Yes! Hayden Bird, penalty hero Matt York and Simon Cooper celebrate Carshalton Athletic's survival Andy Nunn
Hayden Bird admitted he was an emotional wreck after Carshalton Athletic staged a miraculous final-day escape to avoid relegation.
The Robins' 2-0 triumph over play-off hopefuls Tonbridge Angels on Saturday - coupled with Ramsgate's 5-0 thrashing of Boreham Wood - saw Carshalton avoid the drop from Ryman League Premier Division on goal difference.
And boss Bird revealed his pride at his side's survival.
He said: "It was totally amazing - an incredible game.
"The boys were absolutely superb from start to finish.
"To a man, they were exceptional.
advertisement
"It was the most tense 90 minutes I have ever been involved in and the most relieved I have ever been at a final whistle."
An early Matt York penalty and a last-minute clincher from Dean Carpenter set the Robins on their way to victory and, as news from Ramsgate filtered through, cue the celebrations at Colston Avenue.
Bird said: "The players felt like they had won the league at the end of the game.
"To see so many happy faces after the match was tremendous.
"To think that clubs have been relegated on 50 points is unbelievable."
Bird will now set about a summer review of his squad as they look to build next season.
And he admits that further struggles next campaign are unlikely to be tolerated.
Bird added: "We have to make sure that we are never in this position again.
"I will have a good pre-season with the squad and the continued development of our young players is a real bonus.
"We were not certain what division we were going to be in but now we can look forward.
"I am confident that good times are ahead for Carshalton Athletic.
"We want to be celebrating again at the end of next season - but this time for the right reasons."
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
