MALDON and Tiptree strengthened their position at the summit of the Ryman League division north table with a 3-0 win against third-placed Bury Town.

Sam Newson returned to the Jammers’ line-up and gave them the lead in the 12th minute.

It was an advantage they held on to until half-time and built on it after the break when Newson doubled the lead with a second strike in the 74th minute leaving Kyle Hammond’s third and final goal as the icing on the cake of Maldon.

Their win took them three points clear at the top of the table as they opened up a gap from second-placed BRIGHTLINGSEA REGENT, who were in FA Trophy action.

Regent had been looking to progress into the third qualifying round when they hosted Ryman League premier division side Harlow Town in an Essex derby at North Road.

However, the aspirations of both were scuppered by a technical issue.

The game was deadlocked at 0-0 in the second half when a problem with one of the North Road floodlights caused the referee to call an abandonment and both teams will be looking to make their way through when the game is replayed at Brightlingsea on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, back in Ryman League division north, HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS remained in the relegation zone, but picked up a point with a 0-0 draw at ninth-placed AFC Hornchurch.

There was a win for WITHAM TOWN, though, as they recovered from a sluggish start to their division north game against Thamesmead Town to stretch their winning run to three games.

It was a cold and wet afternoon at the Village Glass Stadium and looked to be a pretty dreary one for Witham as they struggled to get going early on, but while the weather failed to brighten, the hosts’ mood did as the 90 minutes went on.

Witham fell behind in the fourth minute, but despite the visitors having the better of the play, they were unable to add to their score and goals by Usman Adeniji and Ryan Charles in the seven minutes before half-time put the hosts on top.

They stayed dominant after the break and Thamesmead's frustration was compounded when they had Ike Feehi sent off for a challenge on goalkeeper Lewis Snelgrove and Adeniji then made it 3-1 seconds later to make the points safe.

There was late drama when Paul Vine bundled the ball into the net for a second Thamesmead goal in time added-on and the aftermath sparked a mass melee of players.

Witham players Osei and Nathan Koranteng were shown red cards for entering the field of player during the disturbance after earlier being substituted, but Witham held on for a third win on the trot.