Season 2006 - 2007

First Team

Just two defeats in pre-season friendlies, against New Town Rangers - eventual undefeated Division Two Champions - and Premier Division bound Rhyno First Team, dictated that Rhyno Reserves were in good shape for their First ever official outing against Harberts’ Fourth team. After a struggling First Half performance, the last 30 minutes proved very profitable for the side and a 9-1 win was a great start. The side remained undefeated throughout the first month of the season, with a 5-1 victory over Archers Dart and an excellent 2nd half performance producing a result that made others in the League sit up and take notice (10-2 at Matching).

Three more League wins, made it 18 points from six League games by the end of October. A 5-0 win over at Epping where many of our main rivals slipped up later on and two completed reverse fixture victories over Matching and Harberts, although neither was as emphatic as the sides’ first meetings. Two Cup games produced mixed results against opposition from three divisions higher. Against Galaxy, Rhyno’s experimental side went down 3-2 to subsequently enter the Plate Competition, but the last match of the month saw a 3-0 victory over Elite, to conclude a passage into the last 16 of the Essex Area Competition.

Already results in League and Cups were dictating that the Fifth Division was made up of five particularly strong teams, namely Abbey Albion, FC Flare, FCR and Parkside (Rileys of the Premier Division just the previous season) as well as ourselves and by now it was widely acknowledged that as a pack this made this Division stronger than the three directly above it.

November started promisingly with a 6-2 victory over Stewards Spartens that made it 7 wins from as many games in the League and the Division 5 Cup campaign got off to an exciting start with Rhyno having to come from 3-1 down to emerge victorious in Epping over Athletic with the final scoreline being 7-4 to Rhyno!! The Reserve side did go out of the Essex Cup the next week though, losing narrowly to Manuden United 1-0 in an excellent encounter at Collins Meadow. Biggest development of the month saw rivals FCR drop out of the competition and effectively make a four rather than five horse race.

Rain began to play havoc with the fixtures and the eagerly anticipated first clash with Parkside was rained off, but Rhyno were the only side to play the following week and recorded their 8th League win on the bounce with an emphatic 11-1 victory in poor conditions over an Archers Dart team that although finished bottom at the end of the campaign, always gave a real go in every game and would have had more success in a less strong League. Finally the last game of the year saw Rhyno for the first time meet one of their big rivals in the Division, FC Flare. After a dominating First Half, Rhyno sailed into a two-goal lead, but a Flare fightback saw the deficit halved and then Flare awarded a Penalty to equalise. Keeper Lee Wilkinson’s save proved pivotal and Rhyno cruised to a 6-2 victory that ensured top spot at the end of the year, a position that wouldn’t slip from their grasp until mid-May.

Fixtures dictated a really tough start for Rhyno’s Christmas puddings and a trip to Waltham Abbey to meet another of the big four in Abbey Albion. A pulsating contest saw a gutsy Abbey equalise twice, before controversy ensued with last minute disallowed goals at either end. Certainly an acceptable way for the 100% record to diminish and Rhyno bounced back well at the end of the month to record a 4-0 win over Stewards a week before Abbey came to Harlow for the rematch, with wounds still fresh from the first meeting just 3 weeks before.

Rhyno’s best performance of the season saw them thrash Abbey 8-2 and really stamp their authority on this Division. Excellent performances all round, but similar to the First team’s eventual plight the Weather’s denial of back-to-back fixtures denied Rhyno the opportunity to really build up some momentum. Just one more match before the end of the month did see them comfortably beat young Langley Legends side in the Division 5 Cup Quarter Final, but the Semi Final at the beginning of March would prove to be the turning point in their fortunes.

With several regulars out with injuries and a spirited performance from a Harberts side who’d had 17 goals put past them in the previous two meetings with Rhyno, the Cup Semi Final was the talk of the town as Alan Clarke produced a last minute equaliser to send the game into extra-time, in which Goalkeeper Lee Wilkinson scored Rhyno’s Goal of the Season with a winner directly from his punt. However four more players from the Semi Final squad were injured during the game and the next week’s Cup Final against Parkside was a bit of a farce as far as Rhyno were weak with too many key players out and those that were in the side not performing on the day, a more comfortable victory Parkside couldn’t have asked for than their 3-0 stroll.

Rhyno had the opportunity to bounce back in the Competition they were most concerned with winning - the League - but found an inspired Flare side standing in their way and despite a second half comeback, Flare’s three first half goals proved enough for Rhyno to suffer their first League defeat 3-2. The disastrous month of March was concluded with a Penalties defeat against Langley Legends in the Plate, for which the youngsters went all the way to the final and gave Parkside an almighty scare on their big day.

The only game in April was the very first day of the month and resulted in a Jason Walker winner over Langley some 20 seconds from Full Time. It was thought that this would be a vital momentum swinger in the Title chase as Abbey took four points from back-to-back meetings with Parkside, but couldn’t catch either two because of bad results vs Flare, with Rhyno now in the ascendancy in what was ultimately now a two-horse race over Parkside. Flare’s home defeat at the hands of Matching effectively knocking them out of contention at this point too.

Rhyno wouldn’t play again for 5 weeks, but it was events in this time off the pitch that ultimately would effect their final four games of the season and overshadow everything all the players and staff had worked so hard and enjoyed so much up until this point. Shocking time for us all, and words will never express how much we miss our friend and Captain, RIP Lee Clark.

It was decided through discussions with all players that in honour of Lee we’d give our all to try and land the League Championship with four games remaining in May. From the offset of this run - in which 8 points would have been enough to lift the trophy - it seemed emotions would dictate our fate. A sense of trying too hard, saw Epping score the most predictable equaliser at Nicholls Field and it was only the very next week after going two-nil down to Parkside that we were able to focus properly and put in a great performance that saw a 2-2 draw, but Parkside Keeper’s man of the match performance now meant that the title destiny was in their hands. A nervous 0-0 draw against a Langley side that had been beaten soundly by all Rhyno’s main rivals saw them go into the final match against Parkside knowing that only a victory would win the League, anything else and it was Parkside’s title and treble. An exciting way to finish a demanding campaign for both sides. After a cagey first half, Rhyno struck first early in the second half, but a key chance was missed to produce that two goal lead that may well have been enough. This bad break was compounded by an equalising free-kick that sailed into the top corner unintentionally and although Parkside’s winner was a good goal, Rhyno knew it wouldn’t be their day when, almost immediately the chance to make it 2-2 was denied as two Rhyno players took each other out in a comical moment, that just about summed up the day.

Rhyno Reserves 06/07. Perhaps the only time, the club will have a second side. We were compared by some ignorant people to Parkside as being a side who have been playing together for years. Just to set the record straight, that was not the case, this was a brand new team. A handful of players had played together here and there, but no more than four at any one time. Yes, some players had played at a higher level, but only one player had been a consistent performer in the Premier Division. The rest had made their names as decent players at Division One / Two level and being that 85% of our squad are over 30 years old, our playing at this level was more than justified. Even more so, by the presence of FC Flare, Abbey Albion and FC Parkside all of whom proved worthy competition and made the Division probably the most competitive outside of Division One and the Premier. A real shame that FC Risden Reserves couldn’t see the season through as they definitely would have made a five-horse race had they been able to continue and even more twists would have added to a great race.

Tragedy off the pitch ultimately overshadowed everything that happened on the Football pitch. The players were desperate to try and win the League for Lee, but although their 100% efforts proved futile, they can be proud of the dignity and support shown during this difficult period that will no doubt change us all forever.

Players’ Player of the Season - Lee Clark (Runner Up - Alan Clarke)

Manager’s Player of the Season - Ian Cunning (Runner Ups -Lee Wilkinson, Graeme Tucker and Lee Clark)

Top Scorer - Jason Walker 26 Goals (Runner Up - Alan Clarke 25)

Top Assists - Paul Saunders 20 (Runner Up - Jason Walker 14)

Clubman - Kevin Deamer (Runner Up -Paul Saunders)

Most Improved - Lee Wilkinson (Runners Up - Oliver Knight and Chris Hart)

Goal of the Season - Lee Wilkinson (Runner Up - Paul Saunders)

Funniest Moment - Gary Nash (Runner Up - Paul Freeman)