Gareth Ainsworth saluted a spirited performance which helped his Wycombe Wanderers side beat Dagenham & Redbridge 2-1 in a match that saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

Daggers right-back Josh Passley was given his marching orders in the first half for a last man challenge on Garry Thompson, who was himself shown red for a two footed foul in the second half.

The Blues went ahead through Paul Hayes’ close-range goal, before Luke Guttridge levelled and Paris Cowan-Hall sealed the win with a header late on.

Ainsworth was left pleased with the win and highlighted the challenge of dealing with the route one style employed by Dagenham.

“We definitely did it the hard way. It was scrappy and you know what you are going to get at Dagenham. John Still has been brought here to rescue them,” he said.

“We were hanging on at the end a bit and it was difficult to stop them getting the ball in the box. We knew what was happening but we couldn’t get to grips with it. It was commendable defending.

“Often when you are playing against a long ball team you want to get the ball down and play through them and it is not always easy. It is not easy when you are not in form.”

The sole blot on Ainsworth’s copybook from a win that is only Wycombe’s second of 2016 was the dismissal of Thompson.

The incident sparked a comeback from the home side in a game in which they had failed to produce a serious threat on the Blues’ goal, and they scored soon after Thompson left the field.

The 35-year-old’s two footed lunge was ugly at best and gruesome at worst, but Ainsworth was quick to defend Thompson.

He said: “The message at half-time was to make the extra man count. Unfortunately we could only do that for 15 to 20 minutes and possibly rightly so.

“I think the referee has no choice but to send Garry off. The tackle was high but I do sympathise with Garry and I think he was just pulled back before he made the tackle.”

The Chairboys will now look to take their form on the road – they have won their last to away games – into Saturday’s match against Exeter City at Adams Park on Saturday.