A last-minute penalty saved Lordswood from relegation in a thrilling finish to the season last Saturday.

Boss Richard Dimmock admitted he couldn’t watch as Dominic Wynter-Stephens scored from the spot to make it 1-1 against Holmesdale.

Elsewhere, relegation rivals Rusthall were in a ding-dong battle with Erith & Belvedere as their match finished 4-4 after trading last-minute goals.

Both teams were trying to avoid finishing second from bottom in the Southern Counties East Premier Division. Although Lords couldn’t climb up a place and finished in a relegation spot, their record among fellow step five teams is enough to save them from the drop.

Vacancies in the football pyramid meant that 12 second- from-bottom teams at step five level, from the 16 leagues, would receive a reprieve from relegation. The four with the worst points-per-game average would go down.

A record of 0.632 points per game for Lords bettered Essex League side St Margaretsbury’s 0.625, leaving them safe.

Dimmock had been appointed in December with the sole task of avoiding relegation and it’s mission achieved after the weekend point.

Dimmock said: “It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

“There were five minutes to go, 1-0 down, I sent both centre-halves up front, we had four or five up front. We hit the bar and I turned around and said ‘it isn’t going to happen’ but then there was a handball and a penalty and for the first time in my life I didn’t watch.

“My ticker was going, when I saw the bench jump up I was like, ‘oh, what a touch!’ and then I heard that Rusthall had gone 4-3 up and I threw everyone up.”

Dimmock knew his team could still be safe on points per game, but nothing was certain. Only a win would guarantee it. Bettering Rusthall’s result would have meant leapfrogging them.

Lordswood hit the bar at 1-1 and also the post before a club committee member informed Dimmock their draw was enough.

“I asked, ‘you definitely sure?’” he said. “The linesman said there was a minute left and I got everyone back into our normal formation.

“Defeat would have changed it all. When the final whistle went I just collapsed, it has been so tiring, mentally, over the last month for me, my No.2 and Jason [Long] our coach.

“We got into the bar, sat at a table and we just mentally could not move. It has been unbelievable, but well worth it.”

The Holmesdale goalkeeper went the right way, but couldn’t keep out Wynter-Stephens’ spot-kick.

He’s a player Dimmock dropped earlier in the season, but had come back strong during the run-in.

Dimmock said: “He wasn’t doing it enough for me in certain games, so I dropped him. He

had a week’s break, he went away.

“To be fair, he came back and for the last month he has been unplayable. He came back a different person, he was phenomenal in the last four weeks, four in four, and I said to him he has to continue that next season now.”

By Monday morning Dimmock still hadn’t allowed himself to watch the penalty.

He said: “The players worked their socks off in the second half. They got what they deserved at the end of the day; the last four or five months have been absolutely so hard.

“I went into the boardroom after the game and said, ‘I told you I would do the job!’.

“A few of them thought we were down and out (when Dimmock was appointed) and should be getting ready for next season.

“It’s been five months of hard work and it has paid off!”