Tonight's games, Mar 20th 2018

[Ginge01]

Today’s games, Tue Mar 20th 2018

Alfreton........ 0-1 Telford
Chorley......... 3-1 Spennymoor
FCUM............ 1-0 Gainsborough
North Ferriby 1-1 Salford
Stockport...... 1-0 Boston

The Vanarama National League North, Tue Mar 20th 2018

............................. Pd .W D L..W D L...F..A...GD..Pts
01. Salford .......... 34 12 2 3. 10 4 .3 61 37. 24.. 72
02. Harrogate...... 33 11 4 1. 10 2 .5 82 40. 42.. 69
03. Brackley......... 32 11 4 0.. 7 6 ..4 57 28. 29.. 64
04. York............... 34.. 8 5 4.. 7 3 ..7 59 50... 9.. 53
05. Kidderminster 31 10 4 2.. 4 6 ..6 54 36. 18.. 52
06. Blyth.............. 32.. 9 1 6.. 8 0 ..8 67 50. 17.. 52
07. Stockport....... 33.. 9 4 4.. 5 3 ..8 57 47. 10.. 49
08. Spennymoor... 29.. 7 3 3.. 7 3 ..6 55 47... 8.. 48
09. Chorley........... 32.. 7 7 2.. 5 5 ..6 37 29... 8.. 48
10. Southport...... 33.. 8 4 5.. 5 4 ..7 52 55.. -3.. 47
11. Darlington...... 35.. 9 4 5.. 3 6 ..8 50 49... 1.. 46
12. Bradford. ....... 33.. 6 4 7.. 6 5 ..5 53 43. 10.. 45
13. Nuneaton....... 34.. 7 5 5.. 5 3 ..9 42 49.. -7.. 44
14. Leamington.... 33.. 6 3 8.. 5 5 ..6 44 50.. -6.. 41
15. FCUM............... 35 10 2 5.. 1 6 11 50 66 -16. 41
16. Boston............ 32.. 8 5 4.. 3 2 10 52 55.. -3.. 40
17. Tamworth........ 35.. 6 6 6.. 4 3 10 46 61 -15. 39
18. Alfreton........... 34.. 6 2 9.. 5 3 ..9 56 59.. -3.. 38
19. Curzon Ashton 32.. 6 5 4.. 3 5 ..9 42 51.. -9.. 37
20. Telford............. 32.. 5 2 9.. 6 2 ..8 41 56 -15.. 37
21. Gainsborough. 34.. 8 1 9.. 2 3 11 36 64 -28.. 34
22. North Ferriby... 35.. 0 5 12 2 3 13 18 89 -71.. 14

My picks to go down, Alfreton, Gainsborough and North Ferriby.
FCUM winning tonight was huge, now with a 4 point gap on Curzon Ashton and Telford. Gainsborough losing to FCUM leaves them 3 points behind Curzon Ashton and Telford, they need to beat the lower teams away (North Ferriby, Curzon Ashton and Telford) to stand a chance. I’m now picking Alfreton to go down as they have tough fixtures overall than Curzon Ashton and Telford.
If Alfreton stays up, it may be that Boston has sank below them and they are relegated. Boston has 10 games to play, they are away to Chorley and Brackley, home to Kidderminster (the next three in March), April at Nuneaton, Darlington & Spennymoor, home to Bradford & Harrogate, at Salford before the last game, home to Telford. It would not be a surprise in their current form if 7-8 losses are recorded.


All 22 teams will be in the write up to the end of the season.

Salford;
North Ferriby 1-1 Salford; Top of the table Salford lose a player sent off before half time and take the lead but give up an 86th min equaliser to relegated North Ferriby. Harrogate with a win from their game in hand, three points behind but a far superior goal difference (42 to 24) can reclaim top spot.

Harrogate;
No game tonight;

Brackley;
No game tonight;

York;
No game tonight;

Kidderminster;
No game tonight;

Blyth;
No game tonight;

Stockport;
Stockport 1-0 Boston; Stockport jump up to 7th place with an 85th min winner over struggling Boston. Stockport have the last playoff spot, Spennymoor who have four games in hand play again on Thursday night.

Spennymoor;
Chorley 3-1 Spennymoor; After losing 3-2 to Salford on Saturday, Spennymoor suffered a 3-1 setback at Chorley tonight. Trailing 0-2 at half time, Spennymoor pulled one back after an hour but conceded again in the 81st min. They are now 8th in the table, games are coming to them quickly from now on, Thursday they are home to Leamington.

Chorley;
Chorley 3-1 Spennymoor; Chorley are now tied with Spennymoor on 48 points after tonight’s 3-1 win over them, 2-0 up at half time, they conceded a goal before securing the win with an 81st min goal. Stockport, Spennymoor and Chorley are all chasing the last playoff position, Spennymoor’s games in hand should pull them back up to 7th place.

Southport; 3 games against common bottom 11 opponents; 24/03 Alfreton (H), 31/03 Darlington (A), 07/04 Nuneaton (H)
No game tonight;

Darlington; (4 games); 24/03 Telford (A), 31/03 Southport (H), 14/04 FCUM (A), 21/04 Nuneaton (H)
No game tonight;

Bradford P.A.;
No game tonight;

Nuneaton; (4 games); 26/03 Curzon (A) Mon, 30/03 Alfreton (A) Fri, 07/04 Southport (A), 21/04 Darlington (A)
No game tonight;

Leamington; (3 games); 31/03 FCUM (H), 02/04 Telford (A), 14/04 Curzon (H)
No game tonight;

FC Utd of Man; (5 games); 31/03 Leamington (A), 07/04 Tamworth (A), 14/04 Darlington (H), 21/04 Alfreton (A), 28/04 North Ferriby
FCUM 1-0 Gainsborough; A 16th min winner was enough to secure 3 points for FCUM. With Saturday’s dramatic 4-4 tie with two late goals to win a point and tonight’s victory, FCUM has jumped up to 15th place, four points in front of Curzon Ashton and Telford.

Boston; (3 games); 02/04 Nuneaton (A), 07/04 Darlington (A), 28/04 Telford (H).
Stockport 1-0 Boston; After conceding two late goals to FCUM to finish 4-4, tonight Boston concede the only goal of the game in the 85th min. Boston’s 6 points lead over 20th place Telford shrank tonight to 3 points, they have been slowly drifting down the table, now in 16th place below FCUM, the last relegation place is looking to finish up between Boston, Alfreton, Curzon Ashton and Telford. Boston may have to play the last game of the season home to Telford needing to win to stay up.

Tamworth; (4 games); 24/03 Curzon (A), 30/03 North Ferriby (H) (Fri), 07/04 FCUM (H), 28/04 Gainsborough (A)
No game tonight; Tamworth slip to 17th place with FCUM's 1-0 win over Gainsborough. Tamworth vs Curzon Ashton on Saturday is a huge game for both teams.

Alfreton; (4 games); 24/03 Southport (A), 30/03 Nuneaton (H) Fri, 02/04 Curzon (A), 21/04 FCUM (H)
Alfreton 0-1 Telford; A chance to keep Telford 4 points behind was lost with a single 12th min goal sinking Alfreton. Their twitter feed called it a poor performance. Alfreton slip to 18th place, 1 point ahead of Telford with a far superior goal difference. Both Alfreton and Boston are in danger of the drop with Telford catching up to them.

Curzon Ashton; (5 games); 24/03 Tamworth (H), 26/03 Nuneaton (H) Mon, 02/04 Alfreton (H), 09/04 Gainsborough (H), 14/04 Leamington (A )
No game tonight; Telford's 1-0 win at Alfreton has Telford now level on points with Curzon Ashton who remain in 19th place on goal difference. Tamworth vs Curzon Ashton on Saturday is a huge game for both teams.

Telford; (3 games); 24/03 Darlington (H), 02/04 Leamington (H), 21/04 Gainsborough (H)
Alfreton 0-1 Telford A huge win for Telford, a goal in the 12th min grabs the three points. They are now tied with Curzon Ashton on points but remain in 20th place due to an inferior goal difference (-15 to Curzon’s -9). On Saturday, Telford play Darlington at home.

Gainsborough; (4 games); 02/04 North Ferriby (A), 09/04 Curzon (A), 21/04 Telford (A), 28/04 Tamworth (H)
FCUM 1-0 Gainsborough; A chance to gain point(s) against fellow struggler FCUM resulted in a single goal loss in the 16th min. Gainsborough remain in 21st place but Telford’s win tonight leaves them 3 points adrift and the number of games for Gainsborough against ‘weaker’ teams disappearing. Gainsborough look to be the next team to be officially relegated with North Ferriby already down.

North Ferriby; (3 games); 30/03 Tamworth (A) (Fri), 02/04 Gainsborough (H), 28/04 FCUM (A)
North Ferriby 1-1 Salford; North Ferriby were officially relegated tonight but not without holding the top team to a draw. Good luck to them next season.



The original Bottom 11 opponents and results prediction
...........Dar.......... Lea......... Alfr.......... Crz.......... FCM...... Tam......... Telf
24/03 Telf(A) 1................... Sou(A) 0..Tam(H) 3................Crz(A) 0...Dar(H) 1
26/03 ..................................................Nun(H) 1
30/03................................. Nun(H) 1................................NFr(H) 3
31/03 Sou(A) 0....FCM(H) 3.................................Lea(A) 0
02/04..................Telf(A) 1.. Crz(A) 0...Alfr(H) 3.................................Lea(H) 1
07/04.................................................................Tam(A) 1 FCM(H) 1
09/04.................................................Gai(H) 3
14/04 FCM(A) 1...Crz(H) 1...................Lea(A) 1..Dar(H) 1
21/04 Nun(H) 1.................. FCM(H)1..................Alfr(A) 1.................Gai(H) 3
28/04 ................................................................NFr(H) 3. Gai(A) 3

Total ..............3..............5.............2.............11.............6.............7............5


The original Bottom 11 outstanding games against their opponents

Southport (3 games)
24/03 Alfreton (H)
31/03 Darlington (A)
07/04 Nuneaton (H)

Darlington (4 games)
24/03 Telford (A)
31/03 Southport (H)
14/04 FCUM (A)
21/04 Nuneaton (H)

Nuneaton (4 games)
26/03 Curzon (A) Mon
30/03 Alfreton (A) Fri
07/04 Southport (A)
21/04 Darlington (A)

Leamington (3 games))
31/03 FCUM (H)
02/04 Telford (A)
14/04 Curzon (H)

FCUM (5 games)
31/03 Leamington (A)
07/04 Tamworth (A)
14/04 Darlington (H)
21/04 Alfreton (A)
28/04 North Ferriby

Tamworth (4 games)
24/03 Curzon (A)
30/03 North Ferriby (H) (Fri)
07/04 FCUM (H)
28/04 Gainsborough (A)

Alfreton (4 games)
24/03 Southport (A)
30/03 Nuneaton (H) Fri
02/04 Curzon (A)
21/04 FCUM (H)

Curzon Ashton (5 games)
24/03 Tamworth (H)
26/03 Nuneaton (H) Mon
02/04 Alfreton (H)
09/04 Gainsborough (H)
14/04 Leamington (A)

Telford (3 games)
24/03 Darlington (H)
02/04 Leamington (H)
21/04 Gainsborough (H)

Gainsborough (4 games)
02/04 North Ferriby (A)
09/04 Curzon (A)
21/04 Telford (A)
28/04 Tamworth (H)

North Ferriby (3 games)
30/03 Tamworth (A)
02/04 Gainsborough (H)
28/04 FCUM (A)


This week’s games

22/03 Thursday
Spennymoor...... vs LEAMINGTON

24/03 Saturday
TELFORD.......... vs DARLINGTON
Chorley............. vs Boston
CURZON........... vs TAMWORTH
FCUM................ vs Bradford
Harrogate......... vs GAINSBOROUGH
Kidderminster... vs Salford
NORTH FERRIBY vs Blyth
NUNEATON ....... vs York
SOUTHPORT...... vs ALFRETON
Spennymoor....... P-P Brackley
Stockport.......... vs LEAMINGTON


Comments

Winners today
FCUM, a win over strugglers Gainsborough
Telford, a win over Alfreton
Chorley, a win over Spennymoor
Harrogate, seeing Salford drop two points at relegated North Ferriby

Losers today
Boston, sliding towards the bottom three with a loss at Stockport
Salford, conceding a late goal at North Ferriby
Alfreton, losing at home to Telford
Gainsborough, losing at FCUM

............................. Pd .W D L..W D L...F..A...GD..Pts Max pts..one point per game
01. Salford .......... 34 12 2 3. 10 4 .3 61 37. 24.. 72
02. Harrogate...... 33 11 4 1. 10 2 .5 82 40. 42.. 69
03. Brackley......... 32 11 4 0.. 7 6 ..4 57 28. 29.. 64
04. York............... 34.. 8 5 4.. 7 3 ..7 59 50... 9.. 53.......77
05. Kidderminster 31 10 4 2.. 4 6 ..6 54 36. 18.. 52.......85
06. Blyth.............. 32.. 9 1 6.. 8 0 ..8 67 50. 17.. 52.......82
07. Stockport....... 33.. 9 4 4.. 5 3 ..8 57 47. 10.. 49.......76
08. Spennymoor... 29.. 7 3 3.. 7 3 ..6 55 47... 8.. 48.......87
09. Chorley........... 32.. 7 7 2.. 5 5 ..6 37 29... 8.. 48.......78
10. Southport...... 33.. 8 4 5.. 5 4 ..7 52 55.. -3.. 47.......74
11. Darlington...... 35.. 9 4 5.. 3 6 ..8 50 49... 1.. 46.......67.........53
12. Bradford. ....... 33.. 6 4 7.. 6 5 ..5 53 43. 10.. 45.......72.........54
13. Nuneaton....... 34.. 7 5 5.. 5 3 ..9 42 49.. -7.. 44.......68.........52
14. Leamington.... 33.. 6 3 8.. 5 5 ..6 44 50.. -6.. 41.......68.........50
15. FCUM............... 35 10 2 5.. 1 6 11 50 66 -16. 41........62........48
16. Boston............ 32.. 8 5 4.. 3 2 10 52 55.. -3.. 40.......70.........50
17. Tamworth........ 35.. 6 6 6.. 4 3 10 46 61 -15. 39........60.........46
18. Alfreton........... 34.. 6 2 9.. 5 3 ..9 56 59.. -3.. 38.......62.........46
19. Curzon Ashton 32.. 6 5 4.. 3 5 ..9 42 51.. -9.. 37........67........47
20. Telford............. 32.. 5 2 9.. 6 2 ..8 41 56 -15.. 37........67........47
21. Gainsborough. 34.. 8 1 9.. 2 3 11 36 64 -28.. 34........58........42
22. North Ferriby... 35.. 0 5 12 2 3 13 18 89 -71.. 14........35


47 points might be the number of points to avoid relegation based on teams below us averaging 1 point per game, Alfreton & Tamworth will get to 46, Gainsborough to 42, Darlington are now on 46 points in the actual league table. Watch for Boston losing a lot of games and potentially falling under the 46 points number based on one point gained per game remaining.

[Darlo_Pete]

Awesome summary Ginge. Interesting to see you've changed your mind about Telford going down. Hope Telford don't go down, nice fans and great ground for our level. Agree that it looks a bit bleak for Gainsborough, but the final relegation spot, see's quite a few club swinging over the trap door. You only need to string a couple of wins together to see you zoom up the table.

[Vodka_Vic]

Living in Lincolnshire I can only get to a few away games. My nearest are Boston, North Ferriby, Gainsborough and Alfreton, then Tamworth. Oh well.

[Comfortably_numb]

surprised at North Ferriby's draw against sal£ford - decent result for them

[Ginge01]

Awesome summary Ginge. Interesting to see you've changed your mind about Telford going down. Hope Telford don't go down, nice fans and great ground for our level. Agree that it looks a bit bleak for Gainsborough, but the final relegation spot, see's quite a few club swinging over the trap door. You only need to string a couple of wins together to see you zoom up the table.

Thanks Darlo_Pete, While Telford were drawing or losing games, they were not catching up, but two wins in their last four games, against FCUM and Alfreton, they've made up the points gap and they have 'easier' games going forwards. Boston and Alfreton seem to be drifting downwards, Tamworth have drew their two with Darlington and Harrogate, so they are performing better. If Curzon Ashton with 10 games to go can find their form, it's a fight between Telford, Alfreton and Boston for who stays up.