2007–08 Southern Football League

The 2007–08 season was the 105th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales.

Premier Division

Southern Football League Premier Division
Season 2007–08
Champions King's Lynn
Promoted King's Lynn
Team Bath
Relegated Bromsgrove Rovers
Cirencester Town
Cheshunt
Matches played 462
Goals scored 1,301 (2.82 per match)
Top goalscorer Sean Canham (Team Bath) - 31
Biggest home win

Brackley Town 6 – 0 Cheshunt, 5 January 2008

Yate Town 7 – 1 Cheshunt, 26 February 2008
Biggest away win Rugby Town 0 – 5 Gloucester City, 26 February 2008
Highest scoring Merthyr Tydfil 5 – 4 Corby Town, 5 April 2008
Highest attendance 2336 (King's Lynn 0 – 0 Team Bath, 5 April 2008)
Lowest attendance 72 (Team Bath 3 – 1 Cirencester Town, 11 March 2008)
Average attendance 325

The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season, four clubs promoted from Division One Midlands / South & West, plus one club relegated from the Conference South:

King's Lynn won the Southern League Premier and were promoted to the Conference North, while play-off winners Team Bath were promoted to the Conference South, though both clubs spent only one season at that level. Bromsgrove Rovers, Cirencester Town and Cheshunt were relegated to Division One. Bedford Town also ended the season in the relegation zone but were reprieved from relegation for the second season running after F.C. Halifax Town folded and Nuneaton Borough were demoted to Division One.

League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 King's Lynn (C) (P) 42 24 13 5 91 36 +55 85 Promotion to Conference North
2 Team Bath (P) 42 25 8 9 71 41 +30 83 Qualification for play–offs, then promoted to the Conference South
3 Halesowen Town 42 22 13 7 80 46 +34 79 Qualification for play–offs
4 Chippenham Town 42 20 13 9 73 44 +29 73
5 Bashley 42 19 12 11 60 46 +14 69
6 Gloucester City 42 19 11 12 81 50 +31 68
7 Hemel Hempstead Town 42 19 11 12 67 50 +17 68
8 Brackley Town 42 16 12 14 57 53 +4 60
9 Banbury United 42 14 16 12 55 57 −2 58
10 Yate Town 42 16 10 16 71 76 −5 58
11 Clevedon Town 42 13 18 11 49 46 +3 57
12 Swindon Supermarine 42 14 12 16 51 67 −16 54
13 Merthyr Tydfil 42 13 14 15 65 70 −5 53
14 Mangotsfield United 42 12 16 14 38 42 −4 52
15 Rugby Town 42 13 12 17 55 66 −11 51
16 Corby Town 42 14 8 20 60 67 −7 50
17 Tiverton Town 42 13 11 18 45 60 −15 50
18 Hitchin Town 42 12 11 19 46 61 −15 47
19 Bedford Town 42 12 9 21 54 73 −19 45 Reprieved from relegation †
20 Bromsgrove Rovers (R) 42 10 12 20 46 67 −21 42 Relegation to Division One Midlands
21 Cirencester Town (R) 42 8 8 26 44 80 −36 32 Relegation to Division One South & West
22 Cheshunt (R) 42 5 8 29 42 103 −61 23 Relegation to IL Division One North

Updated to games played on 28 Apr 2008.
Source: Southern Football League
† Bedford Town were reprieved from relegation, following Dorchester Town's reprieve.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Play–offs

Semifinals Final
      
2 Team Bath 4
5 Bashley 1
2 Team Bath 2
3 Halesowen Town 1
3 Halesowen Town 2
4 Chippenham Town 1

Results grid

Home \ Away[1] BAN BAS BEDBRKBROCHECHICIRCLECORGLOHALHEMHITKLYMANMERRUGSWITBATIVYAT
Banbury United 0–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–3 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–3 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–4
Bashley 2–1 1–1 0–0 4–0 2–1 2–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–3 2–3 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 4–3 2–1 3–1
Bedford Town 0–0 2–1 3–4 0–4 5–3 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–3 1–1 3–2 0–3 0–1 3–3 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–0 2–2
Brackley Town 2–1 1–0 2–1 3–0 6–0 2–4 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–3 1–2 0–3 3–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 0–2 2–2
Bromsgrove Rovers 0–2 0–0 0–2 1–1 3–3 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–4 1–0 0–3 3–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 4–0 0–0 2–3 1–1 1–2
Cheshunt 1–1 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–0 1–4 2–0 1–2 1–5 0–3 0–2 0–4 1–2 1–3 0–0 0–0 1–2 3–0 1–2 0–0 0–3
Chippenham Town 2–2 2–2 5–0 1–2 2–2 5–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 4–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–2 1–0 3–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 5–1 3–2
Cirencester Town 0–1 0–3 2–1 1–0 2–1 4–3 1–2 1–2 0–0 1–4 2–3 1–0 2–3 0–4 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–1 3–2 1–2
Clevedon Town 0–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–2 2–1 0–0 2–2 3–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 3–3 3–2 1–2 0–2 4–0 1–1
Corby Town 2–1 4–2 1–0 2–0 4–2 2–0 0–0 2–4 1–1 2–5 1–2 0–2 3–0 0–2 1–2 0–1 3–4 0–2 1–2 1–0 2–2
Gloucester City 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–3 5–0 4–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 3–1 2–3 5–0 2–1 4–1 2–3
Halesowen Town 1–2 4–1 0–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–2 2–1 4–1 2–0 3–0 4–1 4–4 3–1 5–1 1–0
Hemel Hempstead 2–3 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 4–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 3–2 1–1 3–3 1–1 4–2 2–0 0–0 3–1 0–1 1–3 2–1 1–2
Hitchin Town 3–3 2–0 2–2 0–1 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–2 1–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–0 2–1
King's Lynn 3–1 5–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 4–0 2–0 6–2 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 5–1 2–0 6–1 0–0 1–1 5–0
Mangotsfield United 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 4–2 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–2 2–2 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 2–2 0–2 1–1 0–0
Merthyr Tydfil 1–1 0–2 3–2 4–1 2–0 1–2 2–0 3–0 1–2 5–4 1–3 2–2 0–0 3–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 3–5
Rugby Town 2–2 1–1 5–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–0 0–5 2–1 1–2 0–2 1–0 1–0 3–3 1–2 0–2 2–2 4–0
Swindon Supermarine 4–3 0–2 1–1 1–1 4–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–3 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–2 5–1
Team Bath 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 3–0 1–1 2–1 4–2 0–3 3–2 4–0 0–4 2–1 3–1 0–0 5–0 0–1 1–1
Tiverton Town 0–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–2 0–0 1–1 5–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 3–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 1–1
Yate Town 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–2 2–2 7–1 0–4 4–2 1–3 2–0 1–1 0–3 0–2 3–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 3–1 2–2 0–2 2–1

Source: Statto.com
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Division One Midlands

Southern Football League Division One Midlands
Season 2007–08
Champions Evesham United
Promoted Evesham United
Stourbridge
Relegated Berkhamsted Town
Matches played 420
Goals scored 1,217 (2.9 per match)
Top goalscorer Mark Bellingham (Leamington) - 45
Biggest home win Chesham United 11 – 0 Malvern Town, 24 November 2007
Biggest away win Rothwell Town 0 – 6 Rushall Olympic, 8 January 2008
Highest scoring Chesham United 11 – 0 Malvern Town, 24 November 2007
Highest attendance 860 (Leamington 2 – 4 Chasetown, 8 March 2008)
Lowest attendance 38 (Stourport Swifts 0 – 1 Rothwell Town, 4 December 2007)
Average attendance 166

Shortly before the start of the season Slimbridge, who had been promoted from the Hellenic League, withdrew and were not replaced. Therefore, the relegation zone was reduced to one place in order to make up the numbers for the 2008–09 season. The division consisted of 21 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and three new clubs:

Evesham United won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division along with play-off winners Stourbridge. Berkhamsted finished bottom of the table and were the only club relegated this season.

League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Evesham United (P) 40 28 7 5 68 24 +44 91 Promotion to Premier Division
2 Leamington 40 27 8 5 74 27 +47 89 Qualification for play–offs
3 Stourbridge (P) 40 25 3 12 97 48 +49 78 Qualification for play–offs, then promoted to the Premier Division
4 Sutton Coldfield Town 40 23 8 9 93 52 +41 77 Qualification for play–offs
5 Rushall Olympic 40 23 7 10 68 23 +45 76 Qualification for play–offs, then transferred to NPL Division One South
6 Chesham United 40 23 7 10 78 40 +38 76
7 Chasetown 40 23 6 11 71 38 +33 75
8 Aylesbury United 40 19 9 12 64 49 +15 66
9 Leighton Town 40 17 12 11 59 42 +17 63
10 Romulus 40 18 8 14 60 53 +7 62
11 Barton Rovers 40 14 16 10 54 45 +9 58
12 Bishop's Cleeve 40 17 7 16 63 61 +2 58 Transferred to the Division One South & West
13 Dunstable Town 40 14 5 21 63 65 −2 47
14 Willenhall Town 40 12 13 15 53 58 −5 0461 Transferred to NPL Division One South
15 Bedworth United 40 12 10 18 40 51 −11 46
16 Cinderford Town 40 12 6 22 47 82 −35 42 Transferred to the Division One South & West
17 Stourport Swifts 40 10 8 22 40 81 −41 38
18 Rothwell Town 40 9 5 26 34 69 −35 32
19 Woodford United 40 7 6 27 30 88 −58 27
20 Malvern Town 40 3 9 28 34 95 −61 18
21 Berkhamsted Town (R) 40 2 4 34 27 126 −99 10 Relegation to Spartan South Midlands League

Updated to games played on 28 Apr 2008.
Source: Southern Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1 Willenhall Town deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Play–offs

Semifinals Final
      
2 Leamington 1
5 Rushall Olympic 0
2 Leamington 1
3 Stourbridge 2
3 Stourbridge 1
4 Sutton Coldfield Town 0

Division One South & West

Southern Football League Division One South & West
Season 2007–08
Champions Farnborough
Promoted Farnborough
Oxford City
Relegated Newport IOW
Matches played 462
Goals scored 1,523 (3.3 per match)
Top goalscorer Justin Bennett (Gosport Borough) - 28
Biggest home win Thatcham Town 8 – 0 Newport IOW, 10 November 2007
Biggest away win Newport IOW 0 – 7 Farnborough, 1 December 2007
Highest scoring

Newport IOW 3 – 6 Abingdon United, 2 October 2007
Slough Town 3 – 6 Didcot Town, 3 November 2007
Andover 6 – 3 Taunton Town, 3 November 2007
AFC Hayes 2 – 7 Farnborough, 22 December 2007

Godalming Town 8 – 1 Newport IOW, 22 March 2008
Highest attendance 951 (Farnborough 5 – 1 Fleet Town, 26 December 2007)
Lowest attendance 42 (AFC Hayes 1 – 2 Newport IOW, 24 November 2007)
Average attendance 186

Division One South & West consisted of 22 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and six new teams:

Farnborough, who had been relegated two divisions from Conference South, won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division along with play-off winners Oxford City. Slough Town finished in the relegation zone for the second season in a row, but this time were reprieved, so only Newport IOW were relegated.

League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Farnborough (P) 42 27 8 7 120 48 +72 89 Promotion to Premier Division
2 Fleet Town 42 26 7 9 78 48 +30 85 Qualification for play–offs, then transferred to IL Division One South
3 Didcot Town 42 24 11 7 99 42 +57 83 Qualification for play–offs
4 Oxford City (P) 42 24 9 9 82 41 +41 81 Qualification for play–offs, then promoted to the Premier Division
5 Uxbridge 42 22 9 11 72 50 +22 75 Qualification for play–offs
6 Bridgwater Town 42 19 13 10 74 45 +29 70
7 Paulton Rovers 42 20 10 12 77 57 +20 70
8 Windsor & Eton 42 20 9 13 75 66 +9 69
9 Marlow 42 20 6 16 74 54 +20 66 Transferred to the Division One Midlands
10 Burnham 42 18 9 15 67 55 +12 63
11 Gosport Borough 42 18 8 16 69 67 +2 62
12 Godalming Town 42 17 9 16 70 70 0 60 Transferred to IL Division One South
13 Hillingdon Borough 42 16 8 18 68 70 −2 56 Transferred to IL Division One North
14 A.F.C. Hayes 42 17 4 21 75 99 −24 55
15 Thatcham Town 42 13 10 19 59 62 −3 49
16 Abingdon United 42 13 9 20 64 75 −11 48
17 Winchester City 42 13 9 20 58 71 −13 48
18 Taunton Town 42 12 11 19 66 79 −13 47
19 Andover 42 11 7 24 62 101 −39 40
20 Bracknell Town 42 8 10 24 45 93 −48 34
21 Slough Town 42 9 5 28 44 87 −43 32 Reprieved from relegation †
22 Newport IOW (R) 42 2 5 35 25 143 −118 11 Relegation to Wessex League

Updated to games played on 28 Apr 2008.
Source: Southern Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament. † Although initially relegated, Slough Town were reprieved due to the expulsion of Halifax Town from the Football Conference.

Play–offs

Semifinals Final
      
2 Fleet Town 1
5 Uxbridge 2
5 Uxbridge 0
4 Oxford City 1
3 Didcot Town 2(4)
4 Oxford City 2(5)

League Cup

Round One

42 teams, (all of the Division One Midlands and all but one of the Division One South & West teams), entered at the first round. Bridgwater Town did not enter at this stage because there were only 21 teams in Division One Midlands.

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division Notes
Aylesbury United Div 1 Mid 2-1 Chesham United Div 1 Mid
Paulton Rovers Div 1 SW 2-2 Gosport Borough Div 1 SW Gosport Borough won 7-6 on penalties
A.F.C. Hayes Div 1 SW 6-1 Slough Town Div 1 SW
Barton Rovers Div 1 Mid 0-1 Uxbridge Div 1 SW
Berkhamsted Town Div 1 Mid 4-2 Woodford United Div 1 Mid
Chasetown Div 1 Mid 1-2 Bedworth United Div 1 Mid
Didcot Town Div 1 SW 4-2 Andover Div 1 SW
Dunstable Town Div 1 Mid 1-0 Leighton Town Div 1 Mid
Farnborough Div 1 SW 2-2 Abingdon United Div 1 SW Farnborough won 3-2 on penalties
Godalming Town Div 1 SW 3-2 Thatcham Town Div 1 SW
Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW 3-0 Bracknell Town Div 1 SW
Marlow Div 1 SW 4-3 Burnham Div 1 SW
Oxford City Div 1 SW 4-2 Fleet Town Div 1 SW
Romulus Div 1 Mid 2-1 Rushall Olympic Div 1 Mid
Stourbridge Div 1 Mid 0-1 Malvern Town Div 1 Mid
Stourport Swifts Div 1 Mid 1-2 Evesham United Div 1 Mid
Willenhall Town Div 1 Mid 0-3 Sutton Coldfield Town Div 1 Mid
Windsor & Eton Div 1 SW 1-0 Winchester City Div 1 SW
Bishops Cleeve Div 1 Mid 1-2 Cinderford Town Div 1 Mid
Rothwell Town Div 1 Mid 1-3 Leamington Div 1 Mid
Taunton Town Div 1 SW 2-1 Newport IoW Div 1 SW

Round Two

The 12 fixtures of the Second Round were played on the weekend of 30 October 2007. Joining the winners of the previous round were Bridgwater Town, plus Chippenham Town and Gloucester City from the Premier Division.

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division
Berkhamsted Town Div 1 Mid 1-1 Aylesbury United Div 1 Mid Berkhamsted Town won 5-4 on penalties
Bridgwater Town Div 1 SW 2-3 Chippenham Town Premier
Evesham United Div 1 Mid 2-4 Gloucester City Premier
Godalming Town Div 1 SW 1-1 Farnborough Div 1 SW Godalming Town won 3-1 on penalties
Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW 2-0 Windsor & Eton Div 1 SW
Leamington Div 1 Mid 1-0 Bedworth United Div 1 Mid
Marlow Div 1 SW 3-2 A.F.C. Hayes Div 1 SW
Oxford City Div 1 SW 3-4 Didcot Town Div 1 SW
Romulus Div 1 Mid 0-2 Sutton Coldfield Town Div 1 Mid
Uxbridge Div 1 SW 1-0 Dunstable Town Div 1 Mid
Cinderford Town Div 1 Mid 2-0 Malvern Town Div 1 Mid
Taunton Town Div 1 SW 0-2 Gosport Borough Div 1 SW

Round Three

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division Notes
Banbury United Premier 2-0 Brackley Town Premier
Bedford Town Premier 3-1 Corby Town Premier
Clevedon Town Premier 2-1 Tiverton Town Premier
Gosport Borough Div 1 SW 0-2 Didcot Town Div 1 SW
Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW 3-0 Berkhamsted Town Div 1 Mid
King's Lynn Premier 3-1 Hitchin Town Premier
Mangotsfield United Premier 4-1 Yate Town Premier
Marlow Div 1 SW 1-3 Cheshunt Premier
Rugby Town Premier 2-0 Halesowen Town Premier
Swindon Supermarine Premier 5-1 Merthyr Tydfil Premier
Team Bath Premier 2-1 Chippenham Town Premier
Uxbridge Div 1 SW 2-2 Hemel Hempstead Town Premier Hemel Hempstead won 4-3 on penalties
Cirencester Town Premier 2-1 Cinderford Town Div 1 Mid
Sutton Coldfield Town Div 1 Mid 3-1 Gloucester City Premier
Bromsgrove Rovers Premier 2-2 Leamington Div 1 Mid Bromsgrove won 4-2 on penalties
Bashley Premier 1-0 Godalming Town Div 1 SW

Round Four

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division Notes
Cirencester Town Premier 3-2 Sutton Coldfield Town Premier
Bashley Premier 3-3 Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW Hillingdon won 4-3 on penalties
Bromsgrove Rovers Premier 2-4 Banbury United Premier
Didcot Town Div 1 SW 4-0 Cheshunt Premier
Mangotsfield United Premier 0-2 Swindon Supermarine Premier
Rugby Town Premier 1-0 Bedford Town Premier
Team Bath Premier 0-1 Clevedon Town Premier
King's Lynn Premier 1-1 Hemel Hempstead Town Premier King's Lynn won 5-3 on penalties

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played on 12 February 2008.

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division Notes
Banbury United Premier 0-1 Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW
Didcot Town Div 1 SW 2-2 Cirencester Town Premier Didcot Town won 4-3 on penalties
King's Lynn Premier 4-1 Rugby Town Premier
Swindon Supermarine Premier 0-6 Clevedon Town Premier

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played on 4 March 2008.

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division Notes
Didcot Town Div 1 SW 1-2 Clevedon Town Premier After Extra Time
King's Lynn Premier 0-1 Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW

Final

The first leg was played on 8 April 2008, with the second leg on 22 April 2008.

Home Team Division Score Away Team Division Notes
Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW 1-1 Clevedon Town Premier First Leg
Clevedon Town Premier 0-3 Hillingdon Borough Div 1 SW Second leg
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