Woodford Town v Romford Preview

Tomorrow night’s game at Woodford is 3rd v 2nd and may decide who finishes as runners-up to Essex Senior League Champions Tilbury.

These in brief, are the permutations:

Romford win – Boro are guaranteed 2nd place.

Woodford win – The teams would be level on points and it would all come down to the final round of matches in which Boro are at home to Halstead Town and Woodford are away to Ilford.

Draw – A point against Halstead Town would then be enough to clinch 2nd place for Romford. A Boro defeat and a Woodford win in the final set of fixtures would leave the teams level on points and goal difference would be crucial. At present, Romford’s is 3 goals better.

Previous Meetings:

Woodford Town’s history is somewhat tortuous, so setting aside games against other incarnations of the club, previous meetings against this version under this name boil down to two meetings last season and one this. Last season’s games ended in a 3-3 draw at Mayesbrook Park in which Boro fought back from three goals down to earn a point and a 2-0 defeat at Ashton Playing Fields. This season, the sides met at Rookery Hill in November and Boro won 2-1 with goals from Charlie Morris and Kris Newby.

Current Form:

Woodford have won four and lost two of their last six and their two defeats were both at home, 2-1 against Stanway Rovers and 3-2 against Sporting Bengal United. They bounced back last Wednesday however, as they came from a goal down to beat Great Wakering Rovers 3-1, also at Ashton Playing Fields.

Woodford were without a league game at the weekend, but yesterday were beaten 4-1 at Stanway Rovers in their Errington Challenge Cup Semi-Final.

Home Ground and How to Get There:

Woodford Town’s home ground at Ashton Playing Fields, Chigwell Road, Woodford is about 8 miles from Romford. Take the A12 to Gants Hill and then the A1400 Woodford Avenue. At Charlie Brown’s roundabout take the 3rd exit onto the A113 Chigwell Rd, and the ground is on the left, where there is ample parking. The Post Code for Sat Navs is IG8 8AA.

By public transport, the 275 bus from Fulwell Cross to Walthamstow stops opposite the ground. The nearest station is Woodford on the Central Line from where the ground is a 15 minute walk.

Being an athletics stadium, the pitch is some distance from the spectator facilities, as you can see from this aerial photo: