Romford 3 (2) v 2 (0) Braintree Town - Attendance 95

Starting off at a fast pace it was Romford who looked the most likely to score but it took them till 19 minutes when, captain for the evening, Jack Barry drove a loose ball into the roof of the Braintree Town net from a right wing Jahmel Heywoord corner.

Six minutes later this lead went to two goals when striker Kurt Smith, chasing a ball over the top down the left, won the ball from a tussle with both his marker and the advancing Iron goalkeeper and found himself free to walk the ball into his opponents net.

After the break the visitors came out with a more positive attitude and reduced the deficit five minutes into the half when Matthew Johnson was put through unmarked just inside the right of the home area and his low struck cross shot found the far corner of the Boro net.

Scores were level on 65 minutes when a shot from fully thirty yards out on the left by Braintree’s Matthew Pooley evaded everyone in the Romford goalmouth and ended up just inside the home upright.

A special mention must go to Boro keeper Elliott Anderson when he kept his team in the match with a superb save on 76 minutes. He did this with an instinctive twist and turn to tip the ball over his crossbar when it seemed definitely destined for the back of his net.

Then on 84 minutes and just when it seemed that this pulsating cup tie would be going to penalties Romford struck a final blow. Smith and the Iron defence once more chased a ball over the top but down the middle this time and the Boro striker, showing an excellent bit of skill as the ball dropped forward over his shoulder, volleyed it low past visiting keeper Ashlee Jones’s diving left hand and into his net.

This success settled the home nerves a little and they competed strongly and held their own until the final whistle after three minutes of added time.

A final note to say “well done” to the whole the Romford squad for a fine display against their higher ranked visitors with a special mention to the younger members: namely Jamie Dicks and Joe Oates who combined well on the left and Alex Coney who performed maturely in his joint striking role.

Romford squad: Anderson; Ottley; Dicks; J. Barry ©; Ishmail; Lee; Clifton (Seymour 61); Heywoord; Smith; Coney (Clayton 75); Oates. Unused substitutes: Toms; Lord and Finn (GK).