Urchins look to bounce back after Trophy exit

Hornchurch return to Ryman Premier Division action, after their FA Trophy exit, with a tough trip to Bury today (Saturday).

And manager Jimmy McFarlane believes it is exactly the right kind of test for his promotion hopefuls, following their 4-0 defeat at Grimsby Town last weekend.

He said: “Someone said to me, we could have done with an easier game, but I think Bury is the best one to have.

“It’s a tough away game to get us back on track and I think we will.

“Three goals in the first half killed us at Grimsby, but when we started passing it around they were chasing shadows for a period in the second half.

“Their manager had a bit of a grizzle at them afterwards, saying they had been outplayed for 75 minutes by a Ryman Premier side.

“But games like that tell you how far you’ve got to go for the next couple of levels.”

Urchins were replaced at the top of the table by Billericay last weekend, but are only one point adrift with a game in hand.

McFarlane added: “We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. If we do that, we’ll be in the shake-up.”

Romford host Chatham Town at Mill Field and manager Paul Martin will be hoping for a repeat of their 3-0 win in Kent.

Kurt Smith struck either side of a Chris Richardson effort in what Martin described as Boro’s best of the campaign.

He said: “Chatham are another young side like us, but at their place it was our best performance of the season.

“They are on a decent run as well and if the Aveley pitch is like a carpet as it usually is, then it should be a good game.”