Although Woodbridge improved after the break it was not until the final quarter of the match that they seriously threatened the visitors' goal, and then having got back into the match they conceded a sloppy third goal six minutes later.

Harwich, who lost captain Martin Calver through injury after 13 minutes, went in front just seven minutes later. The Woodbridge defence appeared to go AWOL as Scott Page fed Tony Chatters on the right wing and his cross was headed firmly home by the unmarked Matt Carmichael.

There was no goalmouth action of note until Harwich added a second in the 40th minute when Tom Brannon nipped in to dispossess Jamie Scales as he waited for Marcus Garnham's throw to reach him and chipped the ball over the keeper, who was stranded out of his goal, from wide on the right wing.

Woodbridge responded immediately with Craig Jennings getting clear down the left and crossing low for Dean Tournay-Godfrey to slide goalwards but Ed Wootten brought off a top-class save as he diverted the ball over the crossbar.

Woodbridge made a double substitution at half time, bringing on Jon Bickers and Ben Seaman, but it was Harwich who should have scored almost straight from the restart when Aaron Churchyard miscontrolled a cross and Carmichael nipped in but placed his shot wide.

Four left-wing corners in succession by Lee O'Neill, who struggled to clear the first defender, came to nothing before Tournay-Godfrey tried his luck with four long-range efforts - three from free kicks - in the space of 13 minutes without success, while Luke Read lifted his shot onto the top of the bar after Seaman had cut the ball back from the byeline.

Seaman saw his curling left-foot shot after cutting in from the right wing tipped away at full length by Wootten and just when it looked as though Woodbridge would never score Ben Miller's 25-yard shot, although not cleanly hit, found the bottom corner after Seaman had squared from the right.

Any hopes of salvaging at least a point disappeared when centre back Michael Murray was left with time and space to control a free kick from the right and turn before finishing well to restore Harwich's two-goal lead.

There was still time for Tournay-Godfrey to bundle home a Seaman cross at the far post in the 93rd minute, but Woodbridge were left to rue giving themselves too much ground to make up as the visitors deservedly claimed all three points and so climb above their hosts in the table.

Woodbridge team: Marcus Garnham, Aaron Churchyard, Stefan Marsh, Mark Roper, Ben Miller, Lee O'Neill, Luke Read, Paul Hart, Jamie Scales (sub Jon Bickers 46 mins), Dean Tournay-Godfrey, Craig Jennings (sub Ben Seaman 46 mins). Unused subs: Tom Ross, Grant Monaghan, Ishmael Toumi.