An eventful, if not especially entertaining game ended with Boro earning the right to travel to Kensington & Ealing Borough in the Preliminary Round, thanks to goals from L’heureux Menga, Christian Adu Gyamfi, and Jesse Olukolu.

The visitors – whose line-up showed a number of changes from the first match - had the game’s first chance after just three minutes when Ivan Machado swivelled to shoot wide after a free-kick had been knocked down to him, but it was Boro who drew first blood. A neat move down the right involving Jesse Olukolu ended with L’heureux Menga poking the ball under Harpenden keeper Eman Olajide (one of their changes from Saturday), although the referee had to consult his assistant before awarding the goal as the Harpenden keeper claimed that he had been impeded.

Adu Gyamfi set up Olukolu for a shot that was agonisingly wide after ten minutes, but it was Harpenden who scored next when Josh Rodrigues fired home an angled drive from the right after fifteen minutes.

Harpenden created a couple of decent chances to get their noses in front, but Romford really ought to have got back in front when Steve Carvell’s excellent through ball found Menga, but his shot went well over the bar.

Boro keeper Carlos Simeon saved well from Harpenden’s Josh Dooley, and then the visitors’ Josh Devaney shot wide. As the half drew to a close, Menga headed over the bar for Romford, while a header from Harpenden’s Devaney suffered a similar fate.

During the seven minutes of stoppage time added by referee James Masson, Romford’s L’heureux Menga and Steve Carvell were shown yellow cards, which seemed to whet the official’s appetite as he showed yellows to a further four Boro players after the break, and to two from Harpenden. Without being too critical of the referee from Benfleet, I’m sure he would agree he’d had better games. His decision not to give Harpenden’s Harvey Scott a second yellow for the worst challenge of the evening was lenient in the extreme, while earlier he had been on the verge of issuing what he thought was a second yellow to Jesse Olukolu as he confused the Boro number 7 with the Harpenden number 7 (the aforementioned Scott), whom he had previously cautioned. Fortunately, after consulting an assistant he come to the correct decision.

The second half started in spectacular fashion as Malaki Toussaint’s astute pass found Christian Adu Gyamfi, and the Boro striker lashed a fierce shot into the roof of the net. Harpenden were close to an equaliser after 53 minutes when a free-kick from the right – surely intended as a cross – landed on the top of Simeon’s crossbar.

The remainder of the half was poor, with the most notable incidents involving the man in the middle, who managed to find an additional seven minutes at the end of this period too, during which time he found cause to book two more players, Hartley of Harpenden and Remi Nelson of Romford.

It was also during stoppage time that Jesse Olukolu wrapped the game up. Having been tripped in the penalty area, and after the referee had consulted his assistant, Olukolu stepped up to send his 93rd minute penalty past Olajide.

Romford: Carlos Simeon, Bradley Kauzeni, Aundre Wholas-Spencer, Billy Hayes, Remi Nelson, Abdulmojeed Shogbeni, Jesse Olukolu, Malaki Toussaint, L’heureux Menga (Patrick Campbell, 64m), Christian Adu Gyamfi, Steve Carvell (Chaka Barnett, 82m). Unused subs: Kai Haysman, Josh George, Samuel Ekoja, Brandon Bullman.