Match Preview: Barking v The Bridge
A win can change a lot of things and Hullbridge hopes will be high after the 4-1 victory over West Essex. It would be nice to go on a bit of a run but Barking stand in our way next and it’s not the easiest of games as they have been doing alright so far this season.

Sitting in 6th place, Barking have accrued 30 points from their 15 games played. 9 wins, 3 draws, and 3 defeats have produced 32 goals and 20 against for a +12 GD. From their 8 home matches, they have won 4, drawn 2, and lost 2 with a +3 GD (16 for, 13 against) which places them as 7th best in the ESL. The two home defeats were quite recent, against Frenford and Buckhurst Hill.

Here’s what The Blues have been doing in their last six matches…
Barking – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
Haringey Borough 0 Barking 3
(London Senior Cup)
It was a straightforward London Senior Cup Second Round win over Step 4 Haringey, from the Isthmian League North Division. Scorers were Tony Martin and Sam Shaban with two.

Sawbridgeworth Town 0 Barking 2
Away victory for The Blues with a comfortable 2-0 win courtesy of Sam Shaban and Juwon Akintunde.

Ilford 2 Barking 2
Sam Shaban and Juwon Akintunde on the scoresheet again but Jabir Adam and Joel Appiah are also on target as the game ends in a draw.

Great Wakering Rovers 0 Barking 2
A decent and probably unexpected win at GWR with Pat Ahern and Juwon Akintunde (again) doing the damage.

Barking 3 Saffron Walden Town 1
Henry Mabassa with an early goal for The Blues before Juwon Akintunde does his thing either side of a Correy Davidson goal for SWT.

Barking 0 Frenford 2
Probably the only blip in the last six as Frenford take the win thanks to Fahad Nahor and, ex-Bridge man, Charlie Heatley.

First Team Squad & appearances:
Player Appearances
1 Juwon Akintunde 25
2 Teddy Stacey 24
3 Ezekiel (Izzy) Bademosi 21
4 Jerrold Cobblah 20
5 Sam Edwards 20
6 Jay Bacon 19
7 Miles Smith 19
8 Ryan Cosson 17
9 Max Spence 17
10 Marcel McDonald 14
11 Sam Shaban 12
12 Andy Greenslade 9
13 Bradley McDonald 9
14 Chris John 8
15 Dan Purdue 8
16 Pat Ahern 7
17 Nelly Malek 7
18 Charlie Thomson 7
19 Andre Anderson 6
20 Henry Mabassa 6
21 Steven Wade 6
22 Micah Jackson 5
23 Jalen Johnson 5
24 Deivi Kreka 5
25 James Reynolds 5
26 Akilijo Balliu 4
27 Michael Mignot 4
28 Hassan Nalbant 4
29 Fahad Nyanja 4
30 Teddy Bowden 3
31 Tony Martin 3
32 Kye Mitchell 3
33 Olu Shobowale 3
34 Danny Taylor 3
35 Simon Omope 2
36 Jaiden Putman 2
37 Noah Adejokun 1
38 Josh Blaize-Ca rr 1
39 Panayiotis (Panny) Boxer 1
40 Lewis Byrne-Hewitt 1
41 Samuel Dowridge 1
42 Omar Eisa 1
43 Presley Evans 1
44 Anthony Folkes 1
45 Alvin Kyeremeh 1
46 Ellis Lawson 1
47 Theophilus Lukyamuzi 1
48 Roman Michael-Percil 1
49 Bradley Monks 1
50 Ernest Okoh 1
51 Favour Orihu 1
52 Rhys Paul 1
53 Archie Sherrin 1
54 Stephen Stafford 1
55 Oliver Webdale 1

Last Season:
The Blues finished 4th in the ESL last season. The Bridge finished in 12th. That 4th place got them a play-off spot where they were beaten 1-0 by Romford.

The teams met twice during the season.
Game one was on the 10th of October 2023 at Mayesbrook Park and The Bridge won the game 3-1. Martin Tuohy scored first for The Blues before Bobby Badham, Jon Evans & Solo Ofori scored for The Bridge. In an eventful game, Tuohy and Barking keeper Arshak Sargsyan were sent off along with Emmanuel Okunja for The Bridge.

Game two at Lower Road on the 17th of February was a 4-0 win for Barking. Tony Martin with two, Luke Hirst and Bradleigh Rowland were The Blues scorers.

Club Facts:
Founded: 1896 (re-founded in 2006)
Ground: Lawtech Stadium, Mayesbrook Park, Dagenham
Chairman: Rob O’Brien
First Team Manager: Craig Edwards
First Team Physio: Chanelle Callison

Club History
Barking Football Club is based in Barking, Greater London, England. They are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Mayesbrook Park.

The origins of the modern club are unclear, with several potential claims; Barking Institute was either formed around 1896 as Barking Working Lads' Institute (or possibly earlier as Barking Working Men's Institute) or was a renamed Barking Rovers, who had been established in 1880 and later renamed by the Church Institute when they took over running it. They won the Essex Senior Cup in 1893–94 and 1895–96, before becoming champions of Division One of the South Essex League in 1898–99, the Leyton & District League in 1899–1900, Division Two of the South Essex League in 1900–01 and Division Two A in 1901–02, before changing its name to Barking in 1902. They also played in the London League, winning Division One A in 1909–10, before winning the South Essex League again in 1911–12, a season in which they also won the London Senior Cup for the first time. In 1912 Barking became founder members of the Athenian League but withdrew after only two matches and their record was expunged.

In 1919 the club changed its name to Barking Town, going on to win the Essex Senior Cup in the 1919–20 season. The following season they won the Premier Division of the London League and the London Senior Cup, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1923. The 1926–27 season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup, eventually losing to Gillingham in a replay. They also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup, where they lost 3–1 to Leyton, but did win the London Senior Cup for a third time. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1928–29 but lost 6–0 at Exeter City. In 1932 they reverted to the name Barking, and in 1934–35 won the Athenian League title.

Following World War II, Barking won the 1945–46 Essex Senior Cup. In 1952 they switched to the Isthmian League, but had to wait until 1978–79 before winning the league again; during that period, they won further Essex Senior Cup titles in 1962–63 and 1969–70. The 1978–79 season also saw them reach the second round of the FA Cup, defeating Yeovil Town in the first round, before losing 2–1 at home to Aldershot, as well as winning the London Senior Cup for a fourth time. The following season they reached the second round again, defeating Third Division Oxford United before losing 3–1 to Reading. In 1981–82 they took Gillingham to a replay in the second round, losing 3–1. Their last appearance in the second round came in 1983–84 when they lost 2–1 at Plymouth Argyle. A seventh Essex Senior Cup final win was achieved in 1989–90.

They remained in the Isthmian League Premier Division until relegation to Division One at the end of the 1990–91 season. After finishing bottom in 1995–96 the club was relegated to Division Two. In 2001 Barking ceased to exist when they merged with East Ham United to form Barking & East Ham United. However, when the new club folded in 2006, Barking were re-established and joined the Essex Senior League. In 2016–17 the club won the Essex Senior League, earning promotion to the North Division of the Isthmian League. At the end of the 2018–19 season, they were transferred to the South Central Division. In 2021 the club was transferred back to the North Division. They finished second-from-bottom of the division in 2021–22 and were relegated to the Essex Senior League. In 2022–23 the club won the Essex Senior League's Errington Cup, beating Redbridge 5–4 on penalties in the final, following a 1–1 draw.

The 2023–24 season saw Barking finish fourth in the Essex Senior League, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They went on to lose 1–0 to Romford in the semi-finals.

Ground
Barking Institute originally played at the Recreation Ground in Barking Park, before moving to Vicarage Field, which had been in use by Barking Rovers since 1884. Floodlights were installed in 1958 and they were the first Isthmian League club to play a league match under lights. In 1973 the club were forced to leave the ground by the council and moved to Mayesbrook Park. The club brought the floodlights from Vicarage Field and installed a temporary trailer stand on the northern side of the pitch. This was later replaced by a permanent stand on the south side with 210 seats and standing for 450. An uncovered terrace was installed behind the western end of the pitch, which had a roof added in 2001 when Barking merged with East Ham United.

Honours
Isthmian League
Premier Division champions 1978–79
Dylon Shield winners 1979–80
Athenian League
Champions 1934–35
London League
Premier Division champions 1920–21
Division One A champions 1909–10
Essex Senior League
Champions 2016–17
Errington Cup winners 2022–23
Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy winners 2014–15
South Essex League
Division One champions 1898–99, 1911–12
Division Two champions 1900–01
Division Two A champions 1901–02
Leyton & District League
Champions 1899–1900
Essex Senior Cup
Winners 1893–94, 1895–96, 1919–20, 1945–46, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1989–90
London Senior Cup
Winners 1911–12, 1920–21, 1926–27, 1978–79
London Charity Cup
Winners 1961–62
East Anglian Cup
Winners 1937–38, 1953–54 (joint)
Essex Thameside Trophy
Winners 1952–53 (joint), 1956–57, 1958–69, 1996–97
Essex Elizabethan Trophy
Winners 1966–67
Mithras Cup
Winners 1965–66, 1966–67, 1970–71

Records
Best FA Cup performance: Second round replay, 1981–82
Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Runners-up, 1926–27
Best FA Trophy performance: Second round, 1979–80
Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 1996–97
Record attendance: 1,972 vs Aldershot, FA Cup second round, 16 December 1978
Most appearances: Bob Makin, 566
Most goals: Neville Fox, 241 (1965–73)

Well, that form guide shown above looks a little bit better than before but there are still a few too many green W’s on the Barking side for it to be happy reading!

Although results have not shown it, The Bridge performances have not been as bad as the results portray but you have to say that Barking’s last two results (other than the 3-0 win at Haringey in the London Senior Cup) have been impressive. Wins against SWT and GWR have been PDG (Pretty Damn Good!). They also seem to have a prolific scorer in Juwon Akintunde, so we’re under no illusions here, if The Bridge are to start building on that last win against West Essex, it ‘ain’t ‘gonna be easy.

However, also on that list above are two red L’s with defeats against Frenford and Buckhurst Hill, so it can be done and The Bridge have a striker who is now finding the net with Mechack Asuka on three in two games. The more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes, so there really is only one place to be on Saturday and that’s The Lawtech Stadium, Mayesbrook Park…bring your lucky charms and something to keep you warm, thermals, whiskey, Brandy, Bovril, the wife or girlfriend (Or somebody else’s!) and…