Scoring goals has never been one of Antwan Russell’s problems, unfortunately the same cannot be said for St George’s.

The East End club scored 18 goals in as many league games this season and that, as much as anything, is why they were relegated yesterday, finishing bottom of the Premier Division.

Russell’s superb free kick, his 12th league goal of the season for Robin Hood, ultimately sent the home side down, but the 76th minute strike was merely an equaliser and Kameron Fox’s side should have been out of sight long before then.

St George’s wasted a host of chances in the first half, and then lost all their composure once Russell had cancelled out Kyle Denbrook’s strike.

“We were always in the predicament to go down, but we put ourselves in this situation,” Fox, the St George’s coach, said.

“Some of the blame falls on the coach, some on the players, but what can you do about a world-class free kick like that.”

Russell had only been playing upfront for ten minutes when he was fouled by Tre Govia, the St George’s midfielder, just outside the penalty area. The Hood striker stepped up and curled the ball over the wall into the right top-hand corner of the goal, where it bounced off the angle and over the line.

Before that, Russell had spent the first hour playing in central defence, with Jaylon Bather, the central defender, playing in attack, in a Hood team that bore little resemblance to the side that played for the majority of the season.

Even with the visiting side’s change in approach and questionable defensive organisation, St George’s still could not beat them.

Hood’s issues at the back were only marginally lessened by the arrival of Alex Martin in the centre of defence, as a replacement for the injured Jason Titterton, with less than 15 minutes gone.

Fortunately for Kyle Lightbourne’s side, and Southampton Rangers who would have gone down in the event of a St George’s victory, the home side were as ineffective upfront as they have been all season.

Lashun Dill, Macai Simmons, and Jarazinho Bassett all should have scored before half-time, but their efforts were either off target, weak, or rushed. Too often St George’s passed when they should have shot, and shot when they should have passed.

That they managed to create any opportunities at all was something of an achievement, considering the fear which appeared to dominate their play in the first 45 minutes. It is not a new problem for Fox to deal with.

“A lot of the time we look at the opposition and worry about the opposition too much, instead of worrying about our game,” Fox said. “A lot of the times that’s taken away from the focus of our players, but that comes with experience. Hopefully next year we can do better.”

Fox obviously addressed the issue at the break because St George’s were an entirely different side after the restart and it took them just four minutes to get the goal they so desperately needed.

Simmons collected the ball out wide on the left, held up play to allow his team-mates to arrive and then fed the ball across to Denbrook who side-footed it past Timmy Figureido, the Hood goalkeeper.

The goal shocked Hood out of their general malaise and Shaun Brown, and Lejuan Simmons, both went close to drawing their side level before Russell finally got the ball past Kevin Butterfield in the St George’s goal.

Russell had the ball in the net again soon after, but his effort was disallowed for an earlier foul on Jordan Darrell, the St George’s left back, much to the home side’s relief.

As the minutes ticked away the urgency that had been missing from the St George’s performance was bypassed entirely as desperation set in, and the tension was not eased by Bassett missing a half chance with five minutes left.

If nerves had been frayed before, they were nearly shredded moments later when David Signor fired over from a corner after Figureido misjudged the flight of the ball.

Wendy Woodley, the referee, played four minutes of stoppage time, but not even the considerable presence of Jarreau Hayward could force the ball into the Hood net.

First Division football now beckons for the men from the East, but whether Fox will be around to mastermind a return to the top flight remains to be seen.

He would like to stay on, but understands that coaches who are in charge of relegated teams do not always get another chance.

“As long as the club keeps me around I’ll be here,” he said. “It’s up to them. If they chose me I’ll be here, if not I’ll have to think about my future after that.”