Wakering enjoys the distinction of being the driest spot in England and it was in the village that the majority of the seven Hadleigh Carport Southend Borough Combination games to beat the wet weather went ahead.

The Reserve Division clash battle of the giants saw White Ensign stay top with Gibson in electric form for them with a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with closest rivals Sibar Sports. Sexton, Jones and Webb were the Sibar marksmen.

Just down the road from Wakering, Shoebury Old Boys were able to go ahead with their Division One match with a Southend Postmen side who have been struggling recently. However, Shoebury failed to push home their promotion aspirations when they were held 1-1.

Day was on target for Shoebury with Giles netting from the penalty spot for the Postmen.

In Division Three, Leigh Times hit the headlines with a 5-3 win over leaders Southend Collegians 2nd. It's usually Michael who captures the Guy family scoring honours for Times, but here he was outshone by brother Jon's brace. Michael Guy scored one along with Davison and Clark. Colby (2) and Nicholls replied for Collegians.

There was another top of the table clash in Division Four with leaders Brook Sports winning 6-3 at Landwick 2nd. B Noble and Richardson managed two goals apiece for Brook with Ridley and Warwick netting single goal strikes. L Dunne, Blackaby and Miller were the Landwick scorers.

Also in this division, Brace managed better than a brace for Southend Collegians 3rd. He scored three as his side won 5-1 at Estuary Athletic with Hongphakdy and Durrant completing the tally for the victorious side. T Gould stemmed the tide for Estuary.

In Division Five, Atherton showed a straight bat to the opposition with two goals as his Wakering 2nd side beat Customs and Excise 2nd 6-0. Lawrence also managed a double with Kirwan and P Horwood grabbing one apiece.

Another leading outfit to take advantage of getting into action were Essendon in Division Six. They shot down Blackgate Gunners 5-3 away with Thompson (2), Elliard, Naden and Guthrie scoring. March, Hillman and Hammond replied.

In midweek, Combination star team White Ensign marched on in the Section A Southend Charity Competition - beating Bukta Southend District League 11-1 in a second round match at Eastwoodbury Lane.

Prolific marksman Wilkins scored four and P Benson two. G Benson, Green, Cottam, White and Everitt completed the rout.

Ensign are due back in action at Eastwoodbury on Wednesday when they meet Wakering in the second round of the top Combination knockout competition for the Walton Cup.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.