MARK Jermyn’s winner against Farnborough on Saturday may have only served to delay the inevitable in the Magpies’ battle to avoid the drop – but manager Phil Simkin and his men aren’t giving up hope just yet.

The Dorchester captain powered in a 79th-minute header to give his side a 1-0 win at the Avenue and a stay of execution in Skrill South.

Their destiny could be sealed tomorrow night when they host Hayes & Yeading (7.45pm), though a repeat of Saturday’s heroics, made better by other results going their way, might prolong their hopes of staying up.

And although the odds are stacked heavily against them, there is always a chance, until it is mathematically impossible, that they could pull off one of the great escape acts.

“We’ve done all we can to take it to another game,” said Simkin. “If anyone had said to me last August we’d have got 30 points I’d have said they were mad.

“You’ve got to hand it to the lads with what they’ve been through. They are still putting a shift in and in Farnborough we’ve beaten a good side.

“It’s just nice to win a game. Everybody thought we were going to lie down and go out with a whimper, but I knew it wouldn’t be like that.

“Who knows, we might go on a run now and not lose another game – it’s happened before.

“There’s still a chance of getting out of it.”

Simkin knows his side rode their luck at times on Saturday – the visitors hit the woodwork on three occasions – but he feels his men have been due a touch of good fortune.

Commenting on the game, he added: “I thought we passed the ball really well in the first half.

“They put us under pressure in the second half and they’ve got some really good attacking players.

“We had to defend very hard and I thought Nathan Walker was immense.

“I thought the quality of the corner for the goal was absolutely superb. Jem timed his run perfectly and it was a picture book goal.

“I’m really delighted and pleased for the boys. They put in a really good shift and we got what we deserved.”

Unfortunately, the Magpies won’t have either Warren Byerley or Jamie Gleeson for the last few matches of the campaign.

Byerley’s loan from Poole Town has come to an end and Gleeson’s knee injury has been diagnosed as a ligament problem.

Dorchester are seven points behind Tonbridge Angels and nine adrift of Maidenhead and Hayes & Yeading at the bottom of the table.