2000–01 North West Counties Football League
Football league season
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The 2000–01 North West Counties Football League season was the 19th 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 Worthington Challenge Trophy for sponsorship reasons) open to all the league's clubs; the Second Division Trophy, a knockout trophy competition for Division Two clubs only; and a Floodlit Trophy competition for all the league's clubs with floodlights which was abandoned without conclusion owing to bad weather. The league also had a reserves team section.
Division One
| Season | 2000–01 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 22 |
| Champions | Rossendale United |
| Promoted | Rossendale United |
| Relegated | Cheadle Town Leek CSOB |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,554 (3.36 per match) |
2001–02 → | |
Division One featured 22 clubs, 19 remaining from the previous season plus 3 additions:
- Curzon Ashton, promoted as runners-up of Division Two
- Flixton, relegated from the Northern Premier League Division One
- Woodley Sports, promoted as champions of Division Two
At the end of the season the champions Rossendale United were promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One and the bottom two clubs, Leek County School Old Boys and Cheadle Town, were relegated to Division Two.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rossendale United (C, P) | 42 | 29 | 5 | 8 | 114 | 44 | +70 | 92 | Promoted to Northern Premier League Division One |
| 2 | Clitheroe | 42 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 105 | 47 | +58 | 89 | |
| 3 | Ramsbottom United | 42 | 28 | 4 | 10 | 85 | 44 | +41 | 88 | |
| 4 | St Helens Town | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 98 | 40 | +58 | 87 | |
| 5 | Fleetwood Freeport | 42 | 26 | 4 | 12 | 90 | 50 | +40 | 82 | |
| 6 | Kidsgrove Athletic | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 81 | 46 | +35 | 82 | |
| 7 | Salford City | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 87 | 41 | +46 | 79 | |
| 8 | Prescot Cables | 42 | 24 | 5 | 13 | 94 | 54 | +40 | 77 | |
| 9 | Newcastle Town | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 69 | 45 | +24 | 67 | |
| 10 | Mossley | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 73 | 56 | +17 | 64 | |
| 11 | Curzon Ashton | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 67 | 66 | +1 | 63 | |
| 12 | Skelmersdale United | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 69 | 69 | 0 | 59 | |
| 13 | Woodley Sports | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 69 | 69 | 0 | 57 | |
| 14 | Abbey Hey | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 76 | 92 | −16 | 51 | |
| 15 | Maine Road | 42 | 15 | 3 | 24 | 75 | 102 | −27 | 48 | |
| 16 | Nantwich Town | 42 | 10 | 9 | 23 | 46 | 79 | −33 | 39 | |
| 17 | Atherton Collieries | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 43 | 88 | −45 | 39 | |
| 18 | Glossop North End | 42 | 9 | 4 | 29 | 41 | 111 | −70 | 31 | |
| 19 | Great Harwood Town | 42 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 44 | 93 | −49 | 30 | |
| 20 | Flixton | 42 | 5 | 13 | 24 | 47 | 100 | −53 | 28 | |
| 21 | Leek County School Old Boys (R) | 42 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 39 | 89 | −50 | 27 | Relegated to Division Two |
| 22 | Cheadle Town (R) | 42 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 42 | 129 | −87 | 24 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Division Two
| Season | 2000–01 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 20 |
| Champions | Warrington Town |
| Promoted | Atherton Laburnum Rovers Warrington Town |
| Relegated | None |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,355 (3.57 per match) |
2001–02 → | |
Division Two featured 20 clubs, 16 remaining from the previous season plus 4 additions:
- Atherton Laburnum Rovers, relegated from Division One
- Bootle, relegated from Division One
- Padiham, promoted as champions of the West Lancashire Football League Division One
- Stone Dominoes, promoted as champions of the Midland Football League
At the end of the season divisional runners-up Tetley Walker resigned from the league as they were evicted from the ground they used and were unable to find a replacement.[1] The promotion places to Division One were taken by the champions Warrington Town and third placed Atherton Laburnum Rovers. All the other 17 clubs remained in the division.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warrington Town (C, P) | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 90 | 31 | +59 | 79 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Tetley Walker | 38 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 83 | 41 | +42 | 77 | Resigned (club folded) |
| 3 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers (P) | 38 | 24 | 3 | 11 | 88 | 50 | +38 | 75 | Promoted to Division One |
| 4 | Nelson | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 89 | 44 | +45 | 74 | |
| 5 | Squires Gate | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 75 | 47 | +28 | 70 | |
| 6 | Blackpool Mechanics | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 85 | 47 | +38 | 69 | |
| 7 | Alsager | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 65 | |
| 8 | Padiham | 38 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 83 | 71 | +12 | 64 | |
| 9 | Daisy Hill | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 78 | 80 | −2 | 60 | |
| 10 | Chadderton | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 58 | |
| 11 | Darwen | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 72 | 66 | +6 | 55 | |
| 12 | Formby | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 65 | 56 | +9 | 53 | |
| 13 | Stone Dominoes | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 62 | 63 | −1 | 51 | |
| 14 | Bacup Borough | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 48 | |
| 15 | Holker Old Boys | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 67 | 79 | −12 | 47 | |
| 16 | Bootle | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 70 | 76 | −6 | 41 | |
| 17 | Castleton Gabriels | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 52 | 90 | −38 | 37 | |
| 18 | Ashton Town | 38 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 46 | 98 | −52 | 27 | |
| 19 | Colne | 38 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 37 | 107 | −70 | 16 | |
| 20 | Oldham Town | 38 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 38 | 149 | −111 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
League Challenge Cup
The 2000–01 League Challenge Cup (known as the Worthington Challenge Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was a knockout competition open to all the league's clubs. The final played at Bury F.C. was won for the first occasion in fourteen seasons by a Division Two club, Formby (who had started in the preliminary round of the competition), on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time (score at 90 minutes: 1–1) against Curzon Ashton of Division One.[2]
Semi-finals and Final
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Curzon Ashton (D1) | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Newcastle Town (D1) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Curzon Ashton (D1) | 1[b] | p | |||||||||||
| Formby (D2) | 1[b] | p[c] | |||||||||||
| Formby (D2) | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Kidsgrove Athletic (D1) | 0 | ||||||||||||
Club's division appended to team name: (D1)=Division One; (D2)=Division Two
sources:
- Semi-finals: "All Results 2000/01 season (Saturday 31st March 2001)". The NWCFL. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- Final: "Formby F.C – A Brief History". formbyfc.co.uk. 2001. Archived from the original on 4 November 2001. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
Second Division Trophy
The 2000–01 Second Division Trophy was a knockout competition for Division Two clubs only. The winners, in the final played at Skelmersdale United F.C., were Squires Gate who defeated Bacup Borough 1–0.[3]
Semi-finals and Final
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Bacup Borough | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Daisy Hill | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Bacup Borough | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Squires Gate | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Squires Gate | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Formby | 1 | ||||||||||||
- Played at Skelmersdale United F.C.
sources:
- Semi-finals: "Local Soccer: Bacup on trail of cup glory". Lancashire Telegraph. 4 April 2001. Retrieved 28 April 2026.; Mike Young (11 April 2001). "Gate secure Final place". The Gazette. Blackpool. p. 37.
- Final: "Local Soccer: Bacup just miss out". Lancashire Telegraph. 11 May 2001. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
Floodlit Trophy
The 2000–01 Floodlit Trophy was a competition open to all the league's clubs with floodlights; it was abandoned owing to bad weather. The competition was not played in subsequent seasons.[4]
Reserves Section
Main honours for the 2000–01 season:[4]
- Reserves Division (regionalised competition)
- North Division
- Winners: Salford City Reserves
- Runners-up: Clitheroe Reserves
- South Division
- Winners: Woodley Sports Reserves
- Runners-up: Glossop North End Reserves
- North Division
- Reserves Division Cup
- Winners: Salford City Reserves
- Runners-up: Colne Reserves