With only eight games played in the Hadleigh Carport Southend Borough Combination, there were some surprises.

In the Premier Division, Shoebury Town were at home to Leigh Ramblers and it is apparent that the former are not the power they were in the immediate past.

They lost 5-2 to Ramblers, who moved into second place with this success thanks to a brace from Ashton.

At the other end of the table, two goals from Saggers were not enough to save Borough Rovers from a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Westcliff Amateur, who moved several places up the table thanks to two goals from Harris.

Only one game took place in the Reserve Division and this saw Shoebury Town 2nd move off the bottom group with a 4-2 win at Borough Rovers 2nd. Trevell grabbed a hat-trick.

There was a shock in Division One where Catholic, one of the main title contenders, lost 3-2 to Battlesbridge, for whom Osborne took the biscuit with a twin strike.

At the bottom, Thorpe Athletic had a Warner hat-trick to thank as they distanced themselves from the strugglers by beating Southend Postmen 5-3.

The remaining games were all in Division Four. Brook Sports extended their lead at the top to five points by beating Melchester Rovers 5-3, thanks to two goals apiece from Homan and Nicholson.

Corinthians, who had been their nearest rivals, slumped 3-1 to Leigh Ramblers 4th, while Catholic 4th are the new second-placed side following a 4-2 win over Landwick 2nd. Perry was Catholic's hat-trick hero.

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