Chris Evans reports…
COUNTY CUP FINAL MATCH OFFICIALS CONFIRMED
Eighty Referees Rewarded for Performance and Commitment
There was cause for celebration amongst eighty Essex match officials recently when they discovered that they had been rewarded for their efforts during the 2017/18 season with an appointment to one of the Essex County FA’s cup finals.
80 referees from all levels of the game have been recognised following nominations from their leagues, the Referee Appointment Officers for each of the 20 County Cup competitions and their local Referees Associations, as well as a close study of the marks awarded to them by the competing clubs this term.
The first County Cup Final of the campaign is the highly-anticipated Essex Senior Cup Final on Tuesday 20th March, which kicks-off at 7:45pm at Colchester United FC’s Weston Homes Community Stadium. Dean Skipper (Havering) will be the referee for Billericay Town against Chelmsford City, with Gary Jerden (Basildon) and Aaron Farmer (Colchester) as assistant referees and Rick Bloy (Basildon) as Fourth Official.
Each of the officials learnt of their appointments at a special evening in February. Essex County FA Senior Referee Development Officer, James Lisher, hosted the event at Chelmsford City FC, which featured a presentation from The FA’s former FIFA and Premier League match official Andy D’Urso, on the importance of teamwork and preparation amongst officials.
James, alongside Referee Development Officer Lukas Wood, also ran through a number of the individual requirements for the referees, assistants and fourth officials both on the day and prior to the day of the game. These include preparation, communication, understanding of the competition format, in-game management and kit.
“As always there was a huge number of referees to choose from, which makes selection incredibly difficult,” James explained. “These individuals have all shown a great deal of commitment throughout the season and displayed performance levels which have led to these prestige appointments, which were assigned according to the form of game that they referee.”
“We’re delighted to be able to present our best-performing officials with a County Cup Final appointment, which we believe is a deserved reward for everything they do. A cup final is a magical occasion for everyone involved, including the officiating team, and they deserve these accolades. Hopefully they’ll be able to enjoy more as their careers develop.”
The Essex County FA organise 20 County Cup competitions, plus the Tolleshunt D’Arcy Memorial Cup which raises funds for the Association’s Benevolent Fund. Saturday and Sunday football is catered for, as well as veterans, women’s, girls’ and youth formats. Beginning in September, the competitions come to a climax between March and May each year.
Essex Senior Cup (Tuesday 20th March, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Colchester United FC): Dean Skipper (Havering), Gary Jerden (Basildon), Aaron Farmer (Colchester), Rick Bloy (Basildon)
Essex Under 18s Girls Cup (Wednesday 21st March, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Aveley FC): Christopher Noble (Barking & Dagenham), Harry Arnot (Colchester), Oliver Walker (Redbridge), Alfie Debono (Thurrock)
Essex Saturday Junior Trophy (Friday 23rd March, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Aveley FC): Nathan Oakes (Colchester), Andrew French (Braintree), Neil Strachan (Braintree), Kevin Nicholson (Havering)
Essex Sunday Veterans Cup (Sunday 25th March, Kick-Off 3:00pm, Great Wakering Rovers FC): Brett Grant (Castle Point), Matthew Davis (Southend-on-Sea), Adrian Rogers (Rochford), Kevin Curran (Southend-on-Sea)
Essex Cordell Under 13s Cup (Sunday 25th March, Kick-Off 11:00am, Great Wakering Rovers FC): Stephen Davies (Thurrock), Jake Elwis (Havering), Louis Ambrose (Thurrock), Abdul Wahid (Redbridge)
Essex Saturday Veterans Cup (Wednesday 28th March, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Concord Rangers FC): David Parker (Braintree), Jonathan Wing (Basildon), Andrew Gilham (Havering), Brian Taylor (Chelmsford)
Essex Women’s Cup (Thursday 29th March, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Aveley FC): Stacey Ford (Chelmsford), Anthony Abbs (Basildon), Leigh Ballinger (Basildon), Harry Dunnett (Rochford)
Essex Saturday Junior Cup (Wednesday 4th April, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Stanway Rovers FC): Adam Humphreys (Basildon), Joe Alborough (Brentwood), Lee Jarvis (Thurrock), Tom Whay (Harlow)
Essex Sunday Junior Trophy (Friday 6th April, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Aveley FC): Joe Burgess (Castle Point), Sven Wood (Southend-on-Sea), Matthew Webb (Braintree), Martin Weavers (Braintree)
Essex Sunday Junior Cup (Sunday 8th April, Kick-Off 10:30am, Saffron Walden Town FC): James Parks (Colchester), Nathan Kitteridge (Harlow), Simon Lyons (Braintree), Sam Wigington (Thurrock)
Essex Women’s Trophy (Sunday 8th April, Kick-Off 3:00pm, Saffron Walden Town FC): Cristiana Hattersley (Southend-on-Sea), Michael Iddenden-Smith (Thurrock), Connor Cranfield (Harlow), Mariusz Burchan (Braintree)
Essex Saturday Premier Cup (Tuesday 10th April, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Thurrock FC): Lewis Farthing (Colchester), George Sleigh (Colchester), Jack Ridge (Braintree), Jack Willmore (Tendring)
Essex Under 12s Cup (Sunday 15th April, Kick-Off 11:00am, Burnham Ramblers FC): Callum Townsend (Chelmsford), Alfie Treacher (Southend-on-Sea), Leon Randall (Redbridge), Katie Hawkes (Havering)
Essex Under 14s Girls Cup (Sunday 15th April, Kick-Off 2:30pm, Burnham Ramblers FC): Xanthe Davis (Braintree), Emilia Dingwell (Southend-on-Sea), Harriet Kemp (Thurrock), Amy Purser (Braintree)
Essex Cassells Under 16s Cup (Wednesday 18th April, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Aveley FC): Ike Agho (Harlow), Gavin Bailey (Barking & Dagenham), Stuart Henderson (Havering), Max Di Lieto (Havering)
Essex Rosser Under 15s Cup (Sunday 22nd April, Kick-Off 3:00pm, Concord Rangers FC): Christopher Fountain (Tendring), Rhys Collins (Tendring), Andrew Jenkins (Maldon), Matthew Jarvis (Maldon)
Essex Andrews Under 14s Cup (Sunday 22nd April, Kick-Off 11:00am, Concord Rangers FC): Ryan Whitehead (Epping Forest), Adam Palmer (Chelmsford), Andy Palmer (Chelmsford), John Whitehead (Epping Forest)
Essex Pelly Under 18s Cup (Wednesday 25th April, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Billericay Town FC): Farai Hallam (Redbridge), Leo Del Rosso (Brentwood), Charlie Roberts (Havering), Jamie Pope (Rochford)
Essex Sunday Premier Cup (Sunday 29th April, Kick-Off 3:00pm, Concord Rangers FC): Craig Pullen (Havering), Paul Sturton (Chelmsford), Errol Souter (Colchester), Ayrton Hursey (Colchester)
Essex Under 16s Girls Cup (Sunday 29th April, Kick-Off 10:30am, Concord Rangers FC): Zak Johnson (Colchester), Jack Racey (Southend-on-Sea), Edward Smith (Basildon), Lewis Cobden (Colchester)
