While the regular season has wrapped up in the EFL and non-league, teams up and down the country who have secured a play-off place began their respective hunts for promotion, including a handful of on-loan Sutton players.

We run through them in our final edition of Loan Watch for the 2025/26 season.

The National League South saw four Sutton players aim to secure fifth tier status for their respective clubs, with Dillon De Silva and Siju Odelusi kicking off the division’s Southern section of the campaign with Maidenhead United, taking on Liam Vincent’s Dorking Wanderers.

The Magpies’ duo, who are both set to leave Gander Green Lane permanently at the end of their contracts in July, saw their season come to a close at the hands of Marc White’s side, as first half goals from Alfie Rutherford and Harry Sidwell condemned the league’s seventh place outfit to defeat in the first eliminator round.

Photo Credit: Darren Woolley

De Silva started the encounter at Meadowbank and thought he had given Maidenhead the lead after six minutes, if not for the offside flag, before being replaced by Alfie Pendlebury five minutes into the second half, half-an-hour before Odelusi was introduced, replacing Matt Robinson with ten minutes remaining in a final roll of the dice from Ryan Peters.

Photo Credit: Darren Woolley

Vincent meanwhile returned from an injury sustained a few weeks ago to take his place on the bench, remaining as an unused substitute as the Wanderers secured an invaluable win that saw them progress to the Semi-Final, where they headed to Torquay United and Will Tizzard.

With a place in the play-off final on the line, Dorking will have been keen to make amends for their slip away from the title race late into the campaign, but were put to the sword by a vicious Gulls side.

Indeed, braces from former Sutton forward Deon Moore and Jordan Young gave Jimmy Ball’s side a 4-0 advantage, and while George Knight and Rutherford scored two late consolation goals to give Torquay a slight scare, it proved to be too little, too late for the Surrey-based side, who are set to embark on another campaign in the sixth tier.

Vincent returned to action when he replaced George Francomb after 34 minutes due to injury, going toe to toe with his Sutton teammate, with Tizzard entering the fray shortly before the hour-mark to contribute to an important day in the Gulls’ season, who will have their eyes firmly fixed on a return to the National League after a three-year absence.

Second place Hornchurch were the side standing in the way of Torquay’s goal, with the Urchins set to host the Gulls after beating Weston-super-Mare thanks to goals from Josh Rees and former Sutton forward Henry Sandat.

As such, Tizzard had the chance to again go toe to toe with another former teammate, though Sandat was replaced before the Sutton defender’s introduction, with Torquay suffering heartbreak as Henry Hearn struck in stoppage time to deny the Gulls their fifth tier status.

Two brilliant strikes from former Sutton striker Deon Moore either side of a Dominic Poleon penalty late in the first half sent the Devon-based side to within minutes of promotion, but Hearn scored the scrappiest of goals to level deep into injury time, and was followed by Tizzard’s introduction moments before the referee blew the full time whistle, with Extra Time to come in East London. He subsequently played the full half-an-hour as Sam Ling struck a dramatic winner with three minutes to go, sealing Hornchurch’s first ever spot in the National League, while Torquay will embark on a third successive season at Step 2.

Photo Credit: Frankie OKeeffe/PPAUK

Up north, Jaiden White returned to Chester’s matchday squad after two months away, remaining as an unused substitute as they fell to defeat at the hands of Macclesfield, having won five games on the trot at the end of the National League North season to seal a seventh place finish.

The Seals went on to suffer late heartbreak, as despite taking the lead in the first half, a 90+8th minute goal from Luke Duffy brought an agonising end to Chester’s season, with another campaign in the sixth tier on the horizon under new manager Phil Parkinson.

Photo Credit: Tom Green

In addition, George Vorster has also been rewarded for his superb exploits on loan at Burgess Hill Town.

The young forward has enjoyed a stellar campaign in West Sussex, notching 17 goals in 40 games, with his form also seeing him earn a brief call-up to Sutton’s first team under Chris Agutter, with his league debut against Gateshead coming in between appearances in the Surrey Senior Cup against Guildford City and AFC Croydon Athletic, the latter being his first start.

As for his time with the Hillians, Vorster has been recognised by scooping up a hat-trick of awards, being named the club’s Supporters’ Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.

Photo Credit: Lynden Humphrey