Witham Town began the season with an emphatic victory

Witham Town began the season with an emphatic victory over newly-promoted Hullbridge Sports in a game dominated by the visitors. The contest was effectively over at half-time with Witham three goals up. New manager Marc Benterman will surely be delighted by the result and the convincing manner of the performance by this Witham Town side that is almost completely made up of newcomers.
The first chance of the afternoon fell to the visitors in the ninth minute. A clever pass from George Bugg put Marcus Bowers through on goal. He only had the goalkeeper to beat but shot over the bar when he should have scored. From the restart Hullbridge launched a dangerous attack but Matthew Baxter mishit a shot and allowed George Marsh in the Witham goal to gather the ball.
Witham settled into a good rhythm and the midfield established control. Charlie Barlow and Ollie Emsden looked particularly impressive. The visitors were in control, retaining most of the possession and playing good passing football. Hullbridge looked unconvincing going forward and struggled to cope with the pace of Witham’s attacks on the break. Bugg was causing problems with his speed, both on and off the ball and he linked up well with the powerful and resilient Bowers. It was no surprise when Bugg opened the scoring in the 17th minute after beating the offside trap and calmly lobbing the ball over the advancing Robert Budd.
Within three minutes Baxter hit a cross from the right that flashed across the Witham goalmouth. This was to be the home side’s best chance of a first half in which Witham established complete dominance. Hullbridge lacked the imagination to find a way through a solid Witham midfield. They struggled to get out of their own half as loose defensive clearances allowed the visitors to mount one attack after another. It was all Witham as their speed, energy and quality of passing put the home side under constant pressure. Hullbridge’s high defence looked vulnerable in the centre and Budd had to punch the ball away from Bugg’s header after a long ball from Chris Taylor. Bowers hit a fierce free-kick from outside the penalty area that was well saved by Budd at the expense of a corner.
As the first half drew to a close, a single goal was scant reward for Witham’s dominance but the visitors scored again in the 44th minute. After Bugg had forced a corner on the right, an excellent corner from Liam Whipps evaded Budd and Bowers headed Witham’s second goal. One minute later it was 3-0. A powerful run down the right by the busy Taylor resulted in a cross to the far post. Bugg’s diving header across goal found the onrushing Emsden in space and he converted to set the seal on a superb first half performance by the visitors.
Witham defended deeper in the second half to protect their lead and the pattern of the game changed. Hullbridge upped the tempo, had more possession and attacked with more conviction. Emmanuel Okunja almost connected with a through ball that was saved by Marsh. Their best chance of the half fell to Nathan Scarborough who shot wide when he should have scored. That was a rare shooting opportunity. Barlow and Ashley Pibworth offered stubborn resistance in midfield and the back four looked composed under pressure. A lot of Hullbridge attacks went down the left but Josh Luther at right-back was outstanding. Substitute Jamie Guy who replaced Bugg was Witham’s lone spearhead in attack, but the visitors were happy to play within themselves to secure the points. Okunja hit a good shot from distance for Hullbridge, but their attacks were having little impact. They were not thinking outside the box, but they were shooting outside it and this played into Witham’s hands.
This was a very strong all-round team performance from a hard-working Witham side who played scintillating attacking football in the first half and closed the game down in the second period. Witham will face better opposition than Hullbridge, but they look certain to pose a lot of problems this season. They have attacking firepower in abundance with Bugg, Bowers, Guy, Scott Kemp and Jacob Cleaver to choose from. Marc Benterman and his management team seem to have recruited a number of talented and competent individuals and instilled a work ethic that will stand them in good stead in the coming campaign.