Gulls take promotion to a final day of drama

Torquay United have set up an incredible final day in the National League South after a resounding 3-0 victory at home to relegated Weymouth.

Plainmoor was literally bouncing before kick-off and the party atmosphere grew even louder when Jordan Dyer headed in the opener on three minutes.

The Terras did a brave job of holding back the Yellow tide for the next hour but a quickfire double from Matt Jay and Jay Foulston sealed three massive points for the Gulls.

United made the perfect start when a corner from Jordan Young picked out the unmarked Dyer, who thumped a confident header back beyond Will Buse, and the noise that greeted the opener probably registered a tweak on the Richter Scale.

The Gulls were all over Weymouth and it felt like the floodgates would open at any minute. Cody Cooke did have the ball in the net for a second time, but wild celebrations were quelled by an infringement spotted by the referee.

The lively Young fired narrowly over midway through the first half and then had a mild penalty shout waved away, but credit to Weymouth for a stubborn and resilient rearguard display.

Dyer limped out of the action on the half-hour, replaced by Ed Palmer, while another clumsy challenge in the box, this time on Dan Hayfield, was also ignored by the match referee. A compelling first half ended with Omar Mussa steering an effort inches past the post.

James Hamon earned his match-day bonus with a smart save from a deflected shot at the start of the second half. United replied with a decent strike from Young, fended at the near post by Buse.

The game had become extremely open, with the Terras posing an increasing threat. The Gulls needed a goal to calm home nerves, and Palmer almost delivered with a volley blocked by the Weymouth defence.

Thankfully, Jay, who scored an exquisite winner at Truro on Good Friday, dug into his bag of tricks for a sweet second, cleverly backheeling a Hayfield cross beyond the bemused Buse.

The Weymouth resistance was broken and Foulston stepped up for a settling third, volleying home from close range to set up a procession in the last 20 minutes.

However, with Truro also winning at Weston-super-Mare, goal difference was a big factor. United did everything in their search for a fourth, Young and Sam Dreyer both going close, but the extraordinary crowd of 5,567 inside Plainmoor still went home happy.

Truro ended up with a 2-0 victory at Weston, which means they lead United by two goals on goal difference heading to the final day.

While the Gulls travel to mid-table Hemel Hempstead, Truro are at home to St Albans City, who must better the result of Salisbury to avoid relegation, or that scrap to avoid the drop could also go down to goal difference.

Incredibly, but not unsurprisingly in this insane NLS campaign, six teams can still claim the one automatic slot on the final day. Eastbourne and Worthing are just a point behind Truro and Torquay, so they both have a big chance.

If Truro and Torquay both lose, and Eastbourne and Worthing fail to win, both Boreham Wood and Dorking have strong enough goal difference to take top spot if they are victorious.

And breathe!

The Run-In

Worthing: Enfield (A)
Truro: St Albans (H)
Eastbourne: Weston (H)
Dorking: Chesham (H)
Torquay: Hemel Hempstead (A)
Boreham Wood: Tonbridge (A)
Maidstone: Farnborough (A)
Weston: Eastbourne (A)

Current Standings