March has now come to pass and after a very busy month for Darlington what happened around the league?

Scunthorpe now top the league, two points ahead of Kidderminster Harriers after a near perfect month, winning five, drawing one and losing one to move them onto 81 points.

The Harriers also almost went perfect, drawing once and winning the other seven! They also scored 24 goals and conceded just two across the whole month of March.

Last months leaders Chester now occupy fourth spot and have fallen behind the two aforementioned teams as well as Brackley. Chester had a perfectly balanced month, winning two, drawing two and losing two!

At the other end of the table, Farsley have once again had the worst month losing every game in March with an aggregate score of 22-2. Farsley are now officially relegated as they sit more than fifteen points behind Radcliffe with five to play.

Warrington also had a poor month, winning just one and drawing one in the six games they played. Their sole victory of March came against relegation rivals Rushall Olympic but did not lower the gap between the two teams all that much as it currently sits at four points.

Last month there were two managerial changes, this month none. Tom Rothery (Needham Market) and David Stockdale (Farsley Celtic) were the two new managers and both have had differing starts to life at their new clubs.

Stockdale predictably has lost all of his matches as Farsley have been confirmed as the first side mathematically relegated from the Vanarama National League North this season, and the question is will the former Darlington shot-stopper be given time?

Rothery has fared a little bit better, taking over from the long stint of Kevin Horlock. He’s managed eleven points from 12 matches at an average of 0.92 points a game. In March however, he won just once and drew once as Needham still have a mountain to climb to catch Radcliffe.

Now time for team of the month:

Goalkeeper:

Christian Dibble (Kidderminster Harriers) – First time it’s not been Peter Jameson as Dibble conceded just two goals in the entirety of March!

Defenders:

Chris Doyle (Marine) – A fantastic month for Marine as they made their way up the league table, climbing as high as 16^th!

James Brown (Marine) – Similar to Doyle, a fantastic month for Brown too as he helps his side up the league table.

Zak Lilly (Brackley Town) – Deserved spot in the team for Brackley’s best defender who had a solid month in the promotion race.

Midfielders:

Callum Roberts (Scunthorpe United) – The former Newcastle man gets into his third team of the month after a month where he scored thrice and assisted twice as Scunthorpe took the provisional pole in the league.

Zak Brown (Kidderminster Harriers) – Another player who had a superb month in that Kidderminster team was Brown who managed to pop up with two goals and three assists from central midfield.

George Horbury (Chorley) – He may have missed a game but Horbury had a superb month for Chorley as they maintained their playoff push!

Luke Brennan (Buxton) – Another man whose making it back to back months in this team, Luke Brennan has continued his impressive form for Buxton, scoring two and assisting three!

Attackers:

Ashley Hemmings (Kidderminster Harriers) – Player of the month, what a superb month from a superb player. 11 goals this month, 11 that is astounding, fantastic performance from the 34-year-old.

Matt Lowe (Brackley Town) – Four goals this month is the primary reason he’s featured in this team as Brackley continued pushing for that top spot!

Maziar Kouhyar (Kidderminster Harriers) – The second best player this month, four goals and two assists in a performance that has definitely got parent club York City considering what to with him in the future.

Now, what’s confirmed in the league at this point? Well, we know for sure that Farsley are relegated and every team north of Oxford City are safe from relegation. If Warrington lose against Curzon Ashton they will be down, Rushall find themselves in a similar situation if they lose two more games they will also be down.

The playoff picture is more interesting. Anyone from 12^th upwards can still get into the playoffs but, nobody as of yet is confirmed in the playoff positions. Scunthorpe, Kidderminster and Brackley look nailed on to at least be in the playoffs but Curzon and Hereford face stiff competition from the chasing pack of King’s Lynn, Buxton, Spennymoor and Darlington.

Roll on April, where the end of the season awaits, it’s going to be a month full of drama but let’s watch it unfold!

Key Matches in April:

5^th April: Buxton v Kidderminster Harriers

5^th April: Curzon Ashton v Warrington Town

5^th April: Hereford v Chester FC

5^th April: King’s Lynn Town v Chorley

5^th April: Radcliffe v Scunthorpe United

8^th April: Curzon Ashton v Spennymoor Town

12^th April: Chester FC v Darlington

12^th April: Kidderminster Harriers v Curzon Ashton

12^th April: Needham Market v Rushall Olympic

12^th April: Warrington Town v Brackley Town

18^th April: Buxton v Chorley

18^th April: King’s Lynn Town v Scunthorpe United

18^th April: Rushall Olympic v Kidderminster Harriers

21^st April: Chorley v Radcliffe

21^st April: Kidderminster Harriers v Hereford

21^st April: Needham Market v King’s Lynn Town

21^st April: Scunthorpe United v Peterborough Sports

26^th April: Buxton v Warrington Town

26^th April: Darlington v Needham Market

26^th April: Hereford FC v Scunthorpe United

26^th April: King’s Lynn Town v Chester FC

26^th April: Rushall Olympic v Chorley