Champagne on ice for Macclesfield, Blyth Spartans' relegation confirmed | NPL round-up | Saturday 15 March
Macclesfield were denied the chance to be crowned Northern Premier League champions, despite taking a step closer to the title with a 4-0 victory at Morpeth Town.
Two goals in either half were enough for Robbie Savage's side as they eased past top-five hopefuls Morpeth at Craik Park.
The Silkmen remain 20 points clear at the top of the division, but with second-placed Worksop Town scoring two late goals to defeat Hyde United 3-1, they must now wait until next week to mathematically secure their promotion to the National League North.
Photo credit: Macclesfield
The title will be won with victory over Bamber Bridge, in front of what is expected to be a sizeable four-figure crowd at the Leasing.com Stadium, with more than 3,000 tickets already sold.
Elsewhere in the top five, there were wins for Guiseley and Stockton Town, the latter defeating fourth-placed Ashton United 1-0 at Hurst Cross.
The only goal of the game came 18 minutes from time, defender Josh Baggs heading home at the back post to secure a third win in four for Stockton.
Photo credit: Harry Cook
Guiseley, meanwhile, found things far more comfortable at home to Mickleover, running out 3-0 winners at Nethermoor.
A quickfire double from Lebrun Mbeka shortly after the hour mark sealed all three points for the Lions, after Jack Emmett had put them in front midway through the first half.
Of the teams chasing the top five, Ilkeston Town and Warrington Rylands enjoyed wins against Lancaster City and Blyth Spartans respectively.
Ilkeston found themselves three ahead at half-time against Lancaster, then Harvey Kirby-Moore scored his second of the afternoon to wrap up a commanding 4-0 victory for the Robins at the New Manor Ground.
Both sides finished the game with 10 men after Jamie Walker and Ed Ikpakwu were shown straight red cards for an altercation in second-half stoppage time.
For Warrington Rylands, late goals from Matty Regan and Ben Hardcastle were enough to see them defeat Blyth 3-1, in a result which also confirmed Spartans' relegation from the Northern Premier League.
They have won just three league games all season and came up empty-handed once again, with other results mathematically confirming their second relegation in as many seasons.
Gainsborough Trinity came from behind to earn a point at Workington, keeping the Holy Blues' slim play-off hopes alive.
Top scorer Dec Howe scored his 32nd goal of the season in all competitions to cancel out David Symington's first-half opener.
A point leaves Russ Wilcox's side 10 points adrift of the top five with a game in hand, while Workington are now seven points clear of the bottom four.
Towards the bottom of the table, there were crucial wins for Whitby Town and Bamber Bridge as they put a four-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.
Mitchell Curry's sixth minute effort was enough to see Whitby past third-bottom Basford United, while second-half goals from Ewan Bange, Jack Baxter and Robbie Cleary ensured Bamber Bridge were victorious in their all-important showdown with Matlock Town, who remain in the bottom four.
Another side who picked up a crucial three points in their fight for survival were Leek Town, who ran out impressive 5-2 winners away at FC United of Manchester.
Hayden Campbell and Ollie Shenton both scored twice for the Blues as they made it back-to-back wins on the road, moving six points clear of the drop zone in the process.
Photo credit: John Middleton
The final game of the weekend was a much tighter affair, with Ben Elliott's header 14 minutes from time enough to see Prescot Cables past Hebburn Town.
In a frantic finale, both teams had a man sent off during separate incidents while Olly Martin missed the chance to earn Hebburn a point from the penalty spot two minutes from time.
Results - Saturday 15 March
- Ashton United 0-1 Stockton Town
- Bamber Bridge 3-0 Matlock Town
- Blyth Spartans 1-3 Warrington Rylands
- FC United of Manchester 2-5 Leek Town
- Guiseley 3-0 Mickleover
- Ilkeston Town 4-0 Lancaster City
- Morpeth Town 0-2 Macclesfield
- Prescot Cables 1-0 Hebburn Town
- Whitby Town 1-0 Basford United
- Workington 1-1 Gainsborough Trinity
- Worksop Town 3-1 Hyde United
Check out the latest fixtures and results from across the NPL East Division, NPL Midlands Division and NPL West Division.
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