Mark Bitmead struck the telling blow as Uxbridge secured a 2-1 victory over Tooting & Mitcham United in the South Central Premier Division on Saturday.

The result saw Uxbridge close the gap to their play-off rivals and they now sit a place and two points adrift of fifth-place Tooting after 10 games this season.

A flying start saw Uxbridge take the lead with just three minutes on the clock when Callum Bunting found the net.

The early breakthrough may have settled any nerves, but the sides would still go in level at the half-time interval after Danny Bassett’s 29th minute equaliser.

An evenly contested game would see both sides trade chances during the second half before, as has been the case before this season, Bitmead came to the fore to seal a valuable victory.

The Uxbridge man struck with 19 minutes left on the clock and Tooting were unable to recover as the visitors saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease.

Uxbridge will look to build on the win, which was their first of 2020, when they take on Ashford Town away from home in their next outing.

Elsewhere, Hayes & Yeading lost by the odd goal in five in their meeting with Harrow Borough as they failed to complete a late comeback.

Borough took the lead just after the half hour mark, but their lead didn’t last long as Manny Duku crossed for Hassan Jolloh to head Hayes level before the break.

A sluggish start to the second-half gave Borough impetus and they restored their lead after 49 minutes before a third gave them daylight with 28 minutes to play.

Hayes briefly gave themselves hope of a late comeback when Jolloh bagged his second with a fine 25-yard strike six minutes before the full-time interval.

The strike proved to be little more than a consolation, though, and Hayes were left empty handed. They will look to bounce back against Dorchester United in their next outing.

Finally, Hillingdon Borough were left to settle for a point from their meeting with fellow South Midlands League Division One strugglers Brimsdown as they played out a 1-1 stalemate.

The result leaves Borough a place above the drop zone, but they do enjoy a seven-point advantage over Brimsdown having played a game fewer than their closest challengers.

They take on Langford on their travels this evening before another away day arrives in the form of a visit to Enfield Borough on Saturday.