Wealdstone suffered a gut-wrenching National League South defeat as Elliot Godfrey’s last-gasp own goal gifted Welling United a 1-0 win.

The hosts would have expected to take all three points from the match considering United’s abject form ahead of kick off.

However, a Stones side lacking suspended midfield enforcer Sam Cox struggled in a hard fought contest at The Vale.

The loss ended a sequence of three wins in a row for Gordon Bartlett’s side and they will look to lift themselves in time for Saturday’s trip to Hemel Hempstead Town.

Things looked ominous for Wealdstone from the opening exchanges as Welling controlled the first 45 minutes.

Elliot Benyon and Sahr Kabba too frequently failed to match the combative nature of United’s centre-backs and were starved of service throughout.

Unsurprisingly, Welling created the first chance and Jonathan North had to be alert in the Wealdstone goal to deny Danny Waldren’s powerful strike.

Welling’s control continued for the remainder of the half but a Stones defence, which featured debutant Accrington Stanley loanee Liam Goulding, remained relatively solid.

When they were breached North was on hand to deny Welling and once again saved smartly from Adam Coombes at the end of the first half.

The interval provided welcome respite and Wealdstone looked sharper after the break as they began to have a greater share of possession.

They were still struggling to create clear openings and their best chance of the match came with 10 minutes to play.

It came from a moment of individual inspiration rather than a group effort as Danny Waldren’s free-kick from the edge of the box clipped the outside of the post.

With the match looking destined to be heading for a draw, Welling pushed forward and fashioned a fortunate winner in the 90th minute.

A hopeful cross looked to have been covered by substitute Godfrey, but in getting up to head the ball clear he inadvertently turned past North to hand United victory.

In many ways the manner of the winning goal mirrored a scrappy match which neither side could claim to have dominated.

Stones manager Bartlett was disappointed by the result and insists his side must now look to improve on a below par performance.

He said: “This was hugely frustrating and the players know that they have to be better than this.

“We are all in this together – win or lose – and we will continue to strive forward together.”