BASINGSTOKE Town manager Jason Bristow believes that his side can overturn a one-goal deficit to beat Dartford and reach the Blue Square Bet South play-off final.

The Dragons were the better side for long periods of the first leg at the Camrose on Wednesday night but were beaten by Lee Noble’s fine strike just before the break.

The second leg will take place at Dartford’s Princes Park on Sunday (kick-off 3pm) and while they are underdogs, Bristow says anything is still possible.

“I still believe, maybe even more than I did before the game,” he said. “We have come off disappointed but we know that we caused them problems.

“We are still in it. That is the most important thing. We are disappointed not to be more in it than we are but the tie is certainly not over. They will not take us lightly on Sunday and it will be interesting to see how they approach it.”

Dartford made a fast start but Town grew into the game and were the dominant side throughout the second half. However, they were unable get find the breakthrough, with Shaun McAuley guilty of missing a guilt-edged chance.

“We had a great chance but it was difficult conditions and the ball was skipping off the surface,” Bristow added. “We cannot blame Shaun for that because he worked his socks off and it would be typical if he popped up and got us a goal on Sunday.

“We are disappointed to have lost, which is a big positive because they finished second in the league and are a strong side. We have come off thinking that we should have got at least a draw, which shows how far we have come.”

A crowd of 1,691 packed into the Camrose for the game, creating an excellent atmosphere.

Bristow said: “The fans have been fantastic leading up to this and it makes us want it even more because we know we have got the support if we do make the step up. Nights like this are special and the atmosphere was amazing.”

Log on to basingstokegazette.co.uk/sport for live updates from Princes Park on Sunday - and see The Monday Gazette for a full report and all of the reaction.