IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
There are still a couple of issues still to be decided as we enter the final week of the league campaign.
In Division One, Heaton Stannington need a win or a draw at Crook Town tomorrow to move up to third. If they do, they’ll host Birtley Town in the semi-final promotion play-off. If they lose, they’ll stay in fifth and travel to Shildon for the semi-final and Birtley Town will host West Auckland for the other semi-final.
At the other end of the table, anything but three wins out of three for Sunderland RCA will mean that they’re relegated, unless Tow Law get a draw or win against Bishop Auckland tomorrow, in which case RCA will be relegated no matter what they do in those three matches.
In Division Two, one play-off semi-final is already decided: Newcastle Blue Star v Horden CW. The only issue to be resolved is who hosts the other semi-final between Easington Colliery and Bedlington Terriers. Easington have one game to go, against Washington at the Hub tonight, while Terriers have three to play. They also play tonight, up against Blyth Town at Morpeth Town’s ground. Whoever finishes third will be the home team.
Three teams at the bottom of Division Two are liable to relegation, with decisions made by the FA. Its rules state: “At the end of the regular season the clubs in the bottom three positions of each of the 17 Step 6 divisions will be liable to relegation. The final number of clubs to be relegated will be confirmed once promotion candidates from feeder leagues and any vacancies are known.” The full details about promotion and relegation are in paragraph 5 here:
The remaining league fixtures are here:
https://www.northernfootballleague.org/scheduled-fixtures/
The dates for the play-off matches are in this news release from a couple of days ago:
https://www.northernfootballleague.org/news/play-off-dates-announced/