APSA goalkeeper Ricardo Braganza in action v Burnham Ramblers

Ramblers romp to big victory but APSA boss Hussain remains upbeat

Kirk Blows, Recorder Reporter Thursday, September 13, 2012
11:19 AM

Another heavy defeat for Essex Senior League outfit London APSA

London APSA manager Zakir Hussain insists he is positive about his side’s prospects for the season despite a difficult start.

APSA prop up the Essex Senior League table following a 5-0 defeat at Burnham Ramblers on Saturday and were recently thrashed 9-1 by Maldon & Tiptree in the FA Cup.

They were forced to field an under-strength side at the weekend and handed full debuts to five players due to several members of the squad competing in the UK Asian Football Championships in Glasgow.

But the boss believes APSA, who have only played two league games due to cup competitions and Ramadan, are set to enjoy a good season.

Hussain said: “We’re quite positive about our prospects and we believe we should do better than our 13th-place finish last season.

“The squad is a lot stronger than it was and once we get a run of league games with everyone available, we expect to start getting results.

“We always knew it was going to be a case of playing catch-up in terms of games because of Ramadan.

“We don’t want to be at the bottom of the table for any longer than we need to be and I’m confident that once we get going we’ll be fine.”

APSA fell behind at Burnham as early as the sixth minute when Bradley Hunter squeezed a shot past Ricardo Braganza, who was forced to perform a number of excellent saves to keep the hosts at bay.

But there was nothing the keeper could do as Ross Wall volleyed home Burnham’s second five minutes before the break.

Ricky Evans put Burnham 3-0 up in the 54th minute and both Hunter and Wall scored again to complete the rout in the later stages of the second half.

APSA were crused 5-1 by Southend Manor in the first round of the Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy on Tuesday evening and now have a free weekend to lick their wounds before visiting Clapton on September 22.

Hussain added: “Burnham are one of the better sides, so it was always going to be a difficult game for us in the circumstances.

“It would have been nice to have had a game this weekend, but maybe the break will do us good.”