Redbridge hosted Thurlow Nunn side Athletic Newham in the Quarter Finals of the Len Cordell Memorial Cup with both sides looking to reach the final four.

An early setback for the away side saw Anderson Baro leave the field as he came off worse in an challenge with Redbridge defender Olamiji Ayoola however after a short while he was able to return to the field.

There was little of note in the early stages with both sides unable to create little of note until the 22nd minute when a Athletic Newham defender handled in the area leaving the referee with no option but to point towards the spot. With leading scorer Tony Martin sitting on the bench up stepped Josh Sykes who calmly slotted home sending Boateng Wilkinson in goal the wrong way to give his side an early lead.

Newham then started to come forward asking questions of the home defence however it should have been two for Redbridge as a good cross came over from the right finding Sykes who connected well but narrowly placed the ball the wrong side of the upright.

Hesitation at the back for Athletic Newham saw them lose possession in a dangerous area , Sykes won the ball before playing in Abdishakur Farah who was denied a goal scoring opportunity as he was well challenged with the ball ending up going out of play, the resulting corner was swung into the box finding Ayoola who rose highest but unable to keep his header on target .

Before the half ended George Martin in the home goal had to be alert as he saved from Rui Carlos who managed to get a strike in on goal after a powerful run into the area.

The second half began with Redbridge looking the most likely of the sides to score next and almost did when once again uncertainty at the back saw them lose the ball as Gyane Sanderson found Farah who tried to curl the ball into the far corner but his effort was gathered by Wilkinson.

Athletic then had their turn to come forward as Joel Appiah saw his low effort gathered by Martin however their attacking play did soon resulted in the equalising goal. Richard Kone initial shot was saved by Martin and with the Redbridge defence taking far too long in clearing the rebound in came Jeff Idemudia who struck home to level the scores.

It’s often said that goals can change games and that certainly was evident here as Athletic Newham now had the bit between their teeth as they looked to score again. Kone who had looked lively all match was unable to finish from a wide angle as he could only look on agonizingly as the ball trickled across the goalmouth and out of play.

Redbridge were struggling to get a foothold back in this match as once again the away side came forward this time through Christopher Njodi who had a powerful run up field before finding Jeff Idumedia who narrowly fired wide.

Redbridge made their final substitutions as they looked to grab the winning goal and although one of those players in Sonny Fish fell to the ground in the box the referee waved away any penalty appeals as the final whistle was then blown , with no extra time being played the match headed straight to a penalty shoot out.

Redbridge took first scoring their first two before Athletic missed through Alvaro Guerrero as he had his effort saved however the score was then levelled as Harry Gibbs blasted his kick well over the bar. Redbridge scored next as James Barlow saw his penalty bounce down off the crossbar and cross the line according to the officials, no VAR here I’m afraid. Blessing Adomah then saw his kick saved by Martin giving Redbridge the opportunity to win the match , up stepped Farah but he failed to beat Wilkinson in goal and Njodi then stepped up to blast home and make it 3-3 taking the shoot out to sudden death. Both sides scored their next kicks before captain for the day Jack Roult blasted home leaving Tony Cookey to level however Martin in goal proved the hero getting down well to his left pulling off the save and sealing a narrow victory for the hosts.

They will now travel to Clapton in the semi-finals, a side they have previously played and beaten in the group stages of this competition as they look to go all the way in this competition and how fitting it would be in memory of their former match secretary Len Cordell if they could reach the final.

Match Report by Adam Silver