After two away games that have garnered two points and maintained Boro’s unbeaten start to the Essex Senior League season, it’s back to The Lawtech Stadium tomorrow for the visit of Sawbridgeworth Town.

Sawbo are back in the ESL after one season away. They spent last season in the Spartan South Midlands League where they did not have the most auspicious of campaigns, finishing in nineteenth place. They were spared relegation to Step 6 by the resignation of St Panteleimon.

Brief History:

Sawbridgeworth Town Football Club was formed in 1897 and played initially in the Stortford League with its headquarters at the White Lion Hotel in the centre of town. The club moved to its present ground at Crofters End in 1930, and after World War Two, they joined the Spartan League.

Sawbo joined the Essex Senior League in 1975, and apart from last season, have been members ever since. The club’s best season in the ESL came in 1992-93 when they finished runners-up to Canvey Island, and in 1994-95 they won the Essex Senior League Cup, beating Stansted 2-0 in the final. They have reached the Final on five occasions since, most recently in 2018, but have been beaten each time.

Previous Meetings:

There have been 33 meetings between the teams over the years making Sawbridgeworth joint 8th in a list of teams that Boro have faced most since 1992. Of these, 24 have been league games – all in the Essex Senior League - and of those, Boro have to date won 13 with 6 drawn. The first meeting between the clubs was in 1992 when a crowd of 207 at Hornchurch Stadium saw a 2-2 draw.

Romford met Sawbridgeworth in two Essex Senior League Cup Semi-Finals during the 1990s. In 1994 Boro were removed from the competition after the first leg, having fielded an ineligible player and in 1995 the two-legged Semi-Final ended all square on aggregate. Sawbo won the replay on penalties.

During Romford’s ESL promotion season 2008-09, Boro won 3-0 at home and drew 2-2 away, but in the 2020 FA Cup Extra-Preliminary Round game at Crofters End Sawbridgeworth pulled off a surprise, but not undeserved 2-1 win.

The last meetings between the sides were ESL fixtures during 2022-23. Romford won 2-1 at Sawbridgeworth after trailing to an early goal with Tom Richardson and Scott Doe (his first for the club) the Boro scorers. The return fixture came shortly after Boro had put eight past Southend Manor and the trick was repeated with an 8-3 win over Sawbridgeworth. Hassan Nalbant and Charlie Morris both scored hat-tricks and the other goals came from Alex Balisani and Jack Glenister.

Last Season:

Having finished 18th in the ESL in 2022-23, Sawbridgeworth fared no better in the Spartan South Midlands League last season, finishing 19th and only being reprieved from relegation by the resignation of St Panteleimon. They managed only two league wins all season and had to wait until February before the first, when they won 1-0 at Potton United. Their only home win was against Crawley Green in April.

They fared rather better in the FA Cup, beating Arlesey Town and Saffron Walden Town before losing 2-0 at Brightlingsea Regent in the First Qualifying Round. In the FA Vase they also managed two wins – over Letchworth Garden City Eagles, and Langford – before being beaten at home by Tilbury.

This Season:

Sawbridgeworth have played more games than anyone else in the division so far this season with seven games completed. They began with four straight defeats in which they failed to score a single goal and although they then lost again, they at least managed to put the ball in the net in their home defeat against Stanway Rovers. They did so four times, in fact ending up losing by the unusual score of 7-4. Two of Sawbo’s goals in that game were scored by Jaydon Charles, who made a couple of starts for Boro at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

A 3-3 home draw against FC Clacton in their sixth league game was followed by a first win of the season on Tuesday when they beat Ilford 1-0. This leaves them in 17th place with four points.

They failed to emulate last season’s FA Cup successes however, as they lost 5-0 to FC Romania in the Extra-Preliminary Round.

This weekend’s Essex Senior League fixtures:

Friday 6th September:

Barking v West Essex

Saturday 7th September:

FC Clacton v Benfleet
Frenford v Athletic Newham
Halstead Town v Stansted
Hullbridge Sports v Buckhurst Hill
Romford v Sawbridgeworth Town
Saffron Walden Town v Takeley
Stanway Rovers v Little Oakley
White Ensign v Great Wakering Rovers 2pm kick-off

The Ilford v Woodford Town game scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed.