Having beaten Woodford Town at their Ashtons Stadium home back in September, will be looking to complete the double over them when the sides meet at Mayesbrook Park tomorrow afternoon. At the time of that meeting back in September, Woodford were unbeaten and top of the table, but the game ended 2-1 to Romford with Flynn Hamilton and Nick Reynolds scoring for Boro.

Flynn Hamilton scores Boro’s first at Woodford. Photo: Bob Knightley

After defeats at Little Oakley and at home to Ilford, Boro recorded a much needed win at White Ensign last Saturday and as a result moved one place up the table to 16th, thanks in part to Athletic Newham surrendering a 2-0 lead against SOUL Tower Hamlets and ultimately losing 3-2. While all bar one of lasts Saturday’s Essex Senior League fixtures went ahead, but there were more postponements in midweek, including the SOUL Tower Hamlets v Barking fixture, which has now been called off three times.

Among the midweek games that went ahead, Halstead Town ended a poor run of recent results by beating Frenford, while White Ensign beat Hackney Wick and Little Oakley extended their lead at the top of the table with a 4-0 win at Woodford.

Previous Meetings:

Since Woodford Town’s history has been a somewhat convoluted one, one that has seen them reform after folding in 2003 in a number of different guises, we’ll confine ourselves here to games between the teams since Romford returned to the Essex Senior League in 2022. Of those seven matches, Woodford are narrowly ahead with three wins to Boro’s two with two games drawn.

Most memorable of these was the first fixture, played at Mayesbrook Park in October 2022 in which the visitors ran up a 3-0 lead by the 40th minute only for Boro to stage a comeback after the interval and earn a 3-3 draw with Jake Gordon snatching the equaliser in stoppage time. There was a stoppage time goal in the fixture at Ashtons between the sides last season too, but unfortunately it went Woodford’s way and proved to be the only goal of the league game played at Ashtons Playing Fields in January. In the return, Woodford won 3-0 at Mayesbrook Park.

Aside from the win at Ashtons in September, Boro’s only other win against The Woods was in November 2023 in a game played at Rookery Hill. Goals from Charlie Morris and Kris Newby meant that it ended 2-1 and, in the return, Newby was again on target (from the penalty spot) as it finished 1-1.

Recent Form:

Since beginning the season with five straight wins that put them top of the table, Woodford’s form has been a little erratic and they have recent dropped out of the Play-Off places and sit ninth in the table with 38 points from 25 games. Woodford’s home record shows seven defeats in league games; only Hackney Wick and the bottom two clubs – West Essex and Frenford – have lost more on their own patch. Away from home, Woodford have won six and lost just two (at Great Wakering Rovers and Buckhurst Hill).

Woodford’s recent form has earned them five points from the last 18 available; they have beaten Halstead Town and drawn with SOUL Tower Hamlets and Saffron Walden Town but have been beaten at Buckhurst Hill and at home by Hullbridge Sports and Little Oakley. They have managed just four goals in their last six games and failed to find the target in any of those three defeats.

Boro’s recent form is only marginally better – two wins and a draw in the last six – and last Saturday’s win at White Ensign included the first clean sheet of the season.

Tomorrow’s Essex Senior League fixtures:

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