UCL Review 2014-2015

At the wrong end of the table Long Buckby kicked off the season with six straight defeats and failed to win until a December visit to Harrowby in their 19 th match. They improved after a mid season managerial change but never looked likely to get out of trouble, eventually finishing nine points adrift. Perennial strugglers Harborough also found points gathering difficult from the off as did county rivals Oadby whose promotion winning team broke up over the summer. The return of Lee Harriman to the Poachers helm saw Oadby move up the table and the Bees too benefitted from a change in charge as they were beaten just once in their last eight. It wasn’t enough to ease Harborough out of the bottom two, but with no club relegated from step 4 they live to fight another day in the Premier. Sileby spent much of the season in peril, but the recruitment of Michael Byrne saw them score their way out of trouble late in the season. Poor mid season form saw Harrowby sucked into the relegation battle but they too benefitted from a change of manager with Nick Andersen leading them clear of danger. A late points deduction saw Sleaford occupy third bottom place in the final table after spending much of the season on the edge of the drop zone.

DIVISION ONE: SPENCER AND CORINTHS MAKE TOP FLIGHT RETURNS

An exciting Division One campaign ended with returns to the Premier Division for Northampton Spencer and Rothwell Corinthians after three and four years in the lower division respectively.

After the promotion of the previous season’s top three an open race was expected this time. Raunds, Bugbrooke and Peterborough Sports all topped the chart in August before Lutterworth moved into pole position in September. Athletic were unbeaten in their first eight games and held their position until just before Christmas bar a couple of weeks when Peterborough Sports slipped in front of them.

Spencer, their neighbours ON Chenecks and free scoring Whitworth, who handed Lutterworth a seven goal defeat on their own ground, were also emerging as contenders for honours.

Cup progress had checked Northampton Spencer’s climb up the table but they hit top slot on Boxing Day with a derby win at ON Chenecks, their eleventh in a thirteen game winning streak. The Millers were red hot favourites by now, but in February they drew three matches out of four as the challengers closed up.

Peterborough Sports had added some higher grade quality to their squad for the run in and an eight game unbeaten sequence saw them overhaul Spencer in February.

By this stage both Potton and Rothwell Corinthians had joined the promotion race, thanks to mean defences which proved unbreachable for games on end.

The Millers gradually clawed back their fixture backlog in March, extending their unbeaten run to 22 matches before losing by a single goal at Whitworth on 24 th March. Peterborough Sports’ eight match unbeaten sequence also ended with a bump as they suffered successive defeats at Bugbrooke and Rothwell, the latter moving into the promotion positions for the first time with their success against Sports. Lutterworth were back in contention as they caught up games, but a loss at Irchester and draw at Buckingham hit their chances. Rothwell’s ten match winning run was halted by Whitworth but a key encounter in the promotion race saw Corinths and Potton share the spoils at Sergeant’s Lawn on Easter Saturday. Ryan Goodband’s last minute leveller for Rothwell would ultimately prove vital in deciding the promotion outcome.

Spencer wrapped up the championship on Easter Monday, beating ON Chenecks 2-0 at Kingsthorpe Mill with a Ryan Lovell double carrying his side over the line with three matches to spare.

The race for the second promotion place went to the wire. Rothwell Corinthians strengthened their position with a win over the newly crowned champions and on the final Saturday of April they secured the runners up medals and a top flight return by beating Irchester 3-0 with goals from Chris Clarke, Ryan Goodband and Dom Page.

9