Essex Olympian League

Division 1

Saturday 30th March 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.06

A.C.D. United 3 Manford Way 1, attendance 12

7’ 1-0

44’ 2-0

69’ 2-1 (pen)

78’ 3-1

@ Seymour Field

New Road

Ingatestone

CM4 0HH

No Admission or Programme.

A.C.D United only moved to the ground here at Ingatestone this season, but there are rumours they may be playing elsewhere next season, so I took the opportunity to visit today, just in case. I received a very quick reply from the home club via text message that the game was going ahead okay and apart from the usual 3 or 4 mile queue at Dartford Tunnel and a fifteen minute delay trying to exit the M25 onto the A12, I still arrived twenty five minutes before the scheduled kick off. Entering off New Road, there is a very small car park, with the changing room building to the right. The pitch is directly in front, running widthways and roped off along both sides.

The match was 4th versus 7th in the league table and was a decent contest from start to finish. ACD were ahead early, following in from close range after the ‘keeper had spilled a cross from wide on the left. They didn’t add their second goal until a minute before halftime, cutting 9n from the right, before finishing left footed into the bottom corner from just inside the 18 yard box. Manford Way pulled one back from the penalty spot, awarded for a handball, with just over twenty minutes left, but ACD made the game safe when they added a third goal twelve minutes from time, hitting an angled shot from 20 yards that gave the ‘keeper no chance.

Only the top two go up from this division and today’s win now sees ACD move up two places into third place, two points behind second placed Harold Hill, with Wakering Sports eight points clear at the top, although they’ve played three more games than the two chasers.