Eastside Athletic v Rainham Working Mens Club Res: Preview

Eastside Athletic return to Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre on Sunday to face Rainham Working Mens Club Reserves in Division Five. Two wins on the bounce have lifted the Eastenders to 2nd, and now the challenge is to bring that away form home.

Kick-off: Sunday 25 October 2026, 10:30

Venue: Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre, Forest Rd, Ilford IG6 3HD (home)

Competition: ESCFL Division Five

Referee: Ted Green

Clocks go back: the clocks go back an hour in the early hours of Sunday morning. Kick-off is 10:30 on the new time, so enjoy the extra hour in bed, but don’t turn up an hour early!

The opposition

Rainham Working Mens Club, established in 1900, bring more than a century of history to Redbridge. Their reserve side sit 9th in Division Five with 3 points from 4 games, but the table doesn’t tell the whole story: they’ve scored 13 league goals, more than Eastside’s 9, and their league games have produced 34 goals in just four matches.

Their results so far:

Collier Row Under 23s 1-1 Rainham Working Mens Club Res (Division Five, 6 September). This result doesn’t appear in the current Division Five table.
Ace Athletics 4-2 Rainham Working Mens Club Res (Division Five, 13 September)
Rainham Working Mens Club Res 4-8 United Amateurs (Division Five, 20 September)
United Amateurs Reserves 1-9 Rainham Working Mens Club Res (Endeavour Cup 1st Round, 4 October)
Highams Park 2-4 Rainham Working Mens Club Res (Division Five, 11 October)
Rainham Working Mens Club Res 3-7 Lonsdale (Division Five, 18 October)

Rainham have scored in every game this season, including nine in the Endeavour Cup, and they won at Highams Park, just as Eastside did. Keeping them out will need a focused performance, but there’s a clear opportunity at the other end too: they’ve conceded 21 goals in four league games.

How the two sides compare

The two sides have never met before, but they share several opponents this season:

Lonsdale: Eastside lost 1-3 at home. Rainham lost 3-7 at home.
Highams Park: Eastside won 4-3 away. Rainham won 4-2 away.
United Amateurs: Eastside lost 1-4 at home in the Endeavour Cup. Rainham lost 4-8 at home in the league.
Ace Athletics: Eastside lost 0-5 in a pre-season friendly. Rainham lost 4-2 away in the league.

Eastside’s form

The Eastenders sit 2nd in Division Five on 9 points from 5 games (3 wins, 2 losses), behind leaders Lonsdale, who have played a game more. They come into the weekend on the back of two straight wins: 2-1 at Barkingside in the Essex Sunday Junior Trophy, and last week’s hard-fought 2-1 win at Young Royals, sealed by another late Jack Hobbs winner.

Across all seven competitive games, the record reads W4 L3. Eastside have won all three competitive games on the road, but have won only once in four at home, the 2-1 win over Barking Colts in September. Sunday is the chance to put that right in front of a home crowd.

A win would keep Eastside in 2nd and right on Lonsdale’s heels.

Players to watch

Kai O’Hare: three goals and two assists in just four competitive appearances, including last week’s free kick against Young Royals.
Danny Fenn: joint top scorer with three goals, plus two assists and two man of the match awards.
Jack Hobbs: both of Jack’s competitive goals have been late winners, at Highams Park and at Young Royals. Never switch off when he’s on the pitch.
Alfie Stacey: man of the match last week, and a key part of a defence that will need to be at its best against a side that always scores.

Come and support

Home games are free to watch at Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre. Come down, back the black and gold, and help the Eastenders make it three wins in a row.

PRIDE OF THE EAST.