Canvey Island returned to the top of the Pitching In Isthmian League table with a hard fought 1-0 win away to Witham Town at The Simarco Stadium on Saturday.

On a difficult playing surface that had been under water in large areas on Thursday, Canvey were forced to roll their sleeves up against a Witham side who were more than a match for the Gulls on the day.

Manager Brad Wellmen made two changes from the side that beat Bury Town 4-0 last time out.

Midfielder Elliott Ronto missed out through injury and was replaced by Callum Fitzer, while central defender Rob Girdlestone recovered from an injury of his own to come into the side in place of Elliott Johnson who was recalled by parent club Welling United.

In a quiet first half in which both sides struggled to adapt to the pitch, Canvey took the lead on 21 minutes.

Evans Kouassi was played in down the right by Harrison Chatting and got to the touchline before squaring the ball across the face of goal. The ball caught several bobbles, causing defender Luke Ige to miskick what should have been a routine clearance at the front post.

The ball landed at the feet of Bradley Sach who found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Rhys Madden, and he hammered the ball high into the net from six yards to leave the Witham captain with no chance.

The hosts nearly equalised on the stroke of half time when Josh Asude chased down a ball over the top down the left.

Defender Rob Girdlestone tried to dispossess Asude, as did goalkeeper Bobby Mason who charged out of his area. However, neither were able to win the ball, leaving Asude with an empty goal to aim for. He scooped a shot goalwards from 25 yards on the left, narrowly missing the far post with a decent effort.

Canvey made a change at half time, bringing on Mason Hall in place of Rob Girdlestone in central defence.

The second half started in much more exciting fashion than the first, with both sides having excellent changes to score in the opening exchanges.

On 50 minutes a ball over the top from the left was raced onto by the dangerous Asude who used his pace to charge through the Gulls’ defence. He shot from the edge of the area, but goalkeeper Bobby Mason did brilliantly to save with a strong right hand.

Three minutes later Odei Martin Sorondo had an excellent chance when he found himself one-on-one with the keeper coming in from the right. The right back unleashed a powerful shot which lacked accuracy and missed the target by some distance when well placed.

Evans Kouassi created a chance for himself with 20 minutes remaining, stealing possession from a defender trying to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick on the left. Kouassi cut in towards goal and shot from a tight angle, although drove his effort into the side netting.

Jamie Salmon then had a long-range effort on 75 minutes which Rhys Madden watched well to save dropping to his left.

The hosts worked hard in search of an equaliser and kept the Canvey defence under pressure, but the Gulls held out for an industrious and important three points.