Weekend Round Up - Saturday 7th May 2016
Sun 8th May 2016 | General | By Patrick Burke
One of the most thrilling and unpredictable North West Counties Football League seasons in history came to a close on Saturday. In an afternoon that saw colossal joy and heart-breaking despair across the region, promotion and relegation issues were finalised in the Premier Division, and the make-up of the play-offs confirmed in the First Division.
Going into the last round of Premier Division fixtures, nothing had been decided. That really is incredible and great testament to all 22 teams for keeping things so close!
However, congratulations go out to Colne, who are the 2015/16 NWCFL Champions. Danny Boyle struck the only goal seven minutes from time at 1874 Northwich, the lethal finisher making sure of the title and thus promotion to the Evo-Stik League. 1874 finished in the top four for the second year in a row.
That meant that Runcorn Linnets’ 4-0 win at Padiham wasn’t enough for Joey Dunn’s side to avoid finishing runners-up for the third season running.
Two brilliant first-half goals from Kyle Hamid and River Humphreys had Linnets behind Colne on goal difference at half-time. Hamid’s strike and an own goal gave the scoreline a comfortable feel, but Linnets were made to try again next season. Reasonably good form since Christmas helped Padiham to end the season 11th – just inside the top half.
If the title race was close, then ‘on a knife edge’ would be an understatement to describe the battle to avoid relegation, with five teams knowing that they could go down and three spots to be avoided.
AFC Darwen will be playing Premier Division football next season after a 4-1 win against a Cammell Laird 1907 side promoted alongside them last season.
Joe Gibiluru slammed home to give Lairds a good start, but two goals from Anthony Lynch, separated by a stunning long-range finish from Mark McKay, gave the hosts a 3-1 half-time lead.
Luke McKenna’s penalty wrapped up the win in front of a jubilant WEC Group Anchor Ground crowd. Tony Sullivan’s final game in charge of Lairds didn’t go the way that he would have liked, but his side can be satisfied in finishing 15th.
Squires Gate notched two second half goals without reply at Ashton Athletic to preserve their status in the NWCFL’s top flight. Despite lying in the drop zone after 45 minutes, a Mark Buchan penalty and late Joe Noblet goal saw Gate finish 19th. Another solid campaign from Athletic has resulted in them ending the season in 7th place.
Commiserations go to Alsager Town, Silsden and AFC Blackpool, who gave it a right go but were relegated to the First Division.
A 2-2 draw at Maine Road for Scott Dundas’ Alsager saw them fall just short of a great escape. Matthew Morgan put the hosts ahead, but Ashley Hill and Michael Lennon turned the game around in the Bullets’ favour before the hour mark.
Michael Burke’s equaliser with twelve minutes left put Road in 12th place, but Alsager finished 20th, just inside the relegation zone.
In front of a large crowd at Silsden, Nicholas McNally gave the Cobbydalers a half-time lead against Bootle. However, Michael Ordish struck a fatal blow to their survival prospects on 73 minutes to end Silsden’s eleven year stay in the Premier Division. Bootle’s season ended in 8th place, below Ashton Athletic on goal difference.
On an emotional day for West Didsbury & Chorlton after the sad news of the passing of Vice-Chairman Rob Turley, the south Manchester-based side won 5-3 at AFC Blackpool to secure a top five finish.
Nic Evangelinos, Joseph Shaw, Anthony Potts, Steve Brockley and Matthew Kay were on target for West. Goals for AFC Blackpool from Paul Carroll, Jack Williams and Richard Seear couldn’t prevent them from finishing bottom.
They can take a lot of heart from the pride and character shown this year, but will be in the First Division next season.
Barnoldswick Town and Atherton Collieries have both had good 2015/16 campaigns, but Barlick ran out 5-1 winners in this one.
Dalton Hutchison opened the scoring for the home side, with braces from Mark Threlfall and Harry Thompson following. James Kirby’s late goal for Colls was merely a consolation, but despite their heaviest defeat of the season, Michael Clegg’s side finished 3rd. The win for Barnoldswick took them up to 9th.
Congleton Town had to settle for a 6th placed finish after drawing 0-0 with AFC Liverpool. The point kept the Merseyside outfit in 17th, but good results recently will give them optimism for next season.
The final game was a mid-table clash between Runcorn Town and Abbey Hey, but Simon Burton couldn’t get the result he wanted on his Town farewell, his side going down to a 2-0 defeat.
Nico Collins’ double for Abbey helped them to a highest ever finish in 10th place. Disappointing end of season form led to Runcorn Town finishing 13th.
In the First Division, Hanley Town went down to a 3-1 defeat at Holker Old Boys, not that they will be too concerned with the title already in the bag. Two goals from Michael Rushton set the home side on their way, before Theo Stair responded for the champions.
Christopher Wraighte struck with sixteen minutes to play, restoring Holker’s two goal advantage. That was how it finished. Scott Redhead’s side missed out on the play-offs by a point, finishing 8th.
Bacup Borough leapfrogged Cheadle Town into 5th, despite being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Daisy Hill.
Adrian Bellamy and Oluwatobi Olayemi seemed to have secured three points for Bacup, but the visitors continued their excellent record against the top sides in the division after Alex McPolin netted twice late on. His team finished 12th.
The final game saw an emphatic 6-0 victory for Chadderton against Ashton Town at Andrew Street. Niall Sutton, Macauley Harewood, Liam Wood and James Done all struck for Chaddy, with a second-half Christopher Pauley brace helping them to end their campaign in 15th place. Ashton Town had to be content with 11th place in the end.
The season is not quite over yet. Barnton host Cheadle Town and Stockport Town welcome Bacup Borough on Monday in the First Division play-off semi-finals.
The Men United Cup final on Tuesday sees Atherton Collieries and Colne go head-to-head at Fleetwood Town, before the play-off final next Saturday.
This weekend, though, belongs to Colne. 100 points was enough for the title, and we wish them all the best in the Evo-Stik League next season!
Weekend Round Up - Saturday 7th May 2016
Sun 8th May 2016 | General
By Patrick Burke
One of the most thrilling and unpredictable North West Counties Football League seasons in history came to a close on Saturday. In an afternoon that saw colossal joy and heart-breaking despair across the region, promotion and relegation issues were finalised in the Premier Division, and the make-up of the play-offs confirmed in the First Division.
Going into the last round of Premier Division fixtures, nothing had been decided. That really is incredible and great testament to all 22 teams for keeping things so close!
However, congratulations go out to Colne, who are the 2015/16 NWCFL Champions. Danny Boyle struck the only goal seven minutes from time at 1874 Northwich, the lethal finisher making sure of the title and thus promotion to the Evo-Stik League. 1874 finished in the top four for the second year in a row.
That meant that Runcorn Linnets’ 4-0 win at Padiham wasn’t enough for Joey Dunn’s side to avoid finishing runners-up for the third season running.
Two brilliant first-half goals from Kyle Hamid and River Humphreys had Linnets behind Colne on goal difference at half-time. Hamid’s strike and an own goal gave the scoreline a comfortable feel, but Linnets were made to try again next season. Reasonably good form since Christmas helped Padiham to end the season 11th – just inside the top half.
If the title race was close, then ‘on a knife edge’ would be an understatement to describe the battle to avoid relegation, with five teams knowing that they could go down and three spots to be avoided.
AFC Darwen will be playing Premier Division football next season after a 4-1 win against a Cammell Laird 1907 side promoted alongside them last season.
Joe Gibiluru slammed home to give Lairds a good start, but two goals from Anthony Lynch, separated by a stunning long-range finish from Mark McKay, gave the hosts a 3-1 half-time lead.
Luke McKenna’s penalty wrapped up the win in front of a jubilant WEC Group Anchor Ground crowd. Tony Sullivan’s final game in charge of Lairds didn’t go the way that he would have liked, but his side can be satisfied in finishing 15th.
Squires Gate notched two second half goals without reply at Ashton Athletic to preserve their status in the NWCFL’s top flight. Despite lying in the drop zone after 45 minutes, a Mark Buchan penalty and late Joe Noblet goal saw Gate finish 19th. Another solid campaign from Athletic has resulted in them ending the season in 7th place.
Commiserations go to Alsager Town, Silsden and AFC Blackpool, who gave it a right go but were relegated to the First Division.
A 2-2 draw at Maine Road for Scott Dundas’ Alsager saw them fall just short of a great escape. Matthew Morgan put the hosts ahead, but Ashley Hill and Michael Lennon turned the game around in the Bullets’ favour before the hour mark.
Michael Burke’s equaliser with twelve minutes left put Road in 12th place, but Alsager finished 20th, just inside the relegation zone.
In front of a large crowd at Silsden, Nicholas McNally gave the Cobbydalers a half-time lead against Bootle. However, Michael Ordish struck a fatal blow to their survival prospects on 73 minutes to end Silsden’s eleven year stay in the Premier Division. Bootle’s season ended in 8th place, below Ashton Athletic on goal difference.
On an emotional day for West Didsbury & Chorlton after the sad news of the passing of Vice-Chairman Rob Turley, the south Manchester-based side won 5-3 at AFC Blackpool to secure a top five finish.
Nic Evangelinos, Joseph Shaw, Anthony Potts, Steve Brockley and Matthew Kay were on target for West. Goals for AFC Blackpool from Paul Carroll, Jack Williams and Richard Seear couldn’t prevent them from finishing bottom.
They can take a lot of heart from the pride and character shown this year, but will be in the First Division next season.
Barnoldswick Town and Atherton Collieries have both had good 2015/16 campaigns, but Barlick ran out 5-1 winners in this one.
Dalton Hutchison opened the scoring for the home side, with braces from Mark Threlfall and Harry Thompson following. James Kirby’s late goal for Colls was merely a consolation, but despite their heaviest defeat of the season, Michael Clegg’s side finished 3rd. The win for Barnoldswick took them up to 9th.
Congleton Town had to settle for a 6th placed finish after drawing 0-0 with AFC Liverpool. The point kept the Merseyside outfit in 17th, but good results recently will give them optimism for next season.
The final game was a mid-table clash between Runcorn Town and Abbey Hey, but Simon Burton couldn’t get the result he wanted on his Town farewell, his side going down to a 2-0 defeat.
Nico Collins’ double for Abbey helped them to a highest ever finish in 10th place. Disappointing end of season form led to Runcorn Town finishing 13th.
In the First Division, Hanley Town went down to a 3-1 defeat at Holker Old Boys, not that they will be too concerned with the title already in the bag. Two goals from Michael Rushton set the home side on their way, before Theo Stair responded for the champions.
Christopher Wraighte struck with sixteen minutes to play, restoring Holker’s two goal advantage. That was how it finished. Scott Redhead’s side missed out on the play-offs by a point, finishing 8th.
Bacup Borough leapfrogged Cheadle Town into 5th, despite being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Daisy Hill.
Adrian Bellamy and Oluwatobi Olayemi seemed to have secured three points for Bacup, but the visitors continued their excellent record against the top sides in the division after Alex McPolin netted twice late on. His team finished 12th.
The final game saw an emphatic 6-0 victory for Chadderton against Ashton Town at Andrew Street. Niall Sutton, Macauley Harewood, Liam Wood and James Done all struck for Chaddy, with a second-half Christopher Pauley brace helping them to end their campaign in 15th place. Ashton Town had to be content with 11th place in the end.
The season is not quite over yet. Barnton host Cheadle Town and Stockport Town welcome Bacup Borough on Monday in the First Division play-off semi-finals.
The Men United Cup final on Tuesday sees Atherton Collieries and Colne go head-to-head at Fleetwood Town, before the play-off final next Saturday.
This weekend, though, belongs to Colne. 100 points was enough for the title, and we wish them all the best in the Evo-Stik League next season!
