Non-League and Academy football writer

In an Essex Alliance Football League Senior Division fixture, Haringey Borough Reserves faced CSM London at Coles Park on Friday night. Haringey Borough Reserves started this league fixture in ninth place in the league table, after 14 league matches played. The away team on Friday, CSM London, started this match in seventh place in the league table, after 13 league matches played. This very entertaining step 7 match was won 4-3 by Haringey Borough Reserves.

Haringey Borough Reserves would start this game very well, and during the very early stages of this game they would take the lead. Arriving from a corner-kick which was played short, Kal-El Fenton would clip a good cross from the edge of the CSM penalty area, into the middle of the box. After the ball had fallen for Kamran Narvani, he would power an unstoppable effort from relatively close range, into the roof of CSM goalkeeper Ryan Thompson’s goal, 1-0.

Soon after their first goal of the game, and Kier Dickson would receive a pass across to the centre of the pitch, from out on the right-hand side of the pitch. Kier Dickson would then, from 25 yards out, power a very accurate low effort with the laces of his boot, which found the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, 2-0. Haringey’s dominant start to this game resulted in a number of further goalscoring chances being created by them. After Haringey Borough forward Coree Wilson’s through-ball pass had found Salifou Sidibe down the right-hand side of the CSM box, he would play a short pass across to Kal-El Fenton, in the centre of the box. However, his low first time effort would go just wide of Ryan Thompson’s goal.

Haringey Borough’s start to this game had been relentless. They would soon get their third goal of the game, which came from striker Coree Wilson, after he had taken the ball beyond a CSM defender at pace, into their penalty area. Now one versus one with Thompson, Wilson would calmly slot the ball into the goal with a composed finish, 3-0. CSM deserve real credit for the way in which they reacted to that really dominant start to the game from the home side, as CSM went on to get back into the game.

Shortly after CSM player Junior Milla’s low effort (from the left-hand side of the Haringey box) was well kept out by the Haringey Borough goalkeeper, Alex Edwards, CSM again came close to getting a goal. This time a CSM player would get to a lofted pass inside of the Haringey penalty area, before seeing his lobbed effort over the goalkeeper, hit the crossbar. This had been an encouraging response from Will Brobby’s CSM side, and in the 33rd minute of the game they would get their first goal of the game. Nana Sarfo did well to powerfully volley the ball into the Haringey goal, after connecting with a well delivered corner-kick from Tyrell Huggins-Solomons (this was his eighth assist of the season for CSM), to the back post of the Haringey goal, 3-1.

Before half-time CSM managed to get another goal back in the game, as a lofted free-kick delivery from deep, was met by Ashley King, whose flick on inside of the home team’s penalty area came to CSM debutant David Komolafe, who finished clinically into the goal, 3-2. Right on the stroke of half-time with the momentum now with CSM, Junior Milla would head a powerful effort, from a corner-kick delivery into the Haringey box, against Alex Edwards’ crossbar.

Relatively early on in the second half (in the 53rd minute of the game), CSM would  quite remarkably make it 3-3. Junior Milla got a much deserved goal, as he ran onto a really clever and perfectly weighted outside of the boot pass from Josh Ayodele, on the right-hand side of the pitch. Junior Milla got to the ball inside the Haringey penalty area, and one versus one with Edwards, his clinical and well taken low finish found the back of the net, 3-3.

As the second half of this game went on, and as both sides really battled well for the ball, it became a more even contest. CSM goalkeeper Ryan Thompson would do well to hold a headed effort on his goal by Tony Leeds, but then after quite an uneventful spell in the game, Haringey Borough Reserves would retake the lead in the 74th minute of the game. The rainy and windy conditions made it very difficult for CSM’s goalkeeper (Ryan Thompson) to keep out Damani Campbell’s lofted, dipping effort (I’m not sure if he meant to go for goal, or whether it was a cross/pass) from distance and out on the left flank, as the ball looped over him and went into the goal, 4-3.

Haringey Borough did have the opportunity to make it 5-3 during the latter stages of the second half, after they were awarded a penalty by the referee, after Conrad Doggett had fouled a Haringey Borough player (Oscar Cameron) inside the CSM penalty area. Haringey captain Luke Von Herkomer’s resulting effort from the penalty spot, would go narrowly wide of Ryan Thompson’s right-hand post, however. With CSM pushing for a very late leveller, after one of their players had been sin-binned by the referee during the final minutes of the game, Haringey Borough Reserves would go on to see out the remaining minutes well, to record a really good win.

In what was a highly eventful game of football, between two very good footballing sides in this division, it would result in a very good game of football being played. Haringey Borough Reserves looked like they were going to win this game comfortably, such was their very dominant start to the game. But, CSM did really well to get the scores back to 3-3, early on in the second half. However, a strong finish from Haringey Borough saw them retake the lead, and ultimately get all three points. This was a great game to report on.

For Haringey Borough Reserves, Keir Dickson and Coree Wilson were very good during the first half of this game, with Kal-El Fenton and Damani Campbell some of the home side’s other most influential players on Friday. For CSM, I thought that Josh Ayodele and David Komolafe were both contenders for the player of the match award, during their time on the pitch. And although it was a very difficult decision as to who to give my player of the match award to, with a goal to his tally and some really good and selfless work off the ball in the forward areas of the pitch from CSM striker Junior Milla, he was my player of the match. Junior Milla also impressed me for East London Ballers Reserves, in a recent cup game which he started for them in.