Essex Cup Final Officials Celebrate

A number of the county’s leading referees got together at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford on Friday 12th February as we held our annual Cup Fin
The proceedings saw 76 officials learn which County Cup Final they had been appointed to for the upcoming end-of-season climax. On-hand to lend some invaluable advice was Level 2b official, Wade Norcott, who currently operates as an Assistant Referee on the Football League. He also served as an assistant on both the FA Vase and Sky Bet Football League One Play-Off Finals in 2015 and was able to pass on his experiences to those in attendance.

Chelmsford-based Ben Figg was one of the talented officials and he was delighted to discover his appointment to referee this season’s Essex Cassels Under 16s Cup Final. “It’s a big honour, I’m very much looking forward to it,” smiled Ben. “It’s a nice, long season, so it’s nice to be rewarded with a cup final. When you think how many referees there are out there, and that only a select few get chosen for a final, it’s really pleasing.”

A cup final can certainly be a rewarding occasion. Ben agrees: “Normally in park football you don’t get the chance to referee with assistants and there’ll be a crowd and a bit of atmosphere, so hopefully it’ll be a great day and that’s the important thing.”

Reaching a cup final as a player is a tremendous achievement, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that the journey can be just as tough for the team in charge of the contest. “I played football and got to a point where I didn’t enjoy playing so much, but was young enough to run around and thought I’d try to make a difference, so I thought I’d go into refereeing. Why not!” he added.

And this match will form part of Ben’s ambitions for the future: “Hopefully this season I can earn promotion from Level Five to Four. If I get that and can secure myself after that big jump into senior football I’ll look to go as far as I can from there.”

The evening was overseen by the Essex County FA’s Referee Development Officer, James Lisher, who was keen to emphasise the importance of being selected to officiate in a County Cup Final. He said: “To be recognised as a cup final official is a great honour, and one that the selected officials for this year should enjoy.”

“Each official has been selected on the merit of their performances within their roles as either a referee, assistant referee or fourth official. Whether being involved in our Under 12s Cup or the Senior Cup, I’m sure everyone will enjoy their final experiences and perform proudly to the best of their abilities.”

The 2016 County Cup Final appointments have been confirmed as follows:

BBC Essex Senior Cup
Referee: Fred Graham (Linford)
Assistant Referees: Neil West (Leigh-on-Sea) and Daniel Cook (Colchester)
Fourth Official: James Whittaker Jnr (Harlow)

BBC Essex Saturday Premier Cup
Referee: Edward Smith (Hornchurch)
Assistant Referees: Adam Storey (Romford) and Sven Wood (Southend-on-Sea)
Fourth Official: Andrea Timpani (Colchester)

Essex Saturday Junior Cup
Referee: Matthew Owen (Basildon)
Assistant Referees: Steve Connor (Great Notley) and Aaron Irvine (Westcliff-on-Sea)
Fourth Official: Andrew Simmonds (Grays)

Essex Saturday Junior Trophy
Referee: Endrit Malaveci (Barking)
Assistant Referees: Phil Molloy (Stanway) and James Garwood (Witham)
Fourth Official: Mark Rule (Theydon Bois)

Essex Saturday Veterans Cup
Referee: Peter Cubley (Wickford)
Assistant Referees: Allan Sheill (Chelmsford) and Chris Hockett (Southend-on-Sea)
Fourth Official: Stuart Hannam (Walton-on-the-Naze)

Essex Sunday Premier Cup
Referee: Michael Scott (Stanford-le-Hope)
Assistant Referees: Lewis Farthing (Colchester) and Ryan Fox (Hadleigh)
Fourth Official: Joe Wrigley (Great Yeldham)

Essex Sunday Junior Cup
Referee: Matthew Fletcher (Heybridge)
Assistant Referees: Kevin Fisher (Braintree) and Harry Dunnett (Rayleigh)
Fourth Official: Farai Hallam (Redbridge)

Essex Sunday Junior Trophy
Referee: David Feline (Colchester)
Assistant Referees: Martin Weavers (Witham) and Joe Burgess (Benfleet)
Fourth Official: Thomas Bullard (Chelmsford)

Essex Sunday Veterans Cup
Referee: Andrew French (Halstead)
Assistant Referees: David Parker (Great Notley) and Chris Bunce (Shoeburyness)
Fourth Official: Martin Osborne (Leigh-on-Sea)

Essex Pelly Under 18s Cup
Referee: Aaron Farmer (Colchester)
Assistant Referees: Reece Pinchback (Wickford) and Ryan Smith (Silver End)
Fourth Official: Kane Woods (Benfleet)

Essex Cassels Under 16s Cup
Referee: Ben Figg (Chelmsford)
Assistant Referees: Ryan Johnson (Little Dunmow) and Lucca Craig (Westcliff-on-Sea)
Fourth Official: Nicholas Gliddon (Great Bardfield)

Essex Rosser Under 15s Cup
Referee: Sean Burnett (Basildon)
Assistant Referees: Samuel Jeggo (Colchester) and Callum Dorling (Harlow)
Fourth Official: Leo Del Rosso (Ingatestone)

Essex Andrews Under 14s Cup
Referee: Callum Cockley (Harlow)
Assistant Referees: Thomas Berry (Stanway) and Jack Ridge (Wickham Bishops)
Fourth Official: Tom Kiernan (Colchester)

Essex Cordell Under 13s Cup
Referee: Jack Willmore (Clacton-on-Sea)
Assistant Referees: Ben Kensdale (Stanway) and Dominic Skinner (Great Notley)
Fourth Official: Oliver Pears (Romford)

Essex Under 12s Cup
Referee: Taylor Hawks (Hockley)
Assistant Referees: Harry Mansell (Nayland) and Jacob Game (Wivenhoe)
Fourth Official: Luke Soulsby (Cranham)

BBC Essex Women’s Cup
Referee: Stuart Cheek (Ilford)
Assistant Referees: Martin Quinn (Ilford) and Abbie Fox (Hadleigh)
Fourth Official: David Gainsford (Basildon)

Essex Women’s Trophy
Referee: Alex Mullett (Romford)
Assistant Referees: Nnaemeka Ukah (Westcliff-on-Sea) and Katie Dorling (Harlow)
Fourth Official: Lee Dorling (Harlow)

Essex Under 16s Girls Cup
Referee: Thomas Johnson (Harlow)
Assistant Referees: Peter Appleby (Colchester) and James Allaoui (Ilford)
Fourth Official: Daniel Hill (Brightlingsea)

Essex Under 14s Girls Cup
Referee: Thomas Raffan (Westcliff-on-Sea)
Assistant Referees: Finlay Mitchell (Colchester) and Luke Woodward (Colchester)
Fourth Official: Taylor Reece (Romford)

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