ROMFORD (0) 1 - 3 (2) Heybridge Swifts Attendance 75 - Ship Lane

Romford had most of the possession early on, but on 14 minutes conceded a disputed free kick in front of goal and ex Boro man Joe Pearman bent the ball perfectly into the top corner giving Aaron Omand no chance. A dour midfield battle then developed with neither team managing to create too much in front of goal with Romford's best opportunities falling to Abs Seymour who shaved the crossbar from a tight angle after a good run into the box and Callum Ibe shooting across goal following one of his meandering dribbles
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On 34 minutes a Heybridge man broke swiftly (pun intended) down the left and was unlucky to see a shot with the outside of his foot hit the top of the crossbar and go over. However they were only denied for another minute as Romford conceded a soft free kick on the right and Joe Pearman stepped up again and this time found the head of Sam West who made no mistake.

Boro needed a good start to the second half but after only 5 minutes found themselves with a mountain to climb after Adeyinka Cole was allowed time to shoot from distance into the corner. With little more to lose the hosts now threw caution to the winds and went on the attack. The 57th minute saw Loui Hazelwood twist and turn in the box before hitting the post with the Heybridge keeper stranded. More attacking intent was shown with forward Tyrone Scarlett replacing returning defender David Ottley and they finally got on the score sheet after 66 minutes when Loui Hazelwood went on a carbon copy of his previous foray but this time finished it by smashing the ball past the keeper. Two more strikers, Ryan Imbert and Manzi Mbala have just returned to the club and both were brought on to reinforce the Romford onslaught, but Heybridge defended well and were able to see out the game without conceding further.

After the match Boro would have been relieved to discover that results elsewhere mostly went their way and they now face a momentous week with two vital matches against relegation rivals.

ROMFORD (0) 1 LOUI HAZELWOOD 66,

HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS (2) 3 PEARMAN 14, WEST 35, COLE 51

ROMFORD: AARON OMAND, DAVID OTTLEY (TYRONE SCARLETT 60), LUKE MCLEAVY, CHRIS BARRY (RYAN IMBERT 70), JAMES ISHMAIL, ROBBIE NORRIS, LOUI HAZELWOOD, ABS SEYMOUR, NICK REYNOLDS, JOE SCOTT (MANZI MBALA 75), CALLUM IBE

SUBS NOT USED JERMAINE FINDLATOR, JACK BARRY

YELLOW CARDS: JAMES ISHMAIL26, TYRONE SCARLETT 66, ABS SEYMOUR 89.