And what an awful season it was.
Atrocious weather conditions, a fuel strike and an outbreak of 'foot
and mouth' which all went to ensure that disruption could not have been
worse. All credit to those teams which managed to complete
their fixture list, not too many. In the end, once the
major issues had been settled, I think we were all
pleased just to give it up as a 'bad job'.
The battle in the Premier Division was just as
thrilling as in seasons past with Kidderminster Harriers, Lichfield
Diamonds, Stratford, Tamworth and Shifnal Town all leading the table at
one stage or another. Casualties included Ledbury, Great
Wyrley and Hereford United and the constant deletions and additions of
points from the tables had us guesssing to the very end.
Yet again Lichfield fell at the final hurdle and as in both of the
previous two seasons they finished as runners up. But a
twist in the tale turned failure into success as Kidderminster Harriers
declined promotion to the Midland Combination League. So by
finishing in 2nd position Lichfield at long last gained the promotion
they have worked so hard for over the years.
The contest in Division One North was a little
less hectic although Bridgnorth Town, in their very first season,
put up a most creditable display in chasing North Staffordshire Ladies
to the very end. Although they finished 6 points adrift
they can be well pleased with what they achieved. North
Staffs meanwhile showed themselves to be far superior than anyone else
in the league losing just one game in the entire season.
West Bromwich Albion went through the first half of
the season without dropping a point in Division One South at which
stage they were running away with the title. But then
defeat at the hands of Villa Veterans seemed to unbalance them and at
one point it all appeared likely to slip away. Fortunately
their revival came none to soon and they went on to lift the title
narrowly from Villa Vets, their main challengers throughout.
Coventry City dropped only 4 points in cantering to
success in the Reserve Division. Only Leicester City were
any sort of a threat. Operating for the very first time,
very much as an experiment, the Reserve Division accommodated 9 teams
and looks set to continue in the coming season
League Cup Competitions also faced major disruption
with the Division One Cup abandoned before a ball was
kicked. The competitions did go ahead in the Premier and
Reserve Divisions where Lichfield beat Tamworth by 4-1 and Leicester
City turned the tables on Coventry to steal a dramatic victory by 3-2.