HEYBRIDGE Swifts boss Julian Dicks admitted being proud of his players after watching them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Basildon United.

The Scraley Road side fought back from 2-0 down to run out 3-2 winners, thanks to second-half penalties from Luke Wilson and Matthew Price and a late strike from Kreshnic Krasniqi.

They stay fourth in Bostik League division north but are now level on points with neighbours Maldon and Tiptree, who were left without a midweek fixture following the postponement of their match at AFC Subury.

"It was a quite a turnaround," said Dicks.

"In the first half I thought we had 80 per cent of the play and yet found ourselves 2-0 down.

"It was hard to take because we'd played some good football, without being able to create any clear chances.

"Basildon, to be fair, scored two similar goals from straight balls and were a handful.

"At 2-0, you fear the worst but I told the boys to go back out there and keep playing.

"We were shooting downwind, which makes a big difference, and I felt we'd get opportunities.

"Thankfully, that was the case and I was very proud of the boys.

"They showed a lot of character and it was a great result, in the end. They deserved it.

"Basildon sat back a bit and tried to soak up our pressure but fortunately for us we got a couple of penalties.

"Then it was a great finish from Kresh."

Heading into the game, Dicks had challenged his players to respond positively to Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Felixstowe and Walton United.

They had been two-down at half-time in that game, too, and the Swifts boss described his side's performance as "totally unacceptable".

However, he was delighted by the response - eventually - and pleased to get back to winning ways.

"When you lose any game you want a reaction," he said.

"But when you find yourselves two-down you don't think you're going to get it.

"It looked like we were heading for two defeats on the bounce but the boys pulled it out of the bag."

Swifts have another home date on Saturday, when Mildenhall Town pay a visit to the Aspen Waite Arena.

They now have 50 points from their 25 games - the same tally as third-placed Maldon, who have only played 24.

"I'd rather play games and then others have to catch us up," added Dicks.

"It means they then have to win their matches and, in football, nothing's a given."