2015–16 North West Counties Football League

The 2015–16 North West Counties Football League season was the 34th in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into two divisions: Premier Division and Division One.

Premier Division

Football league season
North West Counties
Football League
Premier Division
Season2015–16
ChampionsColne
PromotedColne
RelegatedAlsager Town
Silsden
AFC Blackpool

The Premier Division featured four new teams:[1]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Colne (C, P) 42 31 7 4 105 41 +64 100 Promoted to Northern Premier League Division One North
2 Runcorn Linnets 42 32 2 8 97 35 +62 98
3 Atherton Collieries 42 25 9 8 113 66 +47 84
4 1874 Northwich 42 24 6 12 89 62 +27 78
5 West Didsbury & Chorlton 42 21 5 16 81 65 +16 68
6 Congleton Town 42 19 10 13 79 65 +14 67
7 Ashton Athletic 42 17 10 15 73 68 +5 61
8 Bootle 42 17 10 15 75 75 0 61
9 Barnoldswick Town 42 17 8 17 77 69 +8 59
10 Abbey Hey 42 16 11 15 67 66 +1 59
11 Padiham 42 16 9 17 84 90 −6 57
12 Maine Road 42 16 7 19 72 76 −4 55
13 Runcorn Town 42 15 7 20 70 76 −6 52
14 Winsford United 42 14 10 18 66 93 −27 52
15 Cammell Laird 1907 42 14 8 20 71 83 −12 50
16 Nelson 42 13 9 20 69 70 −1 48
17 A.F.C. Liverpool 42 11 15 16 86 92 −6 48
18 A.F.C. Darwen 42 12 7 23 82 111 −29 43
19 Squires Gate 42 11 8 23 53 91 −38 41
20 Alsager Town (R) 42 11 6 25 56 101 −45 39 Relegated to Division One
21 Silsden (R) 42 9 11 22 57 88 −31 38
22 A.F.C. Blackpool (R) 42 9 9 24 65 104 −39 36
Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2016. Source: NWCFL League Tables
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Promotion criteria

To be promoted at the end of the season a team must:

  1. Have applied to be considered for promotion by 30 November 2015
  2. Pass a ground grading examination by 31 March 2016
  3. Finish the season in a position higher than that of any other team also achieving criteria 1 and 2
  4. Finish the season in one of the top three positions[2]

The following five clubs achieved criterion 1:[3]

  • 1874 Northwich
  • Atherton Collieries
  • Colne
  • Runcorn Linnets
  • Runcorn Town

Results

Home \ Away 18N ABH BLK DAR LVP ALS ASH ACO BWT BTL CAM CLN CNG MNR NEL PAD RNL RNT SIL SQG WDC WNS
1874 Northwich 2–1 3–0 2–3 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–3 2–1 3–3 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 4–2 5–4 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–2
Abbey Hey 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 3–1 0–2 2–1 0–2 4–1 4–2 1–3 4–1 3–0 3–0 3–0 0–4 2–0 1–3 3–1 1–5 2–4
A.F.C. Blackpool 3–4 1–3 2–3 1–5 0–1 2–3 1–3 0–3 1–1 1–2 0–4 5–2 2–0 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–2 5–0 3–1 3–5 2–2
A.F.C. Darwen 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–3 3–0 2–3 3–7 3–1 0–1 4–1 0–4 1–3 7–4 1–3 1–2 0–2 1–5 2–2 1–1 2–2 1–2
A.F.C. Liverpool 3–3 1–1 7–1 6–1 4–0 1–4 0–0 3–6 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–4 2–3 1–0 2–6 4–2
Alsager Town 0–5 2–0 1–2 1–4 2–2 3–3 3–2 3–2 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–4 0–1 2–4 0–2 3–1 0–1 1–2 3–3 1–2 3–4
Ashton Athletic 4–0 1–2 0–1 1–0 4–2 1–1 2–0 4–2 2–3 2–1 1–3 1–4 0–2 2–1 2–4 0–3 1–1 2–2 0–2 3–0 2–2
Atherton Collieries 1–3 0–0 2–2 6–1 5–1 4–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 3–1 3–0 2–1 4–3 3–3 2–4 0–2 4–0 7–2 5–2 2–0 4–1
Barnoldswick Town 2–1 0–0 4–1 5–1 1–1 1–4 2–2 5–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 4–2 3–1 2–1 1–2 1–4 0–0 3–0 0–3 5–2
Bootle 2–3 2–2 6–0 3–2 3–3 4–1 3–2 2–5 0–2 3–2 3–2 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–3 1–0 0–1 4–0 5–1 1–2 2–2
Cammell Laird 1907 0–1 2–3 2–1 4–2 4–4 3–1 2–2 3–4 2–0 3–1 4–0 1–3 1–1 3–0 0–3 0–3 2–2 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–4
Colne 1–1 1–1 2–1 6–1 4–1 5–0 6–2 1–1 4–0 1–0 3–0 4–2 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 3–0 6–2
Congleton Town 4–4 1–1 3–3 2–0 0–0 3–0 0–2 1–2 4–3 3–0 2–1 0–2 2–0 1–0 4–2 2–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–0
Maine Road 4–2 2–0 0–2 5–3 4–3 2–2 0–1 2–2 2–0 2–2 2–4 1–3 0–0 2–1 0–3 0–2 3–2 3–1 3–1 0–1 5–0
Nelson 0–2 2–3 3–1 0–0 1–2 3–0 0–0 3–4 1–0 2–2 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–3 4–2 5–1
Padiham 0–7 2–1 3–3 0–2 1–1 6–3 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–3 4–3 3–1 4–4 0–4 1–1 5–1 0–1 1–3 5–1
Runcorn Linnets 2–1 3–0 5–1 3–1 2–1 4–0 0–1 1–4 0–1 7–1 4–0 4–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 5–1
Runcorn Town 0–2 0–2 4–2 2–5 5–2 0–1 1–4 0–4 3–2 1–2 0–1 1–2 4–2 1–0 0–4 2–0 1–3 2–2 5–0 0–0 1–0
Silsden 2–1 2–2 3–0 0–2 2–0 0–1 2–2 0–3 3–1 1–1 1–2 1–3 2–2 2–3 1–0 3–2 1–3 2–2 1–2 1–1 2–3
Squires Gate 2–1 0–0 0–1 6–3 3–1 1–2 0–0 3–4 2–1 0–3 2–2 1–4 1–2 0–5 2–2 3–2 2–3 2–1 3–1 0–4 1–3
West Didsbury & Chorlton 2–3 3–1 2–1 4–2 0–3 4–3 0–3 1–2 0–1 4–0 2–3 1–3 4–3 0–1 3–0 5–1 0–3 0–3 2–1 3–0 2–0
Winsford United 0–3 1–1 3–3 0–3 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–5 2–2 2–0 2–0 1–4 2–3 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–0
Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2016. Source: NWCFL Premier Division results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Stadia and Locations

Sources for this subsection: NWCFL web site and the websites of the participating clubs

Team Stadium Capacity
A.F.C. Darwen The Anchor Ground 4,000
A.F.C. Liverpool Marine Travel Arena, Crosby (groundshare with Marine) 3,185
1874 Northwich Barton Stadium (groundshare with Winsford United) 3,000
Winsford United Barton Stadium 3,000
Atherton Collieries Alder Street 2,500
Bootle Delta Taxis Stadium 2,500
Silsden The Asda Foundation Stadium 2,300
Cammell Laird 1907 North West Construction Stadium, Birkenhead 2,000
Maine Road Brantingham Road, Chorlton 2,000
Nelson Little Wembley 2,000
Colne XLCR Stadium 1,800
Padiham Arbories Memorial Sports Ground 1,688
Runcorn Linnets Millbank Linnets Stadium 1,600
Runcorn Town Pavilions Sports Complex 1,530
A.F.C. Blackpool The Mechanics 1,500
Alsager Town Wood Park Stadium 1,500
Congleton Town Richborough Estates Stadium 1,450
Abbey Hey The Abbey Stadium, Gorton 1,000
Ashton Athletic Brockstedes Park 1,000
Squires Gate School Road 1,000
Barnoldswick Town Silentnight Beds Stadium
West Didsbury & Chorlton Brookburn Road, Chorlton

Division One

Football league season
North West Counties
Football League
Division One
Season2015–16
ChampionsHanley Town
PromotedHanley Town
Irlam
Barnton
RelegatedRochdale Town

Division One featured four new teams:[1][4]

One further club had changed its name since the previous season:

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Hanley Town (C, P) 34 25 3 6 68 32 +36 78 Promotion to Premier Division
2 Irlam (P) 34 24 5 5 73 27 +46 77
3 Barnton (O, P) 34 19 9 6 94 36 +58 66 Qualification for Playoffs
4 Stockport Town 34 19 6 9 68 44 +24 63
5 Bacup Borough 34 17 6 11 81 54 +27 57
6 Cheadle Town 34 16 8 10 89 59 +30 56
7 St Helens Town 34 17 4 13 84 61 +23 55
8 Holker Old Boys 34 16 7 11 73 62 +11 55
9 Litherland REMYCA 34 16 6 12 63 51 +12 54
10 Rochdale Town (R) 34 14 5 15 66 77 −11 47[a] Relegation to Step 7
11 Ashton Town 34 12 7 15 57 57 0 43
12 Daisy Hill 34 12 6 16 56 72 −16 42
13 Widnes 34 10 5 19 67 77 −10 35
14 Chadderton 34 9 8 17 43 53 −10 35
15 Northwich Manchester Villa 34 10 4 20 48 77 −29 34[b] Resigned from league at end of season
16 Eccleshall 34 9 5 20 53 77 −24 32
17 Atherton Laburnum Rovers 34 4 6 24 32 103 −71 18
18 Whitchurch Alport 34 2 10 22 31 127 −96 16
Updated to match(es) played on 9 May 2016. Source: NWCFL League Tables
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Rochdale Town were relegated due to ground grading considerations[5]
  2. ^ Northwich Manchester Villa resigned from the league at the end of the season[6]

Playoffs

Source for this subsection: NWCFL results

Semifinals Final
      
3 Barnton (aet) 4
6 Cheadle Town 1
3 Barnton (aet) 2
5 Bacup Borough 0
4 Stockport Town 0
5 Bacup Borough 2

Results

Home \ Away AST ALR BAC BAR CHA CHT DSH ECC HAN HOB IRL LIT NMV RCH STH SPT WHI WID
Ashton Town 0–0 1–2 2–3 4–0 3–2 0–0 4–3 0–1 2–2 0–1 1–4 5–1 3–2 4–4 0–1 5–0 1–2
Atherton Laburnum Rovers 1–1 0–4 0–6 3–1 1–4 0–3 1–1 1–3 3–2 1–1 0–2 0–3 2–1 1–4 0–0 0–1 2–3
Bacup Borough 2–0 2–3 1–1 0–1 5–5 2–2 3–1 2–1 4–1 0–1 2–1 4–2 9–2 3–3 1–1 7–0 6–0
Barnton 3–0 3–0 2–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 4–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 7–1 2–3 4–1 11–1 0–1
Chadderton 6–0 6–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 5–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–4 2–1 1–3 0–1 2–0 4–3
Cheadle Town 1–2 10–1 3–0 2–2 1–1 4–0 4–2 1–2 2–2 1–2 2–4 1–1 0–3 1–2 0–1 5–3 2–0
Daisy Hill 0–4 4–2 3–0 1–6 3–0 0–1 0–3 1–3 0–3 0–4 1–3 2–3 2–4 1–2 2–1 4–3 4–2
Eccleshall 2–2 3–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 3–6 1–3 1–2 1–2 0–3 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–3 4–3 3–1 0–5
Hanley Town 2–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 2–3 2–0 5–1 0–0 3–2 2–0 3–1 2–1 2–3 0–0 4–3
Holker Old Boys 2–2 2–0 5–2 1–4 2–1 1–3 4–1 3–0 3–1 1–1 1–4 6–0 1–0 0–5 0–0 8–0 3–1
Irlam 3–1 3–0 1–4 1–2 2–0 4–1 0–2 1–0 2–1 3–1 3–1 3–0 4–0 2–0 2–1 5–1 4–1
Litherland REMYCA 0–2 6–1 0–1 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–2 0–5 0–2 2–0 1–1 4–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 1–0 1–0
Northwich Manchester Villa 0–2 3–0 0–2 3–3 2–0 0–3 2–2 4–3 1–3 1–2 1–3 2–1 0–5 0–1 0–2 1–1 2–3
Rochdale Town 2–0 4–3 0–3 1–6 5–0 2–6 1–1 2–0 1–3 4–3 0–3 2–1 3–0 3–1 0–0 5–1 1–3
St Helens Town 0–1 4–1 4–0 3–3 3–1 2–2 2–6 2–3 0–2 1–3 3–1 2–3 3–0 2–3 0–3 10–0 3–2
Stockport Town 2–1 4–0 3–2 0–2 2–0 3–5 2–0 6–0 1–0 1–2 0–3 2–2 2–1 3–1 3–0 4–1 2–2
Whitchurch Alport 1–0 2–2 1–5 1–6 1–1 1–4 1–1 0–5 0–3 2–2 0–3 1–1 0–4 1–1 0–5 0–7 3–3
Widnes 2–3 4–1 5–2 1–3 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–3 1–2 1–2 1–3 2–3 1–1 1–2 6–1 3–3
Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2016. Source: NWCFL Division One results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Stadia & Locations

Sources for this section: NWCFL web site and the websites of the participating clubs

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2015–16 North West Counties Football League Division One teams
Team Stadium Capacity
Widnes Select Security Stadium 13,350
Northwich Manchester Villa Manchester Regional Arena 6,500
Atherton Laburnum Rovers Crilly Park 3,000
Bacup Borough West View 3,000
Holker Old Boys Rakesmoor Lane Barrow-in-Furness 2,500
Stockport Town The Neil Rourke Memorial Stadium 2,384
Ashton Town Edge Green Street 2,000
Cheadle Town Park Road Stadium 2,000
Daisy Hill New Sirs Westhoughton 2,000
Chadderton MCA Stadium 1,500
Rochdale Town Mayfield Sports Centre 1,500
Eccleshall Pershall Park 1,000
Irlam Silver Street 1,000
St Helens Town Brockstedes Park (groundshare with Ashton Athletic) 1,000
Hanley Town Abbey Lane 750
Barnton Townfield
Litherland REMYCA Litherland Sports Park
Whitchurch Alport Yockings Park

League Challenge Cup

Also called the MEN United Cup for sponsorship reasons.[7] Sources for this section: NWCFL web site results

First round

Bacup Borough and Rochdale Town received byes to the second round. Premier Division teams exempt to the second round.

Played Saturday 26 September.

Second round

Ties played 23 and 24 October.

Third round

Ties played 28 November, with four delayed by bad weather.

Home team Score Away team
1874 Northwich 2–2 aet, pens 7–8* Ashton Athletic
Bacup Borough 1–5** Atherton Collieries
Eccleshall 2–0 Irlam
Nelson 2–4 Cammell Laird 1907

* played at Ashton
** played at Atherton

Home team Score Away team
Padiham 2–2 aet, pens 4–5 Runcorn Town
Silsden 0–1 AFC Blackpool
Squires Gate 2–5 aet Colne
Stockport Town 1–3 Barnton

Quarter-finals

Ties played on Saturday 27 February.

Home team Score Away team
Barnton 3–1 Ashton Athletic
Cammell Laird 1907 0–2 AFC Blackpool


Home team Score Away team
Colne 2–0 Eccleshall
Runcorn Town 0–3 Atherton Collieries

Semi-finals

Home team Score Away team
Colne 2–0 AFC Blackpool


Home team Score Away team
Atherton Collieries 1–0 Barnton

Final

Played 10 May at Fleetwood Town's Highbury Stadium

Score
Atherton Collieries 5–1 Colne

First Division Trophy

Also called the Reusch First Division Cup for sponsorship reasons.[8] Source for this section: NWCFL web site

First round

Each of the remaining Division One clubs received a bye to the second round.

Ties played Saturday 17 October.

Home team Score Away team
Barnton 3–2 Eccleshall
Home team Score Away team
Chadderton 2–0 Bacup Borough

Second round

Ties played 6 and 7 November, with two delayed due to bad weather

Home team Score Away team
Daisy Hill 1–2 Litherland REMYCA
Hanley Town 2–1 Widnes
Holker Old Boys 2–0 Ashton Town
Irlam 3–2 Cheadle Town
Home team Score Away team
Northwich Manchester Villa 1–4 Barnton
Rochdale Town 3–1 Atherton Laburnum Rovers
St Helens Town 3–6 (aet)* Chadderton
Whitchurch Alport 0–4 Stockport Town

*played at Chadderton, following two postponements

Quarter-finals

One tie played 20 February, with three delayed due to bad weather

Home team Score Away team
Hanley Town 2–1 Chadderton
Holker Old Boys 1–2* Barnton

* Played at Barnton

Home team Score Away team
Litherland REMYCA* 3–2 Irlam**
Rochdale Town 1–4*** Stockport Town

* Litherland REMYCA disqualified for fielding an ineligible player
** Irlam disqualified for fielding an ineligible player
*** Played at Stockport

Semi-finals

Played on 19 March.

Home team Score Away team
disqualified W/O Hanley Town

Hanley Town awarded walkover to final

Home team Score Away team
Stockport Town 0–0 aet, pens 4–5 Barnton

Final

Played on 19 April at Congleton Town's ground

Score
Hanley Town 1–1 aet, pens 4–5 Barnton

References

  1. ^ a b "News from the AGM". NWCFL. 13 Jun 2015. Retrieved 13 Jun 2015.
  2. ^ "Promotion criteria for Step 5 to Step 4 for 2016-17 season". FA. 26 Oct 2015.
  3. ^ "Promotion applications for clubs aiming for Step 4". FA. 10 Dec 2015.
  4. ^ "Whitchurch Alport join the NWCFL". NWCFL. 26 Jun 2015. Retrieved 26 Jun 2015.
  5. ^ "NWCFL Constitution - Season 2016-17". NWCFL. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  6. ^ "League Statement: Northwich Manchester Villa". NWCFL. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Introducing The Men United Cup". NWCFL. 12 Sep 2014.
  8. ^ "Introducing The Reusch First Division Cup". NWCFL. 10 Nov 2014.

External links

  • nwcfl.com (The Official Website of The North West Counties Football League)
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