Canvey 1 Hornchurch 2; Romford 2 Enfield Tn 1
Calvin Poku netted either side of the break to help Hornchurch come from behind to beat fierce rivals Canvey in their latest pre-season friendly.
And Nick Reynolds netted a brace to lift Romford to victory over Enfield Town at Ship Lane.
Hornchurch impressed during the first half of their match, forcing Canvey to defend for long periods, and went close to breaking the deadlock on 23 minutes when George Purcell’s free-kick came back off the upright.
Purcell skimmed the crossbar on the half-hour mark, after good work from Junior Luke and Tobi Joseph, before the home side took the lead against the run of play.
A long clearance by keeper Jake Larkins found Jay Curran, whose lob beat Sam Mott with 32 minutes played.
Poku set up shooting chances for Abs Thompson and Purcell, which were deflected behind and went wide, before Urchins levelled on 40 minutes as Thompson produced a strong run to set up Poku, who claimed his first goal for the club.
Former Urchin Tambeson Eyong fired wide for Canvey just before the interval after a strong run, but Hornchurch were soon on top in the second half.
Joseph and Thompson shone on the wings, with the visitors taking the lead on 61 minutes when Purcell found Poku to head home.
Mott made two good saves to deny Ozzy Adenizi, while Hornchurch went close to a third when Michael Osunkoya ran clear but saw his shot drift wide.
But Urchins had done enough to defeat their Ryman Premier hosts, despite being without Elliot Styles, David Knight, Alex Bentley and Leon Smith.
Jimmy McFarlane’s men return to action on Tuesday, when they welcome a Luton Town XI to Bridge Avenue.
Hornchurch: Mott, Coyne (Ditkevicius 73), Luke (Rose 88), Chouman, D Thompson, May (Collis 71), A Thompson (Sighiarty 80), Pennells (Prescott 59), Poku (Osunkoya 67), Purcell (English 80), Joseph.
*****
Romford maintained their pre-season progress as they claimed a 2-1 win of their own against Enfield Town at Ship Lane.
Nick Reynolds headed Boro in front, but the visitors hit back almost immediately with a well-struck effort.
Reynolds struck again to clinch victory, converting a rebound after seeing his penalty saved.
Boro are back in action on Tuesday when they visit London Colney, before hosting Basildon United at Ford Sports Newbury Park on Thursday (7pm).
Romford: Aaron Omand, Ryan Boswell, George Woodward, Matt Frew, Nathan Cooper, Danny Cossington, Robbie Norris, Jordan Thomas, Nick Reynolds, Reece Cosson, Greg Akpele, Joe Bricknell, Jake Giddings, Bradley Morgan, Oliver Smith, Chris Taylor, George Tubey, Michael Gooch.
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