Dover striker Ruben Soares-Junior defied his manager’s orders by scoring a Panenka penalty to win promotion.

Ice-cool Soares-Junior confidently beat Dartford keeper Jacob Marsden from the penalty spot to put his side on the path to a 2-0 victory in the Isthmian Premier play-off final at Dartford.

But he was told by Dover boss Jake Leberl before the play-off campaign, with potential shoot-outs in mind, not to try anything clever if he had to take a spot-kick.

“Jake told me not to do it a week and a half ago,” smiled Soares-Junior. “Worst case scenario, when it comes to the semi-final of the play-offs or the final, if you've got a penalty, he told me not to do that.

“I just told him, you don't know me then! I just told him in training, you don't know me.

“We got the penalty on Monday and I was thinking what a chance for me to do it. I'm glad it went in the back of the net but I was always confident it was going in.”

It must have taken nerves of steel for Soares-Junior to produce the Panenka with so much on the line.

But he was keen not to let the occasion get to him.

“The way I was thinking was that this is just another game,” revealed the 25-year-old. “I said it to the boys, from the moment we started the warm-up, I felt no pressure.

“The vibe before the game was amazing, the warm-up was quality and when we got on the pitch, as long as we did what we normally do, I knew we’d end up winning the game.”

It was all about desire as far as Soares-Junior and his team-mates were concerned.

“The play-offs are a completely different game,” said Soares-Junior, mindful Dartford had beaten Dover in the league at Princes Park only a few weeks earlier.

“It's a completely different type of mindset. It's not about how good you play, but how much you actually want it.

“Do you know what I mean? You've got to run the extra. You've got to make sure you're there to support your team-mates no matter what.

“If there are any mistakes made, you've got to make sure that you get your team-mates out of the mud.

“Every single player in the team made sure they ran for each other. We got the promotion, we worked hard the whole season for this feeling that we’ve got now.”

Soares-Junior counts Tonbridge, Folkestone and Billericay among his former clubs.

But he’s found a home at Dover and has enjoyed arguably the best campaign of his career.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I would say it’s one of the best seasons I've had so far.

“The changing room is amazing. Even when things were going against us, the boys took it together. No one ever tried to drag anyone down. We were all pulling each other out, even when things got tough.

Read more: Dartford 0-2 Dover Athletic match report

“The management always told us not to worry, because in a season you're going to go through spells where you're not going to do that well. But it's about how you come out and you perform afterwards.

“It’s been a dream season and winning the play-offs has topped it all off.”