Welling United extended their lead to six points at the top of the Blue Square Bet South with a gritty victory over relegation threatened Billericay Town.

Jamie Day selected the same eleven who had started their win over Tonbridge Angels on the previous Tuesday.

After an early morning pitch inspection had deemed the surface playable the game went ahead but for large spells in the game it was difficult to tell which team was leading the league and which was one place above the bottom. The Wings possessed just that little bit of quality that saw them through the tricky encounter.

Sam Mott, Welling’s goalkeeper, was first into the action making a regulation save from Junior Luke before being called on to make a much more difficult one from Alex Osborn.

Ross Lafayette created an opportunity before Day’s free kick was turned away for a corner from which Welling opened the goal-scoring. Jack Obersteller whipped in a perfect deliver for Fraser Franks to glance a header beyond Sam Beasant.

Billericay then had a lot of possession but struggled to make any real chances and when the speedy Kiernan Hughes-Mason broke for Welling, Luke was booked for bringing him down.

The Blues won a string of corners before half time but failed to trouble Mott as the Welling team defended well.

Jake Reid had two chances to score his first Welling goal in the second half. First he was thwarted by a fine Chris Wild then Beasant half saved an effort that was cleared off the line.

Jay May had a great opportunity to equalise but headed wide when he should have done better then Lafayette did likewise from a wonderful Obersteller cross.

Six minutes remained when Welling doubled their lead from another Obersteller corner. Lafayette’s shot had Beasant beaten but appeared to take a deflection off Acheampong on its way in upon which Billericay made a double substitution.

Nathan Ashton and ex-Wing Charlie Taylor replaced Luke and Sam Lechmere and within three minutes the former reduced the arrears.

After that, Welling held on comfortably to win the first of three consecutive away games in the space of eight days.

Billericay Town : Beasant, Rodgers, Douglas, Collis, Beckles, Wild, Luke (Ashton 84), Poole, May, Osborn (Smith 74), Lechmere (Taylor 84).

Unused substitutes : Semakula, Stone.

Welling United: Mott, Franks, Obersteller, Day, Martin, Acheampong, Gallagher, Clarke, Reid, Lafayette, Hughes-Mason.

Unused substitutes: Kinch, Guthrie, Fakinos, Main, Turner.

Man of the Match: Jack Obersteller.