Seven games remained. Seven opportunities to finish what had seemed impossible back in August. And Paul Howarth, the man who had taken Atherstone Town from step five obscurity to the brink of a second consecutive promotion, had just committed his future to the club.

A one-year contract extension. It wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t headline news beyond the borders of Warwickshire, but it mattered. It told the players, the supporters, and everyone connected with Sheepy Road that Howarth believed in what was being built here. That he wasn’t about to walk away when the finish line was in sight.

The timing felt right. Whatever happened in the final weeks of the season, Howarth would be there next year to continue the journey.

The Future Takes Shape

While the first team chased glory, the club’s youth development programme was quietly producing players who might one day carry the Atherstone name forward. Four scholars, in particular, had caught the eye of Howarth and his coaching staff.

Adam Wiltshire, a sixteen-year-old left-sided defender, stood out for his physical presence and mental fortitude. At 6’3″ with a jumping reach that already troubled older opponents, the youngster possessed the raw materials of a proper centre-half. His bravery rating was exceptional—sixteen out of twenty on the coaching staff’s assessment scale—while his leadership qualities and determination suggested a player who could captain sides in the future. Currently assessed as County Leagues standard, the scouts believed he could improve significantly. A future prospect worth nurturing.

Mel Wellecomme, another sixteen-year-old, offered versatility from right-back or central midfield. His marking ability was already impressive for his age, while his aggression and concentration levels suggested a player who wouldn’t be pushed around. The coaches noted his acceleration and natural fitness as particular strengths. Like Wiltshire, his potential ceiling was assessed as significantly higher than his current ability.

Steve Thorpe brought something different. The attacking midfielder, still just sixteen, possessed the technical attributes that coaches dream of developing. His passing, technique, and flair were already at a level that suggested Northern Premier League Division One capability. Add in his pace, acceleration, and agility, and you had a player who could unlock defences. The assessment noted him as a breakthrough prospect—someone who might force his way into first-team reckoning sooner rather than later.

Chris Thomson completed the quartet. A striker with an exceptional first touch and finishing ability that belied his sixteen years, Thomson’s technical ceiling appeared the highest of the group. His flair and determination marked him out as a player with genuine potential, even if his physical development still had some way to go. The coaches were excited about what he might become.

Four youngsters. Four potential building blocks for the future. Whatever happened in the title race, Atherstone Town were thinking long-term.

The Run-In

The final push began at Corby Town. A tight, tense affair that looked destined for stalemate until Ryan Quinn stepped up to convert a penalty on 9 minutes. Corby equalised through Angelov on 55 minutes, and for twenty-eight agonising minutes it seemed the points would be shared. Then Will Houghton, who else, struck on 83 minutes. 1-2. Three points stolen from a ground where many sides had come unstuck.

RC Warwick visited Sheepy Road next, and the Adders were in no mood for charity. Houghton opened the scoring on 55 minutes, and Chris Cowley sealed the victory on 86 minutes. 2-0. Professional, controlled, exactly what was needed.

The trip to Chasetown produced perhaps the most complete performance of the season. Houghton struck twice—on 6 and 45 minutes—before Ryan Quinn added a third on 66 minutes. 0-3 away from home, against a side who had caused them problems earlier in the campaign. The kind of statement result that sends a message to title rivals.

Bourne Town at home should have been straightforward. It was anything but. Rio Connell opened the scoring on 3 minutes, Cowley made it two on 9 minutes, and at 2-0 after nine minutes the afternoon looked set to be comfortable. It wasn’t. O’Brien converted a penalty for Bourne on 15 minutes, and suddenly nerves jangled around Sheepy Road. Charlie Kirk restored the two-goal cushion on 61 minutes, but O’Brien struck again on 68 minutes. 3-2 with twenty-two minutes remaining, and Atherstone clinging on. Then, deep into stoppage time, Tiffany made it 4-3. The final whistle came as a relief as much as a celebration.

Bedworth United away. Another tight affair, another late intervention from Houghton. His 82nd-minute strike proved the difference in a 0-1 victory that kept the pressure on Long Eaton at the top.

Atherstone Town 4-2 SC Inkberrow

Saturday, 17 April 2027. The penultimate home game of the season. Two hundred and sixty-nine supporters packed into Sheepy Road, six of them from Inkberrow.

Luke Murphy set the tone inside two minutes, and when Charlie Kirk doubled the advantage on 17 minutes, the afternoon looked set to follow a familiar script. Jackson Preece pulled one back for Inkberrow on 20 minutes, but any hopes of a comeback were immediately extinguished when Houghton restored the two-goal cushion just sixty seconds later. Preece saw red on 24 minutes, reducing Inkberrow to ten men, and although Renaldo Rapatsinyana made it 3-2 on 31 minutes, Houghton’s second of the afternoon on 51 minutes settled the contest. 4-2. Six points from six in the space of a week.

The Final Day

It came down to this. Forty-one games played, and the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands title would be decided on the final afternoon of the season.

The mathematics were brutally simple. Atherstone Town sat top on eighty-one points, ahead of Long Eaton United by three points. Both had scored freely and conceded more than their managers would have liked. There was nothing to separate them except the slenderest of margins.

Long Eaton, with a goal difference of plus twenty-one, needed goals with Atherstone, on plus twenty-four. The Adders knew that matching Long Eaton’s result would be enough. But football rarely works out that neatly.

The fixtures had been kind to neither side. Long Eaton would host Mickleover at Grange Park—a home game against a side already relegated and playing for nothing but pride. Atherstone hosted Coleshill Town, a local derby against opponents sitting eighteenth in the table with their own survival secured.

Three hundred and sixty-one souls crammed into Sheepy Road for what promised to be the biggest afternoon in Atherstone Town’s recent history. Eighty-five had made the journey from Coleshill. The atmosphere was electric, the tension almost unbearable.

Atherstone Town vs Coleshill Town / Long Eaton United vs Mickleover

Saturday, 24 April 2027. Title decider.

The worst possible start.

Sol Solomon gave Coleshill the lead on 29 minutes. A deftly executed finish from close range that silenced the home support. Before anyone could process what had happened, Archie Kirton doubled Coleshill’s advantage with a volley on 34 minutes. 0-2 down. The title slipping away.

News filtered through from Grange Park. Long Eaton, as expected, had taken the lead. Harry Murphy’s powerful effort on 44 minutes had given them a 1-0 advantage against already-relegated Mickleover. The live table now showed Long Eaton top on goal difference. Atherstone needed to turn this around, and quickly.

Three minutes into first-half stoppage time, a lifeline. Ryan Quinn stepped up and converted from the penalty spot. 1-2. Still behind, still needing at least one more, but back in the game.

Half-time. Howarth’s team talk has never been revealed, but for those in the room it will be remembered for years to come.

The second half began with Atherstone pushing forward relentlessly. On 61 minutes, the equaliser arrived. Charlie Kirk, who had been the signing of the season, found the bottom right corner with a close-range finish. 2-2. The Atherstone supporters, erupted. Atherstone back on top.

Seven minutes later, Houghton. Of course it was Houghton. A close-range finish, timed impeccably, to give Atherstone the lead for the first time. 3-2. Bedlam among the terraces.

But Long Eaton weren’t finished. On 69 minutes, Sam Hards doubled their advantage against Mickleover. 2-0 at Grange Park. The pressure was relentless—if Atherstone slipped up now, Long Eaton could be champions.

Houghton responded on 73 minutes. His second of the afternoon, his thirtieth of the season in all competitions, extended Atherstone’s lead to 4-2. Surely now? Surely this was enough?

Mickleover, playing for nothing but pride, threw Long Eaton a curveball on 82 minutes. Fin Ryder pulled one back to make it 2-1 at Grange Park. The tension was almost unbearable.

And then, on 88 minutes, Kirk sealed it. His second of the game, Atherstone’s fifth. 5-2. The supporters could barely believe what they were witnessing.

Champions

The final whistle blew at. 5-2 to Atherstone. News came through moments later from Grange Park—Long Eaton had held on for a 2-1 victory, but it didn’t matter. The mathematics were clear. Atherstone Town were champions of the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands.

The scenes that followed defied description. Players collapsed to the turf in exhaustion and elation. Howarth, normally so composed on the touchline, was engulfed by his coaching staff. The supporters—three hundred of them, give or take—spilled onto the pitch in scenes of unbridled joy.

Chris Cowley, the midfielder who had been at the heart of everything good about Atherstone’s season, stood in the centre of the celebrations. On a miserable afternoon, he had lived the dream—helping his side secure a league title on the final day of the season.

The final table told the story. Atherstone Town: forty-two games played, twenty-five wins, nine draws, eight defeats. Eighty-three goals scored, fifty-six conceded, goal difference of plus twenty-seven. Eighty-four points. Champions by three points from Long Eaton United, who finished on eighty-one.

Grantham Town finished third on seventy-five points, Corby Town fourth on sixty-nine. The playoff places went to Anstey Nomads and AFC Rushden & Diamonds. Nuneaton Town, who had looked like genuine title contenders back in September, limped home in seventh.

At the bottom, SC Inkberrow, Carlton Town, Wellingborough Town, and Mickleover were all relegated. The pyramid continued its relentless churn.

But none of that mattered to the red and white army celebrating at Sheepy Road. Two promotions in two seasons. From step five to step three. From the United Counties League to the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The trajectory was remarkable, the achievement extraordinary.

Paul Howarth, the man who had started this journey with nothing but belief and a lifetime of Football Manager experience, had delivered something truly special. The doubters had been silenced. The predictions had been shattered. Atherstone Town were going up again.

The Adders were on the march. And nobody knew where the journey might end.