NWCFL 2023 Year Review - First Division North
Fri 29th December 2023 | A Look Back | By Jay Cooper
This is the second of three articles covering the major talking points surrounding all the divisions in the NWCFL throughout 2023. This piece will focus on the First Division North as the 2022/23 season came to a close and the 2023/24 season began.
The early months of 2023 seemed to teeter every week on what was shaping up to be a very hot title race in the NWCFL First Division North. Pilkington had led the way in the table for more weeks than they hadn't, but to assume that they were runaway leaders would be to assume very incorrectly. Both of league stalwarts Chadderton and new arrivals Euxton Villa were doing their best to stay right behind Stephen Palfrey's side, with Ilkley Town and other NWCFL debutants FC St Helens also in the play-off places, but maybe keeping themselves at more of a distance from the champions elect.
In fact, the push for the play-offs was also no foregone conclusion and would wind up being much more unpredictable than the title race itself by Spring. The top two, who I will address in more detail shortly, began to separate themselves from the rest of the promotion hopefuls, and, as they did, it seemed that Euxton Villa's candle was beginning to burn out. Despite being Pilkington's closest competitors for probably the majority of the season, they only managed to seal the last play-off place by having enough of a points buffer on eventual best of the rest Holker Old Boys.
In their final games of the season, Euxton lost 3-2 and Holker won 5-1 - one more week of results like this would've seen the latter leapfrog the former. In the end, Matty Atherton's side had done enough to round out a top 5 also consisting of Ilkley Town in 4th and FC St Helens in 3rd. What about those top two, then?
Interestingly, to talk about the title race also means we need to discuss 13th placed Bacup Borough. Just as Congleton Town from the Premier Division had made themselves a force to be reckoned with in cup competitions throughout 2022/23, Bacup Borough did the same from their position in the First Division North. Brent Peters' side were ultimately overcome by Congleton on penalties in the final of the Macron Cup, but did manage to take home a piece of silverware for themselves, winning the Edward Case Cup by beating Ellesmere Rangers on May 1st.
Whilst this was an accomplishment more than worthy of Borough, especially given that this was the season they celebrated their manager's 25th anniversary with the club, it did cause a logistical headache for the fixture organisers. These continued cup games seemed to go hand in hand with wet spring weather as reasons for league fixtures to be postponed, with Bacup absolutely being hit the hardest in this regard. As a result, in late April, after what was expected to be the final gameweek of fixtures for the league, both 1st placed Pilkington and 2nd placed Chadderton were still yet to play Bacup away from home. By sheer coincidence, it was the two teams duking it out for the league title that had these games in hand.
On Monday, April 17th, Chadderton edged a 4-3 thriller at Bacup, knowing that, if Pilkington were unable to match their result against the same opponents 2 days later, they would be champions. Unfortunately for Chaddy, Pilkington would also put 4 past Bacup to seal the deal, and they managed it without reply. The WA10 side picked up the league trophy and confirmed their place in the NWCFL Prem for 2023/24.
Fortunately for Chaddy, their hopes for promotion were not totally dashed. They still finished as the highest seed in the play-off places, which meant they would be given home advantage in the semi-final, and the final should they make it there - and they did. Ben Greenidge’s and Carl Taylor's side snuck by Euxton Villa in the semis, needing a late equalizer and a very tense 9-8 shootout victory to book their place in the final. They bagged an early goal in a 1-1 draw with FC St Helens in the final, and also edged that game on penalties. When looking at the season as a whole, Pilkington and Chadderton were probably the two fairest choices to get promoted. Even if Chaddy did it the hard way, they reaped the rewards.
From the top to the bottom of the league now, and the bottom two of the division by the end of 2022/23 consisted of the northern-most team in the league, Cleator moor Celtic; and the southern-most team in the league, Runcorn Town. Like with the Premier Division, there was quite the distance between bottom and 2nd bottom, with Cleator Moor only amassing 16 points to Runcorn's 29. There was no chance that the former would manage to earn a reprieve, and they were unfortunately condemned to the West Lancashire League. Runcorn, however, were spared a second consecutive relegation by their superior points average in comparison with the teams from the same position in lateral leagues.
During the off-season between 2022/23 and 2023/24, three teams left the First Division North via promotion and relegation - Pilkington, Chadderton and Cleator Moor Celtic - and it was revealed that 3 other teams would be their replacements - Ashton Athletic, via relegation from the Premier Division; Route One Rovers, via promotion from the Yorkshire Amateur League; and a returning Droylsden. Nice and simple, right? No! An initially anticipated 18-team league became a 19-team league when Shelley, also from the West Yorkshire League, were granted promotion in the subsequent weeks after this announcement.
Then, as mentioned in yesterday’s article, Winsford United accepted voluntary relegation to the First Division South. That was followed by another side from the South resigning from the league, and it was eventually decided that Droylsden would instead shuffle across to the First Division South in order to bring that division’s team number back up to 18, and would leave the North with this same amount of teams.
With no further name changes or play-off format altercations being made in this division, the season got underway in June without much of a hitch. And it soon became very clear that FC St Helens felt scorned in some way by their play-off final defeat months earlier. They started the season on the form of a lifetime, winning 10 games from their first 12 unbeaten, and since their first hiccup against Runcorn Town, they've only lost twice more from a total of 22 league games played so far.
There's a comfortable 10-point gap between first and second at the time of writing, but, much more compellingly, there's only a 3-point gap between that side in 2nd place, which is Atherton LR, and Ilkley Town, who are currently 8th. That's 7 teams, all harbouring play-off hopes, that are one win from claiming a place in the top 5, although, for teams that do manage that, their joy could easily be short-lived with the level of competition on show here. As of the end of 2023, it's really unclear as to who amongst Atherton LR, Route One Rovers, South Liverpool, Euxton Villa, Ashton Town, Bacup Borough or Ilkley Town will be occupying those crucial top 5 spots alongside, presumably, FC St Helens.
Despite a minor points deduction for Runcorn Town in this campaign, their form has been much better than it was last time out, and they currently find themselves in the middle of the pack, competing with the likes of league regulars Holker Old Boys and newly relegated Ashton Athletic for a place in the top half. You have to imagine that this is a position that Shelley, AFC Blackpool and Nelson will all be dreaming of finding themselves in by the end of the season.
It's currently those 3 names that occupy the bottom 3 positions in the league, with AFC Blackpool and Nelson in particular potential jeopardy. AFC Blackpool were propping up the table for the majority of the early stages of the campaign, but Nelson have replaced them at the foot of the league, thanks in part to a 3-point deduction they have suffered. There's currently 9 points between 16th placed Shelley and 17th placed AFC Blackpool, with Shelley surely looking at the 3-point gap between themselves and guaranteed safety as a very achievable goal to be completed ASAP - watch out, Garstang.
I made a slight mention before of South Liverpool's current status as play-off contenders as we make our way into 2024, but what I didn't mention was the fact that they are also one of only 2 teams from the whole NWCFL that are left in the Isuzu FA Vase. With the 4th round on the horizon, 4 well-timed wins could see South walk out at Wembley at the end of the season - you just never know.
One thing we do know, however, is that Bacup Borough will not make the final of the Macron Cup again this season, and neither will any other First Division North side. We're almost done with the 3rd round proper and there are no teams from this division left in the Macron Cup as of now. The same is not true for the Edward Case Cup, however. The quarter-final stage, which will come in February, will involve defending champions Bacup, as well as Euxton Villa and one of Holker Old Boys or South Liverpool – barring anything unforeseen, we'll find out on the first Saturday of the new year.
At this level of the game, there are transfers, managerial changes and shocking results a-plenty, and they can all happen at any time. After Christmas, elite level football can become somewhat predictable, but there's still everything to play for in the NWCFL, and the only way to see how it all happens is to come and watch.
NWCFL 2023 Year Review - First Division North
Fri 29th December 2023 | A Look Back
By Jay Cooper
This is the second of three articles covering the major talking points surrounding all the divisions in the NWCFL throughout 2023. This piece will focus on the First Division North as the 2022/23 season came to a close and the 2023/24 season began.
The early months of 2023 seemed to teeter every week on what was shaping up to be a very hot title race in the NWCFL First Division North. Pilkington had led the way in the table for more weeks than they hadn't, but to assume that they were runaway leaders would be to assume very incorrectly. Both of league stalwarts Chadderton and new arrivals Euxton Villa were doing their best to stay right behind Stephen Palfrey's side, with Ilkley Town and other NWCFL debutants FC St Helens also in the play-off places, but maybe keeping themselves at more of a distance from the champions elect.
In fact, the push for the play-offs was also no foregone conclusion and would wind up being much more unpredictable than the title race itself by Spring. The top two, who I will address in more detail shortly, began to separate themselves from the rest of the promotion hopefuls, and, as they did, it seemed that Euxton Villa's candle was beginning to burn out. Despite being Pilkington's closest competitors for probably the majority of the season, they only managed to seal the last play-off place by having enough of a points buffer on eventual best of the rest Holker Old Boys.
In their final games of the season, Euxton lost 3-2 and Holker won 5-1 - one more week of results like this would've seen the latter leapfrog the former. In the end, Matty Atherton's side had done enough to round out a top 5 also consisting of Ilkley Town in 4th and FC St Helens in 3rd. What about those top two, then?
Interestingly, to talk about the title race also means we need to discuss 13th placed Bacup Borough. Just as Congleton Town from the Premier Division had made themselves a force to be reckoned with in cup competitions throughout 2022/23, Bacup Borough did the same from their position in the First Division North. Brent Peters' side were ultimately overcome by Congleton on penalties in the final of the Macron Cup, but did manage to take home a piece of silverware for themselves, winning the Edward Case Cup by beating Ellesmere Rangers on May 1st.
Whilst this was an accomplishment more than worthy of Borough, especially given that this was the season they celebrated their manager's 25th anniversary with the club, it did cause a logistical headache for the fixture organisers. These continued cup games seemed to go hand in hand with wet spring weather as reasons for league fixtures to be postponed, with Bacup absolutely being hit the hardest in this regard. As a result, in late April, after what was expected to be the final gameweek of fixtures for the league, both 1st placed Pilkington and 2nd placed Chadderton were still yet to play Bacup away from home. By sheer coincidence, it was the two teams duking it out for the league title that had these games in hand.
On Monday, April 17th, Chadderton edged a 4-3 thriller at Bacup, knowing that, if Pilkington were unable to match their result against the same opponents 2 days later, they would be champions. Unfortunately for Chaddy, Pilkington would also put 4 past Bacup to seal the deal, and they managed it without reply. The WA10 side picked up the league trophy and confirmed their place in the NWCFL Prem for 2023/24.
Fortunately for Chaddy, their hopes for promotion were not totally dashed. They still finished as the highest seed in the play-off places, which meant they would be given home advantage in the semi-final, and the final should they make it there - and they did. Ben Greenidge’s and Carl Taylor's side snuck by Euxton Villa in the semis, needing a late equalizer and a very tense 9-8 shootout victory to book their place in the final. They bagged an early goal in a 1-1 draw with FC St Helens in the final, and also edged that game on penalties. When looking at the season as a whole, Pilkington and Chadderton were probably the two fairest choices to get promoted. Even if Chaddy did it the hard way, they reaped the rewards.
From the top to the bottom of the league now, and the bottom two of the division by the end of 2022/23 consisted of the northern-most team in the league, Cleator moor Celtic; and the southern-most team in the league, Runcorn Town. Like with the Premier Division, there was quite the distance between bottom and 2nd bottom, with Cleator Moor only amassing 16 points to Runcorn's 29. There was no chance that the former would manage to earn a reprieve, and they were unfortunately condemned to the West Lancashire League. Runcorn, however, were spared a second consecutive relegation by their superior points average in comparison with the teams from the same position in lateral leagues.
During the off-season between 2022/23 and 2023/24, three teams left the First Division North via promotion and relegation - Pilkington, Chadderton and Cleator Moor Celtic - and it was revealed that 3 other teams would be their replacements - Ashton Athletic, via relegation from the Premier Division; Route One Rovers, via promotion from the Yorkshire Amateur League; and a returning Droylsden. Nice and simple, right? No! An initially anticipated 18-team league became a 19-team league when Shelley, also from the West Yorkshire League, were granted promotion in the subsequent weeks after this announcement.
Then, as mentioned in yesterday’s article, Winsford United accepted voluntary relegation to the First Division South. That was followed by another side from the South resigning from the league, and it was eventually decided that Droylsden would instead shuffle across to the First Division South in order to bring that division’s team number back up to 18, and would leave the North with this same amount of teams.
With no further name changes or play-off format altercations being made in this division, the season got underway in June without much of a hitch. And it soon became very clear that FC St Helens felt scorned in some way by their play-off final defeat months earlier. They started the season on the form of a lifetime, winning 10 games from their first 12 unbeaten, and since their first hiccup against Runcorn Town, they've only lost twice more from a total of 22 league games played so far.
There's a comfortable 10-point gap between first and second at the time of writing, but, much more compellingly, there's only a 3-point gap between that side in 2nd place, which is Atherton LR, and Ilkley Town, who are currently 8th. That's 7 teams, all harbouring play-off hopes, that are one win from claiming a place in the top 5, although, for teams that do manage that, their joy could easily be short-lived with the level of competition on show here. As of the end of 2023, it's really unclear as to who amongst Atherton LR, Route One Rovers, South Liverpool, Euxton Villa, Ashton Town, Bacup Borough or Ilkley Town will be occupying those crucial top 5 spots alongside, presumably, FC St Helens.
Despite a minor points deduction for Runcorn Town in this campaign, their form has been much better than it was last time out, and they currently find themselves in the middle of the pack, competing with the likes of league regulars Holker Old Boys and newly relegated Ashton Athletic for a place in the top half. You have to imagine that this is a position that Shelley, AFC Blackpool and Nelson will all be dreaming of finding themselves in by the end of the season.
It's currently those 3 names that occupy the bottom 3 positions in the league, with AFC Blackpool and Nelson in particular potential jeopardy. AFC Blackpool were propping up the table for the majority of the early stages of the campaign, but Nelson have replaced them at the foot of the league, thanks in part to a 3-point deduction they have suffered. There's currently 9 points between 16th placed Shelley and 17th placed AFC Blackpool, with Shelley surely looking at the 3-point gap between themselves and guaranteed safety as a very achievable goal to be completed ASAP - watch out, Garstang.
I made a slight mention before of South Liverpool's current status as play-off contenders as we make our way into 2024, but what I didn't mention was the fact that they are also one of only 2 teams from the whole NWCFL that are left in the Isuzu FA Vase. With the 4th round on the horizon, 4 well-timed wins could see South walk out at Wembley at the end of the season - you just never know.
One thing we do know, however, is that Bacup Borough will not make the final of the Macron Cup again this season, and neither will any other First Division North side. We're almost done with the 3rd round proper and there are no teams from this division left in the Macron Cup as of now. The same is not true for the Edward Case Cup, however. The quarter-final stage, which will come in February, will involve defending champions Bacup, as well as Euxton Villa and one of Holker Old Boys or South Liverpool – barring anything unforeseen, we'll find out on the first Saturday of the new year.
At this level of the game, there are transfers, managerial changes and shocking results a-plenty, and they can all happen at any time. After Christmas, elite level football can become somewhat predictable, but there's still everything to play for in the NWCFL, and the only way to see how it all happens is to come and watch.
