Team manager Paul Oppe insists Thames Valley Harriers can still win promotion despite Saturday’s fifth-placed finish at Abingdon.
With one match to go, Harriers are third in the table and still in with a chance of securing the second promotion spot that would take them into Division One.
Herne Hill look certain to win the league, while second-placed Basingstoke are only one point ahead of Harriers, who are level on points with Exeter.
It means that beating both Basingstoke and Exeter in the final match in Derby on 27 August would take Harriers up.
“It’s crystal clear what we have to do in Derby; we need to beat Basingstoke and Exeter and we’ve managed that already this year,” said Oppe.
“It will be an all-out effort from everyone and I am confident in the abilities of our team to do the business on the day.”
An injury-hit Harriers team still produced some excellent individual performances at the weekend.
They included a new league record for reigning British Universities 100 metres champion Nigel Thomas, who ran 10.47 seconds to shave one hundredth of a second from club-mate Toby Sandeman’s previous league record.
Lee Mahon and Lloyd King both put in solid performances in the 400 metres, running 50.29 and 50.36 for seventh and fifth place respectively.
The 400 metres hurdles saw the welcome return to the team of Eddie Betts, who now lives in Spain but agreed to compete on Saturday and will also feature in the all-important decider in Derby.
This post was last modified on 14/12/2011