WITTON Albion are enduring an untimely bout of travel sickness.

They were mauled by Matlock, which should prompt more worry among supporters than when they were swept aside by Stourbridge on their previous road trip.

Defeat is not a disaster, but rather a missed opportunity.

Had they won, then their hosts would have been 10 points adrift and on the brink of being relegated.

Instead, the Gladiators are now only four behind Tony Sullivan’s men with a game in hand.

Matlock played up to their moniker, overpowering Albion as if their survival depended on it.

They scored at opportune times too; Mo Sabo jabbed in a second goal in the moments before the break, and the excellent Niall McManus made it 3-0 while Witton were changing formation following a substitution.

Matlock had not won in front of their own fans since October.

They had also been beaten in eight of their previous nine league games, drawing the other.

Had Alex Titchiner not finished feebly when he came face-to-face with ex-Albion goalkeeper Jon Kennedy in the ninth minute, that sequence might have stretched further.

But Witton did not get as clear a glimpse at goal again.

They ought to have trailed when Matlock skipper Danny Holland, who spent the first half teaching teenage pair Liam Goulding and Zac Corbett a salutary lesson, skewed horribly wide when it seemed simpler to score.

Julian Banton nudged a header off-target as the home team gathered momentum before they established a merited advantage five minutes before the interval.

Micky Harcourt’s pass appeared over-hit, but McManus’ determination to reach it was rewarded when his cross was swept in by Otis Khan.

When Sabo swatted in a loose ball, after an Albion defender blocked goalkeeper Andy Robertson’s attempt to claim it, Matlock could scarcely believe their luck.

It was a blow from which Witton, beaten convincingly by Matlock at Wincham Park earlier in the season, could not recover.

Robertson dived low to his right to rescue Sam Barnes from the embarrassment of scoring an own goal at the start of the second period.

He was similarly alert after an hour when racing from his line to frighten Corey Gregory into a hurried finish after Holland, for the umpteenth time, held off a defender’s challenge to create an opening.

The outcome was settled anyway on 61 minutes when McManus, while Witton’s players were switching positions following Jamie Henders’ entrance, waltzed through to score at the second attempt after Robertson had blocked his initial effort.

Albion never looked likely to recover from two goals down, so were done at three.

Henders deserved better than for Kennedy to parry his sweetly-struck volley, while Danny Andrews shot weakly after conjuring space for himself.

But Witton, who desperately missed injured John Shaw’s determined presence in defence, would have felt only hollow consolation had either attempt hit the net.

Matlock (4-4-2) Kennedy (GK), Harcourt, Sabo, Banton, Radford, McManus (Stokes 86), Meade (Humble 90), Needham, Khan, Gregory, Holland (Kerr 79) Subs not used Maxfield, Hume Goals Khan 40, Sabo 44, McManus 61 Booked McManus

Witton (3-5-2) Robertson (GK), Barnes, Goulding, Corbett, Gardner, Joe Shaw (Gibson 78), Clark (Simpson 69), Andrews, Dawson (Henders 61), Rainford, Titchiner Subs not used Porter (GK), John Shaw Booked Joe Shaw (foul)

Referee Lisa Rachid

Attendance 265