'Home' and Change Colours 2015-16 #4: Excelsior Marlow



Marlow and Oxford Merge

Following last season’s relegation from the Championship, it has today been announced that Oxford Excelsior have decided to merge with Marlow, who themselves only just retained their place in the top flight. The new club will be named Excelsior Marlow, based in Marlow, assume Marlow’s Championship status, their playing and honours history (including four league titles and a European Cup, of course), and sport the colours of Marlow, those famous blue and red quartered shirts with white shorts.

A significant consequence of the merger is that it means, of course, that what would have been the now-defunct Oxford’s place in next season’s Second Division becomes vacant - the Football Alliance have moved swiftly to announce that this vacancy will be allocated to the runners-up in the 2014-15 regional leagues promotion play-off, Bohemians. The winners of the play-off, Birkenhead’s Torpedo Tranmere, of the North West Counties League, have automatically replaced the relegated Newcastle United.

Matchday 29 Results & Updated Tables

Championship

Audenshaw Dynamo  2   Stalybridge Celtic   2

Burnley  1   Hartlepool United   2

Hungaria  2   Liverpool St Helens   2

Manchester City  3   Oxford Excelsior   1

Matlock Town  5   Marlow   3

Mossley  4   Gainsborough Trinity   2

Northwich Victoria  1   Wrexham   1
Red Star Sunderland  2   Blyth Spartans   1

Second Division

Atletico Espanol  3   Sheffield Wednesday   1

Crewe Alexandra  2   Gateshead Dynamo   3

Hendon Hotspur  3   Inter-Italiano   2

Manchester Newton Heath  6   Newcastle United   0

Merthyr Tydfil  2   Marine   2

Nelson CBR  4   Crystal Palace   1

Newcastle Blue Star  3   Spartak-Slavia   1

South Liverpool Red Star  3   Bradford City   2

Stalybridge Celtic confirmed as Champions, gaining the point they required at neighbours Audenshaw Dynamo, whilst the only team who could have overtaken them at the start of play, Gainsborough Trinity, were blowing their last chance with defeat at Mossley, who would never knowingly do Celtic a favour, of course - a thoroughly deserved triumph for Stalybridge, consistently the best team in the league and impressive winners of the title, their second but first in 30 seasons.

At the bottom, Matlock Town have given themselves a chance of avoiding relegation, even if they remain in the bottom two, by beating closest rivals Marlow in a 5 - 3 thriller, rendering Hartlepool's surprise win at Burnley critical to their hopes of survival too. Oxford Excelsior's virtually-certain demotion was confirmed by their defeat at Manchester City.

In the Second Division, things remain tight and the promotion places still undecided going into the final round, with only Marine of the top four picking up a point, although Sheffield Wednesday's defeat at Atletico Espanol rules them out of the equation now, whilst the bottom two were hammered.

Matchday 23 Results & Updated Tables

Championship

Audenshaw Dynamo  2   Manchester City   2
Blyth Spartans  2   Gainsborough Trinity   2
Hartlepool United  2   Mossley   2
Liverpool St Helens  5   Northwich Victoria   2
Matlock Town  3   Hungaria  2
Oxford Excelsior  5   Red Star Sunderland   4
Stalybridge Celtic  1   Burnley   2
Wrexham  1   Marlow  1

Second Division

Atletico Espanol  1   Manchester Newton Heath   0

Bradford City  4   Crystal Palace   1

Gateshead Dynamo  7   Nelson CBR   2

Inter-Italiano  2   Newcastle Blue Star   1

Merthyr Tydfil  2   Hendon Hotspur  1

Newcastle United  2   South Liverpool Red Star   3

Sheffield Wednesday  2   Crewe Alexandra   0

Spartak-Slavia  5   Marine   3

Matchday 21 Results & Updated Tables

Championship

Blyth Spartans  3   Northwich Victoria   0

Gainsborough Trinity  3   Red Star Sunderland   2

Hartlepool United  0   Manchester City   2

Liverpool St Helens  2   Audenshaw Dynamo   1

Marlow  3   Mossley  1

Matlock Town  1   Stalybridge Celtic  2

Oxford Excelsior  2   Hungaria   0

Wrexham  4   Burnley   1

Second Division

Bradford City  3   Newcastle Blue Star   2

Crystal Palace  1  South Liverpool Red Star   3

Gateshead Dynamo  0   Manchester Newton Heath   2

Inter-Italiano  5   Atletico Espanol   1

Marine  1   Nelson CBR   0

Merthyr Tydfil  2   Sheffield Wednesday   0

Newcastle United  1   Hendon Hotspur   1

Spartak-Slavia  2   Crewe Alexandra   4