SAM Ashford admitted that his first hat-trick in senior football was a bittersweet experience as Witham Town found themselves pegged back late in their game at Halstead Town on Saturday.

Witham are due to head to Southend Manor for their latest pre-season game tonight (kick-off 7.30pm) as preparations for the Bostik League division north season continue.

Due to Manor's pitch being unavailable, the game is being played on an artificial surface at the Len Forge Centre in Southend and Witham will head to the south of the county with confidence after a good display at Halstead.

Ashford struck three times for his first senior treble, but the way the hosts hit back with three goals in the second half to secure a draw ensured the 22-year-old forward was left with mixed emotions.

However, he is confident that things are looking positive under new manager Mark Ashford.

Sam said: “It was bittersweet really, as I got my first senior hat-trick and then we conceded at the end to draw, but it’s pre-season and you don’t look too much at results.

“It was nice to see the boys looking sharp, though, and the attitude was good.

“You can see that we’re getting there.

“Mark has brought in a lot of things he’s picked up at a number of clubs and it takes belief from the players to really understand what he wants from us.

“But when you get that confidence from everyone then I can see us going quite far.

“I just really hope we can start the season well."

Having re-joined the club this summer, this is the second stint at Witham Town for Sam after he left last year to take a step up with Brightlingsea Regent in the Bostik League premier division.

“I really enjoyed it with Witham last year and it was a good spell for me," he added.

“I’d never leave to go sideways and it was a move to go up a level.

“It was a really good experience at Brightlingsea, but Witham is a very tight club and it’s nice to be able to come back.

“They’re trying to bring the younger players through and that creates a really nice environment.

“I really like it here.

“The core of the side that I played in last year is still here, which is great.

“It’s a good team and they didn’t finish in the top half of the table for no reason.

“It is a very good team and hopefully the people who have come in can fine tune that and we can fully understand what Mark is wanting from us so we can show that on the pitch and in our results."