WALTHAM Abbey FC will play Ryman Premier football next season after they triumphed in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.

A whole season of hard work boiled down to spot-kicks on Saturday against Concord Rangers in the Division One play-off final.

After a tough 1-1 draw, Abbey’s players held their nerve at their Capershotts home to win 5-4 and take the club to the highest level it has ever been.

Captain Lee White has been at the heart of Abbey’s promotion campaign in defence.

He hailed ‘the greatest achievement in the club’s history’.

He said: “I’m still up in the air and it’s still sinking in. For the club and myself it’s absolutely massive. If you asked a couple of years ago whether the club could get this high up, I would have said no. Everyone should be proud.”

It means that Abbey are now first among equals in the area, and have bragging rights over derby rivals.

Harlow Town have been relegated from the Ryman Premier and will pass Abbey on the way down.

Enfield Town did not mount a promotion challenge so stay in Division One North, as do Leyton and Waltham Forest.

White said: “We have always been in the shadow of Enfield Town and Harlow, but now it’s a new era and we are going to enjoy it and hopefully stay up.”

The Ryman Premier is on step three of the football pyramid, three promotions away from the football league.

White said: “It’s the next level up. It’s where we set our goals. Now it’s a case of enjoying the experience. We are going to a new level and we’ll need to step up. Fitness will be a big thing.”

The score was 1-1 at full time.

Abbey had fallen behind early in the second half to a goal by Fabien Batchelor, after having squandered chances to take the lead in the opening 45 minutes.

But Harry Elmes rescued the game for Abbey on 78 minutes, when he struck a pearler of a shot into the top corner from the far edge of the 18 yard box. It was a goal worthy of the occasion.

Extra time did not produce a winner, and Abbey keeper Harry Hayward made himself the hero of the hour by saving Rangers’ first and last penalty kicks.

Mayor of Waltham Abbey, cllr Stuart Pryde attended the game as mayor and left as a fan. Now he wants the community to support the club next season.

“It was fantastic,” said mayor Pryde. “The team should be very proud. I did not know what to expect at first, but by the end I was standing and shouting them on.”