Football Champions 2012

Barking & Dagenham Post

Trophy Final

Becontree Primary School 5-2 Ripple Primary School

BECONTREE PRIMARY SCHOOL won outright the title they shared with Monteagle last year as they swept past Ripple to lift the Barking & Dagenham Post Trophy. A devastating first half spell yielded four goals without reply, with a further second half strike proving too much for their opponents despite a resilient fight-back that simply proved too late.

Becontree were up and running inside the first minute when they forced a corner straight from kick-off. The resulting set-piece brought chaos to the Ripple penalty area and Becontree’s Blerti Ferizolli was on hand to stab home from deep within the melee.

It didn’t take long for the Stevens’ Road side to double their lead when play was switched to the left wing in the fifth minute. The tall figure of Enoras Galdikas sprinted clear, spearing down on the Ripple goal and coolly slotting past keeper Danielius Pavilonis to give his team breathing space.

Pavilonis was on hand to turn away Ferizolli’s bouncing free-kick soon after as the strong winds pinned Ripple back inside their own half, resulting in wave after wave of Becontree pressure that was proving difficult to repel.

However, Becontree didn’t have things all their own way and Ripple should have been back in contention in the thirteenth minute when Shaun Kitenge stole in behind a square defence only to see Joash Nkhoma’s last ditch tackle rob him of the chance to pull the trigger.

From the same attack, Becontree eventually cleared their lines, with captain Maevon Owolabi innocuously collecting the ball deep within his own half. A few seconds later, the dashing forward raced free of all challengers on a fleet-footed seventy yard run that saw him spank home a resounding third on the counter attack.

Then, just before the break, Owolabi thrust forward on another dangerous run only to see his goal-bound effort turned expertly wide by the scrambling Pavilonis. Ferizolli’s quick thinking saw him exchange passes with Galdikas from a short corner, before centring high into the Ripple box. The gusting wind caught hold, steering the ball directly into the net to give his side a comprehensive 4-0 lead.

After the restart, the blustery conditions switched allegiance, this time favouring Ripple. However, try as they might the Barking team were not able to take advantage of their hand in the same way as their opponents. Ripple’s Fahmi Masoud had a great chance to haul his team back into the game when well placed but fired directly into the grateful midriff of keeper Isaac Ihenyen. Masoud and Endrykson Martins Da Costa Sole both spurned further chances as Becontree furiously held on to their clean sheet.

Instead, Ripple were dealt a further blow as their defence pushed out too far in search of goals. With acres ahead of him, Ferizolli mirrored Owolabi’s earlier break and charged free deep from within his own half, skipping past any challenges that got close to him to dampen Ripple spirits further with a cruel fifth for his side.

In the last minute, Ripple salvaged some pride when Elvis Reja fired settled a goalmouth scramble with a firm finish. Then, in the death throws of the game, Da Costa Sole thumped in another.

However it was too little too late for Ripple, with no time left on the clock for a restart, as Becontree celebrated bringing the 11-a-side season to a close in style by defeating the side that beat them in the group stages of the competition earlier in the campaign.