Brentwood pushed their second placed rivals more or less out of contention with a battling win on Saturday.

Taking the early lead after ten minutes through Matthew D'Arcy-Smith, the visitors looked to be in control, with the Ford forwards limited to a few short corners won on the break.

After the break, the Brentwood defence stood firm to repel any threat and D'Arcy-Smith made it 2-0 in 45 minutes in similar fashion to the first.

With a large crowd of supporters for both teams cheering their sides on, the game turned a little sour.

An indiscretion by a Ford forward was not seen by the umpires, however, it was felt by sweeper Stuart Piper.

His protestations led to a warning but moments later another incident saw Piper given the yellow card and a long spell behind the goal.

Ford capitalised immediately on their advantage to pull a goal back.

Solid defence from Simon Parsons and Darren Leppard maintained the scoreline until their side were back to full strength.

Brentwood wrapped up the match with one of their best goals of the season.

Starting with the ball in their own 'D', a combination of five passes transferred the ball up the pitch and D'Arcy-Smith was on hand to complete his hat-trick.

BRENTWOOD II............................4

WAPPING.......................................1

(Crowe Insurance East League Division Three South East)

Brentwood's second team went a part way to easing their relegation worries with a second win on the trot against a lower side.

Kim Hansen notched two goals in identical fashion with a well-worked short corner routine. Wapping replied immediately and the score remained 2-1 at half time.

The home side's superior passing showed in the second half and Mike Huckerby also netted two goals to clinch the match.

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