Needham Market relegated from National League North after Radcliffe beat Farsley Celtic

Needham Market’s debut campaign in the National League North will end in relegation.

Following their historic promotion in 2023/24, life at Step 2 always looked like being a tough assignment for the Marketmen. Not only were they faced with a host of round trips totalling several hundred miles, their playing budget was dwarfed by the majority of the other sides in the division.

They also had to contend with the departure of their long-serving manager Kevin Horlock midway through the season, with his assistant Tom Rothery stepping up to take the reins.

But despite all of those factors not being in their favour, Needham nevertheless still gave a good account of themselves, racking up 10 victories from their 43 outings so far.

One of those wins came on Saturday afternoon at Bloomfields as they beat Rushall Olympic 1-0 thanks to a goal from Luke Ingram, but their fate was sealed this evening by Radcliffe’s 2-1 victory at already-relegated Farsley Celtic.

The two sides were locked at one goal apiece heading into stoppage time when Radcliffe’s Scott Duxbury headed in the winning goal.

Needham still have three matches remaining this season, starting on Good Friday when they travel to face mid-table Peterborough Sports (3pm).