Saturday's Ryman North action review

It was a goalless first 45 minutes at Bridge Avenue in which AFC dominated for the first half-an-hour before a cracking second period.

Their Suffolk visitors should have taken the lead when Craig Parker was allowed a free header but somehow it went wide of the goal. Parker made amends on 54 minutes when AFC's leading scorer notched his 26th goal of the season.

From then on the home side took control of the game and but for some fine goalkeeping from Marcus Garnham in the Sudbury goal, they would surely have won.

The AFC keeper was beaten once by David Knight after 65 minutes, however, and both sides had to eventually settle for a point apiece.

Thurrock are second after beating another top five contender, Cheshunt, 1-0 at Ship Lane.

Dave Cowley scored the all-important goal for Mark Stimson`s side to leave the Ambers in sixth, three points behind the play-off places.

Two other contenders, Brightlingsea Regent and Cray Wanderers, met at North Road and it was the home side who suffered a major blow in their quest for the play-offs after losing 2-1.

Regent started the day seventh in the table – three points behind their visitors. That gap was extended to six points by the end of an eventful afternoon.

Cray’s Lea Dawson turned the ball home from close range to open the scoring just before the break. But their lead only lasted a few seconds as Josh Gould was adjudged to have been pushed in the box by Jay Leader, and Terry Rymer duly converted the resulting penalty.

Both sides contributed to a hard-fought second half and it took another penalty to separate them. This time it went to the visitors, Grant Basey converting from the spot.

Thamesmead Town kept their outside hopes of mounting a top five challenge alive after a comfortable 3-0 Bayliss Avenue win against Soham Town Rangers.

Theo Fairweather-Johnson gave Mead a 21st minute lead. Soham lost Ross Paterson to a straight red card just after half-time but it wasn`t until right at the end of the game that the hosts took full advantage of a tired legs, adding goals in the 87th and 88th minutes from Harrison Carnegie and a second for Fairweather-Johnson.

Terry Spillane`s men are eighth, ten points behind Cray, but have games in hand on most teams above them.

At the other end of the table, former Redbridge striker Jacob Cleaver proved the difference yet again as his goal saw Great Wakering Rovers win 2-1 to leave the hosts eight points adrift of the safety-mark.

Jay Nash gave Rovers an early second minute lead but the Motormen levelled through Carlos Espirito-Santo on 36 minutes before falling to Cleaver`s 82nd minute effort.

Second-bottom Barkingside won the relegation `six-pointer` with third-bottom Wroxham to move to within two points of the Yachtsmen.

The visitors opened the scoring after 11 minutes through Jordan Attree. Fifteen minutes later Micky Spencer equalised and Side then won it in stoppage time at the end of the game, courtesy of Michael Ademiliyu.

Waltham Abbey are level on points with Wroxham but sit outside the relegation places on goal difference, although they were beaten 2-0 at Capershotts by mid-table Phoenix Sports.

After a goalless first 45 minutes, Sports won it with two goals in less than a minute soon after the break - Ali Gordon and Adrian Stone scoring in quick succession.

Witham Town started life without manager Garry Kimble by winning 3-2 against Haringey Borough, who are now just two points above eighteenth-placed Witham.

Tyler Hayes after 13 minutes and Nathan Koranteng on 34 minutes gave the visitors a flying start, before the hosts’ Rakim Richards made it 2-1 less than a minute later. Scott Kemp then added a third on 72 minutes for Witham before Adam Scotcher ensured a nervous finale by grabbing a second for Haringey in injury-time.

The only other game to go ahead on Saturday saw Tony Martin net a second half hat-trick to help Tilbury to a decisive 4-0 win at Mill Field against Aveley.

The Dockers led through Danny Glozier`s 29th minute penalty before Martin scored in the 68th, 85th and 90th minutes.

Follow us: @rymanleaguenews on Twitter | Ryman League group on Facebook