Pictures: Keith Gillard
Andy Pugh opens the scoring for Welling against Eastbourne on Saturday, above, and, below, Loui Fazakerley celebrates scoring the third goal

By Matthew Panting

An Andy Pugh special put Welling on the road to top spot in Blue Square Bet South on Saturday.

Pugh collected Luis Cumbers pass and confidently powered home an unstoppable 20-yard shot to put Welling ahead in the fifrth minute against injury-hit Eastbourne.

It was the former Gillingham striker’s sixth goal in five games.

Welling never quite hit the same heights in their forward play as they did against Tonbridge in midweek but they always had enough to pose the visitors plenty of problems.

Loick Pires fed Zac Attwood in the 12th minute only for the former Histon man to see his low left-foot drive come back off the far post.

Keeper Rikki Banks was nearly left red-faced just after the half-hour when he fumbled Joe Healy’s header from Loui Fazakerley’s cross but he made amends in spectacular style to keep the effort out.

Welling continued to dominate after the break, Attwood’s drive was turned behind, Pires saw his close-range effort brilliantly blocked by Banks and Ben Martin’s near-post effort from a corner was cleared off the line.

Their pressure was rewarded on the hour mark when a Fazakerley free-kick saw Pires and Pugh both win headers in the box before the former fired low beyond Banks to make it 2-0.

Fazakerley then exchanged passes with Cumbers before his near-post effort defeated Banks at the near post to make it 3-0 in the 67th minute.

Both teams then made a number of substitutions in the closing stages as the Wings gained their first clean sheet of the campaign with few alarms.

Welling travel to Thurrock on Bank Holiday Monday, kick-off 3pm.

Meanwhile Bromley beat Sutton United 3-0 with all the goals coming in a five-minute spell midway through the first half.