Harry Beautyman scored the winner from the penalty spot as Sutton United beat visitors Halifax Town 1-0 in the National League.
Sutton bounced back from their 4-0 defeat to Wrexham last Tuesday and ensured that they stayed second in the league, whereas Halifax slipped towards the relegation zone.
The hosts took the lead in the ninth minute of what was a very uneventful first half, with neither side posing too much of a threat.
The penalty came when a ball into the box was handled by a Halifax player and the referee signalled to the spot instantly.
After some outrage from the visitors, Beautyman rifled a strong shot to the left hand of the goal that the Halifax goalkeeper could only divert into the top corner after correctly guessing the direction of the strike.
The home side had the better of possession in the remainder of the first half and forced a few saves out of Sam Johnson in the Halifax goal.
Halifax came out of the interval the better side and started to bring the game to Sutton with a number of attacks.
Their best chance of the game fell to Nyal Bell who did well to turn through the Sutton defence and find himself one-on-one with Dean Bouzanis.
Bell fired the ball above the Sutton goalkeeper and off the crossbar.
Sutton had two free-kick opportunities after fouls on Isaac Olaofe and David Ajiboye but could not capitalise from the edge of the box.
Halifax put the Sutton United goal under siege but they could not find a way through and their last attack came from a free-kick which did not provide them with the goal they were searching for.
When asked about the performance, Sutton manager Matt Gray said: “I’m very pleased, I thought we were very good first half and it was certainly a game of two halves.
“It was our fifth game in two weeks, and there were people playing with knocks and niggles. To get the character and response back today after a 4-0 loss to Wrexham, back at home was good. We started really well, got the goal and we could have had a few more.
“Fair play to Halifax, they’re a good side and they are in a false position at the moment, as soon as they get their next win they will start to climb the table.”
Sutton are away to Woking in the next round of the National League tomorrow.
Elsewhere, in the National League South, Hampton and Richmond Borough stunned Billericay Town with a 6-2 victory.
Sam Deadfield and Nathan Minhas got a goal each, while Niko Muir and Ryan Gondoh helped themselves to braces.
Hampton and Richmond move into the playoff places in sixth and will visit Chippenham Town tomorrow.
