Tuesday 25th August 2026 ko 19:45

Eastern Counties League Challenge Cup 1st Round

ATHLETIC NEWHAM 1 (Kennybella 89)

STANSTED 2 (Elenkov 65og Mignot 86)

Att 25

Entry £8

Programme online only

When I saw this fixture pop up I saw this as a good excuse to recomplete the Essex Senior League, you may recall me having the option on one of the Essex Senior’s Hop days when I ended up at Little Oakley . It was only on closer inspection that I realised that Athletic Newham had been relegated last season, and so I’d be completing what used to be the Eastern Senior League- now the Eastern Counties League Division One South.

Some many remember Athletic Newham as Lopes Tavares (the surname of the chairman) playing at the Terence McMillan Stadium in Newham before moving to the Bobby Moore Sports Hub in Parsloes Park, Becontree in 2024. The hub sits as a small part of the wider park, and it is supremely well named- these are the open places where a future England icon would have first kicked a football around.

The Sports Hub is everything a groundhopper hates, a group of caged 3 pitches with a leisure centre-style set of changing rooms and a cafe at its centre. Of course nothing here is designed for us, and neither should it be. It’s there to offer and encourage local people to lead active lives which it does extremely well.

In fact my biggest problem was actually actually getting in! I arrived about 15 minutes before kick off, but the turnstile was unmanned and locked. People were deciding whether to climb over or under; being fat and 55 I opted for under but eventually the operator turned up as the teams were doing the pre-game handshake, “It’s £8” he explained, “If you want to pay..”

It was altogether easier getting the line-ups from the referee at half time, for a photo- exchange is no theft I suppose! And while the first half was instantly forgettable, at the least the ground is well-appointed and clean. It did brighten up considerably in the second half, it really wasn’t a game that cried out for penalties. The own goal would have been sufficient, but Stansted did make absolutely sure late on, and I can report it was a good deal easier to exit the ground than it has been to enter it earlier.