After four wins on the road, Romford are back at The Lawtech Stadium tomorrow for the visit of FC Clacton. Those wins came at Ilford, West Essex, and Stansted in the ESL, while there was also a win at Barkingside in the Essex Senior Cup, which gives Boro an away tie against Little Oakley or Athletic Newham in the Second Round. Tomorrow will be Boro’s first home game since the 2-1 reverse against Little Oakley a month ago.

Romford and FC Clacton met three times last season with Boro victorious in both the Essex Senior League fixtures – 4-1 at home and 3-1 away – while FC Clacton won 4-3 in the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy tie played at their place in February.

Clacton had quite the torrid time of it after their PBMT win over Boro lasts season. Manager Ryan Salter departed for Brightlingsea Regent the following day and although The Seasiders won their next two league games they then embarked on a run of nine defeats in ten games, albeit that two of those ‘defeats’ came in games that were not played. First, they withdrew from the Errington Challenge Cup, handing Saffron Walden Town a walk-over, and then were unable to raise a team for their final league game at Great Wakering Rovers.

FC Clacton – Brief History:

The original club – Clacton Town – were formed in 1892, but folded nine years later. A group of former players formed Old Clactonians in 1902, changing the name to Clacton Town in 1905. In 1935 they were founder members of the Eastern Counties League, and in 1959 they joined the Southern League, winning the Division One title at the first attempt (Romford were runners-up).

In 1964, Clacton rejoined the Eastern Counties League and were champions in 1995 and 1999.

In 2007, the club changed its name to FC Clacton and, having been relegated to the Eastern Counties League’s First Division, won promotion in 2010. In 2020 they were moved sideways to the Essex Senior League.

Previous Meetings:

The first post-1992 meeting between the clubs was an Eastern Floodlight Competition match played in April 1996 which Clacton (then Clacton Town) won 3-0. It wasn’t until September 2022 that the teams met again with Romford coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in an Essex Senior League game in which the home side had two players dismissed, at Clacton’s Rush Green Bowl. The return saw FC Clacton win 3-0 at Mayesbrook Park and they also won a PBMT tie 3-2 at the same venue.

A George Cox goal and a Hassan Nalbant hat-trick earned Romford a 4-1 ESL win at Mayesbrook Park in September 2023 and Boro completed the double over The Seasiders when Finlay Dorrell, Amaree Robinson-Jones, and Malaki Toussaint scored in a 3-1 win at Rush Green in December.

Hassan Nalbant scored another hat-trick in the 4-3 PBMT defeat at Clacton last February to become only the second Romford player to net three times and still end up on the losing team – Neil Fillary was the first, in an Essex Thames-side Trophy against Great Wakering Rovers in 2002.

Last Season:

FC Clacton finished in 17th place last season with 40 points from 37 games played and the one previously mentioned game at Great Wakering for which they were unable to raise a team. Following their win over Boro in the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy they were beaten 7-0 by eventual winners Stanway Rovers in the Quarter Final.

In last season’s FA competitions, they were beaten in a replay by Real Bedford in the Extra-Preliminary Round of the FA Cup, while in the FA Vase they lost on penalties by Tilbury in the First qualifying round.

This Season:

Clacton have not made the best of starts to the 2024-25 campaign and currently lie third from bottom in the table with 5 points from 11 league games. Their sole league victory to date was a decent one however, as they returned from Hullbridge Sports 3-1 winners at the end of September. Their other points have come from draws with Stansted and Sawbridgeworth Town. Last Saturday they were beaten 4-0 at home by Buckhurst Hill, but in midweek drew 3-3 at Benfleet in the Essex Senior Cup only to lose 4-1 on penalties.

In the FA Cup, Clacton fell at the first hurdle, losing 6-0 at home to Leighton Town, while in the FA Vase they were beaten 5-0 at Letchworth Garden City in the Second Qualifying Round having been exempt until that stage.

Essex Senior League fixtures this weekend:

Friday 11th October:
Woodford Town v Athletic Newham

Saturday 12th October:
Benfleet v Sawbridgeworth Town
Buckhurst Hill v Stanway Rovers
Frenford v Takeley
Halstead Town v Barking
Hullbridge Sports v Great Wakering Rovers
Little Oakley v West Essex
Romford v FC Clacton
Saffron Walden Town v Ilford
White Ensign v Stansted