BOSS Alan Lay praised Swanage’s persistence in grabbing a late victory at Hamworthy United – but admitted his side had benefited from a slice of luck.

Swans struck twice in the final six minutes to settle an action-packed clash at the County Ground but it was the nature of the visitors’ second goal that caused a stir.

With the score at 1-1 after Hammers striker Dan Manuel had seen his first-half opener cancelled out by Graeme Rose, Ben Harding put Swanage in front with a quickly-taken free kick while United were still preparing for the set piece.

Hamworthy levelled with a deflected free kick but Josh Reavenall-Nuete restored the advantage with a tidy volley before substitute Carl White’s curled effort from 25 yards settled the contest.

“They were a bit unlucky with our free kick,” said Lay. “Their keeper said he was told (by the referee) to wait for the whistle while our lads were told they could take a quick one.

“Ben has still put it in the top corner of the net, though, and it was one of four stunning goals.

"At 2-2, time was running out but it was great to see the lads retain that confidence in their ability right to the end. Ultimately, that belief won us the game.

“It was a difficult pitch to play on and the most pleasing thing was the fitness and application of the players. We might have drawn or even ended up losing that game this time last season.”

Swanage sit seventh in the table with four wins from eight matches and Lay remains optimistic his side can make an impression on the top five this season.

He added: “We have been pretty inconsistent so far and that represents our biggest challenge but the players stuck to the task and reaped their rewards.

“Having finished seventh last season we would like to progress and push into that top five. That has to be the aim as well as enjoying a couple of cup runs if we can.”

Meanwhile, Lay was complimentary about Hammers’ new-look reserve side and predicted that Shane Traynor’s youngsters would flourish with experience.

“They remind of what we were like last season,” said Lay. “They have had a slow start but you could see they had good, technical players and will win games this season.”

Swans: Taylor, Watson, Harding, Corby, Stratford, Richards (Parrott, 70), Robinson, Harvey (White, 70), Reavenall-Nuete, Woods (Wells, 65), Rose.