Romford manager Paul Martin and assistant Mark Lord (Gavin Ellis/TGS)

Martin ‘lost for words’ after Chatham defeat

Romford manager Paul Martin is still trying to come to terms with his side’s Ryman Division One North defeat at Chatham.

Boro slumped to a 5-0 loss in Kent on Saturday, their fifth reverse in six outings.

And Martin is hoping his players can bounce back quickly against Brentwood at Ship Lane tomorrow night (Wednesday).

He said: “I was a bit lost for words.

“We’ve been decent the last three games and then put in a performance like that.

“We looked confident, but we’re struggling once we do concede and panic a little bit.

“We went for it at 2-0 and the floodgates opened a bit.”

Lee Hales put the hosts ahead just before half-time and Harry Smith’s header put them 2-0 up on 72 minutes.

Matt Solly added a third from the penalty spot nine minutes later, before Smith and Hales rubbed salt into Romford’s wounds with injury-time goals.

Martin added: “I thought it was a harsh penalty, but then there was a free header and the free-kick hit the wall and went the other side.

“They were disappointing goals to concede but credit to Chatham, they beat us comfortably and I take nothing away from them.

“We’ll look at shuffling things around against Brentwood. They’ve got games in hand and will believe they’ve got a good chance of finishing in the top five.

“They’ve got some good names and a good balance to their side, but we’ve got to try and turn the corner as quickly as possible.

“We’ve got a game-plan. Hopefully it works.”