Redbridge met Stansted for the fourth time this campaign with the prize on offer this evening being a place in the final of the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy, it was currently 2-1 in favour of the away side with the last meeting resulting in a penalty shoot out victory for the Airport men just a few weeks prior.

Stansted started the brighter of the two sides, an early free kick saw skipper Billy Coyne try his luck from distance which required George Martin in the Redbridge goal to be alert to tip over for a corner. The ball was swung in which Martin got a fist to and clear only for Ashaah Siddik to blast the ball over.

At the other end the home side had their first opportunity, a ball was played into the path of Tony Martin who decided to go alone curling wide when there were better options available to him.

Timothy Ogunrinde then cut inside from wide and although he got a shot in on target it was comfortably held by Stansted keeper Jarvis Monk.

Redbridge were gradually growing into the match, a Robbie Norris free kick was delivered into the mix which found the head of Ibrahim Kehinde who saw his header aiming for the bottom corner but across came Monk to make the stop.

Stansted were looking lively on the break especially with the pace of Michael Mignot who managed to turn and get away from Jack Roult, with Martin quickly out of his goal to close the angle the striker went for goal only to see the ball drop agonisingly wide of the upright - close.

The game was certainly being played at a quick tempo with the ball moving quickly from end to end which in turn was making it an entertaining watch from the stands.

Kehinde saw a shot deflected out for a corner which quickly turned into a break away for Stansted who went straight back up the other end to win a corner of their own, the ball was swung in and headed just wide.

The ball was then lofted forward dropping kindly for Michael Mignot who drove forward towards goal but when it looked like a shooting chance was on he made the wrong decision in trying to find a team mate but in doing so allowed Martin to come out and gather the loose ball, at the other end Robbie Norris found himself in a good position but only succeeded in blasting well over.

A Jack Roult heavy touch then allowed Stansted to break, although the chance came to nothing the coming together of Roult and Brad Russell saw the Stansted player helped from the field as his side played the final few minutes a man down.

A slower start to the second period with the first chance coming from the home side when Jack Chawner had an effort however his shot lacked any real conviction and was straight into the arms of Monk.

A penalty shout followed for Redbridge when Ogunrinde skipped past a defender and in doing so it appeared the ball hit the hand of a defender but not in the eyes of the officials who played on.

The turning point of the match came next, Monk and Martin came together with the Redbridge man then falling to the floor through what appeared to be a push by the Stansted keeper. A melee followed involving several players which took some time for the referee to calm down, after much conversation with his officials he eventually produced a red card for Monk before pointing to the spot for a penalty.

Up stepped Kehinde who fired past Connor Hammond who had put on the goalkeeper shirt and his first job was to pick the ball out of the net, advantage Redbridge.

With Stansted now having to play the remaining 30 minutes with ten men it was always going to be a tough ask, Redbridge in turn made use of their substitutions bringing on fresh legs in James Barlow and Loui Hazlewood.

There was still time for a final chance for the away side, Louis Monk picked the ball up in midfield and ran towards goal before he was brought down winning his side a free kick. From that kick a corner was subsequently won which almost resulted in an equaliser as the ball was flicked on almost dropping at the feet of a Stansted player but was cleared to safety by the Redbridge backline.

The home side then broke up field , Barlow fed fellow sub Nathan Okoye was looked to be through before being hacked to the ground by a heavy challenge. The referee decided against a second red only showing yellow on this occasion however Stansted paid the penalty when Hazlewood stood up to fire home an exquisite free kick which gave Hammond no chance.

With 5 minutes of added time being played both sides had final chances which came to nothing before the full time whistle was blown seeing Redbridge into the final where they will meet Stanway Rovers.

report by Adam Silver