Rovers Worth Winners as Boro End with Nine Men

By Mike Woods

Romford 0, Great Wakering Rovers 4

High-flying Great Wakering Rovers were undoubtedly the better side and deserved their win, but Romford will feel aggrieved by the two red cards shown to them — one at the end of each half.

The first half was a tight affair, with Wakering holding a slight edge and creating the better chances. After six minutes, Max Gnandi shot wide following a move involving Harry Talbot and Bradleigh Rowland, while Ben Search twice fired wide of the Romford goal. Boro’s best opportunity fell to Flynn Hamilton, who was put through by Teddy Desmond, but his attempted chip over Rovers keeper Gene Ghag drifted wide of the post.

Romford enjoyed spells of possession and Ryan Sammons had a shooting opportunity, but his effort was off target. At the other end, a low cross from Rowland was deflected into the arms of Boro keeper Brad Davison.

As the half drew to a close, Rhian Fowler was sent off after tangling with a Wakering forward and was adjudged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity. It appeared a harsh decision, with the Rovers player not heading directly towards goal and other defenders in position.

Rovers capitalised on their numerical advantage after the restart and took the lead after 63 minutes when Shaun Gittleson scored with a low effort from the right side of the penalty area.

Romford had a decent chance to equalise when Greig Stewart won possession in midfield and fed Christian Adu Gyamfi, but the Boro forward’s shot was blocked after he made good progress into the area.

The visitors doubled their lead after 74 minutes when Gnandi met a low cross at the near post and diverted the ball beyond Davison. It was three after 86 minutes as Harrison Topliss headed home from another right-sided cross.

Gnandi grabbed his second goal of the afternoon in the fifth minute of stoppage time, finishing from close range after Boro failed to clear.

To compound Romford’s misery, Christian Adu Gyamfi was shown a second yellow card late on. Having been repeatedly fouled without reward, the Boro striker disputed possession near the corner flag, was adjudged to have committed a foul and was dismissed.

Following Sporting Bengal United’s surprise win at Little Oakley and West Essex’s victory at Saffron Walden Town, Romford now hover perilously close to the drop zone.

Boro face two scheduled visits to the Mile End Stadium, beginning on Saturday against SOUL Tower Hamlets, followed by Sporting Bengal United the following Wednesday. However, with the weather deteriorating and concerns over the Mile End surface, both fixtures may yet be in doubt.

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