, jjljks asked where my predictions were in the messaging on Darlofans Radio today. I hope I don’t destroy the teams luck and jinx them.I look at how teams play against each other at the top, also the number of outstanding Top 12 games to play between clubs. The very top teams tend to do a better job beating the other Top teams, that separates them from everyone else. Right now there are two of those Brackley and Gateshead, then Fylde and Kidderminster moving towards a playoff place, the fun is from 5th place down. There is a gap between Spennymoor 12th and Curzon Ashton 13th, so I’m only focusing on the Top 12. I’ve done things like this before going back to 2013 when we played in lower divisions and had promotion runs against Salford and Blyth. I've thrown this together today, I hope anyone who reads it likes it.
Today’s games, Saturday Apr 2nd 2022
Leamington... 0-1 Darlington
Boston......... 1-1 Blyth
Brackley....... 1-0 Gateshead
Bradford...... 0-0 Kidderminster
Chorley........ 2-0 Guiseley
Curzon Ashton 0-3 Spennymoor
Fylde.......... 3-1 Farsley
Hereford...... 1-2 Alfreton
Southport..... 0-1 Kettering
Telford........ 2-1 Gloucester
The Vanarama National League North, Saturday Apr 2nd 2022
...................... Pd .W D L..W D L...F...A..GD..Pts
01. Gateshead.... 35 14 1 2.. 10 4 .4. 77 37. 40.. 77
02. Brackley....... 34 14 2 1... 9 6 .2. 48 19. 29.. 77
03. Fylde.......... 35 11 2 4... 9 4 .5. 58 32. 26.. 66
04. Kidderminster 34 11 2 3... 7 6 .5. 59 29. 30.. 62
05. Chorley ....... 33 10 3 3... 5 7 .5. 53 38. 15.. 55
06. York............ 32.. 9 3 6... 6 3 .5. 48 39. .9.. 51
07. Southport..... 34.. 8 7 2... 5 4 .8. 51 41. 10.. 50
08. Darlington.... 35.. 9 3 6... 5 5 .7. 54 48. ..6.. 50
09. Boston......... 34.. 9 4 5... 5 3 .8. 50 49. ..1.. 49
10. Hereford...... 35.. 8 4 6... 5 5 .7. 43 42. ..1.. 48
11. Kettering...... 33.. 6 6 4... 7 2 .8. 47 43. ..4.. 47
12. Spennymoor... 34.. 6 6 4... 7 2 .9. 47 46. ..1.. 47
13. Curzon Ashton 33.. 6 5 5... 5 5 .7. 42 49. .-7.. 43
14. Alfreton....... 33.. 4 7 5... 7 1 .9. 44 53. ..-9.. 41
15. Leamington... 34.. 9 4 5... 1 6 10. 33 41 ..-8.. 40
16. Chester ....... 34.. 7 5 5... 3 3 11. 59 61. .-2.. 38
17. Bradford. ..... 34.. 7 3 7... 3 5 .9. 41 56. -15.. 38
18. Gloucester..... 35.. 4 7 6... 4 5 .9. 37 53. -16.. 36
19. Telford..........36.. 7 4 7... 0 8 10. 43 58. -15.. 33
20. Blyth........... 35.. 6 2 10.. 3 2 12. 32 67. -35.. 31
21. Farsley......... 34.. 5 5 6... 2 3 13. 31 69. -38.. 29
22. Guiseley....... 33.. 5 5 8... 2 1 12. 24 51. -27.. 27
Comments in current full league table order,
Top 12 games outstanding are listed with their matchdates.
Gateshead;
Top 12 games remaining; Darlington (H) 18/04, Kettering (A) 23/04, Southport (H) 30/04, Chorley (A) 02/05, Hereford (H) 07/05;
Brackley 1-0 Gateshead; Gateshead with more Top 12 games to play look to be finishing second at season’s end.
Brackley;
Top 12 games remaining; York (H) 09/04, Boston (H) 18/04, Darlington (A) 23/04, Hereford (A) 02/05;
Brackley 1-0 Gateshead; Big big win today over Gateshead to give Brackley the edge now to win the league.
Fylde;
Top 12 games remaining; Hereford (H) 09/04, Southport (A) 15/04, Boston (A) 23/04, Kettering (H) 30/04, York (A) 02/05;
Fylde 3-1 Farsley; Two second half goals earn the three points today after the games was tied 1-1 at half time.
Kidderminster;
Top 12 games remaining; Southport (H) 09/04, Kettering(H) 18/04,Darlington (H) 07/05;
Bradford 0-0 Kidderminster; Kidderminster held away to a goalless draw at Bradford.
Chorley;
Top 12 games remaining; Boston (H) 05/04, York (H) 12/04, Gateshead (H) 02/05, Spennymoor (A) 07/05;
Chorley 2-0 Guiseley; A goal in each half over bottom place Guiseley.
York;
Top 12 games remaining; Kettering (A) 05/04, Brackley (A) 09/04, Chorley (A) 12/04, Spennymoor (H) 15/04, Fylde (H) 02/05;
No game today, York playing in the F.A. trophy.
Southport;
Top 12 games remaining; Kidderminster (A) 09/04, Fylde (H) 15/04, Spennymoor (H) 23/04, Gateshead (A) 30/04;
Southport 0-1 Kettering; A setback today in the chase for a playoff place for Southport, conceding a second half penalty to lose.
Darlington;
Top 12 games remaining; Gateshead (A) 18/04, Brackley (H) 23/04, Kidderminster (A) 07/05;
Leamington 0-1 Darlington; A second half goal was enough to grab three valuable away points, a third successive win for the Quakers.
Boston;
Top 12 games remaining; Chorley (A) 05/04, Brackley (A) 18/04, Flyde(A) 23/04;
Boston 1-1 Blyth; No game today. Boston salvage a point with an injury time equaliser
Hereford;
Top 12 games remaining; Flyde (A) 09/04, Spennymoor (A) 30/04, Brackley (H) 02/05, Gateshead (A) 07/05;
Hereford 1-2 Alfreton; Hereford slip up at home, conceding two first half goals on the way to a 1-2 home loss.
Kettering;
Top 12 games remaining; York (A) 05/04, Kidderminster (A) 18/04, Gateshead (H) 23/04, Fylde (A) 30/04;
Southport 0-1 Kettering; A huge away win at Southport keeps Kettering’s playoff dreams alive.
Spennymoor;
Top 12 games remaining; York (A) 15/04, Southport (A)23/04, Hereford (H) 30/04, Chorley (H) 07/05;
Curzon Ashton 0-3 Spennymoor; Spenny separate themselves from Curzon Ashton with this big away win to remain in the playoff hopeful group.
This week’s games
05/04 Tuesday
Chorley......... vs Boston
Curzon Ashton vs Brackley
Kettering...... vs York
Kidderminster. vs Alfreton
Spennymoor... vs Bradford
09/04 Saturday
Alfreton....... vs Darlington
Brackley....... vs York
Bradford....... vs Chorley
Curzon Ashton vs Boston
Farsley......... vs Kettering
Fylde........... vs Hereford
Gateshead..... vs Chester
Kidderminster. vs Southport
Spennymoor... vs Leamington
Comments
Going for the league championship, Brackley’s win over Gateshead, these teams were neck and neck, Brackley now with that one game in hand become favourites to win the league.
...................... Pd .W D L..W D L...F...A..GD..Pts
01. Gateshead.... 35 14 1 2.. 10 4 .4. 77 37. 40.. 77
02. Brackley....... 34 14 2 1... 9 6 .2. 48 19. 29.. 77
The playoff second group, Fylde extend their points lead after winning and Kidderminster’s disappointing 0-0 draw at Bradford.
...................... Pd .W D L..W D L...F...A..GD..Pts
03. Fylde.......... 35 11 2 4... 9 4 .5. 58 32. 26.. 66
04. Kidderminster 34 11 2 3... 7 6 .5. 59 29. 30.. 62
The playoff third group, those occupying fifth thru seven, Chorley pull away from York who didn’t play and Southport who lost at home 0-1 to playoff chasing Kettering.
...................... Pd .W D L..W D L...F...A..GD..Pts
05. Chorley ....... 33 10 3 3... 5 7 .5. 53 38. 15.. 55
06. York............ 32.. 9 3 6... 6 3 .5. 48 39. .9.. 51
07. Southport..... 34.. 8 7 2... 5 4 .8. 51 41. 10.. 50
The playoff chasers, Darlington lead this pack and jump above Hereford and Boston with a win at Leamington. They are hoping for continued consistent form while someone above slips up and falls away. Boston slide after a 1-1 draw home to Blyth, Hereford lose home to Alfreton while Kettering’s away win at Southport and Spennymoor’s big win at Curzon Ashton keeps playoff hopes alive.
...................... Pd .W D L..W D L...F...A..GD..Pts
08. Darlington.... 35.. 9 3 6... 5 5 .7. 54 48. ..6.. 50
09. Boston......... 34.. 9 4 5... 5 3 .8. 50 49. ..1.. 49
10. Hereford...... 35.. 8 4 6... 5 5 .7. 43 42. ..1.. 48
11. Kettering...... 33.. 6 6 4... 7 2 .8. 47 43. ..4.. 47
12. Spennymoor... 34.. 6 6 4... 7 2 .9. 47 46. ..1.. 47
Predictions
Champions Brackley, less Top 12 opponents to play than Gateshead (5-4)
Playoffs participants;
Gateshead Fylde, Kidderminster, all moving towards mathematical certainty
Chorley, York, Darlington. Southport are struggling (two draws, three losses in the last five games) and could slide out of the playoff slots soon.
York may wobble but regain momentum approaching season’s end. York’s next two weeks are Kettering (A) 05/04, Brackley (A) 09/04, Chorley (A) 12/04, Spennymoor (H) 15/04, three very tough away games that could see them fall out of the top 7 if they lose two or more of them over the next two weeks, the remaining fixtures are mostly bottom 12 teams and their momentum could reappear with a late surge into the top 7. Darlington need to keep it going, hopefully with a positive result next week at Alfreton.
