With eight fixtures still to play until the end of the season and only nineteen days remaining of the allotted calendar, April was always going to be a very tough month for ‘The Millers’. We had already played and beaten Grantham Town at the beginning of the month and our fixture backlog due to the many weather cancellations was now looming as we were attempting to achieve our play-off aspirations.
Carlton Town 2-0 Ashington
First up was a home fixture against Ashington and a game that was expected to be a real toughie. Ashington had previously rolled us over on their patch earlier in the season and were expected to be a real test on the day despite their mid-division status. This wasn’t the case on the day and our opposition managed to prove our thoughts very wrong, they looked nothing like the workhorse from earlier in the season and despite putting in a stubborn performance and parking the bus were comfortably beaten at Stoke Lane as Niall Davie and Alex Hardwick would find a way through in the second half.
Carlton Town 1-3 Hebburn Town
Three days on and another home game was here before we had time to blink. Hebburn were firing on all cylinders in the division as they still had a chance of winning the league title. They came to Stoke Lane with only one real attribute to their game and the tactic on the night for our visitors proved to be a real blessing for them as their long diagonal punt was the focus of their approach to win the match. It proved very effective as they would come away with the points and leave us frustrated despite our performance being a good one.
Newton Aycliffe 1-3 Carlton Town
A trip to the north beckoned and a chance to dent the hopes of another team in and around the top five places. Our hosts on the day were made to look more than average as our boys got to work early on them. Niall Hylton set the tone for the day after only five minutes and further additions from skipper Niall Davie and loanee Nat Watson would end their play-off hopes in a season where they had probably exceeded their expectations.
Carlton Town 3-0 Ossett United
Another blink and another three days had passed, and we were at it again. This time Ossett were our visitors, and they were a side that were fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the table. Despite this we knew that teams in this situation are always a very difficult threat and that we would have to be on our guard as there was a potential banana skin in front of us. Our boys worked well and set the standard early doors with a fourth minute opener from Lamin Manneh. This set the tone for the remainder of the fixture as we showed our opponents on the day how to manage a game of football.
Liversedge 2-1 Carlton Town
Still rubbing our eyes and two days later our next fixture was upon us. A trip to the home of Ossett United for a night fixture against a team that we knew were grafters. This one turned out to be a fairly even affair throughout but with five minutes left remaining the home side would break away and with a rasping strike that gave Felix Annan no hope take the points.
Carlton Town 2-1 Consett
Our next fixture again would only give us a two-day rest period before we would have to stretch our now wary legs. Consett came to ‘The Lane’ with nothing to play for other than pride. With only twelve fit players and the Manager having to name himself in the starting line-up would come and park the bus. Two goals either side of half-time from Hardwick and Hylton would put us in the comfort zone before a late strike with seven minutes remaining would give our opponents a glimmer of hope.
Carlton Town 1-3 Dunston
Another three days on and Dunston who were sitting in the top three were our visitors. A tough opponent on the night would come and overhaul us on our patch in a performance that would establish their seat in the table.
Brighouse Town 2-0 Carlton Town
Having finally secured our place in the play-offs despite our defeat to Dunston we turned up in West Yorkshire looking to finish our league fixtures with a bang. There was a bang on the day as our hosts were looking to retain their status in the division. Knowing that their seat at the table was a precarious one and that they might have to rely on other results to ensure their survival our hosts would prove to be a bullet in our behind. Their work ethic was good and their application would prove to be better than ours as they would secure the result before half-time.
Stockton Town 2-0 Carlton Town
Well, we were finally here, our season target that was set had been achieved and we were now taking on the season’s pacesetters who only three days earlier had been beaten to the title by Hebburn. We turned up for this one confident that we could overturn our hosts like we had done only a few weeks earlier and take our place in the final in four days’ time. Our hosts on the night would prove to be one step too far for ‘The Millers’ as from the offset they would set the tone for the game. For one of only a few occasions all season we would be out-worked and unable to play our free-flowing football as our hosts would be on us like flies round the proverbial brown stuff. They would work as though they had an axe to grind as they constantly thwarted our every effort to take control of the game. A goal just before half-time would give them the edge to set up a very tight second half in which again they would prove to be the more dominant team. Despite being behind our boys would show what great character we have and would still try and take the game to our hosts knowing that if we pulled one back that we could win the game. However this was not to be and with twenty minutes remaining Stockton would double their advantage leaving us just a little bit short on the night.
With our season now complete we will have a couple of months away from the hustle and bustle of it all and a chance to recuperate and reflect. We have had a fantastic season this time around in comparison to last term where we only survived by the skin of our teeth. To finish fifth in this division has been a fantastic achievement by everyone involved and to fall short in the play-offs is disappointing. The club we hope has raised a few eyebrows for the right reasons along the way and we hope that people will now sit up and realise that Carlton Town are now a major force to be reckoned with at this step of football.