Last Saturday’s win over Halstead Town has given Boro some breathing space in the league table ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Saffron Walden Town which will undoubtedly be a tough fixture. Boro’s victory over Halstead Town was only the second at home in 2025-26 and the first anywhere this season that has seen the team come from behind to earn three points.

This weekend’s other Essex Senior League fixtures include a test for the recently improved form of West Essex as they visit Benfleet, while Hackney Wick will be looking to turn around their recent wretched run - which must have them looking somewhat nervously over their shoulders – when they visit bottom club Frenford. Of the bottom six, neither Sporting Bengal United nor Athletic Newham play tomorrow, while White Ensign may find themselves dragged into the battle at the foot of the table if they lose at home to Little Oakley, who are currently second but were beaten at home by Saffron Walden in midweek.

When Walden visited Mayesbrook Park in Boro’s opening home league game, they left with all three points after winning 4-2 and looked like genuine title contenders, but an inconsistent run saw them drop out of the Play-Off places and they are currently sixth in the table with 51 points, seven off fifth place. The now departed Ellis Devereaux scored both Boro’s goals in the game back in July while one of the visitors’ goals was scored by Toheeb Elegushi, one of three ex-Boro players in the Walden line-up, Sam Deering and Henry Mabassa being the others.

Previous Meetings:

Romford have played Saffron Walden thirteen times since 1992, the first being an Essex Senior Cup tie played at Catons Lane in 1994 which the home side won 3-1. Overall, in 13 meetings, Boro have won 8, lost 4, and drawn 1.

Last season Boro picked up two wins against Saffron Walden in Essex Senior League fixtures, winning 3-1 at Catons Lane, where Chris Millar scored twice with Jake Gordon scoring the other, and 2-1 at Mayesbrook Park in February thanks to goals from Charlie Morris and Praise Ogbebor in what was Boro’s last home league win of the season.

Tomorrow will be only the fifth Essex Senior League game between the teams to be played at Saffron Walden and so far Boro have won three of the four previous visits, 2-1 in 2002, 1-0 in 2023 (thanks to a comical own goal), and 3-1 last season. To date the only defeat at Catons Lane was the 1-0 loss in 2023 although had the usually prolific Jason Hallett not missed a number of good chances for the home side, their margin of victory would have been greater.

Recent Form:

Walden’s recent form has seen them move up from tenth just a couple of weeks ago to sixth and in their last six league games they have won three and drawn two. Their sole defeat was a 4-1 reverse at Buckhurst Hill, but in their three wins they have notched up 15 goals having beaten Hackney Wick 8-2, Athletic Newham 5-0, and Little Oakley 2-1. Their other game was a 1-1 draw at home to SOUL Tower Hamlets.

At home this season, Walden have won 5, drawn 6, with West Essex being the most recent of 5 teams to leave Catons Lane with maximum points when they won there 3-2 on Valentines Day.

Leading scorer for The Bloods this season is Kaleel Green who has 26 goals, while Sam Deering is second with an impressive 16.

Home Ground and How to Get There:

Saffron Walden’s home ground is at Catons Lane, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 2DU. By road, it’s roughly 47 miles from Romford, so should take about an hour door to door. The easiest route is to take the M11 to Junction 9A, and then the A1301 exit for the B184 for Saffron Walden. From the A184, turn left into Castle Street and left again into Lime Avenue. Catons Lane Long Stay Free Car Park is next to the ground. Spaces are limited however, with room for just 53 cars.

By public transport, the nearest railway station is at Audley End on the Liverpool Street to Cambridge line. The ground is about a mile and a half from Audley End Station and the number 301 bus runs from there to East Street, which is ten minutes’ walk from the ground. Please note that there are no Elizabeth Line services between Whitechapel and Shenfield on Saturday, and Greater Anglia services are starting and terminating at Stratford with Liverpool Street Station closed.

Tomorrow’s Essex Senior League fixtures:

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