Romford manager Kris Newby expects his side to dust themselves down and go again on Saturday after a painful 3-3 draw with Hullbridge Sports.

Boro raced into a two-goal lead after just 13 minutes before the recently acquired Kennedy Feyi put Newby’s side in the clear with just half an hour to play.

But a late collapse saw Romford pegged back with three goals in 12 second-half minutes from the home side.

“It’s how good we were for the first 65 minutes. My chairman came up to me afterwards and said it was the best football we’ve played all season,” Newby told the Recorder.

“Then we fall foul of our own undoing by giving them exactly what they wanted. They were trying to get a reaction out of us because they had a man sent off and basically attempted to suck us in to get us to react and even out the numbers.

"Unfortunately, we had two players get involved with their bench and get caught up in a side show rather than seeing the game out.”

Having been 2-0 up at the break, Boro were cruising and had full control of the game, but Newby wasn’t to become complacent despite the dominance his side had.

“I said to the guys at half-time we’re 2-0 up and they'd taken their foot off the gas a bit, and I said the next goal is massive,” added the former Romford captain.

“Fortunately, enough, we went out and got the third goal. So, I thought the game was done and dusted, and with them being reduced to ten men I made some substitutions to get guys some minutes because they deserve a chance.

"They’ve been here every game and every week, so I thought I was in a position to make substitutes, and I just didn’t see it coming.

“They got one back and I thought it would just be a consolation goal, but as soon as they got the second I knew exactly what was coming because their tails were up and they knew there was only a goal in it.

"Our boys fell into the trap of getting involved in the mind games and chit chat rather than seeing the game out and as soon as they got the second one I guess you could say that was the turning point.”

Despite the disappointing result, Romford are still unbeaten in the Essex Senior League and sit fourth after five games played with Newby yet to experience adversity.

This weekend’s fixture with Sawbridgeworth Town will however, determine if the Boro boss can invoke a reaction from his players.

“We came off the pitch and I said to the boys in the changing room it feels like a loss,” said Newby.

“We haven’t suffered an official defeat in the league yet, but the mood in the dressing room was definitely different to that of Saturday [0-0 draw at Takeley] because it feels like we’ve lost and everyone’s heads are down.

"We weren’t talking to each other, and it ended on a bit of a sour note, so I’ve got a job to do now. To pick a squad of 16 players that can go out there and do a job on Saturday and get us back to winning ways.”

Boro host Sawbridgeworth Town on Saturday, before welcoming Little Oakley to Lawtech Stadium on Tuesday.