Dawson denied a fairytale finish

>> KEVIN Dawson was denied a fairytale ending to his football career as he bowed out of football following Gloucester City's 1-0 Southern League Premier South play-off final defeat at AFC Totton.

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The City skipper, 34, announced his retirement recently, having played nearly 500 games for Yeovil Town, Cheltenham Town, Forest Green Rovers, Torquay United and had two spells with City after moving over from Ireland, where he played for Sporting Fingal and Shelbourne, in January 2013.

Despite chants from the City fans after the game on Monday calling for one more year from him, Dawson confirmed that it’s definitely the end of the road.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be, and that's it, I'm done,” he said. “Obviously it's not the way I wanted to go out but we gave it our all and fingers crossed next season the club can bounce back.

“I can't fault the lads, it was a battling performance, but it was one lapse in concentration and a very disappointing goal to concede.

“To be honest I didn't think we really threatened enough, not that they threatened much either - it was a bit of a nothing game and they picked up the pieces.