The home games keep coming for the Blues, as Tuesday sees our attentions turn to the Velocity Cup for the first time this season, as we welcome Isthmian North high-flyers Tilbury to the Maurice Rebak Stadium. This game follow back-to-back 2-1 wins in the league, first beating Carshalton last Tuesday, before defeating Hastings United by the same scoreline on Saturday.
Our Opponents
The Velocity Cup is the Isthmian League Cup, pitting all of the Isthmian clubs from the Premier, North, South Central and South East divisions against one another. As a Premier side, the Blues enter at the Third Round stage, with Tilbury having already beaten Haringey Borough in a thriller in the 2nd round to set up this tie.
The Dockers recent history has seen them play much of their football in the Isthmian North division, returning to that level after a one season stay in Essex Senior League in 2005/06. Tilbury reached the playoffs in the Isthmian North in 2011/12, the season after the Blues had secured promotion from the same league. Unfortunately, for the Dockers they lost in the semi-finals to Needham Market, to remain in the Isthmian North. In 2019/20, Tilbury were sat in 3rd place before the season was abandoned due to COVID-19, but in 2022/23 were relegated from the Isthmian North after a 17-year stay at that level. Again, their stay in the Essex Senior League was short lived, being promoted as champions at the first time of asking.
Last season, Tilbury were crowned champions of the Essex Senior League, with 86 points from 38 games, seeing them finish the season nine points clear of their nearest competitor, Woodford Town. Upon their return to the Isthmian North division, Tilbury have started this season excellently, with 29 points from their 14 games (W9 D2 L3) placing them in third place at this stage of the season. In fact, prior to their defeat at the weekend, the Dockers were top of the Isthmian North table for a couple of weeks.
Head to Head
Our last clash came back in 2010/11, when both sides were in the Isthmian North division. Our trip to Tilbury ended in a 2-1 defeat, while the reverse fixture at the Maurice Rebak Stadium was a 2-0 victory, both goals coming from Dave Laird. Manager Ahmet Rifat was in the Blues XI for both those games alongside goalkeeper coach Gavin King, and both will be looking to secure victory in our first clash against the Dockers in over a decade.
Last Time Out
Tilbury were knocked off the top of the table on Saturday as they lost 2-0 at Witham Town, who moved into second placed in the process. Prior to this, the Dockers mounted an excellent comeback at Basildon United, coming back from 2-0 down at half time to win 3-2. Their last match in the Velocity Cup was a cracker; 4-0 down at Haringey Borough with less than 30 minutes to go, the Dockers netted four times to take the tie to penalties, where they secured their place in the next round.
Players To Watch
21-year old striker Alex Hernandez has scored nine goals in his ten appearances since joining on loan from Aveley, where he has played and scored for the Millers at National League South level.
In midfield, Tilbury have Jamie Reynolds, an ex-Tottenham academy player who featured for Spurs through to U23 level, before joining Billericay, Cheshunt and FC Romania, also featuring at National League South in his career to date.
For the Blues, Saturday saw us welcome Ronan Ismaili into the matchday squad, with the 18-year old midfielder making a brief appearance off the bench. Ismaili was a Cambridge United youth player who left the U's in the summer and has had a brief spell at Bishop's Stortford this season so far. Another youngster who will be hoping to get a chance on Tuesday night is centre back Bobby Webb who captained the side in the London Senior Cup in recent weeks.
Tickets are available online or on the gate - please note that season tickets are not valid for this Velocity Cup fixture. Our bar and hot food stand will be open and cash and card are accepted throughout the Maurice Rebak Stadium - we look forward to welcoming you to N12!
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.
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