Coach Martin Tyler admits football never ceases to amaze him after a remarkable second-half showing on Saturday ended with 10-man Dartford beating Braintree to go back top of National League South.

After the two in-form teams played out an uninspiring first period at Princes Park, there were plenty of fireworks on the pitch on Bonfire Night after the restart.

Striker Charlie Sheringham put the Darts ahead with the first of two penalties and, despite Alan Dowson’s men losing captain Tom Bonner to a red card, they went 2-0 up not long after through a stunning strike by winger Luke Coulson.

The visitors pulled one back in the 79th minute but Dartford substitute Samir Carruthers added two late goals, including a stoppage-time penalty, as it finished 4-1 with Darts’ unbeaten run now 11 matches in all competitions.

“I’ve been watching football - and been involved in football - for a long time, and you are never caught stale with it,” said the experienced Tyler, also a well-known commentator, who felt Dartford’s strength-in-depth in their squad served them well.

“There’s always a storyline that you haven’t seen before!

“The manager was very strong with the players at half-time. Then the second half, it looked as though it was going our way.

“We got in front and then Tom Bonner got sent off. Tom is a massive part of the football club on the field and off it.

• Report: Dartford 4-1 Braintree

“Then Luke Coulson scores a goal out of nothing - a wonderful goal - and you think ‘Well, maybe we can see it through’ but they score and we end up with the Samir Carruthers show, and Kieran Murtagh playing a big part as well.

“To have two talented players like that as substitutes, and Alex Wall, who has been doing well when he’s come on as well, the depth of the squad has really served us well today.

“I think there’s a fair amount of disbelief for the Dartford fans leaving the stadium but we are on a roll and you have to take these moments when they go your way, and they went our way today.

"It's a very big result for us because Braintree are a really good side. They were on a terrific run.

"We knew this would be one of the tougher games - and it certainly was - and the scoreline doesn't reflect what Braintree put into the match."

Bonner was given a second yellow card by referee Ben Atkinson inside 10 minutes just after the hour mark, although the centre-back felt the foul should have been given the other way.

But Tyler said: “It’s always a risk as a defender when you are on a yellow card. The referee made his decision and I’m not going to disagree with that - especially because he gave us a couple of penalties!

“I thought the refereeing was very good. I suppose the way the result goes can determine your opinion, really, but I felt he had some authority on the game. I trusted his decisions.

“We’ll look at the videos again but, just to the naked eye, they all looked fair to me.”

Dartford are now a point ahead of second-placed Ebbsfleet but they have played three league fixtures more than Dennis Kutrieb’s team while defeat ended The Iron's four-game winning run.

Tyler said: “What’s happened in a very short space of time here is very exciting for us as a management team and I hope for the club generally.

“But it’s only November. Nothing gets won in November and nothing gets decided in November so we’ll see where we are in three or four months’ time.”

Dartford are next in action next weekend at Farnborough, who scored twice at the death to beat League 2 Sutton Athletic 2-0 to progress to the Second Round of the FA Cup.