Following the opening weekend defeat to Potters Bar Town, Ben Smith’s side responded in emphatic fashion on Tuesday evening, beating Haringey Borough 4-2 at the CVS Van Hire Stadium.

Goals from Hassan Jalloh and Marcel Barrington saw Ben Smith’s side race away to an early two-goal lead at The CVS Van Hire Stadium.

However, the hosts wiped out that advantage, with efforts either side of the half-time break from Anthony Mendy and Rakim Richards drawing Haringey level.

Helge Orome turned the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box midway through the second period to restore the visitors lead.

And Jalloh put the finishing touches on an impressive team performance towards the end of play, blasting his second, and the Bay’s fourth, past home ‘keeper Luke Mewitt.

Opposition History

Our hosts on Saturday began life in an old wooden cricket pavilion in 1947 on the site of what is now Pitsea Market.

After the war years, many new sporting clubs sprang up. One such club was Bowers United, started by Bert Salmon, who played at Gun Meadow, Pitsea, in the Thurrock & Thameside Combination. He was to be joined a few years later by his brother Len Salmon, who passed away.

Bowers United won the Essex Senior League title and the Essex Senior League cup in 1998/99 under Tony Cross and were also runners up in the Harry Fisher Trophy.

They won the Don Douglas Trophy for top scorer with David Hope as well as the secretary of the year award.

Season 2004/05 saw a new name on the footballing map when Bowers United took Pitsea Football clubs name to produce Bowers & Pitsea Football Club.

Improvements to the ground and surrounding area as well as the Social Club helped Bowers & Pitsea Football Club to achieve their goal when Rob Small was appointed manager in 2014/15. In his first season, he took the club to runners up in the league as well as winning the Essex Senior League Challenge Cup.

In season 2015/16, Small topped his haul from the previous season by winning the Essex Senior League Championship, getting to the quarter finals of the Essex Senior Cup but more impressively, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase where they narrowly beaten by eventual winners Morpeth Town 2-1.

They then went on to achieve one of their goals by reaching the Rymans League, then called the BetVictor Isthmian League, finishing their first season in sixth place, just three points outside the playoff positions.

Last season was a tough one for our hosts, who finished up 16th out of 22, just nine points above the final relegation place with a record of 12 wins, nine draws, and 21 losses, scoring 54 goals but conceding 72.

Opposition Season So Far

Currently, Bowers & Pitsea FC have yet to get off the mark for the season, losing their opening two games to Corinthian-Casuals (4-1) and Margate (0-2) which has left them bottom of the league table.

Key Players

Billy Knott (Midfield) – Billy is a player with top level experience under his belt, having progressed through the West Ham United, Chelsea, and Sunderland academies. The tough tackling midfielder has racked up just under 250 career appearances, most of which came in the Football League for the likes of Bradford City, Gillingham, and Port Vale to name a few.

His commanding presence and his ability to control the midfield is something that should aid Bowers & Pitsea greatly this season.

Freddy Moncur (Midfield) – Another midfielder who, like Knott, boasts of a large amount of experience despite being only 25 years of age. The former Leyton Orient youngster has struggled to settle in one place, featuring for no less than 11 different clubs, including Bowers & Pitsea.

Having said that, he proved to be a vital part of last season’s Grays Athletic side so if he can produce the same again this time around, our hosts could have a top player on their hands.

Sonny Fish (Forward) – Sonny is a young lad at the beginning of his career, having joined Bowers & Pitsea on loan from League Two Leyton Orient. Fish, who signed his first professional contract with the O's earlier in the year, has even been featured in the first team squad at Brisbane Road which highlights just how highly thought of his is.

Given the opportunity for regular minutes with B&P, this talented youngster will be looking to grasp this opportunity with both hands to show he has a real future at Orient.

Pre-Match comments

Speaking after Tuesday evening’s emphatic 4-2 win against Haringey Borough, Ben Smith mentioned how he wasn’t reading anything into Bowers & Pitsea’s slow start to the season.

“It will be a similar type of game, to be honest,” said Smith when asked about the challenge he is expecting to face on Saturday.

“I know James Collins really well and they have one of our ex-players in Bola Dawodu so their squad has some good players in there.

“They have not started the season as they would have liked, but then you look, and we were not far off a second loss today (Tuesday). It could have gone the other way, couldn’t it, and we could have been in the same position.

“You can’t read anything into that. They have got good players and I expect them to be a good side and a tough test.”

You can watch the whole of Ben’s post-match interview after our Haringey Borough win by following the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31dQ_mDbE9k

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