It seemed quite bizarre for the Manor to be playing Barkingside again as this was the third consecutive time that the teams were encountering each other.

The Barkingside pitch was in great condition considering all the rain that had fallen on it and both sides were soon making use of the slick surface. The home side though, soon took control of the game and Manor keeper Nick Wilson was soon in action, coming off his line to deny the opposition. This was only a short respite for the Manor as they again failed to keep possession up front and a swift interchange of passes by Barkingside put them through into a one on one with the Manor keeper and this time Barkingside made no mistake and took a well deserved lead.

It has to be said that they could have been even further in front but poor finishing and excellent work by Nick Wilson in the Manor goal kept the deficit down to the single goal. Somehow the Manor managed to creep into the game and Barkingside went off the boil. At this stage however the Manor suffered two injuries as Ricky Hayles took a nasty knock to his leg but managed to come back on but Scott Lovett was less fortunate and had to be rushed to hospital with a seriously gashed knee.

The Manor were forced to reorganise now but this serious setback only seemed to spur them on and after good approach play down the right, a cross came in that was only half cleared and Dean Frett was on hand to drive in the equaliser on the stroke of half time.

Come the second half and Ricky Hayles was unable to continue and the Manor were forced to put Neil Barrett into the back four, push Joe May into central midfield and bring on young Ben Thomas down the right flank. Even with these enforced changes the Manor still maintained their impetus and Jerry Nkrumah and Courtney Linton , their twin strike force, harried and put the Barkingside defence under severe pressure.

A few half chances went asray but it was no surprise when the Manor went ahead after Jordan Childs and the opposition keeper went for a cross , the ball broke free and Childs netted from close range.

Barkingside rang the changes with their substitutions but the battling Manor side showed great determination and spirit and hung in there to run out winners, 2-1.

Manor Man of the Match was Neil Barrett whose midfield nous got the Manor back into the game in the 1st half and his resolute defending at the back in the 2nd half kept the opposition at bay.

Manager Kevin Durrant said " It took us quite a while to get going in the first half and we were a shade fortunate to go in at half time on level terms. As soon as the second half started though, we upped the tempo and even with the enforced changes we took the game to Barkingside and everyone gave 100% to see us through . Barkingside are a good side and will beat a lot of teams here this season. The only downside tonight was the serious injury to Scott Lovett and we all wish him a speedy recovery as he has been a key member of the side"

Man of the Match

Neil Barratt - Resolute defending

Manor Team:

Steve LAMBERT: Jason FOX, Kieran KING; Jamil SYLLA, Joe ELLUL , Liam ALLEN; Junior YIADOM-KONADU, Fabio JESUS, Manley BROWN (Captain), Jakovo Odasi-Ulkueku, Liam MULCARE.

Substitutes: Tom QUERRY, Alinani MOUNTER , Alan EAMES, Beckley LOUKMAN, Antonio YOTOV, Ricardo AMADO.