Ruben Soares-Junior explains why he scored a Panenka penalty in Dover Athletic’s 2-0 Isthmian Premier play-off final win at Dartford

Dover striker Ruben Soares-Junior defied his manager’s orders by scoring a Panenka penalty to win promotion.

Ice-cool Soares-Junior confidently beat Dartford keeper Jacob Marsden from the penalty spot to put his side on the path to a 2-0 victory in the Isthmian Premier play-off final at Dartford.

But he was told by Dover boss Jake Leberl before the play-off campaign, with potential shoot-outs in mind, not to try anything clever if he had to take a spot-kick.

“Jake told me not to do it a week and a half ago,” smiled Soares-Junior. “Worst case scenario, when it comes to the semi-final of the play-offs or the final, if you've got a penalty, he told me not to do that.

“I just told him, you don't know me then! I just told him in training, you don't know me.

“We got the penalty on Monday and I was thinking what a chance for me to do it. I'm glad it went in the back of the net but I was always confident it was going in.”

It must have taken nerves of steel for Soares-Junior to produce the Panenka with so much on the line.

But he was keen not to let the occasion get to him.

“The way I was thinking was that this is just another game,” revealed the 25-year-old. “I said it to the boys, from the moment we started the warm-up, I felt no pressure.

“The vibe before the game was amazing, the warm-up was quality and when we got on the pitch, as long as we did what we normally do, I knew we’d end up winning the game.”

It was all about desire as far as Soares-Junior and his team-mates were concerned.

“The play-offs are a completely different game,” said Soares-Junior, mindful Dartford had beaten Dover in the league at Princes Park only a few weeks earlier.

“It's a completely different type of mindset. It's not about how good you play, but