MARK Bentley believes his Canvey Island side are going up against 'one of the best' teams in the Isthmian North tomorrow.

The Gulls welcome second-placed Maldon & Tiptree to the Frost Hire Stadium.

Canvey suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Felixstowe & Walton United last time out, despite dominating large spells of the encounter, and Bentley is hoping that his side will play some attractive football against a side managed by former Premier League defender Wayne Brown.

Gulls boss Bentley said: "They are one of the best sides in the league.

"They play a lot of young lads that have played academy football and they also have links to Colchester United.

"I know that Maldon are a team that like to get the ball on the floor and play passing football, but I'm hoping that will give us confidence to play football as well.

"If we match the quality that we showed last week then I will be happy."

Although Canvey suffered their ninth defeat in 11 fixtures when Felixstowe visited south Essex last time out, Bentley felt there were plenty of positives to come from the contest.

And the ex-Southend United midfielder was particularly pleased with the performance of Ade Cole.

"I thought Ade was excellent on the ball and that's why I brought him in," added Bentley.

"Unfortunately, it has come about 10 games too late for us but I'm hoping it will give him confidence.

"The boys are still playing for their shirts for next season and they have four games left to impress me."