Tilbury 1, AFC Sudbury 2

Following defeat at the hands of Stowmarket last week, Tilbury welcomed top of the league Sudbury to Chadfields on Saturday, 12 February and they gave a good account of themselves against the league leaders.

Scott Dash saw a much-improved performance from his side, and with their opponents slipping up last weekend against Lowestoft, Dockers hoped to steal some points against the title contenders.

There were two changes to the starting XI, with Harry Donovan returning to the side and new signing Nelson Akayi replacing the injured Connor Martin.

The league leaders had the earliest of chances when an inviting cross toward the six yard box found Hassan making a run across the front post. His flicked effort was denied by a brilliant reflex save, but it would not have counted anyway because of the linesman's raised flag.

Sudbury had another chance shortly after, when Nwachuku showed good skill to beat his man before standing a ball up at the back post to Chatting, but his shot was blocked by Archie Edwards.

In the 42nd minute Chris Millar had a left footed curled effort from the edge of the box cleared away but only as far as Aghatise. The defender recovered the attack well with a ball over the top to one time Sudbury player Roman Michael-Percil who found himself one-on-one, but the keeper pulled off a good save from close range.

The opportunity was not over though. Alex Clark stole the ball from Grimwood on the edge of the box and drove toward the by-line before pulling a low cross to the arriving Michael-Percil. The midfielder's first time strike was emphatically guided past the bodies to give the Dockers a the massive boost of the lead going into the break.

Tilbury came out strong in the second half and had a chance when Rhamar Garrett-Douglas won back possession brilliantly to halt a Sudbury counter attack, before showcasing mesmerising footwork and releasing Clark down the right flank. Clark burst past his man and advanced into the box where he was brought down and claimed for a penalty, but the referee waved away the shouts from the home side.

The visitors were quick to get the ball up the other end and Pollard was given freedom and space to drive toward the penalty area. The defender played a good ball to find Hassan making a run beyond the Tilbury defence, Hassan took a touch with his chest and poked the ball past Claudio Boakye-Sarfo to level the scoreline and bring his side back into the game.

Then just two minutes later, a lapse of concentration from the Dockers defence saw a calamity as a long ball over the top was spilled into the path of Josh Stokes, who was gifted the easiest goal of his life as he slotted the ball into the empty net to give Sudbury a 2-1 lead.

The away side had a chance to put Tilbury to bed late on when a long ball saw Stokes get in behind the back line. The substitute hit a volleyed effort toward the near side bottom corner, but Boakye-Sarfo got down well to limit the goal deficit to one.

That was all the action at the EMR Stadium and a game of two halves saw Tilbury take a deserved lead into the break and Sudbury show their class and dominance in the second half to ultimately take all three points and retain their spot at the top of the table.