West Essex

 

West Essex FC is a non-league football club formed in 1989 by John Spinks, a member of West Essex Cricket Club to give the players a winter pursuit in their base of Highams Park in East London.

The club started out life playing in Division Two of the Ilford & District League, going on to finish as runners-up in their debut season to win promotion to the Premier Division, which was won in 1990-91.

A runners-up berth twelve months later was backed up with another league title in 1992-93 at which point the first team switched to the Essex Business Houses League. Stuart Higson took over the running of the club around the turn of the millennium.

West were relegated from the Premier Division in 2002-03 but regained their status at the first attempt. However, the team dropped back down to Division One in 2006-07 under player-manager Dan Reading.

He was joined by Gary Lefley as the side won the Division One title in 2008-09 as new players arrived at the club. West Essex made the decision to switch to the Middlesex County League for the 2010-11 season.

Placed in Division One Central & East, the team won the title to progress to the Step 7 Premier Division where a season of consolidation was undertaken. New coach Kwame Kwateng arrived at the club to the back end of the 2012-13 campaign.

The reward for a sixth place in 2014-15 was the move to become tenants of Barking FC at Mayesbrook Park in a groundshare arrangement. The team went on to become Premier Division champions to win promotion to the Essex Senior League.

West Essex settled into the competition with ease. Two thirteenth places were sandwiched by seventh in 2017-18. When the 2019-20 season was abandoned owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, the team were sat in eleventh place. 

West Essex in action at Mayesbrook Park, Barking

A couple of midtable finishes ensued after the club moved their home ground to become tenants at Wadham Lodge in Walthamstow, prior to Kwateng being replaced by George Karsa at the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign.

The new manager took his side to thirteenth place in 2023-24.

West Essex FC will play in the Essex Senior League in the 2024-25 season.

My Visit

West Essex 2 Walthamstow 3 (Friday 26^th September 2020) Essex Senior League (Att: 98)

I sat at home and was in two minds whether to make myself comfortable for the night and have an evening in or head across town. With further COVID disruptions still a distinct possibility and pubs having to stop serving at 9pm I decided to make the effort despite the inclement weather.

Travel was by a couple of tubes and then the number 5 bus towards Romford on the familiar route towards Mayesbrook Road, which I'd visited a few times in the past. A new feature was the car park being taken over my marquees and cabins for Coronavirus testing.

Admission was a fiver with the digital programme free to download online. The NHS Track and Trace QR code for the App was in use at the gate. The tea bar was in operation but I'd thought ahead and made up a flask of tea.

Mayesbrook Park had been given a welcome facelift since the last time I was there. The pitch was now 3G, with a smart perimeter fence surrounding it. New concrete and tarmac pathways had been laid while the far end had a new high fence behind the goal. It was a big improvement.

Best of all I got to see a most entertaining and enthralling contest between two sides intent of attacking football.

West, in a snazzy retro Germany kit, raced into a two goal lead within five minutes. A defensive error on three minutes allowed Cameron Gray in to score for the hosts. A Jon Clements header came close to restoring parity before a fine passing move saw West skipper Michael Mignot through to slot past Stow keeper Conor Sansom.

The description of the Walthamstow manager to his defence being “all over the f**king place” being most accurate. His charges gathered and found themselves ahead by the thirty-fifth minute mark after putting together some excellent football.

Clements had a shot parried by Jack Coker with Callum Ibe tucking away the rebound. West went close to extending their lead when a defected shot went narrowly wide. Jason Beck found the side netting for the visitors before they levelled things up on sixteen minutes when Connor Scully tapped home a low Ibe cross at the back post.

West Essex tried to regain the lead with a series of attacks and corners following a blocked Mignot shot. Joel Lamb and Symeon Taylor both flashed shots across the goal and wide before Stow had the next spell of a pulsating contest.

The visitors were being cheered on by a vociferous bunch behind the goal including one who may have imbibed a little too much judging by some of his shouts. Reece Conway and then Brett O'Connor both had efforts for their Stags side.

End to end action continued unabated. It really was good watching in trying conditions with strong winds blowing around the open arena. Stow's comeback was completed when Clements held his nerve, proved too strong for a defender and put the ball past Coker.

West Essex returned fire with a shot that just went over before the referee controversially booked Walthamstow's O'Connor who went down in the box under the challenge of two defenders. It was 100% the correct decision from my vantage point.

It was similar fare after the break. Stow the slightly better and more threatening side having another penalty turned down shortly after the restart, with the hosts also contributing and playing some very watchable football.

Beck fired an effort over for Stow before the home side had a penalty appeal of their own declined. Lamb went on a good run before he fired over as his West colleagues chased an equaliser. 

Stow also had eyes on another goal that would surely have settled the contest with Beck heading wide before Ibe came agonisingly close to connecting with a low Conway cross on the back post.

This was as good an Essex Senior League match as I could remember attending. On the whole, both teams tried to play the game the right way, with lots of passing and movement. No doubt assisted by the artificial pitch.

The referee, Michael Scott, made some mistakes, just like the players, but I liked the way he wasn’t fooled by the occasional acts of histrionics trying to get opposing players into bother. 

I was thankfully wrapped up with scarf and woolly hat as the cold began to really kick in towards the end of the game. The transport ran well on my return and I was back at home in NW9 before 11pm ready for an early start for work the following day.