Away wins for three of the top five- and the gap at the top still remains three points

Leaders Lowestoft Town had seen their lead at the top of Pitching In isthmian North cut to three points, and they had a tricky trip to fourth place Bowers and Pitsea latest on their schedule. The Trawler Boys were five unbeaten and looking for a third successive win, but the Bowers unbeaten run went back even further, eight matches, and they’d won six of their last seven at the Len Salmon so would have been full of hope- hope which would have slipped a little when Jake Reed put the visitors ahead after just eight minutes. Ten minutes after half time Bowers challenge became rather more difficult, Luke Reeve seeing red and Harvey Sayer stepping up to make it two-nil from the spot, but they did get a goal back through Matt Price eleven minutes from time. Sadly for the home fans that just spurred the visitors into action, Sayer making it three-one with eight minutes left, and that was that- a Lowestoft double over their hosts. Image from Shirley Whitlow.

Second place Felixstowe and Walton United were seven matches unbeaten, and had won their last five without conceding a single goal, but that mean defence was breached by hosts Wroxham on sixteen minutes as Travis Dodsworth put them ahead- although perhaps he didn’t mean to, there are suspicions that his effort was actually a cross! The Seasiders hit back just before the half hour mark, Charlie Warren with the equaliser, and after applying enormous pressure the visitors finally went ahead nine minutes from time, Warren again doing the damage. Into the last four minutes and Josh Hitter added a third, and that was that, six wins in a row for the Seasiders, three points still the gap from second to first. Image from Stefan Peck.

Brentwood Town, starting the day in fifth spot, travelled to take on the side two places and three points behind them, Heybridge Swifts. The Blues hadn’t played since a late, late goal saw them defeated by Lowestoft on February 6th, but prior to that were eight games unbeaten and would have been confident of starting another positive run, particularly as Swifts had lost three of their previous four, and they went ahead after just four minutes, Jesse Olukolu with his first blue goal in his sixth blue match. Swifts levelled at the start of the second half, Jack Adlington-Pile with his seventh goal in seventeen since returning to the club, but the next blow was blue, George Sykes restoring the visitors lead twenty minutes from time. This time the Blues held onto their advantage, and climbed to fourth- although had Swifts not missed a penalty the outcome may have been somewhat different.

Maldon and Tiptree hoped to win at Gorleston and for neighbours Heybridge Swifts to do them a favour at Brentwood, but they couldn’t manage the former so the latter became irrelevant. The Greens went ahead on twenty five minutes through Ismael Fatadjo, and six minutes later it was two-nil, Jacek Zielonka with the second. Gorleston added a third ten minutes after the break, Ryan Curtis with that one, but then the Jammers finally decided they should try to get out of this particular jam, and quickly got two goals back, Jayden Randell and George Smith giving them hope. That hope dissipated a little when Curtis added a fourth for the Greens twenty one minutes form time, but a red card for Gorleston’s George Keys with six minutes left might have made a difference. It didn’t, and Gorleston are eleventh.

Grays Athletic and Walthamstow met at Tilbury. Stow started the day eight points away from the top five, but with only three defeats from ten were in decent form, and it showed as they charged into a commanding lead. First, Brian Moses put them ahead on eleven minutes- and Moses had another eight minutes before the break, but that was the third, a Ryan Hervel goal on thirty two minutes the meat in that particular sandwich. It was four-nil by half time, an own goal adding to the rout, and although Athletic kept out the visitors after the break it really didn’t help much, the damage was already done. Walthamstow close the gap on the top five to seven points.

It feels like Brightlingsea Regent, in tenth at kick off, were challenging for a play off place only a few weeks ago, but they travelled to Redbridge with thirteen points between them and the top five, which perhaps demonstrated the depths which they had dived of late. The Motormen broke the deadlock in the early stages of the second half, Lewis Clark with the opener, but deep, deep into added time at the end of the match Kurt Smith popped up to earn Regent a point. They stay tenth, Redbridge are fifteenth, and both games between the sides this season have ended level.

New Salamis played host to Witham Town, fourteenth v thirteenth. The hosts got back to winning ways last time out, defeating Grays Athletic three-two, but their performances this season had ranged from woeful to wonderful and just about everything in between, so we had no idea what to expect- and given you could very much say the same about their visitors it was difficult to know what to expect. What we got was a speedy start from Witham, an own goal and a Shakeel Morris effort making it two-nil after just eight minutes, but the hosts made a game of it when Christos Batzelis got a goal back with nineteen minutes to go. The visitors held out, however, and took the points back to Essex.

Finally, we had nineteenth v eighteenth and a bunch of travelling bananas (headline image- Sarah Merritt) as Stowmarket Town and Ipswich Wanderers met at Greens Meadow. There may have been only one place between the sides but that statistic was accompanied by thirteen points, and Stow hadn’t yet managed to find a win all season- but they did go ahead in this one, Ewan Gordon-Clement scoring on twenty one minutes. They couldn’t hold onto that advantage for long, a Matt ‘Steak Bake’ Blake spot kick levelling for the visitors seven minutes later, and that turned out to be that. Stow are thirteen points from safety.