Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Cup Football comes to the Masher Brothers Stadium when Sporting Club Thamesmead host FC Elmstead in a Monday evening fixture.
There were just four games in the first round, and one involved the hosts who beat Tunbridge Wells three-one at home. Two goals by Henry Awokere in the first half an hour put the Division One Acre in control. Although, the Premier Division visitors pulled one back through Rhys Bartlett before half time, and had plenty of possession in the second period, they didn’t test goalkeeper Michael Crabbe often enough and a late goal by Andrea Carrera ensured the home team progressed.
On Saturday, they were in Go Cardless Kent Senior Trophy Action and looked to be heading out when hosting Greenways. The visitors were two up in seventeen minutes through goals by Harry Baptiste and Dan Ashton before an own goal by Joey Fay brought Thamesmead back into the tie six minutes before half time. It looked as though that was going to be the end of the scoring until Joseph Ikuesan scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The Acre then won the penalty shoot-out four-two, and it is they who progress.
It was a free weekend for Elmstead who had played their Kent Senior Trophy match during the preceding midweek. They defeated premier division Larkfield and New Hythe three-one. Finley Williams put them ahead in the fifteenth minute but Steven Famrose equalised in the seventieth minute. Brooke Teirnan scored the winner six minutes from time.
In the league table, the Acre are in sixth place with seventeen points while Elmstead are in twelfth place having accumulated twelve points from eleven games.
When they met at Elmstead’s current home ground, Tonbridge Angels’ Longmead, in August, late goals gave the Acre an emphatic score-line. Awokere gave them a half time lead before Jamie Fearn equalised six minutes into the second period.
Henry Phillips put them back in front three minutes later before substitute Andrea Carrera scored a hat-trick in the last seven minutes.