On loan striker Ahmet Suleymanoglu is convinced Hastings United will be in the Premier Division next season.

The 20-year-old marked his third appearance since joining United from first division Wimbledon by coming off the bench to score in a crucial win against Moor Green at the Pilot Field.

It came on 84 minutes when he shrugged off the challenge of former Birmingham defender Dean Peer before drilling a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

The result was vital for United who remain third from bottom and four points adrift of safety.

It was only the second win they had managed in their last 22 league games and follows draws against Stafford and Havant.

Despite only joining the club last week, Suleymanoglu believes he has seen enough in the last three games to be confident that United will beat the drop.

He said: "I'm shocked the team are down at the bottom of the league to be honest. We have played some teams higher up the league since I came here and we matched them. It will take a few more wins but we will stay up. The players are definitely good enough to do it."

Suleymanoglu joined United until the end of the season after being told he would be released in the summer by Wimbledon.

The young frontman is pleased he chose to end his spell at the Dons prematurely by coming to United and is keen to make an impact in their relegation fight.

He said: "I'm really happy here and I'm really pleased with the team, they're a great bunch of lads. It's a good club and I just want to do my best and help them beat relegation."

Suleymanoglu's strike capped an impressive fightback by United who had gone behind to a 55th minute header by Rob Elmes.

Landry Zahana-Oni equalised on 70 minutes when he was left unmarked on the penalty spot to head into the top corner. Then five minutes later Danny Simmonds scored his 12th of the season when he fired in from close range from a square pass by Steve Yates.

The three goals almost pleased manager George Wakeling as much as the three points. Only one team in the Premier Division has scored less than United and it was only the third time they had scored more than two goals in a league match this season.

Wakeling said: "At the end of the day you have to put the ball in the net and that's what we did. That was the difference between this match and recent games. We haven't been taking our chances and it's been a major let down for us, but we are working on it."

Wakeling was delighted with his side's performance against a team who travelled to the south coast full of confidence.

Moor Green had lost once in their previous eight league games and had beaten Division One outfit Wolves 2-1 in the Birmingham Senior Cup semi-final in midweek.

But the visitors' frustrations were illustrated with the sending off of Peer in stoppage time after the Moor Green defender had thrown a punch at substitute Joel Bevis.

Wakeling said: "We started off well, were in the driving seat and we rattled their cage. We wanted it more than them, but then they scored a goal and you had to look at our character then. It was good and that is what it is all about. Let's hope we can build on that."

The result was made more significant by the fact the three teams who were directly above United - Halesowen, Hednesford and Weymouth - also won.

Wakeling knows Hastings must rely on other teams slipping up if they are to have a chance of beating the drop.

He said: "Am I confident of staying up? Well it's getting harder with every game we have left. The thing is, it's not just about us. If we win all our games and the other teams win all theirs then we still go down anyway. So really it's not in our hands, it's in other people's."

United's run-in includes tough home games against second-placed Chippenham, Sussex rivals Crawley and high-flying Stafford. There are also trips to fellow strugglers Folkestone and Weymouth as well as a visit to Chelmsford.

Wakeling originally set his side the target of 50 points to stay up, but he feels that is now beyond his team with only six games to go.

He said: "I said 50, but we're not going to get there. I said 50 would keep us safe and anything under that I'd hope would be enough. It all depends on the other teams and all we can do is try and win all our games and see what happens."

Crawley hope to have top scorer Nic McDonnell available after injury for tonight's Premier Division trip to struggling Hednesford.

Skipper Peter Fear should also be back after missing last Tuesday's defeat at Hinckley as Reds tackle the second of four successive away matches.