Three Vital Points For Boro

Hullbridge Sports 0, Romford 1

Romford are not yet mathematically safe from relegation, but this win at Hullbridge was a big step towards maintaining their Essex Senior League status.

On a blustery afternoon, Romford were on top in the first half and created the better chances, scoring what proved to be the match winning goal after 34 minutes.  From a throw-in on the right, the ball was worked across to Greig Stewart whose shot from just inside the penalty area crept inside the post despite Hullbridge keeper Sam Taylor getting a hand to it.

The home side were confined to one decent chance in the opening period when Nick Reynolds made a crucial block to prevent an effort from Patrick Da Lomba, who had cut in from the left, from finding the target. Romford’s best efforts came from Louis Matthias, whose fourth minute shot from 25 yards rose over the bar, and Christian Adu Gyamfi, who headed Teddy Desmond’s cross wide. while Flynn Hamilton was also just off target with a shot from outside the box.

After the interval Hullbridge took advantage of the increasingly breezy conditions to put Romford on the back foot and after 49 minutes Jean Paul Jhonnes-Ramos tried a shot from outside the box which Lee Haylock turned over via the crossbar. The corner that followed found its way to Hullbridge’s top scorer, former Boro man Ellis Devereux, but his shot went wide.

The home side’s best chance of an equaliser fell to Da Lomba after 62 minutes, who found himself in space in the Romford penalty area, but Lee Haylock made an important save with his foot to preserve Boro’s lead.

With Romford having to defend their goal in numbers, chances at the other end were limited, although Greig Stewart forced Taylor to tip his cross over the bar to prevent the ball dropping in at the far post, while Matt Price was a whisker away from scoring with an 85^th minute shot that whistled just past the post.

Despite holding Hullbridge at bay without too much trauma, Romford had a stroke of luck deep in stoppage time when Devereux had a clear shooting opportunity but to Boro’s relief, he placed his shot well wide of goal.

Three points and a rare clean sheet made this a good afternoon for Romford, with the win lifting them one place up the table to seventeenth and giving them a five point cushion above the relegation places ahead of next weekend’s fixture, a tough home game against landlords Barking, who currently occupy one of the Play-Off places.

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