1989–90 North West Counties Football League
Football league season
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The 1989–90 North West Counties Football League season (known as the Bass North West Counties League for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England.
The league comprised two divisions (at levels 8 and 9 of the English football league system) and there were additionally two cup competitions: the League Challenge Cup knockout competition (known as the Raab Karcher Cup for sponsorship reasons) open to all the league's clubs; and starting this season a new knockout cup competition for Division Two clubs only, the Second Division Trophy (known as the Lamot Pils Trophy for sponsorship reasons).[1] There was also a reserves team section.
From this season the league introduced three points for a league win (from two awarded previously).[2]
Division One
| Season | 1989–90 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 18 |
| Champions | Warrington Town |
| Promoted | Warrington Town |
| Relegated | Burscough Chadderton |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 877 (2.87 per match) |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → | |
Division One featured 18 clubs, 15 remaining from the previous season plus 3 additional (all promoted from Division Two):
- Chadderton, promoted from third place
- Nantwich Town, promoted from fifth place
- Vauxhall GM, promoted as champions
At the end of the season the champions Warrington Town were promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One and two clubs, Burscough and Chadderton, were relegated to Division Two.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warrington Town (C, P) | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 69 | 31 | +38 | 72 | Promoted to Northern Premier League Division One |
| 2 | Knowsley United | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 69 | |
| 3 | Colwyn Bay | 34 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 79 | 50 | +29 | 60 | |
| 4 | Vauxhall GM | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 57 | |
| 5 | Clitheroe | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 57 | |
| 6 | Darwen | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 54 | |
| 7 | Nantwich Town | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 44 | |
| 8 | St Helens Town | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 43 | |
| 9 | Ashton United | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 43 | |
| 10 | Prescot Cables | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 49 | 54 | −5 | 41 | |
| 11 | Bootle | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 44 | 58 | −14 | 41 | |
| 12 | Flixton | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 40 | |
| 13 | Leyland Motors | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 55 | 64 | −9 | 37 | |
| 14 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 37 | |
| 15 | Skelmersdale United | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 48 | 59 | −11 | 35 | |
| 16 | Salford | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 31 | 47 | −16 | 35 | |
| 17 | Burscough (R) | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 33[a] | Relegated to Division Two |
| 18 | Chadderton (R) | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 33 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Burscough had three points deducted
Division Two
| Season | 1989–90 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 16 |
| Champions | Maine Road |
| Promoted | Bacup Borough Maine Road |
| Relegated | None |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 774 (3.23 per match) |
← 1988–89 1990–91 → | |
Division Two featured 16 clubs, 15 remaining from the previous season plus one additional:
- Formby relegated from Division One
Daisy Hill changed their name to Westhoughton Town
At the end of the season the two top clubs, the champions Maine Road and runners-up Bacup Borough were promoted to the Division One. Two clubs Padiham (who joined the West Lancashire League[3]) and Newton (who joined the Warrington & District League[4]) were expelled as their grounds were adjudged below the standard required for the league.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine Road (C, P) | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 84 | 35 | +49 | 70 | promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Bacup Borough (P) | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 76 | 30 | +46 | 68 | |
| 3 | Blackpool Mechanics | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 59 | 30 | +29 | 57 | |
| 4 | Wren Rovers | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 72 | 38 | +34 | 55 | |
| 5 | Great Harwood Town | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 54 | |
| 6 | Cheadle Town | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 54 | 45 | +9 | 47 | |
| 7 | Maghull | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 45 | |
| 8 | Atherton Collieries | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 34 | 38 | −4 | 43 | |
| 9 | Oldham Town | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 38 | |
| 10 | Ashton Town | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 42 | 57 | −15 | 34 | |
| 11 | Padiham | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 33 | Expelled (ground substandard)[4] |
| 12 | Formby | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 33 | 57 | −24 | 28 | |
| 13 | Newcastle Town | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 38 | 65 | −27 | 28 | |
| 14 | Glossop | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 34 | 58 | −24 | 27 | |
| 15 | Westhoughton Town | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 36 | 62 | −26 | 27 | |
| 16 | Newton | 30 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 29 | 83 | −54 | 21 | Expelled (ground substandard)[4] |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
League Challenge Cup
The 1989–90 League Challenge Cup (known as the Raab Karcher Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a knockout competition open all the league's clubs. The final was contested at Bury F.C. by the two top Division One clubs with Knowsley United winning 5–4 on penalties after the match finished 2–2 after extra time (1–1 at 90 minutes) thus denying Warrington Town (making their fourth appearance in the final in five seasons) a league and cup double.[5]
Semi-finals and Final
The semi-finals were decided on aggregate score from two legs played
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Maghull (D1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Knowsley United (D1) | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||||
| Knowsley United (D1) | 2 [b] | 5p [c] | |||||||||||
| Warrington Town (D1) | 2 [b] | 4p [c] | |||||||||||
| Warrington Town (D1) | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Leyland Motors (D1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
Club's division appended to team name: (D1)=Division One
sources:
- Semi-finals: Tim Chalmers (9 April 1990). "Dream double tonic: Raab Karcher Cup semi-finals, second leg". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. p. 45.
- Final: "Spot on Knowsley". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. 27 April 1990. p. 79.
Second Division Trophy
The 1989–90 Second Division Trophy (known as the Lamot Pils Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was a new competition this season for Division Two clubs only: it was initially arranged in groups with eight qualifiers passing to the knockout stages.[1] The final, played at Leyland Motors F.C., was won by Great Harwood Town who defeated Bacup Borough 2–1.[6]
Semi-finals and Final
The semi-finals and final were played at neutral venues
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Bacup Borough [b] | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Cheadle Town | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Bacup Borough | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Great Harwood Town | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Great Harwood Town [c] | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Ashton Town | 0 | ||||||||||||
- Played at Leyland Motors F.C.
- Played at Burscough F.C.
- Played at St Helens Town F.C.
sources:
- Semi-finals: "Final date". Rossendale Free Press. Rochdale. 10 March 1990. p. 49. & "Final opponents". Rossendale Free Press. Rochdale. 17 March 1990. p. 53.
- Final: "Injury-time sickener". Rossendale Free Press. Rochdale. 31 March 1990. p. 52.
Reserves Section
Main honours for the 1989–90 season:[7]
- Reserves Division (regionalised competition)
- East Division
- West Division
- Winners: Warrington Town Reserves
- Runners-up: Skelmersdale United Reserves
- Reserves Division Cup
- Winners: Great Harwood Town Reserves
- Runners-up: Flixton Reserves