After Friday night’s dramatic 3-3 draw against Woodford Town, Boro face a trip up the M11 tomorrow to face Stansted, who coincidentally drew 3-3 (with Athletic Newham) at the weekend.

Brief History:

Formed in 1902, Stansted joined the East Herts League in the 1930s, and were champions in 1935. Although they had to wait almost fifty years before winning another significant honour, they more than made up for it in 1984, when they won the Essex Senior League Cup, beating Brentwood 1-0 in the Final. They also won the Eastern Floodlit Cup and the East Anglian Cup that season, but most significantly, they beat Stamford 3-2 at Wembley Stadium to lift the FA Vase.

Having been founder members of the Essex Senior League in 1971, they were league champions in 2010, but were unable to accept promotion to the Isthmian League due to issues at their Hargrave Park ground, which – as Boro supporters will remember – is three sided due to the adjoining cricket pitch.

Since winning the ESL, Stansted have twice been runners up, and last season finished fourth.

Previous Meetings:

Romford and Stansted have met 29 times in all competitions since 1992, with Boro winning 19 and losing just 4. The first game between the clubs was in October 1992, and a crowd of 239 at Hornchurch Stadium witnessed a 2-2 draw in which Boro’s goals were scored by Steve Game and Jeff Mundy.

The most recent game between the sides was the 2010 Essex Senior Cup tie played at Aveley, which Stansted won 4-2, in which Dwight Gayle, who went on to play for Newcastle United and Crystal Palace, scored two of Stansted’s goals.

In Romford’s ESL Championship season of 2008-09, Boro won 2-1 at Hargrave Park in a game that featured an al fresco half-time team talk by Boro manager Paul Martin when the key to the dressing room door temporarily went missing!

Last Season:

Stansted were at one time very much in the hunt for the runners-up spot in the Essex Senior League in 2021-22, but a run of mixed results in the last few weeks of the season, including defeats at the hands of rivals for second spot Redbridge and Saffron Walden Town (in a game watched by a crowd of 547) saw them eventually finish fourth.

This season:

Stansted are currently placed 13th in the Essex Senior League table with 12 points from 10 matches. In their most recent game, a 3-3 draw away from home against Athletic Newham, all three of their goals were scored by former Boro players as Billy Coyne, Robbie Farrell, and Connor Hammond were on the scoresheet. Stansted have yet to win away from home in the league, but have won three of their four home fixtures, with Woodford Town the only side to win at Hargrave Park.

In the FA Cup, Stansted were beaten by Buckhurst Hill in a Preliminary Round replay, having beaten Hadley in the previous round. In the FA Vase, two 4-1 wins, over Hoddesdon Town and Langford have set them up with a trip to Downham Town this coming weekend.

Home Ground and How to Get There:

Stansted play their home games at Hargrave Park, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex CM24 8BX.

Directions to the ground are as follows:

From the M11 junction 8 (Bishops Stortford) take the A120 to Hertford. At the 2nd roundabout take the B1383 to Stansted Mountfitchet. When reaching the main junction at Stansted go straight through past the Esso garage and after 200 hundred yards our ground entrance is on the left. Less than 10 minutes from the Motorway.

Note that there are currently repairs and resurfacing on the M11 junction 8, Birchanger Green Roundabout bridges which may affect journeys back to Romford after the game.

The 301 Bus service runs through Stansted from Monday to Saturday to Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden up until about 7pm.

The nearest Railway station is Stansted Mountfitchet which is about a 10 minute walk from the ground. There are trains back to Liverpool Street at 10.03pm, 10.53pm, 11.18pm, and 11.53pm.

There is limited space at the ground so the club suggest parking in the surrounding roads.

Admission prices are:
Adults £8
Concessions £4
Under 14s Free