Despite resting a number of first-team regulars, Sutton United brought down the curtain on a hugely successful Ryman Premier League campaign by twice breaching the division’s meanest defence ion the first half on Saturday.

They can now go into Tuesday night’s home play-off semi-final with Kingstonian in confident mood.

While experience may have been lacking in some areas, Steve Perkins and Francis Quarm both featured as they built up their fitness in preparation for the play-offs.

Behind them Wayne Shaw, who had retired two seasons earlier, produced an outstanding performance in goal to frustrate Billericay’s efforts to get back in to the game.

The other star of the afternoon was Anthony Joseph, who scored one of United’s goals and made the other before being taken off at half time.

That move suggested he may have a bigger part to play in Tuesday’s semi-final than might have been expected.

Certainly his form since his return from his loan at Margate has made him a crowd favourite.

After Shaw had made the first of his saves, acrobatically tipping over a stinging volley from Simon Thomas, and Danny Charge had volleyed just wide on the turn a minute later, Joseph took centre stage in the 19th minute.

His speed allowed him to chase Shaw’s long clearance and outjump former Sutton keeper Paul Nicholls to head the ball goalwards.

Defender Ian Cousins managed to scramble back and make a brilliant goal-line clearance, but both Joseph and Steve Watts were following up and Joseph had the simplest of tasks to knock the ball in.

Fourteen minutes later, he was taking on the defence again, this time on the right wing before firing in a superb low cross which was met at pace by Matt Hann at the near post for a delightful goal.

It was entertaining fare for the bumper crowd, swelled by over 400 children at the game as part of the latest Community Fun Day in conjunction with the local Metropolitan Police.

They saw the ball in the Billericay net again before half time, this time put there by Craig Dobson after an incisive run and exchange of passes with Joseph, but Dobson had gone slightly too far in looking for the return pass and was denied a first Sutton goal by an offside flag.

Andre Costa replaced Joseph at the break, a change of face if no great reduction of pace, and with Dobson wasting few opportunities to run at the Billericay defence on the other flank openings still came, although the finish failed to match the approach work for much of the time.

Billericay still threatened at the other end, and when Charge met Harrison Chatting’s cross from the right with a firm downward header it seemed that they had pulled a goal back until Shaw plunged to his right to make a stunning save.

United failed to clear the corner, and Dave Wareham sent in a dipping volley from the corner of the penalty area, but there was the ample frame of Shaw again, this time at full stretch to turn the ball over the bar.

He was finally beaten with 16 minutes left as Chris Wild nodded a deep left wing corner back across goal and Ryan O’Rawe scored from close range, and briefly United’s hold on the game looked less certain.

But, in the last 10 minutes, it was Sutton who came closest to adding to the score on the counter attack as Dobson twice raced clear, firstly seeing his attempted pass to Quarm cut out by Gareth Street, who was relieved to see the ball go just past his own goal, and then shooting wide from a more central position.

Dobson also stung Nicholls’ hands with a long range shot as U’s closed out the victory and took deserved acclaim at the end from their supporters, who will be hoping that their recent find form of four wins and a draw in the last five games can be continued over the next week in the play-offs.

Sutton: W Shaw, B Hawes, J Hawes(sub A Pouton 64), J Gold, S Perkins(sub K El-Salahi 55), A Joseph (sub A Costa H-T), M Hann, F Quarm, S Watts, T Kavanagh, C Dobson. Subs n/u J Dos Santos, S Young. Goals: Joseph (19), Hann (33). Booked: Quarm (82-dissent), Hann(84-time wasting).

Billericay: P Nicholls, M Haswell, I Cousins, H Chatting, R O’Rawe, C Wild, G Street, M Hall (sub J Cleaver 81), S Thomas (sub M Marsh 54), D Charge, D Wareham (sub G Oates 64). Subs n/u D Fowler, K English.Goal: O’Rawe (74).

Referee: N Lugg (Chipstead) Att 1,014