Who will win the closest title race in England?

BBC News

25-04-2025

It is a title race that is ending like no other. At 15:00 BST on Saturday any of six teams could win National League South on the final day of the season.Just three points separate the top six with leaders Truro City and second-placed Torquay United split by the matter of just two goals.
"At the start of the season I think we were favourites to go down," Truro City manager John Askey tells BBC Radio Cornwall."So if we could achieve promotion on Saturday it would be a minor miracle and it'll rank up there with a lot of promotions that clubs have had which you don't expect."Truro City are in pole position for the title - but only just. After 45 games, just goal difference separates them at the summit following a season nobody outside of Cornwall, or even fans in the county, would have expected.Playing for more than four years without a permanent home, they moved into a new stadium in August and have thrived. Having played in front of crowds of less than 100 at various 'home' grounds, fans have flocked to the Truro Community Stadium with crowds averaging more than 1,700 and more than 3,300 packing in for their 1-0 loss to Torquay earlier this month.
But hot on their heels are nearest neighbours Torquay United.The Gulls spent 87 years in the bottom two tiers of the English Football League before relegation in 2014.They almost went out of existence a year ago before a consortium of local businesspeople took the club over.They took manager Paul Wotton from Truro in the summer and now have the chance at promotion at the first time of asking.While Truro face St Albans City, who must win to stay in the league, Torquay travel to a Hemel Hempstead side who are mid-table and have just pride to play for. "I'm really calm, really relaxed, I'm ready and the boys are in a good place and are really looking forward to it," Torquay manager Paul Wotton tells BBC Sport."You have to keep it as normal as possible, it's a game of football that we need to win."But when you say pressure, I don't perceive there to be any pressure on us whatsoever, I think it's a case of Truro City have got everything to lose and we've got everything to gain, and the four teams below us have got everything to gain as well."
How close could it go?
With all of the top six playing sides who are not in the title race, each team has a chance of lifting the title.Truro will be champions if they win and match or better Torquay's result. But should Torquay overcome their two-goal swing they could go up - a 1-0 win for Truro and a 3-0 win for Torquay would see the latter go up on goals scored.Should both be tied for goals scored and goal difference then Truro would be promoted automatically as they will have won an extra match.But if both of the West Country sides are defeated the door is open to the sides below them. Eastbourne Borough's goal difference makes them the best of the rest - a win would see them go up if Torquay and Truro fail to get three points, while if Truro lose by six or more goals and Torquay are also beaten by four or more, Eastbourne could leapfrog them all with a 3-3 or higher-scoring draw with Weston-super-Mare.Worthing - with the poorest goal difference - need a win, the top two to lose and Eastbourne to fail to win if they are to take the title. Boreham Wood and Dorking Wanderers - both on 83 points - have the best goal differences of the top six but would need the top two to lose and the next two to draw or be defeated before they can have a sniff of the title.
'Creating history'
For Truro boss Askey, winning the title would give him a full set of promotions from the three divisions of the National League, having guided Macclesfield Town into League Two and York City into the fifth tier from National League North. But it would also be something special for Cornwall - a footballing outpost who have never had a club reach the fifth tier - Truro's current campaign is the most successful by any club from the county ever."It's creating history, and that doesn't happen very often at football clubs," Askey said."If the players can get that win they'll be remembered forever, and there's no better feeling in football than that."We're not getting carried away until we do it, so if we do it then we can celebrate, but until we do so it is feet firmly on the floor."Wotton will have someone in the dugout giving him the latest results as the afternoon unfolds - his tactical approach could depend on whether his side need to go all out to get goals or just need to avoid defeat.But having joined a club last summer that was fresh out of administration with one contracted player, Wotton has brought together a team that has consistently been around the top of the table."We've achieved our aim this season of finishing in the play-offs - we don't know what position we'll be yet," the former Plymouth Argyle captain said."The pressure of chasing the goal for the season is done, so everything else is a bonus. "The fact that six teams can all win the title on the final day of the season is phenomenal really and unprecedented - fortunately we're one of those teams."