The first round of this season’s Middlesex Sunday Premier Cup was contested on Sunday, 15th October and your roving team visited the tie at the excellent St Aloysius Playing Fields, between Highgate Albion SFL and Indian Gymkhana. 

The Sunday Premier Cup is our top Sunday competition and was first played for in 1978. 22 clubs have entered this season.

Highgate Albion are the current holders of the trophy and emphatically demonstrated why. They dominated and eventually overwhelmed Indian Gymkhana, who showed that they are also capable of playing good football. Albion breached the Gymkhana defence 10 times, before the visitors replied with 2 goals of their own.

The match was played on a crisp bright Sunday morning and the football served up, particularly by the home side, corresponded.

After the opening exchanges, Albion went onto the attack and Gymkhana’s Harman Brar cleared Tage Kennedy’s shot off of his goal-line. Then keeper, Karan Sembi beat Teddy Stacey to a through ball. Tage set up Excellence Muhemba, who shot on the turn and just cleared the crossbar.

However, Excellence opened the scoring in the 11th minute, when he slotted the ball home from Teddy’s pass.

Two minutes later Richard Ennin took the ball into the box and was chopped down near the bye line. The keeper got to Teddy Stacey’s penalty kick but couldn’t prevent it from doubling the score.

Billy Hayes burst through the middle and fired just wide. Pele Riley crossed for Richard Ennin, whose shot was palmed for a corner. The keeper saved at Richard’s feet and then saved Pele’s header from Eliel McKay’s cross. 

Pele rattled the visitors’ goalframe twice in the 30th minute. He hit the crossbar with a shot on the turn, from outside the box and then hit the upright with a low drive.

Gymkhana hit back and Narine Pandhares forced Charlie Taylor to save at the expense of a corner.

Tage Kennedy scored Albion’s 3rd goal with the last kick before the interval. He collected a through ball and took it past 2 defenders before netting.

Half time score: Highgate Albion 3 Indian Gymkhana 0

Highgate Albion piled on the pressure immediately after the break. Tage Kennedy went on an incisive run and set up Pele Riley, who cleared the bar with his shot. Then Excellence Muhemba rattled a post.

Tage scored Albion’s 4th goal, from long range in the 49th minute. Pele added a 5th less than a minute later, after the keeper had failed to hold a long shot.

At the other end, Jigar Kumar beat 2 defenders before shooting straight at the keeper from just outside the penalty area.

Richard Hennin added a sixth Albion goal, from the edge of the box, via a deflection, in the 58th minute.

Tage Kennedy was brought down by the Gymkhana custodian two minutes later and converted from the penalty spot to make the score 7-0.

Tage set up Ian Maitland, who picked his spot from close range, for Albion’s 8th goal in the 67th minute.

Three minutes later, Richard’s close-range shot made it 9.

Jigar Kumar had a good chance to reduce the arrears in the 75th minute. He broke into the box but his cross shot, from close range, went beyond the far post.

4 minutes later Ian Maitland scored his side’s tenth goal, when he stroked the ball home after keeper, Karan Sembi, had parried a shot from Teddy Stacey.

Indian Gymkhana did not give up and taking advantage of an undermanned home defence, created several scoring chances during the final 10 minutes.

Jigar Kumar burst through the middle and netted their opening goal in the 80th minute. A minute later he shot just past the upright.

Emir Ramadani hit the Albion crossbar from outside the box. Jigar hit a post and Mir Ahmed put the rebound wide. Then Sajeev Rajendran shot just wide.

Sajeev completed the scoring with a shot from Jigar’s pass, which was deflected into the corner of the goal.

Result: Highgate Albion 10 Indian Gymkhana 2

TEAM LINE-UPS

Highgate Albion: Charles Taylor, Harry Gallagher, Teddy Stacey, Aaron Scott, Billy Hayes, Ashley Dray, Richard Ennin, Pele Riley, Excellence Muhemba, Alvin Kyeremeh and Tage Kennedy.

Rolling substitutes: Akinola Fayoyin, Ian Maitland, James Esprit, Eliel McKay and Alexandru Gavriloaia.

Indian Gymkhana: Karan Sembi, Pawandeep Dhaliwal, Ramabdeep Dhaliwal, Karan Pal, Gurpreet Takla, Prabhjot Lidhar, Narine Pandhares, Sajeev Rajendran, Emir Ramadani, Harman Brar and Mir Ahmed.

Rolling substitutes: Pawandeep Kang, Karan Sidhu, Gagandeep Dhaliwal and Jigar Kumar.

Referee: Ian Breithwaite, who handled the game extremely well.

Report: Jim Taylor.
Photos: Chris Benn.

Chris & Jim’s Picks

Full set of photos