North West Counties League Premier Division: Silsden 1 Bootle 1

SILSDEN’S relegation to Division One was confirmed on Saturday but not by the result at the Angel Telecom Stadium.

The Cobbydalers earned a draw against a Bootle side that ended the campaign in the top eight, but even a victory against the high-flying Merseyside outfit would not have extended Silsden’s top-tier status into a 12th season.

Silsden's press officer Jim Rosser said: “We played well but couldn’t get the vital goal for the win but results didn’t go for us so it didn’t matter.

“We’re down, with the bottom three being Alsager Town, us and Blackpool bottom of the table, so we’ll have some long journeys next season.

"James Gill will remain in charge and he and Danny Forrest will be outlining their plans for the future at a meeting at the club on Tuesday.”

Silsden and their visitors for the final game of a long season were in good form, and it was an entertaining game that could have gone either way.

The Cobbydalers broke the deadlock midway though the first half when Josh McNulty and Chris Wademan combined before the latter clipped the ball to Nicky McNally, who lashed in a fine volley.

The home side created even more chances against a stiff breeze in the second half but Bootle’s keeper Ryan Jones made some crucial saves.

Jones was in goal for the last three games of Bradford Park Avenue’s season and had signed dual registration to play in Vanarama National League North after Avenue’s Jon Stewart was hampered by a back complaint.

Despite Silsden having the better openings after the break, it was Bootle who scored the only goal of the second period, left back Michael Ordish firing a 73rd-minute free-kick into the top corner.

A larger crowd than normal witnessed the match, with Silsden letting spectators pay what they wanted in order to gain extra support.

Rosser added: “There were 317 here to see it and it was a lovely afternoon with a great atmosphere but it was a shame that we didn’t win.

"We had a good run at the end of the season and it would have been nice to end with a win, even if it wouldn’t have saved us.”

Silsden fell just short on the day and, in the final analysis, one more win would have been enough to preserve their Premier Division status.