BASILDON United dramatically clinched promotion from the Essex Senior League with a 1-0 win against Redbridge tonight.

A superb last gasp free-kick from Marcus Bowers handed Basildon the three points they needed to secure second spot in the standings.

And boss Marc Harrison felt the manner of the victory summed up the spirit shown by his side this season.

“It’s what we’re about and it’s what I want Basildon United to be,” said Harrison.

“We want a never say die attitude and we had that tonight to achieve what is an unbelievable achievement.

“We’ve had a big step up from Olympian Division One last year and it’s huge but the boys deserve it.

“To be honest, if we got into the top six I would have been really, really pleased.

“We thought even that would be a miracle but we told them to keep believing in the miracle.

“We’ve stuck to the task and we’ve always regrouped whenever a game hasn’t gone our way.”

That ultimately resulted in Basildon’s promotion.

But they were made to wait for the win against Redbridge at the Ho Ho Stadium.

The visitors wasted a golden chance to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time when Brian Moses failed to convert from close range.

And Basildon eventually made the visitors pay when Bowers netted a superbly taken free-kick in the 89th minute of the match.

“Marcus has got that in that locker,” said Harrison.

“He scored a couple of free-kicks against them already but that was absolutely class.

“To be fair Redbridge are a great side, Wakering are fantastic too and so are Romania who have just missed out so it shows just how tough the league is.

“But this is great for local football and we’ll enjoy tonight before we start to think about the Bostik tomorrow.”

Basildon will line up in Bostik North next season.

And they will be heading there on a real high, thanks to Bowers’ fine free-kick.

The crucial goal was the striker’s 34th of the season but he admitted not knowing what to do when it hit the back of the net.

“As soon as I saw it had beat the wall I was thinking it was looking alright but I didn’t know what to do when it went in,” laughed Bowers.

“I think I ran quicker than I’ve ever run before, slid on my bum and then we were in the crowd.

“It’s my favourite ever goal and I can’t see that being beaten for a very long time.”

Bowers curled the 20 yard free-kick into the right hand side of the goal and fancied his chances before even striking the ball.

“I was pretty confident and I wasn’t going to let anyone else take it,” said Bowers.

“When I saw (Redbridge striker) Moses go on the end of the wall I thought well he doesn’t want me to score but I managed to bend it round the wall and it was great to see it fly in.

“It’s been unbelievable but it’s all about the togetherness.

“It’s second to none and it’s pulled us through.

“We haven’t lost to a top seven team all season and it shows how good we are.”

And Bowers was also pleased to be able to repay the faith shown in him by Harrison.

“I was happy he stuck with me because the last few games haven’t been my best and I haven’t had many chances,” said Bowers.

“It was great to hit the back of the net again and to win promotion and the golden boot on the last day.”