Three goals in the last four minutes saw Welling maintain their Blue Square Bet South play-off push after a break of more than three weeks.

The Wings trailed for most of the game on Tuesday but finally made their numerical advantage pay with a late flurry of goals against a physical Havant side.

The visitors went ahead inside two minutes when Perry Ryan escaped the attentions of Dean Cracknell to head in a right-wing free-kick past debutant keeper Craig Holloway.

Welling responded with a flowing move and Loick Pires fed Ben Greenhalgh, whose cross-shot came back off the bar and somehow managed to bounce away from the onrushing Luis Cumbers.

The game’s first talking point arrived on 14 minutes when Havant forward Scott Jones went in late on Loui Fazackerley. Referee Carl Brook showed only a yellow card when it could have easily been red but Jones did not capitalise on his good fortune.

Instead, having already got away with one dive, Jones decided to go down after skipping past Ben Martin in first-half stoppage time and was promptly given a second caution, leaving his team to play the second half with 10 men.

Paul Hinshelwood and Steve Ramsey were both cautioned early in the second half for Havant, who conceded a number of needless fouls.

Welling piled on the pressure but Pires was denied by a combination of keeper Lyall Beazley and the upright before Ben Martin just failed to turn the ball home from close range.

Havant nearly doubled their lead with a rare attack but Holloway made an excellent save to keep out Ramsey’s snapshot.

Pires then saw Beazley bravely dive at his feet to deflect a close-range effort over the bar and it looked like Welling’s unbeaten home record was going to tumble.

But with five minutes left, Pires was chopped down in the box to give Welling a penalty. Lee Clarke’s spot-kick was saved by Beazley but substitute Harry Baker, signed from Dover, marked his debut by tucking away the rebound.

Within 60 seconds, Cumbers got in behind the Havant defence and when Clarke and Pires both stepped over his pullback, Greenhalgh let fly from 25 yards to put Welling ahead.

The Wings rounded off the win in the last minute when Greenhalgh burst into the box and his shot came off both posts before falling to Cumbers (pictured), who could not miss from close range.

Welling travel to in-form Dover this Saturday with Jack Parkinson and Joe Healy both available after suspension.