Garry Haylock blamed Hayes & Yeading United's 4-1 defeat at Cambridge United on a combination of fatigue and their luckless pre-match preparation. The squad missed their pre-match lunch and were restricted to a shortened warm-up at at the Abbey Stadium after the team coach suffered a puncture on the M6 en route to the game.

Several players and members of the back-room staff were picked up by the supporter's coach while the others arrived via the cars of club directors.

However, it was clear from the first whistle which side had played two Blue Square Premier fixtures in midweek as the U's swept into a two goal half time lead.

“The best team won,” admitted United manager Haylock. “As a part-time team we only train twice a week and have not been able to do that this week as we have played games.

“You do not get the fitness in and on top of that we have had a blow out on the motorway on the way here. We never had a proper warm up and people were all over the place.

“We try and prepare professionally and we had a restaurant booked for 12pm but could not make it. It is a bad day but in the bigger picture with other results (going our way) we are now mathematically safe.

“To be safe with a week of the season to go is fantastic. Nobody outside of the club expected that to happen, nobody gave us a chance. I have still got four or five articles from different experts saying we were certainties to go down.”

Haylock was delighted with his team's second half display, barring the final 15 minutes, as they made a fist of things after a torrid first 45 minutes.

“If you take away the last 15 minutes the second half was a decent performance,” he added. “We were awful in the first half. We felt sorry for ourselves, did not get close and they could have scored three or four.

“But we have had a one-on-one, hit the post in the first half and how the referee has not given us a penalty at the end when their goalkeeper took out our guy from behind I just do not know.”