Olympian success on a national stage

[Ian_W]

OLYMPIAN SUCCESS ON A NATIONAL STAGE

By Mark Wallis

 

The LFC Insurance Group Essex Olympian League are looking forward to their next outing in the FA National Systems Cup after making a name for themselves in the record books by clinching an emphatic 9-2 victory over the Worthing & District League in the First Round on 26th September.

 

The hefty victory margin was a record win in The FA’s newest national competition and has set the Olympian League up with an intriguing Second Round clash with the Jersey Football Combination, where victory could see them go on to better their achievements during the competition’s inaugural campaign, 2003/04.

 

“In the first season of the National League Systems Cup we beat the Middlesex County League, the Hertfordshire County League and the North Berks League on our way to the semi-final where we were ultimately beaten by the runners-up, the Cambridgeshire County League,” explained Olympian Secretary Peter Godfrey.

 

The FA National Systems Cup is a bi-annual competition being competed for the fourth time during the 2009/10 campaign and acts as a qualifying stage for the UEFA Regions Cup, to which the winners progress and compete during the NLS competitions’ off-season. “It’d be great to quality for the UEFA competition,” claimed Peter. “A lot of the costs are met by The FA so it shouldn’t affect us too much financially and it would be a terrific experience to compete against other League sides from Europe.”

 

Don Stewart is the Manager of the Olympian’s representative side and his task is now to look at overcoming the somewhat unknown quantity of the Jersey Football Combination, with victory potentially sealing a place in the quarter-finals. “I know Don has been in contact with the Manager of the Wiltshire League who were defeated by Jersey in the last round so hopefully he’ll have picked up a thing or two. I believe this is only their [Jersey’s] second campaign in the competition, so they’ve done really well,” Peter added.

 

Both Michael Daniels and Sener Suavi grabbed hat-tricks during the First Round romp, with further strikes coming from Ricky Thompson, Reiss Kingsley and Duane Miller at the Sussex County FA’s Lancing headquarters, setting the League up nicely for the visit of Jersey, with the tie set to be on or before Saturday 12th December.

 

The Kent Blaxill Essex & Suffolk Border League also participated in this season’s competition, but were unfortunately beaten 1-0 by the Hertfordshire Senior County League in Round One. The three previous competitions have been won by the Mid-Cheshire, Isle of Man and the Southern Amateur Leagues, with the Cambridgeshire County League unlucky to be beaten in each of the first two finals.

 

Squad: Marcus Desbois (Mountnessing), Danny Church (Harold Wood Athletic), Simon Todd (Harold Wood Athletic), Lee Wettner (Harold Wood Athletic), Paul Kline (Harold Wood Athletic), Reiss Kingsley (Westhamians), Kevin Ayres (Harold Wood Athletic), Ricky Thompson (Rayleigh Town), Sener Suavi (Mountnessing), Michael Daniels (Westhamians), Bobby Thanda (Westhamians), Antony Hughes (Rayleigh Town), Mark Neal (Ongar Town), Dean Salmon (Westhamians), Duane Miller (Harold Wood Athletic).

[Basil-Don]

Seems the manager likes Harold Wood Athletic.