Alan Dowson labelled keeper Rob Tolfrey a hero after helping secure what the Kingstonian boss described as the result of the season on Monday night.

Tolfrey saved a spot-kick in a 1-0 win over Ashford Town (Mddx) at Kingsmeadow to stretch his side’s unbeaten run to four matches after Saturday’s 2-2 draw a play-off chasing Wealdstone.

Dowson was forced to name injured stars Luke I’Anson and Rob Sheridan on the bench, while Matt Gray, Mo Harkin and Max Hustwick all battled through the game nursing knocks.

Tolfrey’s howler at AFC Hornchurch earlier this month cost his side maximum points, but Dowson was quick to praise his efforts as he has bounced back to form in recent weeks.

“Rob’s turned it around himself since the Hornchurch game and that looks a decent point now. He kept us in the game against Ashford and is a bit of a hero, so I’m delighted for him,” he said.

“Everything that could have gone wrong for us on Monday, did. I think we showed a lot of character and - for me - last night was the result of the season.

“Luke dropped a pallet on his foot at work during the day, which meant I had to play Max and he has a broken finger.

“The bench probably looked stronger than it was because I think Lodgy was the only fully fit one among them, even Mo and Matt probably shouldn’t have played.

“I was tearing my hair out and was thinking I’d be happy with anything from the game. The lads really pulled it out of the bag.”

Carl Wilson-Denis notched a brace - his first goals since the beginning of February - to salvage a point at the weekend, before an own goal gave Ks the points against Ashford.

It means Kingstonian are firmly on course for a Ryman League Premier Division play-off berth with eight games of their campaign remaining.

Dowson reckons his men need 12 more points between now and the end of the campaign to be certain of a top five finish and he wants it done sooner rather than later.

“We’ve got eight games to go and if we can win four of them we will be in the play-offs. A win over Hornchurch on Saturday would give us a great chance,” he added.

“The quicker we can get there the better because it will mean we can rest a few players. We haven’t got a fixture pile up either so we haven’t got to worry about that.

“I’m not bothered about who we get. We will fancy ourselves against anyone home or away, but all the other teams will think the same about their chances. It really is wide open.”

Kingstonian’s next three games: Mar 20 AFC Hornchurch (a), 27 Aveley (a), 30 Waltham Abbey (a).