Welcome to Romford

[CFuller]

[b]                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.    Pl    Witham                 37    25    5     7     84    42    +42   80
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2.          AFC Sudbury            37    19    12    6     59    35    +24   69
3.          Soham                  37    18    5     14    61    50    +11   59
4.          Wroxham                37    17    8     12    54    47    +7    59
5.          Thamesmead             37    17    8     12    50    46    +4    59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Maldon & Tiptree       37    16    9     12    55    52    +3    57
[color="#0000FF"]7.          Romford                37    15    11    11    57    47    +10   56[/color]
8.          Aveley                 37    14    13    10    41    31    +10   55
9.          Heybridge              37    16    7     14    55    50    +5    55
10.         Needham Market         37    14    13    10    44    40    +4    55
11.         Chatham                37    14    12    11    48    40    +8    54
12.         Waltham Forest         37    15    8     14    52    53    -1    53
13.         Harlow                 37    13    11    13    53    61    -8    50
14.         Brentwood              37    11    14    12    55    50    +5    47
15.         Potters Bar            37    10    14    13    43    43    0     44
16.         Redbridge              37    12    6     19    36    59    -23   42
17.         Cheshunt               37    8     15    14    46    62    -16   39
18.         Ware                   37    8     13    16    34    51    -17   37
19.         Waltham Abbey          37    6     18    13    31    41    -10   36
20.         Tilbury                37    7     14    16    38    52    -14   35
21.         Grays                  37    8     11    18    41    58    -17   35
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22.         Ilford                 37    6     9     22    39    66    -27   27

[CFuller]

The regular season came to a close in April, at the end of which we hoped to be sat somewhere between 2nd and 5th in the table. Here were our final five fixtures:

1 April: vs Tilbury (A) - Tilbury were 20th, and had won just once in five games

6 April: vs Harlow Town (H) - Harlow were 13th, and had won just once in seven games

13 April: vs Potters Bar Town (A) - Potters Bar were 15th, and had won just three times this year

20 April: vs Waltham Forest (H) - Waltham Forest were 12th, the highest-placed of our remaining opponents

27 April: vs Brentwood Town (A) - Brentwood were 14th, and were unbeaten in nine games

Our end-of-season run-in looked pretty good on paper - all of our last five opponents were in the bottom half - but none of those matches would be straightforward, especially not the away ones.

The first of those all-important matches came at Tilbury, just 48 hours after we tore apart Grays Athletic. Our regular starters were obviously struggling for fitness, so I made eight changes to the first XI and gave opportunities to some fringe players. Among those to feature from the start was one of our new youth team recruits - 16-year-old central midfielder Brian Neville. Two others were on the bench.

1 April 2013: Tilbury vs Romford

The game was played under atrocious conditions, and it took nearly half an hour for either team to get going. We won a corner in the 26th minute, but Tilbury headed that clear and went on the counter-attack. Winger Ashley Robinson raced into the penalty area, and then waited for team-mate Jordan Walker to enter the six-yard box. Robinson crossed to Walker, whose header was well caught by Scott Traveller. Two minutes later, another Walker header - this time from a corner - went just over the bar. At the 30-minute mark, centre-forward Tommy Hutchings managed to get behind George Walters and have a go from close range, but Scott pushed his shot clear. Tilbury continued to attack our goal, although their shots seemed to get progressively worse. Hutchings went nowhere near the target with an attempt in the 36th minute. Our best chance of the half was when Joe Oates fired narrowly over on 43 minutes, but other than that, we were really struggling, and rather fortunate to not be behind at the break.

We won a free-kick less than a minute into the second half, and Oates went close again, skimming the crossbar with his set-piece. That was a promising sign, and we dominated the opening stages of the half. Tilbury were forced into conceding a load of corners, though we couldn't quite take advantage of those. In the 69th minute, Dockers defender Philip Barrow attempted to boot the ball upfield, but Boro striker Mitch Fellows got in the way of the clearance before taking the loose ball. Fellows was free to either shoot from a very tight angle, or try and centre the ball to Nicky Reynolds near the six-yard box. He chose the former, hit the near post, and Barrow quickly kicked the rebound out for a throw-in. Our chance to stamp our authority on the match was gone. Seven minutes later, Duane Broomes' long cross into the Romford box found Hutchings, and the striker's header dipped into the net. Tilbury were 1-0 up against the run of play. Our momentum was snuffed out, and Reynolds' 88th-minute header, which was caught by Dockers goalie Bert Greenwood, would be our only chance to salvage a point. At the end, Tilbury's massive home support celebrated a huge win that all but secured their survival, while we were downhearted, having lost a further point on the top five.

Tilbury - 1 (Hutchings 76)

Romford - 0

Isthmian League Division 1 North, Attendance 39 - POSITIONS: Tilbury 19th, Romford 9th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah, Hatch, Toms (Goodwin), Walters, Mackin, Oxby, Neville (Farrell), Oates (Isa), Fellows, Reynolds.

Elsewhere in the Isthmian North, Witham Town were confirmed as champions after they staged a late fightback from 1-0 down to beat Redbridge 3-1. Amazingly, they had scored at least 25 goals more than everyone else in the division! So at least if we DON'T get promoted this season, we won't have to play those beasts again!

Most of Romford's star names returned for the visit of Harlow Town to Ship Lane. Harlow had snapped out of their poor run of form with a win in their last game, but I still fancied us to remain unbeaten at home for the sixth match in a row.

6 April 2013: Romford vs Harlow Town

Harlow came out of the traps much quicker than us, and just over a minute after kick-off, Paul Burton hit the upright from 20 yards out. In the third minute, Romford keeper Scott Traveller tipped a vicious strike from James Davis over the bar. There was no sign of Harlow relenting early on, and in the 17th minute, the inevitable happened. Traveller got down to parry a fierce James McCluskey shot, but he couldn't react quickly enough to Burton's tap-in, and Harlow were celebrating the opening goal. However, the referee had already blown his whistle when Burton 'scored', and he disallowed the goal. The Hawks were far from happy with the referee, but we thanked our lucky stars for once and continued to hold firm. Harlow struggled to break through our defence again in the half, and we even had time for a few attacks of our own. Nicky Reynolds forced a save out of Harlow keeper Noel Imber in injury time - a very promising sign as we went into the dressing room for the half-time break.

Normal service resumed after we re-emerged for the second half. Barely 15 seconds after the game kicked off again, Burton tried his luck from distance, but Traveller easily dealt with the ambitious shot. Harlow continued to create chances, but they were wasting an awful lot of them and barely making Scott sweat. And as they tired themselves out, the Hawks' shots became more and more wayward. On 82 minutes, Callum Day miscued a volley, sending it miles off course. That was one of NINE shots Day would hit in the match, and only one of them was on target. We too were struggling late on, but in a different way. With five minutes left, I was readying Scott Weight to come on as a substitute for the tiring Jay Vassell. Then, Boro left-back Tom Stephen went in hard on Mason Stewart, and ended up doing damage to himself. With Stephen unable to continue, I sent Weight back to the bench and brought on Matty Toms as a makeshift left-back. That was my last substitution, but in the 89th minute, Vassell pulled a hamstring, so he had to come off anyway. We were left with ten men for the rest of the match. This was going to be a long four-minute period of injury time.

Three minutes into added-on time, Imber's goal kick was headed back into the Harlow half by Hussein Isa. Hussein flicked it to Mitch Fellows, who then spotted an opening, and lobbed a through-ball towards Reynolds. Nicky stormed past his marker, and hit a powerful low shot into the net from 20 yards! Harlow's players screamed offside, but their protests fell on deaf ears, and we'd won the game in dramatic style! There was, of course, a last-ditch attack from the Hawks, but that came to nothing. Unbelievably, we'd weathered a 17-shot storm and snatched a victory right at the death!

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 90)

Harlow Town - 0

Isthmian League Division 1 North, Attendance 154 - POSITIONS: Romford 7th, Harlow 14th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Burns, Bourgeois, Myers, Stephen (Toms), Sullivan (Mackin), Crawley, Vassell, Isa, Benjamin (Fellows), Reynolds.

At long last, Lady Luck was smiling down on us, and at the right time too! That victory temporarily moved us to within one point of the play-off zone, but Soham Town Rangers's midweek draw with Witham Town meant that the gap was two points when we travelled to Hertfordshire for our next match.

Sadly, Jay Vassell would miss the away trip to Potters Bar Town - and indeed the rest of the season. His hamstring injury against Harlow put him on the sidelines for at least five weeks.

13 April 2013: Potters Bar Town vs Romford

In the 11th minute, Potters Bar forward Ashley Harrison-Barker curled the ball towards the top corner of Scott Traveller's goal, but Scott pulled off an excellent save and tipped it over. That would be a sign of things to come in the first half. After a 20-minute lull in proceedings, Potters Bar had another chance in the 31st minute, but Traveller again saved from Drew Rhodes. Two minutes later, the Romford keeper caught a header from Anton Agdomar. He then saw Jimmy Quiggin narrowly miss the target in the last minute of a far from memorable first half that the Scholars pretty much dominated. There was no need for us to panic, though - after all, Harlow Town were all over us a week before, and we still managed to beat them!

Eight minutes into the second half, Romford suddenly turned into Barcelona, knocking the ball around the Potters Bar half as if they were at the Nou Camp. I counted 23 consecutive passes from Andrew Burns' throw-in to Tom Stephen's cross into the box, where Lionel Messi - aka Chris Benjamin - finished off a great move with a similarly impressive finish! Benjamin was so ecstatic that he jumped up and down like a hyperactive kid who had spotted their favourite toy in a shop window! By the 78th minute, I would be doing the same. In the minutes that followed that opening goal, Quiggin and then Rob Magwood both went close to pulling Potters Bar level. Another Magwood chance went begging on 72 minutes, and six minutes later, we would teach the Scholars a lesson with a second goal. Hussein Isa's attempted cross into the middle of the penalty area went awry, but Chris Sullivan just about kept the ball in play before centring it to the unlikely goalscoring figure of Andy Oxby! Our vice-captain half-volleyed in his first goal of the season, and made it 2-0! Unlike some other teams who faced a two-goal deficit against us earlier this season, Potters Bar had nothing left in the tank and we eased to victory.

I checked the division's other results shortly after full-time, and learned that the two team directly above us - Soham Town Rangers and Maldon & Tiptree - had both lost! That meant, with just two games to go, we were in 5th place by a single point!

Potters Bar Town - 0

Romford - 2 (Benjamin 53, Oxby 78)

Isthmian League Division 1 North, Attendance 50 - POSITIONS: Potters Bar 15th, Romford 5th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Burns, Bourgeois, Myers (Toms), Stephen, Sullivan, Crawley, Weight (Oxby), Isa, Benjamin, Reynolds (Fellows).

At last, we were in the play-off zone - but now we had to keep up our good form to stay there.

[berrers]

Good read, hopefully you can stay in the play off places and kick on

[CFuller]

Good read, hopefully you can stay in the play off places and kick on

Hear, hear. You'll find out very soon whether we do hang on.

[CFuller]

Our last home game of the regular season was against mid-table Waltham Forest. If we won, and other results went our way, we could feasibly secure a play-off spot there and then.

20 April 2013: Romford vs Waltham Forest

We had the ball in the Waltham Forest net after just five minutes. Callum Crawley's corner went in off the head of Forest defender Nathan Beckett, but unfortunately for us, the referee had already blown his whistle. Ryan Myers was spotted holding back Beckett, and the own goal was chalked off. Another disappointment for Romford came in the 16th minute. Winger Chris Sullivan was badly hurt after being fouled by Luke Newman, and I took him off as a precaution. We shrugged those two setbacks off and continued pressing forward. Chris Benjamin missed a couple of opportunities to score midway through the half, but in the 33rd minute, he set up our opening goal. Benji hit a wonderful through-ball towards Nicky Reynolds, who brushed off his marker and rounded goalkeeper Berkley Laurencin before applying a simple finish! That goal was enough to send us into the break with a slender 1-0 lead, though it could've been 2-0 had Scott Weight been more accurate with a close-ranger in the 41st minute. It was just as well that we were in front, because Maldon & Tiptree were winning their match, and so our lead on them was just a single point. If we were still drawing, Maldon would've overtaken us.

The second half didn't start promisingly for Reynolds. Looking to score his 20th league goal of the season, he totally missed up an attempt to lob the ball over Laurencin shortly after kick-off, sending the ball high into the stands. He was then booked in the 56th minute for tripping Forest captain Scott Grange. On 63 minutes, Myers made a crucial intervention to head Newman's cross into the box away from Ray Heggie. Even though Ryan had denied Waltham Forest a certain equaliser, we still had a corner to defend. Martin Chandler swung the ball to Louis O'Sullivan, whose header was caught by Boro keeper Scott Traveller. Moments later, Stags defender Jordan Mumford broke down with what looked like a hamstring injury, and we sensed a weakness down Forest's right flank. After 70 minutes, Reynolds gathered a long ball from Tom Stephen, and advanced into the penalty area before waiting for some team-mates to arrive there. When they did, he passed to Joe Oates, who drilled a cross towards the six-yard box, where Benjamin pulled the trigger. 2-0 to Romford! We had to defend deep for much of the final 20 minutes, but when Traveller palmed away a Heggie shot in the 76th minute, I knew that we were going to see this one out. A bad day for Waltham Forest ended with an injury to skipper Grange, while a good day for Romford ended with us still in 5th place - but by how much?

Romford - 2 (Reynolds 33, Benjamin 71)

Waltham Forest - 0

Isthmian League Division 1 North, Attendance 178 - POSITIONS: Romford 5th, Waltham Forest 14th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Burns, Bourgeois, Myers, Stephen, Sullivan (Oates), Crawley, Weight (Oxby), Isa, Benjamin, Reynolds (Senghore). BOOKED: Reynolds.

Later that evening, I looked up the results of our four rivals for that final play-off place. Maldon & Tiptree and Soham Town Rangers both only managed draws, and Needham Market won, while Heybridge Swifts dropped out of contention with a defeat. So, with just one round left to go, this was the state of play:

[b]                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
3.          Thamesmead             41    19    10    12    59    51    +8    67
4.          Wroxham                41    19    9     13    63    54    +9    66
[color="#0000CD"]5.          Romford                41    18    11    12    62    48    +14   65[/color]
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6.          Soham                  41    18    8     15    67    58    +9    62
7.          Needham Market         41    16    14    11    51    43    +8    62
8.          Maldon & Tiptree       41    17    11    13    62    60    +2    62

At first glance, we looked fairly comfortable. We were in the last remaining play-off spot by three points, and therefore, a draw would be enough in our final game of the season - at 12th-placed Brentwood Town. But if, God forbid, we went behind to Brentwood, and either of the three teams below us started winning their matches, that's when things would get jittery:

• Maldon & Tiptree were away to Wroxham, who had already qualified for the play-offs. They had to make up a 12-goal deficit, so I wouldn't worry about them unless they thrashed Wroxham, and Brentwood gave us a towelling.
  
• Needham Market were at home to lowly Cheshunt. They had scored fewer goals than us, so basically, they needed a 7-goal swing.
  
• Soham Town Rangers were at home to 9th-placed Aveley. Having scored more times than us, they only needed a 5-goal turnaround. They were the team I was most worried about.
  

But of course, other results would be irrelevant if we could stop Brentwood from winning. Did I mention that Brentwood were unbeaten in their last 13 matches, and had won their last five on the trot?

This sure wasn't going to be easy.

After spending a week preparing for it, the big day arrived. We arrived at the Brentwood Centre knowing that a play-off place was in our hands. All we had to do was keep calm, and carry on playing like we had done over our last three games.

27 April 2013: Brentwood Town vs Romford

We looked a tad nervous in the opening stages, and Danny Grieves went close to putting Brentwood in the lead with a header after just eight minutes. At the other end, Nicky Reynolds struggled early on. In the 16th minute, he failed to get enough accuracy on a half-volley, and missed the target by inches. Ryan Myers then put a couple of headers over the bar midway through the period, but in the 35th minute, the centre-back made a mistake at the other end that almost cost us dearly. Ryan intercepted a header from Daryl Robson, but he couldn't get a clean first touch and gifted the ball to Luke Hopper, who fortunately for us scooped his shot over the bar. At the other end, Nicky started to find the range again. He fizzed a shot just past the post on 37 minutes, and three minutes later, he picked up a headed pass from Andy Oxby. Nicky moved forward into the penalty area, where he thrashed in a low strike to put Romford in the lead! Brentwood threatened to take away our lead shortly after the restart, but Scott Traveller held onto Grieves' low shot. At half-time, although Needham Market were leading in their match, that was irrelevant because we were ahead in ours. If we could hold onto or even enhance our lead, we'd be home and dry.

A few minutes into the second half, I got the news that Soham had gone 1-0 up in their match. If Brentwood fought back and Soham continued scoring, then it would be time to start biting what was left of my nails. It was at that point, in the 50th minute, that we decided to take matters firmly into our hands. Traveller hoofed a long ball upfield, and Joe Oates just managed to head it towards Chris Benjamin before he was barged into by Brentwood defender Jordan Browne. Benjamin then played a short pass to Reynolds, and moments later, Nicky had found the net again with another low finish! Eight minutes later, Andy Oxby picked up a Chris Sullivan through-ball and drilled it beyond James Hasell. It was now 3-0 Romford, and suddenly, all of the final-day drama was gone. Now was the perfect time to relax and take it easy. Instead, we moved up another gear! Three minutes after scoring his goal, Oxby set up one for Benjamin, and 3-0 became 4-0! But even with a four-goal lead that was more than sufficient to qualify for the play-offs, we weren't quite finished. With 74 minutes on the clock, Brentwood's offside trap was cut open yet again when Benjamin scored his second of the day from a sublime Callum Crawley pass. We had scored five goals from just five shots on target! Brentwood were feeling the Blues - their 13-game unbeaten run had shredded by another in-form side, as we finished the regular campaign with four consecutive shut-out victories!

With our play-off spot secured, the results concerning Soham and Needham Market were no longer relevant to us. We were now looking to find out what happened to Thamesmead Town and Wroxham to see whereabouts we'd finished - 3rd, 4th, or 5th. Then the news filtered in. Wroxham had lost to Maldon & Tiptree, and Thamesmead were held at Harlow Town! WE'D FINISHED 3RD!

Brentwood Town - 0

Romford - 5 (Reynolds 40,50, Oxby 58, Benjamin 61,74)

Isthmian League Division 1 North, Attendance 298 - POSITIONS: Brentwood 12th, Romford 3rd

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Burns (Appiah), Bourgeois, Myers, Stephen, Edgar (Sullivan), Crawley, Oxby (Weight), Oates, Benjamin, Reynolds.

Wow! That WAS easy!

That win not only gave us a play-off place, but it also earned us home advantage in a one-legged Semi Final against 4th-placed Thamesmead Town. The other Semi Final would see runners-up AFC Sudbury host Wroxham.

Getting to the play-offs was a remarkable achievement in itself for a 'mid-table' club like Romford, and it came thanks to a run of four consecutive wins. If we could win just two more games, then... well, that would be incredible.

[berrers]

good luck in the play offs, you've inspired me to start a new game with my now local side Hertford in the spartan prem (level 11) the long climb awaits.

[CFuller]

good luck in the play offs, you've inspired me to start a new game with my now local side Hertford in the spartan prem (level 11) the long climb awaits.

All the best, mate - I'd like to know how you get on. I don't think I'd have the patience to start that low down the pyramid, though!

[CFuller]

May Day turned out to be a red letter day for me. It started with a phone call from the Isthmian League secretary, who informed me that I'd been named as the Isthmian North Manager of the Month for April - my first personal honour as a manager.

I then attended a meeting with the chairman Steve Gardener, who was delighted that not only had we reached the play-offs, but we also finished in 3rd place. That earned us £2,000 in prize money, which just about kept our balance in positive numbers for the time being.

Mr Gardener also took this opportunity to offer me a 12-month extension to my contract. My weekly wages weren't going to be increased from £300, but that was beside the point. I came into this job for love, not money. I wasted little time in putting pen to paper on my new contract.

I'd be staying put for at least another season, but in which league would we be playing next season? After a surprisingly long 10-day wait, we started a play-off campaign at the end of which we hoped to be celebrating promotion. Our Semi Final opponents Thamesmead Town came to Ship Lane for what was sure to be a close-fought battle between two in-form teams.

We were without right-back Andrew Burns, who returned to Dagenham & Redbridge following the end of his three-month loan spell. We also had to continue without Jay Vassell, as although the youngster had just resumed full training following a hamstring injury, he was not quite match fit.

7 May 2013: Romford vs Thamesmead Town

After coming out of the dressing room for kick-off, we were amazed to see how many spectators had come out to see us! There were hundreds of Romford supporters at Ship Lane - in fact, we more than doubled our previous highest attendance of the season! With the Boro army out in numbers, we were even more determined not to let them down.

Our increased fan base didn't have long to wait for Romford's first shot on target. It came after just 27 seconds, but Elliot Justham turned Nicky Reynolds' effort around the post. In the 5th minute, Reynolds broke clear of the Mead defence down the left flank, and then drilled a poss towards the far post. The ball fell to Chris Benjamin, but after coming under pressure, he shot from a very tight angle and hit the woodwork. Our next shot at goal would be even closer. It was the 14th minute when Joe Oates surged down the left wing before crossing to Benjamin. Benji's header was tipped away from goal by Justham, but Thamesmead failed to clear their lines and Reynolds took full advantage by squirming the ball over the goal line! We'd drawn first blood, and the roar from the Romford fans was louder than I'd ever heard from them before! I wasn't getting ahead of myself, though. I was only too aware that Thamesmead would eventually up their game, so we had to stay solid defensively. In the 24th minute, Mead winger Sam Turner curled a cross goalward, but thankfully, Ryan Myers saved our lead by heading it away just in time. Our other centre-half came to the fore after 42 minutes. Daryl Bourgeois blocked another cross - this time from the left flank - just before Baff Addae could get to it and slide in a Thamesmead equaliser. Thanks to our ever-impressive trio of Reynolds, Myers and Bourgeois, we retained that 1-0 lead until the referee blew for half-time.

Romford keeper Scott Traveller started the second half strongly, making a couple of impressive saves from James Comley and then Ryan Briggs in the opening ten minutes. The latter save brought Thamesmead a corner in the 55th minute, and while defending that, Boro midfielder Callum Crawley got himself an injury. Nine minutes later, right-back Robert Appiah was also struggling with a twisted ankle. Neither Crawley nor Appiah would last much longer. On 68 minutes, just after the pair were substituted, we had a free-kick in a dangerous position. Benjamin hit it against the crossbar, and Reynolds tapped in the rebound, only to find that the linesman had flagged him offside. A second goal would have put us in a comfortable position, but now there was a fear that Thamesmead would stage a late fightback and equalise. The visitors' cause was not helped by an injury to left-back Danny Kerrigan in the 87th minute, but until the referee blew for full-time, we couldn't afford to rest on our laurels.

Four minutes of added-on time were signalled, and towards the end of the final minute, Hussein Isa conceded a free-kick in our half. Comley placed the ball in position, about 30 yards from goal, and took a few steps back. When he was ready, Comley approached the ball, and swung it into the penalty area... where Benjamin intercepted it with his chest. Seconds later, the ref blew his whistle, and the Romford fans went wild! We hadn't yet been promoted, but we were now just 90 minutes away! We were in the Play-Off Final!

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 14)

Thamesmead Town - 0

Isthmian League Division 1 North Play-Off Semi Final, Attendance 708

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah (Toms), Bourgeois, Myers, Stephen, Edgar (Isa), Crawley (Weight), Oxby, Oates, Benjamin, Reynolds.

We had made it all the way to the Play-Off Final - but sadly, Robert Appiah would not be taking part after he twisted his ankle in that last win. His injury left us without a senior right-back, and so 17-year-old Anthony Chapman would take his place for the big day. Although Chappers didn't have much first-team experience, he does tend to thrive when it comes to important matches, so perhaps this would be a blessing in disguise.

24 hours after our win over Thamesmead, attention turned to the other Semi Final, the winner of which would play us in the Final. I was hoping that Wroxham would win it because we'd beaten them before this season, and as the higher-ranked team, we would get home advantage for the Final. Alas, it wasn't to be. AFC Sudbury won 1-0, and so we would have to beat the league runners-up on their own turf if we were to be promoted.

Sudbury had lost just four home league matches this season. However, we had now won five consecutive games, with five consecutive clean sheets. It was all to play for.

[Makonnen]

GO GO GO! Gotta love the postseason drive ...

[berrers]

Provisional area booked at Yates's for the promotion party

[CFuller]

Provisional area booked at Yates's for the promotion party

Ah yes, there is a Yates's in Romford! I've never been there personally, but maybe my imaginary self will if we beat Sudbury...

GO GO GO! Gotta love the postseason drive ...

Great to have your support, Mak. Only one more match to go...

[berrers]

Ah yes, there is a Yates's in Romford! I've never been there personally, but maybe my imaginary self will if we beat Sudbury...

You haven't missed much I can assure you!!

[CFuller]

Our date with destiny was set for Sunday 12 May 2013. The venue for the biggest day in our history since the club was reformed two decades ago was the King's Marsh stadium in Sudbury, Suffolk.

Victory against AFC Sudbury would earn us promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. Defeat, however, would leave us in the Isthmian League Division 1 North for yet another season.

12 May 2013: AFC Sudbury vs Romford

We received a major boost just before kick-off, because Jay Vassell - who had been ruled out for the season with a hamstring injury - passed a late fitness test. I wasn't too sure whether Jay was actually fit enough to make an impact, but I put him on the bench anyway. As for our hosts, AFC Sudbury were without five first-team regulars, including their 15-goal striker Danny Charge, although they still possessed a potentially dangerous centre-forward in the shape of Leon Antoine. Sudbury's problems and our recent form made us the slight favourites ahead of this all-important Play-Off Final, and I reminded the Romford players of that before the start.

I also told the Boro boys that Sudbury were likely to come out all guns blazing, and I couldn't stress enough how important it was that we scored the first goal. In the sixth minute, Tom Stephen crossed into the Suds box, and Chris Benjamin nodded the ball home... only to be denied by the linesman's offside flag. That decision was a little frustrating, but it didn't knock us off our stride. A minute later, after we probed the ball around the opposition half, Anthony Edgar sent a short cross to Nicky Reynolds, who chested it and drilled in a powerful low finish! That vital first goal was ours after just seven minutes! Our joy would not be particularly long-lived, though. Six minutes later, Sudbury had a corner. Sam Sloma swung to the centre of the penalty area, where Michael Shinn - who had suffered a knock moments earlier - thumped a shot past the helpless Scott Traveller. Having equalised, Sudbury now looked to take the game by the scruff of the neck. In the 24th minute, some poor marking from the Romford defenders allowed John Purches to get into the penalty area and aim a shot at goal. Traveller just about palmed it out of play with his left hand, and after a poor corner from AFC Sudbury, we attempted to hit them on the counter. Reynolds gathered the loose ball and ran with it all the way to the edge of Sudbury's penalty area, where he was tripped by Russell Pond. That earned us a free-kick in a dangerous position, but Callum Crawley's delivery went straight into the hands of Matthew Cowell. After a fairly uneventful quarter of an hour, the hosts launched a fresh offensive on 43 minutes. From the corner of the penalty box, Pond hit a first-time pass to Antoine in the centre. Antoine controlled the ball with his left foot before quickly volleying it into the net with his right. While Sudbury celebrated, the Romford players stood in stunned silence. It was very close to half-time, and we'd gone 2-1 down!

The half-time whistle blew a few minutes later, and the lads trudged into the dressing room in a state of shock. I followed them in, and shortly afterwards, I let my frustrations out in the open. "WHAT SORT OF PERFORMANCE WAS THAT, EH? This is a Play-Off Final, for God's sake, but they were all over you lot like they were in a training match! This is our big chance for promotion, and you're carelessly throwing it away! I expect ALL OF YOU to up your game in the second half, or you'll be looking for new clubs by the end of today!"

After the players had time to take that in, I announced a change of strategy. "Right, lads. It's obvious that our pressing game isn't working at the moment. From now on, I want you to sit back and mark in zones - let THEM come to YOU, okay? And then, when they make mistakes, which they will, we'll hit them on the break.

"Oxby, you were awful in that first half. You're coming off. Vassell, get changed - you're going in the hole, behind Benji and Reynolds. Got it?"

I'd got the lads fired up for the second half, and they were champing at the bit when the time came to return to the pitch. However, one player - young centre-back Ryan Myers - had been visibly shaken by my earlier rant, and seemed to be a bit nervous. While his team-mates entered the field, I took Ryan to one side and reassured him, "Just play your natural game, mate. You'll be fine." I then patted him on the back as he followed the other players onto the pitch.

What sort of impact had my team talk made on Romford's second-half performance? Well, in the 49th minute, Jay Vassell's cross was headed into the penalty area by Joe Oates. On the other end was Nicky Reynolds... who hit a first-time volley into the top corner of Cowell's net! 2-2 - game on again! We were obviously doing much better attacking-wise, and we also showed improvement in the defensive department. In the 57th minute, captain Daryl Bourgeois - who uncharacteristically struggled in the first half - headed away a potentially dangerous free-kick from Sloma. Four minutes later, Sudbury striker Duncan Williams sent a shot well off target. The Suds were cracking under the strain. Then, in the 63rd minute, Anthony Chapman hit a right-wing cross to Vassell in the box. Jay managed to find a gap between three Sudbury defenders and the goal, and proceeded to send the ball through that gap. Our fightback was now in full swing, and with just under half an hour to play, we were in the lead again!

Although Sudbury were down, they were far from out. Our impressive young right-back Chapman would have to come good again in the 65th minute, heading Pond's pass away from the lurking Sloma. Moments later, Pond had a shot at goal from 20 yards out, but he hit the ball with too much venom and sent it harmlessly over. It was shortly after that miss that I introduced Mitch Fellows as a substitute for Benjamin. With 72 minutes on the clock, Fellows drilled the ball to Edgar, who was unchallenged on the right flank. He charged up the flank untroubled, and then crossed towards the centre of the penalty area. His delivery deflected off a Sudbury defender, but luckily fell to Reynolds, who took his chance to seal his hat-trick with his 32nd - and perhaps most vital - goal of the season! A 2-1 deficit at the break had become a 4-2 lead! The Romford faithful were ecstatic! Of course, the smiles would be wiped off our faces if Sudbury launched a comeback of their own. The yellow perils went gung-ho, but then the Romford defenders came to the fore, with all four of them making vital clearances within two minutes of us increasing our lead. Sudbury would have to wait until the 77th minute for their next chance, but when Shinn skied it over, one could see that their spirit was broken. All we had to do was survive for 15 more minutes. We got to the 90th minute without our two-goal advantage being threatened again. At that point, I and many other Romford fans waited and prayed for the final whistle. We waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Finally, with 92 minutes and one second on the clock, the referee blew his whistle, three times in succession. We'd won the Play-Off Final! WE WERE PROMOTED!!

AFC Sudbury - 2 (Shinn 13, Antoine 43)

Romford - 4 (Reynolds 7,49,72, Vassell 63)

Isthmian League Division 1 North Play-Off Final, Attendance 772

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Bourgeois, Myers (Hatch), Stephen, Edgar, Crawley, Oxby (Vassell), Oates, Benjamin (Fellows), Reynolds.

Ten months ago, at my very first press conference as Boro manager, I said this: "Romford fans shouldn't expect promotion this season, because this season will be one of transition, but I'm confident I can move Romford up the table and secure a top-half finish."

I didn't consider promotion to be a realistic target back then, but after one extraordinary and incredibly tiring season, we had beaten all the odds and battled our way into the Isthmian League Premier Division!

I don't think I'll be returning to the Romford Recorder any time soon...

[Gary_Parker]

Brilliant season. Keep it up and good luck next year. Can I get an invite to your imaginary promotion party at Yates'? Its been a long time since I've been in one of them

[berrers]

Great work on promotion. Hopefully you can keep going up the leagues with Romford

[CFuller]

Brilliant season. Keep it up and good luck next year. Can I get an invite to your imaginary promotion party at Yates'? Its been a long time since I've been in one of them

Sure, why not?

Great work on promotion. Hopefully you can keep going up the leagues with Romford

Let's hope we can keep moving up. One promotion secured, six more to go...

[CFuller]

My first objective as Romford manager was complete. We'd been promoted from the Isthmian North, and next season would see us playing in the Isthmian Premier - the seventh tier of English football. We'd now reached the stage where our league scores would appear on the videprinter on Sky Sports' Gillette Soccer Saturday, although Jeff Stelling won't publicly acknowledge us until we reach the Conference Premier in two promotions time.

When will we get that far? Will we ever get that far? How long is a piece of string?

As you can surely understand, the Boro celebrations after our win in Sudbury went on well into the night. While the players and staff members toasted their success at the Yates's club on South Street (a stone's throw away from the Liberty Shopping Centre), I opted for a quiet night at home with my family. There was no alcohol for me, though - I'm a strict teetotaler.

On the morning after, I met a slightly hungover Steve Gardener in the boardroom, where he retained enough sobriety to inform me that promotion wasn't our only reward from the Isthmian League this season.

To my surprise, we'd won the Bluefin Fair Play award for having the best disciplinary record in our division. Amazingly, we had only picked up 12 yellow cards and not a single red card! I treated this as both a massive compliment and a cause for concern - we'll have to get stuck in a bit more next season if we're to survive in the Isthmian Premier.

In terms of the individual awards, Scott Traveller was the runner-up in the Golden Gloves standings for most clean sheets, and Nicky Reynolds came second in the Golden Boot stakes to... you've guessed it, Witham Town's Glyn Mitchell. The Isthmian North Team of the Season was announced later, but sadly, no Romford players were named in that - not even Scott or Nicky.

I was also honoured by being nominated for the Isthmian North Manager of the Year award, although I wasn't best pleased when I didn't even finish in the top three. Witham boss Garry Kimble was a deserving winner, no question, but the manager of 14th-placed Waltham Forest got more votes than me, for crying out loud!

The good news kept on coming, as one of our coaches - Tony Reid - announced that he had gained his first UEFA coaching badge. He actually qualified for his B Licence just before our Play-Off Final, but decided to hold back the news until that was over with. Mitch Fellows, our other first-team coach, began his B Licence course a month after Tony started in August, and hopefully he'll pass as well.

As the month came to a close, I prepared a list of potential summer signings, and decided which current players would be in my future plans, and which ones wouldn't.

Reynolds was a player that certainly was in my plans, and I opened talks with him over a new contract for next season. The negotiations could take a while, but hopefully Nicky will realise that Romford is the only place for him.

It is of great importance that we don't lose Nicky. After all, 32-goal-a-season strikers don't grow on trees, do they?

[CFuller]

[b]                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.    C     Witham                 42    27    7     8     93    49    +44   88
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.          AFC Sudbury            42    19    14    9     61    45    +16   71
[color="#0000FF"]3.    P     Romford                42    19    11    12    67    48    +19   68[/color]
4.          Thamesmead             42    19    11    12    59    51    +8    68
5.          Wroxham                42    19    9     14    64    56    +8    66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Soham                  42    19    8     15    68    58    +10   65
7.          Maldon & Tiptree       42    18    11    13    64    61    +3    65
8.          Chatham                42    17    13    12    55    44    +11   64
9.          Needham Market         42    16    15    11    52    44    +8    63
10.         Aveley                 42    15    16    11    42    32    +10   61
11.         Heybridge              42    17    10    15    61    56    +5    61
12.         Brentwood              42    15    14    13    61    55    +6    59
13.         Harlow                 42    15    12    15    61    68    -7    57
14.         Waltham Forest         42    15    10    17    53    60    -7    55
15.         Waltham Abbey          42    9     19    14    44    50    -6    46
16.         Redbridge              42    13    7     22    43    67    -24   46
17.         Potters Bar            42    10    15    17    45    51    -6    45
18.         Cheshunt               42    9     16    17    52    74    -22   43
19.         Tilbury                42    9     15    18    48    62    -14   42
20.         Ware                   42    9     15    18    40    58    -18   42
21.         Grays                  42    9     14    19    49    67    -18   41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22.   R     Ilford                 42    8     10    24    50    76    -26   34

[CFuller]

GOALKEEPERS               APPS    CON  CLN  MOM  P%   TR   ST%  Y    R    AV RAT
Scott Traveller           50      57   20   0    77%  0.02 -    0    0    6.90
Joel Wilkinson            5       6    1    0    64%  -    -    0    0    6.80

OUTFIELD PLAYERS          APPS    GLS  AST  MOM  P%   TR   ST%  Y    R    AV RAT
Robert Appiah             6 (4)   0    0    0    70%  2.47 -    0    0    6.85
Chris Benjamin            29 (11) 12   7    4    81%  1.46 42%  3    0    7.10
Josh Bickerstaff          14 (2)  0    0    0    74%  1.78 -    1    0    6.89
Daryl Bourgeois           47      2    0    4    66%  1.43 46%  0    0    7.23
Andrew Burns              14      0    0    1    74%  3.91 -    1    0    7.19
Anthony Chapman           5       0    1    0    74%  4.00 -    0    0    6.98
Callum Compton            0 (2)   0    0    0    74%  5.92 -    0    0    6.55
Callum Crawley            29 (8)  1    5    0    81%  2.70 42%  0    0    6.90
Anthony Edgar             10      2    7    0    74%  2.28 50%  0    0    7.34
Ashley Farrell            0 (1)   0    0    0    86%  0.00 0%   0    0    6.60
Mitch Fellows             8 (16)  3    3    1    80%  1.76 46%  2    0    6.96
Lee Goodwin               0 (1)   0    0    0    90%  0.00 -    0    0    -   
Wayne Hatch               9 (9)   0    1    1    59%  2.55 -    0    0    6.86
Danny Hutchins            25      0    0    1    79%  2.27 -    0    0    6.89
Max Howell                1 (1)   0    0    0    84%  0.91 -    0    0    6.65
Hussein Isa               15 (12) 2    2    0    74%  1.97 43%  0    0    6.72
David Knight              14 (1)  9    5    1    82%  1.85 42%  0    0    7.48
Ricki Mackin              6 (10)  1    2    0    68%  1.23 100% 0    0    6.75
Shaun Meikle              2 (2)   0    0    0    72%  1.38 -    0    0    6.57
Ryan Myers                39 (2)  3    0    4    75%  2.18 44%  0    0    7.30
Brian Neville             1       0    0    0    86%  0.00 -    0    0    6.70
Joe Oates                 35 (4)  4    5    1    73%  1.79 38%  1    0    6.83
Andy Oxby                 19 (13) 2    2    0    80%  2.35 27%  0    0    6.79
Jimmy Pirie               0 (1)   1    0    0    86%  0.00 100% 0    0    7.40
Stefan Powell             2 (1)   0    1    0    82%  3.00 0%   0    0    6.73
Billy Radley              16 (3)  2    6    2    73%  2.53 22%  0    0    7.05
Nicky Reynolds            49 (2)  32   13   8    80%  2.20 50%  5    0    7.36
Toran Senghore            9 (10)  1    1    1    81%  1.82 35%  0    0    6.85
Tom Stephen               30 (3)  0    2    0    72%  2.76 -    1    0    6.86
Chris Sullivan            26 (10) 3    11   0    75%  1.91 23%  0    0    6.83
Matty Toms                15 (15) 1    0    0    68%  1.90 75%  1    0    6.75
Jay Vassell               21 (9)  6    4    1    75%  2.77 36%  0    0    6.99
George Walters            17 (4)  0    0    0    76%  2.36 0%   1    0    6.67
Scott Weight              37 (5)  4    6    0    82%  4.02 41%  1    0    6.98

APPS - Appearances (Substitute apps), GLS - Goals, AST - Assists,
CON - Goals conceded, CLN - Clean sheets, MOM - Man of the Match awards,
P% - Pass completion %, TR - Tackles per 90 mins, ST - Shots on target %,
Y - Yellow cards, R - Red cards, AV RAT - Average match rating

[berrers]

Nicky Reynolds goal scoring super star, got to make sure he signs that deal!!! intrigued to know what formation you played?

[CFuller]

Nicky Reynolds goal scoring super star, got to make sure he signs that deal!!! intrigued to know what formation you played?

I hope so, Berrers. I feel a special affinity towards Nicky, because he played for the Boro in real life. He actually left Romford last summer, but later returned, and then continued to score on a regular basis. That said, the real Nicky is nowhere near as lethal as the in-game Nicky!

For the first season, I mainly used plain old 4-4-2, nothing special. I also sparingly used a 4-3-2-1 with two attacking wingers, but that formation still needed some refinement.

I should add that I was still learning about how tactics work in FM13 during my first season, and you'll see how my tactics change as this story progresses.

[CFuller]

Our first new signing for the new season was already in place by the first day of June. He was Gary Burrell - a quick 28-year-old winger from Harrow Borough. Gary was a regular starter for Harrow in the Isthmian League Premier Division last season, and I'm confident he'll be a useful player for us in this coming campaign.

A more significant signing would follow the very next day. The contract negotiations with Nicky Reynolds went much smoother than I expected, and he was only too delighted to sign a new deal for next season. His weekly wage has increased to £130, but mercifully for our finances, his appearance fees and goal bonuses are now just £20 a pop - and not £100!

Those two deals were wrapped up pretty quickly, but other new signings were proving harder to secure. I shortlisted a number of young players who had just been released by Football League clubs in London and the south-east, although not many of them were willing to sign non-contract deals with us at the present time. So I'll bide my time, and wait until some of them lower their demands or someone else comes on my radar.

Someone like Jason Harley, for example. A hard-working right-winger with plenty of potential, I managed to snap him up ahead of Herne Bay, who were also interested in the Kent-born 16-year-old.

Former Luton Town striker Aidan Quinn then became our third new arrival of the summer. At 21 years of age, Quinn also has a bright future ahead of him.

Inevitably, there were a couple of high-profile departures from Romford during the off-season. The first of them was particularly sad, because it was that of local hero Chris Sullivan.

Chris was offered a contract by Southern League champions St Neots Town, and the opportunity to play in the Conference North proved too good to turn down. The midfielder left with my blessing after one season at his hometown club, for whom he made 36 competitive appearances.

We also lost centre-back Matty Toms, who signed for Dulwich Hamlet in the Isthmian South after failing to hold down a regular starting place at Ship Lane.

On the eve of the Isthmian Premier fixtures announcement, Romford's supporters club named their best XI for 2012/2013: Scott Traveller, Danny Hutchins, Ryan Myers, Daryl Bourgeois, Tom Stephen, Chris Sullivan, Scott Weight, Callum Crawley, Joe Oates, Nicky Reynolds, Chris Benjamin. To be fair, that's almost exactly what I would have gone for.

At the same time, the Fans' Player of the Year was also announced. Surprise, surprise, it was Nicky Reynolds.

Nicky was already tied up for another season, but just as the fixtures for 2013/2014 were being published, we were facing a fight to keep hold of two of our other key players.

[CFuller]

Scott Traveller was one of my best signings of the previous summer, keeping clean sheets in 20 out of 50 matches last season. The young goalkeeper certainly did well enough to catch the eye of several teams, including two of our new Isthmian Premier rivals - Carshalton Athletic and Thurrock. They, along with Conference South side Oxford City, offered semi-professional terms to Scott in late June.

At around about the same time, two more Isthmian Premier teams - Harrow Borough and Wealdstone - came in for centre-back Ryan Myers. I was very worried at the prospect of losing two key defensive figures ahead of our biggest season in years.

Then the chairman stepped in, and gave me my wage budget for this season, which was massively increased to just over £2,000 per week. Of course, I won't spend all of it, because the club's long-term financial future is of paramount importance.

However, there are some players that I will use that budget for. Scott and Ryan are two such players because: a) they're young, b) they can still improve, and c) they are good-quality players for our level. I handed both of them 12-month contracts worth around £125 per week, and awaited their response.

Traveller, to be fair, didn't take long to reply. He said there was no chance of him walking out on Romford - not after we saved him from the footballing scrapheap. To my delight, he put pen to paper and committed his future to the Boro.

In contrast, Myers was taking much longer to mull over his future, and he had even more options to choose from when Canvey Island and Margate made their moves. Four clubs were now chasing Ryan, and the odds of us keeping him were not looking good.

This was already giving me a big enough headache when captain Daryl Bourgeois informed me that he'd received an offer from Banbury United. Although Daryl was an absolutely key part of our success last season, I didn't see much point in offering a semi-pro contract to a 30-year-old when the money could be better used elsewhere. Therefore, it was with great reluctance that I allowed Daryl to pursue a new challenge in Oxfordshire. He will be sorely missed.

We weren't yet in July, and already we'd lost three players from our play-off-winning squad. In a way, we were becoming victims of our own success.

Four more players left at the end of the month, as I told Hussein Isa, Ricki Mackin, Andy Oxby and Toran Senghore that they were all surplus to requirements. Meanwhile, loanee Anthony Edgar returned to Barnet, only to find that he too would have to find employment elsewhere.

They were followed out of the exit door by the useless trio of assistant manager Daryl Armstrong, scout Clive White and physio James Harbottle. I would be looking to bring in my own replacements over the coming days.

In the midst of all that transfer activity, the fixture list finally came out. Surprisingly, the league campaign wouldn't get underway until 24 August, when we would be at home to Merstham. Although I consider myself to be quite good on British geography, I must confess that I had no idea where the heck Merstham was! Apparently, it's in Surrey.

A couple of days later, we would be on the road to Bury Town. Thankfully, we would only have to travel to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, and not Bury in Greater Manchester!

Two other fixtures of note would be our meetings with landlords Thurrock, with both matches taking place at Ship Lane, of course. Our 'away' fixture was scheduled for 19 October, and our 'home' game for 4 March.

Seeing Romford's name in the Isthmian League Premier Division fixture list was the first time I realised that my dream of taking my hometown club up the leagues was coming true. We'd taken the first step up, but now it was time for the difficult second season, where it could all come crashing down again.

[berrers]

good luck in the isthmian prem. The wage budget your mentioning on here have me envious....my top earner at hertford is on £45 p/w .....

[CFuller]

Before I move on to the second season, I'll be giving a summary of what happened in the Premier, Football and Conference Leagues. I'll also have the biggest stories from the rest of the footballing world. I will be doing this after every season.

If you have any enquiries about anything relating to the story or my in-game universe, let me know.

good luck in the isthmian prem. The wage budget your mentioning on here have me envious....my top earner at hertford is on £45 p/w .....

Thanks for that. Like I said, I won't be using up all of my budget. I'll still rely on non-contract players, only giving part-time contracts to my more valuable players.

[CFuller]

Premier League

Manchester City consolidated their place at the top of English football by retaining the Premier League title. After losing just the second match of their championship defence against Liverpool, Roberto Mancini's men went on a 22-game unbeaten streak in the league until the Reds beat them again in February. Inspired by the heroics of PFA Player of the Year Sergio Aguero, City won the league by 13 points from local rivals Manchester United. The Red Devils made an uncharacteristically slow start before they built a long unbeaten run themselves to secure second place.

The race for the last two UEFA Champions League places was exceptionally tight. Ahead of the last round of matches, Chelsea were 3rd with 72 points, Tottenham Hotspur were 4th with 71, and Arsenal were 5th with 69. Spurs suffered a shock defeat to relegation-threatened Sunderland, but Arsenal were still set to miss out on a place in Europe's elite until nine minutes from time, when Olivier Giroud scored a late winner against Newcastle United. That lifted the Gunners up into the top three, and gave them Champions League football at the expense of their bitter rivals yet again.

Stoke City had their best ever season, as they finished 7th in the Premier League and won the League Cup for the first time in 41 years after Peter Crouch's late goal defeated Manchester United. Wigan Athletic also had a season to remember, as they secured European football for the first time in their history after reaching the FA Cup Final, where they were overwhelmed by United. However, the mood was not so jolly at Liverpool. Despite Luis Suárez winning the Golden Boot with 24 PL goals, the Reds could only finish 6th, and so Brendan Rodgers' side missed out on Europe.

Sunderland started the season miserably and were still without a league win heading into the New Year. Manager Martin O'Neill abandoned ship to join West Ham United, and he was replaced by Brian McDermott, who made the potentially brave or stupid decision to leave Reading when they were just outside the drop zone. When the Mackems beat West Ham in McDermott's first match as the new boss, that started a hot streak that lifted them out of the bottom three... but then another calamitous run saw them drop back in two games from the end. This time, they couldn't recover, and so they joined West Ham and Queens Park Rangers in the Championship, while McDermott's old club Reading stayed up.

Top Four: Manchester City (1st, 88 pts), Manchester United (2nd, 75 pts), Arsenal (3rd, 72 pts), Chelsea (4th, 72 pts).

Relegated: Sunderland (18th, 32 pts), Queens Park Rangers (19th, 27 pts), West Ham United (20th, 25 pts).

Championship

Burnley were the surprise winners of the Championship, as Sean Dyche guided the Clarets back into the Premier League after three seasons away. Nottingham Forest's new Kuwaiti owners also celebrated promotion after a tense final day which saw them finish ahead of Cardiff City and Middlesbrough on goal difference.

Cardiff and Middlesbrough would be beaten in the Play-Off Semi Finals by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers respectively. Jordan Rhodes scored 34 Championship goals for Blackburn this season, but he couldn't find the net in the all-important Final, which Wolves won 2-0 after strikes from Bjorn Sigurdarson and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. The West Midlands club's decision to sack manager Dean Saunders and replace him with Alan Curbishley in December, when they were struggling in the bottom half, had paid off big time.

As 2012 drew to a close, it looked like Millwall were going to win promotion to the top flight for the first time in 25 years. But then Kenny Jackett upped sticks and moved to Cardiff City, whose promotion charge was spluttering. While Jackett guided the Dragons to the play-offs, his former team struggled under new manager Gérard Houllier and could only manage a 10th-place finish.

Charlton Athletic's return to the Championship was a brief one, and they went straight back down to League One after picking up just eight victories. Despite the brilliance of England Under-19s midfielder Will Hughes, Derby County were relegated on the final day of the season, along with Bristol City.

Promoted: Burnley (1st, 87 pts), Nottingham Forest (2nd, 76 pts), Wolverhampton Wanderers (6th, 72 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Cardiff City (3rd, 76 pts), Middlesbrough (4th, 76 pts), Blackburn Rovers (5th, 75 pts).

Relegated: Bristol City (22nd, 45 pts), Derby County (23rd, 43 pts), Charlton Athletic (24th, 39 pts).

League One

With one game to go, four teams were at the top of the table with 80 points apiece. Brentford and Tranmere Rovers both won their final matches, while Coventry City drew and Sheffield United were beaten. That meant Uwe Rosler's Bees were promoted as champions, and a young Tranmere side joined them in the Championship.

Coventry and Sheffield United both suffered further agony in the Play-Offs. The Sky Blues lost 2-1 on aggregate to Preston North End in their Semi Final, and the Blades went down 3-2 to Swindon Town. In the Final, two second-half goals from James Collins and Adam Rooney were enough for Swindon to secure back-to-back promotions.

Scunthorpe United were the first team to drop out of League One, and they would later be joined by Walsall. The last day of the season ended in disaster for Shrewsbury Town, and also for crisis club Portsmouth, who suffered their third relegation in just four seasons.

Promoted: Brentford (1st, 83 pts), Tranmere Rovers (2nd, 83 pts), Swindon Town (5th, 78 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Coventry City (3rd, 81 pts), Sheffield United (4th, 80 pts), Preston North End (6th, 78 pts).

Relegated: Portsmouth (21st, 47 pts), Shrewsbury Town (22nd, 45 pts), Walsall (23rd, 43 pts), Scunthorpe United (24th, 35 pts).

League Two

After over a decade of agony, Bradford City's fortunes finally changed for the better, and they won League Two by eight points. In second place were Fleetwood Town, who moved up to League One after their first ever season as a Football League club. The top three was completed by yet another northern club - Rotherham United.

4th-placed Burton Albion overcame Plymouth Argyle 4-2 in the Play-Off Semi Final, and set up an all-Staffordshire Final with Port Vale, who needed extra-time to see off Gillingham. However, the Wembley showdown was not much of a contest, as Burton cantered to a 3-0 win and celebrated their first ever promotion to the third tier.

Goal-shy Dagenham & Redbridge plunged back into non-league football after a miserable campaign. Going down with them were Accrington Stanley, whose failure to beat Oxford United on the final day drew a sigh of relief from Rochdale fans.

Promoted: Bradford City (1st, 89 pts), Fleetwood Town (2nd, 81 pts), Rotherham United (3rd, 81 pts), Burton Albion (4th, 75 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Gillingham (5th, 72 pts), Port Vale (6th, 71 pts), Plymouth Argyle (7th, 70 pts).

Relegated: Accrington Stanley (23rd, 48 pts), Dagenham & Redbridge (24th, 38 pts).

Conference Premier

Grimsby Town ended a three-year exile from the Football League with an emphatic victory in the Conference Premier title race, picking up 97 points and losing just five games.

Both Play-Off Semi Finals went to extra-time, with Kidderminster Harriers seeing off Luton Town and Wrexham beating Macclesfield Town on penalties. The Final was less dramatic, and even though the Harriers dominated it, Wrexham scored the only goal to finally win promotion after four failed attempts.

Southport and Nuneaton Town both struggled throughout the season, and they dropped out of non-league football's top tier. The other two teams to be relegated were Tamworth and Hyde, both in the last round of matches.

Promoted: Grimsby Town (1st, 97 pts), Wrexham (2nd, 90 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Luton Town (3rd, 83 pts), Kidderminster Harriers (4th, 83 pts), Macclesfield Town (5th, 71 pts).

Relegated: Hyde (21st, 46 pts), Tamworth (22nd, 46 pts), Nuneaton Town (23rd, 41 pts), Southport (24th, 37 pts).

Conference North

Promoted: Harrogate Town (1st, 71 pts), Altrincham Town (2nd, 71 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Brackley Town (3rd, 70 pts), Worcester City (4th, 70 pts), Oxford City (5th, 69 pts).

Relegated: Hinckley United (20th, 42 pts*), Corby Town (21st, 37 pts), Workington (22nd, 35 pts).

* deducted 3 points

Conference South

Promoted: Salisbury City (1st, 81 pts), Hayes & Yeading United (5th, 74 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Eastleigh (2nd, 79 pts), Boreham Wood (3rd, 77 pts), Welling United (4th, 74 pts).

Relegated: Dorchester Town (20th, 44 pts), Billericay Town (21st, 36 pts), Truro City (22nd, 21 pts*).

* deducted 10 points

Regional Premier Divisions

Promoted from Northern Premier League Premier: Matlock Town (1st), Chorley (3rd).

Promoted from Isthmian League Premier: Kingstonian (1st), Margate (2nd).

Promoted from Southern League Premier: St Neots Town (1st), Hitchin Town (3rd).

[CFuller]

Major Transfers

• Manchester United were the Premier League's big spenders in the summer. They forked out £27million for Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsik, who had an excellent first season at the club, scoring 10 goals and setting up 17 more. United also paid £18million for Bayern Munich left-back David Alaba, but the Austrian youngster initially struggled to overtake Patrice Evra in the Old Trafford pecking order.
  
• The Red Devils' great rivals Manchester City also brought out the chequebook, paying £19.5million for Tottenham Hotspur defender Younes Kaboul and £14million for Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa. Both Frenchmen would have solid if unspectacular debut seasons at the Etihad Stadium, which was more than could be said for Kaká - the former World Player of the Year only started one Premier League game for City following his £9million signing from Real Madrid.
  
• Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini left Goodison Park to join the revolution at Paris Saint-Germain. At £27.5million, the tenacious Belgian was the most expensive of many big signings made by oil-rich PSG, and he would play a key part in their first Ligue 1 title-winning campaign since 1994.
  
• Tottenham paid £8.5million to sign Blackburn Rovers full-back Martin Olsson, but the Sweden international struggled badly at White Hart Lane. Olsson made 22 Premier League appearances for Spurs, but he only started four times and was considered to be one of the season's most expensive flops.
  
• Two other contenders for that tag also arrived at Tottenham over the summer. Argentine winger Diego Perotti cost £22million from Sevilla but featured just five times in the Premier League, and Ola Toivonen only scored eight goals in all competitions following his £15million arrival from PSV.
  
• In comparison, the January transfer window was very quiet - so much so that Sky Sports presenter Jim White suffered bouts of narcolepsy on deadline day! Chelsea brought the window to life with the late signings of Celtic defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama for £6.5million, and Tottenham Hotspur's England striker Jermain Defoe for £5.25million.
  

Managerial Movements

• A managerial merry-go-round at the bottom of the Premier League started in December. West Ham United sacked Sam Allardyce before Queens Park Rangers got rid of Harry Redknapp. The Hammers then gave Martin O'Neill a way out of his Sunderland nightmare, while his predecessor Allardyce walked back into employment at QPR. Sunderland turned to Reading manager Brian McDermott, and he surprisingly left the 16th-placed team for a side who were rock bottom and winless at the time. In mid-January, Reading named their new manager - none other than Harry Redknapp. Thus the management 'quadrangle' was complete.
  
• Fulham sacked Martin Jol in late November with the club battling to avoid relegation. The Cottagers turned to Roberto Martínez, who was continuing to do tremendous work at Wigan Athletic. While Martínez kept his new team clear of the drop in 15th place, Wigan's fortunes actually improved under ex-Cardiff City gaffer Malky Mackay, who led them to a top-half finish, the FA Cup Final, and UEFA Europa League qualification.
  
• The charismatic Ian Holloway had a season to forget. He was sacked by Crystal Palace in October, when they were struggling near the bottom of the Championship (the Eagles would ultimately come 12th under Alex McLeish). Holloway then failed to prevent his next club Derby County from suffering relegation to League One.
  
• Inter Milan had a poor first half to the Serie A season, and sacked Andrea Stramaccioni as a result. Manuel Pellegrini was quickly brought in from Malaga, and he steadied the Inter ship, but a 4th-place finish was not enough to qualify them for the UEFA Champions League.
  
• Another manager who swapped La Liga for Serie A was Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentine veteran walked out on an underperforming Athletic Bilbao side... and took over at an underperforming Napoli side. Losing Hamsik in the summer had hit the Partenopei hard, and after briefly flirting with relegation, they ended the season 11th.
  
• Staying in Serie A, now, and Lazio were struggling to get themselves away from the drop zone when they axed Vladimir Petrovic in early December. Within a matter of days, the Biancocolesti put Giuseppe Sannino in charge. Sannino managed to turn their fortunes around and led them to a respectable 9th place.
  

Other Major Stories

• La Liga's big two took on Manchester's top dogs in the Champions League Semi Finals. Real Madrid trounced Manchester United 3-0 in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, and so a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford was enough to put them through to Wembley. 24 hours earlier, David Villa scored in the 77th minute of the second leg to give Barcelona a 4-1 aggregate lead over Manchester City. What followed was an incredible comeback from City, who grabbed three goals in the last 12 minutes to force extra-time, during which Samir Nasri scored to secure the Citizens a 4-1 win on the night and a 5-4 victory on aggregate!
  
• The drama continued when City met Real in the Final at Wembley. Carlos Tevez's 40th-minute penalty for City was cancelled out by a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 71st. Then, in the third minute of injury time, the Sky Blues were awarded another penalty after Sergio Ramos pulled back Edin Dzeko. Tevez placed the ball on the spot once again, and promptly smashed it past Iker Casillas to secure a historic 2-1 win for Manchester City, and with it their first European Cup!
  
• There were a couple of major shocks in Serie A. Little-fancied Cagliari led the way for much of the first half of the season and eventually finished 3rd to qualify for next season's Champions League. Udinese, who themselves came 3rd last season, went on an awful run of 17 games without victory, and that ultimately resulted in their shock relegation to Serie B!
  
• The Scottish Premier League was a total cakewalk for Celtic without their Old Firm rivals, and they secured their 44th league championship in the middle of March. They would eventually finish 23 points clear of 2nd-placed Heart of Midlothian. As for Rangers, they started their climb back up the leagues by winning Division 3 at a canter - their only two league defeats of the season both came against runners-up Peterhead.
  
• Jupp Heynckes' managerial career ended on a high as his Bayern Munich side regained the Bundesliga title, finishing seven points ahead of former holders Borussia Dortmund. However, they suffered a disappointing Round of 16 defeat in the Champions League to French side Lille on away goals.
  
• After 512 league appearances, Jamie Carragher's career as a Liverpool defender ended on a low, with the Reds failing to qualify for Europe. At Manchester United, though, Ryan Giggs is still going strong at the age of 39. The Welsh wing wizard's goal against Aston Villa in April continued his unparalleled record of scoring in every Premier League season since its formation 21 years ago.
  

Cup Winners

FA Cup: Manchester United 3-0 Wigan Athletic.

League Cup: Stoke City 3-2 Manchester United.

Community Shield: Chelsea 3-1 Manchester City.

Football League Trophy: Coventry City 3-2 AFC Bournemouth (aet).

UEFA Champions League: Manchester City 2-1 Real Madrid - at Wembley, London.

UEFA Europa League: Lyon 2-1 Marseille - at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam.

UEFA Super Cup: Chelsea 3-0 Atlético Madrid - at Stade Louis II, Monaco.

FIFA Club World Championship: Chelsea 1-0 Corinthians - at Nissan Stadium, Yokohama.

Major European Leagues

Dutch Eredivisie: Feyenoord (1st), AZ Alkmaar (2nd), Ajax (3rd).

French Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain (1st), Lyon (2nd), Lorient (3rd).

German Bundesliga: Bayern Munich (1st), Borussia Dortmund (2nd), Schalke 04 (3rd).

Italian Serie A: AC Milan (1st), Juventus (2nd), Cagliari (3rd).

Portuguese Primeira Liga: Benfica (1st), Porto (2nd), Braga (3rd).

Russian Premier League: CSKA Moscow (1st), Spartak Moscow (2nd), Lokomotiv Moscow (3rd).

Scottish Premier League: Celtic (1st), Heart of Midlothian (2nd), Motherwell (3rd).

Spanish La Liga: Barcelona (1st), Real Madrid (2nd), Espanyol (3rd).

Award Winners

PFA Player of the Year: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City).

PFA Young Player of the Year: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur).

FWA Footballer of the Year: Eden Hazard (Chelsea).

Premier League Manager of the Season: Roberto Mancini (Manchester City).

PFA Premier League Team of the Year: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ángel Rangel (Swansea City), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United), Leighton Baines (Everton), Nani (Manchester United), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Juan Mata (Chelsea), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Luis Suárez (Liverpool).

FIFA Ballon d'Or: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona).

World Soccer World Player of the Year: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona).

European Golden Shoe: Luis Suárez (Liverpool).

UEFA Best Player in Europe: Lionel Messi (Barcelona).

FIFA/FIFPro World XI: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Leighton Baines (Everton), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Neymar (Santos).

[berrers]

Nice round-up...typical spurs

finished 2nd w/ hertford in my 1st season in the spartan south mid prem ..only 1 goes up-missed out by 1 bloody point

[CFuller]

Nice round-up...typical spurs

finished 2nd w/ hertford in my 1st season in the spartan south mid prem ..only 1 goes up-missed out by 1 bloody point

I'm an Arsenal fan, so

Unlucky with Hertford, mate. Hopefully you'll have much better fortune in your second season.

Speaking of which...

[CFuller]

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Those lyrics come from Semisonic's 1999 hit single "Closing Time", and they were rather apt words for the start of our first season in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

This time last year, I was the rookie manager of a mid-table, eighth-division football club with a very thin squad. Much had changed in the space of just twelve months at Romford FC, where a new era was well underway.

For a start, Romford now had a sizeable squad as the players returned for what would be nearly eight weeks of pre-season training. As well as increasing the quantity of players, I had brought in more quality over the course of my first season. The likes of Scott Traveller and Chris Benjamin helped us to secure an improbable promotion via the play-offs, and I expected them to carry their impressive form into the higher division.

Only two players were left over from the team that I inherited from the previous manager. Joe Oates and Nicky Reynolds are the last of the originals, and I hope that they'll both be here for many years to come.

The backroom also received an overhaul this summer. After one season as a coach, Tony Reid was promoted to assistant manager. I brought in another coach - former Dulwich Hamlet player-manager Gavin Rose - to work alongside Mitch Fellows, who I'm delighted to say got his B Licence last month. There were two other new additions, as Gavin's fellow Dulwich old boy Meshach Nugent was hired as a scout and John Kelly, a 41-year-old Scot, agreed to become our new physio.

The players were in good spirits as they were put through their paces again, but a question mark still hanged over the future of Ryan Myers.

AFC Hornchurch and St Neots Town - the latter of whom had just pinched Chris Sullivan from us - were the latest teams to be chasing Ryan's signature. I was becoming more and more concerned, and every time I tried to approach the defender and ask him whether he was staying put or moving on, Ryan couldn't give me a definitive answer. It was like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

While Myers was dithering, Scott Weight showed his loyalty by turning down an approach from Crawley Down Gatwick to remain at Romford. However, the midfielder was still attracting interest, and it remained to be seen whether we could keep hold of him in the long term.

As the month progressed, I recruited a number of extra players - mostly on pre-season trials. I did, though, manage to sign up a couple of centre-backs on permanent deals. The first was a tall 15-year-old called Mark Betteridge, who was born about 250 miles away from Romford - in Middlesbrough! He was closely followed by another defender from closer to home, as 18-year-old former Crystal Palace trainee Connor Dymond signed a part-time contract.

Dymond's old team-mate Sullay Kaikai, a striker, was one of five trialists to arrive at Ship Lane. The others were defender Justin Niangasa, left flanker Kamal Guthmy, right-winger Tom Beere, and central midfielder Aaron Scott.

[CFuller]

After a fortnight back in training, the Ryan Myers saga was still nowhere near over. Two more clubs - Basingstoke Town and Kingstonian - declared their interest in Myers, who was now attracting more admirers than Mila Kunis! Despite this, he was taking an incredibly long time to decide his future!

Eventually, three weeks after offering him a new contract, I lost patience with Ryan. I told him that he was showing a serious lack of respect to both me and the club, and that he should forget about returning to Romford. As far as I was concerned, our contract offer was now off the table.

Two days later, while the rest of us were making our final preparations for our opening pre-season friendly, Ryan left Romford and signed for Conference South newcomers Kingstonian. As good a player as he was last season, I just couldn't see the point in hanging onto a player who obviously wasn't totally committed to the Boro cause. It was very disappointing, but that's modern-day football.

Our first game of pre-season saw us make the short journey to Dagenham, where we would play Essex Senior League side Barking.

16 July 2013: Barking vs Romford

We were expected to roll Barking over and tickle their tummy, and we had the ball in their net after just nine minutes. One of our new signings, Mark Betteridge, slid the ball home from Callum Crawley's cross, but he fouled Barking goalkeeper Matthew Murphy in the process, and so his goal was disallowed. There was no need to worry, though, because just three minutes later, Nicky Reynolds continued where he left off from last season with a tidy finish into the low corner. We would comfortably hold onto our 1-0 lead for the rest of the first half, as Barking, who lost striker Seámus Wallace to injury after half an hour, struggled to get their shots on target.

Five minutes after play restarted for the second half, we won a penalty after Betteridge was pushed in the Barking penalty area by Otis Coburn. Unsurprisingly, Reynolds stepped up to take the spot kick. Surprisingly, it was saved by the goalkeeper, but the unflappable Reynolds made light work of the rebound to send us into a 2-0 lead. Only then did Barking show some of their bite, but striker Saliou Kargbo saw two good efforts met by brilliant saves from Boro goalkeeper Scott Traveller. Romford eased to a 2-0 victory, although Gary Burrell came within inches of a debut goal seven minutes from time that would have made the win even more comfortable.

Barking - 0

Romford - 2 (Reynolds 12,50)

Friendly, Attendance 15

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah (Chapman), Betteridge (Niangasa), Dymond (Hatch), Stephen (Walters), Harley (Beere), Crawley (Scott), Vassell (Weight), Oates (Burrell), Benjamin (Kaikai), Reynolds (Quinn).

We were soon back in action with another away trip - this time to Isthmian League Division 1 South outfit Hythe Town. Although the Kent side only finished in mid-table last season, I wouldn't take them lightly.

20 July 2013: Hythe Town vs Romford

Hythe made a very positive start and wasted little time in going on the attack. Grant Darley cracked a couple of shots wide for the Forters inside the first three minutes. His partner up front, Jack Pallen, had a better chance in the 5th minute, narrowly missing the target. We had to weather this early storm, and not make any mistakes. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Joel Wilkinson did make an error in the 16th minute, when his intended pass to Wayne Hatch went wayward. Pallen intercepted the pass, and got beyond Hatch before firing the ball over Wilko and into his net. After going behind, we continued to struggle for a while, with only a 22nd-minute effort from Mitch Fellows coming close to troubling Tommy O'Neill in the Hythe goal. A bit later, I decided that we should increase the tempo. That allowed us to play with more fluidity, but ultimately, we still needed our strikers to be on form to get the desired results. In the 44th minute, Gary Burrell played a through-ball to trialist Sullay Kaikai, who was one-on-one with the keeper, but the teenager's low shot went wide. Thus, we went into the break 1-0 down and struggling slightly.

Even with the introduction of playmaker Jay Vassell among other half-time substitutions, our shots continued to go off course in the second half. I really needed someone to step up to the plate in the absence of the rested Nicky Reynolds. In the 67th minute, I got my wish. Tom Beere lobbed a lovely long ball to Aidan Quinn, who moved into the penalty area before smashing the ball home from a tight angle. Soon afterwards, I brought on left-sided trialist Kamal Guthmy for his Romford debut. But just 15 minutes after coming on, Kamal bruised his ribs, thus ruling him out of action for up to a fortnight. A far from classic match ended in a 1-1 draw, and although I was a little disappointed that we didn't win, I realised that this was what pre-season was for - identifying mistakes, and rectifying them.

Hythe Town - 1 (Pallen 16)

Romford - 1 (Quinn 67)

Friendly, Attendance 33

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Wilkinson (Traveller), Chapman (Appiah), Niangasa (Betteridge), Hatch (Dymond), Stephen (Walters), Beere (Harley), Crawley (Scott), Weight (Vassell), Burrell (Guthmy), Fellows (Benjamin), Kaikai (Quinn).

Before our next friendly, I had time to check the Isthmian League Premier Division promotion odds for the coming season. Maidstone United were the 7-4 favourites to go up, followed by Billericay Town at 5-2, Merstham also at 5-2, Romford at 3-1... wait a minute, ROMFORD AT 3-1?! Have a load of my friends and family just put huge bets on the Boro?

Well, I guess that according to the bookies, we're the fourth-favourites to be promoted. No pressure, Christopher...

[CFuller]

Next up was our first home game of the season, and it was a big one against League Two side AFC Wimbledon...

...'s Under-18s. We couldn't bring the seniors to Ship Lane, but this was still a good opportunity to test ourselves against their future professionals, some of whom had already played for Wimbledon's first-team.

23 July 2013: Romford vs AFC Wimbledon Under-18s

In this battle between men and boys (although to be fair, a lot of our players were still teenagers themselves), it was the boys that came out on top in a far from enthralling first half. We had to wait until the 24th minute for either side to register a shot at goal, and Romford trialist Aaron Scott's effort never even got close. And despite winning plenty of corners, we couldn't turn them into serious tests for the goalkeeper. When another Romford attack petered out in the 41st minute, Wimbledon went on the counter. Dan Sweeney's shot was parried by Scott Traveller, but the ball only went as far as Tyrone Bullimore, who drilled the Dons into a 1-0 half-time lead.

We continued to underperform in the second half, as we struggled not only with creating chances, but also with taking the few that we did make. We managed only five shots at goal in the whole game, and the closest we got to troubling the target was Justin Niangansa's 53rd-minute header, which went just wide. Wimbledon's young starlets eased to victory without needing to get out of second gear, and if wasn't for a couple of late saves from Joel Wilkinson, they might have added a second goal. After a very lacklustre performance, I just wanted to move on quickly.

Romford - 0

AFC Wimbledon Under-18s - 1 (Bullimore 41)

Friendly, Attendance 22

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller (Wilkinson), Appiah (Chapman), Betteridge (Dymond), Hatch (Niangasa), Walters (Stephen), Harley (Beere), Scott (Crawley), Vassell (Neville), Oates (Burrell), Reynolds (Benjamin), Quinn (Fellows).

If that game was surprisingly difficult, our next home match was sure to be even more of a test. Our visitors were Dover Athletic, who finished 10th in the Conference South last season.

27 July 2013: Romford vs Dover Athletic

Both left-backs - Tom Stephen for us and Tom Wynter for Dover - suffered injuries early in the match, but they both bravely soldiered on. Dover had the first attack in the fifth minute, and it took an excellent block from Boro new boy Connor Dymond to deny Ben May a near-certain goal. That set the tone for a match which the Whites would pretty much dominate. In the 26th minute, Scott Traveller tipped over a well-taken free-kick from Dover midfielder Daryl McMahon. However, McMahon's next set-piece would be our undoing. His 36th-minute corner found May on the edge of the six-yard box, and the former Millwall striker thrashed it into the net. With the game slipping away from us, we tried to grab an equaliser in injury-time. Unfortunately, stand-in captain Chris Benjamin sent a header over the bar, and we were still 1-0 down at the break.

Some cross words were uttered during my half-time team talk, and they seemed to fire the Boro boys up. On 50 minutes, Traveller made an excellent save to deny Ricky Modeste a second Dover goal. Two minutes later, Romford winger Gary Burrell's cross into the box was headed away by Whites centre-half Danny Webb, but the danger we posed wasn't quite eradicated. Callum Crawley picked up the loose ball and turned past a couple of Athletic defenders before drilling it into the bottom corner! Parity was restored, but Dover were soon pushing forward again. Their veteran Scottish captain Steven Thomson missed the target from far out on 67 minutes. In the midst of a goalmouth scramble in the 71st minute, Traveller pushed away a vicious shot from May, and Dymond hoofed the ball clear. Scott and Connor were both in excellent form - if it wasn't for those two, we could have conceded about four or five goals. As it turned out, we only let in one of Dover's 14 shots at goal, and I was very satisfied with a draw.

Romford - 1 (Crawley 52)

Dover Athletic - 1 (May 36)

Friendly, Attendance 60

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller (Wilkinson), Chapman (Appiah), Betteridge (Goodwin), Dymond (Hatch), Stephen (Walters), Harley (Beere), Scott (Crawley), Weight (Vassell), Burrell (Oates), Benjamin (Reynolds), Kaikai (Fellows).

After that game, we received two pieces of bad news concerning a couple of our central midfielders. Scott Weight had twisted his knee in the first half, and he was ruled out for four weeks, making him doubtful for our opening league match against Merstham. Aaron Scott would definitely not be playing for Romford in that game, or indeed any more games, as he cut short his trial to sign for Aylesbury United.

I noticed another problem after assessing our first four friendlies. Our squad was worryingly young - most of our first-teamers were still in their teens - and the earlier departure of Daryl Bourgeois had left us without an obvious leader. We had nobody who I considered to be mature enough or influential enough to be a captain.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and bring in a midfield general - Stanley Muguo - on an initial trial basis. The 28-year-old from Cameroon was a free agent after leaving Harlow Town last month, but if he performed well enough here, I would be more than happy to keep him at Ship Lane permanently.

Stan was given the captaincy for our away friendly against North Greenford United. The Southern League Division 1 Central club were managed by former Crystal Palace and Barnsley striker Neil Shipperley.

31 July 2013: North Greenford United vs Romford

North Greenford won a couple of corners early on, but it was us that opened the scoring after ten minutes. Debutant Stanley Muguo got the ball to Aidan Quinn via youth player Brian Neville, and Quinn finished the move with a well-placed shot past goalkeeper Barry Marchena. Midway through the period, the home team had a couple of opportunities to level the scores. The best of them was a Lee White free-kick that went just over on 23 minutes. After that, Muguo continued to have an impact on proceedings, as his 36th-minute challenge on Jamie Connor ended the North Greenford midfielder's game early. But despite being marginally the better team in the first half, we couldn't add to our advantage before the break, as Nicky Reynolds missed two late opportunities to make it 2-0.

On the hour, Muguo was hurt in a clash with Ben Bradbury, and Stan's debut would end shortly afterwards. Another Romford trialist had the chance to stamp his mark on the match in the 76th minute. Unfortunately, Sullay Kaikai failed to get a diving header on target, thus wasting an excellent cross from Jason Harley. The former Crystal Palace striker would make amends to some extent with six minutes remaining. Kaikai got a counter-attack up and running with a fine pass to Mitch Fellows, whose through-ball was fired into the far corner by left-winger Kamal Guthmy. That secured a fairly comfortable 2-0 victory, and for me, it was perhaps our best performance of pre-season so far.

North Greenford United - 0

Romford - 2 (Quinn 10, Guthmy 84)

Friendly, Attendance 78

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Wilkinson (Traveller), Chapman (Appiah), Niangasa (Dymond), Hatch (Goodwin), Walters (Stephen), Beere (Harley), Neville (Farrell), Muguo (Crawley), Oates (Guthmy), Reynolds (Fellows), Quinn (Kaikai).

Our pre-season campaign has gone pretty well so far - two wins, two draws, and just one defeat. None of our performances have been particularly brilliant, to be fair, though I'm satisfied with how we're shaping up. There are three more friendlies to be played in August, after which the serious stuff will finally get underway.

[CFuller]

At the start of the month, I failed in my attempts to bring in a centre-back on loan, so there were no changes to the squad for our next friendly match. We were at home to Conference South side Staines Town (or, as they perhaps prefer to be known nowadays, Staines-upon-Thames Town).

3 August 2013: Romford vs Staines Town

I was a little worried when I saw Jordan Pavett in the Staines line-up, as when he last played against us, he pulled Needham Market back from 3-0 down to give them a 3-3 draw. Pavett's first shot of the day came after less than two minutes, but it went spectacularly wide. That would be the first of many chances for the Swans. In the 7th minute, Lamar Hurley's shot from the edge of the area was parried by Scott Traveller. We would have to keep on defending deep for most of the half. In the 22nd minute, full-back George Walters made a risky challenge in the area to take the ball off Charlie Fowler. The Staines midfielder was badly injured in the challenge, and Jay Vassell sportingly put the ball into touch. It later transpired that Fowler had broken his foot, but while he was taken to hospital, his Staines team-mates continued to attack. Three minutes from time, a mistimed jump from Connor Dymond allowed Jordaan Brown's cross to find Pavett just inside the box, and he would've put Staines ahead but for Traveller's quick reflexes. Scott then beat Pavett to Wes Daly's long ball in injury-time - his heroics were just about keeping us in the match!

It was a case of more of the same in the second half. Dan Bennett's 53rd-minute header for the Swans grazed the crossbar, and seven minutes later, Traveller got his fingers to Cyril Ocansey's thunderbolt. The shotstopper would soon come off for a rest, as would Stanley Muguo, who was disappointingly ineffective. His replacement Callum Crawley would have Romford's first goalscoring opportunity in the game... after only 79 minutes! Crawley fired his free-kick into the chest of Staines defender Kacey Zabek, and that was the closest we would come to testing the goalkeeper. When Simon Thomas hit an awful shot six minutes later, it was clear that Staines had run out of steam after 16 failed shots at goal. The match ended goalless, but not before two late yellow cards saw Staines' defensive midfielder Daly suffer the indignity of being sent off in a friendly.

Romford - 0

Staines Town - 0

Friendly, Attendance 45

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller (Wilkinson), Appiah (Chapman), Betteridge (Niangasa), Dymond (Hatch), Walters (Stephen), Beere (Harley), Vassell (Neville), Muguo (Crawley), Burrell (Guthmy), Benjamin (Quinn), Reynolds (Fellows). BOOKED: Vassell.

Stanley Muguo had played just two friendlies for us, but I was not convinced that he was good enough to be a regular starter, let alone our captain. I also considered his wage demands to be a bit too, well, demanding. So, I decided to send him home early, along with Sullay Kaikai and Justin Niangasa. I was immediately on the lookout for another central midfielder... and my search took me to Merseyside.

My new scout had identified a versatile midfielder from Angola, playing for Cammell Laird in the Northern Premier League Division 1 South. His name was Rosalino Almeida, and although he was 34 years of age, my scout convinced me that he was worth at least a look at.

I went up all the way to Birkenhead to see this player in the flesh. I was impressed with what I saw, and so I made my move. Even though he would have to move his family 250 miles south-east to join us, Rosalino took little persuading. The opportunity to play at a higher level, at his age, was not one he could resist. Cammell Laird's manager had the hump with me for stealing one of his better players, but I didn't care.

At the same time, we also secured the services of Hastings United striker Kieron Carroll, who at 17 is half Almeida's age. Despite his lack of experience, the long-range specialist already had five Isthmian Premier goals to his name from his time at Hastings.

The new boys were on board in time for our last away friendly of pre-season against Isthmian South outfit Herne Bay. We played the Bay in a friendly last season, and won 2-0.

7 August 2013: Herne Bay vs Romford

After a jittery start, we steadily got better, and Nicky Reynolds' new strike partnership with Kieron Carroll showed great promise. In the 22nd minute, Kieron sent Nicky through on goal, and Reynolds turned past a couple of Herne Bay defenders before hitting the post. Moments later, Boro winger Joe Oates had a shot blocked by Steve Elliott, and he sent the follow-up wide. We finally broke through just after the half-hour mark, when Oates centred the ball to Carroll, who drilled in a tidy finish. Sadly, our lead would only last a couple of minutes. Connor Dymond's rash challenge on Joel Barnett led to a Bay free-kick on the edge of the area, and although Elliott would fire it against the post, he reacted quickly to convert the rebound. Herne Bay had pulled level, and after 33 minutes, the scoreline was 1-1. That was how it would stay at half-time, as Bay keeper Lewis Batchford made a crucial save from Carroll on 35 minutes to retain parity.

The second half got off to a livelier start than the first, but Reynolds missed a couple of fine opportunities to restore our advantage in the 52nd minute. In our own half, our defence was holding up well, restricting Herne Bay to shooting from narrow angles. There was no real chance of the lower-league side causing a minor upset, and with a quarter of an hour to go, we could've dealt them a knockout blow. Attacking full-back Kamal Guthmy got into an excellent position in the box to receive youth striker Sydney Samaria's pass, and he just had to slot the ball past the goalkeeper. Unfortunately, Kamal hit the post, and thus our best chance to secure victory was gone. The final whistle later confirmed our fourth draw of pre-season.

Herne Bay - 1 (Elliott 33)

Romford - 1 (Carroll 31)

Friendly, Attendance 75

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller (Yorke), Chapman (Appiah), Hatch (Betteridge), Dymond (Goodwin), Guthmy (Stephen), Beere (Plummer), Vassell (Neville), Crawley (Almeida), Oates (Burrell), Carroll (Benjamin), Reynolds (Samaria). BOOKED: Vassell.

The following week, it was time to pick Romford's captain for this season. After trying out a number of candidates over pre-season, I decided to hand the armband to Scott Traveller - not just an increasingly reliable goalkeeper, but also an integral member of the squad.

The new vice-captain would be... new boy Kieron Carroll. Now, some of you may be thinking I'm off my trolley for giving such an important role to a 17-year-old who has only been here for about five minutes, but hear me out. Kieron comes across to me as being very mature for someone of his age, and he's a hard-working team player - attributes that make him a good candidate for the captaincy, regardless of whether he's 17 or 37!

Carroll would lead Romford out for our final friendly - a home derby with Redbridge. We had a new trialist in our squad for this game after Sean Harper, another teenage centre-half, agreed to join us for an initial four-week stint.

14 August 2013: Romford vs Redbridge

Redbridge lost one of their strikers after just two minutes, when Gary Wharton was floored by Robert Appiah's sliding challenge, and their bad start would soon get worse. Joe Oates followed up his assist against Herne Bay with another, this time helping Mitch Fellows to score his first pre-season goal after seven minutes. It would also be Fellows' only pre-season goal, because midway through the first half, he was forced off with a foot injury. His exit came just minutes after Appiah was taken off with a rather more serious rib injury. Those double blows knocked us off our stride momentarily, and in the 31st minute, Redbridge defender Jon Cartledge nearly scored a fluke goal from inside his own half, but Joel Wilkinson tipped the ball over the bar in the nick of time. About six minutes later, Boro winger Jason Harley hit the post with a header that could've put us 2-0 up. Despite that, we remained in the lead after Mbiyeye Medine and Ross Lover both missed the target for the Motormen just before half-time.

Oates was excellent in the first half, and he continued to impress after the break. In the 51st minute, he centred a pass to Kieron Carroll, but Kieron mistimed his diving header and sent the ball wide. I was wondering where the seemingly inevitable second goal for Romford was going to come from. By the 63rd minute, Redbridge were convinced that it was going to come from Nicky Reynolds. The Motormen swarmed our star striker, but paid no attention to Oates, who was left unmarked when Nicky sent the ball to him on the edge of Redbridge's area. One simple finish from Joe later, and Redbridge were undone again. The visitors tried to pull a goal back through former Boro one-hit wonder Jimmy Pirie, whose 82nd-minute shot was superbly blocked by Sean Harper, but they were no match for us in the end.

Romford - 2 (Fellows 7, Oates 63)

Redbridge - 0

Friendly, Attendance 46

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Wilkinson (Traveller), Appiah (Chapman), Betteridge (Harper), Dymond (Hatch), Stephen (Walters), Harley (Beere), Crawley (Vassell), Almeida (Neville), Oates (Guthmy), Carroll (Quinn), Fellows (Reynolds). BOOKED: Quinn.

That victory was our third in a pre-season that also saw us draw four times and lose just once. Although we'd only managed to score nine goals, I was more impressed with a miserly defence that let in only four. One player who impressed me greatly was centre-back Connor Dymond, who didn't have a single bad game and already looked like an excellent signing.

The following morning, I received some mixed news regarding those two injuries. Mitch Fellows had stubbed his toe and would be back in training after about a week, but Robert Appiah was less fortunate. The right-back had fractured his ribs, and that meant an absence for at least two months, perhaps three. I now had a difficult choice to make - do I keep my faith in young Anthony Chapman, or do I bring in someone else as temporary cover?

In the end, I decided to stick with what I had, as we already had an alternative right-back choice in the form of Dymond.

I also made a decision on two trialists who had been with us through the whole of pre-season. While Kamal Guthmy hadn't quite done enough to earn a permanent deal, Tom Beere had, and he signed a part-time contract with us. The 18-year-old made two cup appearances for AFC Wimbledon last season before being released, and I believe he can become a fine player in time.

Shortly after we tied up Tom to a contract, Sittingbourne made a rather cheeky offer to loan him for three months. I took literally seconds to turn them down, as Tom's development would benefit greater by staying here.

My squad for the upcoming campaign was now settled with just days to go until the big kick-off.

[CFuller]

(All ages correct as of 1 August 2013)

GOALKEEPERS:

Scott Traveller (age 22, English)

Scott has a safe pair of hands, and as our new captain, he is obviously one of our biggest assets.

Joel Wilkinson (age 17, English)

Although he may be a bit eccentric, Joel has great reflexes and is a fine young understudy to Traveller.

Nick Yorke (age 15, English)

Youth team goalkeeper Nick won't challenge the seniors for a while, although he is quite agile.

DEFENDERS:

Robert Appiah (age 19, English)

Robert is currently out with a rib injury, but when he's fit, he's a solid right-back with good tackling skills.

Mark Betteridge (age 16, English)

Mark is our youngest first-teamer, and at 6ft 4in tall, he is also one of our biggest aerial presences.

Anthony Chapman (age 17, English)

Anthony is a brave lad, and he will work his socks off to make the Romford right-back slot his own.

Connor Dymond (age 18, English)

Connor could be a magnificent signing for us, as he combines aerial ability with a dose of aggression.

Lee Goodwin (age 16, English)

Lee has good leadership qualities for a young lad, although he perhaps needs to control his aggression.

Wayne Hatch (age 17, English)

Consistency is my main concern about Wayne, but given time, he can be a strong centre-back.

Tom Stephen (age 21, English)

I nearly got rid of Tom last autumn, but the quick left-back has improved massively since our falling-out.

George Walters (age 20, English)

Like our other left-back, George has also come on leaps and bounds after working hard in training.

MIDFIELDERS:

Rosalino Almeida (age 34, Angolan)

Rosalino is not a long-term signing, but his passing ability should come in very handy this season.

Tom Beere (age 18, English)

Tom has got plenty of pace, and the winger's technical ability will get much better over time.

Gary Burrell (age 28, English)

Speedy left-winger Gary has plenty of experience at this level with his former club Harrow Borough.

Callum Crawley (age 23, English)

Callum is good with free-kicks and an accurate passer, but he is one of our more inconsistent performers.

Ashley Farrell (age 16, English)

If he fulfils his potential, defensive midfielder Ashley could one day captain his hometown club.

Jason Harley (age 16, English)

Jason was a little unlucky at times during pre-season, but he starts the campaign as my main right-winger.

Brian Neville (age 16, English)

Local boy Brian is a ball-winning midfielder who can expect to get a bit of first-team action this term.

Joe Oates (age 19, English)

Despite his age, left midfielder Joe is one of our longest-serving players, having been here since 2011.

Peter Plummer (age 16, English)

Peter is looking to make his mark on the youth team after an Achilles injury stalled his progress in April.

Jay Vassell (age 17, English)

Left-footed playmaker Jay adds a lot of flair to our team, but he needs to add more substance to his game.

Scott Weight (age 26, English)

Scott's form dropped off at the back end of last season, but he can still distribute the ball well.

FORWARDS:

Chris Benjamin (age 20, English)

Chris is a big target man with a decent goalscoring record, having found the net 11 times last term.

Kieron Carroll (age 17, English)

Kieron has a mature head on his young shoulders, and I understand that he's a good long-range shooter.

Mitch Fellows (age 24, English)

Mitch is a better coach than a player, but his pace can come in handy whenever he takes to the field.

Aidan Quinn (age 21, English)

Aidan was impressive in pre-season and is comfortable shooting with either his feet or his head.

Nicky Reynolds (age 25, English)

The star performer of this Romford team is Nicky, who scored no fewer than 32 goals last season!

Sydney Samaria (age 16, Namibian)

Sydney is very fit, and if he improves his accuracy, he could terrorise non-league defences in the future.

BACKROOM STAFF:

Manager: Christopher Fuller

Assistant Manager: Tony Reid

Coaches: Mitch Fellows, Gavin Rose

Physio: John Kelly

Scout: Meshach Nugent

[CFuller]

We sold 70 season tickets for the new campaign - a figure that was five up from last season's total and was compared favourably with a lot of our opponents in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Our first match in that division would be against Merstham, who like us have just been promoted, but they went up as champions of the Isthmian League Division 1 South. Quite a few people were tipping the Moatsiders to do well in their first season up, and I felt this match against them would give me a good idea of where we were relative to the other teams in the league.

24 August 2013: Romford vs Merstham

The match had barely been going on for four minutes when Merstham defender Sam Collins suffered a game-ending injury while trying to tackle Jason Harley. Three minutes later, the Moatsiders made a mess of trying to clear Anthony Chapman's low cross, and Harley popped up to fire the ball into the net from a tight angle! It was the best start possible, and Rosalino Almeida came within inches of making it even better with a good long-range effort in the 11th minute. By the 26th minute, we were 2-0 to the good. Callum Crawley played in the scarcely-marked Kieron Carroll, and the teenage forward scored on his Boro league debut! Merstham were now finding it very difficult to live with our pressing game. Crawley in particular was giving the defenders nightmares with his long balls and crosses. In the 35th minute, his corner was headed just over by Connor Dymond. Two minutes later, Callum's long ball to Kieron caused greater problems. A communication breakdown between keeper Ben Humphrey and defender Samuel Bangura resulted in the loose ball being gathered up and tucked into the net by Carroll! Kieron then politely thanked the pair for their generosity before celebrating with the other Romford boys! Merstham finally got their act together shortly before half-time, as midfielder Stephen Cawley had a shot saved by Scott Traveller in the 45th minute before missing another chance in injury time. After those Merstham misses, we remained 3-0 up at the break. If this was a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the fight already.

Four minutes into the second half, Carroll stormed down the right flank and drilled the ball towards the six-yard box, where Reynolds outran Bangura to pick it up and score his first goal of this season. It was 4-0 to Romford, and things couldn't get any better... at least that's what I thought! We were going about our business just fine without the need for Merstham's Sam Cole to knock the ball square into the path of Carroll, but he did, and 62 minutes into his debut, Kieron was celebrating a memorable hat-trick! While our strikers were filling their boots, Traveller was earning his oats at the other end of the pitch. He tipped away Charlie Ide's vicious strike in the 73rd minute, when the game was already in the bag. We would eventually declare at 5-0 - a result that unsurprisingly sent us up straight to the top of the Isthmian Premier! It had to be said, though, that our opponents were more Worstham than Merstham.

Romford - 5 (Harley 7, Carroll 26,37,62, Reynolds 49)

Merstham - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 180 - POSITIONS: Romford 1st, Merstham 24th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge, Dymond (Harper), Stephen, Harley, Crawley, Almeida (Vassell), Oates, Carroll (Quinn), Reynolds.

At full-time, I thought, "Can the season end right now, please?" But seriously, if that was the sign of things to come, I was excited about what lay ahead over the next nine months.

The undoubted highlight of our opening-day rout was that magnificent hat-trick from Kieron Carroll. The Romford fans were already purring about the new boy, and although I obviously didn't expect him to score in EVERY game, he could certainly rival Nicky Reynolds in the battle to be our top goalscorer this season!

[CFuller]

We were still on a high after our emphatic opening-day win over Merstham, but we were certainly not going to rest on our laurels. Just over 48 hours later, we went on the road to Suffolk to play Bury Town, who finished 7th last term but lost their season-opener this time around.

26 August 2013: Bury Town vs Romford

With such a short turnaround between matches, several changes were made to the starting line-up. One of those to come in was the fit-again Scott Weight, who just ten seconds after kick-off flew into a challenge on Bury Town forward Francis Adu-Gyamfi. The home teenager tore his knee ligaments and was very quickly substituted. The Blues swiftly recovered from their early loss and started the match in positive fashion, with Billy Clark and Hakeem Adelakun both having chances within the first quarter-hour. In the 22nd minute, Connor Dymond had Romford's first scoring chance, but his half-volley from Gary Burrell's corner was blocked by Bury defender Danny Edwards. The match carried on in a competitive fashion, though the first goal did not come until four minutes from half-time. Tom Beere dribbled down the right wing for Romford, and hit a cross towards Nicky Reynolds in the area. Aaron Brown got in the way, but he couldn't prevent Weight from firing in the rebound! The Boro were 1-0 up!

I told the lads at half-time to cut out any complacency that they had from their game. Despite that, Bury Town had the ball in the net just three minutes into the second half. Ali Delderfield's cross flew over Scott Traveller's head and into the net, but the Bury celebrations were cut short by the referee's whistle. Paul Olima was deemed to have pushed Traveller unfairly, so the goal did not stand. Our relief wasn't to last very long, though, because the hosts were well and truly fired up. Their relentless attacking would yield an equaliser in the 59th minute via Edwards' header from Matty Toomey's floating delivery. Having failed to head Toomey's cross away before it was too late, young Anthony Chapman was left devastated, and he struggled for the rest of the game. By the 80th minute, Chris Benjamin was struggling too, having picked up a thigh injury. He was substituted, and as we struggled to create further opportunities, I began to realise that the best result we could aim for was a draw. However, Bury Town wanted more than just a single point, and they created another major attack in the 89th minute. Boro full-back George Walters cleared Jordan Patrick's free-kick off the goal line, only to see the winger quickly cross the ball back into the box. This time, Chapman had to head away, but his clearance only went as far as Tom Bullard. Town's skipper volleyed the ball back to Patrick, and the next time it touched the ground, it was in the Boro net. Patrick's next cross found Olima, and the Irishman's header condemned us to defeat after seven straight competitive victories. It was a heartbreaking end to a match that I felt we didn't deserve to lose.

Bury Town - 2 (Edwards 59, Olima 89)

Romford - 1 (Weight 41)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 207 - POSITIONS: Bury Town 10th, Romford 8th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Harper, Dymond (Hatch), Walters, Beere, Weight, Vassell (Almeida), Burrell, Benjamin (Quinn), Reynolds.

"When you get knocked off the horse, you've got to get back on the saddle again." That's what I told my players after a brave display that sadly didn't produce the result we wanted.

Our chance to get back on that saddle came five days later, when we played host to Bury Town's big rivals - Lowestoft Town. The Trawler Boys had an indifferent start to the campaign, drawing their first two matches. But after finishing 3rd last season, I had personally tipped them to win the Isthmian Premier this term, so if we could take one point or even three off them, it would give us a major confidence boost.

31 August 2013: Romford vs Lowestoft Town

After surviving a couple of early efforts from Lowestoft striker Bobby Traynor, we grabbed the opening goal with a counter-attack in just the sixth minute. The finish came from - surprise, surprise - Nicky Reynolds, whose low effort into the far corner gave us first blood. Although we were 1-0 up, Lowestoft were proving to be a tough team to keep down. In the 14th minute, Dean Bennett came close to pulling Town level with a long-distance effort, which flew narrowly over. That was closer than Traynor and his strike partner Mark Nwokeji managed in the first half-hour, and neither of them would force a save out of Scott Traveller until the 31st minute, when Scott caught Nwokeji's header. Two minutes later came another Romford attack - and a critical moment in the game. Kieron Carroll's long ball put Nicky one-on-one with his namesake, Lowestoft keeper Andy Reynolds. Although usually cool under pressure, Nicky let his guard down on that occasion, sending an opportunity to put us 2-0 up into the sponsor hoardings. That was a great chance missed, and I was praying that the Trawler Boys would not make us pay with an equaliser late in the half. Fortunately, Traynor's shooting continued to be wasteful, and we entered the dressing room at half-time still just about leading the match, despite the severe pressure Lowestoft were putting us under.

Traynor was awful in the first half, but he seemed to have put his shooting boots on during the break. On 48 minutes, he beat Boro centre-back Mark Betteridge to Dan Gleeson's through-ball, and although his initial shot hit the post, his follow-up went into the net. Eleven minutes later, Andy Reynolds' goal kick flew deep into the Romford half and ended up at Jermaine Brown's feet. He knocked the ball past Betteridge to Traynor in the middle of the penalty area, and a second later, Traynor pulled Lowestoft 2-1 ahead. As everyone on the Romford bench groaned in despair, I instantly decided it was time to take Betteridge out of his nightmare, so on came Sean Harper to replace him. Our frustration would soon disappear, because in the 61st minute, Carroll fired home an equaliser! Lowestoft's lead had lasted just a couple of minutes, and it was now 2-2! With our self-belief restored, we summoned enough strength to challenge for the lead again. In the 71st minute, Jason Harley's pass picked out Nicky Reynolds, who shrugged off a lame John Easterford challenge and thrashed in a net-buster! Suddenly, we were back in the lead... and we were soon back on the defensive, like in large parts of the first half. Four minutes after we retook the advantage, Traveller retained it with a magnificent fingertip save to keep out Lowestoft captain Greg Crane's diving header. Not for the first time, Scott was saving his best saves for when they most mattered!

The game entered the final minute of normal time with Romford still 3-2 to the good. Then Harper conceded a needless free-kick just outside the box. Jamie Godbold took it, and found Lee Smith, who tucked the ball underneath Traveller. We were absolutely stunned... but then the referee's assistant came to the rescue, as he flagged to signal that Smith was offside. Lowestoft's players surrounded the referee to protest against the decision, but the goal was not awarded. Four minutes later, the final whistle blew. Thank you, God.

Romford - 3 (Reynolds 6,71, Carroll 61)

Lowestoft Town - 2 (Traynor 48,59)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 167 - POSITIONS: Romford 5th, Lowestoft 19th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Dymond, Betteridge (Harper), Hatch, Stephen, Harley, Almeida, Vassell (Crawley), Oates, Carroll (Quinn), Reynolds.

We'd won, but with absolutely no energy left to spare, and it would have been a very different story if Lowestoft had been more clinical with some of their 23 - that's TWENTY-THREE - shots at goal!

We were lucky, lucky boys. In fact, I thought we were so lucky that I decided to buy several lottery tickets on the way back home. None of them won anything, so we're still £2,000 in debt. But we're also 5th in the Isthmian Premier after just three games, so I can't complain.

[CFuller]

We headed into September on the back of a great home win against one of the main contenders for promotion, but our run-in wouldn't get any easier. Our next three matches would see us take on the teams ranked 4th, 3rd and 1st in the table.

First on this potential itinerary from hell was a home meeting with Enfield Town. The Towners were unbeaten, and they had a former Premier League midfielder - ex-Derby County star Jonathan Hunt - in their line-up.

3 September 2013: Romford vs Enfield Town

We decided to take the game to Enfield early on, and in the sixth minute, we would take the lead. A counter-attack resulted in Callum Crawley brilliantly setting up his central midfield partner Scott Weight for the opening goal of the game. It was our fourth league match of the season, and we'd scored first in every single one of them! However, that would mean diddly-squat if we threw our lead away quickly. Four minutes later, Jonathan Hunt's free-kick for Enfield was headed against the crossbar by his team-mate Kyle Perry. Players from both sides scrambled to get the loose ball before Anthony Chapman eventually got to it and booted it behind for a corner. Town slowly created another attack from that corner, as Perry hit another header towards goal, but his effort deflected off Sean Harper before falling into Scott Traveller's hands. Perry then stormed past Harper in the 18th minute and should've equalised for Enfield, but to our utter relief, he missed an open goal. Following our latest brush with danger, the rest of the first half was fairly quiet, and we managed to stay in front.

The second half began with an unsuccessful Enfield penalty appeal in the 49th minute. Veteran striker Scott McGleish claimed to have been fouled by Mark Betteridge - a Romford defender young enough to be his son! George Walters nearly put us 2-0 up five minutes later, when his cross flew towards goal, but Kevin Halliday headed it away just in the nick of time. We were so close to building a comfortable lead, and in the 65th minute, it appeared that we'd blown our chance. McGleish converted from close range following an excellent David Collis cross, but the linesman controversially claimed that he was offside. Shortly afterwards, I took off target man Kieron Carroll after an unremarkable display. His replacement, Chris Benjamin, would take just eight minutes to make an impact. Another Romford breakaway down the right wing ended with Benji's cross being turned in by Nicky Reynolds. It could have been 2-0, then it could have been 1-1, and now it really was 2-0 in our favour! Our defence was having a collective blinder, and Chapman in particular impressed, but he made a rare mistake with nine minutes to go when he fouled Kurt Husnu in the penalty area. As a result, Scott McGleish - a striker who had an 18-year Football League career - was given the chance to score from 12 yards against Scott Traveller, who was released by Ipswich Town as a teenager. But Traveller bridged the experience gap, and saved the spot-kick to his right! Enfield's day of frustration was completed nearly a minute later, when Adam Learoyd had a goal ruled out, again for offside. We had ridden our luck yet again, but a third victory out of four sent us back to the top of the Isthmian Premier!

Romford - 2 (Weight 6, Reynolds 73)

Enfield Town - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 139 - POSITIONS: Romford 1st, Enfield Town 8th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge, Harper (Hatch), Walters, Beere, Weight, Crawley (Vassell), Burrell, Carroll (Benjamin), Reynolds.

Would be still top of the Isthmian Premier by the end of our next match, though? It was an away date with Whitehawk - one of the strongest sides in the division. We were in familiar surroundings at the Enclosed Ground, where we held the Hawks to a draw in the FA Cup last season before playing them off the park back at Ship Lane.

7 September 2013: Whitehawk vs Romford

On the last occasion that we faced Whitehawk on their own territory, they scored the opening goal. This time around, it was a role reversal. Callum Crawley's excellent start to the season continued after 19 minutes, when he sent a corner to Connor Dymond in the six-yard box. Connor would then score his first Boro goal, albeit with the help of a deflection off defender Charlie Clough. Moments later, in-form Hawks striker Billy Bricknell could have grabbed an instant equaliser, but Scott Traveller punched away his effort. Nevertheless, that was a warning sign. After shaking off a leg injury suffered in a challenge from Mark Betteridge, Bricknell helped to set up Whitehawk's equaliser after half an hour. He got the ball to local boy Wes Hines via a pass from Sam Gargan, and Hines rode Betteridge's sliding tackle before placing a shot into the net. Two minutes later, Hines attempted a left-wing cross towards Gargan in the box, but Traveller got there first... and helped it into his own net! A couple of quickfire goals from a 16-year-old rookie who had never previously scored in senior football had undone our work, and now we were back to square one. Nicky Reynolds hit the post in the 38th minute following some good work from Kieron Carroll, and that was the closest we'd come to equalising before the break.

After a half-time tactical change, we managed to subdue Whitehawk's attack in the second period. Gargan failed to keep an effort on target in the 55th minute, and four minutes later, Bricknell hopelessly shot wide from distance. However, our fortunes in front of the Hawks' goal did not improve. Joe Oates' volley in the opening minute went within inches of finding the target, and we wouldn't come close again until the 71st minute, when a Carroll half-volley was caught by Hawks keeper Sam Pearce. Despite our best efforts, and another admirable performance from playmaker Crawley, we just couldn't create enough chances to really threaten Whitehawk's lead. The hosts came out on top in the end, but some tough tackling on our part meant that Whitehawk's main strikers Bricknell and Gargan would both miss their next match through injury.

Whitehawk - 2 (Hines 30,32)

Romford - 1 (Dymond 19)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 259 - POSITIONS: Whitehawk 5th, Romford 7th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman (Hatch), Betteridge, Dymond, Stephen, Harley, Almeida (Vassell), Crawley, Oates, Carroll (Benjamin), Reynolds. BOOKED: Harley.

Sean Harper's month-long stay at Romford ended after that match, and he was replaced by two new defensive trialists. One of them was Jordan Willmore - an 18-year-old former Watford trainee who came in as temporary right-back cover for the hard-grafting but inconsistent Anthony Chapman. The other was sure to please the Boro fans, as Romford-born centre-back Zak Stephens joined his hometown club on a short-term basis. Would the 19-year-old do well enough to earn a permanent deal?

[CFuller]

We hoped to make up for our disappointing result at Whitehawk by defeating 2nd-placed Carshalton Athletic at their War Memorial Sports Ground. Carshalton had a quicker and much fitter team than us, but they were struggling for goals.

14 September 2013: Carshalton Athletic vs Romford

After just two minutes, Romford's new local boy Zak Stephens had an effort at goal, although his header didn't trouble Carshalton goalkeeper Nick Hamann. That was one of the few highlights from a dire first half, particularly from our point of view. We only managed to keep the scoreline goalless at half-time because of some solid defending. Our other trialist Jordan Willmore was espeically impressive, but at the same time, Carshalton's shooting left a bit to be desired. Midfielder Matt Woolley had the Robins' best chance in the 11th minute, sending a shot inches wide. As for their lone striker, Ola Sogbunmu, he struggled to keep his shots on target, missing chances both at the start and towards the end of the half.

The pattern of the first half continued early on in the second, as Steven Lozano-Calderon blazed over another effort for Carshalton after 48 minutes. Soon after, Woolley was stretchered off with an injury. Without the young midfielder, Athletic struggled to get going again until the 72nd minute. Tommy Williams hit the crossbar with a free-kick, and Connor Dymond could only head it behind for a Carshalton corner. Boro goalkeeper Scott Traveller got up to pluck Williams' corner from the air, and the danger seemed to have disappeared. That was until Scott threw the ball past Connor and to the feet of Emmanuel Akiotu, who made him pay with a well-placed strike into the corner. Carshalton were 1-0 up, and that was it. We didn't have an answer to that, as our failure to turn possession into chances contributed to our second successive defeat. It was the first time we'd lost back-to-back games in the Isthmian Premier.

Carshalton Athletic - 1 (Akiotu 72)

Romford - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 364 - POSITIONS: Carshalton 2nd, Romford 11th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Willmore, Stephens (Betteridge), Dymond, Stephen, Harley, Almeida, Crawley (Weight), Oates, Carroll, Reynolds (Fellows).

With our promising start to the season fading away, I called the players back in for training on Sunday. Afterwards, I decided to get their spirits up with a motivational speech. The lads came away feeling like they'd just heard John F Kennedy's inauguration message... or at least something not uttered by Ed Miliband.

The players were now all psyched up for our next game. After winning our first three matches at home and losing our first three away, we were pleased to be back at Ship Lane to welcome Wealdstone. To most football fans of a certain vintage, the Stones are perhaps best known for being the former club of Stuart Pearce, who would later become an England hero both as a lion-hearted centre-back and as coach of the Under-21s team. The current Wealdstone team were 5th in the Isthmian Premier, but we would leapfrog them if we won.

17 September 2013: Romford vs Wealdstone

In just the fourth minute, Joe Oates intercepted a poor pass from Wealdstone forward Charlie Taylor. Joe then played in Nicky Reynolds, who ran through a gap in the defence and tapped in the opening goal! Wealdstone's backline was cut open by Reynolds again in the 10th minute, but this time, Rikki Banks held onto his shot. After that, the visitors upped their game. Prolific striker Edwin Ellis had a penalty claim denied in the 14th minute, when he appeared to have been fouled by Zak Stephens. Two minutes later, Ellis pounced on a poor attempted clearance from Stephens and fired into the bottom corner. Wealdstone were back on level terms, and they were unfortunate not to go ahead when Alex Dyer's 28th-minute long-ranger went inches over the bar. The Stones were throwing more and more shots at goal, and keeper Scott Traveller made a fine low save in the 38th minute to stop Ellis from getting his second goal from about 30 yards. Five minutes after that, the scoreline became 2-1... to the Boro! Callum Crawley launched a long ball upfield, and target man Chris Benjamin played a flick-on for Reynolds, who neatly controlled it before drilling it home! That changed the whole complexion of the match, which seemed to be getting away from us but was now in our hands!

After a shaky start to the second half, Wealdstone had their first real chance to draw level on 59 minutes. Once again, captain Traveller came to the fore for us, as he blocked another Ellis effort with his legs. Meanwhile, Reynolds was chasing a hat-trick, and he looked certain to get it in the 65th minute, when he was one-on-one with Banks. But just like his famous namesake, Banks made a crucial save at just the right moment, before his defenders cleared the ball out of danger. Four minutes later, a poor clearance from Stones defender James Yeboah was intercepted by Tom Beere, and another Boro attack got underway. Within moments, Reynolds brushed Yeboah aside and drilled in another low finish from the edge of the penalty area! Nicky was at last able to celebrate his third goal of a wonderful night! At 3-1 up, we were in a jolly mood, and Richard Jolly missed two late chances for Wealdstone as our visitors crumbled. Connor Dymond then came within inches of heading home a fourth Romford goal in injury time. Another impressive win was secured, and so was our 100% home record, which remained intact after four games.

Romford - 3 (Reynolds 4,43,69)

Wealdstone - 1 (Ellis 16)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 153 - POSITIONS: Romford 6th, Wealdstone 8th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Stephens (Hatch), Dymond, Walters, Beere, Weight, Crawley (Vassell), Oates (Burrell), Benjamin, Reynolds.

Our fantastic home record was enough to keep us on the fringes of the Isthmian Premier play-off zone as we took a quick break from league action. We had our first FA Cup game on the horizon - and it was a chance to create our very own Canterbury Tale.

[CFuller]

Before the start of our latest FA Cup campaign, coach Gavin Rose told me that he was studying for his B Licence, which Tony Reid and Mitch Fellows both earned last season. But unlike Tony and Mitch, who asked for us to pay for their course, Gavin insisted that he foot the bill himself. Considering that we were losing money on a weekly basis, I considered that a great gesture from Gav, and I really hoped he would get his licence.

When the FA Cup draw was made back in July, we knew that we would face an away game against one of three teams in Qualifying Round 1. We could have faced a daunting trip to Mangotsfield United in Somerset, or an even longer journey to Liskeard Athletic in Cornwall, but good old Canterbury City brushed them aside in the Preliminary and Extra Preliminary rounds respectively.

That meant we only had to make a short-ish journey to the famous cathedral city to play a team from the Kent Football League, two divisions below us. We weren't certain to beat Canterbury, but if we didn't, then I feared that I would end up like Thomas Becket!

21 September 2013: Canterbury City vs Romford

A number of key players were benched or rested for this match, and at first, we struggled to take control of the match. Canterbury had the first scoring chance via Leon Calvert in the 6th minute, but he put his free-kick well wide. We then had a couple of opportunities in the 15th minute, but Rosalino Almeida's header missed the target, and Kieron Carroll's effort was comfortably saved. Five minutes later, left-winger Joe Oates was substituted following a couple of early knocks. Almeida was shifted to the left flank as a result, though it was our right-winger Jason Harley that would kick-start our motor after 34 minutes. Harley floated in a deep cross from the byline, and Kieron got past his marker to head it in from close range! Captain Carroll's day would get even better just before half-time. The Boro worked their way into Canterbury's penalty area, and Kieron got himself in the perfect position to convert Aidan Quinn's pass and give us a comfortable 2-0 lead after the first 45 minutes.

It has to be said, though, that Canterbury could not be faulted for showing little determination. The plucky underdogs pushed for an early goal in the second half, and after 54 minutes, they got one. Calvert hit a wonderful strike from a tight angle, and the ball managed to find its way in off the underside of the crossbar. City weren't going out without a fight, and so we had to stay professional to avoid a replay, or an even worse outcome. After surviving a long-range effort from Christian Buckle six minutes from the end, we set about killing the game off. Our defensive tactics didn't stop Carroll from wrapping up his hat-trick with a magnificent solo goal in the last minute of normal time, though, as he capped off a solo run from just inside Canterbury's half by tapping the ball into the far corner. Although it wasn't the resounding whitewash that many expected, we'd done exactly what was required.

Canterbury City - 1 (Calvert 54)

Romford - 3 (Carroll 34,45,90)

FA Cup Qualifying Round 1, Attendance 124

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Wilkinson, Chapman, Hatch, Dymond (Betteridge), Stephen (Walters), Harley, Almeida, Vassell, Oates (Weight), Carroll, Quinn.

That win boosted our coffers to the tune of around £3,300, and put us through to Qualifying Round 2. In that round, we would face a trickier away game, against Conference South members Eastbourne Borough. Although it was a pretty bad draw for us, it was not mission impossible - we did, after all, beat two higher-division teams in last season's FA Cup.

Before that, we set our sights back on the league, and a much-anticipated rematch with Witham Town at Spa Road. As I'm sure you know, our last meeting there didn't exactly go to plan - especially not in the final ten minutes! This time, we wanted to set the record straight.

24 September 2013: Witham Town vs Romford

One Witham player we had to be particularly wary of was Glyn Mitchell, who was by far the top scorer in the Isthmian North last season but had thus far struggled to adapt to life in a higher division. His first chance to get on the scoresheet came in the 12th minute, and his low effort didn't come close to troubling Scott Traveller. Five minutes before that, Chris Benjamin had missed our first shot at goal, while Tom Beere didn't fare much better with a similarly poor strike on the half-hour. Neither goalkeeper was pushed into making a save until Traveller tipped over a more promising shot from Mitchell in the 36th minute. At the break, the scoreline was still goalless, although Town were perhaps the slightly better side.

Witham started brightly in the second half, and they had a shot at goal after just 20 seconds, but Traveller got a hand to Jack Edwards' 20-yarder. Veteran midfielder Mark Nicholls then came within inches of putting Witham ahead with a 66th-minute free-kick. Moments later, Benjamin tried his luck from a long way out, and unsurprisingly missed. The misfiring Boro forward was quickly substituted and replaced by Aidan Quinn. Two minutes from time, Quinn went through on goal after beating Witham defender Billy Crowther to Beere's lobbed pass. His half-volley was parried by keeper Aldi Haxhia, but the ball rebounded back to the Romford striker! Surely Aidan would finish it off this time! Then Quinn fired his second shot... to the wrong side of the far post. That was THE chance. It was a bitter blow to see an away win slip from our fingers like that, but we still got our first point on the road this season.

Witham Town - 0

Romford - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 108 - POSITIONS: Witham 10th, Romford 8th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Willmore, Stephens, Dymond, Stephen, Beere, Almeida (Farrell), Crawley, Oates (Burrell), Benjamin (Quinn), Reynolds.

Most of the teams we had faced in the league so far were tipped before the season began to finish high or even challenge for promotion. Our next visitors to Ship Lane - Wingate & Finchley - were not. The Blues were very lucky not to be relegated from the Isthmian Premier last season, and they had made a poor start to this campaign, winning just one match from their first eight.

28 September 2013: Romford vs Wingate & Finchley

I had a look at Wingate & Finchley's teamsheet prior to kick-off, and couldn't help but raise a chuckle when discovering that their number 8 was called Elizabeth Burke! However, I wasn't in a jovial mood in the 11th minute, when Jay Vassell was brought down by W&F winger Louis Lavers. Having borne the brunt of the challenge, Jay stayed down and was in obvious pain - he had to come off. His replacement was Scott Weight, who four minutes later squirmed the ball into the visitors' net after Callum Crawley and Nicky Reynolds both had shots blocked. Once again, we had drawn first blood at home, and we were soon on the hunt for a second goal. Shortly after the restart, Kieron Carroll had a header saved by W&F's goalkeeper Tom Coulton. Our regular attacks in the first half severely tested Wingate & Finchley's resolve, and Weight continued to dictate play from the centre of midfield. Five minutes from time, Scott lobbed a pass into the box for Nicky, whose fierce shot struck Coulton and went out for a Romford corner, which came to nowt. Crawley then came agonisingly close to finding the net with a 42nd-minute free-kick. After those last two efforts, I was wondering why we weren't further than 1-0 up at half-time.

Wingate & Finchley looked a different team when they returned from the dressing room. In the 53rd minute, Leon Smith's low shot was easily caught by Scott Traveller, but that was a warning sign. Four minutes later, the crossbar denied Wayne Hatch his first senior goal for Romford, and we'd missed another opportunity to go 2-0 up. We would begin to discover the true cost of our spurned chances after 69 minutes. As we came under pressure from a W&F attack, Connor Dymond handled the ball in the penalty area, leaving the referee little choice but to point to the spot. Mark Ward then thrashed in the equaliser from 12 yards out, but our troubles were only just beginning. Late in the game, we pushed more men forward in a bid to take back the lead against our fast-tiring opponents. I didn't expect Wingate & Finchley to up the tempo as well, and in the 87th minute, they went from goal kick to goal in less than 15 seconds. Ward finished off the attack by controlling Lavers' long ball with his left foot and volleying it in with his right. Wingate & Finchley had won the game late on, but they - and Ward - were not finished quite yet! In the first few seconds of injury time, Smith cut a pass through a tight gap between our centre-backs Hatch and Mark Betteridge, picking out Ward. The former Sheffield United man's first shot was blocked by Crawley, and so too was Smith's rebound. However, Ward made it third time lucky, scoring the third goal of the day for both himself and his team! Our second-half humbling was complete. Earlier this season, we'd won several games despite having far fewer chances than our opponents, and this was us being given a sour taste of our own medicine.

Romford - 1 (Weight 15)

Wingate & Finchley - 3 (Ward pen69,87,90)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 201 - POSITIONS: Romford 7th, Wingate & Finchley 17th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Willmore (Hatch), Betteridge, Dymond, Stephen, Harley, Vassell (Weight), Crawley, Oates (Burrell), Carroll, Reynolds. BOOKED: Betteridge.

After lambasting the team for their late collapse, I received some news from the physio concerning Jay Vassell - and indeed, it was very concerning. Jay had been diagnosed with a torn calf muscle - an injury that would keep him on the sidelines for up to five months. It was obviously a devastating blow for young Jay, because he hasn't performed well so far this season, and this the very last thing he needs.

Our first home defeat of the season, and that long-term injury to Vassell, made it a bitter end to an otherwise mixed month. Off the pitch, we had made a small financial profit (albeit purely because of us making progress in the FA Cup). On the pitch, reality was beginning to kick in after our dream start to the campaign. October was going to be a very, very important month.

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.          Concord Rangers        9     8     1     0     22    7     +15   25
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2.          Canvey Island          9     6     3     0     24    11    +13   21
3.          Whitehawk              9     6     1     2     23    12    +11   19
4.          Carshalton             8     6     0     2     10    9     +1    18
5.          Hampton & Richmond     8     5     1     2     15    8     +7    16
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6.          Lowestoft              8     4     3     1     14    8     +6    15
[color="#0000CD"]7.          Romford                9     4     1     4     16    11    +5    13[/color]
8.          Bury Town              8     4     1     3     10    8     +2    13
9.          Lewes                  9     3     3     3     11    10    +1    12
10.         Harrow                 8     3     3     2     10    10    0     12
11.         Cray                   8     3     3     2     10    10    0     12
12.         Witham                 9     3     3     3     10    10    0     12
13.         Wealdstone             8     4     0     4     14    15    -1    12
14.         Enfield Town           9     3     3     3     10    13    -3    12
15.         Hastings               8     3     2     3     11    8     +3    11
16.         Thurrock               8     3     2     3     7     7     0     11
17.         Wingate & Finchley     9     2     4     3     13    14    -1    10
18.         Bognor Regis           8     2     2     4     3     10    -7    8
19.         Arlesey                8     2     1     5     8     15    -7    7
20.         Merstham               9     1     3     5     13    20    -7    6
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21.         Maidstone              9     2     0     7     9     20    -11   6
22.         Hendon                 8     1     2     5     8     15    -7    5
23.         Met Police             8     0     2     6     7     17    -10   2
24.         Billericay             8     0     2     6     5     15    -10   2

[CFuller]

Wingate & Finchley weren't in good form before they beat us at the end of September. Hendon - our first opponents in October - were arguably in an even worse state. Since winning on the opening day of the season, they had picked up just two points, and they sat in 22nd place as a result. They were also yet to win at their Vale Farm home in the league this season - but there's a first time for everything, so we had to play well to avoid another away defeat.

2 October 2013: Hendon vs Romford

We didn't expect Hendon to make a quick start, but after just two minutes, the Dons were in front. Greg Kaziboni got beyond Boro full-back George Walters, and Wayne Hatch tried to stop his cross from reaching Dave Diedhiou, but he could only help the ball into the net himself. It was the start of what would be a nightmare half for the Romford defence, and Hatch in particular. Richard Owusu came close to putting Hendon 2-0 in front in the 4th minute. Six minutes later, he did make it 2-0. Diedhiou passed to Owusu just inside the Romford box, and the Ghanaian neatly turned before lashing a shot in. The Greens were in an envious position, and the game was already slipping away from our grasp. It took us half an hour to get some sort of momentum going. In the 32nd minute, shortly after seeing his strike partner Kieron Carroll miss a good opportunity, Nicky Reynolds pounced on an awful headed clearance from Luis Morrison-Derbyshire. His low half-volley into the far corner pulled us back to 2-1... but if any Boro supporters thought the tide was turning in our favour, they would be hugely mistaken. Two minutes later, Owusu headed the ball over Hatch and into the path of Belal Aite-Ouakrim, who slipped past Zak Stephens and quickly restored Hendon's two-goal cushion. A couple more minutes followed, and then Diedhiou hit the post before Aite-Ouakrim struck home the rebound for his second and Hendon's FOURTH goal! He was well on his way to becoming my second-most hated Moroccan after Chico from 'The X Factor', and only a 37th-minute save from Scott Traveller denied him a five-minute hat-trick that would've put him at the top of my list.

The Boro boys were quivering wrecks as they entered the dressing room at half-time, staring a 4-1 deficit in the face. Our defending had been shambolic, while Hatch and right-back Jordan Willmore were performing so wretchedly that they were substituted. As for the others, I decided not to beat seven shades out of them. Instead, I just said, "You don't need me to tell you how bad that first half was. Just do what you have to do in the second."

The last thing we wanted to do in the first quarter-hour after the restart was concede yet another goal. But in the 58th minute, Aite-Ouakrim came within inches of wrapping up his treble with a low shot that fizzed past the far post. Shortly after that, my desperation led me to bring on an extra striker - Mitch Fellows - in place of the ineffective Rosalino Almeida, and we at last showed signs of improvement. After 63 minutes, Callum Crawley racked up another assist, and Reynolds another goal from short distance to put us back in contention. Having pulled it back to 4-2, we needed to stay firm at the back to stop our attempted comeback from being strangled at birth. Substitute Anthony Chapman typified our improved defensive display with some important tackles, though he hurt himself in the 75th minute after barging into Ollie Rowland. Seven minutes later, our other defensive sub made a more positive impact, as Connor Dymond scored from Crawley's corner to put us within one goal of level terms. Fellows then had the chance to be a Romford hero in the 89th minute, but he came under pressure from Hendon's defenders and his shot for glory skimmed the crossbar. Ultimately, our valiant fightback from 4-1 down ended in failure... but we should never have been in that position in the first place.

Hendon - 4 (Hatch og2, Owusu 10, Aite-Ouakrim 34,36)

Romford - 3 (Reynolds 32,63, Dymond 82)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 82 - POSITIONS: Hendon 19th, Romford 9th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Willmore (Chapman), Stephens, Hatch (Dymond), Walters, Harley, Almeida (Fellows), Crawley, Oates, Carroll, Reynolds. BOOKED: Almeida.

Two horrible defensive performances against weaker opposition meant that the Romford camp was not a happy one ahead of our FA Cup Qualifying Round 2 match at Eastbourne Borough.

We were yet to win an away game this season, and with no league points at stake in this match, I decided to try out a different tactic to 4-4-2. My choice was a counter-attacking 4-5-1/4-3-3 variation, with the middlemen in a V-shape consisting of an anchor man, two central midfielders and two wingers.

[CFuller]

5 October 2013: Eastbourne Borough vs Romford

Eastbourne struggled to get to grips with our new 4-5-1 in the opening stages, and their only real shot at goal in the first half came after nine minutes. Freddie Warren hit a low shot from the edge of the penalty area, and Scott Traveller comfortably gathered it. As for us, Nicky Reynolds hit the near post in the 15th minute, but that was as close as we got to taking a shock lead. Reynolds only got one more half-chance as the lone frontman in the first half, because our wingers had difficulty in breaking down the Sports' stubborn backline. At the break, the scoreline was - surprise, surprise - still 0-0.

The match wouldn't get any better in the second half. In the 49th minute, Traveller made a simple catch to keep out a weak strike from Danny Mills (not to be confused with the former England defender). We didn't have much fortune on the attacking front either. While our wingers failed to complete an awful lot of crosses, we did at least manage to rack up quite a few corners from them, though we couldn't make the most of those. This was very much a game in which our defence took the acclaim, as Traveller made the best save of the day from Ben Adelsbury's injury-time piledriver, Connor Dymond was named man of the match, and the tireless Anthony Chapman made twice as many passes as almost everyone else on the field. Our new approach had worked, to some extent - we'd ground out a goalless draw and secured a replay at Ship Lane.

Eastbourne Borough - 0

Romford - 0

FA Cup Qualifying Round 2, Attendance 981

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge, Dymond, Walters (Stephen), Farrell, Weight, Crawley (Almeida), Beere (Harley), Burrell, Reynolds. BOOKED: Chapman.

We'd held our Conference South opponents to a 0-0 draw on their own turf, and taken home around £10,000 in gate receipts. More important, though, was that we had ensured a rematch with them four days later - the winner of which would face a Qualifying Round 3 trip to either AFC Hornchurch or Tilbury.

But before that, there was plenty of transfer business to be done. Three players left Romford in the days leading up to our next meeting with Eastbourne. Zak Stephens and Jordan Willmore departed at the end of their trials - local lad Stephens had performed averagely at best, while I considered offering a contract to Willmore until his Hendon horror show.

We also lost Tom Stephen, who accepted an offer to play for Swindon Supermarine in the Southern League Division 1 South & West. The 21-year-old left-back's form had declined recently, so his departure was probably for the best. It also left another place in my squad to fill... and so I got back in touch with one of my former trialists.

Remember Kamal Guthmy? The former Barnet youth player, who can be used as a full-back or a defensive winger, fared pretty well for us in pre-season, but the only reason we didn't keep him on permanently was because we already had plenty of options on the left flank. Now that a space had become available, and Kamal was still a free agent, I invited him to come back to Romford for good. He said yes.

Sadly, Kamal was cup-tied for the Eastbourne replay, but a second new signing was able to take his place on the bench at least. Former Stevenage defender George Allen, who was born just a few miles away from us in Brentwood, became our oldest centre-back at the ripe age of 19-and-a-half. Alan Hansen would not be impressed.

9 October 2013: Romford vs Eastbourne Borough

With Eastbourne boasting a number of big aerial presences, it was important to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible. One such aerial threat was Danny Mills, and in the 3rd minute, he looked set to head home Marvin Hamilton-Omole's cross, but Scott Traveller got his left hand to the ball just in time. At the other end, winger Gary Burrell tried a deep floating cross - much to my annoyance - in the 17th minute. It did cause Eastbourne some concern, though, as defender Carl Piergianni headed the ball against his own crossbar, which diverted it clear. Up front, Nicky Reynolds struggled to get on the end of our crosses, though Burrell and Jason Harley did at least earn a number of corners from them. Our best chance from a corner in the first half came bang on 28 minutes, when Connor Dymond headed not much more than a metre wide. Eastbourne had one more opportunity eight minutes from time, when Chris Shephard's 20-yard strike was tipped away by Boro skipper Traveller. After three halves of football, this FA Cup tie was still awaiting its first goal.

During the first 45 minutes, I noticed that our wingers were enjoying quite a lot of the ball and being given plenty of space by Eastbourne, so we focused more of our play on them in the second half. Of course, though, one couldn't underestimate the influence of Callum Crawley. In the 50th minute, the playmaker hit a dangerous free-kick into the Sports' area, and Adam Watts could only head it behind to set up another Crawley set-piece. Callum's corner flew across the goalmouth, and Dymond got on the other end to head the ball in and put Romford 1-0 up! "Well played, lads," I said, but the job was far from done. Two minutes later, Eastbourne had a free-kick on the edge of our penalty area, and Simon Johnson's effort was turned behind by Traveller. Scott kept out another Johnson strike in the 64th minute, and after that, the visitors found it difficult to keep the ball in the middle and create further opportunities. We had a few hiccups in injury time, but in truth, Eastbourne never came particularly close to equalising. We had claimed a major scalp, and scraped into the next round of the FA Cup!

Romford - 1 (Dymond 50)

Eastbourne Borough - 0

FA Cup Qualifying Round 2 Replay, Attendance 419

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge, Dymond, Walters, Farrell, Almeida (Weight), Crawley, Harley, Burrell (Oates), Reynolds (Quinn). BOOKED: Almeida.

Our bank balance received another boost to the tune of around £8,000 in prize money and gate receipts after that victory. Another money-spinning FA Cup game was now on the horizon. In just ten days time, we would be away to one of our biggest rivals, AFC Hornchurch, in Qualifying Round 3. I could not wait!

[CFuller]

Three days after our morale-boosting victory in the cup, we returned to league action against Hastings United. The Arrows were two places above us in 7th, but we'd leapfrog them with a win at Ship Lane. This match would see new boys Kamal Guthmy and George Allen make their debuts, while Kieron Carroll was recalled to face his old team.

12 October 2013: Romford vs Hastings United

In the fifth minute, Kieron Carroll headed debutant Kamal Guthmy's cross wide of goal, but the next few minutes would pretty much be the Kieron show. Carroll scored the opening goal against his former employers after 10 minutes, as he hit a powerful low shot beyond the goalkeeper's reach. Just over a minute later, he made it 2-0 Romford by tucking in Joe Oates' cross from inside the Hastings box! But Kieron's big day would come to a very early end when he suffered a knock in the 13th minute. I didn't want to take any chances with him, so I took the starlet off and brought Aidan Quinn on to give him some much-needed game time. Without Carroll, our attack didn't look so dangerous. On 24 minutes, Oates hit the side netting after receiving a promising cross from his opposite winger Tom Beere. Meanwhile, Quinn showed signs of an obvious lack of match fitness, snatching at his first chance in the 31st minute. Hastings then had a chance to pull one goal back after 40 minutes, but disgraced former Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson - who seemed to have transformed into a white, 20-something non-league footballer - skimmed the bar with his free-kick. Three minutes later, Nicky Reynolds calmed our nerves a little by scoring Romford's third goal of the day, and at the break, we were firmly in control!

Less than 90 seconds into the second half, we had our fourth goal. It was Scott Weight's fourth of the season, and the midfielder had already matched his goal tally from last term! At 4-0, the game seemed beyond Hastings' reach. But the Arrows launched a swift attack in the 58th minute, and Johnson fired a shot home at the speed of a Red Arrow, making it 4-1! Hastings went on the offensive again shortly after kick-off, and it looked like Zak Attwood would reduce our lead further on the hour mark, but he found the side netting from a short distance. A second away goal would've made for nervous scenes at Ship Lane, but any fears that Romford would throw their lead away evaporated after 62 minutes. Conner Fitzpatrick tried to head the ball back to his keeper, but he could only send it as far as Reynolds, and slick Nick made the most of his chance! That was to be the last of our five goals, though Quinn came within a whisker of adding a sixth in the 83rd minute - his effort flying just over the bar. Robert Appiah also made a brief cameo, featuring in his first competitive match of the season following a rib injury. An emphatic 5-1 victory took us up to 6th place in the Isthmian Premier. Bear in mind, though, that we had played more games than anybody else.

Romford - 5 (Carroll 10,11, Reynolds 43,62, Weight 47)

Hastings United - 1 (Johnson 58)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 120 - POSITIONS: Romford 6th, Hastings 10th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman (Appiah), Allen, Hatch, Guthmy, Beere, Weight, Almeida (Farrell), Oates, Carroll (Quinn), Reynolds.

Our league campaign was back on track, and now we faced a run of at least three cup games in quick succession. The next few weeks would see us feature in four different cup competitions, and these gruelling two-game weeks that we've had since the start of the season weren't going to end any time soon. It's just as well that we've got a large squad, then, isn't it?

[CFuller]

The middle of October marked the start of our FA Trophy campaign as we returned to Derbyshire, where we were knocked out of last season's tournament. This time, we weren't playing Ilkeston, but we made an even longer journey to Buxton, who play alongside them in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

200 miles seemed an awful long way to go to play an FA Trophy Qualifying Round 1 game, and the best I could really hope for was to hold Buxton to a replay. Our task was made more difficult because I left star performers Connor Dymond and Nicky Reynolds behind to keep them fresh for our big game at AFC Hornchurch.

16 October 2013: Buxton vs Romford

Aidan Quinn made just his second competitive start for Romford, and in the ninth minute, he came very close to his first goal. Unfortunately, a well-struck effort went just the wrong side of the post. Ten minutes later, he blazed another effort over. Kieron Carroll and Callum Crawley also spurned chances in the first half, but our profligacy in front of goal was matched if not 'bettered' by Buxton. The closest they came to finding the target before half-time was as early as the 8th minute, when Aiden Savory's 20-yarder just missed the frame of Scott Traveller's goal.

The second half was similar in many respects. While our defence looked impenetrable, it was never seriously tested by Buxton. The Bucks had eight shots at goal, but Traveller only had to make one single save. That came after 53 minutes, when he caught a Danny South effort struck from the edge of the penalty box. The opposition goalkeeper, John Lamb, had an even easier day, because we failed to test him at all in the second half. No prizes, then, for guessing what the final scoreline was. Despite a poor attacking performance, we got just what we wanted: a replay at Ship Lane, where we could be more adventurous, and have a real shot at securing qualification for the next round.

Buxton - 0

Romford - 0

FA Trophy Qualifying Round 1, Attendance 233

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge, Hatch, Walters (Appiah), Harley, Farrell, Crawley (Almeida), Oates, Carroll, Quinn (Benjamin). BOOKED: Chapman.

In the first two months of the season, player-coach Mitch Fellows had made just a couple of cameo appearances in the league. At 24, he wasn't willing to hang up his boots yet, but he already had plans for a career as a professional football coach. On the way back from Buxton, he told me that he was going to study for his UEFA A Licence. The club agreed to pay for his £3,000 course fee, just like they did when he studied for his B Licence last year.

Three days later came the big date at Bridge Avenue, where we would play AFC Hornchurch of the Conference South for a spot in Qualifying Round 4 of the FA Cup. There was more than just local pride at stake, because the victor would be potentially just 90 minutes away from the first round proper.

19 October 2013: AFC Hornchurch vs Romford

It would be us that had the game's first goalscoring chance in the sixth minute. Connor Dymond connected with Callum Crawley's corner and hit a powerful header, but it was just too powerful. Five minutes later, a firm tackle from Craig Calver left Romford midfielder Scott Weight with a broken ankle, and Weighty was quickly taken off. Soon after that, Dymond made a perfectly-timed challenge on Hornchurch winger Frazer Shaw in the Boro penalty area. The tackle left Shaw badly hurt, and while he was receiving treatment on the side of the pitch, he came close to being hit by a wayward shot from team-mate Kurtney Brooks! The rest of his team-mates would soon be hurting for different reasons, because after 22 minutes, we took the lead! Crawley pumped a free-kick into the box, and Nicky Reynolds made the slightest of touches to send it across the line! Our luck was in that time, but not in the 28th minute, when energetic winger Tom Beere was tackled out of the game by Jonathan Brogden. We'd now made two of our substitutions within the first half-hour, and I was in an anxious mood for the next 15 minutes. Would we still be ahead at half-time? In the third and last minute of added-on time, Shaw answered that question with a fantastic through-ball to Nicky Symons, who drew the Urchins level with a well-placed shot. It was a very frustrating moment, but there was still another half of football to play.

We reacted to AFC Hornchurch's fightback with a switch of formation - from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 - at half-time. Kieron Carroll came on to give Nicky some much-needed support up front, but we began the second period on the defensive. Hornchurch won a free-kick in a promising position after 53 minutes, but Symons crashed it against the Romford wall. Calver then skimmed the bar with a 58th-minute header. A couple of minutes later, Calver sent a cross to former West Ham United youngster Shaw, who evaded Anthony Chapman's challenge on the edge of the area before hitting an unstoppable strike into the top corner. Although were now trailing, we didn't panic, because our chance to equalise was bound to come. What we didn't know was that it would come just four minutes later! Eagle-eyed Carroll spotted Rosalino Almedia unmarked on the right wing, so he sent a through-ball to the Angolan before getting in the right position for Almeida's subsequent cross. When it came, Kieron did the rest with a clinical finish, and it was level pegging again! This match was becoming high in tempo, and soon, even the tireless Chapman was struggling. In the 73rd minute, Brooks lunged in on the young Boro full-back, who was left in a lot of pain but bravely carried on without any treatment. Both sides earned a booking each in the closing 15 minutes, after which the score was still 1-1. Yet again, we faced a replay in a cup competition, and we only had four days to prepare for Hornchurch's visit to Ship Lane. That would be arguably the most important Havering derby for many, many years.

AFC Hornchurch - 2 (Symons 45, Shaw 60)

Romford - 2 (Reynolds 22, Carroll 64)

FA Cup Qualifying Round 3, Attendance 648

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Allen, Dymond, Guthmy, Weight (Farrell), Almeida, Crawley, Beere (Oates), Burrell (Carroll), Reynolds. BOOKED: Guthmy.

24 hours later, we learned just how important the replay would be, as the draw for Qualifying Round 4 was made. Whoever got through would be at home to Isthmian South outfit Eastbourne Town - hardly the most difficult of opponents. That meant that if we managed to get past Hornchurch, we would have a fantastic chance to reach Round 1 of the FA Cup, where a meeting with a Football League club would become a real possibility.

We needed as many key men as possible... and Scott Weight was one such man. Scott suffered an ankle injury in the original tie, but we were short of fit midfield options, so I reluctantly put him through a course of pain-killing injections to enable him to get through the replay.

When the time came to renew our rivalry with Hornchurch, I switched to a 4-4-2 formation from the start. Once again, Messrs Reynolds and Carroll would start up front, and if anyone was to become a Romford hero on this Wednesday evening, the chances were that it was going to be either of those two.

23 October 2013: Romford vs AFC Hornchurch

Over 500 spectators flocked to Ship Lane for the big derby - well, 501 to be exact. The first shot they saw came in the 3rd minute. Callum Donnelly's effort for AFC Hornchurch was punched away by Scott Traveller, but the ball fell to Urchins winger Lewis Taaffe, who crossed it back into the box. The cross found his team-mate Craig Calver, who looked certain to score until Traveller caught the ball right on his goal line! Scott saved us again three minutes later by catching a 20-yarder from Calver. Then came a major injury blow for us after just ten minutes. Tom Beere, who came off injured in the original tie, had to do so again when a challenge from Donnelly left him with an elbow injury. I couldn't risk keeping the talented but fragile midfielder on, so I replaced him with the walking-wounded Scott Weight. Hornchurch's tough tackling continued, with both of our wingers requiring treatment before the 20-minute mark. Jason Harley came off worse than Gary Burrell, who hit the post with a 19th-minute shot, and I very nearly took Jason off before deciding to keep him on for the time being. After half an hour of play, the Urchins had another chance to take the lead, but Traveller made an assured catch from David O'Connor's header. Scott then watched an effort from Taaffe drift just past the post in the 40th minute. We were very much outplayed in the first half, but thanks to our goalkeeper and captain, we remained on level terms.

We showed encouraging signs of improvement soon after play restarted. In the 51st minute, Nicky Reynolds found his way into the penalty area, and had an open goal to aim that after AFC Hornchurch keeper Worteh Doe came too far off his line. Alas, Reynolds was forced into too tight an angle to get a decent shot in, and he could only hit the post. Three minutes later, a Hornchurch counter-attack ended with Calver firing a dismal effort off target. The Urchins were still getting too many chances for my liking, and in the 71st minute, they had another. Calver got past Mark Betteridge before having his shot tipped over by the excellent Traveller. We now couldn't afford to make any silly errors, because Calver was primed to pounce if we did. But with 12 minutes to go, Betteridge needlessly pushed Frazer Shaw in a dangerous position, conceding a free-kick and a yellow card. Greg Butler's free-kick bounced back off the woodwork, and Connor Dymond's headed clearance only went as far as Donnelly, who cushioned a header across the goalmouth. Calver was in a perfect position to slide the ball into the net, and his goal made it 1-0 to AFC Hornchurch. I was in despair, and wondered if we could come back from this.

Two minutes later, in the 80th minute, we got a flicker of hope. Donnelly went from hero to zero, as shortly after setting up Hornchurch's goal, he nobbled Rosalino Almeida while already on a booking from the first half. The yellow card came out again, followed by the red, and AFC Hornchurch had to hold onto their lead with 10 men! We now had ten minutes to make our numerical advantage count and grab an equaliser. The Urchins were defending very resolutely, so we spent the closing stages probing the ball around their half, trying to break them down. In the 89th and penultimate minute of normal time, Weight found Kieron Carroll in the danger area. Kieron then played the ball past his marker and towards Nicky, who fired a venomous low strike underneath Doe to equalise! We were still alive, and now we had 30 more minutes to find a way through the Hornchurch defence again!

Reynolds had just saved us from elimination, and in the fifth minute of extra-time, he went for glory with a vicious shot - but he came closer to putting the ball out of the stadium than in Doe's net! That was our only real attack of the first half. Hornchurch went on the offensive four minutes later, when Kurtney Brooks went for a low drive into the bottom corner, and Traveller denied him with yet another good save. As for chances in the second half, the best came from Romford winger Joe Oates after 117 minutes. He hit a fantastic effort from Hornchurch's 'D', which went just a few inches the wrong side of the post. With both teams failing to score in extra-time, that meant only one thing. It would come down to a penalty shoot-out to decide who reached Qualifying Round 4 of the FA Cup...

[CFuller]

We won the toss, and decided to go first. When it came to deciding the order of our penalty takers, there was no debate to be made about who would step up first. It was always going to be Nicky Reynolds, and sure enough, he showed exactly why with an unstoppable strike towards the keeper's top left corner. AFC Hornchurch's first taker was also their star striker, and Craig Calver's shot was just as clinical. Indeed, players from both teams continued to convert their penalties, and the sequence wasn't broken until AFC Hornchurch had their fourth attempt. Despite his surname, Mitch Hahn proved that he didn't have any German blood when his spot-kick was tipped away by Scott Traveller. It was 4-3 to Romford, and we now had two chances to secure the win.

The responsibility of booking our place in Qualifying Round 4 fell to 16-year-old Mark Betteridge. Mark took a huge gulp, and fired to Worteh Doe's right... but the Hornchurch goalkeeper went the same way. Now it was Traveller's turn to be a Romford hero, but Greg Butler quickly hammered the ball past him, and that meant sudden death. Both sides scored their next three penalties, as Traveller missed three more opportunities to be the headline maker, meaning that it was 7-7. Then came the turn of Romford left-back George Walters. He weakly shot at the middle of the goal, and Doe stood firm to parry it away. AFC Hornchurch now had their first opportunity to win the shoot-out after essentially saving five 'match points'. Next up for them was Che Alexander - an 18-year-old former West Ham United defender. After he placed the ball on its spot, Alexander took a few steps back before running towards it again... and thrashing it into the net. I was gutted like a fish.

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 89)

AFC Hornchurch - 1 (Calver 79)

[AFC Hornchurch win 8-7 on penalties]

FA Cup Qualifying Round 3 Replay, Attendance 501

PENALTY SHOOT-OUT: (Romford players listed in blue) Reynolds 1-0, Calver 1-1, Carroll 2-1, Ashman 2-2, Almeida 3-2, Taaffe 3-3, Chapman 4-3, Hahn saved, Betteridge saved, Butler 4-4, Oates 5-4, Brooks 5-5, Weight 6-5, Brogden 6-6, Burrell 7-6, Stavrinou 7-7, Walters saved, Alexander 7-8.

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah (Chapman), Betteridge, Dymond, Walters, Harley (Oates), Almeida, Beere (Weight), Burrell, Carroll, Reynolds. BOOKED: Betteridge.

The Romford dressing room at full-time was all but silent. The only noises we could hear were the celebrations from the away dressing room. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't find any words that would make the players feel any better, so I had to suffice with a simple "Hard luck, fellas," while wrapping a consoling arm around a distraught George Walters.

Experiencing a penalty shoot-out defeat does not get any easier - especially not when you're English.

We then had further bad news on the injury front. Scott Weight had played for 110 minutes with a twisted ankle, and scored an excellent penalty in the shoot-out despite my fears that his foot would fall off! But now he would be out for six to seven weeks, and another midfielder, Tom Beere, would sit out three weeks with an elbow injury.

We were now pretty much down to the bare bones in the midfield department, so I spent the next couple of days looking for temporary cover. 28-year-old former Arsenal youth player Hassan Sulaiman answered my call. The quick right-winger played for our near-neighbours East Thurrock United last season, and now he was joining us for a four-week trial period.

Unsurprisingly, our regular players were exhausted after their exploits against AFC Hornchurch, and so I fielded an almost entirely different starting XI for our next league game at Isthmian South champions Maidstone United. Right-back Robert Appiah was the only player to keep his place. It was pretty much a second-string line-up, with the exception of assist machine Callum Crawley, who didn't feature in that last match.

26 October 2013: Maidstone United vs Romford

Our visit to Maidstone's Gallagher Stadium was a new experience for us, as we had never before played on an artificial pitch. Despite that, we held our own in unfamiliar surroundings... at first. A 15th-minute shot from Aidan Quinn was well held by United goalkeeper Josh James. Maidstone midfielder Bradley Pegg then gave us a warning when a long-distance strike on 28 minutes went just over. It was a warning we did not heed. Four minutes later, Pegg attempted a half-volley from 30 yards, and this time, there was nothing Joel Wilkinson could do to keep it out. Our confidence took a huge knock after that wonder goal, and at half-time, Maidstone had all the momentum.

The second half was, in stark contrast to Pegg's goal, rather bland. The Stones hurled a number of shots at us, but Boro centre-backs Wayne Hatch and George Allen each made impressive headed clearances to keep the deficit down to 1-0. We had one chance to draw level in the 81st minute, but after going one-on-one with James, stand-in captain Joe Oates snatched at his shot. With that, our fate was sealed, and we slumped to another away defeat. In truth, this was never going to be our day - not with our reserves.

Maidstone United - 1 (Pegg 32)

Romford - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 822 - POSITIONS: Maidstone 19th, Romford 10th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Wilkinson, Appiah, Allen, Hatch, Guthmy, Sulaiman (Harley), Farrell (Neville), Crawley, Oates, Benjamin (Fellows), Quinn.

Most of the regulars were back in time for the visit of Martin McIntosh and his Buxton team to Ship Lane. A week on from our FA Cup exit, would we come unstuck again in the FA Trophy - or would we soldier on to Qualifying Round 2?

30 October 2013: Romford vs Buxton

The first 20 minutes of this Qualifying Round 1 replay passed by almost without incident. But that all changed in the 21st minute, when Buxton midfielder Warren Peyton slid the ball towards Scott Traveller's goalmouth. Scott stood still while George Walters came back to gather the ball... or at least he was going to until he slipped in the mud. With George on the floor and Scott still unwilling to pick up the ball, Buxton striker Aiden Savory rushed forward to poke it home from about one yard out! It would have been hilarious if I wasn't the Romford manager! Instead, I had a face like thunder, and I was even more unhappy in the 40th minute, when defender Mark Betteridge came off with an arm injury. At half-time, we were 1-0 down after some horrendous defending led to us conceding the only chance either team had in the first period. We had to play a great deal better after the break, otherwise our FA Trophy dream would sink in the Ship Lane mud.

Nine minutes into the second half, a Callum Crawley corner caused all sorts of problems for Buxton. Connor Dymond and then George Allen both had the opportunity to head the ball into the net before Jason Harley eventually slid it home to equalise for Romford! Our next chance came in the 62nd minute, but Chris Benjamin's half-volley was saved by Bucks keeper John Lamb. We were now becoming increasingly hopeful of taking the lead. Sadly, though, that hope faded away after 79 minutes. Boro rookie Brian Neville was penalised for apparently backing into Chris Flynn in the Romford penalty area - a decision which I was obviously livid about - and Dean Stott restored Buxton's advantage from the spot. From that moment on, I knew we were beaten. Now we were just desperate to keep the deficit down to one goal. Deep into injury time, Traveller tipped Danny South's header over the bar, but Peyton's subsequent corner was headed in by Jacob Blackwell. Our night of despair was complete, with the final score 3-1 to the Bucks. We had crashed out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle.

Romford - 1 (Harley 54)

Buxton - 3 (Savory 21, Stott pen80, Blackwell 90)

FA Trophy Qualifying Round 1 Replay, Attendance 98

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge (Allen), Dymond, Walters, Harley, Farrell, Crawley (Neville), Burrell, Carroll (Benjamin), Reynolds. BOOKED: Crawley.

Although I was disappointed to see us exit the FA Trophy, that defeat did at least spare us from a gruelling Qualifying Round 2 trip to Whitby Town in North Yorkshire. Perhaps it was a blessing in a very subtle disguise!

A hugely frustrating month had ended with a run of five matches without victory, including eliminations from both FA knockout competitions. We made a £19,000 monthly profit off the pitch, but our main source of income - the FA Cup - was no longer available for this season. The league would take top priority again in November, and we needed to snap out of our slump to avoid being thrown into a relegation battle.

[CFuller]

I was always aware that we had a very young squad, but the second half of October confirmed what I suspected - we were badly lacking experience. Adding an older head to our glorified day care centre was my number 1 priority at the start of November.

The answer came very close to home - our old foes, AFC Hornchurch. Although relations between me and Urchins manager Jimmy McFarlane had soured following our recent FA Cup skirmishes, McFarlane did allow me to take Elliot Styles on a three-month loan, though he insisted that we pay 10% of his £150-a-week wages.

29-year-old Elliot may have been surplus to requirements at Bridge Avenue, but his work ethic and versatility (he can play as a left-back or a central midfielder) will make him a valuable asset for us, I'm sure.

Our first fixture in November would also be our first in this season's Essex Senior Cup. We were sure-fire favourites to overwhelm our Essex Senior League hosts Bowers & Pitsea in Round 3.

6 November 2013: Bowers & Pitsea vs Romford

The match started to a downpour of rain at the Len Salmon Stadium, and we made the most of the adverse weather in the early stages. In the sixth minute, we slickly moved the ball across the Bowers & Pitsea half before Kieron Carroll put us in front with an all-too-easy finish. Five minutes later, Joe Oates tried a shot from out wide, and was unfortunate to hit the crossbar. We were dominating play up to that point, but Bowers had no intention of making life easy for us. The hosts had a penalty claim denied in the 19th minute, and in the 26th, Kiran McGowan sent a half-volley just wide. Two minutes from half-time, they delivered solid proof that they wouldn't be pushovers. McGowan looped a shot from the edge of the area into the far corner of Scott Traveller's goal, and that moment of solo sublimity pulled Bowers level. We needed to get our professional heads back on to avoid an embarrassing early exit from the Essex Senior Cup.

In the 54th minute, Carroll picked up a pass from Nicky Reynolds and shot from just outside the Bowers penalty area, but the crossbar denied him his second goal. Reynolds himself came close to restoring our advantage on the hour mark. Nicky and Kieron's next link-up would end more successfully. After 65 minutes, Carroll was put through on goal by his partner-in-crime, and he completed the move by drilling the ball home! We were leading again, but five minutes later, we had another scare. Traveller dropped Rhye Cockerill's cross, and George Walters spared his blushes by blocking Gary Sowter's rebound shot. That would be the last chance brave Bowers would have to take the game into extra-time. Their resistance nearly crumbled altogether in the 76th minute, but Carroll missed his hat-trick opportunity by inches, and we had to settle for a one-goal victory that was very much earned the hard way. Our reward was a place in Round 4, where we would be away to Braintree Town Reserves.

Bowers & Pitsea - 1 (McGowan 43)

Romford - 2 (Carroll 6,65)

Essex Senior Cup Round 3, Attendance 29

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah (Sulaiman), Allen, Dymond, Walters, Harley, Styles (Almeida), Crawley, Oates, Carroll, Reynolds (Carroll). BOOKED: Almeida.

The following day, I met Romford chairman Steve Gardener to discuss how to invest the money we made from this season's FA Cup run. I thought it would be a good idea to increase the club's junior coaching budget, but Mr Gardener was not convinced at first. My persistence paid off, though, and he eventually agreed to my request. As you can imagine, I was delighted that our youth players would soon benefit from better coaching.

The first-team, meanwhile, returned to league action with a home game against Cray Wanderers. The Wands are one of the oldest football clubs in the world, having been formed way back in 1860 - three years before the Football Association came into existence! More than 150 years on, Cray were a lower-mid-table team in the Isthmian Premier.

9 November 2013: Romford vs Cray Wanderers

We took the lead very quickly when, after just 26 seconds, Gary Burrell floated in a cross that amazingly found its way into the net via the crossbar! We were 1-0 up, and Cray hadn't even touched the ball! The Wands' first shot, from Martel Powell in the 12th minute, was hit much lower and much less accurately. They did get closer, though, in the 21st minute. Harrison Georgiou curled a free-kick towards goal and missed only by inches. Martel Powell, who was not to be confused with Cray's former Brentford defender Darren Powell, had a few more opportunities before half-time. The best came in the 41st minute, when his first shot rebounded off Anthony Chapman and the follow-up went out off the crossbar. Powell's wasteful shooting was the key reason why we were still leading at half-time.

Cray continued to take the game to Romford in the second half. After just 16 seconds, Paul Burton struck a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area, but he hit the sponsor hoardings with it. Meanwhile, Powell continued to be inefficient. He had no fewer than eight attempts before registering a shot on target, and even then, after 56 minutes, Scott Traveller still turned it away. To nobody's surprise, the underperforming striker was soon substituted. Wanderers cracked another shot against the crossbar - this time from Will Bor's free-kick - in the 69th minute, and Traveller got his hands to the loose ball before a Cray player could turn it in. By the 80th minute, we'd had just two shots at goal, and Cray had mustered 16. It was incredible to think that we were winning that match. Two minutes later, the scoreline would become even more incredible! Opening goalscorer Burrell turned provider for Boro's poacher-in-chief Nicky Reynolds, and a split second later, it was 2-0 to the Boro! Chris Benjamin missed an opportunity to increase our lead to 3-0 after 85 minutes, though Nicky would eventually manage that in the first minute of injury time. Trialist Hassan Sulaiman provided the killer cross for Reynolds, who outmuscled defender Nick Davis to get to it and slot it past the Cray goalkeeper! We'd won by what looked like a comfortable scoreline on paper, but in truth, the Wands would be kicking themselves over their failure to turn shots into goals. Well, I say that they'd be kicking themselves, but they'd probably miss!

Romford - 3 (Burrell 1, Reynolds 82,90)

Cray Wanderers - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 161 - POSITIONS: Romford 7th, Cray 16th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge (Allen), Hatch, Walters, Sulaiman, Styles (Farrell), Almeida, Burrell, Carroll (Benjamin), Reynolds.

Our next match would see us finally get our Isthmian League Cup campaign underway in Round 2, as we hosted Isthmian North newcomers VCD Athletic four weeks later than originally scheduled. At stake was the last remaining place in Round 3, where the winners would travel to Enfield Town.

[CFuller]

13 November 2013: Romford vs VCD Athletic

Far too often this season, we've spent a lot of time on the back foot, trying to withstand pressure (and sometimes succeeding). This was a rare opportunity to take a match to our opponents... and we did that with aplomb. A few early chances for Chris Benjamin went begging, and VCD goalkeeper Darragh Keane made a fine save to keep out Connor Dymond's header in the 20th minute, but we would soon break through. Four minutes later, Robert Appiah's cross from the byline was nodded in by Aidan Quinn, who at last scored his first competitive goal in a Romford shirt! He wouldn't be the only Boro boy celebrating that milestone by the end of the first half. After playing a one-two with Quinn in the 45th minute, attacking full-back Kamal Guthmy cut the ball through a gap between the keeper and his near post. I was delighted for both Aidan and Kamal, and at half-time, we were well on our way to the next round.

Vickers had a few shots in the first half, mostly through striker Bill McKenna, but after he was taken off injured at half-time, any attacking danger that they posed was gone. Therefore, we could afford to take things easy in the second half. We did, though, try to get at least one more goal on the board. Another Dymond header went just over the bar in the 65th minute, and substitute Mitch Fellows fired a vicious shot over six minutes from the end. On 88 minutes, Keane parried away Callum Crawley's free-kick to keep the final score down to 2-0 - a result that saw us comfortably through to a Round 3 clash with Enfield Town.

Romford - 2 (Quinn 24, Guthmy 45)

VCD Athletic - 0

Isthmian League Cup Round 2, Attendance 109

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah, Betteridge, Dymond (Allen), Guthmy, Harley (Beere), Farrell, Crawley, Burrell, Benjamin (Fellows), Quinn.

The last of three back-to-back home games was an Isthmian League Premier Division clash against Hampton & Richmond Borough. The Beavers were two places above us in 5th, and if they won, the seven-point gap between us and the play-off zone would become almost a chasm. This was a match that we really did not want to lose.

16 November 2013: Romford vs Hampton & Richmond Borough

Unfortunately for us, Hampton & Richmond goalkeeper Nick Jordan had an excellent first half. It started in the 9th minute, when he tipped over a shot from Nicky Reynolds. Callum Crawley sent the resulting corner towards Connor Dymond, but Jordan caught the Romford centre-back's header. The H&R shotstopper then got his hands to a Kieron Carroll effort on 20 minutes. Even though we had more chances in the first half, it was actually the Beavers who came closest to drawing first blood. Teenage striker Kieran Sadlier came within inches of converting a volley after 27 minutes, narrowly missing the target for the visitors.

A goalless first half with few chances was followed by a slow start to the second period. H&R had a free-kick in the 55th minute, but captain Dean Inman failed to get a clean connection to James Simmonds' delivery. The visitors had a few more opportunities, but they were limited, and our full-backs George Walters and Anthony Chapman did a good job of clearing them. The score was still 0-0 in the closing moments, and so I urged Romford to press forward and grab a late winner. With just three minutes remaining, Beavers defender Calum Sheriff made a poor interception from Jason Harley's cross, and then slid in on Aidan Quinn to stop Aidan from taking the ball off him. It happened right in the referee's line of vision, and he pointed straight to the spot - penalty for Romford! Only one man was ever going to take this crucial 89th-minute spot-kick, and Nicky showed nerves of steel as he blasted the ball into the net to seal a late victory! We were now just four points behind Hampton & Richmond, though they still had a game in hand.

Romford - 1 (Reynolds pen89)

Hampton & Richmond Borough - 0

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 183 - POSITIONS: Romford 7th, Hampton & Richmond 5th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge, Dymond (Hatch), Walters, Harley, Styles, Crawley (Almeida), Oates, Carroll (Quinn), Reynolds.

November couldn't have started much better for us. We had won four consecutive games, and Scott Traveller had kept three back-to-back clean sheets. Nothing, it seemed, could dampen our mood...

[CFuller]

The lads were in high spirits after their recent good form, and on the eve of our Isthmian League Cup match at Enfield Town, I joined some of them at Yates's to watch England's crucial World Cup qualifying play-off in France. We'd drawn the first leg 1-1 at Wembley after Steven Gerrard's penalty early in the second half was cancelled out by Adil Rami. That meant we had to beat the frogs on their patch... or at the very least get a score draw.

Guess what? Despite England having twice as many shots at goal as France, most of them were wasted, and the match ended at 0-0. The unthinkable had happened - England had failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. We were all flabbergasted.

Some of the players were still in a state of shock as they boarded the coach for our trip to Enfield, but focus quickly turned to the game ahead. Although the Isthmian League Cup is not top of our list of priorities, it would be nice to reach the latter stages of a cup competition, and victory at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium would put us into the last 16 of this one.

20 November 2013: Enfield Town vs Romford

In the seventh minute, Romford keeper Scott Traveller made an excellent catch from Eddie Savage's free-kick. But while Enfield Town had the first attempt at goal, it would be us who found the net first. Our moment came in the 25th minute, when Joe Oates got past Enfield defender Aaron Snelling to have a shot at goal, which goalkeeper Daniel Platt parried before Joe converted the rebound. The Towners were down, but just two minutes later, they showed that they were far from out. Savage made the most of his next dead-ball situation, as his corner was nodded in by centre-back Adam Learoyd. Losing our lead very quickly didn't quite knock us off our stride, though. Soon after the restart, Rosalino Almeida knocked a promising through-ball to Nicky Reynolds. Unfortunately, Nicky couldn't quite keep the ball in play. Almeida then had a shot for himself, but he put his 32nd-minute free-kick wide. Five minutes after that, Enfield's Kyle Perry lobbed the ball to Liam Upton in the Romford box. The left-winger just about kept it in play before crossing to Sam Lovatt, who beat Traveller with an incisive finish. We'd gone from 1-0 up to 2-1 down in the space of about ten minutes, and I had some stern words to say to the players before the second half.

My half-time team-talk didn't make as much impact as I'd hoped for. Elliot Styles' poor start to his Romford loan spell continued after 54 minutes, when he was easily dispossessed by Connor Okus. About a quarter of a minute later, Lovatt knocked the ball up to Perry, who got past Wayne Hatch and then beat Traveller with a low shot from the edge of the six-yard box. 3-1 to Enfield Town, and we were really struggling. A frustrating evening continued as Enfield defended with great resilience, and the rock-solid Learoyd hardly missed a tackle or header. We did have a highly-promising spell around the 78th-minute mark, in which we managed to pick up a couple of corners. One of Tom Beere's deliveries was met by a header from Styles, but he missed a great opportunity to win over the Romford supporters and reduce the arrears to 3-2. If he had scored, perhaps we might have gone on and grabbed an equaliser... but as it turned out, we wouldn't get another chance. Our four-game winning streak was over, and so was our involvement in this year's Isthmian League Cup.

Enfield Town - 3 (Learoyd 27, Lovatt 37, Perry 54)

Romford - 1 (Oates 25)

Isthmian League Cup Round 3, Attendance 209

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge (Allen), Hatch, Walters, Sulaiman (Beere), Styles, Almeida, Oates, Quinn (Fellows), Reynolds.

That game would be Hassan Sulaiman's last of his month-long trial period at Romford, and after finishing with a poor performance, he had no chance of earning a permanent deal with us.

We now had a week to prepare for one of the most hotly-anticipated matches of our season. It was the first of our TWO league meetings with Thurrock at Ship Lane. Although we were technically the 'away' side for this particular fixture, and our away form had been nothing short of terrible, we'd won seven out of our eight league matches at Ship Lane this season. I was confident that the tenants could upset the landlords.

27 November 2013: Thurrock vs Romford

Even though we were the 'visitors', we were obviously used to playing at Ship Lane, so it wasn't surprising that we went in front after just seven minutes! Kieron Carroll was the focal point of an attacking move that ended with him sending a shot in off the far post. Thurrock were riled, and they set out to make a quick response. Chris Cumming-Bart's header in the 11th minute was well caught by Scott Traveller. In the 25th, Cumming-Bart nearly got lucky with a long-range shot, but Scott showed great anticipation to tip it over his crossbar. That was a close call, and the Fleet went even closer ten minutes later. Once again, Cumming-Bart was in the thick of things, playing an excellent pass to Hicham Abdellah, whose 25-yarder cannoned off the crossbar. Boro defender Mark Betteridge got to the rebound first, and passed back for Traveller to boot it clear. Despite their best efforts, Thurrock were still trailing 1-0 at half-time, and they had to substitute midfielder Jerry Nash at the break after a late clash of heads with Jason Harley.

Thurrock came back at us in the second half, and Traveller had to bravely punch away a Cumming-Bart corner on 49 minutes. Five minutes later, Kamal Guthmy played a one-two with Reynolds and launched a touchline cross to Harley, whose header rattled off the crossbar before being parried away by Jack Middleton! We'd come so close to taking a 2-0 lead! Although we weren't quite home and dry, I thought we had the measure of our opponents - we just had to keep the ball away from Cumming-Bart, their left-wing dangerman. But in the 71st minute, a sloppy throw-in from Robert Appiah was intercepted by CCB, who played a pass to Tom Vickers on the edge of the area. The end result was Vickers coolly placing the ball into the back of the net. Thurrock had equalised. I charged from the dugout and berated Appiah for his error, and had only just finished by the time we kicked off again. 14 seconds later, Carroll threaded a through-ball to Reynolds, and as soon as we'd lost our lead, Nicky had restored it! Fleet then tried to grab another equaliser after 74 minutes, but Daryl Taylor missed the target by miles. Five minutes from time, Reynolds was denied a second goal by a good save from Middleton, but it didn't matter, because we'd done enough. In the battle of landlords vs tenants, we - the plucky lodgers - had won!

Thurrock - 1 (Vickers 71)

Romford - 2 (Carroll 7, Reynolds 72)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 409 - POSITIONS: Thurrock 13th, Romford 7th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Appiah (Allen), Betteridge, Dymond, Guthmy, Harley, Farrell, Crawley (Beere), Oates (Styles), Carroll, Reynolds. BOOKED: Allen.

After that game, I wondered if Thurrock would ever let us play at Ship Lane again! Fortunately for us, they took it on the chin, and we were soon back at the Lane to play mid-table Arlesey Town. The Blues were managed by former Norwich City striker Zema Abbey, who at 36 years of age continued to play up front for his team. His brother Nathan doubled up as assistant manager and goalkeeper for the Bedfordshire side.

30 November 2013: Romford vs Arlesey Town

Zema Abbey created Arlesey's first chance in the eighth minute, hitting a long pass to his strike partner Harry Hunt, who then missed the target, albeit from a long way out. In the 23rd minute, Hunt struck a half-volley against Connor Dymond, and then blazed over the rebound. Five minutes later, it was our turn to respond. After we patiently probed the ball around Arlesey's half, Elliot Styles got it to Kieron Carroll, who then blasted home a shot that was too powerful for Blues keeper Nick Bussey! We had gone 1-0 up after 28 minutes... but three minutes later, Zema sought revenge. With his back to the goal, he gathered a pass from Hunt, and then turned 180 degrees before striking it beyond Scott Traveller's reach. Those two goals, along with Bussey's 40th-minute save from Reynolds, set the scene for a second half where there was pretty much all to play for.

Zema's younger brother Nathan was one of three substitutions made by Town at half-time. In the 48th minute, Abbey the elder was slide-tackled by Anthony Chapman, and that kicked off a swift attack by the Boro. The ball went through Callum Crawley, Carroll and Reynolds before being passed to Gary Burrell on the left wing. Gary drove his shot past Nathan Abbey, and Romford were leading again! This time, Arlesey couldn't hit back quickly. Hunt blasted a strike into orbit on 59 minutes, and the striker's day would gradually get worse. As for Zema Abbey, he came within inches of a second equaliser after 79 minutes, but a high-intensity match was taking its toll on his 36-year-old legs. In the final minute of normal time, Nathan sent a long kick from his area straight to Zema, who had one final opportunity to salvage a point for his team, but he couldn't make the right connection with the ball. Arlesey's lacklustre shooting had been their downfall in this match - they had 11 shots, and the only one on target was their goal. We took full advantage of Town's wastefulness to record a fourth straight win in the league.

Romford - 2 (Carroll 28, Burrell 48)

Arlesey Town - 1 (Z Abbey 31)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 216 - POSITIONS: Romford 7th, Arlesey 12th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge (Allen), Dymond, Walters, Harley (Beere), Styles, Crawley (Almeida), Burrell, Carroll, Reynolds.

At the end of November, the Isthmian League Premier Division was a jumbled mess, with some teams having played as few as 13 games, and Bury Town having played as many as 19!

It was fair to say, though, that we deserved to be in 7th place after picking up maximum league points for this month. We went into December knowing that, with our next league games coming against the bottom two (Billericay Town and Metropolitan Police), we had a great chance to put ourselves right in the play-off mix. Then again, we could blow it and lose both of them!

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.          Whitehawk              17    12    1     4     36    20    +16   37
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2.          Carshalton             18    12    1     5     29    21    +8    37
3.          Concord Rangers        15    11    3     1     28    12    +16   36
4.          Hampton & Richmond     16    10    3     3     30    14    +16   33
5.          Canvey Island          13    9     3     1     31    14    +17   30
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6.          Bognor Regis           16    9     2     5     23    16    +7    29
[color="#0000FF"]7.          Romford                16    9     1     6     32    19    +13   28[/color]
8.          Hastings               15    8     2     5     26    17    +9    26
9.          Enfield Town           17    6     7     4     24    24    0     25
10.         Thurrock               14    7     2     5     16    12    +4    23
11.         Bury Town              19    6     5     8     22    25    -3    23
12.         Arlesey                16    7     1     8     18    25    -7    22
13.         Lowestoft              13    6     3     4     19    15    +4    21
14.         Harrow                 17    5     6     6     17    22    -5    21
15.         Wingate & Finchley     17    5     5     7     25    27    -2    20
16.         Wealdstone             17    6     1     10    27    34    -7    19
17.         Cray                   17    5     3     9     15    24    -9    18
18.         Maidstone              18    5     3     10    25    35    -10   18
19.         Lewes                  13    4     4     5     15    17    -2    16
20.         Witham                 16    3     6     7     16    25    -9    15
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21.         Hendon                 18    3     5     10    23    38    -15   14
22.         Merstham               15    3     3     9     22    31    -9    12
23.         Billericay             17    0     8     9     11    24    -13   8
24.         Met Police             16    1     4     11    12    31    -19   7

[CFuller]

There were two new arrivals at the club early in December - well, actually, one of them wasn't new as such. Former Romford midfielder Ricki Mackin hung up his boots and returned to the club as our first Head of Youth Development. This was my latest move in my attempt to revolutionise Romford's youth setup and produce better players for the future.

Meanwhile, we beat high-flying Concord Rangers to the signing of 19-year-old striker James Hartson. I have high hopes for the quick Welshman, who had been a free agent since being released by Portsmouth at the end of last season. James has plenty to live up to - he is the nephew of former Arsenal, West Ham United and Celtic star John Hartson.

Hartson's move to Ship Lane coincided with Aidan Quinn being struck down by a virus. The forward was unlikely to be back in action for at least a fortnight.

Our first match in December was away to second-from-bottom Billericay Town. The Blues were in the Conference South last season, but they looked set to suffer back-to-back relegations after failing to win any of their first 17 matches in the Isthmian Premier. They wanted to make it 18th time lucky under new manager Paddy Atkinson, though I was sure that we would have something to say about that...

7 December 2013: Billericay Town vs Romford

Billericay were desperate to get that long-awaited first win on the board, and they made a promising start to this match. Their first chance fell to Sam Clarke in the 7th minute, though he couldn't keep his low 25-yard shot on target. Three minutes later, a meek effort from Danny Phillips failed to get anywhere near Scott Traveller. Sam Lechmere came closer in the 21st minute, but again, he didn't force a save out of Traveller. Billericay's attacking threat was reduced later on when two rough challenges from Elliot Styles resulted in Phillips and winger Chris Henderson being taken off at half-time. While we didn't have much problem containing the Blues' attacks, we had similar issues with our opponents at the other end. Billericay's giant centre-backs made headed clearance after headed clearance.to keep the ball away from Kieron Carroll, who at 5ft 11in isn't the tallest target man. Something had to change in the second half.

It took until the 55th minute for us to have a shot at goal, and Nicky Reynolds sent it hopelessly off course. Carroll's fortunes didn't change early on in the second half, and so I brought him off and gave James Hartson his debut. Billericay, meanwhile, were getting their shots closer to the target. Traveller showed safe hands to keep hold of James Elmes' long-range shot in the 60th minute, and three minutes later, he saved from Warren McBean. Hartson's first real chance to make an impression for us came after 77 minutes. James's byline cross found its way to Joe Oates, who had much of the goal to aim at, but Joe volleyed his shot into the side netting. Two minutes later, it was Ricay's turn to attack once again. McBean collected a long ball from just inside the Romford half, and dribbled towards goal before hammering his shot in via the crossbar, prompting a loud collective roar from the home supporters. Billericay had taken the lead, and they were on the verge of winning a league match at the 18th attempt. It had to come against us, didn't it?

The next five minutes were stop-start, with Billericay left-back Kurt Robinson and Romford right-winger Jason Harley both picking up minor injuries. By the 85th minute, the game was flowing again as we pressed hard and upped the tempo to try and claw back a point. Joe Oates thrusted a through-ball towards Reynolds, but it was too powerful and bypassed Nicky. Blues keeper Dave Watson came to the edge of his area to head it away, but his clearance was intercepted by a Boro player - James Hartson. With his uncle's predatory instinct, James launched a long-range chip at goal, and Watson was too far off his line to even try to keep it out! 1-1! We now believed that we could come away from New Lodge with not just one point, but all three! In the first minute of stoppage time, Harley - who was pretty much limping at this point - hit a low pass into the Ricay box for Hartson. The teenager let rip, and moments later, there was pandemonium in the Boro dugout! The 19-year-old had come off the bench to score two goals in his first ever senior football match, and single-handedly clinch victory for Romford! Needless to say, we were fizzing at the final whistle, while Billericay's players sunk to their knees, feeling utterly devastated. They were five minutes away from finally winning a game, and some Welsh upstart had snatched it away from them!

Billericay Town - 1 (McBean 79)

Romford - 2 (Hartson 85,90)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 166 - POSITIONS: Billericay 23rd, Romford 7th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Betteridge (Allen), Dymond, Walters, Harley, Styles, Almeida (Crawley), Oates, Carroll (Hartson), Reynolds.

What an incredible debut that was from James Hartson! His cameo had saved us from an embarrassing defeat to one of the division's worst teams, and indeed, it had secured a fifth league win in a row! It also ensured that James would get his first start when the time came round for us to visit Braintree Town Reserves for Round 4 of the Essex Senior Cup.

Prior to the game, a friend informed me that Romford were rated by one bookmaker as 33-1 ON to win, and Braintree were 50-1 against. That left me with a couple of questions. Number one: how could we possibly lose this match? And number two: why is a bookie placing odds on an Essex Senior Cup game?

10 December 2013: Braintree Town Reserves vs Romford

The rain was pouring down in Braintree, and we needed at least a quarter of an hour to get our attacking game flowing. Kamal Guthmy had a chance from short range in the 16th minute, but the full-back hit the side netting. We then thought we'd broken through when James Hartson bundled Robert Appiah's cross into the net after 32 minutes. Sadly, though, the linesman had raised his flag for offside, but Kamal wasn't having any of it, and he was booked for arguing with the official. Barely a minute later, Gary Burrell hit a shot pass to the feet of Hartson, and the Welsh rocket raced clear of his marker before coolly firing Romford into the lead. The Boro's newest sensation had made his mark again! Though Hartson missed a gilt-edged chance to double our lead in the 39th minute, we only had to wait two more minutes for that second goal. Tom Beere launched a spectacular 25-yard shot from the touchline, and he managed to loop the ball over goalie Louis Wells and into the Braintree net! It was Tom's first senior goal, and I doubt he'll ever score another from such a long distance!

With a 2-0 lead in tow, we continued to control the match in the second half. We were knocking the ball around the pitch with total freedom, and Braintree were barely threatening to even threaten our goal. Then our captain for the day, Elliot Styles, did something incredibly stupid in the 65th minute. On the edge of the Iron's penalty area, he thrusted his elbow into the face of Mick Owens, and the referee couldn't get out his red card quick enough! As Styles headed down the tunnel in disgrace, I stood shaking my head furiously. Elliot had really let me down, and he'd also given Braintree a lifeline. After his confrontation with the elbow of Elliot, Owens rattled the crossbar with a shot in the 76th minute. A few inches lower, and maybe the game might have turned. Fortunately, that red card had not cost us too dearly, as Braintree Reserves couldn't make the most of their advantage, and we eased through to the Quarter Finals.

Braintree Town Reserves - 0

Romford - 2 (Hartson 33, Beere 41)

Essex Senior Cup Round 4, Attendance 17

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Wilkinson, Appiah, Allen, Hatch, Guthmy (Oates), Weight (Farrell), Styles, Crawley, Beere, Burrell, Hartson (Benjamin). BOOKED: Guthmy. SENT OFF: Styles.

This was my 83rd competitive game as Romford boss, and amazingly, this was our first red card of my managership. Elliot Styles received an instant two-game ban, which would later be extended to four games, as well as a stern reminder from myself that violent conduct would not be tolerated at Romford. If I had the power to fine him, that's what I would have done, but he was only a loanee, so instead I warned him that a repeat performance would see him sent straight back to AFC Hornchurch.

The Quarter Final draw was made the following day, and once again, we'd been given an away tie. Even worse, from my point of view, was that we'd been drawn against Tilbury, who we failed to beat in any of our three meetings last season. We'll have a chance to set things straight early in the New Year.

Before then... hold on, what's that noise? Woop, woop, it's the sound of da police!

Our next visitors to Ship Lane were none other than the Metropolitan Police, who were rock-bottom of the Isthmian Premier and desperately trying to arrest their decline (I'm here all week!). We nearly lost to winless Billericay Town in our last league game, so I didn't want us to show any complacency against the rozzers, who at least had got one victory under their belts.

14 December 2013: Romford vs Metropolitan Police

Our plan at the start of the game was to attack, attack, and attack some more. In the 8th minute, Callum Crawley's free-kick into the penalty area was met by a header from Nicky Reynolds, which was caught by away keeper Sam Cowler. Reynolds had another shot after 13 minutes, and this time, he dragged it well past the far post. The Metropolitan Police won a corner in the 19th minute, but Jason Harley headed it clear before Joe Oates started off a Romford counter-attack. The end result was Kieron Carroll's 14th goal of the season, as he hit a well-placed effort just outside the area after he picked up Nicky's deflected through-ball, passed from the halfway line. An error from Met defender Sean Grace had given Nicky the opportunity to put Kieron through, but three minutes later, we made a defensive mistake of our own. The culprit was Wayne Hatch, who mispassed to Police striker Richard Walker, and then compounded his error by slide-tackling the ball away from Walker and straight to his team-mate Jon Docker! Docker passed the ball back towards Walker, and when Connor Dymond messed up an attempted clearance, the former Bristol Rovers striker was free to draw the Met level. That moment of Keystone Cops defending was one we had to quickly put in the back of our minds. We did that after 31 minutes. Reynolds sent Carroll one-on-one again, with a cleaner through-ball this time, and clinical Kieron restored our lead! Our frontmen were having an excellent game, and in the 35th minute, Reynolds came within inches of getting a goal of his own. Carroll sought a hat-trick in the 43rd minute, but his header from Crawley's free-kick went wayward. As half-time drew near, and we looked set to go into the break with a 2-1 lead, I noticed that Hatch's performance - and his confidence - had dropped since his earlier errors. On the stroke of half-time, Hatch hit rock bottom. Wayne failed to keep tabs on Walker at a critical moment, and could only watch on as the 36-year-old veteran slid home from Sos Yao's cross. The Met Police had equalised for a second time, and we badly needed to change strategy.

There was no question about Hatch being subbed after his first-half shocker. I also decided during the break that we would, in the second half, slow the game down to disrupt whatever rhythm the Met had. After 11 minutes of conservative play, we created our first chance of the second period. Reynolds got past his marker to meet Carroll's pass into the penalty area, and like the renowned Isthmian League poacher that he is, Nicky applied a deadly finish! It was the third time that we'd gone in front - would it be a case of third time's the charm? Well, in the 65th minute, winger Jason Harley didn't have any luck. He was taken out by Edwin Everett and twisted his ankle, so we had no choice but to take him off. Five minutes later, Everett nearly annoyed us further by hitting a promising shot at goal, which went into the side netting. We then had further bad luck on the injury front in the 80th minute. Met midfielder Charlie Fowler, who was playing just his second game since breaking his foot against us in a pre-season friendly for Staines Town, left Crawley badly bruised with a crunching tackle. Callum was swiftly replaced by James Hartson, meaning that Carroll would drop back to midfield for the remainder of the match. An anxious wait for the final whistle followed. I had my heart in my mouth when Scott Traveller spilled Howard Newton's shot with six minutes to go, but we survived that particular scare and held on. We'd done just about enough to shade a close battle against the coppers.

Romford - 3 (Carroll 19,31, Reynolds 56)

Metropolitan Police - 2 (Walker 22,45)

Isthmian League Premier Division, Attendance 237 - POSITIONS: Romford 6th, Met Police 24th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Traveller, Chapman, Hatch (Betteridge), Dymond, Walters, Harley (Almeida), Weight, Crawley (Hartson), Oates, Carroll, Reynolds.

Jason Harley's twisted ankle would put him on the treatment table for around six weeks, so to provide adequate cover during his absence, I called for the services of former Aveley winger Delando Smith, 28, on a month-long trial.

We'd now extended our Isthmian Premier winning streak to six games. What's more, we'd made it five wins in a row in all competitions, and nine victories in our last ten matches. Would our magnificent form continue at Harrow Borough, who had performed poorly in recent times and stood 16th before our trip to Earlsmead?