Having finally recorded a home victory in last Saturday’s game against West Essex, Boro face a tough assignment tomorrow with a visit to Little Oakley, who currently top the Essex Senior League table by one point from SOUL Tower Hamlets, although the Mile End based club have a game in hand.

Little Oakley were one of the victims of the weather last Saturday when their game at Woodford Town was called off due to a frozen pitch and The Acorns’ midweek home match against Sporting Bengal United was also postponed. With the weather continuing to be cold and wet, please keep an eye out for updates on pitch inspections here, or on social media.

Assuming that tomorrow’s game goes ahead, Little Oakley will be honouring the remarkable achievement of their player Lewis Wood, who is due to make his 700th appearance for the club. Wood has played for Little Oakley for more than 20 years and Romford FC would like to congratulate the player for reaching this milestone and the incredible loyalty he has shown to his club.

Previous Meetings:

Tomorrow’s game will be the twelfth match between Romford and Little Oakley since the sides first met in November 2022. Boro are just ahead in those games having won six times compared to Little Oakley’s four wins.

Remarkably, in three league visits to the Memorial Ground Romford have yet to drop a point nor even concede a goal. Romford’s first visit to Little Oakley was in February 2023 when a Camilo Restrepo goal secured a 1-0 win less than a month after The Acorns had beaten Boro 3-2 at Mayesbrook Park.

In April 2024 Romford confirmed their place in the Essex Senior League Play-Offs with a 3-0 victory at Little Oakley with Darren Phillips, Sam Deering, and Hassan Nalbant the scorers, and last season a Joe Paxman goal earned a 1-0 win on a very wet November evening. Boro’s only defeat at Little Oakley to date was in an Essex Senior Cup tie last season which The Acorns won 3-1.

When the teams met in an Essex Senior League game at Mayesbrook Park in November this season, Flynn Hamilton (pictured below, by Bob Knightley) gave Romford the lead after 14 minutes, but second half goals for the visitors meant that it ended in a 2-1 defeat for Boro.

This Season:

Little Oakley finished last season in seventh place in the Essex Senior League, although they were 17 points off the Play-Off places, but this season have been consistently in the top six and have been sparring with SOUL Tower Hamlets for top spot. When the two teams met at The Mile End Stadium in November, it was Little Oakley who came out on top with a 3-1 victory.

The Acorns began the season with three straight wins before losing 2-1 at home to Woodford Town, one of only three league defeats they have suffered so far this season, the others being 4-1 at Barking and – somewhat surprisingly – 2-1 at home to Hackney Wick on the Saturday before Christmas. That game was watched by a crowd of 58, but their next home game – a 4-0 win over Harwich & Parkeston – attracted a crowd of 580, exactly ten times the size!

Little Oakley’s last six games have seen them take maximum points four times, but they have also included two of their three league defeats to date. Leading scorer for Little Oakley this season with 8 goals is Louie Arnold, who scored with a penalty against Boro at Mayesbrook Park, while Luke Hipkin is next in line with 5 goals.

Home Ground and How to Get There:

Little Oakley play at the Memorial Ground, Harwich Road, Little Oakley, CO12 5ED. By road that’s about 61 miles from Romford which, after Harwich & Parkeston, is Boro’s longest league awayday this season.

From Romford, take the A12 to Colchester, exiting onto the A1232/A120 slip road signposted Colchester N/Clacton/Harwich. Stay on the A120 until Ramsey, then take Church Hill (the B1352) and then the B1414 (Harwich Road). The ground has a car park.

The nearest station to the ground is Harwich International, which is about three miles distant, but anyone thinking of travelling to tomorrow’s game by public transport should note that Greater Anglia are undertaking engineering works and there is a rail replacement bus service between Billericay and Marks Tey.

Admission Prices:
Adults - £8.00
Concessions - £5
Children under 16 - FREE

Tomorrow's Essex Senior League fixtures:

3pm Barking v White Ensign
2pm Benfleet v Harwich & Parkeston
3pm Frenford v Sporting Bengal United
3pm Great Wakering Rovers v Halstead Town
3pm Hackney Wick v Athletic Newham
3pm Ilford v Buckhurst Hill
3pm Little Oakley v Romford
3pm Saffron Walden Town v Basildon United
3pm Soul Tower Hamlets v Woodford Town
2pm West Essex v Hullbridge Sports