Waltham Forest picked up three points on the road and made it three wins in five with a victory over Takeley built on a solid defensive performance.
However, it looked like it would be a long evening for Forest, as Takeley took the lead after just a couple of minutes, Chris Gibbs heading in unmarked from six yards.
But Forest took the game to Takeley and made the most of the challenging conditions.
Didier Grah O’Pily had the run of the Takeley right-back all game, and was the source of the first goal, beating his man and crossing for Alan Callaghan to smash the ball home at the back post.
Charlie Gregory hit the bar from distance, before a poor back pass from the Takeley defender got stuck in a puddle, allowing Roy Jones and O’Pily to get through against the keeper. However, Jones passed the ball forward and O’Pily’s tap-in was rulled out for offside.
Not long later the same thing happened, Forest having two players clean through on goal. They made a mess of the first effort, but Gregory then curled in a beauty from the edge of the area.
The pitch held up better in the second half, and the home side began to dominate, but without creating any clear-cut chances.
With ten minutes to go, Forest looked like they had secured the points. O’Pily was again provider, crossing for Jones to hold off his marker and tap in for a well-deserved goal.
Takeley pulled a goal back through Olly Fortune to set up a nervy ending, and Fortune could have nicked a point in injury time, but he shot straight at hunt who did well to make himself big.
Forest are now out of the bottom two for the first time since August, and have fourth-bottom Greenhouse Sports in their sights.