Today's games, Saturday March 24th 2018

[Ginge01]

Today’s games, Sat Mar 24th 2018

Telford............ 0-0 Darlington
Chorley........... 0-1 Boston
Curzon Ashton 1-0 Tamworth
FCUM.............. 4-0 Bradford
Harrogate....... 2-0 Gainsborough
Kidderminster.. 4-4 Salford
North Ferriby... 1-0 Blyth
Nuneaton........ P-P York
Southport....... 1-3 Alfreton
Spennymoor.... P-P Brackley
Stockport........ 4-0 Leamington


The Vanarama National League North, Sat Mar 24th 2018

............................. Pd .W D L..W D L...F..A...GD..Pts
01. Salford .......... 35 12 2 3. 10 5 .3 65 41. 24.. 73
02. Harrogate...... 34 12 4 1. 10 2 .5 84 40. 44.. 72
03. Brackley......... 32 11 4 0.. 7 6 ..4 57 28. 29.. 64
04. Kidderminster 33 10 5 2.. 4 6 ..6 58 40. 18.. 53
05. York............... 34.. 8 5 4.. 7 3 ..7 59 50... 9.. 53
06. Blyth.............. 33.. 9 1 6.. 8 0 ..9 67 51. 16.. 52
07. Stockport....... 34 10 4 4.. 5 3 ..8 61 47. 14.. 52
08. Spennymoor... 30.. 8 3 3.. 7 3 ..6 56 47... 9.. 51
09. Chorley........... 33.. 7 7 3.. 5 5 ..6 37 30... 7.. 48
10. Darlington...... 36.. 9 4 5.. 3 7 ..8 50 49... 1.. 47
11. Southport...... 34.. 8 4 6.. 5 4 ..7 53 58.. -5.. 47
12. Bradford. ....... 34.. 6 4 7.. 6 5 ..6 53 47... 6.. 45
13. Nuneaton....... 34.. 7 5 5.. 5 3 ..9 42 49.. -7.. 44
14. FCUM.............. 36 11 2 5.. 1 6 11 54 66 -12.. 44
15. Boston............ 33.. 8 5 4.. 4 2 10 53 55.. -2.. 43
16. Alfreton........... 35.. 6 2 9.. 6 3 ..9 59 60.. -1.. 41
17. Leamington.... 35.. 6 3 8.. 5 5 ..8 44 55. -11.. 41
18. Curzon Ashton 33.. 7 5 4.. 3 5 ..9 43 51.. -8.. 40
19. Tamworth........ 36.. 6 6 6.. 4 3 11 46 62 -16.. 39
20. Telford............. 33.. 5 3 9.. 6 2 ..8 41 56 -15.. 38
21. Gainsborough. 35.. 8 1 9.. 2 3 12 36 66 -30.. 34
22. North Ferriby... 36.. 1 5 12 2 3 13 19 89 -70.. 17

My picks to go down, Telford, Gainsborough and North Ferriby.
Alfreton’s victory at Southport has changed my mind, I’m back to Telford. Tamworth have North Ferriby and Gainsborough to play, Telford are running out of ‘weaker’ teams to play. Gainsborough are now 5 points and goal difference from safety.


Salford;
Kidderminster 4-4 Salford; An amazing comeback, down 4-0 after 80 minutes, Salford equalise in the 96th min when Walker’s penalty is saved but he scores from the rebound. The point keeps them still at the top of the table.

Harrogate;
Harrogate 2-0 Gainsborough; A goal in each half, the second from ex Quaker Mark Beck on 66 mins has Harrogate one point behind leaders Salford with a game in hand.

Brackley;
No game today;

Kidderminster;
Kidderminster 4-4 Salford; Leading 2-0 at half time. 4-0 at 80 mins, Kidder squander the lead, finishing with a draw at home. They now lead York on goal difference in 4th place.

York;
No game today; York are now in 5th place.

Blyth;
North Ferriby 1-0 Blyth; A 60th min goal conceded and Blyth loses at North Ferriby who will be relegated. This game should have been three points for Blyth, a point at least, but this loss and Stockport’s win has both teams on 52 points with the last playoff place up for grabs.

Stockport;
Stockport 4-0 Leamington; Stockport go back to 7th place with a convincing home win today over Leamington. A fast start with a goal after 3 mins, 3-0 at half time, finishing 4-0. With Blyth’s surprise loss at North Ferriby, Stockport are behind Blyth on goal difference (Blyth has a game in hand) as they compete for a playoff place.

Spennymoor;
No game today; Spennymoor go back to 8th place with Stockport’s win, but are helped by Blyth’s loss at bottom place North Ferriby. Spenny remain 1 point back but now have three games in hand.

Chorley;
Chorley 0-1 Boston; Chorley with a disappointing performance were unable to overcome strugglers Boston at home today, who won with a 9th min goal. Chorley remain in 9th place but 7th place Stockport are now 4 points in front, Chorley have a game in hand.

Darlington; (3 games against common bottom 11 opponents); 31/03 Southport (H), 14/04 FCUM (A), 21/04 Nuneaton (H)
Telford 0-0 Darlington; A hard fought point for Darlington at Telford maintains the 9 point gap between the two teams. With Southport’s loss, Darlington rises to 10th place.

Southport; (2 games); 31/03 Darlington (A), 07/04 Nuneaton (H)
Southport 1-3 Alfreton; Southport’s hope to sneak into a playoff place were hurt by a home loss today to Alfreton, they trailed 0-2 at half time, grabbing a consolation goal when they were 0-3. Southport fall to 11th place.

Bradford P.A.;
FCUM 4-0 Bradford; Bradford’s less than impressive recent form continued when they conceded 4 second half goals to lose 4-0.

Nuneaton; (4 games); Mon, 30/03 Alfreton (A) Fri, 07/04, 16/04 Curzon (A), Southport (A), 21/04 Darlington (A)
No game today;

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 4-0 Bradford; All the goals came in the second half as FCUM kept another clean sheet at home, and won again. In seven days, they have picked up seven points. Like Darlington with the late winner at Leamington that sparked a revival, FCUM’s injury time equaliser at Boston has this team getting results again, FCUM is now in 14th place, six points ahead of 20th place Telford.

Boston; (3 games); 02/04 Nuneaton (A), 07/04 Darlington (A), 28/04 Telford (H).
Chorley 0-1 Boston; Boston’s slide towards the bottom three stopped today. A goal after 9 mins was enough to beat 9th place Chorley. This win lifted Boston to 15th place, 5 points and superior goal difference (-2) to (-15) over 20th place Telford.

Alfreton; (3 games); 30/03 Nuneaton (H) Fri, 02/04 Curzon (A), 21/04 FCUM (H)
Southport 1-3 Alfreton; A huge win today for Alfreton, they lead 2-0 at half time, going 3 up before Southport scored one consolation goal. Alfreton’s lifts them to 16th place, 3 points in front of 20th place Telford, Telford has two games in hand.

Leamington; (3 games); 31/03 FCUM (H), 02/04 Telford (A), 14/04 Curzon (H)
Stockport 4-0 Leamington; A bad day for Leamington, as they fell behind 0-3 at half time on their way to a 0-4 loss. With FCUM, Boston and Alfreton all winning, Leamington fall from 14th to 17th place, 3 points in front of 20th place Telford, Telford has two games in hand.

Curzon Ashton; (4 games); Mon, 02/04 Alfreton (H), 09/04 Gainsborough (H), 14/04 Leamington (A ), 16/04 Nuneaton (H)
Curzon Ashton 1-0 Tamworth; In a battle of 19th place Curzon Ashton and 17th place Tamworth, a 52nd min goal secures 3 points for Curzon. Curzon rise to 18th place, 2 points in front of 20th place Telford, Curzon’s goal difference is also better (-8) to Telford’s (-15).

Tamworth; (3 games); 30/03 North Ferriby (H) (Fri), 07/04 FCUM (H), 28/04 Gainsborough (A)
Curzon Ashton 1-0 Tamworth; Tamworth go down in the 52nd min 0-1 to Curzon Ashton who leap over them in the table. Tamworth are now in 19th place, 1 point in front of 20th place Telford, but Telford have 3 games in hand.

Telford; (2 games); 02/04 Leamington (H), 21/04 Gainsborough (H)
Telford 0-0 Darlington; Telford’s battle to get out of the bottom three continued today with a home draw with Darlington. Telford remain in 20th place, gaining a point of Tamworth but see Curzon Ashton pull away after their 1-0 win over Tamworth. Telford have three games on Tamworth, a point behind but Telford are down to 2 ‘weaker’ opponents in their last 9 games. Telford are at Bradford on Monday night.

Gainsborough; (4 games); 02/04 North Ferriby (A), 09/04 Curzon (A), 21/04 Telford (A), 28/04 Tamworth (H)
Harrogate 2-0 Gainsborough; Gainsborough lose at Harrogate today, conceding a goal in each half. With Telford’s draw and Curzon Ashton’s win, Gainsborough are now 4 points behind 20th place Telford and 5 points behind 19th place Tamworth, Gainsborough’s goal difference is also far worse.

North Ferriby; (3 games); 30/03 Tamworth (A) (Fri), 02/04 Gainsborough (H), 28/04 FCUM (A)
North Ferriby 1-0 Blyth; After drawing with leaders Salford midweek, North Ferriby continued their spoiler role with their first home win of the season over playoff contenders Blyth with a 60th min winner.



The original Bottom 11 opponents and results prediction
...........Dar.......... Lea......... Alfr.......... Crz.......... FCM...... Tam......... Telf
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
16/04 ..................................................Nun(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 ..............2..............5.............2..............8.............6.............7............4


The original Bottom 11 outstanding games against their opponents

Darlington (3 games)
31/03 Southport (H)
14/04 FCUM (A)
21/04 Nuneaton (H)

Southport (2 games)
31/03 Darlington (A)
07/04 Nuneaton (H)

Nuneaton (4 games)
30/03 Alfreton (A) Fri
07/04 Southport (A)
16/04 Curzon (A) Mon
21/04 Darlington (A)

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

Alfreton (3 games)
30/03 Nuneaton (H) Fri
02/04 Curzon (A)
21/04 FCUM (H)

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

Curzon Ashton (4 games)
02/04 Alfreton (H)
09/04 Gainsborough (H)
14/04 Leamington (A)
16/04 Nuneaton (H) Mon

Tamworth (3 games)
30/03 North Ferriby (H) (Fri)
07/04 FCUM (H)
28/04 Gainsborough (A)

Telford (2 games)
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

26/03 Monday
Bradford........... vs TELFORD

27/03 Tuesday
ALFRETON......... vs Kidderminster
Brackley............ vs Boston
Harrogate......... vs Spennymoor
Salford.............. vs Blyth
York................... vs SOUTHPORT

30/03 Friday
ALFRETON.......... vs NUNEATON
Boston............... vs Kidderminster
Brackley............. vs Harrogate
Bradford............ vs Stockport
GAINSBOROUGH vs Spennymoor
Salford.............. vs CURZON ASHTON
TAMWORTH........ vs NORTH FERRIBY

31/03 Saturday
DARLINGTON...... vs SOUTHPORT
Blyth................... vs TELFORD
LEAMINGTON...... vs FCUM
York.................... vs Chorley


Comments

Winners today
Curzon beating fellow struggler Tamworth
Boston winning at Chorley
North Ferriby over Blyth, first home win of the season
FCUM, finding their form before relegation panic gets out of control
Alfreton, winning at Southport

Losers today
Kidderminster, blowing a 4-0 lead after 80 mins at home
Blyth, losing at North Ferriby

............................. Pd .W D L..W D L...F..A...GD..Pts Max pts..one point per game
01. Salford .......... 35 12 2 3. 10 5 .3 65 41. 24.. 73
02. Harrogate...... 34 12 4 1. 10 2 .5 84 40. 44.. 72
03. Brackley......... 32 11 4 0.. 7 6 ..4 57 28. 29.. 64
04. Kidderminster 33 10 5 2.. 4 6 ..6 58 40. 18.. 53.......80
05. York............... 34.. 8 5 4.. 7 3 ..7 59 50... 9.. 53.......77
06. Blyth.............. 33.. 9 1 6.. 8 0 ..9 67 51. 16.. 52.......79
07. Stockport....... 34 10 4 4.. 5 3 ..8 61 47. 14.. 52.......76
08. Spennymoor... 30.. 8 3 3.. 7 3 ..6 56 47... 9.. 51.......87
09. Chorley........... 33.. 7 7 3.. 5 5 ..6 37 30... 7.. 48.......75
10. Darlington...... 36.. 9 4 5.. 3 7 ..8 50 49... 1.. 47.......65.........53
11. Southport...... 34.. 8 4 6.. 5 4 ..7 53 58.. -5.. 47.......71.........55
12. Bradford. ....... 34.. 6 4 7.. 6 5 ..6 53 47... 6.. 45.......69.........53
13. Nuneaton....... 34.. 7 5 5.. 5 3 ..9 42 49.. -7.. 44.......68.........52
14. FCUM.............. 36 11 2 5.. 1 6 11 54 66 -12.. 44.......62.........50
15. Boston............ 33.. 8 5 4.. 4 2 10 53 55.. -2.. 43.......70.........52
16. Alfreton........... 35.. 6 2 9.. 6 3 ..9 59 60.. -1.. 41.......62.........48
17. Leamington.... 35.. 6 3 8.. 5 5 ..8 44 55. -11.. 41.......62.........48
18. Curzon Ashton 33.. 7 5 4.. 3 5 ..9 43 51.. -8.. 40........67........49
19. Tamworth........ 36.. 6 6 6.. 4 3 11 46 62 -16.. 39........57........45
20. Telford............. 33.. 5 3 9.. 6 2 ..8 41 56 -15.. 38........65........47
21. Gainsborough. 35.. 8 1 9.. 2 3 12 36 66 -30.. 34........55........41
22. North Ferriby... 36.. 1 5 12 2 3 13 19 89 -70.. 17........35


46 points might be the number of points to avoid relegation based on teams below us averaging 1 point per game, Tamworth will get to 45, Gainsborough to 41, Darlington are now on 47 points in the actual league table.

[Darlo_Pete]

That slip up by Kidderminster could be fatal come the end of the season, as positions 4 to 7 are up for grabs. Good to see Spennymoor have two away games this week, before the big game on Easter Monday.

[LoidLucan]

What a scrap it is at the bottom. To think that at the end of last season Gainsborough were safe at fourth bottom with 36 points. This time it looks pretty nailed on that Gainsborough's proud record of never having suffered a relegation is set to go. A real do-or-die battle to avoid the other slot along with N Ferriby.

And it doesn't look like Ferriby will be the guaranteed three points for teams playing them in the run-in... I think the Darlo snow must have got to them when we smashed them. They've now rediscovered a bit of fight.

[PierremontQuaker03]

Interesting that your three picks to go down include Telford who have 3 games in hand over Tamworth - Tamworth are in serious trouble as a lot of team around them have games in hand.

[PierremontQuaker03]

Also I think Gainsborough are gone.

[Ginge01]

Interesting that your three picks to go down include Telford who have 3 games in hand over Tamworth - Tamworth are in serious trouble as a lot of team around them have games in hand.

Agreed, Tamworth are in serious trouble. Telford have a lot of tough games, this week they play at Bradford on Monday, Blyth on Saturday, so that could be seen as two losses, maybe a draw at Bradford who, yes, they have struggled recently. Tamworth play North Ferriby, no games are easy, but two Telford losses, a Tamworth 1-0 win, the points gap goes back to 4. Of teams at the bottom, Telford have two remaining, home to Leamington, home to Gainsborough, here is their remaining fixtures;

26/03 Bradford (A) (Mon)
31/03 Blyth (A)
02/04 Leamington (H) (Mon)
05/04 Spennymoor (H) (Thu)
07/04 Chorley (H)
14/04 Stockport (A)
21/04 Gainsborough (H)
24/04 Spennymoor (A)
28/04 Boston (A)

5 games against teams trying to get in the playoffs Blyth, Spenny (2), Chorley and Stockport, 5 games in the next 13 days, I was guessing that they would run out of energy and lose momentum, finishing third bottom.

[LoidLucan]

Current form table makes for interesting reading....

https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/nati ... -guide/ten

[Darlo_Pete]

What a scrap it is at the bottom. To think that at the end of last season Gainsborough were safe at fourth bottom with 36 points. This time it looks pretty nailed on that Gainsborough's proud record of never having suffered a relegation is set to go. A real do-or-die battle to avoid the other slot along with N Ferriby.

And it doesn't look like Ferriby will be the guaranteed three points for teams playing them in the run-in... I think the Darlo snow must have got to them when we smashed them. They've now rediscovered a bit of fight.

Gainsborough Trinity were briefly a Football League team, so did they not get relegated into non-league?

[LoidLucan]

I think they were voted out by a committee.

[polam lane]

Gainsborough was the capital of England in 1013, also bizarrely of Denmark for five weeks in that same year.

[LoidLucan]

Only to come to a sticky end in the Glue League

[biccynana]

Gainsborough was the capital of England in 1013, also bizarrely of Denmark for five weeks in that same year.

And it's Britain's most inland port.

[jjljks]

Gainsborough was the capital of England in 1013, also bizarrely of Denmark for five weeks in that same year.

And it's Britain's most inland port.

Amazing what you can learn on here!!
Apparently Brian Little once managed "the holy blues" (aka Trinity)

[biccynana]

Gainsborough was the capital of England in 1013, also bizarrely of Denmark for five weeks in that same year.

And it's Britain's most inland port.

Amazing what you can learn on here!!
Apparently Brian Little once managed "the holy blues" (aka Trinity)

Indeed he did. They've had some interesting managers. Leighton James, Neil Warnock (his first managerial post), Ernie Moss.