CHIPPENHAM Town chief Mark Collier heaped praise on the character of his players after they came through adversity to claim a 2-0 win at home to Weymouth on Tuesday night.

After a goalless first half at Hardenhuish Park, the Bluebirds were forced to play the final 35 minutes a man light after Rhys Baggridge was shown a straight red card for kicking out at an opponent.

However, that did not hold the home side back and they took the game to Weymouth and broke the deadlock with a quarter-of-an-hour to go when Matt Smith found the net.

Chippenham did not sit back on their goal advantage and Dave Pratt killed the game off with the hosts’ second goal in the closing stages.

The victory lifts the Bluebirds back into the top three in the Southern League Premier Division table and Collier says his players deserve all the plaudits.

“In the first half, we didn’t start particularly well and they had a decent game plan and had a fair bit of possession without hurting us too much,” said Collier.

“We were happy to get to half-time at 0-0 and have a word with a few people and change things around a little bit.

“We started really positively in the second half but we ended up having a man sent off after only about 10 minutes and of course that does change your plans.

“We felt we still needed two up top and everyone really stepped up to the plate and showed some real resolve and in the end we’ve run out comfortable winners.

“We are the league’s top scorers so we know we have got goals in us and after we got the first goal we managed to keep possession quite well and create a few more chances and when you have got Pratt and Sandell in your side, they are a handful for any defence.

“The character of the lads was unreal as it would be easy to feel sorry for yourselves down at 10 men and even on the sidelines I start to think do I take a draw but they kept going and it was a great win in the end.”

Baggridge’s dismissal came as result of his retaliation to a foul from a Weymouth player but Collier had no complaints about the decision.

“We have spoken to Rhys about it and he has apologised,” said Collier.

“He has to carry the can for it and he will get a fine and miss a few games and I told him he needs to thank his mates for digging him out of a hole.”

Chippenham are at home again on Saturday when they host King’s Lynn Town, with Collier keen to avenge a 4-0 defeat from earlier in the season.

“We were very, very poor up there and we were disappointed in that performance,” said Collier.

“They are a big club and probably don’t really want to be in the Southern League, not just for logistical reasons, but also they want to be at a higher level.

“They are mid-table at the moment but are in good form and have made some astute signings so it’s going to be difficult.

“However, it’s them who have got to spend four hours on a coach before the game this time, whereas we will be fresh so hopefully we can get another good result.”