Rochford Disability Football Academy claimed three pieces of silverware as the final meeting of the new Essex Soccability League took place on Saturday 24th April

Rochford Disability Football Academy claimed three pieces of silverware as the final meeting of the new Essex Soccability League took place on Saturday 24th April at Plume High School’s brand new 3G pitch facility in Maldon, sealing the adult Premiership and Championship titles as well as the youth equivalent.

The first Soccability League season saw Rochford take a clean sweep of the trophies, however the general standard of football throughout the debut competitions, organised by the Essex County FA, made a real positive impact. Hosted at the newly-opened venue at Plume, the final league match day played out a host of memorable moments and, with the sun providing nature’s spotlight, the players took their opportunity to shine.

Formed to provide ‘Football for All’ and operating on a roadshow basis, each League date consists of ‘round-robin’ fixtures. This event kicked-off with a youth seven-a-side between Rochford Disability Football Academy, EPCP Spurs, Basildon Soccability Academy and the day’s club hosts, Maldon Saints Soccability Club. An enthusiastic crowd, including Saints’ founder Albert Kilby, saw all participants receive a memento and winners Rochford, plus EPCP as runners-up, took home their own glass trophies.

When the adults took centre stage, Rochford A led Basildon by a point in the Premiership and their B Team sat only one behind the Championship leaders Colchester, so there was still plenty to play for. The highly-anticipated afternoon fixtures in the Premiership saw Rochford and Basildon continue their excellent form, winning every game before meeting in a gripping seasonal climax which ended in a tense 0-0 draw. Goal difference then came into play and, having scored five more on the day, Rochford were the overall victors.

Despite their adult team only being formed for a little over a year, Basildon deserved credit for coming close to winning the league, while Colchester United Community Trust came third as the top scorers, just four short of the century. Only six goals separated the next three teams, emphasising the competitive nature, and Witham Healthy 4 Life netted two screamers on the day that would have won any goal of the season competition!

Attention then turned to Rochford’s potential treble if they could chase down Colchester Healthy 4 Life in the Championship. The spectators were taken aback with the progress made by St Luke’s United, the newest members, who took the section by storm with a 100% record on the day. The clash of the top two here also produced a keenly-fought draw. However, with Colchester defeated in their last two games, Rochford finished behind St Luke’s on the day. Another twist saw Clacton beat Chelmsford to take third place in the standings as Rochford secured the overall Championship title.

As part of the presentation the four referees, Mark Chapman, Stephen Hatwell, James O’Brien and Lee Siggers, all received mementos and there was also an opportunity to celebrate the work that has been established in the female division. John Manning, Senior Football Development Officer at the Essex County FA with a responsibility for inclusion, stated: “We owe a special debt of gratitude to Paul Sitch and, in particular, Dawn Anderson from the RDFA for their vision and commitment in establishing the female section. With greater promotion, hard work and players this will begin to flourish.”

But there was still one trophy to be awarded and not only was it physically the biggest on show it also reflected the heart behind the League, highlighting the club who were the most sportsmanlike throughout the season. Nominations received by other clubs had two sides tied for the lead and, perhaps fittingly given the development they have made over the last year, both teams belonged to the Basildon Soccability Academy.

After an exhausting but enjoyable day, Manning reflected on the impressive debut season, adding: “I’m delighted with the success of this league, which represents such a leap forward in the development of local disability football. None of this would have been possible without the work and support of the managers, coaches, referees, players and supporters. RDFA deserve the success they’ve achieved this season while other teams are closing in on them fast. It’ll be interesting to see if they achieve the treble next year!”