Both sides came into the game looking to kick-start their league season, but neither could find a winner as it finished 2-2. Plenty of chances at both ends, but the points were shared.
A few changes for Athletic Newham today. We were without Christopher John, Johnny Ashman, and club captain Anderson Silva Baro, who serves the final game of his suspension.
We welcomed Harvey Simson back in goal after being rested in midweek, while Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed also returned to the squad after a spell out. New signing Nicholas Mejia Rengifo was also included.
Romford came out the quicker of the two sides, attacking from the first whistle. However, Newham stood firm, showing strength and resilience as they gradually pushed Romford back.
The first shot on target came in the 5th minute after a Romford corner was cleared. The ball was picked up by Fabio Co, who fired a shot towards goal. Harvey Simson reacted sharply, diving low to his right to make a strong save. He then quickly recovered to smother the loose ball just as Nick Reynolds was closing in, ready to pounce.
Romford stepped up the pressure in search of an early opening goal. They won another corner, this time played short before being whipped into the box. It fell kindly for Ezra Agyiri, but fortunately for Newham, he couldn’t keep his shot down — a huge let-off, as it looked destined for the back of the net.
Newham began to find their rhythm, moving the ball around well and starting to cause Romford some problems — though not quite enough to take the lead. However, they came close when the ball was worked out to the left, where Nicholas Mejia Rengifo delivered a lovely cross into the box. It found the head of George Rankin, but he couldn’t keep his header down, and the effort sailed over the bar.
With 20 minutes played, Athletic Newham came close to breaking the deadlock. George Rankin spotted Arthur Massingham making a run and played a perfectly weighted ball forward, but a superb last-ditch tackle from Ryan Sammons denied what looked to be a certain goal.
Romford instantly turned defence into attack, breaking quickly down the right. The ball was delivered into the Newham box, where Ellis Devereux had time to take a touch and finish clinically from close range. Harvey Simson had little chance, and Romford took a 1–0 lead — Devereux’s third goal of the season.
After the opener, Romford stepped up a gear and Newham were left defending for their lives as the hosts pushed for a second. The pressure told on 27 minutes when Ezra Agyiri broke down the left – despite slipping as he crossed, the ball still found its way across the box to Manny Ogunrinde, who smashed it into the roof of the net on his debut to double Romford’s lead.
The goal seemed to have Romford believing the game was already won, but Newham hit back quickly. Chuks Uzor played the ball out to the right for Caleb Odutola, who spotted the run of Arthur Massingham. Breaking the offside trap, Massingham raced through and calmly slotted past Bradley Davison to pull one back on 32 minutes.
Moments after getting 1 back in this game, Newham threatened again. Jayden Thiongo played a well-timed through ball for Chuks Uzor to run onto, but Bradley Davison was quick off his line and did well to come out and smother the danger.
Romford finished the half as the stronger side, creating several chances that, on another day, could easily have found the back of the net. However, Newham’s back line stood firm, doing just enough to keep them out, it was Athletic Newham who were the happier of the two teams to hear the half-time whistle.
HALF TIME
Romford 2-1 Athletic Newham
Newham came out in the second half as the quicker and more energetic side, but they just couldn’t convert their chances to pull level in the game. They won a number of corners, but struggled with their execution — either failing to keep the ball under the bar or missing the target altogether.
George Rankin won the ball in the middle of the park and played it out to the right, where Arthur Massingham controlled it well and spotted the run of Chuks Uzor. Uzor burst through on goal and calmly slotted the ball past Bradley Davison to make it 2–2 with 50 minutes on the clock — his fifth goal of the season.
The Romford players were furious with the linesman, believing the goal should have been ruled out, and they made their frustrations clear. Some of their reactions pushed the limits, and a few players could count themselves lucky to have stayed on the pitch.
Ten minutes after the game was levelled, Romford thought they had restored their lead when the ball hit the back of the net. However, their celebrations were cut short as the linesman raised his flag for offside — much to the frustration of the Romford players, who were convinced the goal should have stood.
Romford had a golden chance to retake the lead just before the 70-minute mark, when Harry Honesty was played through on goal — and you’d have backed him to score from that range. But Harvey Simson reacted brilliantly, rushing off his line, making himself big, and pulling off a brave, outstanding save to keep the score level at 2–2.
Remarle Lawrence broke free down the right flank and drove into the box. He looked up and picked out Arthur Massingham in space, just outside the area. Massingham’s first shot was blocked, the rebound fell kindly back to him — but his second effort was deflected by his own teammate. Third time lucky? Almost.
His third strike was met by a heroic block from Harry Elsey, who threw his body in front of the ball. The deflection off Elsey looped high into the air and over the head of Bradley Davison, landing just over the bar. For a moment, even the Athletic Newham management thought it had gone in for a moment.
Romford came close themselves with a cleverly worked throw-in from Ryan Sammons. He shaped to play it down the line but changed it up at the last moment, finding Jake Gordon, who produced a smart flick into the path of Flynn Hamilton. Hamilton struck it well, forcing another solid save from Harvey Simson to keep Athletic Newham in the game.
The rebound fell to Harry Honesty, who must have left his scoring boots in the changing room as he smashed the ball against the bar and over from a great position. It was a big chance missed.
With 85 minutes on the clock, the referee made a controversial call. Remarle Lawrence chased down a short back pass from a Romford defender to his goalkeeper, closing in quickly as the clearance was struck straight at him. The ball hit Lawrence — who had no time to react or move out of the way — but the referee still gave a handball.
It was a decision that left many scratching their heads, but as always, the referee’s word is final. Both sides, at different points in the match, felt hard done by key decisions from the officials.
That would prove to be the last real chance of the game for either side. Athletic Newham pushed forward in the final minutes, looking for a late winner, but couldn’t break down a determined Romford defence. In the end, both sides were forced to settle for a point.
FULL TIME
Romford 2-2 Athletic Newham