BOWERS & Pitsea boss Rob Small was full of smiles after seeing his side trounce Brightlingsea Regent 7-0.

Lewis Manor’s hat-trick helped Bowers surge back to winning ways in fine fashion.

And Small was unable to hide his delight at the final whistle.

“If you judge it on the score-line then it’s our best performance of the season so far,” said Small.

“We’ve played well for a long period of the season but goals change games and we’ve not always been as ruthless as that in front of goal.

“Doing that has kept the opposition in games and we’re in a very good league against very good opposition.

“It was nice because we were disappointed not to get the three points on Saturday after conceding a late goal.

“It would’ve been easy to be downbeat so I’m really pleased this group of players keep picking themselves up after disappointments and keep fighting.

“It was thoroughly enjoyable and games like that don’t come around very often so I’m going to go and have a cup of tea and enjoy it.”

Quentin Monville also bagged a brace for Bowers but it was Ben Sartain who opened the scoring early on against their bottom of the league opponents.

And Small was delighted with the midfielder’s display.

“The goalscorers did a good job but Ben in the midfield completely ran the game and that’s been a long time coming,” said Small.

“He’s a good player but he just needs to believe in himself.

“He scored his goal early on and from then on he was majestic and I’m delighted for him.

“But we played well from start to finish.”

The victory moved Bowers up to 12th in the Isthmian Premier Division.

And Small is pleased with how his side have adjusted to life at a higher level after wining promotion last term.

“I’m satisfied,” said Small.

“We are a small fish in a big pond and we’re looking to stay in this division in our first season.

“It’s probably been the season where we’ve learnt the most and had the most growth.

“That’s not just the management team it’s the players as well but we’ve enjoyed it.

Nothing worth having comes easy and we’ve had to fight harder than we ever had before.

“If things had been different at times our league position would be a bit better than it is but where we sit now I’m very proud of.

“But we won’t stop.

“We will keep going and keep on improving.”

>CONCORD Rangers suffered Essex Senior Cup heartbreak at Dagenham & Redbridge.

The Beach Boys took the lead in the semi-final clash with Aron Pollock heading home in the 64th minute of the tie.

But National League side Dagenham netted an injury time equaliser and then won the resulting penalty shoot out 5-3 to advance into the final.