Looking Back……Season 1985/86

Thrilling finale to the campaign.

This was one of the most exciting finishes to a season in the history of the Southern League.

Going into the final week of the campaign, six of the ten promotion and relegation issues were still to be decided. And none proved out to be closer than Salisbury`s promotion from the Southern Division to the Premier.

Being a point behind but with an identical goal difference to Hastings Town, Geoff Butler`s Salisbury went into their last game on the final day of the season against Woodford Town knowing that only a win would earn runners-up spot behind Cambridge City.

The point from a 0-0 or 1-1 draw would bring the Whites level with Hastings but the Sussex side would go up by virtue of having scored more goals.

A 2-2 draw would mean a tie and a play-off, while a 3-3 draw would swing the balance in Sailsbury`s favour by having scored more than Hastings.

On a sunny Bank Holiday afternoon in Woodford, Essex, Salisbury looked certainties at half-time with a 3-0 lead.

Despite being reduced to ten-men throughout the second half, Woodford did everything possible and reduced the deficit to 3-2 before time ran out.

By a quirk of fate, Hastings heard of their destiny whilst playing simultaneously in the Sussex Senior Cup final at Brighton.

The unfortunate decision to make the announcement at full-time may have affected Hastings` extra-time performance and they eventually lost 1-0 to Steyning Town.

There was no last-day dramas in the Premier Division, however.

Graham Hobbins` Welling United had made certain of the title with three weeks and four matches to spare.

Formed just 22 years earlier, Welling (pictured), therefore, completed a miraculous rise from Sunday league football to the Conference as they walked away with the Southern League title by finishing an amazing 23 points clear of nearest rivals Chelmsford City.

Included in this was a Southern League record of 93 points, 95 goals for – 19 more than any other team – and a miserly 31 against – 9 less than anyone else.

It was the Wings` form in the New Year that won them the championship as they took 55 points from a possible 60, following a 0-0 draw at King`s Lynn on New Year`s Day.

Nearest rivals Chelmsford and Worcester City kept up the chase until Easter when Welling won three games in four days to move 15 points clear.

Any reasonable doubt over the destination of the title was removed with a 3-0 victory over Chelmsford the following week, which left the Wings needing just two points from six games to be certain.

On April 12th, Welling drew 3-3 at Crawley Town but that proved to be enough as Chelmsford and Worcester lost to Alvechurch and Fisher Athletic respectively.

But if anyone though Welling would take their foot off the gas after that were proved wrong as they won their final five games, including two wins over Kent rivals Gravesend & Northfleet which condemned them to relegation.

The only shadow over Welling`s title win was a rumour circulating that the club`s Park View Road ground would not be up to Conference (Gola League then) standard. However, the club completed all necessary ground improvements by the May 1st deadline and the ground was passed fit and Welling were assured of promotion.

The Wings celebrated by beating then-Southern Division side Dover Athletic 2-0 in the Kent Senior Cup final at Gillingham four days later to complete the `double`.

John Bartley, the club`s record-breaking striker, hit an amazing 57 goals in 55 matches during the campaign.

During the league game against RS Southampton on February 22nd, the former Maidstone United striker, in his second spell with the Wings, scored his 500th goal for the club.

There was also a young striker emerging on the scene at Park View Road in Gary Abbott, who scored 11 goals that season in 47 games. And much more would be heard of him in future seasons!

If the title was a bit of a stroll for Welling, the relegation battle was extremely tight.

In the end, Gravesend finished bottom on 36 points, one ahead of Fareham Town and two of Gosport Borough.

Fareham were given a reprieve from relegation, however, due to the decision of Hampshire neighbours RS Southampton to resign from the league and become one of the founder members of the new Wessex League.

It ended one of the most remarkable of stories.

Road-Sea were only founded in 1973 and originally played in the City of Southampton Sunday League, where they won every possible honour as they rose up through the divisions and in 1976/77, they reached the semi-final of the FA Sunday Cup.

Road-Sea then purchased some land near Southampton and with the aid of some fine financial backing, and momentum from team manager Peter Price saw the facilities develop.

This resulted in an ambitious application to join the Southern League being sensationally accepted in 1982, despite no history whatsoever of playing Saturday football.

Whilst in the Southern League Southern Division, Road-Sea silenced their critics as they pushed for promotion to the Premier Division and after finishing a highly creditable third in their debut season behind champions Fisher Athletic and Folkestone, they won promotion as champions in 1983/84.

Road-Sea continued to thrive in the highly competitive Premier Division as they then finished a marvellous fifth in 1984/85 before, after finishing 16th in 85/86, they surprisingly decided to withdraw from the league.

Road-Sea finished runners-up in the first season of the Wessex League, reached the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup and won both the League and Russell Cotes Cup's but the club's short but amazing history was ended when they lost their financial backing, which resulted in their sudden demise in 1987.

Bromsgrove Rovers enjoyed almost as emphatic a title success in the Midland Division as Welling did in the Premier Division.

Led by a front three of Chris Hanks, Phil Mullen and Malcolm Dunkley, Bobby Hope`s side scored 95 goals in the league – 25 more than the next highest scorers – with Hanks running out as the division`s top marksman with 31, aided by Mullen`s 20 and Dunkley`s 19.

Rovers also achieved the league `double` by winning the Bill Dellow Challenge Cup, beating Southern Division Trowbridge Town 4-3 over two legs in the first final contested without a Premier Division team.

Bromsgrove`s closest rivals for the title was neighbours Redditch United, who in the end just sneaked the second promotion spot after almost surrendering a comfortable position by winning just nine games in their final twenty matches, allowing Merthyr Tydfil, who won their last eight fixtures, to catch and actually pass Redditch during the penultimate week of the season, only for Redditch`s last day 1-0 win over Gloucester City to finally clinch the runners-up spot in a breathtaking finish.

A final run-in of nine consecutive defeats plummeted Oldbury United into bottom spot in the Midland Division and relegation to the West Midlands (Regional) League.

The Southern Division proved to be the most open race for many years. Any one of five teams could have won the championship during the final month.

Cambridge City, having taken some valuable points off their nearest challengers during the run-in, eventually took the title on goal difference from Salisbury, although Hastings and Dover also ran them close.

Gary Grogan scored 24 goals for Bill Leivers` Cambridge side, but it was Dover`s Frank Ovard who topped the charts with 31.

Dorchester Town endured one of the worst seasons in their history.

The Magpies have just ended the 2019/20 season prematurely bottom of the Premier Division, 11 points adrift of the safety mark.

But back in 84/85, the Dorset county town ended up being 15 points behind second-bottom Andover.

The end of the season saw a meeting of club chairmen decide that the league would have a different look to it in 1985/86.

Only two clubs would be relegated from the Premier Division – one which would be RS Southampton – to make a complement of 22 clubs in the top-flight.

The regional divisions would be re-instated to 20 teams notwithstanding the promotion/relegation agreement with the feeder leagues.

It was further decided that a future objective of the league would be to install 22 clubs into each of the regional divisions, so there was no relegation from the Southern section.