TORPOINT Athletic joint boss Dean Cardew hailed his players as the Cornishmen moved to within two wins of promotion following a 2-0 success at Oldland Abbotonians.

A first half goal from Freddie Chapman was added to in the 81st minute by top-scorer Curtis Damerell, that after Ryan Rickard saved a penalty just six minutes after the restart.

The Point know that if they beat title rivals Paulton Rovers on Saturday then whatever Barnstaple Town do at Oldland will be irrelevant provided Torpoint beat Wellington next Tuesday night (7.30pm).

A delighted Cardew, who was able to take a near full-strength side up the M5 with the exception of suspended centre-half Callum O’Brien, said: “It was a very good win in what was a horrible away fixture on a Tuesday night. It’s always a difficult place to go at the best of times, but last night added that little bit more.

“We started the game really well, which was vitally important to give us a platform to build on, and really should have been more than just the one goal in front at half-time.

“The second half they had a good spell, which was inevitable at some point in the game, and Ricks made a very good, important penalty save early in the second half, which if they scored that could have set up a completely different night.

“We eventually went on to score our second goal after some great work from Joe Rapson to set up Dammers, and we were able to see the rest of the game out.”

Those three points mean that the equation is simple.

If Paulton win at The Mill on Saturday then they know they will be back at Step Four as champions, while a Barum victory coupled with a draw at Torpoint would see the North Devon outfit make a return to the Southern League.

For Torpoint, win both in front of their own fans and they will avoid the play-offs which they are guaranteed to be in regardless.

Cardew admits it’s set up to be a fascinating 180 minutes in the coming days, but feels they are punching above their weight.

He concluded: “The win at Oldland has set up a massive game on Saturday at home to Paulton in which both teams are still in with a shout of winning the league.

“Paulton in particular know that beating us makes them champions and neither team can realistically afford a draw. So I think it’s set up for a very exciting game.

“Paulton are a very, very good team with Southern League pedigree, and I think that level is where they belong. So they will be throwing everything at it.

“For us, to think we’ve taken it to this stage of the season, still in the mix with such big clubs like Paulton, Barnstaple and Clevedon is an absolutely remarkable achievement. I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved.

“We will give it everything that we have left for these two games, and let’s see where it leaves us. But these are the games that you want to be involved in in football and I can’t wait.”