Horndean Clinch Promotion

Horndean have clinched the Wessex League title for the first time and will now take their place in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South (assuming everything is in order).

Zack Willett's stoppage time header proved to be decisive for Michael Birmingham's side against a resilient Portland United on Tuesday evening, in front of terrific crowd of 1,359 at Five Heads Park.

The best Horndean had achieved before this campaign was a second-placed finish in 2018/19 and last season ended up in fourth spot.

It's been one of the tightest title races in Wessex League history, with the top four sides within three points of one another, going into the final round of fixtures.

The Deans only ousted long-time leaders AFC Portchester last Thursday, having been in the hunt all season - winning 32 of their 38 fixtures, and ending the campaign with a remarkable 105 goal difference, having conceded just 21 league goals, amid a demanding end-of-season schedule.

Portchester were out-gunned 3-0 at Bemerton Heath Harlequins - the Wiltshire side clinching the runners-up spot, and a play-off against Step 4 opposition, to potentially join Horndean in the Southern Division One South next season.

Bemerton finished with the only unbeaten home record in the Premier Division - one of just eight clubs across the top nine tiers of English football - perhaps even more testament given their promotion from Division One only twelve months prior.

AFC Stoneham, along with Bemerton, leap-frogged AFC Portchester in the final reckoning – the Purples finished third after a 7-1 romp at rock bottom Alresford Town.

Horndean join Mousehole AFC, who secured the three points which took them to the title last Saturday, thanks to a 3-0 victory at home to Wellington.

Knowing that a win would see them confirm top spot, Mousehole eased any nerves they may have in the opening stages when Andy Elcock broke the deadlock after just 15 minutes.

A second strike soon after from Callam McOnie put the Seagulls two goals to the good, before leading scorer Hayden Turner confirmed the victory 10 minutes from time, capping an outstanding season for both himself and the team.

Runners-up Saltash United will be forced to navigate the play-offs after falling just short in their title push.

Despite winning seven of their final eight league games, the Ashes were unable to push themselves into top spot and finished two points in arrears.

Their final win of the campaign came in relatively simple circumstances, with four different goalscorers helping them see off Shepton Mallet in Cornwall.

The hosts absolutely shot out of the blocks, with Adam Carter and Carlo Garside putting them two-up inside the opening 10 minutes.

A further goal from Harrison Davis extended Saltash’s advantage after 25 minutes, with Sam Hughes then capping the victory during a quiet second half period.

Coventry Sphinx clinched the United Counties League Premier Division South championship in style last weekend with a 7-0 home win against Eynesbury Rovers.

Callum Stewart bagged a brace with Louis Guest, Kyle Casey, Luke Downes, Leo Stone and an own goal sealing the emphatic victory against a Rovers` side who finished the game with ten-men.

The destination of Sphinx next season will be determined by the FA as, although the division is a feeder to the Southern League, their geographical position puts them more towards the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands.

Leighton Town will return to the Southern League for the first time since 2016 when they were relegated from Division One Central.

The Bedfordshire side clinched the Spartan South Midlands League title some time back, finishing 14 points in front of runners-up Stotfold.

Incredibly, last Saturday saw top scorer Leon Lobjoit score his 59th goal of the season in a 3-0 win at Leverstock Green.

Cribbs set a 100-point record to win promotion from the Uhlsport Hellenic League, finishing 8 points clear of second-placed Malvern Town.

Corsham Town ran Malvern close for the runners-up spot though – last weekend’s 4-1 win against the Worcestershire side – Corsham’s third win in five days – saw them lose out by a single point.

Enfield FC won the Essex Senior League title a week or two back, finishing off the campaign last weekend with a 4-1 win at White Ensign after which they were presented with their trophies.

Redbridge finished as runners-up, 5 points behind the E’s.

But it looks as though the FA will have a busy time shuffling the pack in the summer ahead of the 2023/24 season and we could well see more clubs shifted from the Isthmian League to the Southern League again.