Hackney Wick exited the London Cup in dramatic fashion after a 4–3 defeat away at Erith & Belvedere, despite leading 3–1 deep into the second half.

Manager Ernest made several rotations for the fixture, resting Jamie Aker, Adam Cheniti, Ben Lewis-Gold, Obaid Nassim and Andre Anderson — handing a start in goal to 17-year-old Teddy Gerveaux, his first appearance since the famous FA Cup win vs Bognor Regis.
There were also returns for captain Piotr Maslowski, Arnold Mengi and Khaneil Brown, with Noah Ferraz starting at right back — and he made a huge impact.

Hackney burst into life early and should have had a penalty in the opening minute, only for the referee to ignore the assistant’s flag after a clear foul.

The Wickers controlled the half and deservedly took the lead when Ferraz intercepted inside his own half, drove forward and fed Leo Pola to round the keeper — 1–0.

Ferraz then turned provider again — bursting down the right before slipping in Issa Sidibe to calmly drill home low into the corner.
Hackney in full control at the break: 0–2.

Straight after the restart, Erith halved the deficit with a long-range strike the Wickers will feel they should have dealt with. Hackney responded superbly though — Pola grabbing his second of the night, finishing smartly from a John Silva delivery to make it 3–1.

But a well-placed free kick made it 3–2 and the tie suddenly tightened.

The turning point came shortly after when Sidibe suffered a significant facial injury and was forced off, taken to hospital as a precaution. With safety the priority, Ernest immediately withdrew Pola, Silva and Mengi, bringing on three reserve squad players — two of whom were making their senior debuts.

The lack of experience showed as Erith capitalised on late defensive errors and completed the comeback.

A tough result to take for the Wickers — and a tie that felt fully in control until the second half chaos.