Ernie Batten’s ‘dream substitution’ did the trick on Sunday as his quadruple chasing Sheppey United side picked up their second trophy of the season.

Michael Hagan and Connor Wilkins were introduced with 15 minutes left of the Kent Senior Trophy final against Hollands & Blair. Sheppey were 1-0 down at the time but Hagan’s first act was to score from a free-kick straight after coming on and Wilkins supplied the cross for Dean Grant to score the 86th-minute winner.

• Report: Sheppey 2 Hollands & Blair 1

Commenting on the substitutions, Batten said: “That is a dream substitution, sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. We asked Michael Hagan to take it. He took one against Sutton the other week and scored a similar goal, he came on as a sub to do that.

“That was his first touch, to curl that one in, and it gave us a platform to go on and win the game.”

Grant then popped up with the winner late on.

“At that stage we were playing a lot better and we started to come alive,” said the Sheppey boss.

“We started to get Jefferson Aibangbee into the game on the right-hand side, we started to get crosses in, when Connor Wilkins came on he gave us a bit of width and played that full-back position well and it was no surprise that Jefferson and Connor linked together for the cross for Deano to turn in at the near post.”

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Southern Counties East Premier Division leaders Sheppey were the favourites to win Sunday’s game at Maidstone’s Gallagher Stadium but Hollands & Blair made a game of it. They took the lead and never made it easy for Batten’s side.

“Full credit to the lads,” said the Sheppey boss. “We dug in and it was a difficult game, as we thought it would be. Hollands & Blair applied themselves really well, made it really tough for us and when they got their lead, it was always going to be tough to turn it around.

“But I have a lot of belief in these players, they seem to find something, you know when you have winners in the changing room and characters when you have situations and face a bit of adversity and they can turn it around like we did it's all credit to our boys.”

Sheppey have already won the delayed 2019/20 Kent Senior Trophy this season before winning it again on Sunday.

They have three games left to try and win the SCEFL Premier Division title and are also in the final of the Challenge Cup.

Batten praised his backroom staff for helping to put the club on course for an historic season.

He said: "This is all your Christmases rolled into one because as a manager you pride yourself on winning football matches and winning trophies.

"You start out as a manager or coach and you are picking up cones and filling up water bottles, you are running around and even sorting nets and corner flags, then it gets a bit better and you get some help and you are building something. The team I have got now, I have never worked with a better or more dedicated group of coaches and assistants and backroom staff than we have now and that really is why we are in this position.

"Nothing is left to chance, the coaching, the dedication from the players, three times a week, we have never missed a session all season, we have come in Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We have gone for all the cups as well, we have never taken our foot off the gas, we have thought, 'let's try and create a bit of history' and we are now in a position where there is a title to be won."