Title favourites Canvey suffered an opening day defeat, losing 2-1 at Church Road to Hayes. The hosts, freshly relegated from the Conference, were out-played for much of the first half, frequently succumming to the many attacking options the Gulls had
Chelmsford were second best for long periods against newly-promoted Chippenham, beginning the season with a 3-1 defeat. Chip, making their debut in the Dr Martens Premier, were off to a flying start as polished link-up work between Steve Tweedle and Martin
Billericay were well worth the points at New Lodge on Saturday despite only scoring once against Harrow. In truth, the hosts should have registered more than Paul Fewings' solitary strike, dominating play for long periods and keeping shotstopper Andy
Bishop's Stortford secured a well deserved point in their first match back in the Ryman Premier. After last season's successful promotion campaign, hopes are high for the Essex side, and they gave a good account of themselves against a strong Bedford
New signing Wayne Vaughan bagged the only goal of the game as Purfleet began the season with victory over Alan Devonshire's Maidenhead United. Vaughan, who moved from Canvey Island in pre-season, was on hand in the 20th minute to convert Mark Goodfellow's
Braintree and Grays registered a point each in an even contest on the opening day of the season. Grays, one of the title favourites after a flurry of summer transfer activity, might have been disappointed not to have claimed all three points against pennyless
The newly organised Ryman league set-up saw Aveley get their season off to a winning start with a 1-0 success at Hemel Hempstead. The Essex side, plying their trade in Division Three last term, rode their luck for long spells, but were grateful to Tommy
TENS of thousands of revellers basked in the heat as Southend was gripped by carnival fever in one of the most spectacular events the town has ever seen. With temperatures during the day reaching a high of nearly 28 degrees, the seafront was a kaleidoscope
DETECTIVES are linking two brutal robberies in Billericay in which a man was assaulted and a woman punched in the head and pushed to the ground. The first incident happened in Alyssum Walk at 6.20pm on Friday when a 40-year-old woman was approached by
India and Essex have drawn their match at the County Ground, Chelmsford. The tourists decided to use the match as a work out ahead of their next Test encounter with England. India eventually declared their second innings on 327-6 with the high score coming
