Shaw Lane Aquaforce insist their play-off semi-final victory on Wednesday has justified their controversial decision to pull out of Tuesday's Sheffield Senior Cup final.

The Ducks won 3-2 at home to Lincoln United and will now play Coalville Town at Shaw Lane tomorrow, hoping to secure a fifth successive promotion and a place in the Evo-Stik Premier – three divisions below the Football League. In front of 375 fans, James Walshaw got two then Gibraltar international Adam Priestley came off the bench to make it 3-0 before Lincoln fought back.

After missing out on the one automatic promotion place in the Evo-Stik Division One South to Stafford Rangers on Saturday, Aquaforce decided not to play two matches on consecutive nights.

They prioritised the play-offs and gifted the Sheffield Cup trophy to Frickley Athletic who they were due to meet at Bramall Lane in the final on Tuesday. It is a decision that has split football fans but Shaw Lane owner Craig Wood says he had no choice after trying to rearrange the schedule.

Wood – whose club also pulled out of the same cup last season after being told to replay a derby with Athersley Rec – told the Chronicle: "The decision has been vindicated with our win on Wednesday.  We can hold our hands up and say we are giving the play-offs our best shot.  We couldn't have said that if we played the final the night before. It was not an easy decision and nobody is more disappointed than me because I was really looking forward to the cup final. I feel sorry for Frickley but I didn't have a choice.

"We were in a no-win situation through no fault of our own. We offered the Sheffield FA lots of different options but we were bluntly told that the final would only take place on April 27. I stood up for what is right and I feel very strongly that it was the correct decision not to play the final. I have put a lot of money in this season to give us a chance of promotion and the players and staff have worked very hard to get us where we are. We couldn't jeopardise that by playing two games in two days.

"If we had played both, we would almost certainly have lost both because we would have played a weakened team in the cup final but still been fatigued for the play-off game.  You also have to think about the welfare of the players. Professional footballers would never be asked to play two nights in a row so why should our lads who have to work for a living as well?"

Wood also responded to questions about why the club did not pull out of the cup earlier, pointing out that they were in contention to avoid the play-offs and go up as champions until Saturday. He said:  "To pull out earlier would have shown disrespect to the competition, and maybe we have done that anyway, but we did want to win the Sheffield Cup."

Manager Craig Elliott agreed with Wood and added: "It's been an horrendous week. A lot of people will have wanted us to lose after we pulled out of the final, but that goes without saying with Shaw Lane Aquaforce anyway. A lot of people always want us to fail.  

"Pulling out of the final would have been the right decision no matter what happened in the play-offs but winning on Wednesday helps to justify it a bit more."

The Ducks were well on top in the first half against Lincoln – the only side who won at Shaw Lane in the league this season – but could not make the breakthrough in freezing rain and snow. Rhys Meynell hit the post in the third minute then, after the break, Lee Bennett had a header cleared off the line and blazed an even better chance over.

The goal eventually came on 54 minutes when Walshaw ran onto a kick from goalkeeper Tom Morgan and finished well. The same player then doubled the lead midway through the second half when he nodded in a corner by captain Matty Thornhill. Another long ball led to Priestley tucking away the third with ten minutes left. Bennett missed a one-on-one for 4-0 then the visitors netted in the 87th and 89th minutes but could not find a third.

Elliott said: "With ten minutes to go we should have been five or six nil up and I'm thinking 'what a great night.' Then five minutes later I'm thinking 'what is happening here?' because they looked like scoring every time they went forward. It's typical Shaw Lane. There's always drama and nothing is simple. But overall it was a good performance and a good result."

Elliott says tomorrow will bring a very tough game against Coalville, who beat Basford 5-0 in the other semi-final. He said: "Coalville will probably be favourites with the way they have played in the last four or five weeks and with their result in the semi-final. But we're at home and it's a massive occasion. It's the biggest game in our history yet again."

Aquaforce won their final match 2-1 at Rugby but finished second, one point behind Stafford, who drew at Coalville.

The Ducks have also confirmed they no longer plan to change their name to Barnsley Town FC for next season and are planning to be called Shaw Lane FC.