It was a hard job deciding where to award the top performance honour for north Essex side in the Thurlow Nunn League as there were a couple of worthy contenders.

One of those was Little Oakley as they Acorns got back to winning ways in division one south with a 2-1 win against Wivenhoe Town.

The Dragons have been struggling of late and this was their ninth straight defeat, but they came back in the second half to make it tight for Oakley.

The hosts had taken control in the first half with goals by Lewis Wood and a first for the club for Peter Maina, but Tonye Joseph struck after the break to get Wivenhoe back into contention.

However, Little Oakley held on for the three points and that has put them in line for the star performance award.

However, it wasn’t enough to edge them past FC Clacton.

The Seasiders take the star performance award after a profitable day at the Rush Green Bowl saw them bounce back from two defeats with a 3-1 victory against Ely City.

The two started the day sat 14th and 15th in the premier division table and that was where they finished, although positions were reversed as Clacton’s win saw them leap above their opponents.

They had to do it the hard way, though, after Alex Brown put the visitors ahead.

Harry McDonald’s 31st minute strike cancelled that out and Clacton took the lead two minutes later when Jake Plane fired home and a Matt Eve goal after the break wrapped up an excellent day.

That was the only top-flight action, but there were more games in division one south for north Essex clubs.

Harwich & Parkeston had extended their winning run to ten straight games with a 2-1 win – sealed by a last-minute Tyler Rose goal – at Braintree Town Reserves the previous evening, but other local sides weren’t sharing the Shrimpers’ joy.

Brightlingsea Regent Reserves were 2-0 down against visiting Hackney Wick when Charlie Usher scored for them, but a second goal wouldn’t come and they lost 2-1.

There was also a home defeat for Coggeshall United as they were beaten 1-0 by Lopes Tavares and Holland FC were another side losing at home.

This time, it was Burnham Ramblers who were the triumphant visitors, but it was a game that could have gone either way.

Burnham led three times in the game, while Holland were ahead themselves and it was 4-4 heading into the latter stages when a penalty for the visiting side was fired in to wrap up a 5-4 win.