CHELMSFORD City manager Rod Stringer was delighted with his side’s performance after the Clarets ended Dartford’s recent unbeaten National League South sequence with a 1-0 success at Princes Park.

Anthony Church grabbed the all-important goal midway through the second half, but Stringer was pleased with all aspects of his team's efforts.

Stringer said: “I thought we were excellent, to be honest. It was a really tough game, just as I said it would be.

“It was a tight game, we had to be mindful of their strengths. They have a lot of physicalities and are clever down the wings. But in the end, I thought that the system we went with worked really well, even though it took away a little bit of our own firepower.”

Stringer thought the Clarets got their tactics spot on and suggested that perhaps the margin of victory could have been more conclusive, adding: “Our goalkeeper kept us in the game at the right times. But on reflection, if anyone was going to score it was going to be us. For that reason, I wasn’t too worried about having our wingback pinned back too much because we were still creating enough chances.

“I thought we should have already been in front shortly before the goal after Shaun Jeffers and Robbie Willmott combined. It looked like their goalkeeper had pulled off a 'worldie' of a save but I thought it was more of a bad miss than a good save.

“That chance might have given us a bit of breathing space at that stage. However, in the cold light of day that might have forced Dartford to up the tempo and show a little bit more urgency. In the end, we scored later in the game which left us with a shorter period to defend the advantage and see the game out. I thought we did that really well.

“Having been disappointed that we didn’t take a whole host of chances last week, this time we haven’t created as much but were clinical enough to win the game. Couple that with a clean sheet, that's all you need to do in football. As I said, it was a difficult game but the boys stood up to it exceptionally well.”

And the Clarets chief had a few word of encouragement for the fans who once again travelled to Kent in their numbers.

Stringer added: “We had another good crowd behind us. They really got behind us, it was great to be able to give them a positive result to take home with them.”