TURNS out Storm Brian was not the only whirlwind Worcester City had to deal with on Saturday.

Yet again, fans left the Victoria Ground with an odd mix of emotions. Their side had won but that most telling factor was again all too easy to forget.

Granted, there was no winning for John Snape and his players. Trounce the team from two divisions beneath them and it would have barely raised an eyebrow yet even a victory without convincing would always raise questions.

No matter how pretty City sit, that self-destruct button keeps sucking them in like a moth to a flame. A two-goal lead went up in smoke in the space of two minutes before another was endangered by a third red card in as many matches.

The 10 men undoubtedly deserve credit for coming through a thankless 25 minutes after Liam Theakstone made it 4-3, restricting fired-up Sherwood Colliery to one pelt against the post when all around the ground people were too caught up in the drama to retain faith.

But just how long can City keep winning without showing greater authority against lesser lights?

The hosts started brightly and Lee Hughes opened the scoring with a swirling finish inside the far post from Mat Birley’s cross in the 12th minute.

The potential for tempers to flare became apparent when Nathan Hayward found himself at the hub of a bout of pushing and shoving that referee Josh Warren sensibly calmed down without producing a card.

Hughes hit the post and Dave Reynolds was blatantly nudged off the ball by Ricky Starbuck when trying to connect with a far-post header but soon scored himself, stretching to nudge a low reverse pass from George Forsyth past Liam Kerry.

With nothing to lose Colliery went for the throat and when Theakstone's burst was unceremoniously ended by hesitant keeper Matt Gwynne, Ewan Robson did the honours from 12 yards and nerves began to jangle.

Worcester hacked clear a corner in nervous fashion before Starbuck’s curved low ball back into Theakstone saw the striker nip ahead of Alexandru Albert to tuck under the advancing Gwynne.

Within three minutes, City's lead had vanished but a quick burst through the middle released Forsyth down the right and his teasing centre was crashed in by the unmarked Jamie Smith from eight yards.

Reynolds started and finished the move that saw Birley roll Hughes down the left of the box to round Kerry and cut back to his strike partner to restore the two-goal lead six minutes after half-time.

But there was another twist as captain Brad Birch, frustrated by being held back, was sent off for swinging an arm to try to brush off an opponent.

The jitters were back when Steve Sowter played substitute Liam Beardsley down the right and Theakstone was on hand to scramble inside the near post.

All too frequently, Sherwood passed effortlessly through the middle and hearts were in mouths when Theakstone’s shot on the swivel from 25 yards shot came back off Gwynne’s left upright.

To their credit, City battled on and had few scares in the last 20 minutes to see through the job, just not in the style their crowd would have expected.