The 1997–98 Wessex Football League was the 12th season of the Wessex Football League. The league champions for the second consecutive season and the third time in their history were AFC Lymington, before their merger with New Milton Town of the Hampshire League. Runners-up Andover were promoted to the Southern League as Lymington's ground was not of the required standard for promotion. Romsey Town finished bottom and were relegated, and Ryde Sports resigned during the season.[1]
| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Champions | AFC Lymington |
| Relegated | Romsey Town |
← 1996–97 1998–99 → | |
For sponsorship reasons, the league was known as the Jewson Wessex League.[2]
League table edit
The league consisted of one division of 21 clubs, the same as the previous season, after Petersfield Town were relegated and one new club joined:[2]
- A.F.C. Newbury, joining from the Hampshire League.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AFC Lymington (C) | 38 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 94 | 27 | +67 | 92 | Merged with New Milton Town at the end of the season |
| 2 | Andover (P) | 38 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 99 | 46 | +53 | 81 | Joined the Southern League |
| 3 | A.F.C. Newbury | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 72 | 35 | +37 | 73 | |
| 4 | Eastleigh | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 74 | 31 | +43 | 71 | |
| 5 | Bemerton Heath Harlequins | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 69 | 38 | +31 | 68 | |
| 6 | Cowes Sports | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 66 | |
| 7 | Wimborne Town | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 89 | 63 | +26 | 63 | |
| 8 | A.F.C. Totton | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 55 | |
| 9 | Bournemouth | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 55 | |
| 10 | Thatcham Town | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 64 | 54 | +10 | 54 | |
| 11 | Christchurch | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 55 | 69 | −14 | 51 | |
| 12 | East Cowes Victoria Athletic | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 50 | |
| 13 | Portsmouth Royal Navy | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 64 | 79 | −15 | 46 | |
| 14 | B.A.T. Sports | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 60 | 82 | −22 | 43 | |
| 15 | Gosport Borough | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 48 | 65 | −17 | 37 | |
| 16 | Aerostructures Sports & Social | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 50 | 77 | −27 | 37 | |
| 17 | Brockenhurst | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 43 | 83 | −40 | 36 | |
| 18 | Downton | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 36 | 66 | −30 | 31 | |
| 19 | Whitchurch United | 38 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 37 | 78 | −41 | 29 | |
| 20 | Romsey Town (R) | 38 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 40 | 134 | −94 | 20 | Relegated to the Hampshire League |
| 21 | Ryde Sports | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Resigned during the season, record expunged[a] |
- ^ Ryde Sports resigned in December 1997 after 17 matches and their record was expunged. The club later folded.
References edit
- ^ "Wessex League 1986–2011". Non League Matters. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ a b "1997–98 Wessex League". FCHD. Retrieved 18 January 2014.