Canvey Island's soccer kings had double reason to celebrate last night.

Firstly they won their way through to their First ever Essex Senior Cup final when they triumphed 3-0 in a seaside special at Clacton.

Then they heard news that two of their main promotion rivals in the Ryman League First Division had been beaten.

Bognor Regis, lying third, went down to a shock 3-1 home defeat against a Berkhamsted side battling desperately against the big drop.

Hitchin, one of the few teams seemingly in with a chance of stopping Gulls climbing to the Premier Division as champions, were beaten 1-0 at Grays.

In the Senior Cup semis, Jewson League Division One pacesetters Clacton had fancied their chances of pulling off a shock result.

However, Canvey were never in trouble and took a 30th minute lead through Steve Parmenter.

When Alan Brett made it 2-0 before the break there was no way back for the host side and Brett got his second after the interval to complete another very efficient night's work for Jeff King's men.

Now Gulls can look forward to a big night out in the final, which will be a home from home occasion for former Southend United men Steve Tilson, Paul Williams and Danny O'Shea as it's being played at Roots Hall.

The date is April 26, by when Canvey could be celebrating the Division One title. They face either Orient or Heybridge Swifts in the County Cup Final.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.