AMID these unprecedented times for all on planet Earth, those who follow English non-league football have witnessed another quite unprecedented situation.

Not since the onset of the Second World War has a football season in England been declared null and void – until now.

Back then, it was Adolf Hitler’s Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 that preceded the early end to the 1939/40 season.

Football League teams pressed on with their third match of the season the following day, but football in the country was abandoned a day later following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany.

But given the then-First Division leaders Blackpool had only played three games, they may have been slightly less disappointed than the likes of Truro City, Helston Athletic and Penryn Athletic were today.

Well over halfway through a gruelling 2019/20 campaign, the aforementioned trio of west Cornwall teams were sitting pretty at the top of their respective divisions.

Truro looked well placed to secure an instant return to National League South, Helston were enjoying a record-breaking run of 24 consecutive league wins in the SWPL Premier West, and Penryn Athletic were destined to seal promotion to Step 6 for the first time in their history.

READ MORE: South West Peninsula League season declared null and void

But it was a rather different kind of declaration of war that stopped all three teams, and several others up and down the country, in their tracks, as drastic measures were taken to try and curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

When witnessing yet another heroic Falmouth Town comeback on March 11, recovering from 2-1 down at home to St Blazey to win 3-2 and reach the Walter C Parson League Cup semi-finals, I would never have thought that it would be the last senior football match I would be reporting on this season.

Football was temporarily suspended less than two days later, before being extended another three days later, with the country being placed on lockdown another seven days after that.

A quick resolution was never likely given these restrictions, and with the FA’s end-of-season deadline of April 25 making life difficult for clubs to fit in their fixtures even before football was suspended, it appears that it was left with little alternative but to end things there.

Possible methods of resolving the season was debated among league officials and among those on social media. The best-case scenario of continuing the season at a later date was rapidly becoming less and less likely, with concerns that the 2020/21 season would be affected by the delay.

That left three options: end the season and use the current standings to determine promotion and relegation, end the season and use a points-per-game method to determine promotion and relegation, or void the season entirely and start from scratch.

Each solution had its pros and cons. The first would have been harsh on those who had games in hand over the teams above them, the second solved that problem but raised questions over each club having played different teams a different number of times (with SWPL title rivals Helston Athletic and Saltash United still due to play each other twice, for example), and while the third would be a more balanced solution, it would be a cruel blow to those who were enjoying excellent campaigns.

All three methods were going to have winners and losers, and it is the likes of Truro, Helston and Penryn who are the losers in this one.

I have huge sympathy for our three local sides that were top of their respective divisions. All three teams were top of their leagues for large portions of the season, and it was highly likely that at least two of them, if not all three, would have been promoted had the season reached its natural conclusion.

But a natural conclusion was never going to be possible once the initial suspension of football kicked in on March 13.

We are, unfortunately, in a situation where the words normal and natural have been replaced by uncertain and unprecedented. There was never going to be a solution that pleased everyone, but it was the least of our worries at this moment in time anyway.

Saltash United assistant manager Dane Bunney summed it up well in a personal statement on Twitter, saying: “Despite being in the running for three trophies I agree and respect the decision made by the FA. We live in unprecedented times, football will return but right now we must all focus on other priorities that have altered our lives.

“Hopefully we can start next season on time, should it be safe to do so, but until that time please stay safe everyone.”

This awful situation we find ourselves in is a life and death situation for many people. Football, as much as we may tell ourselves the opposite, is not life and death.

Hopefully the new (old) season will return come August and we can look forward to doing it all over again, but that’s not the most important thing right now.