Part two of the Festive Football preview and it’s a trip to Ilford to face Frenford. As per the White Ensign preview, this one was written before The Bridge played Benfleet (and White Ensign) and before Frenford played at home to Halstead Town on the 21st and West Essex on the 28th.

Frenford are currently in 12th place and have 20 points from their 18 games, 3 more than the Bridge. 6 wins, 2 draws, and 10 defeats have produced 29 goals for and 32 against for a -3 GD. From their 10 home matches, they have 2 wins, 1 draw, and 7 defeats, with a –8 GD (16 for, 24 against) which is not overly impressive, so there’s every reason to hope that The Bridge can get something from this one as well.

Here’s what they have been doing in their last six matches…
Frenford – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
Woodford Town 2 Frenford 1
A narrow defeat at near neighbours Woodford who win it with goals from Nathan Sollosi and Bruno Tavares, with Samuel Ince scoring for the visitors.

Frenford 2 Romford 4
Romford take the win with goals from Brendan Ocran, Kennedy Feyi, Blaise Uwandji and Amaree Robinson-Jones. According to FWP Frenford’s first goal was an unknown own goal and Anthony Uzoegbu got the other one.

Ilford 2 Frenford 3
Another local derby and this time a win for Frenford. Two from Jordon Elongo and one from Nicholas Reynolds for Frenford and Greg Akpele and Adama Konate on target for Ilford.

Frenford 2 Buckhurst Hill 3
Home defeat and another unknown own goal for Frenford! Corey Hewlett scores the other one and Bradley Ismaili, Suley Zuhdu and Tyreece Robertson find the net for The Stags who have goalkeeper Toby Smith sent off in the 65th minute.

Barking 0 Frenford 2
A good away day for Frenford with a somewhat surprising win at Barking. Fahad Nazor and ex-Bridge man Charlie Heatley are on target for the visitors.

Frenford 1 Little Oakley 2
Jack Ladbrook and Nathan Rowe put Oakley two up before a 92nd-minute consolation from Jordon Elongo.

Frenford v Halstead Town
Frenford v West Essex
This preview was written before these two games took place, so I can’t tell you about it but if you check FWP, they can!

First Team Squad & appearances:
Player Appearances
1 Jordon Elongo 20
2 Liam Foster 19
3 Tom Troubridge 19
4 Warren Kayembe 17
5 Fahad Nazor 17
6 Jimmy Parker 17
7 Corey Hewlett 15
8 Huseyin Yildiz 15
9 Paulius Ditkevicius 13
10 Simon Peddie 13
11 Nicholas Reynolds 13
12 Jacob Barlow 12
13 Henry Mabassa 12
14 Evaristo Kitoko 11
15 Emmanuel Oluwole 11
16 Wilton Domingos 10
17 Alfie Mackay 9
18 Orlando Bethmann 8
19 Billy Karby 8
20 Taymar Fleary 7
21 Henry Day 6
22 Josh Darby 5
23 Elton Tettey 5
24 Micah Newton 4
25 Jake Barlow 3
26 Kasey Clark 3
27 Aliba Lando 3
28 Billy Barr 2
29 Bobby Dailly 2
30 Lee Haylock 2
31 Samuel Ince 2
32 Yasseir Nazor 2
33 Nicholas Soloman 2
34 Corsi Varsoi 2
35 Jermaine Da Luz 1
36 George Fairhead 1
37 Charlie Heatley 1
38 Owen James 1
39 Louie Pullen 1
40 Ryan Remi 1
41 Samir Sedaoui 1
42 Freddie Tandon 1
43 Anthony Uzoegbu 1

Last Season:
Frenford finished 18th in the ESL last season. The Bridge finished in 12th.
The teams met twice during the season.

Game one was on the 14th of October 2023 and was a 3-1 home win for The Bridge with Jason Banton, Jon Evans, and Eman Okunja the scorers. Roy Stevens was on target for Frenford.

Game Two on the 6th of April 2024 was a 1-0 win for Frenford with the only goal coming from Kai Haysman.

Club Facts:
Founded: 1942
Ground: The Drive, Ilford. Essex IG1 3PS
Chairman: Nick Pegg
First Team Manager: David Forbes

Club History
Frenford Football Club are based in Ilford, London, England. Based at the Jack Carter Centre, they are currently members of the Essex Senior League.

The football club was established during World War II by the Frenford Sports and Social Club under the name Frenford Senior. They later joined the Ilford and District Football League and were Premier Division champions in 1975–76. In 1995 the club joined Division Two of the Essex Intermediate League, going on to win the division at the first attempt and earning promotion to Division One.

In 1997–98 Frenford were Division One runners-up. They won the league's Senior Cup in 1999–2000 and the Senior Challenge Cup the following season.The 2003–04 season saw them win the Essex Premier Cup and the Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy.They finished second in Division One again in 2004–05, after which the league was renamed the Essex Olympian League. The club were Division One runners-up for a third time the following season. In 2006–07 they won the Senior Challenge Cup,and from 2007 Division One was renamed Premier Division.

Frenford were Premier Division runners-up in 2008–09. In 2010–11 the club won the Essex Premier Cup, and the following season saw them become Premier Division champions. They retained the title in 2012–13, also winning the Senior Cup and the Senior Challenge Cup.The club went on to win the Senior Challenge Cup again the following season and the Essex Premier Cup in 2015–16. In 2017 the club dropped Senior from their name, and the 2017–18 season saw them win the league's Senior Cup. They moved up to the newly-formed Division One South of the Eastern Counties League the following year.

Ground
Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Frenford entered a groundsharing agreement at Bowers & Pitsea’s Len Salmon Stadium.[6] The stadium has an artificial pitch, which was added in 2018. The stadium was named in 2000 after loyal club servant of forty years, Len Salmon died. Following the early abandonment of the 2019–20 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Frenford confirmed the improvement of their existing facilities at the Jack Carter Centre in Ilford.

Honours
Essex Olympian League
Premier Division champions 2011–12, 2012–13
Division Two champions 1995–96
Senior Cup winners 1999–2000, 2012–13, 2017–18
Senior Challenge Cup winners 2000–01, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2013–14
Essex Premier Cup
Winners 2003–04, 2010–11, 2015–16
Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy
Winners 2003–04, 2007–08
Ilford & District League
Premier Division champions 1975–76

Records
Highest league position: 1st in Eastern Counties League Division One South, 2022–23

It’s a bit too early for Essex Senior League graphics and form guides so Match Day is a bit sparse but, needless to say, it would be good to get off to a good start to 2025 with an away win.

2024 was a tough year for The Bridge but with a New Year comes renewed hope and let’s hope 2025 is a good one for The Bridge starting with game 1 of 2025 at Frenford.

It may be a New Year but one thing remains the same at least and as always…