ROMFORD 1 (0) - (0) 0 Waltham Abbey Attendance 58 - Ship Lane

The kick off had to be delayed as the visitors and officials all arrived at the ground very late due to an accident on the M25 but this had no effect on Boro stopper Callum Chafer who put in a superb man of the match performance to keep the visitors at bay. In fact you could say it was a tale of two keepers, but they both put on a fine display of shot stopping until the late error by Lockyer.

It was a very wet night and when the match finally began neither team really got going with Romford gifting possession to their visitors while Abbey seemed happy to keep the ball at the back rather than venture too often past the half way line. There were few chances in the early part of the first half with both teams resorting mainly to long range efforts. Ruaridh Kay for the visitors and Jonathan Adebayo for Boro both fired over, the latter after a great run all the way from his right back position. Boro left back Tarren Dhariwe, who was playing his first game since his debut at Horsham nearly caught out the keeper, but his right foot curling effort to the near post was pushed out for a corner. Abbey could have grabbed the game's first goal in the twenty-second minute when a cross from the right found a forward unmarked ten yards out, but his shot troubled the linesman more than the Romford goal as it was somehow sliced out for a throw.

Ayo Olukoga did have the ball in the back of the net but was correctly ruled offside before Romford were nearly caught out by a long ball but Michael Spencer's shot was well saved by Chafer. In the thirty-ninth minute McKenzie had a glorious chance to give Romford the lead when James Age sent him clean through but Lockyer got a big enough hand on the ball as it squirmed through him and ended up just the wrong side of the post. Back at the other end Chafer made another fine save before Abbey were unlucky when a curling effort hit the inside of the post and came right out again on the stroke of half time.

Abbey were much the better team after the restart and Romford had Chafer to thank that the scores were still level. Ryan Blackman was the first man thwarted after he got round the back but was denied by a good save, then after a good Romford tackle the ball ran kindly for the visitors and as the forward looked destined to score Chafer got a finger tip on the ball and diverted it onto the bar. With twenty minutes to go Chafer pulled off another good save pushing the ball out wide, but as the cross came back in Daniel Rimmell was all alone only yards out and whilst everybody in the ground all waited for the net to bulge Chafer had other ideas, clawing the ball out from behind him in what can only be described as a world class save.

Romford had a few chances of their own with Ayo Olukoga's curling effort looking destined to sneak in but Lockyer got across to push the ball out and was quick enough to get to his feet and block McKenzie's rebound. So both keepers were toe to toe for the man of the match award before the late aberration by Lockyer who had appeared for Romford in their pre season programme. In the eighty-second minute Abbey were happily passing it around the defence and the ball came back to the keeper who under no pressure looked to move the ball on to his centre back but instead passed it straight across goal to the lurking McKenzie who had the simple job of side footing the ball straight into an empty net. The inform Boro man then nearly doubled the lead two minutes later after a good interchange with Chris Taylor but Lockyer produced another great save to tip the ball over.

The final whistle went soon after and it was payback for Romford who earlier in the season had unluckily lost at Waltham Abbey despite dominating and there was a certain satisfaction for players and supporters as the Boro do not normally seem to get the rub of the green. The three points move Romford slightly further away from the relegation zone as they look forward to a trip to Great Wakering on Saturday.

ROMFORD (0) 1 CHINEDU MCKENZIE 82

WALTHAM ABBEY (0) 0

ROMFORD: CALLUM CHAFER, JONATHAN ADEBAYO, TARREN DHARIWEL (ASHLEY BANKOLE 77), RYAN BOSWELL, MATT TOMS, DANNY COSSINGTON, RYAN MALLETT, AYO OLUKOGA (CHRIS TAYLOR 77), JAMES AGE (NICK REYNOLDS 86), CHINEDU MCKENZIE, WILL GREEN SUBS NOT USED RICHARD WRAY