ROMFORD were defeated at high-flying Heybridge Swifts, but they put up a good performance in the second half after going in three-down at half-time.
After Romford's narrow home defeat by Witham the previous Saturday, manager Paul Martin made some changes to his starting line-up.
Dave Ottley returned at right-back with James Ishmail moving inside to partner Matt Toms at centre-back.
In midfield, Tom Richardson replaced Barry and new signing Aime Blessing came in for his debut on the left, allowing Kurt Smith to go back to his customary striker role after a brief sabbatical down the left wing.
Lewis Francis was also restored to partner Smith up top. The early pressure came from Heybridge, but it amounted to nothing. Romford did not really show until they earned their first free-kick in the 14th minute.
From James Ishmail's free-kick, Smith was very unlucky after manufacturing a superb overhead kick while tightly marked.
Minutes later, a Heybridge attack ended with Matt Toms fouling the forward and although spectators nearby thought it had happened outside the box, a penalty was awarded and Toms received a yellow card.
Michael Cheek made no mistake from the spot, but was substituted immediately after with a tight hamstring.
Romford lost the match in the last five minutes of the half when, after collecting a lucky rebound, Russell Malton fired into the corner, giving Atu Ngoy absolutely no chance.
On the stroke of half-time, the Ryman League's leading scorer, Luke Callander produced a clever turn and shot which allowed Heybridge to leave the field rather flattered with their 3-0 lead.
In the second half, Romford showed their rather large and despondent travelling support that they were going to make a fight of it.
They took the game to Heybridge and had more possession and territorial advantage than their promotion-chasing opponents, but could not make a dent in the scoreline.
James Ishmail and Paul Clayton both went close and Michael Sammut pulled off an excellent late save to keep a clean sheet.
