Havering slipped to a narrow 1–0 defeat against Old Loughtonians in a tense, hard‑fought contest where fine margins made all the difference. Both sides battled well, but in the end it was a single counter‑attack that separated the two teams.

Havering enjoyed the better of the attacking play for much of the afternoon, pressing high and looking the more threatening side in possession. Old Loughts, however, remained sharp on the break, and their clearest first‑half chance was denied only by a superb acrobatic goal‑line clearance from Huxley True after a deflected effort wrong‑footed the defence.

Paul Afteni was called into action several times and produced two excellent saves to keep Havering level. Afteni was clearly making up for his previous errors in goal! At the other end, the standout opportunity fell to Kennedy, who went clean through on goal but was unable to convert, an important moment that could have changed the feel of the game going into half-time.

Havering began the second half strongly, with Kennedy continuing to cause problems up front but, in true Victor Gyokeres fashion, somehow managing to miss everything he swung at. The home side pushed with real intent, but against the run of play Old Loughts struck on a rapid counter, scoring what ultimately proved to be the winning goal.

As the final whistle approached, Havering threw everything forward. In the dying seconds, the ball once again fell to Kennedy, only for his effort to drift agonisingly wide, arguably easier to score than miss. It simply was not his day at the office.

Despite the result, Havering can take huge credit from what was arguably their best performance of the season. The intensity, teamwork and determination on display were outstanding, and they remain fully focused on winning all their remaining games to finish the season on a high. They just need to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net ...

A deserved mention goes to Man of the Match Jack Harding, who was immense at the back, and to 2s debutant Gabe Bushnell‑Wye, who stepped up from the 3s and delivered a cracking performance.