BARKING & DAGENHAM U11S RELINQUISHED their county 7-a-side title after they could only finish fifth in this year’s championships. Despite beating pre-tournament favourites Havering, three defeats and a draw wasn’t enough to see them regain their crown. 

Barking & Dagenham opened up against Thurrock and fell behind early. They created numerous chances but were unable to find a way through and Thurrock made sure of the victory with a late second.

Barking & Dagenham bounced back in their second game with a fully deserved 1-0 win over Havering. The decisive goal arrived when Kien Connelly’s fierce free-kick was pushed away by the Havering keeper and Amin Karim was on hand to fire home the rebound. Barking & Dagenham had chances to wrap up the win and were nearly punished late on but Brandon Dean’s superb double save secured the win.

Counter

Game three against Chelmsford & Mid Essex was a carbon copy of their opening game as they fell to another 2-0 reverse. Chelmsford took an early lead courtesy of a wonderful free kick but Barking & Dagenham had three good chances to draw level only to be denied by some smart goalkeeping and some desperate defending. With time running out and Barking & Dagenham knowing them had to get something from the game, they pushed bodies forward and were caught on the counter as Chelmsford took the points.

Redbridge were Barking & Dagenham’s next opponents and they made a good start. The Redbridge goalkeeper produced two fine saves to deny Barking & Dagenham. They continued to dominate proceedings but were unable to convert their possession into a goal. Redbridge then took the lead, somewhat against the run of play, and that was enough to give them a undeserved victory.

0-0

With just pride to play for in their final game, Barking & Dagenham were the better side for the whole game against Newham. However, as was the story of the day, they couldn’t find a goal and had to settle for a 0-0 draw.

That meant a somewhat disappointing fifth place position for Barking & Dagenham but things could have been different had they been able to take more of their chances.

Barking & Dagenham: Dean (D Barley) Onajobi (Becontree),Karim (Parsloes), Milburn (Five Elms), Gasperavicius (W Bellamy), Connolly, Martin, Rich (Valence), Fawunmi (H Hall),  Stanton (Eastbury)