1993–94 North West Counties Football League
Football league season
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The 1993–94 North West Counties Football League season (known as the Carling North West Counties League for sponsorship reasons[1]) was the 12th in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England.
The league comprised two divisions, Division One and Division Two (at levels 8 and 9 respectively of the English football league system), and there were additionally three cup competitions: the League Challenge Cup knockout competition (known as the Carling League Cup for sponsorship reasons), open to all the league's clubs; the Second Division Trophy (known as the Lamot Pils Trophy for sponsorship reasons), a knockout trophy competition for Division Two clubs only; and the Floodlit Trophy competition (known as the Tennents Floodlit Trophy for sponsorship reasons) for all the league's clubs with floodlights. The league also had a reserves team section.
Division One
| Season | 1993–94 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 22 |
| Champions | Atherton Laburnum Rovers |
| Promoted | Atherton Laburnum Rovers |
| Relegated | Flixton |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,395 (3.02 per match) |
← 1992–93 1994–95 → | |
Division One featured 22 clubs, 20 remaining from the previous season plus 2 additions:
- Rossendale United, relegated from the Northern Premier League Division One
- Bootle, promoted as runners-up from Division Two
At the end of the season the champions for the second successive season Atherton Laburnum Rovers, who had improved their ground facilities since rejection the previous season, were automatically promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One. Third placed Burscough set a Division One record by scoring 107 league goals, the first to exceed 100 goals in a season in the division. As no club was relegated from the Northern Premier League Division One only Flixton were relegated to Division Two.[2]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers (C, P) | 42 | 25 | 13 | 4 | 83 | 34 | +49 | 88 | Promoted to Northern Premier League Division One |
| 2 | Rossendale United | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 76 | 46 | +30 | 84 | |
| 3 | Burscough | 42 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 107 | 50 | +57 | 79 | |
| 4 | Nantwich Town | 42 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 80 | 54 | +26 | 77 | |
| 5 | Eastwood Hanley | 42 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 77 | |
| 6 | Bootle | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 77 | 61 | +16 | 73 | |
| 7 | Penrith | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 71 | |
| 8 | Blackpool Rovers | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 64 | 57 | +7 | 67 | |
| 9 | Clitheroe | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 75 | 58 | +17 | 66 | |
| 10 | Kidsgrove Athletic | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 61 | +9 | 58 | |
| 11 | St Helens Town | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 60 | 55 | +5 | 55 | |
| 12 | Prescot | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 55 | |
| 13 | Maine Road | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 55 | |
| 14 | Newcastle Town | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 66 | 67 | −1 | 52 | |
| 15 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 54 | 79 | −25 | 48 | |
| 16 | Darwen | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 38 | 61 | −23 | 44 | |
| 17 | Glossop North End | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 58 | 86 | −28 | 44 | |
| 18 | Salford City | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 50 | 67 | −17 | 43 | |
| 19 | Chadderton | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 49 | 85 | −36 | 38 | |
| 20 | Bacup Borough | 42 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 57 | 85 | −28 | 36 | |
| 21 | Skelmersdale United | 42 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 55 | 92 | −37 | 32 | |
| 22 | Flixton (R) | 42 | 9 | 5 | 28 | 35 | 90 | −55 | 32 | Relegated to Division Two |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Division Two
| Season | 1993–94 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 18 |
| Champions | Haslingden |
| Promoted | Holker Old Boys North Trafford |
| Relegated | None |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 1,125 (3.68 per match) |
← 1992–93 1994–95 → | |
Division Two featured 18 clubs, 16 remaining from the previous season plus 2 additions:
- Blackpool Mechanics, relegated from Division One
- Haslingden, joined from the West Lancashire Football League
Over the season a new league record of 3.68 average goals per match was established (fractionally exceeding the 3.64 from Division Two the previous season).
At the end of the season the champions Haslingden established a new league season goalscoring record with 117 goals scored in 34 matches beating the previous best of 110 from 38 matches by Radcliffe Borough eleven years previously in the 1982–83 season. However they were not promoted as their ground did not meet the Division One ground grading requirements; runners-up North Trafford and third placed Holker Old Boys (the latter benefiting from Haslingden's shortcoming) were both were promoted.[3] Two clubs, Ellesmere Port Town[4] and K Chell[5] folded and left the division. Last placed Squires Gate with only one league win equalled the league all time fewest wins in a season.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haslingden (C) | 34 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 117 | 39 | +78 | 83 | |
| 2 | North Trafford (P) | 34 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 95 | 36 | +59 | 74 | Promoted to Division One |
| 3 | Holker Old Boys (P) | 34 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 75 | 40 | +35 | 72 | |
| 4 | Stantondale | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 88 | 45 | +43 | 68 | |
| 5 | Castleton Gabriels | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 46 | +9 | 63 | |
| 6 | Nelson | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 56 | |
| 7 | Atherton Collieries | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 54 | |
| 8 | Maghull | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 70 | 46 | +24 | 53 | |
| 9 | Ellesmere Port Town | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 62 | 63 | −1 | 50 | Club folded[4] |
| 10 | Formby | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 59 | 50 | +9 | 47 | |
| 11 | Oldham Town | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 61 | 68 | −7 | 45 | |
| 12 | Cheadle Town | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 69 | 62 | +7 | 42 | |
| 13 | Blackpool Mechanics | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 50 | 69 | −19 | 35 | |
| 14 | Westhoughton Town | 34 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 53 | 100 | −47 | 30 | |
| 15 | Ashton Town | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 42 | 91 | −49 | 29 | |
| 16 | Irlam Town | 34 | 8 | 4 | 22 | 41 | 73 | −32 | 28 | |
| 17 | K Chell | 34 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 35 | 97 | −62 | 18 | Club folded[5] |
| 18 | Squires Gate | 34 | 1 | 9 | 24 | 20 | 108 | −88 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
League Challenge Cup
The 1993–94 League Challenge Cup (known as the Carling League Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a knockout competition open to all the league's clubs. The final between Division One clubs, played at Bury F.C., was won by Rossendale United who defeated St Helens Town 1–0.[6]
Semi-finals and Final
The semi-finals were decided on aggregate score from two legs played
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Rossendale United (D1) | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Stantondale (D2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Rossendale United (D1) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| St Helens Town (D1) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| St Helens Town (D1) | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Blackpool Rovers (D1) | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
Club's division appended to team name: (D1)=Division One; (D2)=Division Two
sources:
- Semi-finals: "Blackpool Rovers 1 St Helens Town 3". Daily Post. Liverpool. 21 March 1994. p. 28.; "Results Service: Carling North West Counties: Carling Cup semi-finals". Rossendale Free Press. Rochdale. 25 March 1994. p. 54.
- Final: "We did it!". Rossendale Free Press. Rochdale. 6 May 1994. p. 52.
Second Division Trophy
The 1993–94 Second Division Trophy (known as the Lamot Pils Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was a knockout competition for Division Two clubs only. In the final North Trafford won 3–1 over Maghull (their second successive Trophy final loss) in the match played at Skelmersdale United F.C.[7]
Semi-finals and Final
The semi-finals were decided on aggregate score from two legs played
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Ellesmere Port Town | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Maghull | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||||||||||
| Maghull | 1 | ||||||||||||
| North Trafford | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Haslingden | 2[b] | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||
| North Trafford | 3 | 6 | 9 | ||||||||||
- Played at Skelmersdale United F.C.
- Haslingden's pitch unfit, their home tie played at North Trafford
sources:
- Semi-finals: "Haslingden face cup final battle". Rossendale Free Press. Rochdale. 25 March 1994. p. 54.;"Post Results Service: Local Soccer: Lamot Pils Trophy semi-final". Wigan Evening Post. Preston. 28 March 1994. p. 15.; "Port pounded". The Chronicle (Chester edition). Chester. 1 April 1994. p. 34.
- Final: "Final Blow". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool. 5 May 1994. p. 75.
Floodlit Trophy
The 1993–94 Floodlit Trophy (known as the Tennents Floodlit Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was a competition open to all the league's clubs with floodlights. The all Division One club final was held at Skelmersdale United F.C. and was won by Bootle who defeated Atherton Laburnum Rovers 2–1.[8]
Reserves Section
Main honours for the 1993–94 season:[9]
- Reserves Division
- Winners: North Trafford Reserves
- Runners-up: St Helens Town Reserves