A big night at North bottom...

By Ian Townsend

...and so many goals that you’d need to remove your shoes and socks to add them all up, as Swifts get nine!

On an evening which saw more football postponed than played, the two matches that did go ahead in the North Division saw a total of sixteen goals and entirely different outcomes for our bottom two clubs.

Fans of Heybridge Swifts have been given much to shout about this season, famous cup victories and a trip to Exeter City included, but although they’d already scored five, six and seven goals on occasions this season would perhaps have believed that the idea of nine was a little far-fetched. Fans of Romford, last night’s opponents, will undoubtedly have entered last nights match with a little trepidation and a recollection of the 5-1 home hammering they received at the hands of Jody Brown’s side back in August, but couldn’t have dreamed, even in their worst nightmares, that the rematch would end 9-1.

Swifts were swiftly (sorry) out of the blocks, and there were only three minutes on the clock when Luke Callander put them ahead. By the time the interval arrived the gap was seven- Joan Luque, Harrison Chatting (two), Ryan Henshaw and Kreshnic Krasniqi (two) creating an unlikely scoreline. Romford were next to score, a Ben Clarke effort in the 74th minute not really giving the tally any respectability, but Swifts still weren’t done, Henshaw with his second and James Baker making the scoreline one more suitable to a game of rugby than to football.

Romford began the match holding up the rest, yet had they won and second-bottom Cheshunt lost could have leapfrogged the Ambers. Cheshunt, however, had other ideas, and the side- seemingly rejuvenated under manager Craig Edwards- roared into a three goal lead inside twenty two minutes at home to Waltham Abbey. That’s how it remained at the break- Sam Anderson, Jason Halley and Kyle Roberts with the goals- but the Abbots weren’t finished, and soon had reduced the arrears to a single goal, Shad Ngandu and an own goal bringing them close to getting back into the match. However with eleven minutes to go the evergreen Ricky Sappleton gave the home side a two goal cushion once more, and more importantly a five point cushion over The Boro at the bottom.

There is but one match in the Bostik League tonight. In the Premier Division leaders Billericay Town travel to the Kent coast to take on fifth place Folkestone Invicta.

Image- Swifts fans at Exeter City

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