Without a game at the weekend, results elsewhere had pushed Boro down to bottom position as they prepared to take on third placed Aveley on their artificial surface. For the majority of the first half the home team, despite having greater possession could not make too much impression on Romford's defence while the visitors looked lively on the break in this fast paced, entertaining contest. The assessors in attendance probably prompted the referee to show a 3rd minute yellow card to Oguz Yasar for the most innocuous of fouls but he then failed to punish Aveley for similar challenges. Yasar went on to have a good game and when his fellow midfielder Malaki Toussaint fired in a fierce drive that Aveley keeper Hughes could not hold, it fell very kindly for a defender to boot clear as a couple of Boro forwards rushed in.
However things changed after 35 minutes when ex Boro man Tom Richardson cleverly set up Shad Ngandu to shoot low into the corner past James Scammell. And then a minute before the break Richardson reprised Toussaint's effort at the other end but this time it rebounded to an attacker and Alex Akrofi had the simple task of putting Aveley 2-0 ahead. There was still time for Khadean Campbell to go on a great run through the home defence and he looked certain to reduce the arrears, but his cross shot came out off the inside of the post.
The roles were reversed in the second half with Romford on the front foot, spiritedly trying to get back into the game with Aveley mostly content to sit back but looking dangerous when making swift breaks. They had an effort cleared off the line by Danny Cossington before Campbell shot over from a good position at the other end after being played through by Michael Mignot. The same two players combined again after 67 minutes and this time Campbell's run ended with him being tripped well inside the box, but the referee surprised supporters from both sides by only awarding a free kick to Boro on the edge of the area with perhaps the greater crime being committed by his assistant who was directly in line with clear sight, but turned a blind eye rather than pointing out the error to his boss.
Romford continued to push forward trying to shrug off the injustice with Gabriel Kellum coming closest, rounding the keeper but seeing his shot headed off the line before the score was nearly given an even more lopsided look when Richardson hit the post just before the end.
Team: James Scammell, Nathan Joseph, Toby Barlow, Danny Nesbitt, Oguz Yasar (Chris Taylor 54), Danny Cossington (c), Ayo Olukoga, Malaki Toussaint, Gabriel Kellum (Nick Reynolds 71), Michael Mignot, Khadean Campbell (Ridwan Hussein 87)
Unused Subs: Henry Fisher, Harry Aldridge
Yellow Card: Oguz Yasar 3