Saturday, April 26. Welling United 1 Salisbury 1. Park View Road.
PLAYERS, fans and everyone involved with Salisbury FC are celebrating after the Whites officially avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth.
Points shared in the 1-1 draw on Saturday (April 26) mean Salisbury has retained its status in the Vanarama National League South for the 25/26 season.
The club was well supported in this crucial end-of-the-season decider, and fans who made the trip to London gathered behind the team for a photo following the game.
A penalty from Josh Hedges in the first half was enough to secure safety, despite Welling United getting an equaliser in the second half.
The Whites end their season in 20th place, with just one point separating them from the now-relegated St Albans.
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St Albans themselves had a huge part to play on the final day of the season, as Salisbury needed to equal or better their result against Truro.
Luckily for Salisbury, St Albans were 4-1 down by halftime, eventually going on to lose 5-2.
Speaking to the club after the game, manager Brian Dutton expressed his delight in staying up.
“It’s been a tough season. This is a serious, serious league and we’ve had a lot of injuries and hard luck stories this season.
“But the lads have stuck together and we’ve got over the line. I’m delighted for everyone associated with the football club and we don’t do things easily here at Salisbury; it was always going to go down to the wire.”
He added that there have been many learning curves this season.
“Especially from me,” he said. “I’ve made loads of mistakes which I’m looking to remedy next season, but as a management team it took us half a season to work out the Southern Premier and we’ve had a season at the National League South and we’re all wiser for it.
“I just hope that the club can back us, as it’s really important we don’t paddle. We don’t want another season of this – we want to really kick the football club on, but we’ve got to make it sustainable.”
Brian said improvements to the club’s infrastructure and sponsorship are needed so progress can be made.
He added: “We back ourselves as a management team. We think we’ve got the answers that can really push the club forward, but to do that, we need lots of help and support from everybody.”
Former player Callum Hart, who is now the assistant manager, said the club had “no chance” of staying up this season.
“Some people say, ‘don’t celebrate staying up,’ but for me, when you achieve anything in life and in football, it’s a cause for celebration.
“We had no right to stay up this year, so we’re definitely going to celebrate it, and hopefully we will be better next year.”
He also praised fans who have stuck by the club throughout the tough season.
He added: “Huge credit to them. It’s not cheap to watch football these days, so we appreciate everyone that comes through the turnstiles to support us home and away and hopefully they can go now with smiles on their faces and enjoy their summer.”
Salisbury players will hopefully not have celebrated too hard following their dramatic win however, as the season is not done and dusted yet.
Salisbury still have a chance of silverware as they face Swindon Supermarine in the final of the Wiltshire FA Premier Shield tomorrow evening (7.45pm) at the Ray Mac.
l left Salisbury 50 yrs ago but I still keep an eye on the results. always remember great times at Victoria Park and a great FA match against Millwall. wishing all at the club a better season for 25/26.
Great remarks from the manager, takes a big man to admit his mistakes