The Green Lions were looking down the barrel of a possible, some might have even considered likely, second defeat in a week.

This was a performance of immense character and while the scoreline perhaps flattered the travellers, they deserved every bit of fortune that came their way out in the ‘sticks’ of south London.

This was a day for players who in the grand scheme of island football are so often overlooked. Players such as Simon Geall, Chris Mauger, Jason Winch and Matt Loaring.That fact alone gave every travelling Green Lions supporter, as well as those back home, an especially warm feeling as the excellent referee, Ryan O’Sullivan, blew for full time.

The decisive moment came in first-half stoppage time.

The Lions had withstood ‘The Wars’  initial charge to gradually take control and lead through a fine 34th-minute strike from Loaring, but the game was still looking in the balance with the first 45 up on most spectators’ watches and the interval just a few seconds away.

But as a dangerous Warlingham attack broke down, a long ball downfield set the league’s most dangerous striker away and homing in on the home team’s goal.

There was only one way of stopping Ross Allen and as the last defender hauled him down just inside the box, O’Sullivan had the easy decision of awarding a spot-kick, which Allen himself tucked away for what looked a decisive lead.

Allen had already gone close twice with free-kicks from distance and Gavin Dilley in the home goal had been by far the busier keeper as the Lions’ transformation from an initial 4-4-2 formation moved, successfully, to a diamond with Mauger and Winch finding plenty of space on the flanks.

Dilley very nearly fumbled a fine Dom Heaume header over his own line, and Loaring, wonderfully effervescent throughout, went as close as anyone as he cut in from the right.

Loaring was not to be denied, though, and with half-time in sight finished off a superb flowing move which culminated with Winch picking out Mauger with a fine crossfield  ball into space.

There is no better wing back in island football than Mauger on the run and he underlined that with a precise cross which Loaring volleyed in from close range.

Mauger himself grabbed Guernsey’s third within a minute of the restart.

Dilley spilled Allen’s shot and the flanker nipped in to force over the line a goal his performance richly deserved.

That would surely be it, thought the few dozen Green Lions supporters in an attendance of just over the 200 mark.

But three minutes later, a Warlingham attacker went down in the box and O’Sullivan had no hesitation on offering the home side a penalty lifeline which Stefan Joseph gleefully accepted.

But the class and composure needed to win the three points on a long, narrow and unhelpfully bumpy pitch was always dressed in green-and-white.

There was no semblance of panic and long before Winch made the points safe on the hour mark, the Lions had looked more likely to score again.

The Allen-Loaring partnership was pulling Warlingham in every direction ahead of a diamond in which Heaume and Angus Mackay were their usual classy selves at the vertical points of it, and Mauger and Winch foraged impressively wide.

The decisive fourth Green Lions goal was a beauty set up by Mauger and, finally, Allen, whose drive cross from the byline was met by a joyous Winch at the far post.

Mauger almost scored again on 68 but Dilley did well to tip over his 20-yard shot, and even defender Geall went close with a left-foot shot from similar distance,

With 16 minutes remaining, Allen danced around Dilley after being fed by the imperious Mackay for a classy fifth goal, and as Vance allowed himself the luxury of using his three outfield subs for a last quarter run, elements  of support whooped in delight and sang ‘there’s only one Scottie Bradford’ as another new Lion made his bow.

Late on Chris Tardif saved brilliantly to deny Kieron Dias by which time the home side would have known that Guernsey FC has quality from Nos 1 to 11 and, on this evidence, through to the 20s.