The Blues have their first away trip of their pre-season taking on Stanway Rovers, who were just promoted into the Isthmian North Division, having won the 24/25 Essex Senior League. This will be Rovers eighth match in the build up to the 25/26 season, meaning they will be a tough fitness test for Town.
The Rovers
Stanway come into this game having beaten Long Melford 9-2 away from home. The away goals came from George Keys, a trialist, Nat Mardell, a brace from Jamie Bennett, a Hassan Nalbant hat-trick and one from Harrison Chatting. Overall, Rovers have had a very successful pre-season, remaining unbeaten so far, even getting the better of step 3 side Hashtag United 4-0 just one week ago. Despite being a league below the Blues they are a tough challenge, and have a lot of momentum coming into this game. Their first competitive game is less than two weeks away as they take on Romford in the FA Cup extra preliminary round.
Last season, they won the league by only 2 points, as they were pushed all the way by Takeley. They finished on 91 points having won 28 of their 38 games. They were close to remaining unbeaten, only losing on 3 occasions which came against Romford, Barking and Takeley on the final day. George Okoye was their top goalscorer last season with 26 goals, a very impressive return, whilst Jamie Bennett the second top scorer netted 15. Their largest victory was at home against Clacton who were thumped 8-0, with their highest home attendance 419. Stanway have got good foundations to build on to have a successful year in step 4.
The Blues
After a difficult start to pre-season, the goals came flying in for Brentwood Town, as they beat Grays Athletic 5-0 at the Arena. Kymani Thomas netted his first goal for the club opening the scoring in the 10th minute. Trialist B then scored in the 21st minute with Sam Park adding the third five minutes later. Thomas got his second for the Blues in the 36th minute, before Charlee Hughes scored the 5th and final goal four minutes after. It was Brentwood’s first win of pre-season, having played many tricky opponents so far. They faced Leyton Orient in their first outing, before welcoming Chelmsford and Hornchurch. Town lost to Orient and Hornchurch but the game against Chelmsford ended goalless, a testament to the Blues defensive capabilities against a National League South side.
There has however been some very exciting news for Blues fans as two of the most exciting talents from the league winning 24/25 season have extended their stay. Romel Aarons Royal and Daniel Ogunleye will both be remaining at the club for the 25/26 season. Ogunleye scored 43 goals last season, and received interest from clubs all over the country, but committed his future to Brentwood Town after playing such a pivotal role in the Blues promotion. Romel Aarons Royal also had a key part in the promotion remaining solid at the back all season. He scored 3 goals last season, and will once again be a constant threat from set pieces. This comes after the news that Max Hudson has signed for the club, having started his career in the Tottenham Hotspur academy. All of this news should help strengthen the squad ahead of the 25/26 campaign.
By Matthew Trevelyan
Photo: Nick Gunn Photography
