Tilbury 2, Grays Athletic 1

TWO first half goals and a red card just before half time proved the pivotal points in Tuesday's BetVictor Isthmian North derby at Chadfields, played out on a pitch that bore up remarkably well after the recent bad weather and in front of a crowd of 277.

The majority of them went home happy with Dockers cementing their place in the play-off zone and taking the bragging rights against their oldest rivals and avenging a 3-1 defeat at Parkside last September.

Tilbury went into the match on a rich vein of form, while Grays have faltered of late, so it was no surprise when they took the lead thanks to David Knight's well-struck 23rd minute penalty that thundered over the line off the crossbar.

Grays were looking lack-lustre and didn't really threaten much of a comeback – a task that looked beyond them as early as the 31st minute when Thomas Barton forced the ball home for Tilbury's second, though Grays keeper Danny Sambridge will feel he might have done better.

And a big hill became a mountain on 39 minutes when Lewis Dark retaliated after a foul and was sent off.

Ten man Tilbury always held the edge in the second half but were somewhat conservative in going forward, not risking being caught on the break, even with a man advantage.

The Dockers created the lion's share of second half chances without ever really going close to a third, though David Knight was always lively and belied his portly figure these days with a nippy turn of pace. And in the closing moments the gigantic Brian Moses should have scored but with the goal at his mercy from close range he stooped but somehow missed making a connection to a ball that flashed across the face of goal.

In the end it didn't matter as Dockers moved up a place to fourth, while Grays languish in 12th.