East Thurrock United 3 Margate 1

ROCKS' floodlight problems meant they had to make an early start to Saturday's Ryman Premier League clash at Rookery Hill but their display lit up a cold, wind and rainswept afternoon.

They made a blistering start to the match and were two goals up after just seven minutes as a reshaped team settled to their task.

Gary Wotton made at return at the heart of Rocks' defence and he was partnered by Kevin Mully. Up front, striker Tony Boot failed to recover fully from the effects of flu so Steve West was partnered with Martin Tuohy.

And it was West who shot Rocks ahead after just two minutes. The goal was set up by Danny Harris who crossed from the right. West peeled away from his marker and produced a netbuster with his first time strike.

Just five minutes later things got even better for the home side when Scott Holding crossed into the box and in the ensuing goalmouth scramble Harris pounced to rifle the ball into the net.

Rocks comfortably held their lead to the break, mastering the difficult conditions and heavy pitch much better than their opponents who looked distinctly lack-lustre.

However Margate did improve after the restart and began to threaten more. As they pushed forward though, Rocks were able to exploit space at the back and Danny Hayzelden was a constant threat with some probing runs down the left flank.

East Thurrock might well have extended their lead with several missed chances but the flow of an entertaining start to the second half was broken on 51 minutes when there was a long break in play when referee Steve Daly went down with an injury. After lengthy treatment he decided he couldn't continue and his assistant Ashvin Degnarain took over, with local referees' secretary Chris Lee, who was in the crowd, taking over on the line.

Despite the cold, and a driving wind, the players picked up the pace after a 15-minute break as the game picked up pace with spectators, including a few who were turning up for a 3pm kick-off, enjoying to an end-to-end display of attacking football by both teams.

And it was Tuohy who finally grabbed a third, forcing the ball over the line after another fine run and cross from Hayzelden.

At the other end Danny Knowles proved a saviour for Rocks with a fine stop from Ellis Remy, who was keen to prove a point after leaving Rocks earlier this season after making just two appearances.

However, Knowles was helpless on 75 minutes when Hasim Deen crashed the ball home with a thumping header.

That set up a nervous last 15minutes for Rocks but in truth they ought to have extended their led with Tuohy, West and Jon Turnbull all wasting good opportunities.

In the end those misses didn't matter as Rocks, by now playing under the bright new floodlights which had been restored to full glory only on the morning of the match, held on for the victory - leaving Rocks boss Lee Patterson content with his side's performance, though he admitted hopes of attaining a play-off spot were diminished despite the win.

He said: "It was a good performance in difficult conditions. We looked comfortable but when they got a goal back we lost our way a bit. That's when we missed a bit of experience but I was pleased we came through it. Now, for us, it's all about getting points onto the board.

"I don't think that we will be able to get in the play-offs despite the win. We've lost two many games now and what I'm really looking to do is get to the 40 points mark now so we know we are safe.

"That in itself will be a great achievement."