Stirling’s excellent form from the beginning of the season sees them sit top of the Aldi Men’s Premier North, with just two games remaining.
However, this is not to say the season is completely done and dusted. The Scottish side will feel their high expectations have not been met in their last two fixtures.
Despite going unbeaten, two draws means they were also unable to pick a win. Victory in either of these two games would have seen the team five points clear.
Such a gap would have seen them crowned champions, given Newcastle in second only have one game left to play.
However, a draw in these games should be viewed as two good results. The teams they faced, Newcastle and Nottingham, were the two teams in the Aldi Men’s Premier North who could have realistically challenged them for the title.
Stirling champions of Aldi Men’s Premier North in all but name
Newcastle remain in with a shot, but will require something close to a miracle to usurp their rivals from north of the border.
Stirling have played eight games, and have only lost one match so far. They have 17 points, three more than second-placed Newcastle. The Scottish side also have the advantage of having an extra game to play.
As well as topping the table, the side have scored 24 goals, and conceded only eight, which represents a league best in both categories.
Therefore, their goal difference sits at a very healthy +16, compared to Newcastle’s -2.
For Newcastle to have any chance of Aldi Men’s Premier North champions, they need Stirling to lose their remaining two games. They also need to defeat bottom-placed Durham in their final game, with an 18-goal swing.
Stirling’s impressive run of five wins in the first six games means a point in their last two games, against Durham and Nottingham Trent, will see them finish in first.
Newcastle can only hope for an almost impossible turnaround, and might be encouraged by the fact they inflicted Stirling’s only defeat of the season, a 1-0 win in mid-October.
Down at the bottom
Although the top of the Aldi Men’s Premier North has effectively reached its’ conclusion, the same cannot be said for other business end of the league.
It is Durham who currently occupy the bottom spot, having only picked up one win all season, experiencing four losses in a campaign to forget up to this point.
However, all it not lost for the team from the North-East. They have a game in hand over the teams above them, offering them a chance to put on the pressure by drawing level on points.
Loughborough sit in the spot directly above them, with three points more to their name. They also hold the advantage of the superior goal difference, but only by virtue of scoring more. They have conceded a joint league-most 20 goals.
Moving off the bottom of the Aldi Men’s Premier North will not be easy for Durham, given they face the top two, Newcastle and Stirling, in their next two games.
If, as is expected, Durham lose both these games, their only hope will be that Loughborough face a similar fate against Nottingham, and their margin of defeat is kept to a minimum.
If this is the case, Durham will have a slight opportunity to move off the bottom when they face Loughborough in each team’s last game of the season. However, it may be all over for them before then.
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