CONNOR Shields earned praise after making a goalscoring debut as Billericay Town climbed away from the National League South drop zone with a last-gasp 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Braintree Town.

Shields joined Billericay in a one-month loan move from National League side Aldershot Town just 24 hours before the Essex derby.

And player-manager Jamie O’Hara was pleased to see Shields make an immediate impact.

“I thought Connor was fantastic,” said O’Hara.

“It’s been hard trying to replace [former loanee] Ody Alfa.

“I’ve been looking around trying to find the player we needed, especially one that is available and not playing.

“He became available and I worked hard to get him on board.

“I thought Connor was the difference because he was quick, good on the ball, showed his confidence and you could see he is a National League player.

“I’m really happy to have him on board and he will be important for us.”

Billericay made the breakthrough with 14 minutes on the clock.

Doug Loft’s perfectly-weighted pass put Shields through on goal and the loanee found the back of the net despite Braintree goalkeeper Billy Johnson’s best efforts.

Johnson kept Jake Robinson and Ronnie Henry at bay before Braintree levelled matters on 67 minutes as Liam Smyth, who had only emerged as a substitute moments earlier, curled a superb free-kick into the top corner, leaving goalkeeper Alan Julian rooted to the spot.

Billericay were reduced to 10 men as Dejon Noel-Williams caught Braintree skipper Kyran Clements with a stray elbow late on.

But there was still time for a late twist as, deep in injury time, captain Ronnie Henry fired home to spark wild celebrations at New Lodge.

The victory allowed Billericay to leapfrog Braintree in the standings and move three points clear of the relegation zone.

And, despite the winner coming so late in the contest, O’Hara insists he was always confident Billericay would secure all three points.

“It was the bit of luck we needed in that moment, but I kept believing in the boys,” added O’Hara.

“I thought we played well and dominated the game.

“We created some good chances but, again, we were finding it difficult when we got to the final third.

“But we got the points and it was a big win for us.”