WFLA Inter League Cup
14 May 2024
by
Simon Crump

First outing for Essex over 50s in the WFLA National Cup
Saturday 11th May saw a squad of eight Essex league players travel to Redditch to compete in the Walking Football Leagues Alliance national Over 50s Inter League Cup. The tournament was played to the new FA Walking Football Laws of the Game which meant that four team running offences would be punished with a penalty against the team.
With eight Leagues from across England taking part teams were split into two groups with
Essex being drawn in Group B along with Dorset, Oxfordshire and Birmingham.
First up for Essex were Dorset with the team losing 2-0.
The second game was against Oxfordshire which again saw the team lose 2-0.
Finally, in Essex's third game the team got a win under their belt against Birmingham winning 2-1.
The penultimate game of the day and Essex were up against Lincolnshire with the team winning 1-0.
The Lincolnshire result meant Essex played Dorset again in the final match of the day, the 5th/6th place play off. This was a tough game which ended up drawn 1-1 and meant Essex finished 5th on the day. A good result given this was the teams first competitive outing.
Essex 0ver 50 Walking Football Rep Team:
Walter Previ (Gk) - Concord
Simon Crump (Manager) - Romford
David Willis - Garon Park
Lee Sterland - Chelmsford
Paul Wells - Concord
Dave Snook - Romford
Gary Matthews - Eastwood
Andrew Coyle - Leyton Orient
Manager, Simon Crump, reflected on the days football saying, "The first “competitive” outing for the squad and a great days football, we certainly weren’t out of our depth and look forward to more competition in the future."
© Copyright 2024 Essex Walking Football League
Image used © 2024 Simon Crump