I CAN’T say the Essex Senior Cup is my favourite competition.

Other than the potential of that long-awaited trip to the Weston Homes Community Stadium to see FC Clacton take on the might of Colchester United, it doesn’t hold a great deal of appeal.

So I wasn’t too distraught to see us bow out at the second-round stage at the Bowl on Tuesday evening, with a solitary goal from Southend Manor’s Rhys Fatt in the 44th minute deciding the contest.

It was, however, a frustrating evening, as numerous opportunities to equalise in the second half were either denied or spurned, sometimes in somewhat controversial fashion.

However, credit to the visitors (though some present at the game may not agree with me!) who worked hard and ultimately emerged victorious.

For us it’s now back to our main focus of the league, where things haven’t been going too badly of late.

Back-to-back clean sheets, four points from our last two matches and a second away win of the season at Long Melford on Saturday.

We only won once away from home in the league all of last season and that was on the final day!

Speaking to assistant manager Mike Wallace after the game on Saturday, he admitted it wasn’t our greatest performance, but we dug in, worked hard and returned home with what I think were a very important three points.

We will do well to extend that run of clean sheets to three matches, as we travel to Newmarket Town on Saturday - the first of three difficult assignments to end the month, as we welcome Stowmarket to the Bowl next Tuesday before ending the month at home to Wroxham.

I feel we could really do with putting a couple more points on the board before the month is out and our first opportunity to do that will be at Cricket Field Road at the weekend.

With all the pressure likely to be on the hosts, if the lads stick together and work hard, who knows what the rewards might be.

Finally, it was manager Kieron Shelley’s 50th match in charge of FC Clacton at the Bowl on Tuesday evening.

It didn’t quite end the way we would have hoped, but congratulations to the gaffer on reaching the landmark.

Hope to see a few of you at the Bowl next Tuesday (although I won’t be there, sadly!) Come on you Seasiders!