24/4/08 - Blue Square Round-up

There are just 13 games left before the 2007/08 regular Blue Square Premier season comes to an end on Saturday evening.

Tonight (Thursday), Grays Athletic entertain Rushden & Diamonds before the final round of matches are played on Saturday teatime, all with a 5-15 pm kick-off.

We already know at Aldershot Town have been crowned Blue Square Premier Champions and they reached the 100-point mark with their goalless draw against Weymouth on Tuesday.

Stafford Rangers (24th) and Droylsden (23rd) occupy the bottom-two places in the table and will, sadly, be relegated back to the Blue Square North. As we know, the sides meet at Marston Road on Saturday with Rangers needing a win to avoid finishing bottom.

The teams contesting the end-of-season play-offs were sorted out on Tuesday with Exeter City booking their place at the expense of Stevenage Borough. Torquay (currently second with 86 points), Cambridge (third with 83 points), Exeter (fourth with 82 points) and Burton (fifth with 80 points) are the four teams bidding to join Aldershot Town in League Two. The issue to be sorted on Saturday is who will meet who in the semi-finals. Burton meet Exeter at the Pirelli Stadium with the loser likely to face Torquay over two legs.

As for the remaining two relegation issues, Farsley Celtic (currently 22nd with 39 points) are effectively relegated. To avoid the drop, they need to beat Grays by a cricket score and hope Halifax (20th on 42 points) suffer the same fate. Altrincham (21st with 40 points) have to win at Weymouth to give themselves a chance of staying up and hope that Halifax slip up at home to Stevenage. Amazingly, Northwich have avoided relegation.

Fixtures: Saturday 26th April: Burton v Exeter, Ebbsfleet v Oxford, Farsley v Grays, Halifax v Stevenage, Histon v Forest Green, Northwich v Cambridge, Rushden v Aldershot, Salisbury v York, STAFFORD v DROYLSDEN, Torquay v Crawley, Weymouth v Altrincham, Woking v Kidderminster.

Lewes and Kettering Town, respective Blue Square South and North Champions, will be promoted to the Blue Square Premier. In the North, AFC Telford United and Stalybridge Celtic (could still miss out with a cricket-score defeat) have booked a play-off place and will be joined by two out of Southport, Barrow and Harrogate Town.

With four northern teams relegated to Blue Square North, it is almost certain that one or two of the current teams in the North will have to switch to Blue Square South. Worcester City are a likely candidate and their manager Richard Dryden told thisiswcfc: "I think realistically we are going to end up going south so we have got to prepare for it."