Season 53 draws to a close, another season done and dusted and a time to reflect on how everyone did in the second half of the season. A surge from Stal Mielec saw them snatch 1st place in a super tense finale with the race for top spot going down to the last game of the season.
They had the most impressive record beating top teams and went undefeated in the second half of the season (W9 D2 L0). All Stars had to settle for second, with Diably a non mover in third. Warrington Wolves suffered a setback and never recovered, missing out on a top 3 spot. Here’s how the second half of the season table looks:
| 1 | Stal Mielec | 29points |
| 2 | MK Dons | 27pts |
| 3 | Diably Podlaskie | 23pts |
| 4 | All Stars | 22pts |
| 5 | Warrington Wolves | 20pts |
| 6 | Dynamo Kebab | 16pts |
| 7 | Sledzie Bolszewo | 15pts |
| 8 | Holmer Green AFC | 15pts |
| 9 | FC Running Riots | 12pts |
| 10 | Edgeinvestor.co.uk | 6pts |
| 11 | Grim Reapers | 6pts |
| 12 | Ampthill FC | 3pts |
MK Dons a case of too little too late; similar fate for 2nd and 3rd
For MK Dons, they managed an amazing second half of the season, W9, D0, L2, 27 points which was second best in the whole league. It was not enough though to move them up the table but it will be interesting to see if they can carry this good form into the new season. Diably and All Stars were fairly ordinary, not top form but were easy contenders. Though Diably never made that push, All Stars agonisingly lost in the last game against rivals Warrington Wolves and as a result, lost out to Stal Mielec. Warrington Wolves missed out on a top 3 position – too many slip ups. 2nd and 3rd failed to win their promotion qualifying groups again, meaning only Stal Mielec go up to the EPL.
Solidity and consistency key
Homer Green matched their points tally in the first 11 games to finish where they were at the halfway stage, 6th place, this came with 5 wins and 7 losses though. Sledzie benefited from Grim Reapers rebuild and jumped to the last safe spot of 7th place. Dynamo Kebab had a nice run in with 16 points in the last 11 games but left it too late and suffered relegation in the playoffs along with Grim Reapers who I think is rebuilding again.
And the rest…
FC Running Riots also didn’t do too bad, but they were doomed from the halfway stage and lacked any consistency falling short of 9th place. They finished 10th overall. Perhaps quite surprisingly, Edgeinvestor were 11th, I think they are also going through a minor rebuilding phase but their goal difference shows that they’re not too far behind and just need a bit of time and experience. I’m sure they will be back stronger and more competitive. Ampthill were never in it, and suffered a similar last 11 games, their youth programme is under way and let’s see if they can make any headway in a few seasons time.
Overall, this league is very unpredictable and so maybe difficult to predict the leaders of next season. I think that this is a weak league which contributes to the unpredictability but I think that only adds to the excitement…make sure to come back for Season 54 Mid Season Report of Div1.3!
~manchesterunited715
UKI Zone Magazine 