WITHAM Town were well beaten 4-0 by a Brentwood Town side in top form at the Simarco Stadium, writes JIM PURTILL.

With a run of five consecutive league victories behind them, Brentwood would have been nobody's favourite opponents and they showed their confidence from the start in the Pitching In division north clash.

They took early control of the midfield and put Witham under pressure with a simple, high-tempo game.

In a largely nondescript first 20 minutes, Witham showed plenty of commitment but without the creativity of A'maree Robinson-Jones or the assurance of Callum Matthews they were generally penned in their own half.

They were restricted to occasional breaks and long balls to the front men Suaibo Balde and Adam Vyse.

There was little quality in attack as the strikers were isolated from the midfield and found it impossible to fashion any chances from the service they received.

Adam Cheniti did well on a solo run on the left which resulted in a shot from a narrow angle that went just over the bar.

Jack Dickinson, George Craddock and Andrew Freeman were impressive for the visitors as they tested the Witham defence on both flanks.

The home side coped well enough initially and with the half-hour mark approaching, neither goalkeeper had been called into action.

The game changed with a defensive lapse that put Brentwood ahead in the 29th minute.

Just after a shot from Dickinson had narrowly missed the far post, a diagonal cross from the Brentwood left towards the same player was cut out by a poor defensive header that put the ball into the centre of the penalty area.

Tom Richardson was in the right place to open the scoring for Brentwood with a simple finish.

The pattern of the game changed rapidly as Brentwood raised their game and attacked with greater urgency.

The pace of both Brentwood wingers gave the Witham defence a torrid time and the visitors scored twice more in the next nine minutes.

Firstly Freeman’s clever movement allowed him to poach an opportunist goal from close range after 33 minutes.

In the next attack Freeman’s cross from the left eluded Witham’s central defenders and found Richardson unmarked in front of goal to score again.

Witham had a mountain to climb in the second half. They looked more stable at the back and there was no lack of commitment with Adam Vyse and Adam Cheniti working hard to try to impose themselves and create openings.

It proved impossible to wrestle control from the Brentwood midfield - the visitors maintained the bulk of the possession and territorial advantage and Freeman went close to scoring.

The best of the home side's attacks ended with two rushed and wide shots from Balde and a speculative effort from Cheniti.

With the comfort of a three-goal advantage Brentwood played within themselves and managed the game well.

They had not conceded a league goal since late October and their clean sheet record never looked in danger.

They were assured throughout and did not receive any yellow cards, in contrast to Witham’s four.

Richardson and Dickinson were both foiled by good saves from goalkeeper Rhys Madden but Richardson sealed his hat-trick in the 79th minute to round off a difficult afternoon for Witham.

Having had to face a number of top sides in recent weeks, Witham’s focus now moves to opponents at the lower end of the table, beginning on Saturday where the visitors to the Simarco Stadium will be Great Wakering Rovers.