Who will win the closest title race in England?

Who will win the closest title race in England?

Features of Rex
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A title race with an unmatched ending. Any of the six teams with the potential to win the National League South on Saturday at 15:00 BST could win.

John Askey, the manager of Truro City, tells BBC Radio Cornwall, “I think we were the favorites to go down.”

“So, if we could get promoted on Saturday, it would be a minor miracle, and it’ll rank among the many promotions that clubs have already had, which you can’t wait for.”

Truro City are second only to rival Truro City in terms of title.

After 45 games, only goal difference sets them apart at the top following a season that no one outside of Cornwall, or even county supporters, would have anticipated.

They moved to a new stadium in August after playing for more than four years without a permanent home. They have since grown.

Final day fixtures in National League SouthFeatures of Rex

However, Torquay United, their closest neighbor, is right behind them.

Before being elevated to the bottom two of the English Football League in 2014, the Gulls spent 87 years there.

Before a group of local businesspeople took control of the club, they almost ended its existence a year ago.

They removed Truro manager Paul Wotton from the club in the summer, giving them the opportunity to advance.

While Truro travels to St. Albans City, who must win to remain in the league, Torquay travels to a mid-table Hemel Hempstead side, who have only a sense of pride to play for.

Wotton, the manager of Torquay, tells BBC Sport, “I’m really calm, really relaxed, ready, and the boys are in a good place and are really looking forward to it.”

You must maintain as normal a situation as possible. We must win this type of football game.

What was the closest it could get?

The top six teams in the National League SouthFeatures of Rex

The top six teams are all competing against teams that aren’t in the title race.

If Truro wins, Torquay will be crowned champions.

However, Torquay could go up if they overcome their two-goal swing; a 3-0 victory for Truro would increase their scoring differential.

Truro would automatically be promoted because they will have won an additional match if both goals difference and goals scored were tied.

The West Country sides have an open door for the sides below them if both sides lose.

With just three goals, Eastbourne Borough is the best of the rest; a win would be enough to put them in contention if Torquay and Truro don’t collect three points. Eastbourne could overthrow Truro with a 3-3 or higher-scoring draw against Weston-super-Mare if they lose by 6 or more goals and Torquay are also down by 4 or more.

If Worthing wants to win the title, Eastbourne must lose, and Worthing must win, with the lowest goal difference.

Making history, in my opinion.

Matt Jay celebrates scoring Torquay's goal at Truro CityFeatures of Rex

After guiding York City into League Two and Macclesfield Town into League Two from National League North, Askey would receive a full suite of promotions from the three divisions of the National League.

Truro’s current campaign is the most successful by any club in the county ever, making it something special for Cornwall, a footballing outpost who have never had a club reach the fifth tier.

Askey said, “It’s making history, which is not something that happens frequently at football clubs.”

There is no better feeling in football than when the players win, and that sentiment will stick with them forever.

“We won’t get carried away until we do it, so we can celebrate if we do it,” he said. “Foots are firmly on the floor until we do it.”

As the afternoon progresses, Wotton will have someone in charge of his side, who will have to decide his tactical plan depending on whether his side must go all out for goals or just to avoid defeat.

However, Wotton has assembled a team that has consistently been at the top of the table by joining a club that came out of administration last summer and had one contract player on board.

The former Plymouth Argyle captain said, “We’ve reached our goal this season of finishing in the play-offs.”

Everything else is a bonus because the pressure of pursuing the season’s goal is over.

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Source: BBC

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