1997–98 Northern Premier League

The 1997–98 Northern Premier League season was the 30th in the history of the Northern Premier League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into two divisions; the Premier and the First. It was known as the Unibond League for sponsorship reasons.[1]

Premier Division

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Northern Premier League Premier Division
Season1997–98
ChampionsBarrow
PromotedBarrow
RelegatedAlfreton Town
Radcliffe Borough
Matches played462
Goals scored1,270 (2.75 per match)

The Premier League featured three new teams:

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Barrow (C, P) 42 25 8 9 61 29 +32 83 Promotion to Football Conference
2 Boston United 42 22 12 8 55 40 +15 78 Transferred to the Southern League Premier Division
3 Leigh RMI 42 21 13 8 63 41 +22 76
4 Runcorn 42 22 9 11 80 50 +30 75
5 Gainsborough Trinity 42 22 9 11 60 39 +21 75
6 Emley 42 22 8 12 81 61 +20 74
7 Winsford United 42 19 12 11 54 43 +11 69
8 Altrincham 42 18 11 13 76 44 +32 65
9 Guiseley 42 16 16 10 61 53 +8 64
10 Bishop Auckland 42 17 12 13 78 60 +18 63
11 Marine 42 15 11 16 56 59 −3 56
12 Hyde United 42 13 16 13 60 55 +5 55
13 Colwyn Bay 42 15 9 18 53 57 −4 54
14 Spennymoor United 42 14 11 17 58 72 −14 52[a]
15 Chorley 42 14 7 21 51 70 −19 49
16 Frickley Athletic 42 12 12 18 45 62 −17 48
17 Lancaster City 42 13 8 21 55 74 −19 47
18 Blyth Spartans 42 12 13 17 52 63 −11 39[b]
19 Bamber Bridge 42 9 12 21 51 74 −23 39
20 Accrington Stanley 42 8 14 20 49 68 −19 38
21 Radcliffe Borough (R) 42 6 12 24 39 70 −31 30 Relegation to NPL Division One
22 Alfreton Town (R) 42 3 13 26 32 86 −54 22
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 1998. Source: [1].
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Spennymoor United were docked 1 point.
  2. ^ Blyth Spartans were docked 10 points.

Results

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Home \ Away ACC ALF ALT BAM BRW BIS BLY BOS CHO COL EML FRK GAI GUI HYD LNC LEI MAR RAD RUN SPU WNS
Accrington Stanley 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–3 1–2 4–2 3–0 0–2 2–3 1–1 1–1 1–3 1–1 2–2 0–3 3–0 2–1
Alfreton Town 0–1 0–3 1–2 0–3 2–6 0–3 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 3–2 0–0 0–2 1–3 2–3 0–1
Altrincham 1–0 5–0 5–0 2–2 1–1 3–0 1–2 3–0 3–0 7–1 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–3 1–0 2–2 3–1 3–0 2–1 4–0 0–1
Bamber Bridge 2–1 4–1 0–3 2–2 2–1 1–4 2–2 4–0 0–2 2–3 3–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–3 2–2 2–3
Barrow 2–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 3–0 1–0 1–2 1–2
Bishop Auckland 2–2 1–1 5–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 5–2 0–2 4–3 4–1 1–3 1–1 2–1 3–1 3–2 2–4 3–0 1–2 1–1 6–0
Blyth Spartans 2–2 4–2 3–3 1–1 2–1 1–4 0–1 2–1 3–1 0–2 2–3 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–4 2–3 0–1
Boston United 1–3 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 3–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–3 1–3 2–1
Chorley 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 0–2 1–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–5 2–3 0–1 0–3 1–1 4–2 4–1 2–0
Colwyn Bay 2–1 3–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–3 3–3 1–3 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 5–2 2–3 4–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–3
Emley 5–3 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 3–3 2–1 5–3 2–2 2–0 2–0 6–2 3–0 0–2
Frickley Athletic 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–3 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–3 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 2–3 3–0
Gainsborough Trinity 0–0 4–0 2–1 3–2 0–3 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 3–1 0–1 3–1 2–1 3–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 0–1 0–2
Guiseley 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–3 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 4–1 2–2 1–1 0–2
Hyde United 1–1 4–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–0 0–2 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 4–1 1–1 4–1 3–3 1–1 0–1 0–2 3–2 4–3
Lancaster City 3–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 0–2 1–0 3–1 3–1 4–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–1 3–2 0–1 0–1 3–2 0–1 3–0 3–2 1–1
Leigh RMI 1–0 1–0 2–2 4–0 0–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–2 4–2 2–0
Marine 3–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–0 3–5 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–2 3–2 0–4 0–0
Radcliffe Borough 1–2 1–1 0–1 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–3 0–2 0–0 6–2 0–1 0–3 0–0 0–2 0–2
Runcorn 3–0 3–1 1–0 4–2 0–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–3 0–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 2–2 3–0 6–3 2–0 2–2
Spennymoor United 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–3 3–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 2–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–4 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–1
Winsford United 3–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 0–1 2–4 2–2 1–1 1–0
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 1998. Source: Northern Premier Division results grid
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Division One

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Northern Premier League Division One
Season1997–98
ChampionsWhitby Town
PromotedWhitby Town
Worksop Town
RelegatedBuxton
Workington
Matches played462
Goals scored1,433 (3.1 per match)

Division One featured five new teams:

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Whitby Town (C, P) 42 30 8 4 99 48 +51 98 Promotion to Premier Division
2 Worksop Town (P) 42 28 7 7 93 44 +49 91
3 Ashton United 42 26 9 7 93 43 +50 87
4 Droylsden 42 24 8 10 70 49 +21 80
5 Lincoln United 42 20 11 11 76 62 +14 71
6 Farsley Celtic 42 20 10 12 72 66 +6 70
7 Witton Albion 42 19 9 14 77 55 +22 66
8 Eastwood Town 42 18 12 12 68 51 +17 66
9 Bradford Park Avenue 42 18 11 13 62 46 +16 65
10 Belper Town 42 18 7 17 68 66 +2 61
11 Stocksbridge Park Steels 42 17 9 16 68 63 +5 60
12 Trafford 42 16 6 20 59 61 −2 54
13 Whitley Bay 42 14 12 16 60 63 −3 54
14 Matlock Town 42 14 11 17 68 54 +14 53
15 Gretna 42 13 9 20 58 64 −6 48
16 Netherfield[a] 42 12 11 19 55 75 −20 47
17 Flixton 42 10 12 20 45 73 −28 42
18 Congleton Town 42 11 8 23 65 101 −36 41
19 Harrogate Town 42 8 14 20 57 80 −23 38
20 Great Harwood Town 42 8 12 22 41 88 −47 36
21 Workington (R) 42 8 7 27 38 84 −46 31 Relegation to NWCFL Division One
22 Buxton (R) 42 7 3 32 41 87 −46 24 Relegation to NCEFL Premier Division
Updated to match(es) played on 22 February 2011. Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ From the next season Netherfield were renamed as Netherfield Kendal.

Results

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Home \ Away ASH BLP BPA BUX CNG DRO EAS FAR FLX GHT GRT HAR KEN LIN MAT STO TRA WTB WHI WTN WRK WKS
Ashton United 3–4 0–1 1–0 3–2 4–2 1–0 3–1 2–1 3–0 1–1 3–0 4–1 2–0 5–1 3–3 3–1 2–0 1–4 3–1 1–0 2–1
Belper Town 0–7 0–1 2–1 4–0 0–3 1–3 2–3 4–0 1–2 4–3 2–1 1–0 1–3 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 3–2 5–0 0–4
Bradford Park Avenue 0–0 0–0 4–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 5–2 1–0 1–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 2–3 0–1 1–1 3–0 1–2 3–3 2–3
Buxton 1–4 0–2 0–1 4–1 0–1 2–0 1–3 2–2 1–2 1–3 2–0 1–0 1–3 1–3 1–1 0–2 1–2 2–3 1–3 2–3 0–1
Congleton Town 0–3 0–4 2–1 3–1 2–2 1–0 1–3 1–3 1–1 1–0 2–4 2–0 3–3 3–1 2–2 1–4 1–2 2–1 3–3 1–3 0–1
Droylsden 2–1 2–0 2–2 1–0 3–1 0–2 3–0 1–2 2–0 4–1 2–0 0–0 2–3 2–1 2–1 3–1 2–3 1–0 0–4 3–0 1–0
Eastwood Town 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 5–0 2–2 3–3 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 4–4 0–3 0–0 3–1 2–1 0–0 2–3 1–1 2–0 2–2
Farsley Celtic 2–1 5–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–0 6–1 3–2 3–3 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 5–2 1–2 2–0 0–2 2–1 1–1
Flixton 2–2 1–1 1–3 1–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–3 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–4 0–1 1–4 0–1 3–1 6–0 1–1
Great Harwood Town 0–1 3–1 0–2 0–0 2–5 3–3 1–5 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 0–7 1–1 1–2 0–3 2–3
Gretna 1–1 4–3 1–0 4–0 4–0 3–2 0–2 2–3 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–3
Harrogate Town 1–1 2–0 2–4 2–0 0–3 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–1 2–4 2–3 2–2 2–1 4–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–2
Kendal Town 1–3 0–2 1–1 2–1 3–2 0–1 1–3 1–2 5–1 4–0 0–3 1–4 0–3 1–1 0–3 2–1 0–1 4–3 3–1 1–0 2–6
Lincoln United 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–1 3–3 1–2 3–0 2–0 4–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 4–3 3–0 1–2 2–5 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–0
Matlock Town 1–4 0–3 2–0 3–0 3–0 2–3 1–0 4–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 6–0 2–3 2–3 1–0 2–1 3–3 1–1 4–1 3–0 1–3
Stocksbridge Park Steels 1–4 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 0–3 2–2 1–1 4–1 3–0 4–2 0–1 5–1 2–2 2–1 1–4 2–2 3–0 0–0 1–0
Trafford 2–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 1–3 2–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 2–4 4–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–3 0–1 0–1 2–1 1–2
Whitby Town 1–1 2–2 5–2 4–3 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 6–1 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 3–5 1–0 3–0 2–1 3–2 4–1 2–3 2–3
Whitley Bay 1–1 0–2 1–0 3–1 4–4 1–2 0–2 1–2 1–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–2 2–2 1–0 5–0 0–0 1–3 0–3 3–0 1–3
Witton Albion 1–1 2–0 1–2 4–0 5–3 2–2 5–1 1–1 4–1 5–0 0–2 4–0 0–2 3–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–2
Workington 0–3 0–2 0–1 0–2 4–0 0–1 1–4 1–2 2–0 1–0 0–4 1–1 0–0 1–1 4–2 0–1 1–5 0–1 1–2 1–4 0–4
Worksop Town 1–2 0–0 1–0 3–2 5–1 2–2 3–1 2–0 3–0 3–0 3–2 4–1 4–1 3–0 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–3 2–0 2–0 3–0
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 1998. Source: Northern Premier League First Division results grid
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Promotion and relegation

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In the thirtieth season of the Northern Premier League Barrow (as champions) were automatically promoted to the Football Conference. Radcliffe Borough and Alfreton Town were relegated to the First Division; these two clubs were replaced by relegated Conference sides Gateshead and Stalybridge Celtic, First Division winners Whitby Town and second placed Worksop Town. In the First Division Workington and Buxton left the League at the end of the season and were replaced by newly admitted Hucknall Town and Burscough.

Cup results

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Challenge Cup: Teams from both leagues.

  • Altrincham bt. Gainsborough Trinity

President's Cup: 'Plate' competition for losing teams in the NPL Cup.

  • Runcorn bt. Guiseley

Peter Swales Shield: Between Champions of NPL Premier Division and Winners of the NPL Cup.

  • Altrincham bt. Barrow

References

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