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PICTURE: Sandhurst Town Royals have continued to improve since the Winter Break and have now won their last five matches, climbing into second position and into the Division One title race.
Sandhurst Town Royals are beginning to hit top form at the right time in their bid to wear the East Berkshire League Division One crown this season.
The Royals are another team to impressive in their debut campaign and extended their winning run in the league to five matches with a 7-2 victory at Eton Wick on Saturday. Harry Winkley led the onslaught at Haywards Mead with a hat-trick whilst Brett Shakran - the son of team manager, Adam Shakran - found the back of the net twice. There were further goals from Louis Cote and substitute Jordan Whiteley.
That success moves Sandhurst up to second position in the table and now just two points behind long-time leaders, FC Baylis United, and crucially, five games in hand on the pace setters. For Eton Wick, it was a fifth successive home defeat in all competitions and they drop one place to 10th position in the standings.
Moving above The Wick into ninth spot is Berks Elite following their high-scoring 6-3 win against FC Riverside - the losers improving although still rooted to the bottom of the table. The match at Aldermaston Recreational Society was locked at three apiece at the break with Bismark Osei, Fahad Abdul and Jack Brooks all scoring for Berks Elite. The Riverside goals came from Eduard Lupu, Samuel Stan and Ioan Parlog. The home side took the initiative in the second period to secure all three points thanks to strikes by Pablo Salter, Alberto Nuaez and substitute Oliver Schafer.
Real Saracens are another side currently towards the bottom of the table that are beginning to show some signs of improvement after a 2-1 win at Reading Tigers. After a goalless first period at Calcot Recreation Ground, Fred Kirby bagged a brace to seal a previous win for the visitors. The Tigers recorded a consolation effort from substitute David Jarzebowski.
The Ascot & Fielden District Charity Cup competition continued last weekend with Singh Sabha, Southcote and Stoke Poges all booking their tickets into the Quarter Finals stage.
Sabha eased past lower-division AFC Reading with a 5-0 win at George Pitcher Memorial Ground. Hashim Ahmed came off the bench to score twice with further goals from Mubarak Bashir, Kingsley Etefia and Hassan Mahmood.
At the same venue, Stoke Poges were the only team to beat a side above them in the league standings, edging out Premier Division rivals, Pundit, 2-1. Goals from Harley Dyer and Tai Maddox put clear daylight between the two sides, but Pundit did not go down without a fight and Delroy Hughes pulled one back for the hosts.
Southcote needed a penalty shoot-out to get the better of Division One leaders, FC Baylis United, after a goalless draw in 90 minutes at Harvey Park. The Reading-based side winning 5-3 on spot-kicks.
The tie between Sandhurst Reds and Cressex was abandoned after approximately 15 minutes because the pitch was unplayable. The score was 1-1 at the time. The Second Round tie has been rescheduled for Saturday 2nd February.
Elsewhere, Old Windsor made smooth progress into the Quarter Finals of the Slough Town Premier Cup following a 6-1 success at Britwell United. Both Shane Qoloni and substitute Josh O’Reilly scored twice in the win at The Chicken Ranch, with further efforts from Chris Tierney and Dylan Harbridge.
To enter the East Berkshire Football League ahead of the 2024/25 season, or for further information about the league, or an entry form for the upcoming season, please email the team at contactebfl@gmail.com
