FC CLACTON boss Kieron Shelley praised number two Mike Wallace after his assistant stepped in and took the reins for Saturday’s Thurlow Nunn League victory against Ely City.

Shelley had to miss most of the match for personal reasons and only caught the last 15 minutes.

Wallace therefore took the warm-up and was in the dug-out calling the shots during the 2-0 success.

Kevin Coyle’s first-half penalty was followed by a sweet strike from Jake Plane, to put the Seasiders 14th in the premier division heading into this weekend’s strip to Histon.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to the players and also to Mike,” Shelley told the Gazette.

“He filled in and did everything I asked of him, despite being thrown in at the deep end at the 11th hour.

“As you could see from the performance, he obviously got our message across and I wouldn’t have done anything differently.

“I can’t comment on the game too much, because I missed most of it, but what I saw when I was here was effort, organisation and a willingness to run and work hard.

“I’m over the moon because I know it means a lot to Mike.

“He stepped up and the players showed him massive respect, by responding to what he told them.

“It’s so pleasing and he deserved this opportunity.

“He’s like me in that he takes his football home with him and reflects on everything - win, lose or draw.

“It stays with you, so the fact we’ve ended our four-game losing run against a very good team is brilliant.”

Coyle hammered home the only goal of the first half, from the penalty spot, after a foul on Plane.

And Plane gave the hosts some breathing space with an angled drive after a ball in from the left.

The Seasiders will also have been delighted to keep a well-earned clean sheet, having shipped ten goals in their previous two games.

Ely did very nearly score once – only to be denied by the woodwork - and the result ended their run of seven straight league victories.

“The boys went out there and got the result we wanted and it was a reaction to the last four games,” added Shelley.

“We’ve been on a bit of a bad run, although in fairness two of those losses were against Brantham and Felixstowe.

“They’re both sides that I expect to be out of this division next year.

“There was no shame in losing to either, but we were certainly disappointed to lose against Fakenham and Thetford.

“We didn’t do the basics right and were brought back to earth, after the high of having been on an unbeaten run.

“Losing becomes a nasty habit to get into, just as winning becomes a habit, and it really showed the character in the dressing room and the unity of the squad to get that result on Saturday.

“Ely beat us at their place and we had a last-minute goal chalked off, so there was some bitterness within our dressing room.

“That can work against you sometimes, because you can go out there and be a bit of a loose cannon.

“But it was something we spoke about at training last week and thankfully the boys responded really well, in exactly the right way.”