Conference North: March

Just one more month of the Conference North season remains, here's what happened during March in our featured division.


Celtic go out of business

Farsley Celtic sadly lost their battle against financial problems as the club was officially disbanded earlier in the month.

The West Yorkshire side entered administration in September with debts of around £750,000 and were close to going to the wall.

However, they were unable to avert that fate this time around when a deal to take over the club by a local consortium fell through.

The club had been unable to play recent fixtures to their troubles and were officially removed from the Conference North. Their record against other sides this term has now been expunged.

Farsley fans hope a new club will reform in next season's Unibond Division One North.


Tight for the title

The race for the Conference North title and one automatic promotion place looks like going to the wire after Fleetwood Town and Southport both continued their good form.

Town picked up 13 points from their five matches, while the Sandgrounders picked up the same amount from seven games. They now lie just two points behind Fleetwood - with a game in hand.

Elsewhere, in the race for the play-offs, Alfreton continued their strong recent run, but it was a poor month for Hinckley. The Knitters lost twice at home in four games - including against a resurgent Workington.

Indeed, the Cumbrian outfit have emerged as late contenders for the top five, gaining three away wins and 14 points altogether during a very productive March.


Top of the table:

................................P...GD...PTS
1. Fleetwood Town.....35....36....73
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2. Southport..............34....37....71
3. Alfreton Town........33.....24....57
4. Droylsden.............35.....20....57
5. Hinckley United......35.....6.....54
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6. AFC Telford...........35.....2......51
7. Workington...........32......1.....50


Two little, two late for struggling pair

With Farsley having gone out of business and the league reduced to just 21 teams, only two teams will now be demoted.

Unfortunately for fans of Harrogate and Vauxhall Motors, it looks increasingly likely that their teams will be the ones to drop.

Motors picked up four points from their five games during March - ironically all of them in their double header against Cheshire rivals Northwich Victoria.

Harrogate picked up just a single point - courtesy of their 3-3 draw with Ilkeston - and remain rock bottom.

In contrast to the bottom two, Gloucester - the side just above the drop zone - picked up eight points, including a win against Vauxhall in a crucial six pointer.

Good recent runs also saw previous strugglers Gainsborough and Redditch pull well clear of relegation danger.

Bottom of the table:

.............................P...GD...PTS
18. Stafford............35...-12....36
19. Gloucester.........33...-11....35
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20. Vauxhall Motors..36..-37....28
21. Harrogate Town..32...-31...23


More news from the Conference North at the end of the month in our review of all the action in April.

And we'll be taking another look at the state of play in the division during our monthly report on all the divisions.