Match Preview: Ilford v The Bridge
You could say this is a game between two out-of-form teams, because it is. Ilford are 16th in current form and The Bridge 18th, both with one league win in six.

Ilford are currently 18th in the ESL table with 6 points from 9 games, winning 2 and losing 7. A negative goal difference of 9 consists of scoring 9 and conceding 18. Home form is not great, with 1 win and 2 defeats and a -1 goal difference (5 scored, 6 conceded).

Ilford – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
Barking Ilford
Playing Tomorrow night

Saffron Walden Town 3 Ilford 0
An expected defeat at SWT, who are going well these days, with two goals for Ross Wall and one for Darren Phillips.

Ilford 3 Halstead Town 1
The Foxes first, and only, home victory in the ESL 24/25 against bottom of the table opponents. Greg Akpele with two and Michael Olatunji with one are the Ilford scorers, Tom Graves in the 99th minute for Halstead who were not helped by a red card for Jake Brown.

Ilford 1 Stanway Rovers 2
A good effort against high-flying Rovers but in the end a defeat. 2-0 down to George Okoye and Harrison Chatting goals, Joel Appiah got one back in the 79th minute but it’s not enough to save the home side from defeat.

Ilford 1 Romford 3
Another tough home game was made even tougher for Ilford thanks to two red cards for Nik Ahmadi (73’) and Emmanuel Wazola (98’). 2-0 down to an Aundre Spencer penalty and Kenedy Feyi, Michael Adu reduced the deficit before Kalum Bama restored it in the 92nd minute.

Sawbridgeworth 1 Ilford 0
A single goal from Kieran David was enough to see Sawbo take the 3 points in this one.

Great Wakering Rovers 1 Ilford 0
It took a 95th-minute Ben Search penalty to defeat a defiant Ilford at Burroughs Park with Jacques Leurs sent off in the 88th minute…Sacre bleu!

In addition, Ilford were knocked out of the FA Vase 1Q by Harlow Town (0-2) and the FA Cup EP by Newport Pagnell Town (0-2).

Goalscorers:
Main goal scorers this season have been, Greg Akpele, Joel Appiah and Mo Nur Habib with 3 each.

First Team Squad & appearances:
Player Appearances
1 Wilkinson Boateng 13
2 Abdul Shobowale 13
3 Michael Olatunji 12
4 Joel Appiah 11
5 Michael Okafor 11
6 Emmanuel Wazola 10
7 Michael Adu 9
8 Nik Ahmadi 9
9 Greg Akpele 9
10 Kaan Junior 9
11 Jacques Leurs 7
12 Ahmed Dousa 6
13 Daniel Emmanuel 5
14 Jeff Ldemudia 5
15 Lawrence Olorunfemi 4
16 Daayan Salifou 4
17 Jeremy Arthur 3
18 Saikoutijan Jatta 3
19 Mo Nur Habib 3
20 Babs Sonupe 3
21 Jabir Adam 2
22 Kofi Appiah 2
23 Amari Davis- Stephenson 2
24 Louis Hiobi 2
25 Phelan Matheson 2
26 Muamar Osman 2
27 Abdul Fujah 1
28 Delphin Moorat 1
29 Youssef Moumen 1
30 Mekhi Roberts 1
31 Tobi Tinubu 1

Last Season:
Ilford finished 19th in the ESL last season. The Bridge finished in 12th.

The teams met twice during the season.

Game one was on the 31st of October 2023 and Ilford visited Lower Road and won 2-1. Solomon Ofori scored for The Bridge and Oliseh Okuguni got both goals for The Foxes.

Game two on the 5th of January 2024 saw The Bridge more than gain revenge with a 5-1 victory. Evernage Nyahunda was on target for Ilford and Martin Tuohy with 2, Jay Leader, Osaretin Otote, & Michael Dixon got the Bridge five.

Club Facts:
Founded: 1881 (Original Club), 1987 (Modern Club)
Ground: Cricklefield Stadium, Ilford
Chairman: Adam Peek
First Team Manager: Chris Davis

Club History
Ilford Football Club is a football club based in Ilford, East London, England. Affiliated to the Essex County Football Association, they are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at the Cricklefield Stadium. Nicknamed the Foxes, the club play in blue and white hoops or stripes.

The original Ilford Football Club was established in 1881 by a group of teenagers. They were founder members of the Southern League in 1894, joining Division One. They finished bottom of Division One in 1895–96, losing all 18 matches and subsequently faced a promotion-relegation test match against Wolverton LNWR; after losing 2–0, Ilford resigned from the league. They then became founder members of the London League, where they were placed in Division One for the 1896–87 season. However, they also left the London League after two seasons, this time joining Division One of the South Essex League.

In 1905 Ilford were founder members of the Isthmian League, which their treasurer George Clarke had played a key role in establishing.

With plans in place to build a new ground in Fairlop, Ilford moved to Leytonstone's Granleigh Road ground in 1977. However, land development tax from the sale of their Lynn Road ground had not been considered in the budget and the club were left with insufficient funds to build a new ground. Instead they merged with Leytonstone in 1979 to form Leytonstone/Ilford. The new club later merged with Walthamstow Avenue to form Redbridge Forest, who in turn merged with Dagenham to form the modern Dagenham & Redbridge.

Ilford Football Club was resurrected as a separate entity in 1987. They joined Division One of the Spartan League in 1988. However, issues including a lack of finance, manpower, and home ground led to the club leaving the league in 1990. Although they returned in 1993, they left at the end of the 1993–94 season. After a further two seasons in abeyance, the club joined the Essex Senior League in 1996. They were Essex Senior League runners-up in 2003–04, earning promotion to Division Two of the Isthmian League. They won Division Two at the first attempt and were promoted to the Eastern Division of the Southern League.

After a single season in the Southern League, Ilford were transferred back to the Isthmian League, joining Division One North. They finished in the bottom three for six of the next seven seasons, before being relegated back to the Essex Senior League at the end of the 2012–13 season, having finished bottom of Division One North. In June 2017 the club were voted out of the Essex Senior League due to the non-payment of fines. However, they were readmitted to the league in July following an appeal.

Ilford have remained members of the Essex Senior League since 2013-14, placing each season as follows:
20143-14 16th
2014-15 10th
2015-16 5th
2016-17 6th
2017-18 13th
2018-19 10th
2019-20 Abandoned
2020-21 Abandoned
2021-22 16th
2022-23 16th
2023-24 19th
This season they are currently 18th.

Honours
FA Amateur Cup
Winners 1928–29, 1929–30
Isthmian League
Champions 1906–07, 1920–21, 1921–22
Division Two Champions 2004–05
Essex Senior League
League Cup winners 2002–03

Records
Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1974–75
Best FA Trophy performance: Third round, 1974–75
Best FA Vase performance: Second round, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2020–21

As mentioned, two out-of-form teams, as shown below. In the last ten league games the teams have played, there has been just one win, for Ilford, against bottom-of-the-table Halstead Town. So, something’s got to give, although it could, obviously, be a draw.

The Bridge desperately need something to kick start our season and, likewise, so do Ilford. Both teams have lost to teams that have been doing well in the league, although there is a poor defeat for The Bridge against FC Clacton and an equivalent result for Ilford against Sawbo Town in there too. We know that Hullbridge performances are improving but it’s time for some points and Ilford on Saturday would be a good place to start. So, if you can, get behind the lads at Ilford on Saturday and as ever…