Tags have one hand on the title

Hashtag United remain six points clear at the top of Pitching In Isthmian North, but with only two games left only an unexpected series of events could see them fail to take the title. The Tags have now won a rather incredible thirty one matches out of thirty six, and relegation-threatened Witham Town were their latest victims, three first half goals doing the damage. Pedro Carvalho opened the scoring for the Tags on twenty five minutes, and six minutes later Thomas Anderson made it two. Lewis Watson virtually ended the contest when adding a third, nine minutes before half time, and just after the hour mark Jermaine Francis made it nine goals in his last seven matches, adding a fourth. Declan Kama got a last-gasp consolation for Witham, but it didn’t help them much. Town are six points clear of the bottom four and almost safe- but fourth bottom Tilbury could make them sweat, the Dockers with a game in hand and welcoming Brentwood Town this evening.

AFC Sudbury, with only four defeats all season, occupy second place and delivered a comfortable three-nil win over Coggeshall Town, all of the goals coming after the break. Ben Hunter finally broke the deadlock just after the hour mark, and super striker Nnamdi Nwachuku got his FORTY SEVENTH of the season to make it two. He has played forty one matches this season, and scored in twenty nine of them. The third and final goal arrived ten minutes from time, Sakariya Hassan with that one- and the Yellows will look to defeat Brentwood Town and Great Wakering Rovers in their last two matches and hope for an accompanying Hashtag implosion. The best the Seed Growers can hope for now is a relegation play off.

Heybridge Swifts gave themselves a five point cushion in the play off race- although the two sides directly outside the top five do have games in hand. A goal in each half saw them defeat Great Wakering Rovers, and Sam Park got them both on forty three and seventy four minutes- even the dinosaurs present were delighted with that! The result ensures that the best Rovers can hope for is a relegation play off spot- but they currently sit in an automatic relegation place, nineteenth.

Our unlikely image is from Alan Edmonds.

Grays Athletic occupy fifth spot after Ronnie Winn scored the only goal of the game against east Thurrock United. It arrived just before the half hour mark, and it gives them a three point lead over Stowmarket Town, who face a crucial battle at the side in seventh, Felixstowe & Walton United, on Wednesday.

Hullbridge Sports saw their chances of avoiding automatic relegation dwindle as they lost to Maldon & Tiptree. The Jammers went ahead on twenty five minutes through Joe Turpin, quickly doubled their lead through Michael Salako, and although Martin Tuohy pulled a goal back for the hosts seven minutes after the break that was as good as it got- indeed, it got worse, as Connor Tyrell saw red six minutes from time. Sports are six points from the last chance saloon of a relegation play off, with three games left to play.

New Salamis and Basildon United shared four goals, the hosts perhaps scratching their heads in wonder at the fact they didn’t win. Derek Asamoah’s first half double- indeed, first seventeen minutes double- gave them a comfortable lead, only it turned out not to be all that comfortable when Shane Temple got one back for the Bees with only fifteen minutes remaining. Right at the end, an equaliser- Jedd Smith earning the visitors a point.

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