Sleaford are safe after win over Radford
Sleaford Town secured their place in UCL Division One next season thanks to a last-day win over Radford on Saturday.
The Greens knew a win was crucial to avoid the drop and so it proved, as failing to have done so would have seen them relegated thanks to results elsewhere.
First half goals from Dion Tansey-Potter and Kyle Onyon gave the Greens a comfortable advantage, only for a late goal from Abdul Bakare to frighten the home fans.
And it was all the more impressive for Sleaford given they were reduced to ten men just six minutes into the game when striker Taylor Gray was sent off, the Greens ultimately doing enough to earn their safety.
Boss Jamie McGhee told the club’s media: “I thought we were really good and it was another game where I felt we should have been three, four, five goals up at half-time.
"It was a case of making sure we didn’t rue the missed chances. The goals we took were really good and we were aggressive and there was no sign of the slow starts we’ve had recently, they were really fighting for the badge and we performed really well.
"We saw the character again when we went down to ten men and given we’d started so positively, nothing actually changed after the sending off.
"We’ve always created chances – it would have been far more worrying if we hadn’t – and today we deserved more than we got in terms of goal returns but it gives you something to work on even though it’s the last game of the season.
"I was happy with how we responded when Radford scored with ten minutes to go as again it came down to the magnitude of today and the fact the lads knew what was at stake and knew they weren’t going to get beaten today regardless of who they were playing.
"The players have grown up a lot over the last few weeks and their character and mentality has changed somewhat, so I’m chuffed for the club and for the lads as they deserved it today.
"I’ve said from the start that we’ve got a good bunch of lads here who just needed confidence and it’s our job to get that – we’ve tried things each week and it’s all come together and that’s what has got us the results in the last few weeks.”