On This Day 2

ON THIS DAY SEPTEMBER 26th 1987

Sawbridgeworth Town went top of the league closely followed by Brentwood, Stansted and Halstead Town and in the League these were the days results, Bowers United v Halstead Ton 1-0, Brightlingsea United v Chelmsford City Reserves 4-2, Canvey Island v East Ham United 2-2, Eton Manor v Brentwood 0-1, Ford United v East Thurrock United 0-1, Sawbridgeworth Town v Coggeshall Town 6-0 and Stansted v Maldon Town 3-1. Maldon Town were in last place with no points after six matches !

Two clubs were in F A Vase replays, Burnham Ramblers winning 2-1 aet at Kempston Rovers and Purfleet having to go to a second replay after a 2-2 aet draw with Tiptree United. Another for a second replay, Canvey Island had drawn 2-2 aet with Histon in midweek.

In Division One, so called rather than Reserves because three First Teams were in the constitution, Southend Manor beat Maldon Town Reserves 3-1, St. Osyth beat Canvey Island Reserves 5-1 and Stambridge were in the Essex Intermediate Cup losing 2-4 at Hatfield Peveral. The leading goalscorers were Steve Parnell of Halstead Town and John Kemp of Halstead Town both with 6 but, interestingly, a man with five, Dennis Green of Sawbridgeworth Town, later became a Football League player with Wycombe Wanderers.

Ford United made a request for any club to lend them a pitch and floodlights so they could play Pennant in the Essex Thameside Trophy.
They did play, on December 9th thanks to East Ham United but lost 1-4 !

The foundations for the new clubhouse were now in place for Southend Manor who were using the cricket pavilion from where the Australians scored 721 runs in one day back in 1948, as their dressing rooms !

Three clubs were issuing outstanding Match Programmes, East Thurrock v Welwyn Garden City in the F A Vase, Halstead Town’s v Lowestoft and Canvey Island with 36 pages.