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

Martin reflects on last-gasp loss

Romford boss Paul Martin felt his side deserved something on an emotional return to their former Rush Green home last night.

Stand-in skipper Paul Clayton and Ben Jones netted to cancel out an early two-goal deficit, only for Junior Baker’s injury-time goal to condemn Boro to a 3-2 defeat in front of a crowd of 262 and lift Grays, who had Jeff Hammond sent off on 83 minutes, back into second place.

But Martin paid tribute to his players, who showed plenty of spirit after a 17-day break from action.

He said: “I felt we were at least worth a point. The boys showed a lot of fight and determination.

“A couple are bound to be sore having not had a game in two and a half weeks and maybe their fitness levels told inn the end, having played more recently than us.

“I thought the turning point was their sending-off, it seemed to give them a lift.

“I can’t be disappointed as we were without Jack (Barry) and Matt (Toms) and had Lewis Payne in, who hadn’t kicked a ball in six weeks and did well.

“If you look at the Grays squad, they have absolutely everything you would want for a team: quality, pace and experience. But I wouldn’t swap any of my team for any of them.”