Corby Town 1
Waltham Forest 0
(South'rn Lge Div 1 East)

WALTHAM Forest couldn't stop Corby Town from clinching promotion to the Southern League Premier Division as their own play-off hopes went up in smoke in front of a 1,300 crowd.

Forest needed to beat their second-placed hosts and hope that Wivenhoe would slip up if they were to sneak into the last play-off place.

But Corby bagged the win they needed through Kevin Byrne's tenth minute goal.

Stags boss Hakan Ramis-Hayrettin employed an attacking mentality but it was Corby who started the better.

Forest would have been disappointed with their defending because Jamie Clarke was allowed to feed Byrne too easily, and his 30-yard daisy cutter crept into the corner of the net.

But Forest recovered from their slow start and on the half-hour Jermain Hughes had an effort cleared off the line whenhome keeper Darren Watts couldn't deal with Wesley Thomas' header. Another good move five minutes later saw Thomas take the wing man's role and send over a ball which Hughes got to first but sent the ball just over the crossbar.

Simon Tickner met a corner at the far post but failed to steer his header towards goal shortly afterwards as Forest continued to press.

Corby were fortunate to reach the interval with their lead intact.

Stags responded by bringing on Leon McKenzie, Danny Clarke and Mbyiye Medine, but still they could not find a way through, with Watts blocking Hughes' point-blank shot with the final kick.

Ramis-Hayrettin said: "We've had a team this year with an average age of 18 or 19 and it's been wonderful to see how well the youngsters who have come into the club and the ones who were already here have done.

"It's been a fantastic season, what with winning the Essex Senior Cup and making progress in the league, but we ran out of steam a little towards the end."