We’re one step closer to discovering the rest of Yeovil’s 2025/26 opponents, as the remaining playoff participants battle it out for a place in next season’s National League. The table below features all the teams taking part (with the exception of the champions of course), and those struck through have been eliminated already; you can read more about that here.
Participants
| Final Position | National League North | National League South |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (Champions) | Brackley Town | Truro City |
| 2nd | Scunthorpe United | Torquay United |
| 3rd | Kidderminster Harriers | Eastbourne Borough |
| 4th | Chester | |
| 5th | Chorley | Boreham Wood |
| 6th | ||
| 7th | Maidstone United |
It had been confirmed for a couple of weeks already, but with the EFL regular season ending on Saturday, it’s 100% confirmed that Carlisle United and Morecambe are the two relegated sides to join the National League next season. Morecambe were confirmed as relegated on 21st April following a defeat against Salford City, and Carlisle United’s relegation was confirmed a week later after a 3-2 defeat at Cheltenham Town.
Results
The semi-finals were contested in the following fixtures:
National League North
Scunthorpe United vs Chorley
Kidderminster Harriers vs Chester
National League South
Torquay United vs Boreham Wood
Eastbourne Borough vs Maidstone United
We’ll start on Saturday afternoon in the north, where Scunthorpe United went one step further than last season’s heartbreak against Boston, by defeating Chorley in an enthralling encounter! It was a frenetic first half, with Danny Whitehall opening the scoring five minutes in, before Chorley equalised through Kole Hall. Whitehall got his second of the game 15 minutes later, before Callum Roberts added a third for the Iron three minutes later. Things calmed down for a while, before Carlton Ubaezuonu struck a fourth for Scunthorpe to end Chorley’s hopes, despite a late Kole Hall consolation goal.
It was a much less exciting match in the south, despite the upset – Boreham Wood frustrated a buoyant Plainmoor, defeating Torquay United courtesy of a scruffy Matt Rush goal. Torquay huffed and puffed, but were eventually condemned to a third consecutive season of NLS football.
Sunday saw two 2-1 score lines, and further upsets, as playoff drama hit its peak! We’ll start in the south this time, as the 10 men of Maidstone United defeated Eastbourne Borough to boost their place in the final.
Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong gave the visitors the lead shortly before half-time, before Alfie Pavey equalised for Eastbourne just after the hour. With eight minutes remaining, Charlie Seaman was sent off for a second bookable offence, but up stepped Aaron Blair to score the winner in the 90th minute, leaving Eastbourne to lick their wounds after an impressive season.
In the north, Chester came from behind at Kidderminster Harriers to reach the playoff final. Kyle Morrison opened the scoring for Kiddy just 19 minutes in, but 10 minutes before half-time, Dylan Mottley-Henry equalised for the visitors. The second half was closely contested, before an 82nd minute Declan Weeks hit sent the Blues fans into raptures, as Kidderminster prepare for a second season of NLN football.
Both finals will be played on Sunday 18th May, with the northern final being hosted at Glanford Park by Scunthorpe United, and the southern final being played at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park.
Final Scores
National League North
Scunthorpe United 4-2 Chorley
Kidderminster Harriers 1-2 Chester
National League South
Torquay United 0-1 Boreham Wood
Eastbourne Borough 1-2 Maidstone United