Tomorrow’s visitors to Mayesbrook Park are Clapton Community, and it promises to be a special day as Romford celebrate the 150th anniversary of the formation of the first football club to bear the town’s name. The cover of the programme for tomorrow’s game features a montage of pictures covering the history of the club from its formation in 1876 to the current day, and will be on sale at the turnstile as usual.

Also on sale tomorrow are a pair of limited-edition pin badges to mark the sesquicentennial celebrations. These are priced at £6 each, or £10 for the pair.

And we mustn’t forget that tomorrow there will be a collection point for the Collier Row & Romford Foodbank. Any donation you can make to help those in our community who may be struggling will be very much appreciated.

After Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Basildon United, Romford moved up to ninth in the Essex Senior League table but after Wednesday’s games, in which West Essex won 3-2 at Hackney Wick and Ilford drew 4-4 with Saffron Walden Town, Boro fell one place to tenth. Clapton were not in midweek action, nor did they play at the weekend; their last match was a 4-2 defeat at Hutton on 7th October.

Our Visitors:

Clapton Community FC were formed in January 2018 by disillusioned supporters of Clapton FC and initially played in the Middlesex County League, winning Division One in 2019 and the Premier Division in 2023, reward for which was a place in the Eastern Counties League Division One South in which they finished sixth in their debut season to reach the Play-Offs in which they were beaten by Wormley Rovers.

For the 2024-25 season, Clapton were transferred to the Southern Counties East League Division One, finishing seventh, but they were transferred back to the Eastern Counties League Division One South last season, ending the campaign in second place just three points behind champions Hutton. In their Play-Off Semi-Final, Clapton beat Lymore Gardens 4-1 in front of 1,377 fans at The Old Spotted Dog and in the Final at the same venue a crowd of 2,375 saw them beat Rayleigh Town 4-2 after extra-time to clinch promotion.

Previous Meetings:

There has been only one previous meeting between Romford and Clapton Community (although Boro played Clapton FC fourteen times before The Tons folded in 2024) and that was last season’s Essex Senior Cup First Round tie played at The Old Spotted Dog in August 2025. Boro won that game 3-1 – the only cup tie victory of the season – thanks to goals from Ellis Devereux (from the penalty spot), Fabio Co, and Reece McGovern.

This Season:

With seven points from nine league games played to date, Clapton Community currently sit 16th in the table. They began the season with four defeats and a draw in their opening five league games, during which they scored just the one goal. Beaten at home by SOUL Tower Hamlets on the opening day, they then lost 3-1 at Sporting Bengal United before collecting their first point in a 0-0 draw at home against their fellow promoted side, Hutton. After two further defeats, they won for the first time when they beat Saffron Walden Town 1-0 at The Old Spotted Dog.

Clapton’s most recent home game saw them beat Great Wakering Rovers 3-0 in front of a crowd of 1,117 but they followed this up with a 4-2 defeat at Hutton in a game that controversially featured two balls on the pitch immediately before Hutton opened the scoring.

This being Clapton Community’s first ever season at Step 5, they are now eligible for the FA Cup and their first ever tie in the competition saw them impressively beat Benfleet 3-0, before exiting in a narrow home defeat at the hands of Concord Rangers.

Clapton are also out of the FA Vase. Having beaten Long Melford on penalties, they travelled to Heybridge Swifts in the Second Qualifying Round, losing 2-1.

This weekend’s Essex Senior League fixtures:

Friday 16th October:
7.45pm Benfleet v Ilford
7.45pm Woodford Town v Hullbridge Sports

Saturday 17th October:
3pm Hackney Wick v Great Wakering Rovers
3pm Harwich & Parkeston v Saffron Walden Town
3pm Heybridge Swifts v Basildon United
3pm Hutton v Halstead Town
3pm Romford v Clapton Community
3pm Sporting Bengal United v Frenford
3pm West Essex v Barking
3pm White Ensign v Soul Tower Hamlets