The 2002–03 Northern Premier League season was the 35th in the history of the Northern Premier League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into two divisions; the Premier and the First.

Premier Division

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Northern Premier League Premier Division
Season2002–03
ChampionsAccrington Stanley
PromotedAccrington Stanley
RelegatedColwyn Bay
Gateshead
Hyde United
Matches played506
Goals scored1,536 (3.04 per match)

The Premier League featured three new teams:

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Accrington Stanley (C, P) 44 30 10 4 97 44 +53 100 Promotion to Football Conference
2 Barrow 44 24 12 8 84 52 +32 84
3 Vauxhall Motors 44 22 10 12 81 46 +35 76
4 Stalybridge Celtic 44 21 13 10 77 51 +26 76
5 Worksop Town 44 21 9 14 82 67 +15 72
6 Harrogate Town 44 21 8 15 75 63 +12 71
7 Bradford Park Avenue 44 20 10 14 73 70 +3 70
8 Hucknall Town 44 17 15 12 72 62 +10 66
9 Droylsden 44 18 10 16 62 52 +10 64
10 Whitby Town 44 17 12 15 80 69 +11 63
11 Marine 44 17 10 17 63 60 +3 61
12 Wakefield & Emley 44 14 18 12 46 49 −3 60[a]
13 Runcorn F.C. Halton 44 15 15 14 69 74 −5 60
14 Altrincham 44 17 9 18 58 63 −5 60
15 Gainsborough Trinity 44 16 11 17 67 66 +1 59
16 Ashton United 44 15 13 16 71 79 −8 58
17 Lancaster City 44 16 9 19 71 75 −4 57
18 Burscough 44 14 9 21 44 51 −7 51
19 Blyth Spartans 44 14 9 21 67 87 −20 51
20 Frickley Athletic 44 13 8 23 45 78 −33 47
21 Gateshead (R) 44 10 11 23 60 81 −21 41 Qualification for Division One Play-offs
22 Colwyn Bay (R) 44 5 9 30 52 99 −47 24 Relegation to NPL Division One
23 Hyde United (R) 44 5 8 31 40 98 −58 23
Updated to match(es) played on 8 February 2011. Source: [1].
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ From this season onwards Emley were known as Wakefield & Emley.

Results

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Home \ Away ACC ALT ASH BRW BLY BPA BUR COL DRO FRK GAI GAT HAR HUC HYD LNC MAR RUN STL VAU W&E WTB WKS
Accrington Stanley 3–1 4–1 2–1 3–2 3–1 4–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 3–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 5–0 2–1 4–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–1
Altrincham 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–2 0–0 0–0 4–2 3–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 0–4 0–0 4–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 3–3 0–2 0–1 2–1 2–4
Ashton United 2–2 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–4 0–0 2–2 2–1 3–2 1–3 3–1 5–0 2–3 2–1 2–2 2–3 3–3 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–4
Barrow 1–0 4–0 0–3 2–1 3–2 3–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–2 2–0 1–2 1–1 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–2 3–1
Blyth Spartans 0–3 0–2 4–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 4–2 2–1 3–2 0–3 1–2 1–3 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–4 2–5 2–1 2–3 2–1
Bradford Park Avenue 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 5–1 3–2 4–2 3–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–3 5–1 0–1 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–3 0–1
Burscough 0–1 0–3 3–2 2–0 1–3 0–1 3–0 0–0 1–0 4–4 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 3–3 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 3–2
Colwyn Bay 1–2 2–3 1–1 3–4 1–2 2–0 1–3 0–3 2–3 0–3 2–3 0–1 3–6 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–3 1–1 1–1 3–2 1–1 0–2
Droylsden 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 7–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 3–0 0–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–5 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–1
Frickley Athletic 2–1 0–3 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–3 0–0 3–0 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–3 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–3 1–7 1–3
Gainsborough Trinity 1–5 2–1 1–2 0–2 3–2 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–4 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 4–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 4–1 0–1 4–2
Gateshead 5–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–2 2–2 1–1 2–3 1–5 2–1 3–3 1–2 2–3 0–1 3–2 0–1 1–3 2–3
Harrogate Town 0–2 3–0 0–1 3–2 3–1 5–2 2–1 4–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 1–3 2–0 3–1 1–3 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–2 1–2 0–2 2–2
Hucknall Town 2–1 4–1 2–3 0–3 0–2 1–2 3–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 3–3 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 0–0
Hyde United 3–3 0–2 1–1 1–3 1–1 3–1 1–0 0–2 1–3 2–3 1–5 0–1 1–5 0–1 2–3 0–2 0–2 0–1 1–0 0–1 3–3 1–4
Lancaster City 1–2 3–0 1–3 1–5 1–4 2–3 2–1 1–0 0–3 4–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 4–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 5–2 0–1 1–4
Marine 0–3 0–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 4–2 1–0 0–0 2–2 0–1 0–0 4–2 2–2 2–1 4–1 4–0 0–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 5–5 1–2
Runcorn 0–2 3–2 3–2 1–1 2–2 2–0 0–2 6–2 0–0 0–1 0–5 1–1 2–1 0–3 1–1 1–4 2–1 1–0 0–5 4–1 1–1 3–0
Stalybridge Celtic 1–4 2–0 4–1 4–3 1–1 2–2 1–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 3–0 4–4 4–1 1–2 6–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–2 0–0 2–0 4–1
Vauxhall Motors 0–1 4–0 5–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–3 2–1 5–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 5–1 1–0 6–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–2 0–1
Wakefield & Emley 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–4 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0
Whitby Town 0–3 0–1 3–2 1–1 4–4 0–1 0–2 1–0 5–2 3–1 3–0 2–2 4–2 3–3 3–2 2–3 2–0 0–3 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–1
Worksop Town 1–4 1–2 3–2 0–2 1–1 7–1 0–2 4–1 4–1 2–4 0–1 2–0 1–2 5–4 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on 26 April 2003. Source: Northern Premier Division results grid
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Division One

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Northern Premier League Division One
Season2002–03
ChampionsAlfreton Town
PromotedAlfreton Town
Radcliffe Borough
Spennymoor United
RelegatedEastwood Town
Trafford
Matches played465
Goals scored1,407 (3.03 per match)

Division One featured four new teams:

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Alfreton Town (C, P) 42 26 9 7 106 59 +47 87 Promotion to Premier Division
2 Spennymoor United (P) 42 27 6 9 81 42 +39 87
3 Radcliffe Borough (P) 42 25 10 7 90 46 +44 85 Qualification for Play-offs
4 North Ferriby United 42 23 9 10 78 45 +33 78
5 Chorley 42 21 10 11 80 51 +29 73
6 Belper Town 42 20 13 9 53 42 +11 73
7 Witton Albion 42 19 15 8 67 50 +17 72
8 Matlock Town 42 20 10 12 67 48 +19 70
9 Leek Town 42 20 9 13 63 46 +17 69
10 Workington 42 19 10 13 73 60 +13 67
11 Farsley Celtic 42 17 11 14 66 67 −1 62
12 Kendal Town 42 18 7 17 68 58 +10 61
13 Bamber Bridge 42 15 9 18 55 59 −4 54
14 Guiseley 42 14 11 17 68 63 +5 53
15 Bishop Auckland 42 13 10 19 58 83 −25 49
16 Lincoln United 42 12 9 21 67 77 −10 45
17 Stocksbridge Park Steels 42 11 9 22 54 81 −27 42
18 Rossendale United 42 12 5 25 58 88 −30 41
19 Kidsgrove Athletic 42 9 11 22 49 71 −22 38
20 Ossett Town 42 8 9 25 39 80 −41 33
21 Eastwood Town (R) 42 5 8 29 33 92 −59 23 Relegation to NCEFL Premier Division
22 Trafford (R) 42 5 6 31 34 99 −65 21 Relegation to NWCFL Division One
Updated to match(es) played on 8 February 2011. Source: [2].
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

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Home \ Away ALF BAM BLP BIS CHO EAS FAR GUI KEN KID LEE LIN MAT NFU OST RAD ROS SPU STO TRA WTN WRK
Alfreton Town 1–1 1–2 4–1 1–3 4–1 2–0 1–3 4–3 2–0 1–2 2–2 2–0 3–4 5–1 3–2 3–0 1–1 1–1 6–1 1–1 3–0
Bamber Bridge 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–0 2–2 4–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 0–4 2–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 5–1 1–2 1–0
Belper Town 2–5 2–1 3–1 4–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–3 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 4–3 1–0 1–1 1–0
Bishop Auckland 0–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–5 1–3 3–1 1–3 5–3 3–2 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–3
Chorley 2–4 3–1 1–2 4–1 3–1 1–1 2–3 5–0 3–0 3–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 1–0 2–0 0–0 4–0 1–0 1–1
Eastwood Town 0–4 0–1 0–3 1–2 0–1 1–4 1–3 1–3 4–4 0–0 1–2 0–0 2–3 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 1–0 0–3 0–3
Farsley Celtic 0–3 2–1 0–1 3–0 3–3 2–1 2–2 0–1 5–4 4–3 4–1 1–5 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 4–3 0–1 0–1
Guiseley 2–2 3–3 0–0 7–0 2–1 4–0 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–2 4–0 0–3 1–2 2–6 0–0 3–1 0–2 1–2 2–0 0–1 2–2
Kendal Town 4–1 0–1 2–1 3–0 4–1 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–3 0–0 3–3 2–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 4–1 1–2 3–3
Kidsgrove Athletic 0–1 2–1 0–2 3–1 1–0 0–1 1–3 1–1 3–1 0–4 2–4 2–3 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–3 2–0 2–2 1–1
Leek Town 3–2 0–1 4–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–3 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–3 3–2 1–1 1–2 0–1
Lincoln United 1–3 1–1 0–1 3–3 1–2 6–0 4–1 2–3 3–1 0–2 0–0 1–5 4–2 0–0 0–1 1–2 0–2 2–0 5–0 0–1 1–2
Matlock Town 2–4 1–0 0–0 4–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–2 1–5 2–0 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 3–3 0–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 3–2
North Ferriby United 2–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–3 5–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 4–1 2–1 0–0 7–1 4–2 1–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1
Ossett Town 1–2 4–0 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 0–5 1–1 0–0 0–4 0–4 2–1 0–1 1–3 0–0 1–1 0–2
Radcliffe Borough 2–4 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–4 5–1 0–1 4–1 0–1 2–0 7–1 2–1 7–4 4–0 4–2 4–2 1–1
Rossendale United 3–4 1–3 0–4 3–1 0–1 2–3 4–3 1–4 1–4 1–0 1–0 3–3 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–3 1–2 6–3 3–1 1–3 1–2
Spennymoor United 1–2 3–0 3–0 1–2 0–0 3–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 0–3 3–0 0–2 3–0 6–0 3–0 3–0 2–1
Stocksbridge Park Steels 2–3 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–4 2–1 1–3 2–3 1–1 3–4 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–1 5–1 0–3 2–0 1–1 1–2
Trafford 2–2 1–3 0–2 0–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–0 3–1 3–2 1–2 0–4 1–0 0–3 1–2 0–3 3–1 2–3 3–2
Witton Albion 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 5–0 3–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–4 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–0 5–3 1–1 4–1 2–1
Workington 0–3 3–3 2–1 2–2 1–1 7–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 5–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–3 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 3–3
Updated to match(es) played on 26 April 2003. Source: Northern Premier League First Division results grid
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs

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The Division One play-offs saw the third to fifth placed sides in the Division and the team that finished 21st in the Premier Division compete for one place in the Premier Division.[1]

Semifinals Final
      
3°D1 Radcliffe Borough 1
4°D1 North Ferriby United 0
3°D1 Radcliffe Borough 2(4)
5°D1 Chorley 2(2)
5°D1 Chorley 5
21°PD Gateshead 2

Promotion and relegation

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In the thirty-fifth season of the Northern Premier League Accrington Stanley (as champions) were automatically promoted to the Football Conference. Gateshead, Colwyn Bay and Hyde United were relegated to the First Division; these three clubs were replaced by relegated Conference side Southport, First Division winners Alfreton Town, second placed Spennymoor United and third placed Radcliffe Borough (via a Playoff). In the First Division Eastwood Town and Trafford left the League at the end of the season and were replaced by newly admitted Bridlington Town and Prescot Cables.

Cup Results

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Challenge Cup: Teams from both leagues.

  • Marine bt. Gateshead 3–0 on aggregate[2]

President's Cup: 'Plate' competition for losing teams in the NPL Cup.

  • Stalybridge Celtic bt. Ashton United

Chairman's Cup: 'Plate' competition for losing teams in the NPL Cup.

  • Hucknall Town bt. Droylsden

Peter Swales Shield: Between Champions of NPL Premier Division and Winners of the NPL Cup.

  • Accrington Stanley bt. Marine

References

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  1. ^ "UniBond League Premier Division: Fixtures 2002–03". nonleaguefooty.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  2. ^ "The Official Gateshead FC Website – Fixtures/Results". Gateshead FC. Archived from the original on 22 June 2003. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
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