The Grays bandwagon rolled on in the battle of The Athletics on Tuesday night as they extended their unbeaten run but they were pushed all the way by the home side until Kenny Beaney popped up with a late header to secure the win.

Frustratingly despite taking 15 points from their last 5 games Blues remain stubbornly stuck in 14th place in the table however if they can capitalise on their games in hand they have the opportunity to get amongst the other clubs vying for a playoff place.

Mark Bentley made one enforced change to the starting eleven due to Correy Davidson's injury with Jordan Wilson coming into the line up.

From the whistle the home side were quickly into their stride taking the game to the Blues,Bremner getting in the first shot of the evening which failed to trouble Connor Gough who gathered the ball comfortably.In the early stages Jey Siva was finding space out wide supporting Joao Carlos as they both probed the home defence but it was VCD who gradually gained the upper hand playing a high tempo game which Blues found difficulty coming to terms with.

Azzes played in a great cross just cleared away by Jay Leader,Duckworth then saw his effort fly just over with Gough beaten.Blues were looking lethargic as the home side belied their lowly league position winning the battle in midfield as the visitors struggled to get a foothold in the game,when they did manage to get on the ball it was only to give it away again with careless passes.

From another in a succession of corners Bremner saw his header drop just wide ,Duckworth then saw his curling shot fly just wide of the post much to the visitors relief..

On 31 minutes Nathan Ferguson sustained an injury and was replaced by Quincy Marfo who had proved so influential against Bognor on Saturday.

VCD continued to make all the running looking for the opener ,from another corner Parry made a hash of his attempted clearance the ball dropping to Dent who forced Gough into a diving save.It wasn't until the 36 minute that Grays finally troubled the home goal Carlos seeing his shot gathered comfortably by Blue.

Despite continuous pressure from the home side the Blues goal remained intact with a combination of last ditch tackles and desperate defending,but then with the clock ticking down to half time Carlos in a rare Blues attack was brought down unceremoniously just outside the visitors area,James Stevens whipped in the resultant free kick and there was GB Dumaka who headed home through a crowd of players to put the Blues one up much it must be said against the run of play.

HT 0-1

The home side carried on where they left off in the first half putting Grays under early pressure but very gradually Blues began to ask questions of the home defence Marfo was seeing a lot more of the ball his pace causing real problems,Dumaka finally sprung into life chesting down and then firing the ball just over,Jordan Wilson who had been subdued in the first half latched on to a teasing through ball by Beaney but was thwarted by Blue who smothered the ball just as he was about to strike.

VCD were still looking dangerous when the Blues had a lucky escape on 60 minutes when Bremner saw his header cannon off the crossbar with Gough beaten,Dent's effort then took a deflection and fell only inches wide.

With his job done Stevens was replaced by Bentley on 65 minutes and barely two minutes later he was guilty of a careless foul on the edge of the Grays box,Reeves stepped up placing the ball in the top corner beating the despairing dive of Gough to bring the scores level.

Both sides now looked for the decisive second goal and it was Grays who were now enjoying the lions share of possesion as the home sides earlier efforts were now beginning to take it's toll.Dumaka's turn and shot was blocked ,Wilson then hesitated when ideally place and the chance went begging.Wilson then played in Bentley who saw his effort turned behind by Blue.

Marfo as on Saturday was looking increasingly dangerous out wide for the visitors a great run and cross left Blue struggling as he pawed the ball away to safety,but he had no chance moments later when another Marfo cross was met by the head of Beaney who made no mistake to edge Grays in front.

VCD were still not done and from the kick off forced a corner which thankfully for the Blues fans was headed away to thwart the danger.Manny Parry had to be alert when he headed away under heavy pressure, in the process he fell awkwardly it seemed at first he had sustained a serious injury but recovered after lengthy treatment but as a precaution made way for Glen Little making his first appearance since his return from Welling.

After a final flurry from the home side the referee brought proceedings to a close much to the joy of Grays's travelling fans.

Blues were not at their best tonight but still came away with the points as they were pushed all the way by a youthful home side who despite having the lions share of the play did not have the overall quality throughout their team to force a win.The two sides will now meet again on Saturday at Mill Field in what should be an interesting encounter.

The only worry for Grays as the games come thick and fast is the mounting injury list, with Davidson and Nouble sidelined and the injuries to Ferguson and Parry tonight, Physio Jack O Hughes will certainly be a busy man in the next few days.