MARCELLO FERNANDES has warned his Hampton & Richmond Borough team-mates their job is only half done.

The Beavers have one foot in next Thursday’s Blue Square South play-off final after Tuesday night’s 3-1 semi-final first leg win at Chelmsford.

The Essex side now have to put three goals past last year’s losing finalists at Beveree on Saturday to stand a chance of knocking them out.

But Hampton’s South African defender Fernandes is not taking progress for granted.

He said: "There’s still a lot of hard work to do, the talk in the dressing room was it’s only half-time in this tie.

"But we gave a solid performance which should see us through."

Hampton will have to complete the job without striker Ian Hodges, who misses the second leg after his red card at Chelmsford.

The former Slough frontman was booked for taking his shirt off after scoring Hampton’s third goal with seven minutes left, then shown a second yellow for a foul in injury time.

Fernandes said: "Ian just got caught up in the moment for his first yellow, and I think it was a bit harsh to show him a second.

"But it’s a chance for Kieran Knight to come in, who has done very well for us when he’s been given a job to do.

"It may work in our favour anyway as Ian tends to flick the ball on while Kieran holds it up, which is what we’ll need in the second leg."

Hampton’s other two goals were scored by Lawrence Yaku in an eight-minute spell either side of half-time.

In each case, the 35-year-old striker outpaced much younger defenders to through balls, much to the delight of skipper Dean Wells.

He said: "I don’t know how Yaks does it, he’s unplayable at times. If he was 10 years younger and someone took a gamble, who knows how far he’d go."

Wells agreed with Fernandes that the tie’s not over yet, however, saying: "We won’t be complacent, we know what they’re about."

Centre-back Wells had to take over in goal last Saturday in Hampton’s last league game of the season, a 3-0 win at Maidenhead in which Yaku got another brace against his old club and Fernandes also notched.

He donned the gloves after Matt Lovett was sent off for what it seems was an accidental punch on a Maidenhead player as he tried to fist the ball clear.

However, the Beavers will appeal the red card. And even if it not successful, Lovett’s ban will not kick into next season.

Wells added: "It’s not the first time I’ve gone in goal, I always bring my keepers’ gloves with me just in case."

Chelmsford’s scorer, Dave Rainford, will also miss the second leg after being sent off.

If Hampton progress, they will host the final at Beveree rather than travelling to a neutral ground like last season, when they lost 2-0 to Eastbourne Borough at Stevenage.