End of Season Review – Part 1
Three weeks after the end of the season, walthamforest-fc.co.uk looks back at the 2011-12 season, starting with the Champions, Leiston, and the four clubs who made the play-offs.
Leiston: Hotly tipped to romp the league, Leiston did just that, despite suffering a slight blip at the end of the season. Having scored 99 goals, and letting in 41, it was no surprise that they were crowned champions. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly for Leiston as they strolled towards the title, but a sequence of only taking four points from five games, including a 1-0 defeat to Enfield Town almost put an end to back-to-back promotions. In the end, a 6-0 win over Potters Bar meant the title headed to Suffolk for a second time in three years.
Enfield Town: Having spent almost a decade at Step 4, it was about time Enfield Town got promoted. It was an unforgettable season for Town who not only won the play-off final, beating Needham Market 1-0, but they also moved into the revamped Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, which is being affectionately called the Donkey Dome by some Towners. Despite having a relatively modest budget, Town managed to keep the majority of the season who ended last season, and added some key players, including former Forest midfielder Dean Pennant. Town were attractive going forward, but also knew how to grind out victories. This was highlighted at the end of the season when they beat Leiston 1-0, and held on to beat Grays on penalties in the play-off semi-final. Town will no doubt be looking forward to securing a respectable position in the Ryman Premier Division next season.
Tilbury: The surprise package of the season. Tilbury’s success was largely down to keeping a balanced squad and only losing twice at home all season. Alex Read lead their forward line with 24 goals. We travelled to Chadfields on Bonfire night, and it was certainly a game full of fireworks. Josh Bonnett put us 1-0 up, before three Tilbury goals and red cards to Gaz Dauti and Andras Molnar seemingly left us without a chance. However, an incredible performance from the 9 remaining Forest men saw us pull two goals back, and missing the chance to take all three points in the dying moments of the game. In the end, Tilbury couldn’t keep their form going, and lost out in the play-off semi-final, going down to Needham Market in a 4-3 thriller.
Needham Market: After narrowly missing out last season, the Suffolk side were a lot of people’s favourites to go up this time around. At the half-way point, Needham Market were top of the league, though there was only one point separating them, Leiston and Enfield Town. Last season’s top scorer Sam Newson started the season on fire once more, leading the goal scoring tables for some time. They hammered Potters Bar 7-0 on the first day of the season, but they were on the receiving end of one of the shocks of the season a week later. Turning up at Cricklefields expecting to beat Forest (again), they were blown away by a sensational Forest performance. Talk of a move to the football league and injury meant Newson didn’t find the back of the net from December right through to the start of the April. He eventually ended the season with 22 goals, including one in the 4-3 win over Tilbury. Needham Market’s season ended with a play-off final defeat, but they will most certainly be challenging for the title next season once more.
Grays Athletic: This season was a first back at step 4 for former Waltham Forest manager Hakan Heyrettin, having spent several years keeping Thurrock in the Conference South on a shoestring. As with his spell at Forest, Heyrettin’s problem was consistency. They spent several weeks at the top of the table towards the start of the season, but eventually finished 5th in the table. In the play-offs, they lost on penalties to Enfield Town, after coming back from two goals down to draw 2-2. Impressive wins over AFC Sudbury and Needham Market were countered by defeats to Soham Town Rangers and Maldon & Tiptree. Eight wins in their last 11 games kept them in the hunt for a play-off place, but eventually it wasn’t to be. Grays will no doubt be happy with Heyrettin’s first season in charge, and will be looking to build on their good performance next season. Next season will be their first at Rush Green, the former Ford Sports ground.
Coming next, places 6-11.
Images thanks to:
1. Rod Lewis (WFFC)
2. Jancyclops
3. Waltham Forest FC
4. Waltham Forest FC
5. Grays Athletic
