Romford 1, Tilbury 0

TILBURY suffered disappointment on a Wednesday night that will not long be remembered - other than it saw Romford climb off the foot of the BetVictor Isthmian North where they have been since August.

Having achieved the heady height of second in the table Tilbury went into the match full of confidence, but they failed to catch fire and lacked the creative ability to unlock Romford's hard-working defence.

They enjoyed the lion's share of possession throughout the evening but even when they found a way through the defence, they lacked a clinical finish and found Romford's Gibraltarian goalkeeper Matthew Cafer in decent form.

For all their possession Tilbury had few clear cut opportunities, the best being just before the break when Thomas Barton's effort was pushed wide by Chafer.

If the first half had been undistinguished, the second was distinctly scruffier, with few efforts of note. One of brought a 52nd minute shot from David Knight that looked to be going in but Chafer reached to push it wide.

Two minutes later Romford made the breakthrough. Malaki Toussaint retrieved a Tilbury clearance that appeared to be running away for a throw-in and delivered an excellent, inviting cross that Daniel Waldren met with a thumping header for his first Romford goal.

In the closing stages Tilbury tried to ramp up the pressure but Romford held firm.