Two first half-goals from Michael Malcolm and an outstanding performance from Matt Somner in midfield helped Lewes to their second successive win, and their second away win of the season.

Steve King made one change to the side which had beaten Wealdstone 1-0 in their previous game, with debutant Leon Constantine replacing Ian Draycott in the starting line-up.

Lewes took the lead inside the opening three minutes, when a through-ball from Max Noble was mis-judged in the Canvey Island defence and Michael Malcolm latched onto it to finish confidently past James Russell in the host's goal.

Canvey Island nearly equalised immediately through Alex Rhodes, who saw his curling shot from the edge of the penalty area well saved by Liam Mitchell.

The Rooks came close to doubling their lead soon after, when Malcolm was just unable to connect sufficiently with an excellent left-wing cross from Christian Nanetti.

However, it was the same two players who combined to score the Rooks second goal after 19 minutes. This time, a Nanetti cross from the left wing saw Malcolm send a glancing header past Russell and into the bottom corner.

Although Lewes looked relatively comfortable at this point, the hosts still continued to see a fair amount of the ball, with both Rhodes and Rob King sending efforts over the crossbar in quick succession.

Malcolm came close to completing his treble not long before half-time, when he received the ball from Leon Constantine, weaved his way past two defenders, but was only able to poke his shot wide.

It was Canvey Island who had the final chance of the half though, as Mitchell was unable to hold a shot from Jason Hallett, leading to a goalmouth scramble which was eventually dealt with by the Lewes defence.

The hosts enjoyed most of the possession at the start of the second half, but it was Lewes who came closest to scoring in the opening exchanges of the second period.

First, Noble saw his low shot at the end of an intricate passing move well held by Russell, before George Nicholas sent a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area against the foot of the post.

At this point, Canvey Island began to put the Rooks under a lot of pressure as they sought to find a route back into the game.

Mitchell was called into action with 20 minutes remaining, as he made a superb save to tip a glancing header from Rhodes around the post following a cross from Andrew West.

From the resulting corner, Matt Somner produced an outstanding clearance off the line from a far-post header to keep Lewes two goals ahead.

However, the hosts were able to pull a goal back with 16 minutes remaining. Rhodes was the scorer, as he converted a low cross from Hallett at the far post.

However, the Rooks had an excellent chance to restore their two-goal advantage after 79 minutes when Malcolm was tripped by West in the penalty area. Unfortunately for the travelling Lewes fans behind the goal, substitute Paul Booth saw his spot-kick which seemed destined for the bottom corner brilliantly saved by Russell.

This led to a tense final ten minutes, with Rhodes dragging a low shot across goal and Hallett sending an effort from the edge of the penalty area just over as the hosts pushed for an equaliser.

Lewes had a good chance to seal the three points in the closing stages, but referee Dave Bushell chose to blow the full-time whistle when Malcolm appeared to be through on goal.

This was a difficult game for the Rooks in tricky conditions, with a strong wind and a bumpy pitch making it difficult to play the free-flowing football which the players are capable of.

As with last week’s game against Wealdstone, Lewes were facing a side who may well be challenging for a play-off place come the end of the season, so to pick up the three points is very impressive.

Stand-out Lewes performances came from Liam Mitchell, Matt Somner and Michael Malcolm.

Canvey Island:

Russell, West, Sheehan, Easterford, Dumas, Gordon (Heale 64), King, Game, Rhodes, Hallett, Dobinson.
Unused Subs: Alaile, Kerrigan, Ward, Mathews.
Booked: Dobinson.

Lewes:

Mitchell, Hustwick, Robinson, Sterling, Ciardini, Nicholas (Cade 76), Somner, Noble, Nanetti (Hamilton 90), Malcolm, Constantine (Booth 67).
Unused Subs: Draycott, Watson.
Booked: Nicholas, Ciardini.

Referee: Mr D Bushell

Tom Harper