Thurlow Nunn League Division 1 South - Saturday 11th October

Basildon Town 3-1 NW London

Zekiryas Haliu RED CARD - 42' (NW London)
Arianit Krasniqi 44' (NW London)
Abidemi Lemina 71' (Basildon Town)
Freddie Smyth 76' (Basildon Town)
Stanley Goodgame 90+4' (Basildon Town)

NW London fell to a 3–1 defeat away to Basildon Town on Saturday afternoon, with a first-half red card proving pivotal in a competitive league encounter.

The two sides had met earlier in the season in the FA Vase, where NW London claimed a 2–1 victory, but this time the hosts took the points in the league meeting.

Manager Wasim Khan made several enforced changes, with Wesley Café, Thulio Soares and Gherardo Lucchesini all unavailable. Al-Nashi came into midfield, while Lamine Gomes made his second start of the season.

Basildon started brightly, forcing goalkeeper Will Barker into a couple of important early saves. NW London soon began to find their rhythm, showing composure on the ball and building pressure in attack. A clever outside-of-the-foot pass from Salama found Krasniqi, whose low strike was well held by the Basildon goalkeeper.

The game's major turning point came just before half-time, when Zekariyas Haliu was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident, reducing NW London to ten men.

Despite the setback, the Gorillas took the lead soon after. A mis-hit effort from Gomes fell kindly for Krasniqi, who reacted quickly to fire into the corner and put NW London 1–0 up at the interval.

After the break, NW London focused on defending their lead, holding firm against a barrage of crosses and long throws. However, Basildon eventually levelled when Krouchi was dispossessed and Lemina powered home a header from the resulting cross.

Momentum had swung, and a precise long-range effort that went in off the post gave the hosts a 2–1 advantage. As NW London pressed for an equaliser, Burcea went close with a shot that rolled narrowly wide before Basildon added a third late on as space opened up at the back.

It was a tough result for NW London, who competed bravely despite playing more than half the match with ten men. With key players set to return, they'll look to bounce back quickly in their next league fixture.