Romford travel up the A12 to play Little Oakley in one of the two Second Round ties remaining to be played in the BBC Essex Senior Cup (Saffron Walden Town v Great Wakering Rovers is the other one).

This tie was originally scheduled for last week but the First Round tie between Little Oakley and Athletic Newham was twice postponed, leading to a week’s delay in Boro’s match. Little Oakley beat Athletic Newham in their First Round tie while Romford were 3-0 winners at Barkingside in the same round.

Romford have already played Little Oakley once this season and on that occasion The Acorns won 2-1 at The Lawtech Stadium to inflict Boro’s first, and so far, only league defeat of 2024-25. Both Little Oakley goals that evening were scored by Darren Mills who has been around the block a few times, playing at Step 4 with clubs like Felixstowe & Walton United and Bury Town and at Step 3 with Leiston. Mills has 8 goals to his name from 12 games this season.

That win over Athletic Newham in the BBC Essex Senior Cup was Little Oakley’s most recent game – they did not play at the weekend – while for Boro the most recent fixture ended in a defeat in the Errington Challenge Cup against Stanway Rovers last Friday night.

Previous Meetings:

The first game between the sides was an FA Vase tie in November 2022 which Boro won 2-0 at Mayesbrook Park with a pair of goals from Camilo Restrepo. In the ESL fixture at the same venue a couple of months later, Little Oakley came from 2-0 down to win 3-2. Tom Richardson and Scott Doe scored for Boro. A single goal from Camilo Restrepo in the return earned three points for Romford.

The sides met three times last season with Boro winning all of them. In the league at The Lawtech Stadium it was 3-1 with Hassan Nalbant scoring twice and Kris Newby once; in the Errington Challenge Cup, goals from Toheeb Elegushi and Charlie Morris won it 2-0 at Rookery Hill and in the return league game at Little Oakley it was 3-0 to Boro with Darren Phillips, Sam Deering, and Hassan Nalbant scoring.

As mentioned above, the recent Essex Senior League game saw Little Oakley come to Barking and beat Boro 2-1.

BBC Essex Senior Cup 2024-25

First Round results:
Barkingside 0-3 Romford
Benfleet 3-3 FC Clacton - Benfleet won 4-1 on pens
Clapton Community 0-3 Harwich & Parkeston
Frenford 0-3 Great Wakering Rovers
Halstead Town 8-0 Newbury Forest
Harlow Town 1-0 Hutton
Little Oakley 2-1 Athletic Newham
Saffron Walden Town 3-2 Stanway Pegasus
Southend Manor 0-1 Rayleigh Town
Stansted 1-1 May & Baker EC - May & Baker won 4-2 on pens
Takeley 6-3 Basildon Town
West Essex 6-0 Hullbridge Sports
Wivenhoe Town 2-4 Holland
Buckhurst Hill 4-2 Cannons Wood
Coggeshall Town 2-2 Woodford Town - Coggeshall Town won 4-1 on pens
Dunmow Town 3-1 Burnham Ramblers
Ilford 2-1 Stanway Rovers
White Ensign 3-3 Barking - Barking won 5-3 on pens

Second Round results:
Halstead Town 1-2 Dunmow Town
Harwich & Parkeston 0-0 Benfleet - Harwich won 3-1 on pens
Barking 0-1 Buckhurst Hill
Takeley 1-1 May & Baker Eastbrook Community- Takeley won 4-2 on pens
Coggeshall Town 1-4 Ilford
Harlow Town 0-2 West Essex
Rayleigh Town 5-0 Holland

Third Round draw:

The draw for the Third Round pits the winners of Boro’s game tomorrow against Isthmian League North outfit Basildon United. The draw in full:

Saffron Walden Town or Great Wakering Rovers v Braintree Town
Witham Town v Brentwood Town
Redbridge v Brightlingsea Regent
Maldon & Tiptree v Hornchurch
Walthamstow v Aveley
West Essex v Chelmsford City
Waltham Abbey v Grays Athletic
Concord Rangers v Billericay Town
Harwich & Parkeston v Bowers & Pitsea
Ilford v Tilbury
Takeley v Rayleigh Town
Hashtag United v Southend United
Dunmow Town v Heybridge Swifts
Buckhurst Hill v Canvey Island
Dagenham & Redbridge v Colchester United
Little Oakley or Romford v Basildon United

Home Ground and How to Get There:

Little Oakley play at the Memorial Ground, Harwich Road, Little Oakley, CO12 5ED. By road that’s about 61 miles from Romford, which represents Boro’s longest league awayday of the season.

From Romford, take the A12 to Colchester, exiting onto the A1232/A120 slip road signposted Colchester N/Clacton/Harwich. Stay on the A120 until Ramsey, then take Church Hill (the B1352) and then the B1414 (Harwich Road). The ground has a car park.

According to the Little Oakley website, the nearest Railway Station is Dovercourt, which is served by the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich main line. You must alight at Manningtree and take the link line, which terminates at Harwich Town. There is a taxi rank near Dovercourt station or alternatively you can take the Number 3 bus. The bus stop is situated on the High Street, near Kingsway, although the taxi service is the recommended mode of transport to and from Dovercourt station. Whether you can get home again by public transport is another question – the last train leaves Harwich Town at 10.26pm.

Admission Prices:
Adults - £8.00
Concessions - £5
Children under 16 - FREE