Braintree Town’s players and management team were justly proud of the resilient and disciplined defensive performance that earned them a third home Vanarama National League win on the trot.

Having taken the lead against Welling on Tuesday, with a ninth-minute Dan Sparkes goal, the Iron found themselves up against it for the final hour of the match after a red card saw Sean Marks sent off.

Welling are desperately looking to escape the clutches of the relegation zone and had to go looking for a way back into the game, but it was a resolute display from the Iron as they kept the Kent side at bay to record their 15th clean sheet of the campaign.

Despite losing their composure a bit in the immediate aftermath of Marks’ sending off, it was a performance that epitomised the hard-work and discipline that manager Danny Cowley has instilled in his team.

Skipper Kenny Davis said “It was a bit shaky towards the end of the first half, but I thought the second half was really good.

“We more than held our own.

“We came out with a plan and a strategy that Danny had set for us and I think we carried it out well.

“They were always going to have a few chances but we limited them.

“They aren’t a terrible team at all as they are a passing team and we made it difficult for them.

“The pitch didn’t help them and it worked in our favour for a change and it’s a big three points for us.”

Midfielder Alex Woodyard, who supplied the cross that led to Sparkes’ early goal, agreed and said: “I think the right thing was to get in at half-time still ahead as it allowed Danny to get us together and get our heads back on it.

“We came out for the second half and put in a good shift. I just think we made it hard for them.

“We got in their passing lanes and didn’t allow them to get forward.

“They didn’t get in behind us and were still trying to thread balls through which is very hard on our pitch at the moment.”

And boss Cowley was also delighted with how his players reacted to their numerical disadvantage.

“At half-time we were able to regain our composure and the second half, we were excellent to a man,” he said.

“Not just in terms of our effort levels, our running and our pitch coverage but in terms of our discipline and intelligence defensively.

“People may have criticised our home form, but we haven’t conceded a goal at home in seven league games.

“That’s a pretty fantastic effort in my opinion.”