Honours Even In Intense Encounter

Romford (2) 3, Sporting Bengal United (2) 3 – Essex Senior League – Saturday 2nd September 2023

Boro returned to the top of the table and maintained their unbeaten start, but this was a game that could easily have been lost – or won for that matter. Both teams will feel that they were on the receiving end of decisions from the officials that went against them when they should not have.

Sporting Bengal for instance will claim that Romford’s third goal ought not to have counted as the ball pulled back by Ayo Odukoya for Hassan Nalbant to score had already gone out of play. So vehemently did Bengal goalkeeper Sidi Haidara protest the matter that he was booked for adopting an aggressive attitude towards the officials. More usually, this would have been defined as dissent and would have led to him being sin binned, which would have left Romford facing ten men and an outfield player in goal.

Romford will forever claim that the challenge on Jayden Silcott-Brown that had assistant referee Yaaron Woolf flagging frantically should have been a penalty. Even the Sporting Bengal management were astonished that play restarted with a drop ball on the halfway line rather than a Romford spot kick.

Despite being littered with contentious decisions, this was nonetheless a decent game of football. Sporting Bengal’s Damilola Olusesi had the first sight of goal when his outside of the foot effort drew a good save from Jake Anderson after four minutes. A minute later and Hassan Nalbant won possession deep in opposition territory and fed Ayo Odukoya - making his debut after joining from East Thurrock United - but his shot was blocked. From the ensuing corner, Romford went ahead. Sporting Bengal keeper Haidara failed to deal with Kris Newby’s flag kick, the ball cannoned off a defender and ran kindly for Michael Turner to score from close range. Assistant referee Mary Talabi flagged for offside, but not for the only time in the afternoon she was over-ruled by referee Grant Conway who awarded the goal.

Harrison Georgiou might have done better when he ran onto Odukoya’s flicked header but scuffed his shot, and then Steve Carvell – ever dangerous from set pieces - fired a free-kick over the Romford bar before Olusesi’s shot on the turn went wide. The visitors levelled after 19 minutes through Carvell, whose low free-kick found the corner of the net off the hands of Anderson who doubtless will feel that he ought to have done better.

Romford hit back immediately however, as Hassan Nalbant capitalised on a stumble by Bengal’s Murad Kutateladze to run through and drive the ball past Haidara for his first goal of the season after 21 minutes. He might have had a second on the half hour when he found himself in a similar position, but this time Haidara saved.

Hassan Nalbant – Off the mark for the season with a brace. Photo: Bob Knightley

Junior Luke was cautioned for a foul on Salim Miah that gave Sporting Bengal a 35th minute penalty which Sheri Artmeladze converted, and the half ended with a booking for Kris Newby for a foul, although he looked to have won the ball cleanly enough.

The second half was less than a minute old when Sporting Bengal went ahead for the first time in the match, exploiting an ocean of space on the Boro right to cross low for Miah to tuck the ball past Anderson.

Ayo Odukoya and Kris Newby both had shots that rose over the Sporting Bengal crossbar before Boro drew level after 62 minutes. Jacob Wiggins’ ball over the defence reached Odukoya, who hooked it back over his own head for Nalbant to drive home, provoking the passionate appeals from Haidara that resulted in his booking.

A 69th minute corner by Carvell was flicked just wide of the Boro goal by Olusesi, and after 79 minutes Anderson made a fine save, turning Keanu Hill’s shot over the bar. At this stage, either side could have won the game, with the introduction of Jayden Silcott-Brown and George Cox, who returns to the club from East Thurrock United, changing the formula for Boro. After 80 minutes Romford looked certain to have a chance from 12 yards when Jayden Silcott-Brown ran onto Okukoya’s pass and was brought down in the penalty area, however, to the astonishment of virtually everyone in the ground, Grant Conway chose to overturn his assistant’s verdict that it was a penalty.

Jacob Wiggins – who had been substituted – was booked for dissent from the bench, although Romford claimed mistaken identity, and so it appeared, did Sporting Bengal with one of their cautions.

Two minutes into stoppage time Michael Turner headed on Junior Luke’s long throw but saw his header pushed behind by Haidara, and with 97 minutes on the clock, Sporting Bengal looked likely to win it with a forward well placed to beat Anderson, who flew off his line to block and preserve the point.

This might not prove to be the best game of the season, but there’s little doubt that there will be few that will match it for incident.

Romford: Jake Anderson, Henry Hart, Jamie Hursit, Kris Newby, Michael Turner, Junior Luke, Charlie Morris (Jayden Silcott-Brown, 74m), Jacob Wiggins (George Cox, 74m), Hassan Nalbant, Harrison Georgiou (Sonny Shilling, 46m), Ayo Odukoya (Bruno Gomes, 89m). Unused sub: Jordan Sarfo