Sunday night saw the men’s senior indoor team play their final game of the Riverside League Indoor season, a match which unfortunately followed the same pattern as many others this winter, ending in a defeat despite a good performance. This all meant Upminster ended the Premier Division season in sixth place in the seven team structure.

It was unfortunate to end the season with a defeat, not least as this was Upminster’s final ever game in the competition. Logistical reasons mean the club have had to resign from the league for the 2024/2025 season, thus ending their eight year association with the competition.

Upminster joined the league for the 2016/2017 season following the collapse of the Havering Indoor League, which they had been members of for many years. They ended their first season with a promotion (as runners-up) and a cup success, and they followed this up in 2017/2018 by finishing in second place in the Premier Division. The 2018/2019 campaign was a huge success with the club entering two sides in the competition. The “B” Team went on to complete a double of Division 2 champions and Junior Cup winners, while the “A” Team secured the Premier Division title before narrowly losing out in the Senior Cup Final.

Both the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons were affected by the Covid Pandemic (one not finishing and one never starting) but the club again fielded two sides for the 2021/2022 season, and while the final league positions were a disappointment (with both teams being relegated) the season ended with victories in the Junior and Senior Cups on Finals Day. Last season saw the club revert to just one side in the competition, and they enjoyed a brilliant campaign, going unbeaten throughout the winter to claim the Division 1 title and the Senior Cup. The six completed seasons in which Upminster played in the League saw a total of eight trophies and three runners-up spots claimed.

A huge thank you is owed to the players who committed to playing in both sides regularly over the past eight years, such as John Curtis, Scott Fisher, Ian Munn, Ant Limn, Shrey Shah, Sam Twine, Callum Berry, Dan Tyler, Ehsan Afzal, Oliver White, the Brown Family, Nicky Ison and Billy Wright, as well as all of those who helped out at the last minute to fill gaps in the team for the “graveyard shift” 9pm games!!!

And a massive thank you is also owed to Jordan McManus of the Riverside League and his team of scorers, umpires and volunteers who make the League such a great competition to play in. It is one of the most professionally organised competitions around, and has been great fun for all of the UCC members who have played in it over the years (especially the end of season Finals Days).