Northern Football League
Season2020–21

The 2020–21 season was the 123rd in the history of the Northern Football League, a football competition in England. The league has operated two divisions in the English football league system, Division One at step 5, and Division Two at step 6.

The allocations for Steps 5 and 6 for season 2020–21 were announced by the FA on 21 July,[1] and were subject to appeal.

Due to the restrictions on clubs' ability to play matches in the COVID-19 lockdowns, competitions at Steps 3–6 were curtailed on 24 February 2021.[2] The scheduled restructuring of non-league took place at the end of the season, with a new division added to the Northern Premier League at Step 4 for 2021–22,[3] resulting in three Northern League clubs' promotions to that league.

Division One

Northern Football League
Division One
Season2020–21
PromotedHebburn Town
Shildon
Stockton Town
Matches played118
Goals scored457 (3.87 per match)

Division One comprised 20 teams, the same number of teams which competed in the previous season's aborted competition.

Division One table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Hebburn Town 12 11 0 1 49 11 +38 33 Promoted to the Northern Premier League[lower-alpha 1]
2 Stockton Town 12 8 3 1 32 8 +24 27
3 Consett 12 9 0 3 32 19 +13 27
4 North Shields 11 8 2 1 27 12 +15 26
5 Newton Aycliffe 12 6 4 2 31 15 +16 22
6 Newcastle Benfield 13 7 1 5 35 23 +12 22
7 Whitley Bay 11 7 1 3 27 18 +9 22
8 Shildon 11 6 3 2 26 11 +15 21 Promoted to the Northern Premier League[lower-alpha 1]
9 Thornaby 11 6 2 3 19 22 3 20
10 Whickham 13 5 2 6 18 21 3 17
11 West Auckland Town 13 5 2 6 21 29 8 17
12 Ashington 11 5 1 5 23 24 1 16
13 Sunderland RCA 12 4 1 7 25 23 +2 13
14 Northallerton Town 13 3 3 7 10 30 20 12
15 Sunderland Ryhope CW 10 3 2 5 11 18 7 11
16 Guisborough Town 12 2 3 7 20 35 15 9
17 Penrith 11 3 0 8 15 34 19 9
18 Bishop Auckland 12 1 2 9 12 30 18 5
19 Seaham Red Star 11 1 2 8 10 31 21 5
20 Billingham Town 13 1 0 12 14 43 29 3
Source: NL website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of matches won; 5) Head-to-head results[4]
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Promoted based on points per game calculations from the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons combined.[3]

Stadia and locations

Club Stadium Capacity
AshingtonWoodhorn Lane
Billingham TownBedford Terrace3,000
Bishop AucklandHeritage Park1,950
ConsettBelle View Stadium
Guisborough TownKing George V Ground
Hebburn TownHebburn Sports & Social Ground
Newcastle BenfieldSam Smith’s Park2,000
Newton AycliffeMoore Lane Park
Northallerton TownCalvert Stadium
North ShieldsRalph Gardner Park1,500
PenrithFrenchfield Stadium1,500
Ryhope Colliery WelfareRyhope Recreation Ground
Seaham Red StarSeaham Town Park
ShildonDean Street2,000
Stockton TownBishopton Road West1,800
Sunderland RCAMeadow Park1,500
ThornabyTeesdale Park5,000
West Auckland TownDarlington Road2,000
WhickhamGlebe Sports Ground4,000
Whitley BayHillheads Park4,500

Division Two

Northern Football League
Division Two
Season2020–21
PromotedCrook Town
Redcar Athletic
West Allotment Celtic
Matches played118
Goals scored447 (3.79 per match)

Division Two comprised the same 20 teams which competed in the previous season's aborted competition.

Division Two table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 West Allotment Celtic 12 7 3 2 25 16 +9 24 Promoted to Division One[lower-alpha 1]
2 Crook Town 12 7 2 3 33 17 +16 23
3 Carlisle City 11 7 2 2 25 17 +8 23
4 Billingham Synthonia 11 7 1 3 31 11 +20 22
5 Tow Law Town 12 6 2 4 22 19 +3 20
6 Bedlington Terriers 11 6 2 3 19 16 +3 20
7 Birtley Town 13 5 5 3 18 19 1 20
8 Easington Colliery 10 7 1 2 32 17 +15 19[lower-alpha 2]
9 Newcastle University 11 5 4 2 17 15 +2 19
10 Redcar Athletic 11 5 3 3 19 14 +5 18 Promoted to Division One[lower-alpha 1]
11 Heaton Stannington 12 4 5 3 26 15 +11 17
12 Chester-le-Street Town 12 5 2 5 29 20 +9 17
13 Brandon United 12 4 3 5 20 27 7 15
14 Willington 13 5 0 8 19 27 8 15
15 Esh Winning 12 5 0 7 22 31 9 15
16 Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 14 3 3 8 21 26 5 12
17 Sunderland West End 12 3 2 7 15 30 15 11
18 Jarrow 12 3 1 8 17 31 14 10
19 Washington 10 2 2 6 18 29 11 8
20 Durham City 13 0 1 12 19 50 31 1
Source: NL website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of matches won; 5) Head-to-head results[4]
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Promoted based on points per game calculations from the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons combined.[3]
  2. Easington Colliery deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player.

Stadia and locations

Club Stadium Capacity
Bedlington TerriersWelfare Park3,000
Billingham SynthoniaNorton Sports Complex1,970
Birtley TownBirtley Sports Complex
Brandon UnitedWelfare Ground
Carlisle CityGillford Park
Chester-le-Street TownMoor Park
Crook TownThe Sir Tom Cowie Millfield Ground1,500
Easington CollieryWelfare Park
Esh WinningWest Terrace3,500
Heaton StanningtonGrounsell Park
JarrowPerth Green
Newcastle UniversityKimberley Park
Redcar AthleticGreen Lane
Ryton & Crawcrook AlbionKingsley Park1,500
Sunderland West EndNissan Sports Complex1,000
Tow Law TownIronworks Road3,000
WashingtonNew Ferens Park
West Allotment CelticSam Smith’s Park (groundshare with Newcastle Benfield)2,000
WillingtonHall Lane
Durham City

References

  1. "National League System club allocations – Steps 5–6, Season 2020–21" (PDF). The Football Association. 21 July 2020 via The Non-League Paper.
  2. "FA Update On Steps 3-6". 24 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 "The FA Handbook 2020/2021 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.