By Taimour Lay

Kingstonian got back to winning ways in the Ryman Premier League at the sixth attempt, beating Lewes 2-1 at the Dripping Pan.

But it was a win not lacking in controversy as Paul Vines's injury time winner was allowed to stand despite there being two Lewes players lying stricken in their own penalty area.

The referee chose to see the aerial challenges from the striker that left the players grounded as fair physicality rather than foul play.

And when, in the final attack of the game, the ball was cleared desperately off the line, it fell to Vines who sent a 20-yard rebound header into the back of the net to seal the win.

Cue pandemonium behind the goal as the Lewes keeper Kieron Thorpe and defender Lewis Hamilton remained injured and out the game.

Manager Alan Dowson said he was happy to be the beneficiary of permissive refereeing after a season of red cards and near-misses.

He said: “We said before kick-off ‘get some balls in’. But, yes, I’ve seen fouls given for that.

"If I was their manager I wouldn’t be happy. But don’t mention ‘luck’ to me after how our season’s gone.”

Ks had taken a first-half lead after another piece of Vines muscle that left Lewes fans fuming.

The tattooed bulldog owner is in fact one of the league’s more skilful strikers but it was sheer strength in his leap that led to Thorpe spilling the ball to Matt Pattison who stroked it home from 15 yards.

The home side equalised on the hour through Nathan Crabb and threatened to get the winner before the late introduction of Wade Small started to give Ks the edge in difficult conditions.

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” read the slogan on Lewes’s match-day posters outside the train station on Saturday.

The Rooks have attracted national attention for their imaginative marketing.

A quote from Thomas Paine’s pamphlet on revolutionary crisis could not have been more apt for a Ks team who had lost their previous five league matches and whose slip into mid-table had been the cause of so much anguish before kick-off.

Dowson said: “I’ve got to mention the supporters. As soon as we came out, we saw them in the corner and on the far side. That’s what makes Kingston special.

"Other things can be a problem – not having our own ground, trying to compete all the time is difficult – but things like that do make the club what it is, when a group of supporters come down and shout and scream and everybody hears them.”

As the players celebrated with as much surprise as joy, it seemed as if the season was suddenly alive again.

Fifth place is now nine points away and  Ks have three games in hand on Canvey Island.

One of those is tonight (Monday) at home to Lowestoft Town before Enfield Town visit on Wednesday.