East Grinstead's title dream ended despite a crushing 8-0 defeat of Indian Gymkhana.
A 6-0 victory for leaders Old Georgians at home to Brooklands MU ensured they took the National League division two championship on goal difference from Kwan Browne's men.
Grinstead suffered two fewer defeats than the champions but three draws proved to be their downfall.
Despite the disappointment, player-coach Browne was delighted with his players during his first season in charge.
He said: "To lose out on goal difference is quite harsh but fair play to Old Georgians because they got their chance and took it. We didn't take our chances in the games we should have done.
"I was really pleased to finish with a win. It was the perfect way to finish and I am really looking forward to next season when we expect to be challenging for a place in the premier division."
Ben Payne led the way with four goals against Indian Gymkhana and there was one apiece for Ashley Jackson, Duncan Howarth, Dillet Gilkes and Dwain Quan Chan as Grinstead finished runners-up.
Exactly who they will find themselves up against next season is still a mystery. The National League is being restructured in the summer and a decision on the new format is still under discussion.
Grinstead are favouring a 'premier, division one, division two' format, which would see them playing in division one next season. But Lewes are among a number of teams who prefer the 'premier, division one north, division one south' option which would effectively mean no promotion for Grinstead.
Lewes finished their season with a 3-1 win at home to Oxford Hawks thanks to goals from Luke Hurle, Will Champness and Nick van Tromp.
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