FINAL DAY DECIDERS FOR TORQUAY UNITED IN THE SOUTH EAST

 For Torquay United fans, all road and rail links will be heading to Tonbridge, as the Gulls head into the final day of the 2024-25 National League South campaign knowing that a win will seal a place in the National League South play-offs. 

United are currently fifth in the National League South table and could finish as high as second, if results elsewhere go in the favour. 

However, it isn't the first time that the Gulls have faced a final day decider in the South East of England, and there's a look at the selection of them. 

1. Crystal Palace 1 Torquay United 1, 1st May 1957 - Division Three South

United went into the final day of the 1956-57 season needing a win over Crystal Palace to secure the Division Three South title at the expense of a Ipswich Town side managed by Alf Ramsey. 

After being goalless at half-time, Barry Pierce gave Palace the lead before John 'Jimmy' James equalised for United. James was then denied a late winner by an off the line clearance by future Torquay manager Jack Edwards, as they were forced to settle for second place, as Ipswich beat Southampton 2-0. 

2. Leyton Orient 2    Torquay United 1, 2nd May 1998 - Division Three

A club record run of eight wins between January and March 1998 lifted the Gulls into the automatic promotion contention, but a loss of form saw them stutter before they won 3-1 against Peterborough United in their final home game of the campaign. 

They needed a point in the final game of the season at Leyton Orient and they got off to a bad start as Craig Maskell gave Orient the lead after four minutes. The hosts then doubled their lead from the penalty spot through former Aston Villa and Leicester City manager Dean Smith. 

United fought back, despite seeing goalkeeper Kenny Veysey sent off, as Andy McFarlane pulled one back, but they couldn't find an equaliser, so Lincoln City clinched the third automatic promotion. The Gulls ended up finishing fifth and faced Scarborough, who they beat 7-2 on aggregate before losing 1-0 to Colchester United in the final at Wembley. 

3. Barnet 2    Torquay United 3, 5th May 2001 - Division Three

It was billed as 'loser loses all' contest as Torquay United headed to Underhill to face Barnet with relegation from the Football League awaiting the loser. 

The Gulls started the game attacking down the slope at Underhill and took the lead on ten minutes with a 25 yard strike from Jason Rees. In the 25th minute, Kevin Hill connected with a Paul Holmes corner to head home his tenth goal of the season to give United a two-goal cushion. 

On 40 minutes, the Bees were awarded a penalty when Jimmy Aggrey was adjudged to have handled the ball. Darren Currie stepped to take it, but Gulls' keeper Stuart Jones guessed its direction correctly and saved it - it was his third spot-kick save of the campaign. 

Once Jones had saved the penalty, United got the ball forward to David Graham who slotted home the Gulls' third after being teed up by strike partner Eifion Williams. 

In the second half, an own goal from Ryan Green and a second from Wayne Purser reduced Barnet's arrears, but United dug deep to hang onto their lead and thus retained their Football League status. 

4. Southend United 1    Torquay United 2, 8th May 2004 - Division Three

In their second season under Leroy Rosenior, the Gulls headed to Southend United's Roots Hall on 78 points needing a win to stand a chance of claiming the division's third and final automatic promotion spot ahead of Huddersfield Town, who were on 80 points and were travelling to Cheltenham Town. Victory for the Gulls and a draw for the Terriers would see United promoted at their expense on goal difference.

United got off to a flying start as Steve Woods volleyed home a corner from Alex Russell in the third minute. Eight minutes later, David Graham nodded home a Jo Kuffour cross to score his 23rd goal of the season to double the Gulls' lead. 

Lawrie Dudfield pulled one back for the Shrimpers in the 17th minute and news was also coming through from Cheltenham's Whaddon Road home that Huddersfield were winning 1-0. 

The Gulls managed to maintain their 2-1 lead and with 15 minutes to go, the Robins equalised through Shane Duff, which was how it stayed as United won automatic promotion for the first time in 38 years on goal difference. 

5. Colchester United 2        Torquay United 1, 7th May 2005, League One

Nearly a year to the day since their promotion success, the Gulls headed to Essex in very different circumstances as they needed a point to retain their League One status that they had won 12 months earlier. 

A run of four straight wins over MK Dons, Port Vale, Oldham Athletic and Blackpool had given United a chance of beating the drop, potentially at the expense of either MK Dons or Oldham (United were on 51 points, the Dons on 48 and Oldham on 49). 

The Gulls fell a goal down just before the break as Neil Danns gave the U's the lead and a minute before the end of normal time, Marino Keith doubled Colchester's advantage. 

Left back Craig Woodman pulled one back for Torquay in injury time, but it proved to be in vain as MK Dons beat Tranmere Rovers 2-1 and Oldham beat Bradford City 1-0, which saw the Gulls relegated on goal difference.

 6. Hemel Hempstead Town 1    Torquay United 4, 26th April 2025 - National League South

Despite winning hitting four goals past Hemel Hempstead Town, Torquay United will be destined for the National League South play-offs.

Truro’s win over St Albans City put paid to Torquay’s title aspirations, due to their superior goal difference, but Cody Cooke’s hat-trick, following on from Jordan Young’s opener, secured runners-up spot for Paul Wotton’s side, behind Truro City on goal difference, with Hemel’s solitary response coming from Mazeed Ogungbo.        

TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS HEMEL HEMPSTEAD

 1. A warning against complacency. 

It is often said that you learn more from a defeat than you do from a victory, which is something that will undoubtably ring true for United manager Jimmy Ball after United's defeat to Hemel Hempstead Town. 

Throughout the match, United looked second best as Hemel saw out the game after Mauro Vilhete's 52nd minute restored their lead after Deon Moore's equaliser on 35 minutes had cancelled out Remaye Campbell's ninth minute opener. 

The likelihood of the Gulls and the Tudors meeting each other again in the play-offs is not beyond the realms of possibility. Therefore United's defeat to Hemel should serve as a warning of what might lie in wait for them in the end of the season showdown. 

By beating the Gulls, the Tudors also became the first team to complete the 'double' over them. 

2. Deon Moore on target. 

United manager Jimmy Ball said he believed that the floodgates would open for striker Deon Moore after he scored his first goals for the Gulls in their 5-1 win away to Slough Town. 

Moore then took his tally to three goals in two games as he raced onto a ball over the top from Callum Dolan before coolly slotting home to score United's equaliser in the 35th minute. 

3. A final day decider coming up. 

Once again in their history, Torquay United will be facing a final-day decider to resolve the outcome of their season. 

The Gulls will make the journey to Kent to Tonbridge Angels needing a win to secure a play-off spot, but results elsewhere will decide where they finish in the top seven. The higher up the table United finish, the better chance they will have of ensuring that they have home advantage in the play-off eliminators, the semi-finals, and possibly even the final itself. 

4. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton wins player of the year. 

Attacking midfielder Sonny Blu Lo-Everton became the latest player to receive United's player of the season award, as he won the award for 2025-26. 

Lo-Everton entered the fray against Hemel Hempstead as a second half substitute and he combined with fellow sub Matt Jay in the 79th minute, which Jay scuffed wide. 

He will surely be pushing for a starting berth against Tonbridge Angels on the final day. 

5. A bumper crowd. 

United's crowd of 4,604 was not only comfortably the highest attendance in National League South, it was also larger than every crowd in the National League - bar the 8,219 who witnessed York City's 3-0 win over Yeovil Town. 

Plainmoor could yet witness a bigger crowd should United play at home in the play-offs. 

PILGRIMS AND GRECIANS CAN STILL ACHIEVE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVES

 In the end, it wasn't the result that either side would necessarily have hoped for at the start of the day. However, Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City will still feel that they can achieve their ultimate objectives at the end of the season. 

After a goalless first half, Reece Cole gave the Grecians the lead on 47 minutes before the Pilgrims hit back to equalise with 11 minutes to go through leading Lorent Tolaj. It was then the turn of City's leading Jayden Wareham to restore their lead with a deflected strike in the 84th minute. 

Nevertheless, the drama didn't end there as Malachi Boateng scrambled home a late equaliser in injury time for Argyle to ensure that the spoils were shared. 

The result leaves Argyle four points adrift of the play-offs on 63 points, but three wins from their last four games could be enough to see them sneak into the top six. Their final two league fixtures of 2025-26 are against already relegated Northampton Town and Port Vale. 

Meanwhile, the Grecians are three points away from safety and could do the Pilgrims a favour if they manage to beat Stockport County, one of the sides currently occupying one of the places in the top six, next Saturday. 

Next up is a trip to Burton Albion, who are four points above them, before they host Bradford City, who will surely have a play-off spot wrapped up, on the final day. 

THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVON DERBY EVER

 Plymouth Argyle manager Tom Cleverley's last experience of a Devon derby turned out to be something of a 'baptism of fire' as the Pilgrims lost 2-0 to Exeter City at St James Park last October. 

Now, with Argyle heading into what is being billed as 'the most important Devon Derby ever' - Cleverley, who recently won the League One manager of the month award for March 2026, has the chance to write his own chapter in the history of the fixture. 

The Pilgrims are currently seventh in the League One table with 62 points from 41 games, and a win over the Grecians would propel them towards the play-offs. 

By contrast, City head into the fixture in search of three points for very different reasons; they are occupying 21st place after winning only once in their last 16 fixtures, which came in their Easter Bank Holiday win over Doncaster Rovers, and badly need the victory to avoid relegation to League Two. During their barren run, they also changed managers as Matt Taylor returned to the club on an interim basis, following the departure of Gary Caldwell to Wigan Athletic. 

However, in derby matches form can often go out of the window, which the Grecians can take a crumb of comfort from. 

Nevertheless, history is in favour of the Pilgrims, who emerged as winners in this fixture 38 times compared to the Grecians 30 - the remaining 26 have ended in draws. 

With the game kicking off at 12.30pm, either side will be able to enjoy the satisfaction of an improved league position for a couple of hours. 

One thing that both sides can agree on is that any less than three points may not be enough for either sides 

TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS BATH CITY

 1. The Dylan Morgan Show

It proved to be the Dylan Morgan for Torquay United as the United winger netted the first hat-trick of his senior career for the Gulls against Bath City. 

After Jordan Alves cancelled out Reece Evans' opener, United restored their lead in the 34th minute when Sonny Blu Lo-Everton played a corner short to Morgan, who played a neat one-two with skipper Matt Worthington before his cross evaded everyone in the box before nestling into the top corner. 

Three minutes after the re-start, United added a third when Jay Foulston won a challenge on the left-hand side and fed Morgan, who raced down the wing before cutting inside to fire past Binns with a right-footed strike. The goal took Morgan's total for the season to ten. 

In the 59th minute, the Gulls made it four for the afternoon when Worthington played a ball down the right which picked out Deon Moore, and his cross found Dan Hayfield who saw his shot blocked before the rebound fell invitingly to Morgan who fired home to complete his treble. 

Morgan’s haul now takes his tally for the season to 11, leaving four behind joint-leading scorers Jordan Young and Louis Dennis. 

2. Reece Evans' first goal for the club. 

After making his first start for the Gulls against Weston Super Mare on Good Friday, Reading loanee Reece Evans opened his goal scoring account for United in the 11th minute. 

Right-back Will Tizzard’s ball into the midfield found Reading loanee Reece Evans, who then ran at the Bath defence and found the back of the net with a shot from the edge of the area that took a deflection before flying past Romans’ keeper Charlie Binns. 

With Cody Cooke out of the season with a shoulder injury, United manager Jimmy Ball now has the choice of calling upon either Evans or short term signing Deon Moore. 

3. A first glimpse of Charlie Osborne. 

Monday's clash also gave the Plainmoor faithful the first glimpse of new loan signing Charlie Osborne from AFC Bournemouth. Osborne had previously played under Jimmy Ball at AFC Totton and he made his bow for the Gulls in the 56th minute in place of right-back Will Tizzard. 

4. Old boys on show. 

As well as United assistant manager lining up in the opposite dug out against the team who dismissed him earlier this season, there were also a number of connections between the two clubs out on the pitch. 

For the Gulls, Jordan Dyer and Dan Hayfield lined up against their former clubs, whilst ex-Gulls' Ollie Tomlinson and Will Jenkins Davies featured for the Romans. 

Disappointingly for Jenkins Davies, who was born in Torquay and had two loan spells with United from Plymouth Argyle in 2023-24 and 2024-25, his afternoon ended early as he went off injured after four minutes. 

5. It remains tight at the top. 

United's win over the Romans moves Jimmy Ball's side up to third in the table, four points behind leaders Worthing, who overtook Dorking Wanderers after beating them 2-1 at the Meadowbank Stadium to lead them on goal difference. 

The Gulls are level on points with Ebbsfleet United, but are ahead of them by virtue of goal difference. Hornchurch trail them by a point in fifth with 73, after they lost 5-4 away to Maidstone United, and Maidenhead United and Hemel Hempstead Town make up the remainder of the top seven with 72 points. 

Last season, only three points separated the top six and it looks like as though that could be the case again in 2025-26. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE FRIDAY

 Good Friday 2026 proved to be a mixed bag for South West sides, as their fortunes turned out to be varied. 

Torquay United enjoyed the most success on the day as they came away from Weston Super Mare's Optima Stadium with a 3-0 win over the Seagulls. 

The Gulls took the lead on 15 minutes when skipper Matt Worthington curled home his third goal of the campaign from the edge of the penalty area after being teed up by loanee Reece Evans. In the second half, United's win was confirmed in the second half when sub Louis Dennis netted a quick fire brace, with fellow sub Sonny Blu Lo-Everton provided the assists for both efforts. 

It was also the first time that United have secured back-to-back wins under new manager Jimmy Ball. 

Plymouth Argyle's play-off hopes in League One suffered a blow as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to fellow play-off hopefuls Bolton Wanderers, who spent the majority of the game playing with ten men. 

Bolton were reduced to ten two minutes before half-time when John McAtee received a straight red card. However, despite their numerical disadvantage, the Trotters took the lead from the penalty spot when Johnny Kenny converted from the spot on 49 minutes after the Pilgrims' Mathias Ross was penalised for a hand ball. 

Argyle drew level in the 57th minute when Ronan Curtis latched onto a through ball from Herbie Kane before slotting home. Nevertheless, Bolton found a winner in bizarre circumstances on 70 minutes as the Pilgrims' Malachi Boateng turned the ball into his own net, which ultimately proved to be the difference. 

At the other end of the table in League One, Exeter City find themselves three points from safety following a 1-0 loss to relegation rivals Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. Tom Bloxham scored the decisive goal for the Tangerines in the 29th minute - extending the Grecians' winless run to 15 games - a decline that interim manager Matt Taylor hasn't been able to halt since he returned to St James Park in the wake of Gary Caldwell's departure to Wigan Athletic. 

Truro City's stay in the fifth tier will be coming to an end after the Tinners lost 1-0 to Yeovil Town at Huish Park. A late solo effort from Will Merry secured the win for the Glovers, who move into mid-table. 

WHEN APPROACHING THE PLAY-OFFS - MOMENTUM IS EVERYTHING

 It is often that the end of season play-offs are a lottery, but there is one magic word beginning with 'M' that can help clubs negotiate them - momentum. 

Very often, history has shown us that the hangover of missing out on automatic promotion can end up being carried over into the end of season showdown by some clubs. It has also shown that other teams who make a late charge to reach them can end up claiming the bounty on offer and go on to win promotion. 

This has proved to be the case when Torquay United have enjoyed successful play-off campaigns in the past. 

In the 1990-91 season, John Impey took over a side that had dropped into mid-table, after previously leading the Fourth Division table under Dave Smith. The Gulls then went on a six-match unbeaten run, which included a 5-0 win over Aldershot. 

A 2-1 final day win against York City sealed United's place in the play-offs, where they would face Burnley over two legs. Goals from Dean Edwards and Matt Elliott secured a 2-1 win over the Clarets at Plainmoor lost the return leg at Turf Moor 1-0 courtesy of a Stewart Evans own goal to set a final with Blackpool at Wembley. 

The Tangerines, in their first appearance at Wembley since the 1953 'Matthews' FA Cup final against Bolton Wanderers, took the lead through Paul Groves before Wes Saunders headed home a cross from Mark Loram to equalise. A penalty from Edwards gave the Gulls the lead from the penalty spot, which was later cancelled out by an unfortunate own goal by Chris Curran - ending the game into extra time. 

After extra time, the game headed to penalties, which both sides missing their first spot-kicks (Loram for the Gulls and Tony Rodwell for the Tangerines). Each team then converted all four of their next penalties (Micky Holmes, Paul Holmes, Saunders and Chris Myers for the Gulls) - sending the shoot-out to sudden death. 

United goalkeeper Gareth Howells then seized the initiative and stepped up to become the first keeper to save and score a penalty at Wembley (he had saved Rodwell's earlier effort for Blackpool). The Tangerines' veteran striker David Bamber then fluffed his lines with Blackpool's next spot-kick, which mean that the Gulls became the first side to win a play-off final on penalties at Wembley. 

Eighteen years later, and in a different division, Paul Buckle was looking to mastermind a return to the Football League for the Gulls at the second time of asking in the 2008-09 campaign

United had missed out in the play-offs in 2007-08 in the semi-finals to local rivals Exeter City after spending most of the season battling it out for the title with Aldershot Town. 

Whereas the Gulls had lost three of their last four going into the play-offs in 2007-08, which also included three defeats, they were unbeaten in their last four - including a final 2-1 win at Plainmoor against eventual champions Burton Albion - going into the 2008-09 play-offs where Cambridgeshire part-time outfit Histon lay in wait. 

Just as in 1990-91, United won their first leg at Plainmoor 2-0, with goals from Tim Sill and Nicky Wroe. Also in keeping with their 1990-91 display, they lost the second leg 1-0 to go through to the final 2-1 on aggregate where Cambridge United awaiting them. 

Cambridge themselves had missed out on the title on the final to Burton, and it was the Gulls who took the lead in the first half as captain Chris Hargreaves struck. The U's were later reduced to ten men when Paul Bolland was sent off, and it was then left to Sills to famously head home Wayne Carlisle's to put the icing on the cake for United - as they returned to the Football League. 

Parallels can be drawn in 2025-26 with the Gulls' 2008-09 campaign, as they were also looking to win promotion a year on from missing out in the play-offs just as United are now under Jimmy Ball. There is also similarity with the change in manager, with Ball replacing Paul Wotton just as Impey replaced Smith in 1991. 

With six games to go, the message that yours truly would have for the Plainmoor faithful - fasten your seal belts because it's going to be quite a ride!