by Richard Lusmore
Easington United’s first team will again play in the Premiership (HPL Feeder) Division of the Right Car East Riding County League for season 2025-26.
At the league’s annual general meeting last week, the provisional allocation of divisions for next season showed both the Eastenders and Hedon Rangers Reserves (who finished bottom) had avoided relegation to the Championship.
Great Driffield Rovers’ desire to go down to the Championship, combined with the resignation of Cherry Burton, has contributed to the Holderness rivals staying in the league’s top tier, as part of a 14-team complement.
Cherry Burton were set to accompany East Riding Rangers down from the Humber Premier League (HPL), with Goole United and Bridlington Town Reserves going the other way. Instead, three teams have been promoted from last season’s Championship North and South divisions: Edgehill (from Scarborough), Beverley Town Development and Hodgsons, with the latter filling the space left by Pelican Rangers’ resignation early last term.
Elsewhere, the Eastenders Reserves and renamed Development (third) team have retained their places in Division 1 and Division 3, respectively, as part of a seven-division format that sees the return to one Championship division and a new Division 5.
Last Saturday, several club members undertook the Otley Run in the latest part of the social and fundraising committee’s programme of events for the year.
This coming Saturday night, members will reconvene in the Granby for the club’s annual presentation evening, for which a decent turnout is anticipated. Once this event is out of the way, all eyes will turn to the new campaign, with pre-season training set to start on Thursday, July 3.
A full list of pre-season fixtures has already been finalised. These will be released on our social media pages and will appear on this page across the coming weeks.
Off the field, things have also started to take shape. Today should see the arrival of the new container that will replace the old tea hut building. When fully operational, it is sure to further enhance the spectators’ matchday experience at Low Farm.
Although the men’s section and veterans have no football at the moment, the girls team are in ‘tournament mode’ and recently came close to kicking things off in style at Elloughton.
The girls emerged from a tough group, with four wins and a draw in their six games, meaning they played league champions Hornsea in the semi-final. Despite throwing away a two-goal lead in normal time then surrendering a 3-2 lead in extra time, the EzGirls held their nerve to win through on penalties.
Therein they met a very strong Hessle Sporting side but pushed them all the way. The game remained goalless after extra-time but this time it was Hessle who edged home 4-3 on penalties.
Despite defeat, this was a tremendous effort on the part of the girls and one that bodes well for the future. The girls have got two more tournaments coming up this weekend, with two squads taking part in the beach soccer tournament in Bridlington on Saturday, then back on grass at South Cave on Sunday.
Finally, last weekend, we were truly humbled to receive a sum of £520 from the family of our late friend, supporter and sponsor, Craig Stephenson. The amount was the club’s share of the donations given at his funeral. Our heartfelt thanks go to Ros and family for this kind gesture, along with everyone who gave so generously.
Anybody who would like to support, sponsor or indeed actually help the Eastenders in some way ahead of the 2025-26 season is invited to get in touch. You can email the club at [email protected] or message us on any of our social media pages.
For up-to-date news, check out our club website at easington-united.co.uk, along with our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages (@EasingtonUtd) or on TikTok at @easingtonunitedafc.