WHITEHAWK’S title celebrations were put on hold when one of their former players bagged a late winner.

The Hawks needed to beat St Francis Rangers to secure their first County League title since 1984.

A draw would have been enough if second-placed Peacehaven dropped points, which looked like happening as they went into stoppage time 2-2 at home to Crowborough.

Whitehawk had already drawn 1-1 with St Francis but then Ashley Rees, who had a spell with Hawks last season, bagged a late winner for Peacehaven.

Peacehaven joint boss Terry Hall said: “I had a call from Whitehawk and they had the champagne on ice. Their game was already over and they were waiting to celebrate but we had a stoppage because the referee lost a contact lens and then Ashley hit a late winner.”

It was a great result for Peacehaven who trailed 2-0 with 21 minutes remaining, only for goals from Tom Levitt and Wes Millis to set up a thrilling finale.

Hawks are still almost certain to be crowned champions at home to Redhill on Saturday but Hall is delighted to be pushing them all the way.

He said: “We will keep it going as long as possible. It is a big compliment to us considering we came up from division two last year.

“The work-ethic of our players is tremendous and our average age is about 23. They have been under a lot of pressure in the last month but will come out better for it.”

Hawks trailed at the interval to a goal from Jamie Weston. Marc Whiteman levelled early in the second half with a 20-yard cracker but they could not force a winner despite a late chance for substitute Sam Crabb.

Joint boss George Parris said: “We are disappointed because we could have won it but it is another point and it’s still in our hands.

“We are so close now and I would be more worried if we had all those games left and we still had to win them all.”

Crawley Down came back from 3-1 down to win 5-3 at home to Eastbourne United and manager Darren Guirey is still chasing a top six finish.

Goals from Steve Dallaway (two) and Brad Manton put the reigning champions in control but the Anvils took the points through Tony Reid (two), Nick Sullivan, Sacha M’Baye and an own goal.

Scott Tipper (two) and Russell Hardwell got the goals as Arundel came from behind to win 3-1 at Three Bridges.

Dan Bassil and Clinton Moore (penalty) put Wick 2-0 up at Lingfield but Simon Wallace hit a brace in reply to snatch a point.

Pagham eased their relegation fears and left Hailsham still in danger of the drop after Michael Frangou scored the only goal on 44 minutes.

The result left Hailsham second from bottom and sweating on how many clubs come up from division two. Pagham are six points clear of Hailsham but boss Dave Berkovitz is not relaxing yet.

He said: “It was an important result, especially with Grinstead winning too. We battled more than anything else but we hit the bar twice and deserved it overall.

“Even if only two go down we want to finish out of the bottom three to get rid of any doubt and I think we need another four points from our last three games.”

East Grinstead are five points ahead of Hailsham after they won their third game in a row at Shoreham courtesy of an own goal ten minutes from time.

Assistant manager Dave Kelly missed a late penalty as Chichester had to settle for a draw at home to Ringmer.

Mark Price gave Ringmer the lead on the stroke of half-time but Chichester levelled thanks to an own goal straight after the break before 49-year-old Kelly hit the post from the spot after coming on as a sub.

Boss Adie Girdler said: “Dave wouldn’t normally have taken a penalty but we let him because the season is nearly over.”

Tashan Nicholas scored his first goal for two years to earn Redhill a point in a rollercoaster game at home to Selsey. The visitors led through Matthew Collins but Redhill were 2-1 in front with 15 minutes to go thanks to goals from Marcus Elliott and an own goal. Collins bagged his second and Rob Wimble looked to have sealed it for Selsey with two minutes to go only for Nicholas to strike at the death.

Redhill boss Marcus Alcindor said: “It was a good game for the spectator but not for me.”