Non-League and Academy football writer

In what was Haringey Borough Under 23s’ final match of the 2024/25 season, on Friday night, they welcomed Waltham Forest Borough to Coles Park, for an Essex Alliance Football League Senior Division fixture. Haringey Borough Under 23s started this match in third place in the league table, after 29 matches played. The visiting team on Good Friday, Waltham Forest Borough, started this league fixture in 11th place in the table, after 27 matches played. This lively game finished 3-3. Haringey Borough Under 23s made a very fast start to this match. Haringey would take the lead very early on in this game. After Triston Foster had received the ball out on the right-hand side of the pitch, he would drive forward with the ball at pace, before whipping a good cross in to the centre of the away team’s penalty area. Waltham Forest Borough’s goalkeeper, Brandon Bullman, was unable to gather the ball, which dropped for Haringey forward Cheick Ibrahime, whose fine reaction header would loop in to the goal, 1-0. 

Soon after having taken the lead, Haringey Borough Under 23s would make it 2-0, with the visiting side still trying to get up to speed in this match, and find their rhythm. A well delivered Louis Maffia corner-kick in to the Waltham Forest Borough penalty area, was headed down by a teammate, to the alert Cheick Ibrahime, whose powerful finish from inside of the box, found the back of the goal, 2-0. Haringey Borough Under 23s continued to play well, and shortly after Lamar Ellis’ left footed effort from 20 yards out, was held by Bullman, Haringey Borough would go on to further extend their lead. Some fine work from Timi Tinubu, would see the Haringey Borough player win the ball in midfield (around 30 yards out from goal), before skilfully going forward with the ball. Just inside of the away team’s penalty area, his effort on goal took a deflection off a defender, as the ball went in to the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, 3-0.

Despite such a difficult start to this match, Waltham Forest Borough would start to look more composed on the ball, improving in their all-round play after that third goal of the game. After looking a lot more steady in their play and shape, Waltham Forest Borough would manage to get a goal back in the game. As Mustafa Hussein would cleverly flick on a corner-kick to the near post of the Haringey goal, with the ball then bouncing off a defender, who unfortunately scored an own goal, 3-1. And following on from a good spell in this game, Waltham Forest Borough would make it 3-2, before Haringey Borough went on to finish the first half well. For Halil Hassan’s side’s second goal, it would arrived from a free-kick which had been won right on the edge of the Haringey penalty area. Sharn Quinn’s resulting curling free-kick effort would go over the Haringey wall, and in to the right-hand side of the goal, 3-2.

After Louis Maffia had brilliantly controlled Triston Foster’s floated ball from the right-hand side of the pitch, to the edge of the visitor’s penalty area, the midfielder would bring the ball down really well, as he progressed it in to the box. His resulting low effort would however, go narrowly wide of the goalkeeper’s left-hand post. A couple of minutes later and on the stroke of half-time, a great diagonal ball across the floor by Sertan Kirman, would find the run of Triston Foster on the right-hand side of the opposition team’s penalty area. Following some good skill by Foster, his resulting deflected effort would dip over Bullman’s crossbar.

Haringey Borough would create the first couple of goalscoring chances of the second half. Firstly, and after David Martins’ low volleyed effort from the edge of the Waltham Forest Borough box had been deflected to Timi Tinubu, in the centre of the penalty area, his effort on the turn was brilliantly blocked by a defender. And then soon after that chance, Lamar Ellis’ cross in to the away team’s penalty area, found Triston Foster, whose header was pushed behind by Bullman. The visiting side would continue to stay in the game well, and relatively late on in this match, they would score an equalising goal. The game had now become quite end to end, but, a well delivered corner-kick by Mustafa Hussein, in to the centre of the Haringey penalty area, was met by Conor Corrigan, whose fine header would loop over the goalkeeper and in to the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, 3-3. 

Not long at all after having drawn level in this entertaining game of football, Waltham Forest Borough would go very close to making it 4-3. A lofted forward pass would be flicked on to substitute Brandon Fulton, who traveled forward with the ball, the short distance, in to the Haringey penalty area. Down the left-hand side of the penalty area, and through on goal, his low effort would go just wide of Justin Ismail’s right-hand post. Yet it was Haringey Borough Under 23s who almost won the match very late on. Louis Maffia’s excellent pass across the pitch (from the right-hand side of the pitch), would find Cheick Ibrahime (he started the second half of this game in central-defence) in a bit of space and on the left-hand side of the Waltham Forest Borough penalty area, the outrushing Brandon Bullman, would however, make a big save to deny the forward his hat-trick goal.

This was a very good game of football, and it was a game in which Halil Hassan’s Waltham Forest Borough side showed tremendous character in, to get a point, which did look very unlikely at 3-0 down. Haringey Borough Under 23s are a superb side, and at 3-0 up so early on in this game, it was looking like they were going to run away with the game. However, Waltham Forest Borough were tactically spot on after going 3-0 down, and they managed the game and persevered really well as a team. For Haringey Borough Under 23s, I thought that the versatile Cheick Ibrahime was their player of the match, despite competition from Timi Tinubu, and Triston Foster. For my overall player of the match award, and although the vocal Hasan Yilpiz (he made some very good defensive decisions), and forward Mustafa Hussein (he was involved in two goals) were all contenders, for me, the very experienced Sharn Quinn, was my player of the match. The Waltham Forest Borough player started this game in the CAM role, and he did so much good work, both with and without the ball, and in the forward areas of the pitch. A leader on the pitch, Sharn Quinn also scored a well taken free-kick goal, to make it 3-2.