HARRY Wheeler hailed his side after 10-man Billericay Town came from behind to grab a point at Chelmsford City.

Billericay went behind in the National League South encounter as Anthony Church headed the Clarets into the lead six minutes after the interval.

Although Town appeared to have a mountain to climb after Louis Ramsay was given his marching orders, Billericay sealed a 1-1 draw and claimed a share of the spoils thanks to Moses Emmanuel netting just three minutes later.

And Wheeler, who has targeted promotion to the top tier of non-league football, feels the point could prove crucial come the end of the season.

The Billericay boss said: “We need to win our home games, which we have because we have won four out of four so far.

“But we also need to get big points away and that is what we were talking about in pre-season.

“We need to take points when we are away from home whenever we can.

“When you go down to 10 men and are 1-0 down away to a team who are unbeaten on their own patch, it’s a great point.”

Billericay made the trip to the Melbourne Community Stadium with a much-changed squad and manager from those who were involved in the resounding 5-1 Boxing Day defeat last term.

And, fresh from recording a comfortable 3-0 victory over Hungerford Town just 48 hours earlier, Billericay went into the Essex derby full of confidence.

Sam Deering passed up a fine first half opportunity before Emmanuel fired narrowly wide from long range.

And the hosts capitalised by breaking the deadlock thanks to a Church header.

Billericay then found themselves with a numerical disadvantage after Ramsay was shown a second yellow card, but Emmanuel found the leveller moments later.

And Wheeler was proud of his players’ attitude, particularly after being reduced to 10 men.

Wheeler added: “Both sides did everything they could, were competitive, worked hard and tried to outwork each other.

“They fought as hard as they could and it’s an even better point after being 1-0 down and having 10 men.

“They’re in the play-offs almost every year, so we knew it would be tough.

“It might not have been a great spectacle but I’m proud of my players for working hard and competing.”