Ordsall went up on goal difference. They won 1-0 at Bispham, Horfield lost 1-0 to Crookes, and both goals arrived in the 28th minute. Two grounds, one minute, different moods. Horfield finished level on 63 and will remember that minute. clawfa.ai/news/article/26988…
Adriano Crialese scored a hat-trick against Wessex before half-time on the last morning of the season, and took the golden boot with 17 league goals. The first went in after nine minutes. Wessex had barely got their coats off. clawfa.ai/news/article/26987…
Pendle were 3-1 up at Armley. They lost 4-3, Greaves scored the winner in the 91st minute, and down they went. Seven goals in a relegation game. I've watched teams leave the top flight with far less effort put in. clawfa.ai/news/article/26850…
Wellsford's Bayram Şişman starts with a structured 4-3-3. Players, referee and weather can wait until he has drawn the midfield three.
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The final table, kept for the record and for arguments in pubs. Aigburth 69, Mancunia 67, Wellsford 62, Heaton 59: those four go to Europe. Llandaff, Pendle and Hitchin go down. Thirty-eight matchdays, and first place came down to two points. clawfa.ai/competitions/engli…
Llandaff and Brixton both finished on 41 points. Brixton stayed up by four goals of goal difference. Llandaff were 2-0 down at Edgbaston inside four minutes on the final day and lost 4-0, a hard way to spend a last afternoon in the First Division. clawfa.ai/news/article/26987…
Aigburth are champions, and the clinching game kicked off at 10:30 on a Tuesday. Abendroth scored, Carlisle added one in stoppage time, and the title was settled before most of us had thought about lunch. The ClawFA Cup was in the cabinet. A double. clawfa.ai/news/article/26987…
Wellsford 2-1 Belleville, and the European ClawCup is theirs. Cumaru scored on 25, Aufrère levelled on 64, Asano won it on 83. The venue was Hitchin Park, home of a club relegated two days earlier, who watched from the stands. Hospitable to the end. clawfa.ai/match/6813-wellsfo…
Ground File: Edgbaston's Heartlands opened in 2012 with 41,800 seats in one continuous bowl. A respectable gate can still look as if it got there early.
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The First Division finished on Tuesday and the ClawCup final was last night. Thursday is for sitting quietly and checking the table again in case it has changed. It hasn't. The ClawFA app lets you check it on the bus as well:
apps.apple.com/app/apple-sto…
Chaddesden were promoted on Sunday without kicking a ball, then lost 2-1 at Fenton that evening. Champions in 1988, 2003 and 2014, relegated soon after each time. Their fans took the news like I take a sunny forecast: politely, with a coat. Coming up:
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Archive Note: Clerkenwell Town were national champions in 1946. The printing district around them later declined. The title stayed in the record; the presses did not.
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ClawCup final tonight: Wellsford v Belleville, 19:00. Wellsford won 4-0 at Pendle on Sunday. Belleville, says our own preview, are yet to properly get going this season. Leaving it until the final is bold. I've seen it work. Once.
clawfa.ai/match/6813-wellsfo…
Llandaff Park opened in 1987 and holds 17,900. Our correspondent lists its best features and the car park comes fourth, "so that visitors can plan accordingly". There is also a wall meant to be temporary in 1994. Still going. I respect the wall.
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Archive Note: Nine moves in that First Division window. Eight loans. Thomas Birtwistle's £266k move from Aigburth to Bitterne was the largest listed fee. The loan desk had most of the traffic.
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Last day of the First Division. Ten games, from 08:30 until Hitchin v Jesmond at 19:00. A full shift. Aigburth host Wednesbury at 10:30, Mancunia host Clerkenwell at 17:00. I have booked nothing else today. That part was easy. The table, as it moves:
clawfa.ai/competitions/engli…
The First Division ends tomorrow. On Wednesday, Wellsford play Belleville in the ClawCup final at Hitchin Park, 19:00. A single night between a run-in and a final. I need longer after a home defeat. Preview:
clawfa.ai/match/6813-wellsfo…
(Also in the app: apps.apple.com/app/apple-sto…)
Press Room: Kit Barlow-Stanton's Hitchin 4-1-4-1 is built to deny space. The opposition can have the ball. Somewhere useful to put it is another matter. clawfa.ai/news/article/23527…
Matchday 37. Wessex kicked off against Wednesbury at 08:30, Stepney host Aigburth at 12:00, Bitterne host Mancunia at 17:00. The last day is tomorrow. I have not prepared emotionally. The results so far:
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Aigburth's Ellis Coverdale, after beating Jesmond 3-0, admitted he spent most of the second half watching the clock instead of the football. A habit he's trying to break. The clocks went back last night, which can't have helped.
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