NWCFL: Year Review, 2024 – First Division South
Sun 12th January 2025 | A Look Back | By Jay Cooper
We’re at the end of the first full week of 2025 – already! 2024 is officially in the record books, so let’s take our annual look back at how each of the three divisions from the NWCFL have changed over the past 12 months.
This first article will focus solely on the First Division South.
Cast your minds back to January 2024. After the dismal winter weather that hit teams in the First Division South harder than most, starting the year with a nearly full fixture list in the first weekend of January felt like a dream. Starting the year as they meant to go on were Brocton. The Badgers were top of the table, and deservedly so, exemplified in their 4-0 home win over Barnton. With the likes of promotion-hunting regulars Abbey Hey, Sandbach United, and especially Stockport Town posing as the biggest threat to their title push, Brocton were in no mood to roll over, but wouldn’t even see out January without falling at least once.
The team who upset the league leaders were free-scoring Droylsden, in their first season back under the NWCFL banner, and they were mounting a promotion push of their own. They were aiming for a spot in the play-offs, and also proving themselves to be the most well-adjusted to life in the South of all three new arrivals into the division from the previous summer. If Droylsden were to slip, the likes of Cheadle Heath Nomads and Barnton were waiting to pounce.
As the season progressed into Spring, the gaps between the teams in the top five began to let daylight through. Brocton continued their push for the title deep into the early-to-mid months of the year, and by April, were a single win from glory. Facing Stafford Town at home, Will Whieldon got the scoring underway, but Town pegged back the would-be champions with a goal before the break. With ten minutes left, Regan Smith reinstated Brocton’s lead, and four minutes later, the championship was sealed by Matthew Bestall. It was official – Brocton were the best of all there was to offer in the First Division South for 2023/24.
Given how much more wriggle room there is in the race for the play-off places, as opposed to a title contest that only one team can win, to say that things were fairly cut and dry in the First Division South in 2023/24 feels underwhelming. But it’s true. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Stockport Town, who missed out on the First Division South title by a mere point to then-called Wythenshawe Amateurs in 2022/23, were nailed on for a second consecutive runners-up finish. They sealed such a result later in the same week as Brocton’s status as winners was confirmed, battering Market Drayton Town 5-1 to extend their points total to beyond where third placed Sandbach United could reach.
Sandbach themselves were more than safe in the play-off places, and they knew that the higher their finish in the league table, the better their seeding in the subsequent tournament. As such, with Abbey Hey breathing down their necks up until the designated final day, they did their job during their hosting of Stafford Town. In winning 3-1, they guaranteed a home fixture in their play-off semi-final, and condemned Abbey Hey to an away fixture. Completing the play-off picture was Droylsden, who would eventually finish as not only the joint-third highest scorers in the division, but also a comfortable nine points ahead of the chasing pack.
In 2022/23, Stockport Town finished a fraction behind champions Wythenshawe Amateurs in the First Division South. They went into their first game of the play-off tournament and were sent packing by Cheadle Town. Determined not to let history repeat itself, Town put on a gritty show of ambition to stave off Droylsden on home soil and book their place in the final. The way they did so couldn’t have been much more tense, with the ever-reliable Dan McLaughlin popping up in the sixth minute of injury time to seal the 1-0 win.
On the other side of the play-off coin were 3rd placed Sandbach United facing off against 4th placed Abbey Hey. Sandbach may have had home advantage, but Abbey Hey were determined not to let this opportunity pass in the same way they did in the 2021/22 campaign, when they lost to New Mills at the semi-final stage. Simon Heaton’s side were 3-0 to the good at the interval, thanks to goals from Josh Dickin and two from Rhys Clooney, and even though they lost the second half with Harry Cain pulling one back for Sandbach, they held out to preserve a 3-1 victory and confirm their place opposite Stockport Town in the final.
This game looked at the time to be the be-all and end-all – the winner here would play Premier Division football in 2024/25, and that was reflected in the scoreline, Town and Abbey proved that they were each other’s match, and that both were content with not losing the game trying to win it. A McLaughlin goal in the first half for the hosts was cancelled out by a Clooney goal in the second for the visitors, and it was 1-1 at 90 minutes. For the third time from three play-off finals in 2023/24, spot kicks would be the deciding factor, and in this case, the promotion pendulum swung in favour of Abbey Hey. They stormed past Stockport Town 4-1 in the shootout to confirm their promotion to the NWCFL Premier Division and condemn Stockport to another season in the First Division South, despite coming so close again… for now.
There were just as many points between 6th placed Cheadle Heath Nomads and the play-off place directly above them as there were between Nomads and 14th placed Stockport Georgians. The middle of the table was a tightly packed place to be. Looking further down the division, there were Ashville, one win shy of the 40-point mark; New Mills, who endured a season to forget after reaching the play-offs as recently as 2021/22; and then there were the bottom two.
Winsford United had clawed their way through a torrid campaign during their first season in this division. During the summer of 2023, Winsford were a side pegged for a lateral move out of the NWCFL to the Midlands League, which they were vehemently opposed to. Concerned for the club’s continued existence should the move take place, they were offered an ultimatum by the powers that be – accept the move; or accept voluntary relegation from Step 5 to 6 in order to preserve their NWCFL status. They took the latter and were subject to plenty of changes as a result, which saw them struggle on the field throughout the 2023/24 campaign.
For the longest time, it seemed as though they were destined to be the side that would prop up the division come the end of the season. For context, by the time the season did end, third-bottom New Mills still had an 8-point cushion on Winsford. However, tumbling down the league table after a mid-season change in fortunes were division newcomers Market Drayton Town. The Shropshire side were competing in mid-table at the turn of the year, but a run of 20 (read: twenty) games lost consecutively in all competitions had seen them well within catching distance for Winsford.
On April 10th, Winsford played their penultimate game of the league season, against mid-table Cammell Laird 1907, whose minds were elsewhere. Backed by a 600 plus strong crowd at their Barton Stadium, United put Laird to the sword, winning 4-2 to lift themselves off the foot of the division for the first time in the calendar year. With just one game left, it couldn’t have come at a much better time. On the designated final day of the campaign, when Winsford played their last league match of the season, they had the unenviable task of travelling away to league champions Brocton, and were quite understandably beaten 3-0.
But they needn’t have worried, as it turned out. Market Drayton were on the road to face New Mills, and were outdone in a 2-0 defeat, which led to one final epilogue. Winsford were done for the season, with a points total of 28, Market Drayton were on 27 with one game to play – on April 16th, away at Ashville. A kinder run-in Market Drayton could not have wished for, facing off with safe-but-struggled sides like New Mills and Ashville in their last two matches, but they couldn’t stop the rot. Their 20-game losing streak had become 22, and became 23 with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Ashville, and this meant that Winsford United, despite looking dead and buried for most of the season, had avoided finishing last in the league table.
Before we move onto the summer, there was one more story from the end of this season worth re-telling. Cammell Laird 1907, whose minds I mentioned might have been elsewhere when they faced Winsford United in their penultimate game of the season, had one more important match in their own calendar to play after the league season concluded. They’d made their way to the Wirral Senior Cup final, which took place on April 24th. Coming up against Capenhurst Villa of the West Cheshire League, Laird took a while to get into second gear in this final, but flashed through the rest from then on. They scored three without reply in the final 35 minutes of proceedings, with Kieran Hamm bagging two as Ryan Smith notched one for himself. With that, Cammell Laird 1907 were Wirral Senior Cup champions for the second time in three years.
With the summer came the inevitable league re-allocations, and with that, the NWCFL First Division South said goodbye to five member clubs, just like the North. Also just like the North, none of those departures would be due to relegation. The teams near the bottom of the table like Winsford and Market Drayton had done enough on a regional scale to earn a reprieve.
Brocton were promoted as champions, but actually left the NWCFL altogether, moving to the Midlands League. Joining them in promotion were play-off winners Abbey Hey, but they were to stick around inside our pyramid. There were lateral movements to address, although they wouldn’t be very far ones – both Droylsden and Maine Road were moved into the First Division North. And finally, there was Stockport Town.
The last two seasons of football had seen them come desperately close to promotion to the Premier Division, yet they came up short. This summer, in the admin room at the FA, it was decided that they’d earned a break. Given their mightily impressive PPG record over the last two seasons of football compared to their competition at Step 6, they were granted promotion as a reward for their consistency and drive to keep going despite setbacks.
So, there were five spaces that now needed filling. One of those was easily sorted, with Runcorn Town joining the division, going the other way from Droylsden and Maine Road. With four places remaining, it’s always great to look to the promotion candidates. With that, we welcomed back Foley Mier. Most recently, they were members of the NWCFL in 2022/23, but were relegated as the second-bottom side in the South. Their first season back in the Staffordshire County Senior League had seen them do enough for their promotion application to be accepted, and for them to be given another crack at the whip.
Three spaces remaining, ripe for three newcomers in their totality to the NWCFL, and they were all transfers in from the Midlands League. Firstly, there were Allscott Heath, fresh off coming second to Hinckley in Division One, and coming up short in the play-off semi-finals. Next were Shawbury United, solid as a rock in the middle of the same league.
And finally, there was Wolverhampton Sporting Community (hereby condensed slightly going forwards to Wolves Sporting), who, despite finishing 16th, were still a long mile clear of the relegation candidates. Not all of these movements were equally welcomed, but the FA’s decision to overrule any appeals this past summer meant that the next course of action was to make the best of things.
Speaking of making the best of things, one team that has decided to do just that after a season to forget in 2023/24 were Winsford United. Getting back to where they know they belong in the NWCFL Premier Division has been the number one goal ever since their unfortunate voluntary relegation, and whilst last season there was no chance of that happening, this season there are few teams with better chances than them. Despite an opening day defeat to Alsager Town, Winsford went on a dazzling run of 9 wins in 10 games not long after the season started, and capitalised on that by winning 17 from 21 in the league by year’s end. They’d be top with a bullet right now if it wasn’t for one external factor – Stafford Town.
From the middle of the pack last season, Stafford Town’s job has now become to fend off the chasing pack, and, despite how steady and successful Winsford have been, they’ve not been able to knock Stafford off their perch for very long at all throughout the back half of this year. Town’s longest winning run in the NWCFL this season is 11 games straight, and they’ve only been overcome on three occasions in league play since the summer. At the time of writing, both these two teams are on the same points total, with Stafford’s goal difference keeping them barely on top.
Filling the “Stockport Town” role of coming close in successive seasons looks to be Sandbach United. They finished third last season, and they’re wanting to do the same again. They may be eight points behind the two horses leading the race, but they’re two points ahead of 4th placed Cheadle Heath Nomads, and four ahead of 5th placed Alsager Town. As it stands, their play-off destiny is in the palm of their hands. Just outside of the play-off places are Abbey Hulton United, with five points worth of ground to make up if they want to penetrate the top five as of now.
Further down the table, sitting just above the midline, are Market Drayton Town. Whilst this information is not ground-breaking, it’s worth remembering that, during the back half of 2023/24, Town were on a 23-game losing streak. That streak reached 24 on the opening day, before being snapped upon Market Drayton’s hosting of Wolves Sporting. Since then, they’ve reclaimed what was their old spot in mid-table before that baron run of results going into 2024.
Towards the foot of the division, the scene is populated by a majority of clubs who are new arrivals to the First Division South this season. There was a time that Foley Meir looked like prime candidates to go back where they came from, but with the end of the year approaching, Foley went on a run of one defeat in six league matches, and have shot up to 13th, one place above fellow new arrivals Runcorn Town.
Right above the dotted line is Barnton, and right below that line are the three incomers from the Midlands League. Like in the Midlands League Division One last year, Allscott Heath are the best placed – currently level on points with Barnton – and then it goes Shawbury United, then Wolves Sporting at the bottom. Perhaps that is a testament to the quality of the NWCFL that these new sides are struggling to find their feet, but it’s still January. There’s time yet for all the sides in and around the relegation places to put together a good string of results, and when the likes of Shawbury and Wolves have to travel as far as they do for the majority of their matches, credit must be given to their effort and determination to fight like lions for safety this season.
One more thing to address from the 2024/25 campaign from the last calendar year is Cup Competitions. Whilst a handful of NWCFL outfits are making waves in their local competitions, just as Cammell Laird 1907 did last time around, there’s still an NWCFL First Division South flag-flyer left in the Isuzu FA Vase. Sitting just outside the play-offs, Abbey Hulton United have knocked off Worcester Raiders, Rothwell Corinthians, Atherstone Town, and Droitwich Spa, all on their way to a 4th round Vase clash at home against Heanor Town, that was unfortunately postponed this weekend. We’ll be keeping a close eye on that and hope you reading this might be too.
As another year goes by, there’s been another wheelbarrow full of headline moments from the North West Counties Football League, First Division South. We expect more of the same in 2025, and hope that everyone reading this had a great Christmas and Holiday season, and gets the best out of 2025!
NWCFL: Year Review, 2024 – First Division South
Sun 12th January 2025 | A Look Back
By Jay Cooper
We’re at the end of the first full week of 2025 – already! 2024 is officially in the record books, so let’s take our annual look back at how each of the three divisions from the NWCFL have changed over the past 12 months.
This first article will focus solely on the First Division South.
Cast your minds back to January 2024. After the dismal winter weather that hit teams in the First Division South harder than most, starting the year with a nearly full fixture list in the first weekend of January felt like a dream. Starting the year as they meant to go on were Brocton. The Badgers were top of the table, and deservedly so, exemplified in their 4-0 home win over Barnton. With the likes of promotion-hunting regulars Abbey Hey, Sandbach United, and especially Stockport Town posing as the biggest threat to their title push, Brocton were in no mood to roll over, but wouldn’t even see out January without falling at least once.
The team who upset the league leaders were free-scoring Droylsden, in their first season back under the NWCFL banner, and they were mounting a promotion push of their own. They were aiming for a spot in the play-offs, and also proving themselves to be the most well-adjusted to life in the South of all three new arrivals into the division from the previous summer. If Droylsden were to slip, the likes of Cheadle Heath Nomads and Barnton were waiting to pounce.
As the season progressed into Spring, the gaps between the teams in the top five began to let daylight through. Brocton continued their push for the title deep into the early-to-mid months of the year, and by April, were a single win from glory. Facing Stafford Town at home, Will Whieldon got the scoring underway, but Town pegged back the would-be champions with a goal before the break. With ten minutes left, Regan Smith reinstated Brocton’s lead, and four minutes later, the championship was sealed by Matthew Bestall. It was official – Brocton were the best of all there was to offer in the First Division South for 2023/24.
Given how much more wriggle room there is in the race for the play-off places, as opposed to a title contest that only one team can win, to say that things were fairly cut and dry in the First Division South in 2023/24 feels underwhelming. But it’s true. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Stockport Town, who missed out on the First Division South title by a mere point to then-called Wythenshawe Amateurs in 2022/23, were nailed on for a second consecutive runners-up finish. They sealed such a result later in the same week as Brocton’s status as winners was confirmed, battering Market Drayton Town 5-1 to extend their points total to beyond where third placed Sandbach United could reach.
Sandbach themselves were more than safe in the play-off places, and they knew that the higher their finish in the league table, the better their seeding in the subsequent tournament. As such, with Abbey Hey breathing down their necks up until the designated final day, they did their job during their hosting of Stafford Town. In winning 3-1, they guaranteed a home fixture in their play-off semi-final, and condemned Abbey Hey to an away fixture. Completing the play-off picture was Droylsden, who would eventually finish as not only the joint-third highest scorers in the division, but also a comfortable nine points ahead of the chasing pack.
In 2022/23, Stockport Town finished a fraction behind champions Wythenshawe Amateurs in the First Division South. They went into their first game of the play-off tournament and were sent packing by Cheadle Town. Determined not to let history repeat itself, Town put on a gritty show of ambition to stave off Droylsden on home soil and book their place in the final. The way they did so couldn’t have been much more tense, with the ever-reliable Dan McLaughlin popping up in the sixth minute of injury time to seal the 1-0 win.
On the other side of the play-off coin were 3rd placed Sandbach United facing off against 4th placed Abbey Hey. Sandbach may have had home advantage, but Abbey Hey were determined not to let this opportunity pass in the same way they did in the 2021/22 campaign, when they lost to New Mills at the semi-final stage. Simon Heaton’s side were 3-0 to the good at the interval, thanks to goals from Josh Dickin and two from Rhys Clooney, and even though they lost the second half with Harry Cain pulling one back for Sandbach, they held out to preserve a 3-1 victory and confirm their place opposite Stockport Town in the final.
This game looked at the time to be the be-all and end-all – the winner here would play Premier Division football in 2024/25, and that was reflected in the scoreline, Town and Abbey proved that they were each other’s match, and that both were content with not losing the game trying to win it. A McLaughlin goal in the first half for the hosts was cancelled out by a Clooney goal in the second for the visitors, and it was 1-1 at 90 minutes. For the third time from three play-off finals in 2023/24, spot kicks would be the deciding factor, and in this case, the promotion pendulum swung in favour of Abbey Hey. They stormed past Stockport Town 4-1 in the shootout to confirm their promotion to the NWCFL Premier Division and condemn Stockport to another season in the First Division South, despite coming so close again… for now.
There were just as many points between 6th placed Cheadle Heath Nomads and the play-off place directly above them as there were between Nomads and 14th placed Stockport Georgians. The middle of the table was a tightly packed place to be. Looking further down the division, there were Ashville, one win shy of the 40-point mark; New Mills, who endured a season to forget after reaching the play-offs as recently as 2021/22; and then there were the bottom two.
Winsford United had clawed their way through a torrid campaign during their first season in this division. During the summer of 2023, Winsford were a side pegged for a lateral move out of the NWCFL to the Midlands League, which they were vehemently opposed to. Concerned for the club’s continued existence should the move take place, they were offered an ultimatum by the powers that be – accept the move; or accept voluntary relegation from Step 5 to 6 in order to preserve their NWCFL status. They took the latter and were subject to plenty of changes as a result, which saw them struggle on the field throughout the 2023/24 campaign.
For the longest time, it seemed as though they were destined to be the side that would prop up the division come the end of the season. For context, by the time the season did end, third-bottom New Mills still had an 8-point cushion on Winsford. However, tumbling down the league table after a mid-season change in fortunes were division newcomers Market Drayton Town. The Shropshire side were competing in mid-table at the turn of the year, but a run of 20 (read: twenty) games lost consecutively in all competitions had seen them well within catching distance for Winsford.
On April 10th, Winsford played their penultimate game of the league season, against mid-table Cammell Laird 1907, whose minds were elsewhere. Backed by a 600 plus strong crowd at their Barton Stadium, United put Laird to the sword, winning 4-2 to lift themselves off the foot of the division for the first time in the calendar year. With just one game left, it couldn’t have come at a much better time. On the designated final day of the campaign, when Winsford played their last league match of the season, they had the unenviable task of travelling away to league champions Brocton, and were quite understandably beaten 3-0.
But they needn’t have worried, as it turned out. Market Drayton were on the road to face New Mills, and were outdone in a 2-0 defeat, which led to one final epilogue. Winsford were done for the season, with a points total of 28, Market Drayton were on 27 with one game to play – on April 16th, away at Ashville. A kinder run-in Market Drayton could not have wished for, facing off with safe-but-struggled sides like New Mills and Ashville in their last two matches, but they couldn’t stop the rot. Their 20-game losing streak had become 22, and became 23 with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Ashville, and this meant that Winsford United, despite looking dead and buried for most of the season, had avoided finishing last in the league table.
Before we move onto the summer, there was one more story from the end of this season worth re-telling. Cammell Laird 1907, whose minds I mentioned might have been elsewhere when they faced Winsford United in their penultimate game of the season, had one more important match in their own calendar to play after the league season concluded. They’d made their way to the Wirral Senior Cup final, which took place on April 24th. Coming up against Capenhurst Villa of the West Cheshire League, Laird took a while to get into second gear in this final, but flashed through the rest from then on. They scored three without reply in the final 35 minutes of proceedings, with Kieran Hamm bagging two as Ryan Smith notched one for himself. With that, Cammell Laird 1907 were Wirral Senior Cup champions for the second time in three years.
With the summer came the inevitable league re-allocations, and with that, the NWCFL First Division South said goodbye to five member clubs, just like the North. Also just like the North, none of those departures would be due to relegation. The teams near the bottom of the table like Winsford and Market Drayton had done enough on a regional scale to earn a reprieve.
Brocton were promoted as champions, but actually left the NWCFL altogether, moving to the Midlands League. Joining them in promotion were play-off winners Abbey Hey, but they were to stick around inside our pyramid. There were lateral movements to address, although they wouldn’t be very far ones – both Droylsden and Maine Road were moved into the First Division North. And finally, there was Stockport Town.
The last two seasons of football had seen them come desperately close to promotion to the Premier Division, yet they came up short. This summer, in the admin room at the FA, it was decided that they’d earned a break. Given their mightily impressive PPG record over the last two seasons of football compared to their competition at Step 6, they were granted promotion as a reward for their consistency and drive to keep going despite setbacks.
So, there were five spaces that now needed filling. One of those was easily sorted, with Runcorn Town joining the division, going the other way from Droylsden and Maine Road. With four places remaining, it’s always great to look to the promotion candidates. With that, we welcomed back Foley Mier. Most recently, they were members of the NWCFL in 2022/23, but were relegated as the second-bottom side in the South. Their first season back in the Staffordshire County Senior League had seen them do enough for their promotion application to be accepted, and for them to be given another crack at the whip.
Three spaces remaining, ripe for three newcomers in their totality to the NWCFL, and they were all transfers in from the Midlands League. Firstly, there were Allscott Heath, fresh off coming second to Hinckley in Division One, and coming up short in the play-off semi-finals. Next were Shawbury United, solid as a rock in the middle of the same league.
And finally, there was Wolverhampton Sporting Community (hereby condensed slightly going forwards to Wolves Sporting), who, despite finishing 16th, were still a long mile clear of the relegation candidates. Not all of these movements were equally welcomed, but the FA’s decision to overrule any appeals this past summer meant that the next course of action was to make the best of things.
Speaking of making the best of things, one team that has decided to do just that after a season to forget in 2023/24 were Winsford United. Getting back to where they know they belong in the NWCFL Premier Division has been the number one goal ever since their unfortunate voluntary relegation, and whilst last season there was no chance of that happening, this season there are few teams with better chances than them. Despite an opening day defeat to Alsager Town, Winsford went on a dazzling run of 9 wins in 10 games not long after the season started, and capitalised on that by winning 17 from 21 in the league by year’s end. They’d be top with a bullet right now if it wasn’t for one external factor – Stafford Town.
From the middle of the pack last season, Stafford Town’s job has now become to fend off the chasing pack, and, despite how steady and successful Winsford have been, they’ve not been able to knock Stafford off their perch for very long at all throughout the back half of this year. Town’s longest winning run in the NWCFL this season is 11 games straight, and they’ve only been overcome on three occasions in league play since the summer. At the time of writing, both these two teams are on the same points total, with Stafford’s goal difference keeping them barely on top.
Filling the “Stockport Town” role of coming close in successive seasons looks to be Sandbach United. They finished third last season, and they’re wanting to do the same again. They may be eight points behind the two horses leading the race, but they’re two points ahead of 4th placed Cheadle Heath Nomads, and four ahead of 5th placed Alsager Town. As it stands, their play-off destiny is in the palm of their hands. Just outside of the play-off places are Abbey Hulton United, with five points worth of ground to make up if they want to penetrate the top five as of now.
Further down the table, sitting just above the midline, are Market Drayton Town. Whilst this information is not ground-breaking, it’s worth remembering that, during the back half of 2023/24, Town were on a 23-game losing streak. That streak reached 24 on the opening day, before being snapped upon Market Drayton’s hosting of Wolves Sporting. Since then, they’ve reclaimed what was their old spot in mid-table before that baron run of results going into 2024.
Towards the foot of the division, the scene is populated by a majority of clubs who are new arrivals to the First Division South this season. There was a time that Foley Meir looked like prime candidates to go back where they came from, but with the end of the year approaching, Foley went on a run of one defeat in six league matches, and have shot up to 13th, one place above fellow new arrivals Runcorn Town.
Right above the dotted line is Barnton, and right below that line are the three incomers from the Midlands League. Like in the Midlands League Division One last year, Allscott Heath are the best placed – currently level on points with Barnton – and then it goes Shawbury United, then Wolves Sporting at the bottom. Perhaps that is a testament to the quality of the NWCFL that these new sides are struggling to find their feet, but it’s still January. There’s time yet for all the sides in and around the relegation places to put together a good string of results, and when the likes of Shawbury and Wolves have to travel as far as they do for the majority of their matches, credit must be given to their effort and determination to fight like lions for safety this season.
One more thing to address from the 2024/25 campaign from the last calendar year is Cup Competitions. Whilst a handful of NWCFL outfits are making waves in their local competitions, just as Cammell Laird 1907 did last time around, there’s still an NWCFL First Division South flag-flyer left in the Isuzu FA Vase. Sitting just outside the play-offs, Abbey Hulton United have knocked off Worcester Raiders, Rothwell Corinthians, Atherstone Town, and Droitwich Spa, all on their way to a 4th round Vase clash at home against Heanor Town, that was unfortunately postponed this weekend. We’ll be keeping a close eye on that and hope you reading this might be too.
As another year goes by, there’s been another wheelbarrow full of headline moments from the North West Counties Football League, First Division South. We expect more of the same in 2025, and hope that everyone reading this had a great Christmas and Holiday season, and gets the best out of 2025!
