ROMFORD 2 (2) - (0) 2 Brentwood Town Attendance 110 - Ship Lane

n an entertaining game, Romford should have won, nearly lost and in the end settled for a draw against local rivals Brentwood.

Callum Chafer was on hand to make a smart stop in the eighth minute low down and with Romford clearing the ball long down the right wing, Ryan Boswell chased and out muscled his man before picking out an unmarked Will Green in the box and the Boro winger volleyed his first goal for the club into the bottom corner. Brentwood insisted on trying to play their way out from the back at every opportunity but Romford were too quick in closing down, forcing the visitors into lots of mistakes and on one of these occasions Chinedu McKenzie raced down the left wing before clipping a cross to Green and his volley was beaten away by the Town keeper. McKenzie was causing all sorts of trouble for the Brentwood back line and sprung the offside trap in the seventeenth minute but after twice beating the covering defender, fired his shot well wide. The Boro man went a lot closer six minutes later after great link up play by Ryan Mallett and Boswell, but just as he was about to pull the trigger a defender made a last ditch challenge to block his goalbound effort. Ten minutes before half time Romford had a two goal advantage when Mallett was quick to break up a Brentwood move and play a great through pass to the advancing Jonathan Adebayo who won the race to the ball, rounded the keeper with a lovely first touch which allowed the ball to run to his advancing left leg perfectly and tap the ball into the empty net. Right on half time Brentwood earned a free kick on the edge of the box but Chafer tipped the ball over the bar before the referee blew for the break.

Brentwood came out a completely different team in the second half and their new more direct tactics with fast accurate passing were causing the Romford back line all sorts of trouble and they reduced the deficit four minutes into the period when a forward broke down the right and his cross was turned in by Lemar Reynolds. Romford then should have restored their two goal advantage in the fifty-third minute but McKenzie took too many touches when free in the box after Boswell's cross found the striker unmarked and the chance was gone. Two minutes later the visitors could have been all square but a free header at the far post from a corner was headed over while Chafer had to be alert moments later to save low to his left. However, in the sixty-third minute it was two each when Andrew Freeman raced clear cutting in from the left and forced a good save from Chafer, but the rebound fell kindly to Reynolds who beat Matt Toms to the ball and put it into an empty net. Both teams fancied their chances for a winner but Town keeper Lewis Moore denied both Mallett and Green in quick succession after they had been played in beyond the Brentwood defence while Chafer made a another good save after a lovely move from the visitors. In injury time another chance fell to Reynolds, but the striker this time fired wide before this hugely entertaining game was brought to a close.
So Romford moved up the table after preserving their unbeaten home record but will be frustrated after again not capitalising on a two goal lead.
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ROMFORD (2) 2 WILL GREEN 8, JONATHAN ADEBAYO 35

BRENTWOOD TOWN (0) 2 REYNOLDS 49, 63

ROMFORD: CALLUM CHAFER, HAYES THOMAS, PAUL PRESTON, DANNY COSSINGTON, MATT TOMS, JONATHAN ADEBAYO, JAMIE DICKS, RYAN BOSWELL, CHINEDU MCKENZIE (CHARLIE PORTWAY 77), RYAN MALLETT (JAMES ISHMAIL 75), WILL GREEN (DAVID MANU 86) SUBS NOT USED NICK REYNOLDS, ASHLEY BANKOLE