A look at the Step 5 Promotion Race

The situation as to who comes up from the Step 5 feeder leagues into the Pitching In Southern Football League is a complicated one!

You need to be a bit more intelligent than me to work it all out!!

Basically, the top 10 teams will be automatically promoted, whilst the six sides finishing second with the lowest points per game record will play an inter-division play-off against sides from the eighth tier!

Hanworth Villa – unbeaten in 32 games to date - have already won the Cherry Red Records Combined Counties League championship and have passed the ground grading, so they will take one of the ten places available.

Walthamstow have won the Essex Senior League but want to be placed in the Isthmian League, while Hamworthy United quickly banished the hurt of defeat in the Buildbase FA Vase Semi-Final by securing promotion from the Sydenhams Football League (Wessex).

Their 3-1 victory over Christchurch on Tuesday was enough to earn a top-two finish.

Thanks to their superior points-per-game record, if Hamworthy finish second, they will be promoted automatically as one of the ten sides with the highest points per game across the ninth tier, but they are on track to win the Wessex Premier, which would also equate to automatic promotion. They require just three points from their remaining three games.

Former Southern League members Bashley are also currently on track to automatically earn promotion from the Wessex League.

They are currently picking up points at a rate of 2.243 per game, ranking them eighth out of the 16 second-placed sides across the ninth tier.

Another former Southern League club, Bishops Cleeve, have already claimed the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division title, so should be another nailed-on team to claim one of the ten spots.

However, there is still work to be done, probably over the Easter period, for the other feeder leagues to sort out their promotion candidates.

Looking likely winners of the Midland League are Hanley Town, but as a former member of the North West Counties League, will they be placed in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands?

Boldmere St Michaels, who have come close to a Southern League place several times before, look like being at worst runners-up.

It`s tight in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division with just three points separating current leaders New Salamis and Risborough Rangers.

Two clubs fighting it out for the United Counties League Premier Division South title are Harborough Town and Hinckley Leicester Road.

Whoever wins the title are guaranteed promotion and both have an excellent points-per-game ratio.

The Thurlow Nunn League looks to be between Gorleston and Wroxham, while it`s a lot tighter in the other feeder league, the Toolstation Western League Premier Division, as currently only seven points separate Bridgwater United in fourth from leaders Tavistock, with Mousehole AFC and Exmouth Town sandwiching them.

Who could the Southern League get from the Vanarama National League?

Bath City, Chelmsford City, Billericay Town and Welling United occupy the bottom four places in the National League South and only four points separate them at present.

Bath would definitely be coming back into the Southern League should they finish bottom, but Welling would probably be given a place in the Isthmian League and the two Essex outfits are on that borderline that presently includes the likes of Harlow Town.

It seems likely that the National League North’s bottom team will be heading towards the Northern Premier League, unless Gloucester City finish bottom, which seems unlikely.