15/05/2026 – REPORT – KNOCK-OUT CUP FINAL RESULT

ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER FOOTBALL LEAGUE

KNOCK-OUT CUP FINAL.

CRESSING UNITED FC.          2.         (2)       GREAT BENTLEY FC.  2.         (4)

(ON PENALTY KICKS)

Date:   15^th May 2026.                       Venue: “The Crops”, Coggeshall Town FC.

            This was the fourth ESBFL Cup Final of the season, the Knock-Out Cup, and was played at “The Crops”, home of Thurlow Nunn, Division One South, Coggeshall Town FC and the ESBFL once again  extends a big thank you to Graeme Smith and his staff for providing the venue, facilities and hospitality.

            This competition started with forty-nine teams drawn from across all Member Clubs, Round One had fifteen teams receiving a “bye”, the second and third rounds followed leading to the Quarter-Finals and then the Semi-Finals, so today we have reached this year’s final, the cup was last season won by Barnston AFC.

            This evening’s finalists are both from the Premier Division, to reach this final, Cressing United beat Bradfield Rovers, Belle Vue Social, Alresford Colne Rangers, Silver End United and West Bergholt, whilst Great Bentley beat Tendring Borough (W/D), Prettygate AFC, Clacton Regent, Tollesbury and East Thurrock Community.

            Before kick-off the teams carried out the “Respect” handshake and on a breezy, chilly evening and on a rock-hard pitch the Match Officials were David Owen who had Christopher Final and Luke Williams as Assistant Referees with Timothy Moffatt as the fourth Official.

            I’m never too sure who won the toss-of-the-coin, but Cressing United kicked off playing away from the Clubhouse end, looking at the players on the pitch, both teams had numerous players over six feet tall, will this be a high aerial match or will the ball be played on the ground or hoisted long for players to chase!. The first free kick inside the first minute was committed by Hardy on McMahon, from this Great Bentley worked the ball forward down the right side to Thompson, who sent in a fine cross which defender TIMOTHY CLARKE headed past his own keeper, great cross, great header, wrong goal! Cressing United restarted the match and Collier attacked against Peace and Merrell was there in support to force a throw in. McMahon fouled French (A) who took the free kick finding Merrell who was flagged off-side and as play moved to the other end Brown (D) tackled Koenick, but illegally, from behind. When Hardy broke through, keeper, French (J) was quickly out to save a corner followed, taken by French (A) who picked out Chalk who headed over the crossbar from a far post position. Thorndyke found Clarke whose effort was fielded by keeper, French (J), from his long clearance, Thompson controlled the ball before being clattered by Koenick, wide on the far touch-line, up stepped LEWIS BLANCHETT to send a fine left-footed effort, trade-mark effort, you bet it was, over everyone, including, keeper Reedman, inside a congested penalty area and into the net giving Great Bentley a two goals to nil advantage and we had only played eleven minutes. Keeper, Reedman needed treatment but was quickly able to carry-on, defender Burch had Miller in his pocket, or so it seemed, they were that close when maybe a foul should have been given, but Miller then fouled Burch and French (A) was spoken too for comments made about the initial non-decision!

            Blanchett pulled back Clarke to concede a cheap free kick, taken by Thorndyke to Hardy who was quickly tackled by McMahon, and a throw in followed, thrown long by Hardy who found defender Burch commanding his penalty area, twice in succession, then keeper, French (J) punched away another throw in. Cressing United kept up their positive response, a cross from French (A) hit Burch in the chest but appeals were made for handball, but easily dismissed, and a corner followed. Collier took the corner lifting the ball to the far post where Chalk lurked, McMahon cleared the goal attempt and when Chalk missed out on a long clearance, he chased back to catch Thompson and make a fine tackle. Hardy forced a corner off McMahon, this time taken by French (A) but Chalk and Miller went up to head the same ball, where was the call! Clarke stepped across Mountenay who drew the tackle in midfield, from the free kick Thompson sent over a great cross which Baker (K) expertly took down, but defender Clarke was back to defend. Miller was guilty of a robust challenge on McMahon and received a yellow card, within minutes Miller dived into a challenge on Mountenay, was this another yellow card so soon after his first, no, it was worse as Clarke was shown red and dismissed for seemingly stamping on the prone player. How much worse could this match get for Cressing United, two goals down and now down to ten men!

            With thirty minutes elapsed, the first half had been littered with numerous fouls, one yellow and one red card was the tally so far but both teams had shown great commitment, a free kick taken by French (A) was headed clear by Burch but Baker (C) was beaten by the pace of Collier and conceded a foul, Collier took the kick himself, keeper, French (J) made a smart save at the near post, Collier sent the return ball to the far post, but out of play, this remained a positive response from Cressing United. When Morley fouled Miller, Collier took the free kick forcing a corner off Peace, Hardy took the corner from the left side, keeper, French (J) punched clear, but only to Collier whose driven cross was blocked inside a crowded penalty area, the ball bounced loose and there was ANDREW FRENCH to rifle the ball past the keeper, French (J), whose attempt to save near the left-hand upright, saw the ball roll back into the net. A throw in taken by Thorndyke fell to Collier who cut inside Peace but his strong left-footed shot flew just wide, another throw in from Thorndyke was controlled by Merrell, wide on the right side, this time, from his cross, defender Peace was adjudged to have handled the ball and a penalty kick was awarded, AARON COLLIER stepped up to smash the ball, left footed into the bottom corner of the net, game on, the scores are now level. Baker (K) fouled Chalk, good contest that was becoming, then Baker (K) smashed into keeper, Reedman, who was not impressed when no free kick was awarded! Right on half-time, French (A) sent in a cross, Miller rose to head goalwards, only for keeper, French (J) to make a superb save tipping the ball over the crossbar, my, this had been a frantic first half, time for tea and cake!

HALF-TIME:    2 – 2.

            Great Bentley restarted this evenly poised match, there was plenty of action and talking points from the first half, so will the second half prove decisive for one team! Baker (K) fouled Chalk from the first foray forward, Collier was impeded by Peace but his free kick flew straight to keeper, French (J), for Great Bentley, there was a shout for another handball incident but the referee awarded a corner, VAR may have had a different view but then they often get it wrong, so let’s go with the referees decision, made from close range. A free kick taken by Blanchett flicked off Baker (K) for a goal kick, then there was a definite handball inside the Great Bentley penalty area, but it was French (A) handling a cross from Miller, in his next action, Miller ran straight into Baker (C) but no foul was given! Defender Chalk was sweeping up at the back when Brown (D) got past Hardy who then raced forward on the counterattack but was stopped by McMahon who shielded the ball out for a goal kick, already this second half was end-to-end. Thorndyke made a fine interception to a cross-field pass from Blanchett, and the Cressing United supporters upped their vocal support. A sharply hit volley from Chalk hit Morley and a corner followed, Collier took the corner, left-footed but into the side netting, from the goal kick restart, keeper, Reedman found French (A) who set Collier away but keeper, French (J) was quickly about to gather the ball.

            On sixty minutes, Cressing United replaced Miller with Lane, and Great Bentley sent on Lampton for Blanchett, Lane was immediately into the action, chasing a long ball forward, then Collier chased a ball from Blake gaining a corner, taken by Collier but overhit beyond the far post. Five minutes after the first substitutions, Great Bentley made a second change with Brown (R) replacing Morley. Hardy and McMahon renewed their acquaintance chasing a forward ball down the left side, the defender winning this time, at the other end a low cross from Lampton was met by defender, Peace whose right footed effort flew just wide. With twenty minutes remaining, Great Bentley, keeper, French (J) made a brilliant save, tipping over a close-range header from Hardy, Lane took the corner and another, taken by Collier from the other side put the Premier Division champions under pressure. When Brown (R) threatened, Blake did well to stop the substitute getting a shot away, with keeper, Reedman collecting the loose ball, his clearance was under-hit, which allowed Great Bentley to move forward leading to Brown (D) being fouled, just outside the penalty area by Hardy, Lampton took the free kick which troubled nobody.

            On seventy-five minutes and before the goal kick was taken, Great Bentley made a third change sending on Stoneman for Thompson, a free kick taken by McMahon found the head of Baker (K) but his header went straight to keeper, Reedman, a decent chance though. Despite playing with only ten players, Cressing United continued to push forward and looked just a likely to score as their opponents. When Lane fouled Stoneman, the free kick taken by Baker (C), was headed clear by Merrell and Collier, always an outlet with his pace, was sent on his way once again but Peace, defended well. A cross from Thorndyke was headed out by Baker (C), once again the corner taken by Collier was over-hit and the danger should have passed but French (A) was fouled by Burch, who was cautioned, Lane took the free kick, but Burch sent the ball out for a throw in. A number of players were now pulling up with cramp, thus prolonging this tight match, which with ten minutes to go was heading to a penalty shoot-out, Mountenay sent a long forward ball for Brown (D) to chase but keeper, Reedman reached the ball first. Both keepers, then excelled with superb saves, similar saves, in fact, firstly French (J) saved at close range from French (A) then Reedman saved from Brown (D) both from action inside the six-yard box. The match referee, with ninety minutes played, then indicated that two minutes remained, Cressing United sent on Papple for Merrell, does he take penalties, well we will soon find out, the final action saw a shot from Stoneman which was blocked by Chalk.

FULL TIME:     2 – 2.

PENALTIES:

Great Bentley FC                                               Cressing United FC

K. Baker           scores  1-0                               S. Koenick                                misses  1-0

D. Brown          scores  2-0                               J. Hardy                                    scores  2-1

C. Baker           scores  3-1                               G. Lane            (re-taken)         saved   3-1

Z. Lampton       saved   3-1                               A. Collier                                   scores  3-2

At this point there was an awkward interruption as the match official indicated the game was over, in fact both teams still had one penalty kick remaining, once order had been restored it allowed the next kick to be taken:

R. McMahon     scores  4-2

GREAT BENTLEY FC WIN BY FOUR PENALTIES TO TWO.

            After the match ended, John Campany, ESBFL, Chairman gave a short speech congratulating all three teams on their efforts during the match, thereafter he presented the mementoes and cups to the match officials and both the runners-up and winners, the latter celebrating as teams do these days, whilst everyone else made a hasty retreat.

Turning to my choice of Star player, for a Cup Final, I usually choose one from each team, numerous players were in contention but for Cressing United two players stood out, captain and defender, Chalk marshalled his defence well, especially after going two goals behind and down to ten players and Collier whose constant running and chasing the long ball was always going to cause problems for their opponents. For Great Bentley, a big team effort, going ahead so early on and then playing against ten men, they were forced to defend quite often, so it’s a defender who gets the nod, Peace, just ahead of captain,  Baker (C), he had the task of marking Collier who was a constant threat.

Teams:

CRESSING UNITED FC

Colours:                        Claret shirts, Claret Shorts and Claret Socks.

Team:

Aaron Reedman., Luke Thorndyke., Shay Koenick., Alex Blake., Dean Chalk (C)., Timothy Clarke., James Hardy, Alex Merrell., Daniel Miller., Andrew French., Aaron Collier.

Manager:                      Darren Stone.

Assistant Manager:       Therese Addison.

Used Substitutes:          Callan Papple., George Lane.

Unused Substitutes:      Redmond Carney., Johnny Coyte., Joshua White.

GREAT BENTLEY FC:

Colours:                        White & Blue, Blue Shorts and Blue Socks.

Team:

Jack French., Ryan McMahon., Alfie Peace., Jack Burch., Conrad Baker (C)., Dale Brown., Lewis Mountenay., Kieron Baker., Charlie Thompson., Rhys Morley., Lewis Blanchett.

Management:               Jack Murray & Greg Taylor.

Used Substitutes:          Ziggy Lampton., Ryan Brown., Jack Stoneman.

Unused Substitutes:      Lee Braddon., Thomas Gray

MATCH OFFICIALS:

Referee:                       David Owen.

Assistant Referees:       Christopher Final & Luke Williams.

Fourth Official:              Timothy Moffat

STAR PLAYER:            Aaron COLLIER                      (CRESSING UNITED FC)

                                    Alfie PEACE                             (GREAT BENTLEY FC)