A second consecutive draw on the road on Saturday and The Bridge are on their travels again with hope of a result at Buckhurst Hill as the season nears its end. So, it’s off to Myrak Park with hopes of at least a draw and, who knows, maybe away win number 5?

Buckhurst Hill are 13th in the ESL table. They have 36 points from 30 matches, with 10 wins, 6 draws, and 14 defeats. The goal difference is -2 with 53 scored and 55 conceded. Home form is not great and 15th best in the division, with 4 wins, 4 draws, and 7 defeats from their 15 matches. 28 for and 30 against gives The Stags a -2 home GD.
Here’s what “The Stags” have been doing in their last six matches…
Buckhurst Hill – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
Stansted 2 Buckhurst Hill 1
Continuing a poor run and capping it off with this defeat at bottom-placed Stansted, The Stags led with a 68th-minute Archie Hammond goal before two late Stansted goals added another defeat to the list for The Stags. Jamie Luke Bennett and Charlie Portway got the two late goals for Stansted who picked up three vital points as they fight for survival at the bottom end of the ESL table.

Little Oakley 2 Buckhurst Hill 1
Not a surprise this one as Oakley have been in form and Buckhurst Hill the opposite. Jordi Papple put the home team one up before Alex Georgiou levelled it and Lewis Wood got the winner right on half-time.

Buckhurst Hill 2 Halstead Town 4
Again, the in-form team takes the points as Halstead continue their recent run of good results with a winning away performance. Euan O’Neil scores first for The Stags before Owen Betts and Joel Older put Halstead in front. Alfie Paddington makes it 2-2 at half-time before two second-half goals from Joel Older and Lester Ward seal the points for the visitors.

Buckhurst Hill 0 FC Clacton 1
This one was a bit of a surprise as Clacton win it with a scrappy late goal from Jack Graham and I watched the highlights of this game, so believe me, it was scrappy! Still, a win is a win and FC Clacton, surprise or not, got it.

Buckhurst Hill 2 Barking 1
This was probably the unexpected result in the last six for The Stags as Barking have been going well but they couldn’t stop two late goals giving Buckhurst Hill the three points here. Sam Edwards put the visitors in front and the two late goals that won it came from a Nathan Boamah own goal and Ollie Williams.

Great Wakering Rovers 2 Buckhurst Hill 1
GWR prove too good for The Stags, although they gave them a run for their money. Harry Talbot (in a fantastic scoring run) and Callum Boylan for GWR and Jack Ferris pulls one back for The Stags but GWR take the win.

Player Appearances
1 Archie Hammond 27
2 Ollie Williams 27
3 Alfie Harris 26
4 Jude Carolan 25
5 Tyreece Robertson 23
6 Alfie Padington 22
7 Oliseh Okuguni 21
8 Suley Zuhdu 21
9 Dan Jones 18
10 George Thompson 16
11 Ted Buchanan 14
12 Jonathan Ogunsanya 14
13 Toby Smith 14
14 Chama Torsiello 14
15 Shaquel Foyewa 13
16 Quincy Warner 13
17 Khadean Campbell 12
18 Liam Foster 12
19 Jonah Gregory 12
20 Youcef Tacine 12
21 Lucas Willison 12
22 Bradley Ismaili 10
23 Muhammed Otuyo 9
24 Tim Moncur 8
25 Ethan Daniels 7
26 Harry Markatis 7
27 Anthony Page 7
28 Jimi Feeley 6
29 Chandler Wray 6
30 Emmanuel Frempong 5
31 Gabriel Mendoza 5
32 Jaime Obama Nvumba 5
33 Kai Peters 5
34 Henry Clark 4
35 Jack Ferris 3
36 Harry Hope 3
37 Frankie Licheri 3
38 Euan O'Neil 3
39 Khris Oti 3
40 Esteban Oya 3
41 Sonny Shilling 3
42 Levi Burgin 2
43 Preston Knight 2
44 Harrison Lamb 2
45 Teddy Longman 2
46 Louie Pullen 2
47 Joe Re 2
48 Tayo Ayaji 1
49 Jason Balde 1
50 Marquel Cadette 1
51 Jamie Colvill 1
52 Tyler Dolan 1
53 Alex Georgiou 1
54 Lewis Greene 1
55 Thomas House 1
56 Rigers Kabashi 1
57 Ibrahim Kehinde 1
58 Eric Koduah 1
59 Ellis Lawson 1
60 Austin Nkwonta 1
61 Christian North 1
62 Chibike Okechukwu 1
63 Seye Okunlola 1
64 Finn Rushton 1
65 Vincent Wheeler 1
66 Chandler Wray 1

Links: An amazing 66 players are listed as appearing for The Stags this season (although it might be 65 as there are two Chandler Wrays!)...so far!

Names I recognise as Bridge connections (you may know more!) are:
Lewis Greene 1
Ellis Lawson 1
So not very many although, as I say, there may be some I don’t know about!

Founded: 1985
Ground: Myrak Park, Roding Lane, Buckhurst Hill

Chairman: Simon Cornwell
First Team Manager: Mark Williams
First Team Assistant Manager: Ted Buchanan
Nickname: The Stags

CLUB HONOURS & RECORDS
Essex Business Houses Division 2 Cup Winners 2002/03

Forest District League Division 3 Champions 2003/04

Forest District League Division 2 Champions 2004/05

Herts Senior Floodlit Cup Winners 2004/05

Herts Senior Chairman's Cup Winners 2005/06

Essex Olympian League Division One Runners-up 2009/10

Essex Olympian League Division One Champions 2017/18

Essex Premier Cup Winners 2017/18, 2018/19

Essex Olympian League Premier Champions 2018/19, 2020/21

Thurlow Nunn Division 1 South Runners-up (Promoted)

Best FA Cup performance: First qualifying round, 2022–23
Best FA Vase performance: Third round, 2021–22

The Stags joined the Herts Senior County League Division One in 2004-05 and stayed there until 2008-09 when they joined the Essex Olympian League Division One. They remained there until the end of season 2020/21 where they finished top of the division and joined the Eastern Counties League Division One South. They finished that season in second place and were defeated in the play-offs 2-1 by Halstead Town. However, they then joined the Essex Senior League for season 2022-23, finishing 17th, and 14th in season 2023-24.

The Bridge and Buckhurst Hill – recent meetings:

Season 2024/2025
Saturday 7th September 2024
The Bridge 1 Buckhurst Hill 0

A decent crowd of 141 were at Lower Road to see The Bridge take the three points with a 1-0 win thanks to a 95th-minute Freddie Moriaty penalty. If I remember rightly, the pen was a bit dubious but Hey Ho, some you win…

Season 2023/2024
The Stags, as mentioned above, finished the ESL premier season in 14th place with 42 points from 38 matches, whilst The Bridge finished in 12th place with 49 points from 38 games. The two teams met twice during the season.

Saturday 30th September 2023
The Bridge 3 Buckhurst Hill 0
An early red card for Max Nicholson did the visitors no favours as they played out the remaining 80+ minutes with 10 men. Jason Banton had a good day for The Bridge scoring a hat-trick as The Bridge ran out 3-0 winners.

Saturday 27th April 2024
Buckhurst Hill 2 The Bridge 1
The last game of the season and, despite being down to 10 men early on when Nathan Daniels received a red card for a Foul on Michael Dixon, The Stags came from behind to grab a deserved victory. Oscar Onuorah had put The Bridge in front in the first minute before Josh Samuels 9th minute equaliser. Chandler Wray got the winner in the 56th minute.

Season 2022/2023
Buckhurst Hill finished 17th in the ESL Premier with 39 points from 38 matches. Enfield were Champions with 92 points whilst The Bridge were busy competing in the Isthmian League North and, therefore, the two teams did not meet this season.

Season 2021/2022
Buckhurst Hill finished 2nd in the Eastern Counties League Division One South (Thurlow Nunn League) with 98 points from 38 matches, and Ipswich Wanderers were Champions with 103 points. Meanwhile, The Bridge were staging their “Great Escape” in the Isthmian League North and finished 16th with 39 points. With the two teams in different leagues, they didn’t meet this season.

Buckhurst Hill This season:
League positions in brackets are current position
Home: Won 4, Drawn 4, Lost 7 (F28, A30 = -2) Pts 16 ESL 15th
Just 4 wins from their 15 home matches:
Takeley (4) 2-1
Stansted (19) 4-0
Romford (8) 3-0
Barking (3) 2-1
4 draws against:
Little Oakley (9) 2-2
Sawbridgeworth Town (18) 3-3
Benfleet (16) 3-3
Ilford (15) 2-2
And 7 defeats:
Saffron Walden Town (6) 0-2
Great Wakering Rovers (5) 0-3
Stanway Rovers (1) 1-2
West Essex (12) 2-3
Athletic Newham (10) 2-3
FC Clacton (20) 0-1
Halstead Town (11) 2-4
Away: Won 6, Drawn 2, Lost 7 (F25, A25 = 0) Pts 20 ESL 9th
6 away wins at:
Sawbridgeworth Town (18) 2-0
FC Clacton (20) 4-0
Barking (3) 4-2
Frenford (14) 3-2
Halstead Town (11) 1-0
Athletic Newham (10) 3-2
2 draws:
White Ensign (7) 2-2
Woodford Town (2) 2-2
And 7 defeats:
Benfleet (16) 0-1
Takeley (4) 1-2
Hullbridge Sports (17) 0-1 Yes!
Stanway Rovers (1) 0-5
Great Wakering Rovers (5) 1-2
Little Oakley (9) 1-2
Stansted (19) 1-2

Up for the cup!
In the FA Cup, Buckhurst Hill exited at the Extra Preliminary Round Stage, losing 4-1 at Tilbury of the Isthmian League North Division (Level 8, step 4).

In the FA Vase First Qualifying Round, The Stags beat Cockfosters (Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, Level 9, step 5) 3-1 at home, before losing 2-0 at home to Newbury Forest (Eastern Counties League Division One South, Level 10, step 6) in the Second Qualifying Round.

In the BBC Essex Senior Cup First Round, Buckhurst Hill beat Cannons Wood 4-2 and they then won at Barking 1-0 in Round Two. In the 3rd Round, The Stags lost at home to Canvey Island (Isthmian League Premier, Level 7, step 3) 3-0.

Buckhurst Hill won 5-4 on penalties at Ilford after drawing 2-2 in the Errington Challenge Cup Preliminary Round before losing 0-3 at home to Woodford Town in Round One. In the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy, they were knocked out at the First Round stage losing 1-2 to Great Wakering Rovers.

The Bridge: 2 wins; 2 draws; 2 defeats; For 7; Against 9; GD -2; Points 8
Buckhurst Hill: 1 win; 0 draws; 5 defeats; For 7; Against 12; GD -5; Points 3

It’s a big weekend in the world of Non-league football as it’s NON-LEAGUE DAY and GROUNDHOP WEEKEND with lots of stuff going on at the various clubs, including Buckhurst Hill, where the Premier League Trophy will be on display and there’s a chance to have your photo taken with it!

There’s also the small matter of three points up for grabs for either The Stags or The Bridge or, obviously, one each if it’s a draw. Over the last six matches, The Stags have used 33 players as opposed to 26 for The Bridge. Mainstays of the two teams have been: Goalkeeper Anthony Page, Liam Foster, Jude Carolan, Archie Hammond, Alfie Harris, Chama Torsiello, Ollie Williams, Alfie Padington, Euan O’Neil, Kai Peters, and Ted Buchanan. For The Bridge: Beau Macdonald, Billy Willis, Callum Knowlden, Connor Hart, Danny Hurford, Darnell Wiliams, Jack Nolde, Jack Hauser, Jack Wilson, Louis Bragg, Oscar Jones, Piers Hatcliff and Sam Carter. Also, goalkeeper Laurence Whymark, until the last two games when Dom Alexandru has been between the sticks.

Nobody has been banging the goals in for The Stags very much with just 7 in the last six games: Ferris, Williams, O’Neil, Padington, Georgiou & Hammond. The 7th was an own goal by Barking.
The Bridge have also scored 7: Williams 2, Hunt, Hart, Jones, Hatcliff & Ranger.

As you can see above, in their last six, Buckhurst Hill have just one win against Barking and five defeats, whilst the Bridge are on 8 points from their last six so, for once, form is in our favour. The win percentage is quite close and, as mentioned, both teams have scored 7 in their last 6, so it should be a low-scorer but you never know.

So, the analysis doesn’t look too bad so let’s see what happens…

Being a special weekend, the fixtures are staggered so that the Groundhopppers can Groundhop to their heart's content. Taking league position and form into account, The Bridge are slight favourites at Buckhurst Hill, and the teams around us, mainly Sawbo and Stansted, have winnable games, so it’s another interesting weekend in the ESL. With the midweek results, Sawbo are just 4 points behind us and Stansted 7, so a win would be nice! Let's hope we get one and always remember…