Match Preview: The Bridge v White Ensign
We're taking another break from league action (until Saturday) as we take on White Ensign in the first round of the Errington Challenge Cup. As mentioned, when previewing the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy match recently, it’s sometimes difficult to gauge form in these games as team line-ups may be slightly different from the norm. However, here’s a form guide anyway, and it should still be an indicator of how the two teams are performing.

White Ensign are currently 11th in the ESL Premier, with 18 points from 14 games. 5 wins, 3 draws, and 6 defeats have given them those 18 points and a -3 goal difference consisting of scoring 22 and conceding 25.

White Ensign – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
White Ensign 2 West Essex 0
A convincing FA Vase Second Round win for Ensign who got off to a good start with a Taylor Jacobi goal after 10 minutes and Riley Weir doubled the lead in the 46th minute to see Ensign safely through to Round 3.

White Ensign 1 Benfleet 0
Despite an 8th-minute red card for Billy Bonham-Dare, Ensign take the win with a 49th-minute winner from Nathan Wilson.

FC Clacton 0 White Ensign 2
Two goals from Chinedu Duru are enough for the visitors to take all three points home from bottom-of-the-table FC Clacton.

Kempston Rovers 1 White Ensign 2
FA Vase Round One success for Ensign at Kempston Rovers of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. Taylor Jacobi and Ben Sargent put Ensign 2-0 up before an 85th-minute reply by the home side but Ensign are safely through to Round Two.

White Ensign 0 Stanway Rovers 2
High-flying Stanway are too good for the hosts and win the game with a goal in each half. Jamie Bennett and Nathaniel Mardell are the scorers.

Woodford Town 6 White Ensign 0
An uncharacteristic thrashing for Ensign at title-chasing Woodford who have the game done and dusted by half- time (4-0) and lead 6-0 after 75 minutes before easing off for the last 15.

Goalscorers:
Chinedu Duru 7
Ellis Devereux 5
Nathan Wilson 5
Jon Evans 3
Riley Weir 3

First Team Squad:
Note – The squad and appearances listed in FWP are not accurate so I've included the squad FWP lists below but there may be more players that FWP has not listed.
1 Robbie Allen
2 Joseph Atoki
3 Bradley Davison
4 Chinedu Duru
5 Jon Evans
6 Kofi Gyamfi
7 Albie Keith
8 Dan Monk
9 Ben Sargent
10 Austin Smart
11 Alfie Terry
12 Riley Weir
13 Nathan Wilson
14 Billy Bonham-Dare
15 Ellis Devereux
16 Taylor Jacobi

Last Season:
White Ensign finished 16th in the ESL last season. The Bridge finished in 12th.
The teams met twice during the season.

Game one was on the 24th of January 2024 and was a home win for Ensign with Ezekiel Bademosi and Austin Smart the Ensign scorers. Zayshaun Asamoah replied for The Bridge.

Game Two saw Ensign complete the double over The Bridge with a 1-0 win at Lower Road. Ethan Evison got the 18th-minute winner.

Club Facts:
Founded: 1951
Ground: Burroughs Park, Great Wakering
Chairman: Josh Ferris
First Team Manager: Aaron Bloxham
First Team Coach: Enrico Tiritera /April Smith
First Team Kitman: David Chambers
First Team Physio: Josh Ferris

Club History
White Ensign Football Club are based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Burroughs Park in Great Wakering.

The club was formed in 1951, and is named after the British naval ensign of the same name, which is incorporated into the club's badge. They played in the Southend Borough Combination until joining Division Two of the Essex Intermediate League in 2002, going on to win the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. The season also saw them win the Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy and the league's Senior Cup.

They were Division One champions the following season, as well as retaining the Senior Cup and winning the Senior Challenge Cup. In 2004–05 the club retained the league title and Senior Challenge Cup. The league was renamed the Essex Olympian League in 2005.
White Ensign won the Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy for a second time in 2005–06. The following season they were Division One champions for a third time, as well as retaining the Capital Counties Feeder Trophy. Division One was then renamed the Premier Division, and the club retained the league title in 2007–08, also winning the Essex Premier Cup. The following season saw them win the Senior Challenge Cup for a third time.

However, this marked the end of their period of success and the club finished second-from-bottom of the Premier Division in 2013–14, resulting in relegation to Division One. They were Division One champions the following season and were promoted straight back to the Premier Division. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the club moved up to the newly created Division One South of the Eastern Counties League.

In 2021 the club were promoted to the Essex Senior League based on their results in the abandoned 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons.

Ground
In 2002 White Ensign moved to the Len Forge Centre in Southend after being admitted to the Essex Olympian League. The centre had been the home of the Southend Borough Combination since 1981. A small stand was built in 1985 but was damaged in the Great Storm of 1987. A covered stand was later erected, with two uncovered stands with bench seating built on each side. After White Ensign moved into the ground, the three stands were replaced with two seated stands on either side of a new changing room block.

In order to move up to the Essex Senior League in 2018, the club relocated to Basildon Sporting Village, an athletics stadium originally known as the Gloucester Park Bowl. It had originally been planned as a 21,000-capacity stadium in the 1950s (9,000 seated, 12,000 standing), but eventually opened with only a 200-seat uncovered stand. Basildon United moved into the ground in 1967, and a roof was added to the stand. After Basildon United left in 1970, the ground was used by clubs playing in the Southend & District League, Olympian League club Herongate Athletic, and the Essex Eels rugby league club. In 2011 the ground was upgraded, with a 750-seat stand built.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, White Ensign entered a ground-sharing agreement with Great Wakering Rovers at their Burroughs Park ground.

Honours
Essex Olympian League
Champions 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08
Division Two champions 2002–03
Senior Cup winners 2002–03, 2003–04
Senior Challenge Cup winners 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08
Essex Premier Cup
Winners 2007–08
Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy
Winners 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07
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OK, it’s not the biggest cup competition in the world in terms of prestige and in the number of teams that enter for it but at the end of the day, or the beginning or the middle if you prefer, it’s still a cup at the end of it if we get that far. In the short time I’ve been watching The Bridge we haven’t come remotely near to winning anything so this will do for a start!

Here are the other matches in the first round taking place this week and the full competition is shown below and illustrates that a win will see The Bridge meet Benfleet or Great Wakering Rovers in the quarter-final.

Last season’s winners were Stanway Rovers who were knocked out in Round One by Saffron Walden Town so there’s got to be a new holder, how about Hullbridge?

If selected, former Bridge players, goalkeeper Bradley Davison and one of my favourite Hullbridge players, Jon Evans, could be in opposition…and I’ll still probably name Jon as my Man of the Match like most weeks when he was with The Bridge!

It’s another Tuesday night under the lights at Lower Road… it’s going to be cold (probably); it’s going to be exciting (possibly), it could go to penalties (worryingly) but whatever happens and whatever it is…