A last-minute penalty by Roscoe D'Sane earned Aldershot three vital points at Meadow Park on Monday night and kept them top of the Ryman League going into two crucial home games in the space of four days.
The two matches hold special significance for Aldershot who, with a game in hand, lead by just one point after St Albans' 4-2 victory at Sutton on Tuesday.
George Borg, Aldershot's former mercurial manager, is on the coaching staff at Billericay, who visit the Rec on Saturday, and the fifth-placed Essex side should present a tough challenge for the injury-hit Shots side.
In-form Hayes, the former club of Aldershot manager Terry Brown, are Tuesday's opponents.
Aldershot, frankly, were fortunate to win on Monday, but Brown deserves credit for his bold tactics when the game seemed to be drifting towards a goalless draw.
Only the inspired goalkeeping of Nikki Bull, who misses the Billericay match through suspension, had kept Aldershot in contention.
But with barely 10 minutes left, Brown threw on Michael Harper and Jamie Taylor and the youngsters gave Aldershot an extra edge in the final stages.
It was the pacy Taylor who was brought down inside the box, giving D'Sane the chance to calmly convert the penalty and steal all three points from an aggrieved Boreham Wood.
"It was a gamble, but I feel that winning a point is like losing two," said Brown. "Boreham Wood deserved something from the game because they peppered our goal for the last 20 minutes and Nikki Bill was certainly man of the match."
Bull's outstanding form protected an Aldershot defence weakened by the absence of Karl Ready and Jason Cousins. And the visitors suffered another setback when Nick Roddis had to go off injured before half-time.
Fortunately for his side, Dominic Sterling was at his best in central defence and, with a dogged and resilient performance, Aldershot battled their way through.
The lively D'Sane came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half, hitting the bar with a bullet-like shot.
But Boreham gave it a real go in the second half, hitting the woodwork themselves and bringing a string of fine saves from the hard-worked Bull.
His close-range parry from Brian Jones was a save right out of the top drawer. There followed a vital double save from Corey Brown, who was also just wide with a volley.
But the late penalty left the home side distraught as Aldershot picked up six points in three days.
Aldershot: Bull, Hooper (Harper 79 mins), Chewins, Gell, Sterling, A Charles, Roddis (L Charles 37 mins), Holsgrove, Moody (Taylor 79 mins), D'Sane, Buckle. Subs (not used) Lauder-Dyke (g/k), Kuhl.