WITHAM Town put in a Jekyll and Hyde performance in their 3-2 defeat at Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.
The Whites were 3-0 down at the break against the Ryman Premier promotion hopefuls but fought back bravely in the second half, before coming up short.
Despite the defeat Witham still stay out of the relegation zone as all the bottom four also lost.
The hosts took the lead after just seven minutes when Scott Shulton slammed in a deflected free-kick and then got a second on 20 minutes when Mark Goodman's cross hit the inside of the far post and crept in.
Little was seen of the Witham attack as the side dominated and scored a third a minute before half-time when Rob Laney netted from close range during a scramble.
Witham improved after the break and pulled one back on 61 minutes when Luke Callander chased a long through ball and home keeper Bobby Smith, harassed by the striker, deflected the ball into his own net.
Lewis Godbold had headed in a second with 11 minutes to go to give them hope of a vital point. Witham were on top and although they created chances, they just could not find the equaliser.