NWCFL: Year Review, 2024 – First Division North
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 second article will focus solely on the First Division North.
Cast your minds back to January 2024. The weather was ghastly, games were being postponed left and right. When games were able to be played, despite the best efforts of Mother Nature, in the First Division North we had the likes of Atherton LR; Ashton Town; Euxton Villa; Holker Old Boys; Ilkley Town; South Liverpool; and, at one time, free-scoring Route One Rovers; all in a tight battle for not just the play-off places, but for second in the table. Wait, just second? Not first?
Yes, with all that going on below, FC St Helens were living the good life at the top of the table. It was a position they had established themselves into right from the get-go in 2023/24, and it was one they were not ready to give up once the new year began. They remained dominant in the league until a banana skin defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Euxton Villa on April Fools’ Day, but by that time, they were already confirmed as champions of the division after a tense 3-2 victory over Runcorn Town earlier that week.
Much more undecided was the battle for who would secure themselves in those play-off places. Whilst there would be no Charnock Richard-esque fairytale from after the last round of fixtures like there was in the Premier Division, things could still swing in any direction. The designated final day of the 2023/24 First Division North campaign was April 13th, and before that day began, only 2nd placed Atherton LR were safe in the play-off picture. For all of Ashton Town, Ilkley Town, Euxton Villa, South Liverpool and Holker Old Boys, a win was paramount, especially for the first three of those names – a win for any of them would mean that their spots were secured, regardless of results elsewhere.
Knowing this, Ashton Town showed no mercy against Shelley, a side that had struggled for the majority of the campaign after their promotion from the West Yorkshire Premier Division. Four different men scored in a 4-1 rout away from home to see Town into the play-off places.
Arguably the most important match in this entire play-off race came from Holker Old Boys’ Rakesmoor Lane, as Ilkley Town would be the visitors. Ilkley, 4th at the beginning of the day, still needed a win, given their inferior goal difference to both Euxton Villa and South Liverpool below them, but failed to turn up on the day and were smashed 5-0 by their hosts. It was a win that would have seen Holker just about edge South Liverpool out of the play-off picture on goal difference, as long as South failed to beat AFC Blackpool away from home, and Euxton Villa lost to Route One Rovers.
Unfortunately for Holker, and similarly to Ashton Town, Euxton Villa were in no mood to give up their spot to any of the chasing pack. They put in a memorable performance to hold off the division’s top scorers in Route One, and win 3-0 to confirm a second consecutive season in the play-offs, and see Holker’s chance at promotion be taken out of their grasp.
The final crucial game came from the coast, as AFC Blackpool hosted South Liverpool. A South win, and they’d leapfrog Ilkley to take 5th. Anything but, and their chance was gone. They wasted no time, with Elliot Owen, Owen Hough and Alex Griffiths all scoring in the first half to get South to the brink. However, whatever AFC Blackpool manager John Salanki had said to his team at half time worked better than he might’ve ever hoped, as his team roared back into proceedings, scoring before the hour mark, and twice more in the final ten minutes to see the scoreline delicately poised at 3-3.
It would have been all too easy for South to admit defeat at this point, take the draw, and wait for next season, but rule zero in football is play to the whistle. And that’s exactly what South did, scoring in the 92nd minute via Adam Beardsworth to retake the lead, eventually see out the 4-3 victory, and snatch that final play-off place from Ilkley Town in the most dramatic of fashions.
Like the Premier Division, the play-offs in the First Division North were seeded, and the higher your seed, the likelier you were to get a home draw. Unlike the Premmier Division, however, the hosts of each semi-final would not advance to the final. It’s much simpler to talk about the showdown between 2nd placed Atherton LR and 5th place South Liverpool, because that game had just the one goal to decide the outcome – South’s Elliot Owen scored a 78th minute penalty to cause an upset on Rovers’ home turf and see Martin Ryman’s side progress.
Elsewhere, as Ashton Town hosted Euxton Villa, the fireworks were back on display. In a back-and-forth advert for the game, Ashton took a 1-0 lead early on, then a 2-1 lead just before half time. Villa struck first in the second half to equalise, before Ashton retook the lead with just over 20 minutes to go, at 3-2. In the 92nd minute, Town’s Jordan Southworth looked to have sealed the win by making it 4-2, but Villa weren’t willing to go down without a fight, and bagged one more goal in the 97th minute to make it 4-3, which is how it would end. A valiant effort from Villa, but Ashton were into the final.
Over 1,000 people were in attendance at Ashton Town’s Bartons Group Stadium to witness the all-important final to see who would earn promotion to Step 5 – Ashton, or South Liverpool. South were masters of the art of tense football by this point, having clawed their way into the play-offs by the skin of their teeth, and then grittily fought their way past top seed Atherton LR to reach this stage, and it was on them to perform one more miracle as things went to penalties following a scoreless 90 minutes. In the end, they showed their bottle, winning 3-1 in the shootout and earning promotion to the NWCFL Prem, despite going into the play-offs as the lowest seeded team.
From 8th placed newcomers Route One Rovers to 11th placed Ashton Athletic, there were no thoughts from teams that relegation was even a remote possibility. However, a sudden drop of eight points by April to 12th placed Daisy Hill, with just another nine between themselves and bottom of the table might have had a few managers sweating during the run in.
By the time that final day did roll around, Daisy Hill were safe, as were 13th placed Runcorn Town, and 14th placed Steeton, who travelled to bottom side Nelson on the designated final day. The stories left to tell were those of AFC Blackpool, who only had to win their games and ignore the rest of the results around them to secure safety; Garstang, starting the day in 16th; Shelley, in their first season after promotion; and bottom side Nelson - the only team in danger of relegation with no further league games after April 13th.
Let’s begin with Nelson – the unlikeliest of candidates for survival. Starting the day level on points with Shelley, all they could do to avoid finishing last was win and hope that their rivals failed to win both of their remaining games. To their credit, they held up their end of the bargain, battering Steeton 5-0 at home.
This did briefly see Nelson peel themselves off the foot of the division, as Shelley were beaten 4-1 at home that same day by promotion hopefuls Ashton Town. Their last chance at safety would come later that week against Bacup Borough. Garstang, meanwhile, showed their mettle, seeing off Daisy Hill in a tight 2-1 away win to confirm their own safety, given Shelley’s defeat. AFC Blackpool were in good standing as a result of this Shelley loss too, despite falling in dramatic fashion to South Liverpool, as discussed.
Wednesday, April 17th would be the day that all final places in the table were determined. Shelley needed a win to leapfrog Nelson, and were hoping for a Garstang victory over AFC Blackpool that would have seen them overtake the latter, too. Shelley, like Nelson days earlier, got their side of the deal over the line, beating Bacup 2-0 away from home, but like Nelson days earlier, were let down by results elsewhere. AFC Blackpool hammered Garstang 6-0 at Garstang’s Riverside to triumphantly secure a 15th placed finish.
And that was it. AFC Blackpool were safe, Garstang were likely safe, Shelley were in trouble, and Nelson were in serious trouble. All fates would be decided as the 2023/24 season became the 2024/25 season.
Before that, however, there was one more trophy that needed to find a home, and there was a final to be contested between two sides from the First Division North. Bacup Borough, the defending champions of the Edward Case Cup, were attempting to retain their crown against Euxton Villa. After also making the final of the Macron Cup in the 2022/23 season, Bacup proved their cup prominence with another ECC trophy victory. Lewis-Simon Byrne and Malachi Clarke scored either side of half time to help Brent Peters’ side to a 2-1 victory at Wythenshawe Town’s Ericstan Park on May 11th.
As summer came and went, and allocations were announced and teams learned where they would ply their trade in the new season, all that final day drama was somewhat rendered moot in the end. The only team initially condemned to the drop were Nelson, but based on their performances compared to other Step 6 teams around the country, they were awarded a reprieve. There would be no relegation from the First Division North in 2023/24.
However, the division would not be without its departures. Of course, there were the two promoted sides, FC St Helens and South Liverpool, who joined the Premier Division. After that, going by order of league finishes, the first departure was that of Ilkley Town, who were laterally moved to the NCEL after missing out on the play-offs by a hair. Further down the table, Runcorn Town weren’t to move very far, being shifted to the First Division South from the North ahead of 2024/25. Finally, there were Shelley, who avoided relegation, but were moved along with Ilkley to the NCEL.
As teams left, new teams arrived to level out the division back to 18 teams. Firstly, just as Runcorn had gone one way, both Droylsden and Maine Road went the other, joining the First Division North from the South. Also, whilst there were no relegations from the First Division North, there would be one that came to the First Division North via relegation, with the arrival of Skelmersdale United. Finally, the good news stories were those of Maghull, previously of the West Cheshire League; and Thornton Cleveleys, previously of the West Lancashire League, both of whom became NWCFL members in the North via promotion.
With the start of the 2024/25 campaign in July, the pacesetters began to emerge. Fighting near the top of the table were a handful of usual suspects – Atherton LR and Euxton Villa have both been in the promotion and play-off places more often than they haven’t in the final months of 2024, which is a mirror of last season, but topping the table have been… Nelson?
Quite unbelievably, after only retaining their NWCFL status via a reprieve from relegation in 2023/24, Nelson started like a house on fire in 2024/25. Atherton LR did their best to try to run away with top spot in the early weeks and months, winning eight of their first 10 league games and losing just one, but Nelson nearly matched that record, winning eight of their first 10 league games and losing just two.
Going into December, those two sides have established a small gap between themselves and the rest of the promotion hopefuls. Droylsden have settled in well to life in the North, with the third-most wins of any team so far in this league season, and they’re accompanied in the 40+ points club by both Holker Old Boys, the division’s most consistent also-rans; and Euxton Villa, currently on pace for their third successive play-off place finish.
With that, there’s another slight drop to a team who’ve not been quite as much of a surprise package as Nelson this season, but are still leaps and bounds ahead of what they managed to do last season – AFC Blackpool are your current best of the rest outside of that top five, followed closely by new arrivals Maine Road. The two sides who have joined from a lower step of the English football pyramid, Maghull and Thornton Cleveleys, have fought for every point they’ve earned so far this season, and currently sit 13th and 15th, respectively. Thornton Cleveleys are currently perched right above the dotted line for potential relegation come the summer of 2025.
Looking below that line, one side who will be disappointed with how 2024/25 has panned out so far are Route One Rovers. The West Yorkshire side were a breath of fresh air to the league in 2023/24, outscoring every other team in the division and often being part of the game with the most goals on a weekly basis, whether they won or lost. This season, it has not been more of the same, with the occasional big defeat not being cancelled out by the equally occasional emphatic victory. They’re accompanied by Garstang in the bottom three, who’ll be hoping that any great escape won’t have to wait until the final day again this time around.
Finally, at the foot of the division come the end of the last calendar year are Skelmersdale United. It has been a rough 18 months for Skem. As discussed in the previous article about the Premier Division, the club have changed a lot of personnel both in front of and behind the curtain, embarked on a misguided journey on the Skembonda train, and hoped to find solace in the First Division North under the stewardship of club veteran Tommy Lawson. Despite that managerial appointment being made with optimism, as well as a club crest and colour scheme change happening during the early weeks of the season, little has improved on the pitch for Skem, and they’ll hope that 2025 will be a year to bounce back.
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, there’s still an NWCFL First Division North flag-flyer left in the Isuzu FA Vase. Current 2nd placed side in the league table, Atherton LR, have knocked off Prem sides Cheadle Town, Colne and Abbey Hey, as well as fellow North side Ashton Town, all on their way to a 4th round Vase clash at home against Hallam, 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 North. 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 North
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 second article will focus solely on the First Division North.
Cast your minds back to January 2024. The weather was ghastly, games were being postponed left and right. When games were able to be played, despite the best efforts of Mother Nature, in the First Division North we had the likes of Atherton LR; Ashton Town; Euxton Villa; Holker Old Boys; Ilkley Town; South Liverpool; and, at one time, free-scoring Route One Rovers; all in a tight battle for not just the play-off places, but for second in the table. Wait, just second? Not first?
Yes, with all that going on below, FC St Helens were living the good life at the top of the table. It was a position they had established themselves into right from the get-go in 2023/24, and it was one they were not ready to give up once the new year began. They remained dominant in the league until a banana skin defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Euxton Villa on April Fools’ Day, but by that time, they were already confirmed as champions of the division after a tense 3-2 victory over Runcorn Town earlier that week.
Much more undecided was the battle for who would secure themselves in those play-off places. Whilst there would be no Charnock Richard-esque fairytale from after the last round of fixtures like there was in the Premier Division, things could still swing in any direction. The designated final day of the 2023/24 First Division North campaign was April 13th, and before that day began, only 2nd placed Atherton LR were safe in the play-off picture. For all of Ashton Town, Ilkley Town, Euxton Villa, South Liverpool and Holker Old Boys, a win was paramount, especially for the first three of those names – a win for any of them would mean that their spots were secured, regardless of results elsewhere.
Knowing this, Ashton Town showed no mercy against Shelley, a side that had struggled for the majority of the campaign after their promotion from the West Yorkshire Premier Division. Four different men scored in a 4-1 rout away from home to see Town into the play-off places.
Arguably the most important match in this entire play-off race came from Holker Old Boys’ Rakesmoor Lane, as Ilkley Town would be the visitors. Ilkley, 4th at the beginning of the day, still needed a win, given their inferior goal difference to both Euxton Villa and South Liverpool below them, but failed to turn up on the day and were smashed 5-0 by their hosts. It was a win that would have seen Holker just about edge South Liverpool out of the play-off picture on goal difference, as long as South failed to beat AFC Blackpool away from home, and Euxton Villa lost to Route One Rovers.
Unfortunately for Holker, and similarly to Ashton Town, Euxton Villa were in no mood to give up their spot to any of the chasing pack. They put in a memorable performance to hold off the division’s top scorers in Route One, and win 3-0 to confirm a second consecutive season in the play-offs, and see Holker’s chance at promotion be taken out of their grasp.
The final crucial game came from the coast, as AFC Blackpool hosted South Liverpool. A South win, and they’d leapfrog Ilkley to take 5th. Anything but, and their chance was gone. They wasted no time, with Elliot Owen, Owen Hough and Alex Griffiths all scoring in the first half to get South to the brink. However, whatever AFC Blackpool manager John Salanki had said to his team at half time worked better than he might’ve ever hoped, as his team roared back into proceedings, scoring before the hour mark, and twice more in the final ten minutes to see the scoreline delicately poised at 3-3.
It would have been all too easy for South to admit defeat at this point, take the draw, and wait for next season, but rule zero in football is play to the whistle. And that’s exactly what South did, scoring in the 92nd minute via Adam Beardsworth to retake the lead, eventually see out the 4-3 victory, and snatch that final play-off place from Ilkley Town in the most dramatic of fashions.
Like the Premier Division, the play-offs in the First Division North were seeded, and the higher your seed, the likelier you were to get a home draw. Unlike the Premmier Division, however, the hosts of each semi-final would not advance to the final. It’s much simpler to talk about the showdown between 2nd placed Atherton LR and 5th place South Liverpool, because that game had just the one goal to decide the outcome – South’s Elliot Owen scored a 78th minute penalty to cause an upset on Rovers’ home turf and see Martin Ryman’s side progress.
Elsewhere, as Ashton Town hosted Euxton Villa, the fireworks were back on display. In a back-and-forth advert for the game, Ashton took a 1-0 lead early on, then a 2-1 lead just before half time. Villa struck first in the second half to equalise, before Ashton retook the lead with just over 20 minutes to go, at 3-2. In the 92nd minute, Town’s Jordan Southworth looked to have sealed the win by making it 4-2, but Villa weren’t willing to go down without a fight, and bagged one more goal in the 97th minute to make it 4-3, which is how it would end. A valiant effort from Villa, but Ashton were into the final.
Over 1,000 people were in attendance at Ashton Town’s Bartons Group Stadium to witness the all-important final to see who would earn promotion to Step 5 – Ashton, or South Liverpool. South were masters of the art of tense football by this point, having clawed their way into the play-offs by the skin of their teeth, and then grittily fought their way past top seed Atherton LR to reach this stage, and it was on them to perform one more miracle as things went to penalties following a scoreless 90 minutes. In the end, they showed their bottle, winning 3-1 in the shootout and earning promotion to the NWCFL Prem, despite going into the play-offs as the lowest seeded team.
From 8th placed newcomers Route One Rovers to 11th placed Ashton Athletic, there were no thoughts from teams that relegation was even a remote possibility. However, a sudden drop of eight points by April to 12th placed Daisy Hill, with just another nine between themselves and bottom of the table might have had a few managers sweating during the run in.
By the time that final day did roll around, Daisy Hill were safe, as were 13th placed Runcorn Town, and 14th placed Steeton, who travelled to bottom side Nelson on the designated final day. The stories left to tell were those of AFC Blackpool, who only had to win their games and ignore the rest of the results around them to secure safety; Garstang, starting the day in 16th; Shelley, in their first season after promotion; and bottom side Nelson - the only team in danger of relegation with no further league games after April 13th.
Let’s begin with Nelson – the unlikeliest of candidates for survival. Starting the day level on points with Shelley, all they could do to avoid finishing last was win and hope that their rivals failed to win both of their remaining games. To their credit, they held up their end of the bargain, battering Steeton 5-0 at home.
This did briefly see Nelson peel themselves off the foot of the division, as Shelley were beaten 4-1 at home that same day by promotion hopefuls Ashton Town. Their last chance at safety would come later that week against Bacup Borough. Garstang, meanwhile, showed their mettle, seeing off Daisy Hill in a tight 2-1 away win to confirm their own safety, given Shelley’s defeat. AFC Blackpool were in good standing as a result of this Shelley loss too, despite falling in dramatic fashion to South Liverpool, as discussed.
Wednesday, April 17th would be the day that all final places in the table were determined. Shelley needed a win to leapfrog Nelson, and were hoping for a Garstang victory over AFC Blackpool that would have seen them overtake the latter, too. Shelley, like Nelson days earlier, got their side of the deal over the line, beating Bacup 2-0 away from home, but like Nelson days earlier, were let down by results elsewhere. AFC Blackpool hammered Garstang 6-0 at Garstang’s Riverside to triumphantly secure a 15th placed finish.
And that was it. AFC Blackpool were safe, Garstang were likely safe, Shelley were in trouble, and Nelson were in serious trouble. All fates would be decided as the 2023/24 season became the 2024/25 season.
Before that, however, there was one more trophy that needed to find a home, and there was a final to be contested between two sides from the First Division North. Bacup Borough, the defending champions of the Edward Case Cup, were attempting to retain their crown against Euxton Villa. After also making the final of the Macron Cup in the 2022/23 season, Bacup proved their cup prominence with another ECC trophy victory. Lewis-Simon Byrne and Malachi Clarke scored either side of half time to help Brent Peters’ side to a 2-1 victory at Wythenshawe Town’s Ericstan Park on May 11th.
As summer came and went, and allocations were announced and teams learned where they would ply their trade in the new season, all that final day drama was somewhat rendered moot in the end. The only team initially condemned to the drop were Nelson, but based on their performances compared to other Step 6 teams around the country, they were awarded a reprieve. There would be no relegation from the First Division North in 2023/24.
However, the division would not be without its departures. Of course, there were the two promoted sides, FC St Helens and South Liverpool, who joined the Premier Division. After that, going by order of league finishes, the first departure was that of Ilkley Town, who were laterally moved to the NCEL after missing out on the play-offs by a hair. Further down the table, Runcorn Town weren’t to move very far, being shifted to the First Division South from the North ahead of 2024/25. Finally, there were Shelley, who avoided relegation, but were moved along with Ilkley to the NCEL.
As teams left, new teams arrived to level out the division back to 18 teams. Firstly, just as Runcorn had gone one way, both Droylsden and Maine Road went the other, joining the First Division North from the South. Also, whilst there were no relegations from the First Division North, there would be one that came to the First Division North via relegation, with the arrival of Skelmersdale United. Finally, the good news stories were those of Maghull, previously of the West Cheshire League; and Thornton Cleveleys, previously of the West Lancashire League, both of whom became NWCFL members in the North via promotion.
With the start of the 2024/25 campaign in July, the pacesetters began to emerge. Fighting near the top of the table were a handful of usual suspects – Atherton LR and Euxton Villa have both been in the promotion and play-off places more often than they haven’t in the final months of 2024, which is a mirror of last season, but topping the table have been… Nelson?
Quite unbelievably, after only retaining their NWCFL status via a reprieve from relegation in 2023/24, Nelson started like a house on fire in 2024/25. Atherton LR did their best to try to run away with top spot in the early weeks and months, winning eight of their first 10 league games and losing just one, but Nelson nearly matched that record, winning eight of their first 10 league games and losing just two.
Going into December, those two sides have established a small gap between themselves and the rest of the promotion hopefuls. Droylsden have settled in well to life in the North, with the third-most wins of any team so far in this league season, and they’re accompanied in the 40+ points club by both Holker Old Boys, the division’s most consistent also-rans; and Euxton Villa, currently on pace for their third successive play-off place finish.
With that, there’s another slight drop to a team who’ve not been quite as much of a surprise package as Nelson this season, but are still leaps and bounds ahead of what they managed to do last season – AFC Blackpool are your current best of the rest outside of that top five, followed closely by new arrivals Maine Road. The two sides who have joined from a lower step of the English football pyramid, Maghull and Thornton Cleveleys, have fought for every point they’ve earned so far this season, and currently sit 13th and 15th, respectively. Thornton Cleveleys are currently perched right above the dotted line for potential relegation come the summer of 2025.
Looking below that line, one side who will be disappointed with how 2024/25 has panned out so far are Route One Rovers. The West Yorkshire side were a breath of fresh air to the league in 2023/24, outscoring every other team in the division and often being part of the game with the most goals on a weekly basis, whether they won or lost. This season, it has not been more of the same, with the occasional big defeat not being cancelled out by the equally occasional emphatic victory. They’re accompanied by Garstang in the bottom three, who’ll be hoping that any great escape won’t have to wait until the final day again this time around.
Finally, at the foot of the division come the end of the last calendar year are Skelmersdale United. It has been a rough 18 months for Skem. As discussed in the previous article about the Premier Division, the club have changed a lot of personnel both in front of and behind the curtain, embarked on a misguided journey on the Skembonda train, and hoped to find solace in the First Division North under the stewardship of club veteran Tommy Lawson. Despite that managerial appointment being made with optimism, as well as a club crest and colour scheme change happening during the early weeks of the season, little has improved on the pitch for Skem, and they’ll hope that 2025 will be a year to bounce back.
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, there’s still an NWCFL First Division North flag-flyer left in the Isuzu FA Vase. Current 2nd placed side in the league table, Atherton LR, have knocked off Prem sides Cheadle Town, Colne and Abbey Hey, as well as fellow North side Ashton Town, all on their way to a 4th round Vase clash at home against Hallam, 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 North. 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!
