Abbey's goals at Capershotts came from James Peagram on 33, Lee Scott after 42, Ayrton Coley on 62 minutes and Loren Maxwell with 20 minutes to go. Witham's Kris Newby grabbed a consolation three minutes from the end when he found himself unmarked in the box and headed home.

Maldon & Tiptree beat Dereham Town 2-0 to stay third, Stephens grabbing their opener just past the quarter of an hour mark and Joe Gardner putting the result beyond doubt with ten minutes from time.

Heybridge kept pace with the chasing pack with a 4-1 win at Chatham. Andy Constable had put the Chats ahead after just two minutes but Russell Malton on six, Luke Callender on 38 and again on 90 minutes plus another from Michael Cheek in the final minute completed a an impressive win on the road.

Thurrock are also climbing after twice coming from behind to overcome basement side Waltham Forest 3-2 after Richard Worrell scored in the fourth and 58th minutes. Thurrock's three Clarks ensured all three points, Robert Clarke restoring parity just after the half hour mark, Lewis Clark equalising on 59 minutes and Jordan Clark scoring the winner 13 minutes from the end.

Second and third from bottom Ware and Brentwood Toen respectively somehow came out even after a ding dong battle that ended 5-5. They traded leads with Dan Subuola completing his hat-trick three minutes from time to rescue a point for Brentwood Town.

Petri Elbi had opened the scoring for the visitors and scored again on 78 minutes to sandwich Subuola's earlier strikes on 35 and 40 minutes. The home side's goals were shared between Joe Reynolds on seven, Tony Martin after 31 minutes, Elliot King on 59, Aaron Cato from the penalty spot on 67 minutes and George Ironton on seven minutes from the end.

Fourth from bottom Wroxham fell to their fourth defeat on the road, their only consolation in a 4-1 reverse at Tilbury coming from a Conor Mead own goal just after the hour mark. The Dockers scored twice either side of the break, Lee Weemes opening the scoring and Sam West adding a second four minutes before the break. Rimmel Daniel after 55 and Danny Francis in the final minute wrapped up the result.

Player manager Omer Riza is enjoying leading from the front at Cheshunt after putting his team 2-0 up in a 4-0 win over Romford. The former Arsenal striker struck from the spot after six minutes and again in the 16th before Josh Cooper took over the scoring duties with a brace before the break on 39 and 43 minutes.

Soham Town Rangers came out on top in a 4-3 thriller at home to Aveley, Michael Simpson equalising ten minutes from time and Luke Stanley grabbing all three points a minute later. Luke Stanley after nine and James McCabe on 19 minutes had given Rangers a two goal cushion before Rashid Kamara on 31 minutes, Jay Leader on 73 and Aryan Tajbakhsh from the spot 15 minutes from time looked to have sprung a surprise.

Burnham Ramblers cruised to a comfortable 3-1 away win at Barkingside to cement their place in the top half. Sam Mead after seven, Billy Hunt on 68 and Charlie Kirby on 73 minutes secured their second win on the road with Andy Edmunds netting a consolation for Barkingside who've only won at home once all season with just under a quarter of an hour to go.

Harlow Town and Redbridge shared the points in a 2-2 draw on the Hawks' new artificial surface after James Smith grabbed a last minute leveller. Geoffery Miller on 38 and Eljay Worrell a minute before half-time handed the visitors a two goal advantage before Alex Read pulled the Hawks back into the game with his 58th minute strike.

Saturday's only other draw in Ryman North came at AFC Sudbury where an Aaron Jeffery equaliser just before the hour mark for Erith & Belvedere ended the Suds hopes of climbing to seventh spot after James Baker had given them a 22nd minute lead

By Dave Watters - Ryman League Website