Waltham Abbey grabbed the bragging rights after securing a hard-fought 1-0 win away at local rivals Redbridge on Saturday.

Skipper Tom Bruno scored the only goal of the match after opposing captain Jacob Cleaver had spurned a golden opportunity to put his side ahead from the spot.

Redbridge continued to try to find an opening but failed to do so and were reduced to ten men when Joe Bricknell went off injured with ten minutes left, with the Motormen having made all their substitutions.

Redbridge went into the match in poor form and promoted Ryan Reed into their starting XI in the hope the winger could reinvigorate their season.

The home team started well but had to make an early substitution after Shane Lemard was forced off following an off-the-ball collision.

Abbey tried to assert their authority on the match following the change and applied a period of sustained pressure.

Redbridge were rewarded for their defensive nous as Bricknell found himself in away side's box. A lunging tackle from Matt Attard brought the winger down but striker Cleaver fired high and wide from the resulting penalty.

The visitors were forced into a substitution of their own at half-time as Tom Laxton was replaced by James Peagram.

Abbey came out the stronger of the two sides in the second period and following further substitutions from both sides, Bruno fired the away team ahead.

Redbridge were guilty of switching off at the back and Billy Jones delivered a low driven cross from the right and Bruno met it with pace and power.

In search of the equaliser, Redbridge made their final substitution on 73 minutes as Daniel Jones moved into a more central role but they were made to pay for the decision as Bricknell pulled up with ten minutes left to play.

This gave Abbey control of the game and, although tempers threatened to boil over in the closing minutes, it was the visitors who held on for the victory.