March 2003
 
Barking Ladies invited to Essex FA trials 31st March 2003

Barking Ladies have a number of players attending trials for the Essex County FA Under 18 and Under 16 teams. Nicole Manning, Stacy Savage and Nicola Carty will attend the Under 18 trials, Nicola Maggs, Nicola Moore, Claire Brooks, Brooke Herbert, Sarah Ball, Donna Devitt and Maddie Zucker the Under 16 trials. The trials will be held on Saturday 5th of April in Chelmsford.
Ladies scoop cup 31st March 2003

Barking Ladies gave their season a boost yesterday when they beat Colchester United 3-2 in the final of the Essex FA County Cup at Maldon Town FC to repeat their feat of season 2000-01. Ironically Colchester are now the beaten finalists for the second year running. The Ladies return to the bread and butter of the fight against relegation on Wednesday at Mayesbrook Park when they meet Ipswich Town LFC kick off 7:45pm. Ladies Manager Paul Glibbery said "We are now five points behind Enfield and we both have three games left. Our only chance is to win Wednesday and Sunday, then hope Enfield lose at Chelsea next Sunday. We would be one point ahead with champions Bristol Rovers to play at home on Easter Sunday. Enfield will have a home midweek game against Barnet and then their last game at Millwall Lionesses on Easter Sunday. Anything less than those two wins and it looks very unlikely we will stay in the Premier League.”
Reserves update 31st March 2003

The Reserves suffered a rare defeat on Saturday when they lost by 1-2 at Harlow Town. The official league table below still shows Barking & East Ham United top it again does not include Purfleet’s victory over Maldon on March 20th:-

POS TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Barking & East Ham Utd 23 17 4 2 67 21 46 55
2 Purfleet 21 16 4 1 66 17 49 52
3 St Alban's City 20 15 1 14 66 27 39 46

The Reserves next game is tomorrow night (April 1st) when they are away to Concord Rangers.
Re-arranged fixture 31st March 2003

The home match with Oxford City has had to be deferred from April 29 to May 1st as City are otherwise engaged in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final on that night.

 
Reserves update 29th March 2003
The Reserves stretched their "lead" at the top of the table last night with a 1-0 win away to Bowers United The official league table below shows Barking & East Ham United top it still does not include Purfleet’s victory over Maldon on March 20th:-
POS TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Barking & East Ham Utd 22 17 4 1 66 19 47 55
2 Purfleet 20 15 4 1 63 15 48 49
3 St. Alban's City 19 14 1 4 65 27 38 43

The Reserves next game is on Saturday (March 29th) when they are away to Harlow Town.
Ladies cup final preview 26th March 2003
At least sixteen mum's will have to go without their annual breakfast in bed next Sunday, as their daughters will be preparing for the final of the Essex FA Women's County Cup against Colchester United at Maldon Town FC, with a 10.30am kick off. The early kick off, means the team will prepare with a training session on Saturday afternoon, before travelling to Maldon to spend the night in a hotel. Manager Paul Glibbery said "As our players live all over London, Kent and Essex, a Sunday Morning meet would mean about 7.30am at the Club which is no-way to prepare for a final, so we will try and be as professional as possible and relax together the night before". The squad has been selected, but the final team selection will be left till Saturday Afternoon. "We have a few minor injuries which should be cleared up by Saturday, my one major decision will be the goalkeeping position as Michelle Bridgeman damaged knee ligaments against Enfield two weeks ago, she will have a test on Saturday, and everybody hopes she comes through. If not the jersey will be handed to young Sarah Ball who has stepped in for the last two games and done an outstanding job" said Glibbery. As for the match itself it will be a very tough and close game. Colchester United play in the South East Combination League, just below Barking (FA Premier League). Barking will be keen to re-gain the trophy they last won two years ago beating Dagenham & Redbridge in the final at Purfleet FC. As for Colchester they lost last year in the final to Chelmsford and will be determined not to be the losers again.
Injuries/Suspension/Unavailability 26th March 2003
Sam Taylor is still rendered unfit by his knee injury but hopes to be available for selection in time for the trip to Hornchurch on April 5th. Billy Read hopes to be fit for Saturday's home game against Hertford Town. Although he was on the subs bench last night Dean Cleaver is also injured. Gary Wraight is currently unavailable due to work commitments. Terry Scotchmer is still suspended and will be until April 7th.
Departures 26th March 2003
Three players have been released to enable them to find regular first team football before the March 31st transfer deadline. Joe Nartey is rumoured to be returning to the Premier Division with Maidenhead United while Rene Regis looks likely to join Leyton Pennant. Fabrizio Panebarco is the third player to be released.
Blues take on Asian XI 23rd March 2003
Barking has agreed to play a match against a select Asian XI on the 18th May 2003 kick off 2.30pm as part of a community project which aims to improve the status of Asian players within our game. If successful it is intended to secure further matches for next season including a possible friendly against a Bangladesh Under 18 National Squad. The purpose of the exercise, which Canary Wharf PLC is funding, is to procure better relations with football clubs, at our level, for Asian football players. In the past Canary Wharf have played Asian international games at places such as West Ham United and Chelsea but even though they are quite capable of crowds in excess of 3,000 these grounds were far too big and they, of course, lost the atmosphere they had intended to provide. There will be no charge for entrance to the match on the 18th May and it should be a good game to watch.
Reserves promoted 23rd March 2003
Following yesterday's 2-1 win over Hertford Town Reserves yesterday our Reserve Team will play next season in the Premier Division of the Essex & Herts Border Combination. Congratulations to Dorian West and his players on this achievement and hopefully they will now go on to capture the championship. The match was also significant as another Oxby made their debut. Richard Oxby brother of Andrew and John came on for the last fifteen minutes of the match. Although the official league table below shows Barking & East Ham United top it does not include Purfleet’s 2-1 victory over Maldon on March 20th:-
POS TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Barking & East Ham Utd 21 16 4 1 65 19 46 55
2 Purfleet 20 15 4 1 63 15 48 49
3 St. Alban's City 19 14 1 14 65 27 38 43

The Reserves next game is away to Harlow Town next Saturday (March 29th)
Signings 17th March 2003
After his brief stay at the dockside of Tilbury Matt Frew has returned to help the Reserves in their push for promotion.
Reserves update 17th March 2003
The Reserves continued their promotion push on Saturday when they shared the spoils away to Hoddesdon Reserves. The previous Wednesday (March 12th) they won 3-1 also away to Basildon Reserves. The Reserves next game is next Saturday (22nd of March) when they entertain Hertford Town Reserves at Mayesbrook Park KO 3pm in the Essex & Herts Border Combination Div 1. Latest League Table:-
POS TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Purfleet 20 15 4 1 63 15 48 49
2 Barking & East Ham Utd 20 15 4 1 63 18 45 49
3 St. Alban's City 18 13 1 4 63 26 37 40
Injuries/Suspension
Joe Nartey has a pulled muscle - Sam Taylor - Donna Smith will assess his injury this week - Jamie Dormer has a hamstring injury - Brian Suchley has a nasal injury - Terry Scotchmer has a ongoing suspension
Ladies update 11th March 2003
The Ladies fight for survival took a double whammy tonight at Mayesbrook Park when they lost by 0-2 to Enfield Ladies their closest relegation rivals to two second half goals. Earlier in the first half they lost keeper Michelle Bridgeman to injury, she was replaced by the successful under 16's team shot stopper Sarah Ball who despite having no chance with either goal gave a more than creditable account of herself. Although this defeat by no means seals the Ladies relegation it does make survival more difficult.
Reserves update 9th March 2003
The Reserves were defeated at Mayesbrook Park yesterday by Purfleet Reserves by 1-2 in the Essex And Hertfordshire Combination Cup Quarter Final. The Reserves get back to League action on Wednesday 12th of March when they are away to Basildon Reserves in a rearranged fixture.
Departures 2nd March 2003
Reserve Team stalwarts Matt Frew and Ross Hunt have gone to seek first team football at Tilbury and while we are sorry to lose them we wish them every success (except when playing against us). Dwayne Nickle, who scored twelve goals for the Reserves and one for the first team, is no longer with the club.
Reserves update 2nd March 2003
The Reserves got back on the winning trail after missing out on their club record in the previous. Despite losing two players to Tilbury (see above) and other players on first team duty they carved out a 4-1 away win at Stansted after being a goal down after fifteen minutes. The Reserves next game is next Saturday (8th of March) when they entertain Purfleet Reserves at Mayesbrook Park KO 3pm in the third round of the Combination Cup. Latest League table:-
POS TEAM P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Purfleet 19 15 3 1 62 14 48 48
2 Barking & East Ham Utd 18 14 3 1 59 16 43 45
3 St. Alban's City 17 13 0 4 62 25 37 39