Sheppey United striker Dan Bradshaw came off the bench to score VCD Athletic’s winner in their play-off promotion final on Monday night.

Bradshaw had signed dual registration forms for VCD before the transfer deadline and did exactly what he was signed to do for the Southern Counties East Premier Division side.

With the promotion final against Fisher in the balance at 1-1, Bradshaw was sent on from the bench with a simple message: ‘Go and get us the winner!’ He did just that, scoring in the last minute of the game.

His only other VCD appearance came off the bench in the semi-final against Punjab United days earlier.

In total, he’d played just 36 minutes for VCD - but what an impact!

Bradshaw said: “I was never going to join VCD during the season, but they asked about a dual reg if they got into the play-offs, and I was happy to do that.

“It was lined up, and I knew that I was on their books, but it wasn't until Faversham won the league that I thought: ‘Alright, play-offs, brilliant!’

“I knew a few players there like Liam Gillies and Andy Walker, the goalkeeper, from playing together at Chatham, and there were others I’d played against and knew of, like Ollie Freeman.

“It's quite hard going into a squad where you know zero people and they've specifically brought you in for play-off reasons. You think, ‘Am I going to tread on people's toes?’ But they were a good bunch of lads to be fair.

“They knew who I was and they were happy to have me there, which was nice. It was a better experience than I thought it was going to be.

“I'm glad I made an impact because the semi-final (against Punjab) was dead and buried by the time I was on. They basically brought me on to just be a big presence up front. They weren't really looking for goals or anything like that.

“But on Monday, the manager just said, ‘Go and win us the game’. I was like, ‘Well, I'll do my best’.”

Bradshaw was in the right place at the right time after the Fisher keeper parried Lee Bird’s shot, the predatory striker doing what he does best.

“I’ve made my career out of goals like that,” he said. “I felt sorry for the goalkeeper, to be fair. The ball came to him quicker than I thought at the time, and it was a hard one for him. He palmed it out, I thought, ‘Come on, mate, you couldn't have picked a worst player!’ It's just unfortunate where he put it.

“I'd made that run and no one was around me. All I had to do was stick it in the net.”

VCD’s 2-1 win meant they were promoted to the Isthmian South East - where they will play against Sheppey United next season.

Bradshaw loved the winning feeling but was keen to emphasise the hard work that the VCD players had put in before his small, but significant, contribution.

He said: “They've done the work the whole year to get there and they just brought me in to do a job. I've done that job.

“It's not really my thing to nick other people's thunder. I didn't really like it.

“I've never played the play-offs and it was enjoyable. There was a decent crowd and it has that cup final sort of feeling to it. If you lose, that's it, you're done.

“I had a couple of drinks after and I was like: ‘Right, I'm going to leave you boys to it. I'm out’. It was getting a bit messy!

“For me, it was a great way to end the season.”