Hawks could yet win promotion through the National League play-offs after FA give permission to extend season

Jason Prior celebrates his last-gasp winner for the Hawks against Concord in April 2018 that saw them win promotion to the National League. Picture: Neil Marshall.

The Football Association yesterday granted the National League an extension to the 2019/20 season.

That means the NL can stage play-off games beyond the previous end of May deadline.

Following a meeting last Thursday, FA Council members had been asked to vote on the proposal.

This decision keeps the prospect of National League play-offs on the table, but doesn’t mean they will definitely happen.

Though clubs voted to cancel the remaining league games, they still haven’t been asked how they would want to bring the season to a close.

Declaring the entire campaign null and void - in the same way the FA ended the seasons of non-league clubs between levels 3-7 - has still not been ruled out.

How many teams will be in the play-offs, if they do take place, is also not yet known.

Normally, there are six teams involved - two more than in the EFL play-offs.

The fifth-placed team hosts the sixth-placed one, and the fourth-placed once welcomes the seventh-placed one, in the first round of games.

The winners of the first game would then travel to play the team who finished second, with the winners of 4th v 7th travelling to the team that finished third.

The final will be at the ground of the team that finished the season in the highest place.

Regards the National League South, that would give Hawks - second when 2019/20 was halted in mid-March - home advantage throughout.

If the NL South play-offs did take place, Slough (5th) would host Dartford (6th) with Bath City (4th) hosting Dorking (7th).

Hawks would welcome Slough or Dartford in the semi-finals, with Weymouth hosting Bath or Dorking.

Of those six clubs who could appear in the play-offs, Dorking are the only one who have never appeared in the highest tier of English non-league football.

Indeed, they were only formed in 1999 and as recently as 2006/07 were playing in the West Sussex League.

On winning promotion to the Sussex League, they won further promotions in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

In their second season in the Isthmian League South Division, 2016/17, they went up again via the play-offs before romping to the Premier title in 2018/19 by a 22-point margin.

Dorking’s top scorer this season is Portsmouth-born Jason Prior.

The ex-Moneyfields, Bognor Regis and Hawks striker is aiming for his fourth successive promotion.

Having helped Hawks to promotion from the Southern Premier League in 2016/17 and the NL South in 2017/18, he then helped Dorking win the Isthmian Premier in 2018/19.