Clayton: We need to put a run together

Boro captain Paul Clayton echoed the sentiments of boss Paul Martin ahead of their Ryman One North trip to Sudbury tomorrow (Saturday).

Clayton felt his side put up a good fight against Ryman Premier outfit Canvey as they bowed out of the Essex Senior Cup with a 3-0 defeat in midweek.

And he is hoping they can reproduce their best form in Suffolk, saying: “On our day, we’re capable of beating anyone. But when we’re not, we’re capable of losing to anyone.

“We’ve kept a couple of clean sheets in the league. Last weekend wasn’t our best, but the most important thing was to get three points. Sudbury is a big game and if we can beat them, it will put us right in the mix.”

Martin rotated his squad against Canvey and Chris Richardson and Adrian Clifton were both denied by Andre Foster before Jason Hallett bundled home Canvey’s opener on 33 minutes.

The visitors doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time as Jay Curran slammed home a loose ball, after Elliot Anderson’s superb save had kept out an Alex Rhodes header.

Foster denied Abs Seymour and Clayton after the break and Anderson kept out Hallett with another impressive save before Hallett’s powerful shot found the top corner with 13 minutes left.

Clayton added: “We changed it about. I played in midfield and we had a few youngsters out. It was an opportunity to have a look at a few of them.

“Canvey put out a really strong side, but we did play really well — better than Saturday. We were disappointed to go out.”