Brief History:

There are records of a Stanway club dating back to the early 1900s, but the official formation of the current clubs is dated at July 1956.

Having initially competed in the Colchester and East Essex League (they were champions in 1974), the club joined the Essex & Suffolk Border League in 1975 before winning promotion to the Eastern Counties League in 1992. In 2006 Stanway won the Eastern Counties League First Division title and promotion to the Premier Division, and in 2015 finished third behind Norwich United and Godmanchester Rovers.

In 2018 the club were moved sideways to the Essex Senior League, finishing 15th, but were immediately returned to the Eastern Counties League for the two covid affected seasons before returning to the Essex Senior League at the start of 2021-22

Previous Meetings:

There have been no previous meetings between Romford and Stanway Rovers.

Last Season:

Rovers finished 12th in the Essex Senior League lasts season with 57 points from 40 matches, with former Boro man Ernest Okoh their leading scorer with 15 in the league and 21 overall. Other former Boro men to turn out for Rovers over the course of the season were Danny Nesbitt and goalkeeper Harry Aldridge.

In the FA Cup, and Extra-Preliminary Round win over Leverstock Green was followed by a Preliminary Round exit in a replay at the hands of Enfield, while in the FA Vase, Rovers fell at the first hurdle, losing 2-1 at Wivenhoe Town.

In the Errington Challenge Cup, Stanway beat Little Oakley, West Essex, and Stansted before losing to Cockfosters in the Semi-Final. They went one step further in the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy, losing 2-0 to Redbridge in the Final, having beaten Sawbridgeworth Town, West Essex, and Takeley en route.

Home Ground and How to Get There:

Rovers moved to their current home at The Hawthorns (obviously not to be confused with West Bromwich Albion’s ground of the same name!) in 1979. The full address of the ground is The Hawthorns, 50 New Farm Road, Stanway, Colchester CO3 0PG.

By road, take the A12 and leave at Junction 26. Then take the third exit from the roundabout onto Essex Yeomanry Way. At next roundabout take the second exit onto London Road. At the first mini roundabout turn right into Villa Road the take first left into Chapel Road. Turn left into New Farm Road, and the ground is 500 yards on the left. From Romford, Stanway is about 42 miles, so allow an hour to drive there, and the ground has an ample car park.

By public transport, buses 371 and 370 run from Marks Tey Station to Lucy Lane, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the ground, or the S2 Colchester Shuttle runs from Colchester Station and stops at New Farm Road, which is a short walk from the ground. Journey should take between 80 minutes and two hours, depending on route.

Website:
https://www.stanwayrovers.co.uk/

Twitter:
@StanwayRovers