It's tough for local sides at the wrong end of the Essex Intermediate League Senior Division One table.

Ekco First Data's hopes of moving off the basement were wrecked when they lost 3-2 at home to Shell Club.

Jones and Search scored for Southend-based Ekco, but North, Cole and Munro replied, with the winner coming in the closing ten minutes.

Second-from-bottom Runwell Hospital were thrashed 5-0 at home by Metpol Chigwell, but there was brighter news for Rayleigh Town, who beat Bishop's Stortford Swifts 3-1. K Rich (2) and Neal got the goals to take Rayleigh into sixth spot.

In a bad day locally in Senior Division Two, Benfleet lost 2-0 at home to Mountnessing and Basil-don Town went down by the same score at Writtle.

Things were no better in Senior Division Three where Chalvedon lost 3-1 at Manford Way and Laindon Athletic went down 5-1 at Springfield.

Rayleigh Town beat Shell Club 5-1 away in Reserve Division One. Thickbroom and Hughes grabbed two goals apiece with Bickell completing the scoring.

Stambridge were thrash-ed 7-2 at Harold Wood Athletic in Reserve Divi-sion Two, while Basildon Town, thanks to Rainbird, stayed second in Reserve Three with a 1-0 win at home to Port of London.

Leaders Epping were held 0-0 at Laindon Athletic.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.