Sheppey United striker Dan Bradshaw joined VCD Athletic on a dual registration deal to play in their SCEFL Premier Division play-off games and scored a last-minute winner against Fisher in the final
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