Cup exit ‘no problem’ for Martin

Romford boss Paul Martin was not too disappointed by his side’s Essex Senior Cup exit.

Boro bowed out after a 4-2 home defeat against Stansted last night, following the early sending-off of Joe Pearman.

Richard Oxby netted both Boro goals, but Martin said: “I left eight players out from Saturday and we had one sent off early, I’m not too concerned about losing.

“It was a definite red card. Joe caught their player, then cleared his shot off the line. If it had gone in, I think he would’ve only been booked and we might’ve gone on to win it.

“If we had put a strong side out, we probably would’ve gone through, but it was more of a squad game for us.

“There were a lot of new faces who played, but it was a chance for a few of them to get a run out, get minutes on the board, and there were some positives for us.

“Junior Diantobe and Bostry Bansende looked comfortable and are both on the fringe of the first-team.

“It was a nice game to put them in, but we went down to 10 early and their fitness levels were not good enough to complete with 10. It was a bit awkward and they will have felt it more this morning.

“We mixed it up a bit and had a look at Richard Oxby in central midfield and he scored two goals.

“The referee made it a bit more exciting. I’m not using him as an excuse for us losing, but there were a lot of bookings for nothing really.

“They scored two good goals in the second half, though, and I’ve got no complaint with the result.