THURROCK boss Mark Stimson was delighted with his side’s home 5-1 win over Wroxham on Saturday, but warned Fleet face stiff competition in this season’s promotion race.

Strikes from Jordan Clark, David Cowley, Michael Toner and a double from top-scorer Ross Wall comfortably saw the Ryman One North side over the line last weekend.

The win takes Thurrock up to second in the table, five points off league leaders Cray Wanderers with four games in hand.

Despite a strong start to the season from his team, Stimson, inset, has warned it’s a long campaign and that plenty can happen in the coming months.

He said: “We’re so early in the season, there’s so many teams in this league that can go on a good run of form and pose a threat.

“I still say there’s anyone of 12 teams that can go up. It’ll go right to the wire and it will probably come down to whichever team can keep their better players fit, and also with a bit of luck.

Reflecting on the win against Wroxham, Stimson was encourage by Thurrock’s showing and felt his side’s persistence paid off.

He said: “It was a good performance, a fantastic result at the end of the day.

“We were made to work hard to get the result and it proves that you can’t roll teams over just by turning up. I thought we played some decent football in the first half, we took the lead with a decent penalty and looked comfortable. They then equalised and we go in 1-1 at half-time. I just said to the boys keep trying, and doing what you’ve been doing and we’ll get the chances.”

He continued: “It was important not to get caught on the counter-attack, but we created chances right up to the 90th minute, I’ve got my left back breaking his neck to get into their eighteen yard box right at the very end of the match to reverse a ball for Ross Wall to slot it home.

Stimson also reserved special praise for Fleet’s orchestrator-in-chief, David Cowley.

The midfielder put in a hugely impressive performance and Stimson says his side are helping to get the best out of him.

He said: “Since he’s been here, we’ve changed our formation to bring the best out of him.

“The lad can play and we’ve got players around him who can bring him into the game and allow him to show his talent. He was outstanding today.”