Wingate & Finchley’s hopes of grabbing a place in the Ryman League Premier Division play-offs were ended on Saturday as they were defeated 2-0 by relegation battlers VCD Athletic.

The Blues were just two points outside the top five at the start of the month, but they have lost their last three games and have dropped to 13th place with two games to play.

Michael Power headed the hosts into a 10th-minute lead and, although Wingate dominated for 15 minutes after the break with Harrison Georgiou forcing a superb save and hitting the post, Power made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the last minute.

The Blues’ director of football David Norman said: “For the first time this season I felt the majority of the players let themselves down – the basic core principles which have made it a fantastic season were lacking.

“I felt they looked for excuses and did not work hard enough. Having said that, they have been a credit to themselves and the club for the whole year. We now aim to finish as high as possible and both myself and Danny [Nielsen, the head coach] will be looking for a reaction on Saturday against Bognor Regis.”