ROMFORD 3 (2) - (1) 2 North Greenford United Attendance 76 - Ship Lane

Striker Chinedu McKenzie was making his debut for Boro and by the seventeenth minute had bagged a couple of goals. He had headed wide from a Ryan Boswell cross four minutes after the start but opened the scoring with a looping header in off the bar in the eleventh minute, this time from George Woodward's cross from the left. North Greenford then missed a decent chance of their own before good work on the right by Greg Akpele enabled him to knock the ball into the box where McKenzie turned his marker in a tight space and shot in low past the keeper. However it was only another minute before a lack of concentration in front of the Boro goal allowed the visitors to halve the deficit with Mohammed lobbing over Michael Gooch.

The game settled down slightly after all this early excitement but it was still probably the most open one Romford have been involved in this season and they really should have been further ahead before the break with Mckenzie shooting just wide, his fellow striker Nick Reynolds firing over and having an on target header blocked and Kwasi Marfo having a fierce shot well saved.

There was no let up in the tempo after the interval and McKenzie could have completed his hat trick twenty seconds after kick off but he snatched at the opportunity. More Boro attacks followed and Reynolds had a header saved in the fifty third minute, but the ball was not properly cleared and when Boswell crossed in from the right, Reynolds cleverly directed another header across the onrushing keeper and into the opposite side of the goal. More chances soon followed with McKenzie volleying into the side netting from an acute angle and a well worked short corner allowing Woodward to dribble across the goal and have a shot charged down. Even skipper Matt Frew fancied his chances and came up from the back to hit the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box, have a header go over and then beat the offside trap to a through ball but be thwarted by the keeper.

Romford's two goal cushion was looking very comfortable but things changed late on with substitute Robbie Farrell receiving a very harsh straight red card for what looked like a routine foul and from the free kick a long ball was pumped into the box and Ambroisine reached it before Gooch to head in over the stranded keeper and ensure a nervous few minutes for the home supporters. However Romford still could have increased their lead before the end with substitute Luke Stanley's header hitting the crossbar and the same player going on a fine run and squaring the ball back to Marfo who delayed his shot too long.

The win brought in some welcome prize money for Boro and they will host another Southern League club, Slough Town in the next round.

ROMFORD (2) 3 CHINEDU MCKENZIE 11,17 NICK REYNOLDS 53

NORTH GREENFIELD UNITED (1) 2 MOHAMMED 18, AMBROISINE 84

ROMFORD: MICHAEL GOOCH, RYAN BOSWELL, GEORGE WOODWARD, MATT FREW, SAM BURTON, DANNY COSSINGTON, JAKE GIDDINGS (GEORGE TUBEY 74), GREG AKPELE, NICK REYNOLDS (ROBBIE FARRELL 60), CHINEDU MCKENZIE (LUKE STANLEY 74), AKWASI MARFO SUBS NOT USED TOM POTTER, HARRY CULHAM

RED CARDS: ROBBIE FARRELL 83