Match Preview: The Bridge v Stanway Rovers
A break from league action as the two teams meet for the third time this season but this time in the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy. It’s sometimes difficult to gauge form in these games as team line-ups may be slightly different from the norm but here’s a form guide anyway and it should still be an indicator of how the two teams are performing.

Rovers, as we know, have started the season well, and after Saturday's victory over Benfleet, they sit proudly at the top of the ESL premier.

Stanway Rovers – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
Stanway Rovers 2 Benfleet 0
Rovers got off to a flying start with a Jamie Bennett goal after 2 minutes. Joe Turpin added a second in the 56th minute and the 3 points left Rovers 4 points clear at the top of the division, albeit Woodford have 2 games in hand.

White Ensign 0 Stanway Rovers 2
A relatively straightforward victory for Rovers to keep them top of the table. An early goal from Jamie Bennett and one just after half-time for Nathaniel Mardell were enough to give Rovers a comfortable 2-0 win.

Stanway Rovers 5 Hullbridge Sports 3
A crazy Tuesday night in Stanway ends with a home victory after a valiant Bridge comeback from 3-1 down. Harrison Chatting opened the scoring before Tobias Braney made it 1-1. George Okoye put Rovers 2-1 up and Jamie Bennett made it 3-1 before The Bridge fought back to 3-3 with goals from Owen Bellamy and Tobias again. Rovers were then awarded a penalty that Okoye dispatched before Tom Maycock made it five in the 89th minute. All that and two sin-binned players for The Bridge and other than that nothing happened!

Buckhurst Hill 1 Stanway Rovers 2
Nathaniel Mardell and Tom Maycock make it 3 away wins in a row for Rovers who lead 2-0 before The Stags get one back but it’s not enough to stop Stanway taking the 3 points.

Frenford 1 Stanway Rovers 3
Red cards for Frenford’s Henry Day and Rovers Harrison Chatting and goals from Joe Debell, George Okoye, and Reece Conway and it’s 3 more points for Rovers. Jordon Elongo with a late consolation for the home side.

Ilford 1 Stanway Rovers 2
Harrison Chatting & George Okoye score the goals as Rovers win at Ilford who get one in the 79th minute from Joel Appiah but it’s not enough to save them.

Goalscorers:
George Okoye with 10, Harrison Chatting with 5, and Joe Debell and Jamie Bennett with 4, plus three players on 3 adds up to lots of goals for Rovers!

First Team Squad:
Player Appearances
1 Harry Thomas 19
2 Jamie Bennett 17
3 Joe Debell 17
4 Tom Maycock 17
5 George Okoye 17
6 Ricky Tarbard 17
7 Jordan Barnett 16
8 Reece Conway 16
9 Callum Robinson 16
10 Henry Barley 15
11 Harrison Chatting 15
12 Freddy Cooper 15
13 Milo Grimes 15
14 Nathaniel Mardell 11
15 Max Sherlock 9
16 Reece Harris 8
17 Christian Frimpong 7
18 Joe Turpin 7
19 Ellis Girling 6
20 Reiss Oteng 5
21 Callum Boylan 3
22 Ben Dixon 3
23 Usman Adeniji Temitope 2
24 Rob Weller 2
25 Ryan Lees 1

Last Season:
Stanway finished 7th in the ESL last season. The Bridge finished in 12th.
The teams met twice during the season.

Game one was on the opening day of the season, 29th of July 2023, and The Bridge visited The Hawthorns and took away the league points with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a Charlie Heatley winner on 25 minutes.

Game two on the 18th of November 2023, saw Rovers more than gain revenge with a thumping 5-0 victory at Lower Road. Scorers were Reece Conway, Jack Johnson, Jack Madley, Nathaniel Mardell and Joshua Hughes.

This Season:
As mentioned above, the two teams met this season at The Hawthorns and Rovers won 5-3.

Before that, Rovers won 3-0 at Lower Road in September with goals from Reece Conway and two from Joe Debell so they're going for the hat-trick of wins for 24/25 on Tuesday night.

Club Facts:
Founded: 1956
Ground: The Hawthorns, Stanway, Colchester
Chairman: Steve Blake
First Team Manager: Jamie Shaw
Assistant Manager / Coach: Anthony White
First Team Physio: Callum Gough

Club History
The modern club was established on 10th July 1956, although records show that another club by the same name had been playing in the early 1900s, including winning Division II B of the Essex & Suffolk Border League in 1927-28. The new club joined Division Two of the Colchester and East Essex League, and by 1960 had reached the Premier Division. They won the Premier Division in 1967-68 and again in 1973-74. The following season saw them reach the final of the Essex Junior Cup, where they lost 1-0 to Takeley.

In 1975, Stanway joined Division One of the Essex & Suffolk Border League and, in 1978, were placed in the new Division Two. The 1978-79 season saw the club finish third and win promotion to Division One. They were later relegated to Division Two, which they won in 1981-82 and again in 1985-86 after another relegation. However, in 1986-87 the club won Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1990 and 1991 the club reached the final of the Essex Intermediate Cup, but lost both matches 3-1. In 1991-92, they were Premier Division runners-up and were promoted to Division One of the Eastern Counties League.

In 2005-06 the club won Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division. They went on to win the League Cup in 2008-09, beating Leiston 4-2 on penalties in the final. They won the cup again in 2011-12 with a 2-1 win over Norwich United in the final.

At the end of the 2017-18 season, Stanway were transferred to the Essex Senior League. However, after a single season in the Essex Senior League, they were moved back to the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.

The club was initially based at the King George V playing fields in Lexden (more commonly known as Clairmont Road) before moving to The Stanway School in 1961. In 1979 the club agreed a 99-year lease with the local council for a 4.6-acre (19,000 m2) plot of land. On 18th November 1982 the new clubhouse was opened, and named The Hawthorns.

Honours
EASTERN COUNTIES LEAGUE
- Division One Champions: 2005/06
- League Cup Winners: 2008/09, 2011/12
ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER LEAGUE
- Division One Champions: 1986/87
- Division Two Champions: 1981/81, 1985/86
COLCHESTER & EAST ESSEX LEAGUE
- Premier Division Champions: 1973/74

Records
Best FA Cup performance: Second qualifying round 2008–09, 2015–16
Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 2007–08, 2014–15
Record attendance: 575 vs Saffron Walden Town, FA Vase fourth round, 17 January 2015

The two teams have been having very different seasons as can be seen from the ESL table where Rovers lead the way and The Bridge have now dropped, worryingly, to 16th.

As mentioned previously, it’s hard to tell what the line-ups will be so that means it’s probably not worth analysing form too much but, I guess, Rovers are the favourites to win and make it three wins against The Bridge for the season.

However, this and The Errington Cup remain the only trophies that The Bridge have a chance in now after going out of The FA Vase, The FA Cup, and The BBC Essex Senior Cup, so fingers and everything else crossed that we progress from this one…

I always think a Tuesday night under the lights at Lower Road has a certain atmosphere about it and, although it may not be a large crowd, let’s hope that at the end of the night, it will be a happy Hullbridge one and as ever…