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3rd May 2008
Review Of The Week

Having undergone final day disappointment for the second successive season last Saturday WITTON ALBION suffered the double whammy of play-off frustration in consecutive campaigns when they lost on penalties to BUXTON on Tuesday evening.

With the play-offs having been in existence for four years it was the third consecutive occasion that the club finishing as Premier Division runners-up had failed to go up.

Instead it was third place GATESHEAD who eased their way to promotion beating EASTWOOD TOWN 4-0 in midweek and then BUXTON 2-0 on Saturday.

FC UNITED of MANCHESTER became the first lower tier runners-up to gain promotion via the play-offs when they came from behind to beat SKELMERSDALE UNITED 4-1 with "Skem" playing all the second half with ten men and the last twenty minutes with nine.

The First Division South play-off final went to extra-time and penalties with NANTWICH TOWN, who had come from behind to beat GRANTHAM TOWN on Tuesday evening, overcoming SHEFFIELD FC 4-1 from the spot after the sides had finished all square at 2-2.

Just over six thousand fans watched the three play-off games. The curtain fell on the season with FLEETWOOD TOWN adding the Peter Swales Memorial Shield to their Premier Division title beating BRADFORD PARK AVENUE 2-1.

UniBond "Club Of The Month" Awards

The final UniBond "Club of the Month" awards for April/May have gone to GATESHEAD, FC UNITED of MANCHESTER and NANTWICH TOWN all of whom coincidentally won their respective Division's play-off finals and were also all taking the award for a second time in the season.

Gateshead won the Premier Division prize in some style with seven wins and a draw in their eight games scoring 27 goals and conceding just two.

FC United had a real fixture pile up to negotiate in April but still managed to pick up the President's Cup in addition to winning the play-offs recording eight victories and losing only two of their thirteen fixtures.

NANTWICH TOWN lifted the First Division South accolade winning seven of their nine games against some tough opposition including Blue Square National side Altrincham in the Cheshire Senior Cup Final.

UniBond "Fairplay" Awards

The UniBond "Fair Play" awards for April have gone to WITTON ALBION, ROSSENDALE UNITED and KIDSGROVE ATHLETIC respectively.

Albion's record of just one caution in four games cemented their place at the top of the Premier Division Fair Play table although surprisingly for an overall season winner it was the first occasion they had lifted a monthly award.

The £1,000 winners cheque added to the £3,600 for finishing league runners-up will be some small consolation for them narrowly missing out on promotion for the second successive campaign.

GATESHEAD took second place in the Fair Play table and pocketed £650 whilst GUISELEY in third took home £350 thanks to finishing 0.01 of a point ahead of Matlock Town

NEWCASTLE BLUE STAR won the £1,000 first prize in the First Division North whilst Rossendale's April award lifted them to second overall and £650 at the expense of WOODLEY SPORTS who had their hitherto good record blighted by a poor April to finish third overall which cost them £300.

Kidsgrove's third monthly award of the season enabled them to overtake QUORN in the race to the First Division South £1,000 prize with WARRINGTON TOWN picking up the £350 for third spot in the final overall season table.

Four More Managers Go

As the dust settled on the UniBond season four more managers parted company with their clubs to take the number of managerial changes in the campaign to 28 or virtually 50% of the League's membership.

First Colwyn Bay announced they had decided to look for another manager for next season after Gary Finley had not led the Welsh club in to the play-offs whilst quickly on their heels were Woodley Sports whose manager Ashley Berry is leaving after only nine weeks at the club.

Berry halted the club's slide towards relegation in his brief tenure and he is thought to be taking a similar job nearer his Yorkshire base.

Then Cammell Laird announced they have appointed Ken McKenna as manager for next season to replace Ian Doran who will join the Board after spearheading Lairds rise up the pyramid with four promotions in five years as the club moved from the West Cheshire League to the UniBond League Premier Division in that time.

Doran's Assistant Neil Young stays on as Assistant to McKenna who has managed Welsh side TNS in high profile European competitive games and was also a long serving Altrincham player.

Finally Witton Albion's website is reporting that manager Jim Vance decided to step down hours after his side's play-off defeat against Buxton with Chairman Mike Worthington saying Vince's decision to quit has left him at his lowest ebb since he took over as Chairman almost a decade ago.

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