The 2020–21 South West Peninsula League season was the 14th in the history of the South West Peninsula League, a football competition in England, that feeds the Premier Division of the Western Football League. The league was formed in 2007 from the merger of the Devon County League and the South Western League, and is restricted to clubs based in Cornwall and Devon. The two divisions of the South West Peninsula League are on the same level of the National League System as the Western League Division One (Step 6).
The constitution was announced on 21 July 2020.[1]
After the abandonment of the previous season due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] the league's constitution remained unchanged.
This season, the top two clubs in each division were to be promoted to Step 5. The bottom two clubs in each division would have been liable to relegation.[3]
By October 2020, the poor start to the season suffered by Stoke Gabriel in Premier Division East had attracted attention from the national press. It was the worst start to the season by any club in the top ten levels of English football.[4]
Suspension and curtailment
[edit]Fixtures were temporarily suspended on 30 December 2020, again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were later suspended until further notice.[5] The FA curtailed the season for all leagues at steps 3–6 on 24 February, with no further league fixtures to be played.[6]
The scheduled restructuring of non-league football took place at the end of the season. Promotions from Step 6 to 5 were based on points per game across all matches over the two abandoned seasons (2019–20 and 2020–21), while teams were promoted to Step 6 on the basis of a subjective application process.[7]
Premier Division East
[edit]← 2019–20 2021–22 → |
Premier Division East features 20 teams, unchanged from the previous season.
Honiton Town and Torridgeside were required to install floodlights at their grounds to maintain their membership of the league. Torridgeside complied in October 2020.[8]
League table at time of curtailment
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Torpoint Athletic | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 34 | |
2 | Ivybridge Town | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 14 | +36 | 33 | |
3 | Millbrook | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 8 | +35 | 31 | Promotion to the Western League Premier Division[a] |
4 | Brixham | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 43 | 16 | +27 | 30 | |
5 | Ilfracombe Town | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 9 | +39 | 28 | Promotion to the Western League Premier Division[a] |
6 | Torridgeside | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 23 | +27 | 26 | |
7 | Newton Abbot Spurs | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 26 | |
8 | Dartmouth | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 36 | −4 | 26 | |
9 | Elmore | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 22 | |
10 | Sidmouth Town | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 31 | 27 | +4 | 19 | |
11 | Torrington | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 18 | |
12 | Cullompton Rangers | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 18 | |
13 | Honiton Town | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 17 | |
14 | Crediton United | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 16 | |
15 | Bovey Tracey | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 13 | |
16 | Plymouth Marjon | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 12 | |
17 | Elburton Villa | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 32 | 33 | −1 | 11 | |
18 | Axminster Town | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 10 | |
19 | Holsworthy | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 8 | |
20 | Stoke Gabriel | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 207 | −200 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
Results table
[edit]Premier Division West
[edit]← 2019–20 2021–22 → |
Premier Division West also featured 20 teams, unchanged from the previous season.
Dobwalls and St Dennis were required to install floodlights at their grounds to maintain their league status.
League table
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mousehole | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 8 | +44 | 38 | Promotion to the Western League Premier Division[a] |
2 | Saltash United | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 59 | 22 | +37 | 38 | |
3 | Camelford | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 13 | +22 | 32 | |
4 | Falmouth Town | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 16 | +36 | 30 | |
5 | Dobwalls | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 29 | |
6 | Bodmin Town | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 19 | +22 | 27 | |
7 | Wadebridge Town | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 26 | |
8 | Newquay | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 25 | |
9 | Liskeard Athletic | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 24 | |
10 | St Austell | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 24 | |
11 | Helston Athletic | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 22 | +8 | 19 | Promotion to the Western League Premier Division[a] |
12 | Porthleven | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 16 | |
13 | Sticker | 17 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 16 | |
14 | St Dennis | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 15 | |
15 | Wendron United | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 40 | −17 | 13 | |
16 | St Blazey | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 11 | |
17 | Penzance | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 21 | 49 | −28 | 10 | |
18 | Callington Town | 13 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 54 | −40 | 4 | |
19 | Launceston | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 13 | 51 | −38 | 3 | |
20 | Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay) | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 70 | −56 | −1[b] |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
Results table
[edit]Applications from lower leagues
[edit]Ten clubs applied to join the league from lower leagues for 2021–22.[9]
- Three were accepted:
- Okehampton Argyle (Devon Football League South & West Division)
- Ottery St Mary (Devon Football League South & West Division)
- Penryn Athletic (St Piran Football League West Division)
- Seven were unsuccessful:
- Braunton (Devon Football League North & East Division) – withdrew
- Bude Town (St Piran Football League East Division) – no planning permission for floodlights
- Hayle (St Piran Football League West Division) – withdrew
- Newtown (Devon Football League North & East Division) – groundsharing proposal which was not in place by the required date
- Teignmouth (Devon Football League North & East Division) – no planning permission for floodlights
- Truro City Reserves – not members of a feeder league
- University of Exeter (Devon Football League North & East Division) – withdrew
References
[edit]- ^ "National League System club allocations – Steps 5–6, Season 2020–21" (PDF). The FA. 21 July 2020 – via The Non-League Paper.
- ^ "Coronavirus: All football below National League to end". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: FA outline second phase of Non-League restructuring". The Non-League Paper. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Stoke Gabriel FC: Non-league side concede 122 goals in 10 games". BBC Sport. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "SWP League Updates & Latest News". South West Peninsula League. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "An update on Steps 3-6 of the NLS". Western Football League. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b c "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ^ "Torridgeside beat Crediton United for historic three points in first home game under floodlights". North Devon Gazette. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "SWP League Updates & Latest News". South West Peninsula League. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.