Brentwood Town host Brightlingsea Regent at the Arena in the BBC Essex Senior Cup tonight. This is the Third Round of the competition and the Blues will be looking to progress to the next round.

The Blues

Brentwood Town got back to winning ways last time out, beating Ramsgate 2-1 in the Isthmian Premier League.  

The Blues opened the scoring early through Alejandro Machado in the 10th minute, but despite creating the better chances, they weren’t able to extend their lead before Alfie Paxman equalised from the spot just 13 minutes later.

The second half saw a physical contest, and it was Brentwood who found the breakthrough in the 75th minute, with Louie Johnson producing an outrageous goal, running half the pitch to score.  

Thanks to this result, the Blues remain top of the Isthmian Premier, 6 points clear of Chatham Town, who have two games in hand. Despite it being the third round, this is Town’s first match in the competition this year, with Isthmian Premier teams receiving automatic qualification to the third round. 

The R’s

Brightlingsea Regent play in the Isthmian North Division, and have had the start to the season they would have wanted - especially after reaching the Playoff Final last season. They currently sit in 19th place, two points away from safety. 

Despite this, they won 3-0 on the weekend at home against Walthamstow. There were two quickfire goals in the first half scored by Shane Temple and Daniel Rowe, with Jake Clowsley adding the third in the second half.  

This is also Brightlingsea’s first match in the competition this season, and with their position in the league, Regent will see it as a good chance to try and regain some confidence.  

One to watch is Shane Temple, who’s already scored 6 goals for the R’s this season. He has two goals in the last three matches, and will be tough for the Blues to keep quiet.  

Final Word

Keith Rowland’s side will want a strong run in this competition, having performed at a high level so far all season, but Regent will not make it easy for them. Both teams will be desperate for a good cup run, and it should be an exciting clash.