Romford (0) 0, Harwich & Parkeston (0) 0 – Tuesday 18th August 2026 – BBC Essex Senior Cup First Round
(Romford win 3-1 on penalties)

George Sapsford had a Romford debut to remember, keeping a clean sheet in 90 minutes and then saving three penalties in the shoot-out as Boro overcame Harwich & Parkeston to reach the Second Round of the BBC Essex Senior Cup.

Boro boss Darren Manning rang the changes with goalkeeper and back four all different from Friday’s FA Vase win over Ilford and Elton Gjonbala making his first competitive start. Gjonbala’s evening ended prematurely however, as he was replaced by Jaxon Brown just before the interval, presumably as a precaution against his adding a second yellow card to the one he had already collected from the referee, who drew the ire of both benches and many of the players at one time or another.

Both sides missed the target with early chances, but overall, this was an evening on which neither team managed to get much on target until the shoot-out. Harwich, who had a player sent off in their Vase defeat at Harlow Town at the weekend, were reduced to ten men after 33 minutes when Oakley Mcnair was dismissed for a challenge on Ekow Owusu-Boakye; it’s fair to say that Harwich were not impressed by the decision – then, or later – and after much shouting, their captain Lewis Wood was cautioned. Elton Gjonbala’s shot from the free-kick was comfortably gathered by Harwick keeper William Healey.

The half ended with a flurry of chances: Fabio Vieira’s shot went across goal and wide after 42 minutes and in the final minute of the half, Jaxon Brown took Ben McCrow’s pass and curled a shot that Healey saved. Between those chances, Harwich’s Joe Wood found himself with a shooting opportunity but his effort did not trouble Sapsford.

As one might expect, Romford had plenty of possession against the ten men of Harwich after the break, but too many crosses and passes were overhit, passing harmlessly wide or over the bar. In just the second minute of the second half, Vieira had a cross cleared, and then another deflected wide for a corner which came to nothing.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Harwich were not without opportunities. Sapsford had to punch away a dangerous corner and Joe Boreham-Knight ought to have done better than to shoot well wide 63 minutes in, but largely it was Romford on the offensive without being able to apply a finishing touch. The pick of the chances were efforts from Dhillon Sandu-Nelson, whose shot flashed wide of goal after 79 minutes, and from Ben McCrow after 68 minutes, with Healey proving equal to his shot.

And so to penalties and although Ben Mcrow’s spot kick hit the base of a post, Flynn Hamilton, Jaxon Brown, and Dhillon Sandhu-Nelson converted theirs while Sapsford dived right and left to save two, but only had to stand straight to stop a third to put Boro into the Second Round.

Shoot-out details:

Romford won 3-1

Romford first:
Hamilton, McCrow (missed), Brown, Sandhu-Nelson.

Harwich & Parkeston:
White (saved), Carty, Goode (saved), Boreham-Knight (saved)

Romford: George Sapsford, Kolade Salaudeen, Delphin Moorat, Prince Sikiru, Alfie Leach, Jake Barlow, Fabio Vieira (Dhillon Sandhu-Nelson 64'), Ekow Owusu-Boakye (Flynn Hamilton 70'), Elton Gjonbala (Jaxon Brown 44'), Matthew Price, Ben McCrow. Unused subs: Julius Nwike, Edward Walker