While a lot of attention is (rightly) on the title race between York and Rochdale, the battle between AFC Fylde and South Shields in the North is equally as endearing. The Coasters sit one point ahead of the Mariners, with just nine games to go. In this article, we take a look at the run-in, season so far and attempt to predict who will gain automatic promotion to the pinnacle of Non-League football.
Kings Lynn (A)
Merthyr (H)
Alfreton (H)
Spennymoor Town (A)
Darlington (H)
Radcliffe (A)
Macclesfield (H)
Bedford Town (H)
Kidderminster (A)
With nine games to go, South Shields sit on 81 points, just one point behind AFC Fylde. Their PPG has them finishing the season on 101 points, while based on the scores against the remain teams to play, they are projected to garner another 16 points.
It has been some rise up the leagues for South Shields who are enjoying just their third season at this level, finishing 8th and 17th in the previous two. Under the steady guise of Ian Watson, The Mariners boast the best defensive record in the league conceding just 32 times.
The summer recruitment from South Shields showed their ambition, signing top young talent from local areas, as well as players like Robbie Tinkler and Daniel Dodds. They also boast two of the best strikers in the division in Paul Blackett (22 goals) and Cedwyn Scott (17). This has also seen them score the third most goals in the league (81)- showing the sides tremendous balance.
On top of this, with just four losses, no team has lost fewer games than Shield.s
Hereford (A)
Worksop Town (A)
Marine (H)
Darlington (H)
Chorley (A)
Radcliffe (H)
Chester (A)
Southport (H)
Merthyr Town (A)
Projected to finish on 102 points and pipping Shields to the title, Fylde will also end the season on 102 points if repeating the same scores from earlier in the season for their run in.
The pre-season favourites, AFC Fylde have played second fiddle to South Shields for most of the season, but a rare slip up for the Mariners on the weekend was enough for the Coasters to leap-frog their title rivals. Appointed in the summer from Curzon Ashton, Craig Mahon has his side playing front footed football, scoring 90 goals in 37 - the most in the league.
Key to this is the leagues crown jewel, Danny Ormerod, who has scored 25 goals and registered six assists in just 31 games. At the age of 19, he's destined for a career in the EFL.
While 45 points from 18 home games pits South Shield as the best home side in the league, Fylde have still taken 44 from 19 at Mill Farm, scoring 49 goals in the process. However, in just 18 away games, Mahon's side have 38 pouints- the best record in the league.
While South Shields have the better defence as well as a potent attack, I feel AFC Fylde's star quality (Ormerod) as well as their promotion know-how will see them promoted. The Mariners have never finished below third in the National League North. Despite Ian Watson doing the double over Mahon, it may be the latter celebrating promotion come April.
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