BROMSGROVE Sporting secured their Step Three status for another season despite slipping to a 4-2 defeat against Stourbridge.
An early strike from Tyrone Barnett put the home side ahead only for goals from Jamie Meddows and Aaron Roberts to put Sporting ahead at the break.
However, Ethan Freemantle drew Stourbridge level just past the hour mark.
And late goals from Freemantle and Barnett condemned the Rouslers to defeat in what could be the last-ever game at Stourbridge’s War Memorial Athletic Ground due to safety concerns.
Results elsewhere mean Sporting will play in the Southern League Premier Division Central again next season with the Rouslers five points above the drop with one game left to play.
And Sporting boss Scott Adey-Linforth believes his side defied the odds to stay in the division with the club five points adrift of safety following Paul Smith’s departure in November.
Adey-Linforth said: “We conceded four sloppy goals, you can’t go and concede four goals in a game of football.
“The defending was atrocious, if you concede four goals you don’t deserve to win a game of football.
“I don’t really know how to act, I’m very annoyed we’ve lost the game but on the whole we’ve done it.
“That’s the big picture, we’ve stayed in the league, no one gave us a chance of staying up this year and we’ve achieved that.
“It’s been some effort by the group, the group have worked so hard, I can’t praise them enough.”
Stourbridge broke the deadlock on 18 minutes when Barnett deftly guided a low cross from the left into the bottom right corner.
However, Sporting equalised on 31 minutes after Billy Shaw won possession just outside the Stourbridge penalty area before finding Meddows who poked a shot past Lewys Benjamin.
And the visitors completed the turnaround two minutes before half time when Roberts headed in Shaw’s corner from the left from close range at the back post.
Stourbridge drew level on 61 minutes as Freemantle turned home a loose ball in the box after Sporting failed to deal with a high, hanging, cross into the box.
And Freemantle struck again six minutes from time after the ball ricocheted kindly into his path six-yards from goal.
The home side sealed the points two minutes later when Barnett forced a header past Charlie Price.
That came after Sporting won 3-0 against already-relegated Biggleswade Town at the Victoria Ground on Good Friday.
An early goal from Meddows put Sporting in front before Theo Robinson scored a second-half brace to make sure of the points.
