Thurlow Nunn Division 1 South - Monday 27th October

Barkingside 1-3 NW London

Jordan Aloye 18' (Barkingside)
Lamine Gomes 39' (NW London)
Valentin Burcea 60' (NW London)
Zekiryas Haliu 67' (NW London)

NW London returned to winning ways with a confident display away at Barkingside, just three days after their narrow defeat to Coggeshall Town on Friday night.

There was a much more familiar look to the Gorillas' line-up, boosted by the returns of Bernardino Andeme, making his first appearance since injury, Zekiryas Haliu from suspension, and Valentin Burcea, also back from a ban. Hocine Krouchi was restored to central defence, having impressed when featured earlier in the season.

The impact of those returns was immediate. NW London looked sharper and more assured, dominating possession from the outset. Barkingside, under new management, worked hard to close spaces and limit clear chances.

Despite NW's control, it was Barkingside who opened the scoring against the run of play. After Fernando Turriel made a smart save, the hosts struck a minute later when a low cross was side-footed home from close range.

The Gorillas responded well. Andeme, operating on the right, caused constant problems for the Barkingside full-back with his pace and trickery, winning several set pieces. From one of those, Lamine Gomes reacted quickest to tap into an empty net and level the match.

The second half saw a more open game develop, with Barkingside forcing Turriel into another excellent save, tipping over a dipping effort. But NW London began to show their attacking quality. After a driving run from Haliu, the loose ball fell to Burcea, who curled home beautifully for his first goal of the season to make it 2–1.

Now in control, NW London extended their lead through a moment of brilliance from Haliu, who beat his man and rifled an unstoppable strike from outside the box into the corner.

Barkingside rarely looked like mounting a comeback, aside from a late header, while Gomes went close to adding a fourth.

In the end, it was a professional, composed performance from NW London — a well-earned return to form and a reminder of their quality when key players are back in the side.