Brightlingsea Regent 2 Ely City 0

Promotion hopefuls Regent made short work of Ely on Saturday, with two first-half goals enough to give them all the points.

In one of only a handful of games to be played across the region, the hosts started brightly and could have moved ahead with less than 10 minutes on the clock as Phil Kelly’s shot thudded off the crossbar and away to safety.

Regent did eventually move into the lead after 20 minutes as Jake Turner, having latched on to a low cross, lifted the ball over the advancing Lee Pacey.

But it was thanks to Pacey that Ely didn’t slip further behind just five minutes later as he made a super double-stop with Regent’s striker’s lining up to score.

The host’s push for a decisive second goal bore fruit five minutes short of half-time, though, with Scott Yearling firing low into the corner after collecting Jamie Clark’s neat through ball.

Ely were much-improved after the break but largely failed to make an impression on the home goal. In the 80th minute, a shot from just inside the box was lashed narrowly over the bar and ultimately proved their best chance.

The Robins are back in action again on Saturday when they welcome Gorleston to the Unwin Ground. Kick off is 3pm.