The quality of the play in the final third of the pitch was the difference between the two sides as East Thurrock United moved up to sixth place in the Ryman Premier; leaving VCD Athletic nine points from safety.

The only surprise was that it took the visitors half-an-hour to open the scoring, with Tom Wraight powering home a header past Gillingham loanee Tom Hadler.  The VCD keeper was responsible for keeping the score at one with a number of fine saves, but was left exposed as Sam Higgins doubled the lead on 58.

Donavan Simmonds produced a rare moment of quality, chesting a cross down and lashing home a half-volley on 72 to give VCD some hope of rescuing a point, but these hopes were ended when Wraight produced a sublime finish after 81; lifting a shot on the turn over Hadler into the top left corner.

East Thurrock were in no mood to allow VCD’s recent run of one defeat in seven, which had lifted them off the bottom of the table, to continue, and from the start the Rocks were on the front foot.  Left winger Tom Wraight fired a low cross through the area that Lewis Smith and Ade Yusuff strained to reach, and Rocks’ leading scorer, Sam Higgins, was presented with a chance by a poor touch from Arron Wickham, but could only find the side netting.

With their first attack it looked as though Nigel Neita had been tripped as he burst into the area, but VCD’s appeals were waved away, and Donavan Simmonds got onto an Ashley Probets cross, only to glance his header over.  With only 20 goals in 25 games before tonight, VCD couldn’t afford to miss such opportunities.

Tom Hadler reacted well to parry away a driven Higgins freekick that flew through the VCD wall, and Smith worked an opening on the edge of the area, but curled his shot wide of the left post as East Thurrock started to dominate possession and territory.

The opening goal arrived after 30 minutes, with Higgins being granted time and space to measure his cross onto the head of Wraight, who outmuscled Joe Bruce to power a header over Hadler.

The goal seemed to wake up the VCD players and from consecutive Probets corners from the right, they came close to levelling.  From the first corner, Rocks’ keeper Lewis Lockyear flapped at the cross with Frantz Tchonang unable to direct a header on target.  Then, Wickham hit a shot through a crowd of players that Lockyear parried, but the keeper was out quickly to block Simmonds’ follow-up shot.

Hadler was a one-man wall denying East Thurrock in the last five minutes of the half.  Former Chatham winger Yusuff, on loan from Dagenham & Redbridge, waltzed through the VCD midfield and was fortunate to retrieve a rebound off Tchonang, before Hadler blocked with his legs.

Higgins drew another one-on-one save from Hadler, although the rebound ran to Yusuff blazed over from 20 yards with an empty net to aim at.  Then Hadler again denied Higgins, who had beaten the offside trap.

Wickham wasted a freekick opportunity early in the second half, when the position seemed perfect for Probets to attempt a curler round the side of the wall, and VCD were punished by the visitors a few minutes later.  A long clearance from Lockyear was moved by Yusuff and Smith into Higgins’ run on the left.  The striker cut inside Tchonang and fired a shot into the bottom right corner that was too powerful for Hadler to stop.

Richard Avery put a rare effort on target, with a header after Lockyear had clambered over a number of defenders to punch out a Graham freekick, but the keeper regained his feet to catch the return header.

But VCD found a way back into the game on 72.  Mathias Bakare sent a cross in from the right wing and, with Lheureux Menga and Ricky Hayles colliding, the ball flew to Simmonds at the back post.  The striker scored his seventh of the season with a composed trap on his chest and hit a half-volley past Lockyear before the keeper could move.

For a few minutes, East Thurrock’s defence looked shaky, and a freekick from Neita was parried by Lockyear onto Menga’s knees, but the forward didn’t have time to direct the rebound on target.

VCD’s resistance was killed off in the 81st minute as a freekick from halfway was delivered into the feet of Wraight on the edge of the ‘D’.  In one movement, Wraight swivelled and flicked a sublime left foot shot into the top left corner, over the outstretched arms of Hadler desperate dive.

There was time for VCD substitute Harry Brickwood to curl a 25-yard shot off the face of the right post, but it was too little too late for the Vickers who remain in 23rd place.

VCD ATHLETIC: Tom Hadler, Frantz Tchonang, Ashley Probets (Harry Brickwood 62), Richard Avery, Joe Bruce, Ricardo Joseph, Ritchie Graham, Arron Wickham (Lheureux Menga 53), Nigel Neita, Donavan Simmonds (Mark Nwokeji 82), Mathias Bakare.

Subs not used: Davidson Tejaiye, Rob Budd.

Goal: Donavan Simmonds 72.

EAST THURROCK UNITED: Lewis Lockyear, Ryan Sammons, Kye Ruel (Ryan Scott 35), Simon Peddie, Rickie Hayles, Ben Wood, Ade Yusuff (Kris Newby 83), George Craddock, Sam Higgins, Lewis Smith (Daryl Robson 87), Tom Wraight.

Subs not used: James Walker.

Goals: Tom Wraight 30 & 81, Sam Higgins 58.

Caution: Ricky Hayles 77.

Attendance: 112
Referee: Mr Stephen Brown
Assistants: Mr Glen Childs and Mr Jack Owen