2013-14 UCL REVIEW

LEAGUE REVIEW

PREMIER DIVISION: EMPHATIC SUCCESS FOR SPALDING

After narrowly missing out on promotion in 2012-13 Spalding boss Pat Rayment assembled a powerful looking squad of proven higher level players and the Tulips went on to justify the favourites tag with an emphatic title victory. Spalding won their first seventeen matches, including a sequence of nine clean sheets between August and October, leaving the rest of the title aspirants in their slipstream. Early on Deeping looked their main threat, bouncing back from an opening day defeat by AFC Rushden & Diamonds to go fifteen games unbeaten and plundering goals galore. Cogenhoe also started well while Huntingdon again performed well with the promotion of Seb Hayes to the hot seat after Ricky Marheineke’s move to Histon proving seamless. AFC Rushden & Diamonds were left playing catch up after early season cup successes, but when they ended Spalding’s winning start with a 2-1 Halley Stewart Field victory on 14 th December it looked like the race might open up. Diamonds lost their next match at Boston though and when Spalding saw off Deeping on Boxing Day they realistically had one hand on the title. Injury ruled out the prolific Andy Tidswell early in the new year but the goals were shared around by Spalding who went unbeaten until the championship was theirs. The title was confirmed on 25 th March when only possible challengers Huntingdon were beaten 2-1 at Cogenhoe. Spalding did lose to Huntingdon home and away in April, two results which helped the Cromwellians secure second place ahead of Diamonds who were left to rue five home losses at the Dog & Duck. The division’s second highest scorers Deeping pipped Cogenhoe to fourth place on goal difference. Newly promoted Sileby lost all their title winning team and manager Glenn Botterill in pre-season with replacement boss Scott Goodwin putting together a very young side for the start of the season, while Harborough again struggled after their great escape the year before. Goodwin’s previous club Long Buckby also had to start again with a programme of rebuilding under Phil Mason while Boston Town were surprise early season strugglers and Newport Pagnell also had a tough campaign after losing several of their squad to higher grade football over the close season. Managerial changes were the order of the day for several of these clubs, and in some cases the changes worked the oracle. Incoming chief Nathan Collins steered Boston Town away from danger, and it was a similar story at Sileby where Daren Young brought in much needed experience to secure a second top flight campaign for the club. Stewarts & Lloyds handed Kevin Byrne a first managerial chance but after his departure at Christmas a side light on firepower lost several key players and a youthful squad failed to win in the remainder of the season, eventually finishing ten points adrift at the foot of the table. Long Buckby had seemed out of danger until docked six points for fielding a player under suspension, and with their fixtures well advanced they faced a nervous finish to the season. Gradually they were overhauled by Newport and Sileby leaving the second relegation place between Buckby and Harborough, who made progress following the early season arrival of Rob Dunion and Gordon Kyle at Bowdens Park Eight points from their last five matches saw the Bees move out of the bottom two, thanks to a 3-2 last match success at Sleaford. With the division short on numbers Buckby were handed a reprieve though and maintain their ever present membership of the Premier Division.. The battle to avoid the drop was rather more open than events at the top of the table with a third of the division involved in the relegation scrap.

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