End of year report by Mason Norton

The Everards Leicestershire Senior League sometimes pauses over the festive season, but not this year, as the bank holidays fall in midweek. Consequently, there was a full programme across the three divisions, including some Christmas crackers.

The end of the calendar year is a time for looking forward and looking back, and with all of the teams in the LSL now at the midway points of their League campaigns, or even beyond, this edition of Ramble Round will take stock of how the tables stand.

Starting, as ever, with the Everards Brewery Premier Division, the leaders at the end of 2024 are Desford. However, they had a Saturday to forget this weekend, which was unfortunate for them as they had a tricky trip to Aylestone Park Reserves, who promptly took them to the cleaners. Park ran out 5-2 winners, scorers being Bayem Onelum (2), Felix Fombon, Malik Marshall and Stan Rossell, Connor McGahan and an OG for Desford.

That gave the chasing pack a chance to capitalise. But this weekend, the two nearest chasers were playing each other, as AFC North Kilworth hosted Anstey Town. In a competitive game that entertained the Yuletide crowd, NK went in 2-1 up at half-time, with Reece Hookway having scored both goals for them, whilst an own goal had given Anstey a chance. The visitors had chances in the second period, as did the home side, who could have finished it off but failed to make it stick. That came back to bite them, as in 90 + 4, Josh Burniston scored the equaliser for the visitors, and despite some harem scarem stuff in the final minutes of injury time, 2-2 was how it finished.

Though the two nearest rivals to Desford effectively cancelled each other out, that result hurts Anstey less than it does North Kilworth, who started the morning second, but dropped a place in the in-running table, swapping with Magna 73, who thumped FC Khalsa 7-0 in a game that was switched to the Beauchamp College 3G pitch. According to reports, had Khalsa taken chances early on, it could have been a very different game, but goals just before the break knocked the stuffing out of the hosts, who capsized further in the second period which was more one-sided, letting in four goals. Magna's scorers saw Fin Thomas hit a double hat-trick of six goals as Thomas ran riot, with Carlton Beardmore also scoring in what was Magna's first clean sheet of the campaign.

So as 2024 ends, Desford are three points clear of Magna 73, Magna having played a game more. AFC North Kilworth sit a further point behind, having played the same number of games as Desford, and having missed the chance this weekend to really get in the middle of the title fight. As it is, Anstey Town currently ride in fourth place, seven points behind Desford, but with three games in hand on the leaders. Aylestone Park Reserves round off the top five, but ten points behind Desford having played the same number of games, are probably out of title contention at this stage.

At the bottom of the table, Friar Lane & Epworth were the bottom side on Christmas Day, but travelled to fellow relegation strugglers Ellistown for a six-pointer. Lane took the lead when a defensive slip on 30 minutes let in Solomon Agyeman. But the hosts countered from the restart and immediately won a penalty after a barge in the box, which Jack Bonell converted. It was 1-1 at half-time, which became 2-1 shortly after the restart, when a through ball caught Lane napping and Sam Martindale made no mistake. That had Ellistown on top, but they conceded again shortly after when the assistant referee penalised them for a foul throw, coughing up the set-piece to FLAE, which they took quickly, setting up David Aluko who went running past the wrong-footed defenders before letting rip from 20 yards for 2-2. Ellistown then made it 3-2 when Ruben Wilson scored midway through the period, and despite the fog rolling in, they looked set to secure the three points, but three minutes from the end, Harry Hawkins unleashed a speculative shot from 35 yards, which the keeper didn't see in time and was unable to keep out. That made it 3-3, both teams sharing the points.

Burbage & Huncote had been down there with Friar Lane, but kicked away last week with a win at Ellistown, and made it a bountiful Christmas with another win on Saturday, as Mitchell Fairhurst (2) and Jacob Townsend gave them a 3-0 win at Thurnby Rangers. They moved up a place in the table to 11th, Cottesmore going in the other direction after a heavy 7-2 defeat at home to Highfield Rangers. Leon Kavanagh had given the hosts the lead on a quarter of an hour, but Highfield took advantage of some charitable defending to go 2-1 up. Kavanagh scored his second on 42 minutes to equalise, but that was as good as it got for the hosts, as some more poor defending let Rangers score twice in quick succession before the break, before they finished off a disheartened home side with three more goals in the second half, Highfield in 7th, a point behind Hathern, who did not play on Saturday, in 6th.

So the relegation dogfight looks like this. After a three-point deduction in the week before last and some recent heavy defeats, it's Khalsa who now occupy bottom spot, one point behind Friar Lane, two points behind Ellistown and four points behind Cottesmore. Burbage & Huncote are a further two points up the table, and Thurnby are just a point further in front, seven points covering the bottom six. A reminder though that due to Asfordby's resignation before a ball was kicked , only one team will be relegated to Div1 at the end of the season.

The only other game in the Prem this weekend was a mid-table battle, as Sileby Town avenged their County Cup exit four weeks ago by beating their victors Leicester Atletico 5-1 on Saturday, Tom Pope with a hat-trick, Chris Shaw and Mark Tinsley also scoring as Sileby ran riot in the second half, Ouakari Diawara with Atletico's late consolation, the two sides swapping places in the table with that result, Sileby in 8th, Atletico 9th.