Scarborough Athletic travel to Bedford Town this Saturday for the final game of the season with a National League North play-off place firmly in their own hands.
Scarborough Athletic will make the long journey to Bedfordshire this Saturday to face Bedford Town in their final National League North match of the season, with a coveted play-off spot firmly in their own hands.
The Seadogs currently sit in fifth place with seventy-two points after forty-five games played. In the National League North, teams finishing second through seventh qualify for the promotion play-offs, meaning a victory in the 12.30pm kick-off would guarantee Scarborough an extended season and a shot at promotion.
A win would see the Yorkshire Coast side finish on seventy-five points, officially putting them out of reach of eighth-placed Merthyr Town, who have seventy points, and ninth-placed Darlington, who sit on sixty-nine points.
However, the final day permutations show that anything less than a win could be statistically risky for Boro. Because Chester in sixth, Buxton in seventh, and Merthyr Town in eighth are all within two points of Scarborough, a draw would mean Boro need at least one of those three teams to fail to win their final match to secure their play-off position.
A loss would keep Scarborough on seventy-two points, leaving them highly vulnerable to being overtaken by Buxton, Chester, Darlington, and Merthyr Town. If three of those four teams were to win their final game while Scarborough lost, Boro would face the heartbreak of being pushed out of the play-off places entirely at the final hurdle.
The Seadogs are riding high following last Saturday’s brilliant 2-1 home victory against play-off rivals Merthyr Town. It was a tense affair, but Boro managed to turn the game around to claim all three vital points.
Scarborough Athletic Chairman Trevor Bull reflected on the vital comeback win.
"Going one nil down after three minutes didn't help everybody's nerves, that's for sure. But sometimes when you get a victory by coming from behind it makes it all the more special. And the lads worked so hard for that victory, absolutely deserved everything that they got.
It was just a great day, a great crowd, great atmosphere and just gave like you say, it's given us something to go into the last game of the season with."
Bedford Town, meanwhile, still have plenty to play for this weekend, as safety from the drop is not yet guaranteed for the hosts. They currently sit in eighteenth place on fifty-two points but are on a good run of form, remaining unbeaten in their last five games. They most recently put up a strong fight against South Shields to share the points in a 1-1 draw at the 1st Cloud Arena.
Trevor Bull said the tightness of the table is a testament to the division with 12 of the league's 24 teams still in contention for either a play-off place or the relegation battle.
"It just shows what a competitive league that we've been playing in.
I think we've said on and off over the season that any team in this league can beat any other team.
So yeah, it's quite fitting that there's so many teams playing for something right at the end.
It's going to be massive on Saturday isn't it."
This will be Scarborough Athletic's first time travelling to Bedford Town. The Eagles secured the Southern League title last season in a campaign that also came down to the final game of the season, where a 2-0 win against Stourbridge saw them hold off Kettering Town to achieve promotion. That success marked back-to-back promotions for Bedford, who had triumphed via the play-offs the season before.
When the two sides met earlier this season, the visitors twice took the lead. However, they were pegged back by a late Boro fightback, with a stoppage-time spot-kick from Rio Allan securing a 2-2 draw for Scarborough.
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