Some of the gloss may have been taken off their promotion by Loughton's no-show for the big showdown on Saturday, but there is no disguising Rayleigh Wyverns' achievement in finishing as Three South runners-up.

"We have proved all season that we deserve to go up and it's quite fitting to win promotion on the weekend of the London Marathon as it's been a long haul and you do not finish in the top two by luck," said spokesman Adam Moss.

"We have performed consistently all year and all the players should be proud of their achievement.

"They are the first to take the club up in our 30-year history and that's no mean feat.

"We hope the club can build on this success and go from strength to strength."

Moss admitted the players were disappointed they did not get a chance to seal promotion on the pitch against the team who finished third -- and could have gone up themselves if they had won --but cried off at the 11th hour.

Published Tuesday, April 15, 2003

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