WELL ALMOST...

This interminable football season is surely now in its death throes.  After what seems half a lifetime of ups, downs, stops, starts, unpredictability and general confusion the season is nearing the end of its line.   This weekend we have seen the ups and downs from the Championship, Leagues One and Two and some more minor competitions resolved.  Well, almost.

And it has been a weekend of triumphs, disasters and all things in between, so let`s start with a rare triumph, which was Forest Green Rovers` 3-0 win away at Oldham to secure their place in the League Two play-offs.   A fully committed performance saw the boys from the New Lawn romp home at Boundary Park and they now face a two-leg semi-final against Newport County.   The first leg will be away at Newport`s Rodney Parade ground on 18th May with the return leg at home on 23rd May.   A win over those two legs will secure a play-off final at Wembley, so at the end of it I hope they will be dancing in the streets of Nailsworth in celebration.

Another triumph of a different kind was Accrington Stanley`s spirited 1-0 win away at Portsmouth today - a result that sees Southampton`s sworn rivals consigned to yet another season in the depths of League One.   I could now become a devoted Accrington Stanley fan in homage to the honesty of their achievement in a game which meant little to them but so much more to the Blue Few of kraP nottarF, whose season has ended on a note of heartbreak.  So sad.

Gillingham ended their season today with a 1-0 win over Plymouth and so ended in the top ten of the League One table.  All in all it has been a season of some promise for my neighbour`s heroes and it will be interesting to see if their rotund manager Steve (Two Pies) Evans can propel them to greater things next term.

Southampton went down 2-0 away at Liverpool last evening, a result which still leaves them pretty safe from relegation but not mathematically so - the odd point or three from their last four games would be welcome to stave off the unlikelihood of Fulham winning each of their remaining four fixtures.  To be fair, it has been a season of real ups and downs for the Saints - topping the table in November but likely to finish too close to the bottom three for comfort.  

And finally, Brechin City who fell woefully to the bottom of Scottish League Two now face a two-leg final of their own to determine whether  they can maintain their league status.  Like Forest Green Rovers, their dates with destiny are 18th and 23td May when they face Kelty Hearts, the winners of the play-off against Brora Rangers.   Kelty look the real deal following their triumph in winning the Lowland League and dispatching Highland League champions Brora 6-1 on aggregate over the two legs of their play off.   Brechin`s hedge might need a bit more than a trim for that one.

Will it ever end?