Match report Ryan Lee: Havering came into their local derby against Upminster 3s full of confidence after a hard-fought draw against Crostyx the previous week. Upminster sat two points above them in the table, albeit having played a game more, making this a must-win fixture for the hosts.

Havering started brightly, controlling both possession and the tempo of the game. The midfield trio of Paul Johnson, Michael Caruana-Smith and Gabe Bushnell-Wye worked tirelessly, pressing intelligently and preventing Upminster from building any meaningful attacks. In truth, Upminster's main route forward appeared to be launching hopeful balls from the back.

There were some excellent passages of play from Havering, but as was the case the previous week, they struggled to convert their dominance into goals. Several short corners came and went without reward, Ryan Lee produced his trademark surging runs down the right flank.

The first half ended goalless, with captain Johnson delivering a positive team talk. Havering had clearly been the better side; they simply needed to turn their superiority into something tangible.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Havering dominating possession and attacking with real intent. The breakthrough appeared to arrive after what felt like Havering's tenth short corner of the afternoon. Ali Lewis threaded a superb pass through to Haydn Joslin, who was fouled but remained in possession, raced through one-on-one and calmly finished.

Their frustrations continued in front of goal. Havering's short-corner struggles remain a growing concern, with 18 short corners across the last two matches yielding no goals, an area they will know needs improvement if they are to push for promotion.

To their credit, Havering refused to let the setback affect them and continued to pile on the pressure. With five minutes remaining, they finally got the goal their performance deserved. Following a side line restart, Upminster once again attempted to force the ball through the middle. Man of the Match Johnson, playing through the pain of a fractured thumb, anticipated it perfectly and intercepted. He found Joslin, who drove forward before sliding a pass to Sam Green. Bearing down on goal, Green made no mistake, coolly slotting home his second goal for the 2s. Given his very difficult start to the season, he will be hoping this proves the catalyst for more to come. It was a flowing, high-quality team goal and one that had felt inevitable.

As Upminster searched for an equaliser, they finally managed to mount some attacking pressure and entered the Havering D for only the second time in the second half. Adam Lumbers appeared to execute a perfectly timed tackle, but it awarded as a short corner. Upminster capitalised and converted the chance.

The final whistle brought an end to a match that left Havering feeling aggrieved. Having dominated large periods of the game and created by far the better chances, dropping two points felt particularly harsh.

Attention now turns to the clash with league leaders Southend 1s on 31 October, following a week off. Havering will need to be at their very best if they are to take all three points and keep their promotion ambitions firmly on track.