2023–24 Spartan South Midlands Football League
The 2023–24 season was the 27th in the history of the Spartan South Midlands Football League, a football competition in England. The league operates three divisions, two of which are in covered in this article, the Premier Division, at Step 5 and Division One at Step 6 of the English football league system.
The constitution was announced on 15 May 2023.[1] Starting this season, the Step 5 Premier Division in the league promotes two clubs; one as champions and one via a four-team play-off. This replaced the previous inter-step play-off system. For this season only, there would have been only one club relegated from the Step 5 division.[2]
Premier Division
editSeason | 2023–24 |
---|---|
Champions | Real Bedford |
Promoted | Real Bedford Leverstock Green |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → |
The Premier Division featured 14 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with six new clubs:
- FC Romania, relegated from the Southern League
- London Lions, transferred from the Combined Counties League
- Milton Keynes Irish, transferred from the United Counties League
- Real Bedford, promoted from Division One
- Sawbridgeworth Town, transferred from the Essex Senior League
- Stansted, transferred from the Essex Senior League
League table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Real Bedford (C, P) | 36 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 117 | 24 | +93 | 91 | Promotion to the Southern League |
2 | Milton Keynes Irish | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 96 | 25 | +71 | 85 | Qualification for the play-offs |
3 | Harpenden Town | 36 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 74 | 51 | +23 | 68 | |
4 | Leverstock Green (O, P) | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 73 | 53 | +20 | 68 | |
5 | FC Romania | 36 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 76 | 64 | +12 | 61 | |
6 | Tring Athletic | 36 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 63 | 51 | +12 | 59 | |
7 | Colney Heath | 36 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 57 | 45 | +12 | 57 | |
8 | Cockfosters | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 71 | 56 | +15 | 55 | |
9 | Potton United | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 50 | |
10 | London Lions | 36 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 74 | 75 | −1 | 46 | |
11 | Aylesbury Vale Dynamos | 36 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 58 | 78 | −20 | 46 | |
12 | Biggleswade United | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 67 | 80 | −13 | 43 | |
13 | Dunstable Town | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 40 | |
14 | Stansted | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 47 | 67 | −20 | 40 | Transfer to the Essex Senior League |
15 | Baldock Town | 36 | 11 | 4 | 21 | 61 | 83 | −22 | 34[a] | |
16 | Arlesey Town | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 36 | 69 | −33 | 34 | |
17 | Crawley Green | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 51 | 85 | −34 | 33 | |
18 | Shefford Town & Campton | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 50 | 91 | −41 | 33 | |
19 | Sawbridgeworth Town | 36 | 2 | 8 | 26 | 29 | 83 | −54 | 14 | Transfer to the Essex Senior League |
20 | St Panteleimon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Folded[b] |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[4]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:
Play-offs
editSemi-finals | Final | ||||||||
2 | Milton Keynes Irish | 0 | |||||||
5 | FC Romania | 3 | |||||||
4 | Leverstock Green | 3 | |||||||
5 | FC Romania | 0 | |||||||
3 | Harpenden Town | 1 | |||||||
4 | Leverstock Green | 3 |
Semifinals
edit1 May | Harpenden Town | 1–3 | Leverstock Green | Harpenden |
19:45 | Report |
|
Stadium: Rothamsted Park Referee: Nathan Currey |
1 May | Milton Keynes Irish | 0–3 | FC Romania | Milton Keynes |
19:45 | Report | Stadium: The Irish Centre Attendance: 405 Referee: Daniel Jones |
Final
edit6 May | Leverstock Green | 3–0 | FC Romania | Leverstock Green |
15:00 | Report | Stadium: Pancake Lane Attendance: 914 Referee: Chad Greatorex |
Stadia and locations
editTeam | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Arlesey Town | Hitchin Road | 2,920 |
Baldock Town | ||
Aylesbury Vale Dynamos | Haywood Way | |
Biggleswade United | Fairfield Road | 2,000 |
Cockfosters | Chalk Lane | 1,000 |
Colney Heath | Recreation Ground | |
Crawley Green | The Brache | 4,000 |
Dunstable Town | Creasey Park | 3,065 |
FC Romania | Theobalds Lane (groundshare with Cheshunt) | 3,000 |
Harpenden Town | Rothamsted Park | |
Leverstock Green | Pancake Lane | |
London Lions | Rowley Lane | |
Milton Keynes Irish | Manor Fields | 1,500 |
Potton United | The Hollow | |
Real Bedford | McMullen Park | |
Sawbridgeworth Town | Crofters End | 2,500 |
Shefford Town & Campton | Shefford Sports Club | 1,000 |
St Panteleimon | Hertingfordbury Park (groundshare with Hertford Town) | |
Stansted | Hargrave Park | 2,000 |
Tring Athletic | Grass Roots Stadium |
Division One
editSeason | 2023–24 |
---|---|
Champions | Northampton ON Chenecks |
Promoted | Northampton ON Chenecks Northampton Sileby Rangers Winslow United |
Relegated | Burton Park Wanderers |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → |
Division One featured twelve clubs which competed in the division last season, along with eight new clubs:
- Cranfield United, promoted from the Bedfordshire County League
- Huntingdon Town, transferred from the Eastern Counties League
- Irchester United, promoted from the Northamptonshire Combination League
- Leighton Town development, promoted from Division Two
- Long Buckby, relegated from the United Counties League
- Rothwell Corinthians, relegated from the United Counties League
- Royston Town U23, promoted from the Hertfordshire Senior County League
Also, Buckingham Athletic merged with Division Two club Buckingham United to form the new club Buckingham.
League table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Northampton ON Chenecks (C, P) | 38 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 102 | 23 | +79 | 95 | Promotion to the United Counties League |
2 | Northampton Sileby Rangers (P) | 38 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 98 | 46 | +52 | 78 | Qualification for the play-offs, then promotion to the United Counties League |
3 | Winslow United (O, P) | 38 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 85 | 50 | +35 | 76 | Qualification for the play-offs |
4 | Moulton | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 84 | 48 | +36 | 74 | |
5 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 95 | 61 | +34 | 74 | |
6 | Langford | 38 | 21 | 5 | 12 | 91 | 56 | +35 | 68 | |
7 | Ampthill Town | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 95 | 61 | +34 | 67[a] | |
8 | Leighton Town development | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 76 | 59 | +17 | 67 | |
9 | Cranfield United | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 77 | 48 | +29 | 60 | |
10 | Royston Town U23 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 89 | 64 | +25 | 60 | |
11 | Rothwell Corinthians | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 86 | 68 | +18 | 54 | |
12 | Long Buckby | 38 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 77 | 85 | −8 | 43 | |
13 | Buckingham | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 59 | 80 | −21 | 42 | |
14 | Huntingdon Town | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 57 | 89 | −32 | 39 | |
15 | Letchworth Garden City Eagles | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 55 | 81 | −26 | 36[b] | |
16 | Eaton Socon | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 44 | 85 | −41 | 33 | |
17 | Raunds Town | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 46 | 90 | −44 | 30 | |
18 | Rushden & Higham United | 38 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 51 | 106 | −55 | 27 | |
19 | Irchester United | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 34 | 121 | −87 | 23 | |
20 | Burton Park Wanderers (R) | 38 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 47 | 127 | −80 | 18 | Relegation to a feeder league |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[4]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Reserve and U23 sides are ineligible for promotion to Step 5 or higher.
Play-offs
editSemi-finals | Final | ||||||||
2 | Northampton Sileby Rangers | 3 | |||||||
5 | Moulton | 1 | |||||||
2 | Northampton Sileby Rangers | 1 | |||||||
3 | Winslow United | 3 | |||||||
3 | Winslow United | 5 | |||||||
4 | Wellingborough Whitworth | 1 |
Semifinals
edit30 April | Northampton Sileby Rangers | 3–1 | Moulton | Northampton |
19:45 | Report | Stadium: Fernie Fields Attendance: 151 Referee: Andy Woolmer |
30 April | Winslow United | 5–1 | Wellingborough Whitworth | Winslow |
19:45 | Report | Stadium: Elmfields Gate |
Final
edit4 May | Northampton Sileby Rangers | 1–3 | Winslow United | Northampton |
15:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Fernie Fields Attendance: 263 Referee: Matthew Rendell |
Stadia and locations
editTeam | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Ampthill Town | Ampthill Park | 1,300 |
Buckingham | Stratford Fields | |
Burton Park Wanderers | Latimer Park (groundshare with Kettering Town) | |
Cranfield United | Crawley Road | |
Eaton Socon | River Road | |
Huntingdon Town | Jubilee Park | |
Irchester United | Alfred Street | 1,800 |
Langford | Forde Park | 2,800 |
Leighton Town development | Bell Close | 2,800 |
Letchworth Garden City Eagles | Pixmore Pitches | |
Long Buckby | Station Road | 1,000 |
Moulton | Brunting Road | |
Northampton ON Chenecks | Old Northamptonians Sports Ground | |
Northampton Sileby Rangers | Fernie Fields | |
Raunds Town | Kiln Park | |
Rushden & Higham United | Hayden Road | 1,500 |
Rothwell Corinthians | Desborough Road | |
Royston Town U23 | Garden Walk | 5,000 |
Wellingborough Whitworth | The Victoria Mill Ground | 2,140 |
Winslow United | Elmfields Gate | 2,000 |
Division Two
editSeason | 2023–24 |
---|---|
Champions | AFC Welwyn |
Promoted | AFC Welwyn |
Matches played | 306 |
Goals scored | 1,134 (3.71 per match) |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → |
Division Two featured 17 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with one new club:
League table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | AFC Welwyn | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 89 | 31 | +58 | 77 | Promoted to Division One |
2 | Bovingdon F.C. | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 83 | 46 | +37 | 69 | |
3 | Old Bradwell United | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 74 | 38 | +36 | 64 | |
4 | Codicote | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 63 | |
5 | Newport Pagnell Town Development | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 58 | |
6 | Pitstone & Ivinghoe | 34 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 75 | 55 | +20 | 56 | |
7 | New Bradwell St Peter | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 79 | 51 | +28 | 54 | |
8 | Aston Clinton | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 64 | 54 | +10 | 51 | |
9 | Milton Keynes College | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 78 | 73 | +5 | 50 | |
10 | Totternhoe | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 61 | 71 | −10 | 49 | |
11 | Stony Stratford Town | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 62 | 69 | −7 | 48 | |
12 | Milton Keynes Irish Reserves | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 62 | 65 | −3 | 47 | |
13 | Eynesbury United | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 40 | 55 | −15 | 37 | |
14 | AFC Caddington | 34 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 61 | 100 | −39 | 34 | |
15 | Sarratt | 34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 40 | 84 | −44 | 29 | |
16 | Tring Corinthians AFC | 34 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 39 | 68 | −29 | 28 | |
17 | Berkhamsted Raiders | 34 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 52 | 85 | −33 | 26 | |
18 | The 61 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 32 | 84 | −52 | 21 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
References
edit- ^ "REVEALED: Club allocations 2023-24 announced by The FA". The Non-League Football Paper. 15 May 2023.
- ^ "STEP 5 TO 4 PROMOTION/RELEGATION UPDATE". The FA. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Sawbridgeworth Town set to escape relegation from Spartan South Midlands League, Premier Division following St Panteleimon withdrawal". Bishop's Stortford Independent. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ a b "The FA Handbook 2022/2023 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA.