Ever since we were defeated 3-2 by May & Baker and then failed to beat AS London in the following game, it looked as though we had let the title slip away from us. It’s no secret that by doing so, it was no longer in our hands, and with Hackney Wick relentlessly winning games with ease, the chances of a league title coming to Harlow on April 21st were slim.

As a club, we had begun to accept that playoffs were coming and this is still of course a possibility and if it is to happen, we will do everything we can to ensure we win them, but a miracle took place yesterday. Hackney Wick dropped points for the first time since we defeated them in March, falling to a 2-2 draw with 19th place Newbury Forest.

The result of their poor result is that we find ourselves top of the league on goal difference, with both sides sitting on 89 points from 37 games with the exact same record. Our goal difference is superior to the Witham-based team by 9 goals, and so if both sides were to win on Monday afternoon, then Hackney Wick would need to score 10 more goals than Harlow to lift the title.

This season has been one of the most dramatic we have experienced in recent years, and that takes a lot given some of the crazy seasons we have had. We’re sure that football is never short of drama, with twists and turns along the way, and this season has epitomised that, taking supporters on an emotional rollercoaster and everything will now come down to this final game.

The playoff race in itself is still well-and-truly open, with nothing set-in-stone there yet, and this includes a looming uncertainty from the point-of-view of AS London, who had their match against Cannons Wood suspended and are awaiting the results of an appeal regarding that as to the makeup of their possible playoff campaign.

Hackney Wick have done themselves incredibly proud this season, considering they placed 8th last season and have gone onto battle us all season for a title. This has made what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting Thurlow Nunn Division One South title races for years, so Hackney Wick should be proud of themselves regardless of the outcome on Monday.

So, the overarching theme of this article is of course that we have a momentous game approaching. Tomorrow, a local derby against St Margaretsbury is what stands between the Hawks and a league title – automatic promotion to Step 5, and the fulfilment of what has been an unbelievable journey within the last two seasons.

We kick off at 3pm at the Pardus Wealth Stadium, and we need all of your support. Tell your friends, family, your friends’ friends, the dog, the cat. Tell everyone! Because there is a big job to be done on Monday, but we cannot do it without your amazing support.

We can’t wait to see you all tomorrow in our final league game of the season, and we hope that you will get behind the team and if successful, let’s all go mental at the full-time whistle. Let’s do this Harlow. Let’s win our first league title since 1989. We must rise and continue to be absolutely… MASSIVE!