good save. The keeper quickly got to his feet to prevent Imbert’s second attempt bobble over the line. Romford were then awarded a penalty after the lively Imbert was brought down by Rangers defender John Easterford. Romford had only scored one penalty in their last ten and it didn’t get any better for the home side when Oates’ penalty was easily saved by Jordan.

Concord went into half time with a slight one goal advantage. On the 30th minute Hallet chased down a through ball and slammed it into the top corner.

Not long into the second half and Concord doubled their lead. After producing a great save, Gooch was unable to prevent Easterford heading in from the resulting corner. Concord started to take control of the game and were three nil up in the 70^th minute. Some good play by Spendlove left the goal open for Jerome Walker to tap the ball home.

Romford reduced the deposit and gave themselves some hope a couple of minutes after. Ryan Imbert headed in from a couple of yards out after Jordan produced a good save from Joe Turner at the far post. Concord quickly got their three goal advantage back on the 77^th minute when the impressive Spendlove curled his free kick round the wall and into the back of the net.

Despite being knocked out of the cup, Romford will be proud of their performance and can now concentrate on the League and push up the table. Romford are away to Harlow Town this weekend.

AFC Sudbury vs Romford F.C.

AFC Sudbury 3 – 6 Romford F.C.

The Ryman League – North Division

Attendance – 255

Romford produced an outstanding performance away at AFC Sudbury this weekend. They bounced back from their 3-2 loss to Soham Town Rangers last week to win 6-3.

Romford piled on the pressure straight from kick off and were nearly on the scoresheet after 4 minutes. A free kick from Joe Oates found its way onto the head of Shields but he unfortunately saw his effort rebound back out off the bar.

Romford’s bad luck continued when Tom Richardson volleyed from the edge of the box but once again the ball came back off the cross bar. The majority of the play was being played in the sudbury half and the pressure paid off after Richardson darted into the box and drilled the ball across the goal to find Clayton waiting at the back post to tap in. The lead was quickly doubled as Ryan Imbert got his first of the game after poking in Jack Barry’s cross-shot.

Sudbury nearly got back into the game with their first chance. A Danny Green header was cleared off the line. Romford didn’t react on this and Sudbury soon had a goal back from the penalty spot. Joe Oates brought down Lee Boylan as the player knocked the ball past him. Oates was lucky not to be sent off as many argued he was the last man. The striker picked himself up and calmly slotted the ball past the Romford keeper. Romford fans must of thought it was de-ja-vu after Sudbury soon equalised. Boylan got his second of the game when he smashed the ball past Ngoy.

The second half started extremely well for Romford and they were back in the lead three minutes after half time. Reynolds had enough time in the area to chest the ball down from a Joe Oates corner and fired the ball past the Sudbury keeper. Romford hit the bar for the third time in the game when Clayton curled a shot past the keeper but it once came back off the woodwork.

Soon after Romford restored their two goal lead. A Richardson free kick was saved by Howe in goal but the rebound fell to Imbert and he used his quick thinking to back heel the ball into the net. On the 72^nd minute Richardson topped off his Man of the Match performance by getting his name on the score sheet. After a tricky run he cut inside and curled the ball past the Sudbury keeper into the far corner. Just as the Romford fans thought their lead was comfortable, the team became complacent and allowed Boylan to go through on goal and get his and Sudbury’s third goal of the game with 13 minutes to go. Romford didn’t allow themselves to panic and with 8 minutes to go they restored their 3 goal advantage when Howe and his centre back left the ball for each other and Imbert pounced on the mistake to strike the ball into the goal for his hatrick. Romford could have extended their lead but Howe produce a tremendous save from Reynolds.

The Romford coaching team will be extremely delighted with the performance of their team and how they have responded following their defeat on last Saturday. Romford now sit comfortably in 7^th place.

Romford F.C. vs Soham Town Rangers

Romford F.C. 2 - 3 Soham Town Rangers

The Ryman Football League - North Division

Attendance - 104

Romford were at home to Soham Town Rangers today and saw their recent run of good form came to a crashing end despite a promise and comfortable first half.

Today's match wasn't just about the football as the club were trying to push forward a charity campaign. Two pound from every ticket that was purchased was going to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Each spectator was awarded with a free yellow or blue t-shirt for coming to the match today.

Romford started the match brightly and had a couple of decent chances to open the scoring. Ryan Imbert and Matt Toms both had good opportunities but saw the Soham keeper standing in their way. Soham came into the game midway through the second half and nearly took the lead when a misdirected cross nearly looped over the keeper into the far corner but Gooch managed to get his hand to it and claw the ball out.

On the 40^th minute the a great ball over the top from Hewitt fell to Clayton who found himself on the edge of the six yard box and he put a neat finish past the Soham keeper. Soham nearly equalised just a few minutes later after goal mouth scramble fell to Robbie Mason and he wrapped his foot round the ball but only to see it the post. Romford doubled their lead right before half time, after a scrappy ball fell to Reynolds on the 6 yard box who managed to poke his shot in top right hand corner of the goal.

There was one substitution at half time but not for either of the playing teams but for the linesman. The stadium announcer found himself asking the crowd if anybody was qualified to take to the line. Lucky enough 16 year old Joe Allen, who is a qualified referee, stepped up to the challenge.

There was an eventful start to the second half with both teams having the chance to score. Firstly Soham broke down the left, breaking the offside trap, and produced a good save from Gooch. From the resulting goal kick Imbert was through one on one with the Soham keeper, after a flick from Reynolds, but Bircham stood up tall and blocked the shot well.

Soham soon found themselves on the score sheet when Robin Mason scored a half volley from edge of the box after chesting the ball the down. The referee waved play on despite appeals from the home side for handball.

Soham started to take control of the game as they pushed on for the equaliser and it wasn't long until they found it. Matthew Robinson saw his swivel volley deflect off the Romford centre back and lob the keeper.

The comeback was soon completed and Soham got their third goal on the score sheet. On the 62^nd minute they once again broke down the left and Harradine crossed low for Robinson who calmly slotted the ball past Gooch.

Soham piled on the pressure and created a few more chances to get their fourth of the game only to find Romford keeper Gooch on top form.

The rest of the second half was a stale mate with both teams cancelling each other out in midfield.

With two minutes remaining Romford had the chance to equalise when the ball fell to Matt Toms in the 18 yard box but he could only snap at the chance his shot went well wide. Not long after the final whistle went and Soham went home with all three points after an outstanding second half performance.

Weekend Preview

Romford are at home this weekend and face Soham Town Rangers. Romford are on a good bit of form and haven't lost in their last four games and will be going into this game in full confidence of carrying on this run. Soham won their last game beating Harlow Town 6-3 but before that they hadn't won in four. With that win and 6 goals under their belt Soham will fell they can get a result at Romford.

Dagenham & Redbridge are travelling up to Chesterfield for this weekends match. Dagenham are unbeaten in four in the league but in their last encounter they lost 2-0 to Southend in the St Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Chesterfield who won their first away game of the season, at Aldershot, sit in 13^th place five above Dagenham but with their recent run of good results the Essex club will definitely feel they can get a result at the Proact Stadium. Bingham, Ogogo and Scott are all doubts for the Daggers.

AFC Hornchurch are also away this weekend and they travel to Staines Town. In their last outing Hornchurch drew 2-2 at home to Havant and Waterlooville while Staines won 4-3 away at Eastleigh. Hornchurch sit a comfortable 6 places above Staines and will be hoping for a win but they will know for sure that the home team will be tough competition.  

Transfer News

Louis Dennis has left Dagenham & Redbridge on loan to join Canvey Island. Dennis will be hoping to gain some competitive first team action after his recent achilles injury that ruled him out playing for Grays earlier this season. He will return back to the Daggers on the 10th November.

Romford F.C. vs Chatham F.C.

Romford F.C. 1 - 0 Chatham F.C. 

The Ryman Football League - North Divison

Attendance - 94

Romford won their second game in a row last night and moved up to 7^th in the league. The Essex club hosted Chatham Town who sat just below them in the table.

The first half started lively with both teams having great opportunities to take the lead with in the first ten minutes. The first chance fell to Chatham’s Brad Potter who rose above the crowd but headed over from the incoming corner. The second fell to Romford after Nick Reynolds flicked the ball past the back four to Elliot Long who saw his shot go past the post and wide of the goal. Romford dominated the rest of the first half and Reynolds, Clayton and Isa all had chance to put them in front.

Chatham created the first chance of the second half when Gary Tilley pounced on Rodricue Ndiane's long throw, but like Romford’s Elliot Long could only see his shot go wide. From the resulting goal kick Romford took the lead, Nick Reynolds flicked the ball on to Isa who turned and fired the ball past the Chatham keeper.

Isa and Richardson both had chances to double Romford’s lead but both found Chatham kepper Tom Roberts in top form. Romford are at home again this weekend and will be up against Soham Town Rangers.

Kits travel abroad

Dagenham & Redbridge have donated kits to Petere Groombridge the chairman of Murole High School Trust in Uganda. The kits will be take to the African country next month to be given to the children who love to play football. 

Transfer News

Dagenham & Redbridge youth player Tom Davie has moved to Harlow Town on a months loan. The youngster is due back at the Daggers on 3/11/12.

Southend United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Southend United 2 - 0 Dagenham & Redbridge

St Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Attendance: 2965

On Tuesday night Dagenham & Redbridge travelled to Roots Hall to play Southend in the St Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Unfortunately the Daggers were unable to carry on their recent good form and went down 2-0 to the Shrimpers. This was their first defeat in five games.

Dagenham started the game well and after only 20 seconds they had a great chance to take the lead but the Southend keeper pulled off a good save down to his left from Brian Woodfall, who let fire from the edge of the box. Southend nearly took the lead only a few minutes later  when Assombalonga beat Lewington but only for Femi to clear off the line. It didn’t take long for Southend to take the lead and in the 17^th minute through Ryan Cresswell powered a header past Lewington.

Dagenham finished the first half the way they started but were unable to beat Paul Smith who made a fantastic save from Matt Saunders who shot from 25 yards out.

.

Both teams started the second half slowly and not many chances were created. But after a mistake from Luke Wilkinson the ball fell to Assombalonga who calmly put the ball in the back of the net. After this John still made a triple substitution bringing on Gayle, Green and Williams and this seemed to spark some life into the away side who created a flurry of chancse but were still unable to open their own deadlock.

Dagenham will be hoping to bounce back from this loss when they travel to Chesterfield at the weekend and carry on their good form in the league. 

Southend United vs Dagenham and Redbridge Preview

Dagenham travel to local rivals Southend tonight for the much anticipated St Johnstone’s Paint trophy clash. The Daggers will be hoping to carry on their recent run of good form which has seen them unbeaten in 4. Southend drew 2-2 against Barnet and currently sit 6 places above the Daggers in the table.

Dagenham have a few doubts for tonights match with Sam Williams, Abu Ogogo, Dwight Gayle and Billy Bingham all picking up knocks during Saturday’s 4-3 win over Bradford. Midfielder Kevin Maher is still after his recent surgery.

Dagenham & Redbridge vs Bradford

Dagenham & Redbridge 4 - 3 Bradford

League 2

Attendance: 1768

Dagenham carried on their recent run of good form this weekend with their second win in three games and unbeaten in four. This game was a tale of two halves and saw the Daggers prevail 4-3 winners over Bradford.

Dagenham went into half time 2-0 up and fully in control of the game. The daggers keeper didn’t even have one proper save to make in the first half as the majority of the play was down the Bradford half of the pitch.

Dagenham’s first goal came early on in the 6^th minute when Billy Bingham followed up Dwight Gayle’s cross to fire the ball home. The second came after half hour of play when Medy Ilito crossed low and Michale Spillane had the chance to put the home side 2-0 up which he did with ease. The half time whistle couldn’t come soon enough for Bradford as Dagenham had more and more chances to extend their lead.

Dagenham came out for the second half and carried on from where they left off and were soon three up, Luke Wilkinson rose above everyone and headed the ball past Bradford keeper from an Ilito corner. But this goal seemed to spark some fire into the Bradford players and they were right back in it with two quick fire goals from Nhaki Wells. The first was a free kick from 20 yards out and the second was from the penalty spot. This left Daggers fans biting their nails.

Dagenham restored their two goal advantage in the 75^th minute when the impressive Gayle topped off his Man of the Match performance by putting the home side 4-2 up. The extended lead didn’t last too long as Dagenham allowed Bradford back into the game when Connel poked the ball home with 7 minutes remaining.

Despite the pressure the youngsters from Dagenham and Redbridge held out and finished the game victorious. This is now 8 points from a possible 12 for the Daggers and they seem to be heading in the right direction.

Ware F.C. vs Romford F.C.

Ware F.C. 1 - 3 Romford F.C.

The Ryman League: North Division

Attendance - 85

Romford bounced backed from their disappointing loss to Thurrock in the cup last week to win away at bottom placed Ware.

The team from Essex started the game extremely brightly and had three good chances to take the lead in the first twenty minutes. Romford then had a big shout for a penalty when the ball bounced up and hit the defenders arm. Despite the huge appeals from the players the referee waved away any claims for a penalty.

Ware then created some chances of their own and the pressure nearly paid off when Reece Loundon’s effort was cleared off the line by Romford’s Jack Berry.

The first goal of the eventful game finally came on the 34^th minute Hussein Isa deflected a shot into the net from Tom Richardson. Romford doubled their lead two minutes later after Paul Clayton played a nice one two with Isa and the curled the ball into the far corner. Isa was also involved in the third goal for Romford on 40 minutes when his pin point cross found Nick Reynolds in the Ware 18 yard box and he headed the ball home.

Ware started the second half brightly and were nearly back in the game but only for Michael Gooch to pull off a great save. The 3 goal lead didn’t last much longer and on 68 minutes a cross from Ware wide man Robbie Green somehow found the back of Romford’s net. Romford had chances in the second half but were unable to take them and the match finished 3-1 to the away side. 

Weekend Preview

All three local teams are in action this weekend. Firstly Dagenham and Redbridge are at home to highly placed Bradford. The Daggers will be hoping that they will be able to keep their recent run of good form going into tomorrow, which has lead them to three games in a row unbeaten in the league.

Hornchurch are at home to Havant and Waterlooville, which is only one of two matches in the Blue Square Conference South this weekend. Hornchurch will want to carry on from Tuesday night where they won a hard, gruelling match 4-2 away at Maidenhead.

Romford travel away to Ware this weekend, with the home side looking to get their first win on the board of the season. Ware sit rock bottom with two points after losing four of their opening six games. Romford will want to bounce back from last weekend’s 3-1 loss to Thurrock. They will go into the game with confidence though as the performance against Thurrock was of a high standard.

Port Vale vs Dagenham and Redbridge

Port Vale vs Dagenham and Redbridge

League 2

Attendance - 4355

The Daggers carried on their bit of form that they gave gained over the last couple of games with a 1-1 draw away at Port Vale. A draw was probably a fair result from a game which didn’t contain much quality from either side.

The first half didn’t involve much play around either goal mouth with both teams failing to create many chances. Port Vale piled on the pressure towards the end of the half but were unable to break the deadlock.

The home team started the second half the way they ended the first half and the pressure built up on the team from Essex with the Vale creating a number of half chances.

On 75 minutes, and against the run of play, Dagenham took lead thanks to a huge mistake from the Vale Keeper. Chris Neal let a 25 yard strike from Luke Howell slip through his hands and over the line. It didn’t take long for the home side to get back into the game and only two minutes later they found the equaliser through Myrie-Williams who slammed the ball home at the back post. Both teams pushed forward for the win but were unable to create a clear cut chance and the match finished a goal apiece. 

David East leaves Essex after 30 years of service

Essex Cricket have announced that the long serving David East will be leaving his post as Chief Executive at the end of the year. He first joined the club in 1981 when he signed a pro contract with the club. The former wicket keeper/batsman won 3 county championships with the club in the 1980s and has been the chief executive since 2000.

He has accepted a role as chief executive at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Club but has said ‘It’s a big wrench, I've had all sorts of emotions making this decision.'

Chairman Nigel Hilliard wished him the best of luck in his new role.

By Sam Hodges

AFC Hornchurch vs Farnborough F.C.

AFC Hornchurch vs Farnborough F.C.

Conference South

Attendance - 263

AFC Hornchurch were at home this weekend to Farnborough in a game that saw both teams wanting to pull away from the bottom three. This didn’t quite happen with the match finishing a goal apiece. New signing, and ex-tottenham midfielder, Ben Bowditch made his debut for the club.

Hornchurch started the game brightly and piled on the pressure which finally paid off when the home team were awarded a penalty after the ball was handled in the area. Lewis Smith stepped up and calmly slotted the ball in the back of the net.

The Urchins didn’t make the most of this lead and soon after allowed Farnborough to equalise through a controversial goal in the 9^th minute. Dave Tarpey’s shot seemed to cross the line after slipping through the keepers hands but the linesman didn’t wave his flag to give the goal, but after a brief discussion with the referee the goal was given.

Hornchurch dominated the rest of the game and created many chances but were unable to beat Craig Bradshaw in the Farnborough goal. The match finished 1-1 and Hornchurch will feel that it was 2 points lost after such a positive start and performance.

By Sam Hodges

Romford F.C. vs Thurrock F.C.

Romford F.C. 1 - 3 Thurrock F.C. 

F.A. Trophy 1st Qualifying Round 

Attendance - 139

 There was a local derby this weekend with Romford hosting Thurrock in the F.A. Trophy Cup 1^st Qualifying Round. The first half was lively with both teams having good chances to take the lead but the score remained goalless as the referee blew for half time. 

Romford started the second half the better of the two teams and on 57 minutes took the lead after a goal mouth scramble which resulted in Ryan Imbert poking the ball in from a couple yards out. The lead only lasted 11 minutes and Thurrock equalised through Matt Turpin heading in from a free kick. Despite going down to then men, after Mark Onyenma receiving a second yellow, Thurrock took the lead with 9 minutes to go after another goal mouth scramble which saw Stimson fire the ball home. Romford pushed on for an equaliser but had a huge set back when striker Lewis Francis received a straight red card for an off the ball incident. In the last minute of injury time Leory Griffiths put the game to bed with a third for Thurrock. 

By Sam Hodges