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Week 5 - RTFC Vs O.A.P.'s
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RTFC - 1 Vs O.A.P.'s - 9

Romford Town stepped up to the plate to face their fifth game of the season with determination and a set plan for nights entertainment.  The night was to be about going back to footballing roots rather than getting in a ruck every 5 minutes and O.A.P.'s were the opposition to do it against.  Known mainly for their fitness, fast play and influential manager/captain they forced the best first half of Romford Towns history. 
 
With only six men to battle the cold night and a competent team, Romford Town were still hopeful of a decent result but mainly to enjoy the game and play some good football.  The game was initially very tight, any OAP runs were followed and attacks were quickly countered into half-chances for the Towners.
 
They were few and far between but a good running and passing display from the likes of Murrell, Honz, McGhee and DMK opened up a balanced defence to release a few shots but none came to fruition.  An early OAP attack caught the Towners on the backfoot though and they trailed the game 1-nil for some of the half until Towners superstar McMonteith-Knight came out of no-where to bring things level.  Their keeper slightly fumbled but, just like kids in a maths lesson, they all count.

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Drunks had always been a massive problem at Romford Town

Romford Town held fast as the scores remained the same and the game was deadlocked.  Chris Jones had been having the most chances for Romford when he and Stevie Hammond tried to use route one to exploit the OAP defence.  Their defence was looking good though so it was difficult for Jones to penetrate as he was usually pushed wide and any inside runners were marked tightly.
 
Still, he attempted the shots, using his foot and leg like a crazed mans whip.  Whenever he could he stepped inside and tried to get in behind the defence to lay the ball into the back of the net but it was not to be.  Their defence was too strong and organised and only a spattering of shots were allowed to get through. 
 
The play continued along it's tight path but the scores remained the same thanks to the excellent goalkeeping skills of Steveie Hammond.  His work between the sticks was pretty much keeping Romford Town in the game, reactions that of a savage animal and reminiscent of a young Paul Crane. 
 
The six man disadvantage was being coped with well by the Towners, each man doing his bit to make sure the game remained within our grasp.  OAP's are probably the fittest team in our division and didn't begin to lapse at any point.  Any opening created by the Towners was made via pure skill and good looks as the OAP's just weren't making any mistakes at all.

After the end of the first half, the Towners were proud of their stirling first half performance.  More of the same and they would have had a good chance of rapping the game up with a close scoreline, possibly in their favour.  It wasn't long after the second half started that the Towners were at a deficit.  OAP's were looking sharper than their name suggests when they took the lead a few minutes into the second.  A flurry of about 4 goals hammered the back of the Romford Town net but the Towners heads stayed up.  Usually bad play results in opposition goals but on this occasion, OAP skill and fitness were winning through as they made runs and one-touch passes like they'd just started the first half, fresh as daisys.
 
McGhee was there to hold things at the back though and pounced on plenty more opportunities to stop the oncoming attacks in their tracks.  The crunch man was playing like a legend and stopping anything that came his way.  The Pac was holding up his end of the bargain aswell and continued his superb first half performance into the second.  His tactical mind playing a role in keeping the attackers at bay but it wasn't too long before more goals came. 
 
Single player runs and accurate shots were unstoppable and more goals totalled up against the Towners until their final conclusion when the final whistle finally came.  9-1 to the OAP's told the wrong story as a valiant effort by Romford left them with their second defeat in a row.

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Thugs at the Towners were also a problem

Player Ratings
 
Stevie Hammond - An excellent first half from our step-in goalie this week, minding his net aswell as Andy Moffat for the Romford Raiders!! Oh ref!  Still pulled off some lovely saves in the second aswell but really made the difference for Romford Town.  Thanks for going in goal aswell mate.
 
Chris Jones - Wasn't gonna be beat by the OAP's and didn't stop for the whole game.  Showed some lovely skills to make some of the only chances for the Towners but passing was on top too when spooting the run of the Murrell.  Can be proud.
 
DMK - Scored the only goal of the game and that deserves some credit in itself.  Cmae close a few more times but their keeper was always equal to it.  Showed some nice passing at times and was an integral part of the chances that Romford Town created.
 
Stu Pac - A fine performance from the defender, organised the defence well and proved extremely valuable to the club, especially in the first half.  Was quieter with the shooting this week but through no fault of his own.  Was able to make some inspiring runs at times.
 
John McGhee - A fine night for John.  Interceptions were few and far between for the Towners and are usually where the Towners can turn defending into attacking quite quickly and usually nick a goal or two, but whenever there was an interception it was usually thanks to McGhee.  They didn't come off aswell as usual this week though but McGhee's excellent positioning and play was not the cause of it.
 
Murrell - Oh ref!  4th game without a goal and the fans are calling for a better forward.  Get ya shooting boots on Murrell you spiv.

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