Heybridge Swifts 0 (0) - (1) 1 ROMFORD Attendance 125 Scaley Road

With only three minutes on the clock Akwasi Marfo raced down the left wing and passed back to Jamie Dicks whose whipped cross should have been cut out by Swifts stopper Danny Stambridge, but it was spilt straight to Nick Reynolds who unselfishly passed to Greg Akpele and he had the simplest of chances to place the ball into the empty net. Two minutes later and Heybridge received a present of their own when Danny Cossington was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, but Callum Chafer guessed correctly and pulled off a one handed save from Jack Smith's penalty. Although Romford were enjoying most of the territorial advantage both teams struggled to adapt to the conditions and neither really got hold of the game until midway through the first half when Romford thought they had doubled their lead when James Ishmail turned the ball home, but the offside flag was up and the Romford captain then had a header saved in the thirty-sixth minute. Heybridge rarely threatened due to their inability to stay onside when they attacked while Chinedu McKenzie went close with a low drive just before half time.

The second half continued in the same fashion with a great performance from the Romford back four, either intercepting Heybridge attacks or catching them in the offside trap. Boro pushed forward themselves looking for the second goal that would have allowed them to settle down and play a bit more football but as the clock ticked it on and it proved elusive they had to be pragmatic, and safety first became paramount to secure the vital three points. Swifts upped the tempo and were working tremendously hard to get something out of the game but it was the visitors who still looked the more threatening when chances were created. Reynolds went close on the hour, before five minutes later a strong run down the right wing by Akpele lead to a cross to Marfo at the far post but his low effort was saved. Romford then produced a stunning one touch move with Dicks, Reynolds and McKenzie all linking up before the latter's shot was saved. Heybridge then nearly produced something out of nothing as a long range effort looked to be heading into the top corner but Chafer was alert to dive at full stretch to push the shot wide of his goal. On seventy nine minutes Ayo Olukoga had a goalbound effort cleared then with seven minutes left substitute Will Green's first touch was cleared off the line after good build up play by McKenzie and Kai Bichard. In stoppage time Heybridge went route one and looked more dangerous than at any previous time in the game but when the fall fell kindly to a Swifts player in the box he fired high and wide before the referee brought the match to an end. That made it three wins in three for the Boro, moving them five points clear of the relegation zone before the holiday break.

HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS (0) 0

ROMFORD (1) 1 GREG AKPELE 3,

ROMFORD : CALLUM CHAFER, RYAN BOSWELL, JAMIE DICKS, DANNY COSSINGTON, JAMES ISHMAIL, KAI BICHARD (CHRIS TAYLOR 90), JONATHAN ADEBAYO, GREG AKPELE (WILL GREEN 82), CHINEDU MCKENZIE, NICK REYNOLDS (AYO OLUKOGA 72), AKWASI MARFO SUBS NOT USED RYAN MALLETT AND JAMES AGE

YELLOW CARDS: KAI BICHARD 26