2017–18 National League (division)

National League 2017–18
Season information
Winners	Macclesfield Town
Promoted	Macclesfield Town Tranmere Rovers
Relegated	Chester Guiseley Torquay United Woking
Season statistics
← 2016-17	2018-19 →

The 2017–18 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the third season under English football's new title of National League, fourteenth season consisting of three divisions and the thirty-eighth season overall.

Promotion and Relegation

Fylde were the first team to be promoted after a 3–0 win against Boston United F.C. on 22 April 2017 clinched them the National League North title. Maidenhead United were promoted on 29 April 2017 after a 3–0 win over Margate, returning to the league for the first time in sixteen years. Ebbsfleet United were promoted on 13 May 2017 after beating Chelmsford City 2–1 in the National League South Playoff Final, returning to the league after a four-year absence. On the same day, Halifax Town were also promoted after beating Chorley 2–1 in the National League North playoff final, securing them an immediate return to the league.

Leyton Orient were relegated from League Two on 22 April 2017 after their 3–0 loss to Crewe Alexandra ending their 112-year stay in the English Football League. On 6 May 2017, despite a 2–1 victory over Doncaster Rovers on the same day, Hartlepool United became the second team to be relegated from League Two following Newport County's 2–1 victory over Notts County, ending their 96-year stay in the EFL.

The six teams replace Lincoln City, Forest Green Rovers, York City, Braintree Town, Southport and North Ferriby United. Lincoln City were promoted to League Two after beating Macclesfield Town 2–1 on 22 April 2017. Forest Green Rovers were promoted after beating Tranmere Rovers 3–1 in the 2016–17 National League Playoff Final on 14 May 2017. They were the league's longest serving club, completing nineteen seasons in the top-flight. This is a mantle that has now been passed to Wrexham, who enter their tenth season in the league.

After seven years in the National League and surviving relegation battles over several seasons, Southport were unable to escape the drop and they were the first team to be relegated on 21 April 2017 after a 3–0 loss to Dover Athletic. After just one season in the National League, North Ferriby United were relegated three days later after a 3–1 defeat at Barrow. On the final day of the season, Braintree Town were relegated after losing 2–0 to Aldershot, ending their six-year stay in the league, which also confirmed the clubs first relegation in their history. York City's 2–2 draw against Forest Green Rovers was also not enough to save them after Guiseley's last minute equalizer against Solihull Moors confirmed back to back relegations for the Yorkshire club.

Team changes

Promoted to League Two

• Lincoln City, promoted to EFL League Two as champions.
• Forest Green Rovers, promoted to EFL League Two as play-off winners.

Relegated from League Two

• Leyton Orient, relegated to National League after finishing 24th in EFL League Two.
• Hartlepool United, relegated to National League after finishing 23rd in EFL League Two.

Relegated to National League North/South

• Southport, relegated to National League North after finishing 24th.
• North Ferriby United, relegated to National League North after finishing 23rd.
• Braintree Town, relegated to National League South after finishing 22nd.
• York City, relegated to National League North after finishing 21st.

Promoted from National League North/South

• Fylde, promoted to National League as champions of the National League North.
• Maidenhead United, promoted to National League as champions of the National League South.
• Halifax Town, promoted to National League as winners of the National League North play-offs.
• Ebbsfleet United, promoted to National League as winners of the National League South play-offs.

Stadia and locations

Stadia

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
AFC Fylde	Wesham	Mill Farm	6,000
Aldershot Town	Aldershot	Recreation Ground	7,100
Barrow	Barrow-in-Furness	Holker Street	4,414
Boreham Wood	Borehamwood	Meadow Park	4,502
Bromley	London	Hayes Lane	5,300
Chester	Chester	Deva Stadium	5,376
Dagenham & Redbridge	London	Victoria Road	6,078
Dover Athletic	Dover	Crabble Athletic Ground	5,745
Eastleigh	Eastleigh	Ten Acres	5,250
Ebbsfleet United	Northfleet	Stonebridge Road	5,011
Gateshead	Gateshead	Gateshead International Stadium	11,800
Guiseley	Guiseley	Nethermoor Park	3,000
Halifax Town	Halifax	The Shay	14,061
Hartlepool United	Hartlepool	Victoria Park	7,856
Leyton Orient	London	Brisbane Road	9,271
Macclesfield Town	Macclesfield	Moss Rose	6,355
Maidenhead United	Maidenhead	York Road	3,250
Maidstone United	Maidstone	Gallagher Stadium	4,200
Solihull Moors	Solihull	Damson Park	3,050
Sutton United	London	Gander Green Lane	5,013
Torquay United	Torquay	Plainmoor	6,200
Tranmere Rovers	Birkenhead	Prenton Park	16,587
Woking	Woking	Kingfield Stadium	6,036
Wrexham	Wrexham	Racecourse Ground	15,500

League table

2017–18 National League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Macclesfield Town  (C) (P)	46	27	11	8	67	53	+14	92	Promotion to League Two
2	Tranmere Rovers  (P)	46	24	10	12	78	46	+32	82	Qualification to the Qualified for the National League play-off semi-finals
3	Sutton United	46	23	10	13	78	46	+32	79
4	Boreham Wood	46	20	15	11	64	47	+17	75	Qualified for the National League play-off qualifying round
5	Aldershot Town	46	20	15	11	64	52	+12	75
6	Ebbsfleet United	46	19	17	10	64	50	+14	74
7	AFC Fylde	46	20	13	13	82	56	+26	73
8	Dover Athletic	46	20	13	13	62	44	+18	73
9	Bromley	46	19	13	14	75	58	+17	70
10	Wrexham	46	17	19	10	49	39	+10	70
11	Dagenham & Redbridge	46	19	11	16	69	62	+7	68
12	Maidenhead United	46	17	13	16	65	66	−1	64
13	Leyton Orient	46	16	12	18	58	56	+2	60
14	Eastleigh	46	13	17	16	65	72	−7	56
15	Hartlepool United	46	14	14	18	53	63	−10	56
16	FC Halifax Town	46	13	16	17	48	58	−10	55
17	Gateshead	46	12	18	16	62	58	+4	54
18	Solihull Moors	46	14	12	20	49	60	−11	54
19	Maidstone United	46	13	15	18	52	64	−12	54
20	Barrow	46	11	16	19	51	63	−12	49
21	Woking  (R)	46	13	9	24	55	76	−21	48	Relegation to the National League North or National League South
22	Torquay United  (R)	46	10	12	24	45	73	−28	42
23	Chester  (R)	46	8	13	25	42	79	−37	37
24	Guiseley  (R)	46	7	12	27	44	89	−45	33

Source: National League official site
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round; (Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament

Play-offs

	Qualifying round					Semi-finals					Final
						2	Tranmere Rovers	4
	5	Aldershot Town	1 (4)			6	Ebbsfleet United	2
	6	Ebbsfleet United	1 (5)								2	Tranmere Rovers	2
											4	Boreham Wood	1
						3	Sutton United	2
	4	Boreham Wood	2			4	Boreham Wood	3
	7	Fylde	1

Qualifying round

2 May 2018	Aldershot Town	1–1 (4–5 pen)	Ebbsfleet United	Recreation Ground, Aldershot
19:00	Kabamba  106'	Report	Winfield  119'	Attendance: 3,319 Referee: Allan Young
		Penalties
	Reynolds Rowe Rendell Kinsella Robert Oyeleke Ward		Weston McCoy Powell Wabo Kedwell Connors Rance

3 May 2018	Boreham Wood	2–1	Fylde	Meadow Park, Borehamwood
19:00	Turley  5' Andrade  17'	Report	Grand  30'	Attendance: 1,244 Referee: Joseph Johnson

Semi-finals

5 May 2018	Tranmere Rovers	4–2	Ebbsfleet United	Prenton Park, Birkenhead
12:15	Norwood  33' Ginnelly  56' Norwood  102' Cole  112'		Coulson  16' Weston  51'	Attendance: 8,898 Referee: P Wright

6 May 2018	Sutton United	2–3	Boreham Wood	Gander Green Lane, Sutton
15:00	Bolarinwa  82' Lafayette  90+2'		Balanta  42' Lafayette  53' (o.g.) Folivi  88'	Attendance: 2,730 Referee: Matt Donohue

Final

12 May 2018	Tranmere Rovers	2–1	Boreham Wood	Wembley Stadium, London
15:00	Cook  6' Norwood  80'		Andrade  45'	Attendance: 16,306

Results table

Home \ Away

FYL

ALD

BRW

BOR

BRO

CHR

D&R

DOV

EAS

EBB

GAT

GUI

HAL

HAR

LEY

MAC

MDH

MDS

SOL

SUT

TOR

TRA

WOK

WRE

A.F.C. Fylde

7–1

1–0

2–2

2–2

1–1

2–2

3–1

2–2

1–1

0–0

2–1

2–0

3–3

0–1

6–0

1–4

3–0

1–1

2–1

2–0

5–2

1–2

2–0

Aldershot Town

2–1

1–1

2–0

1–1

1–2

1–1

0–2

0–2

0–0

1–0

6–0

0–1

2–1

2–2

1–2

1–0

1–1

1–0

2–2

3–2

2–1

3–1

2–0

Barrow

1–3

3–1

2–1

0–3

1–2

0–1

0–0

3–2

0–1

1–1

0–0

0–0

1–2

2–2

0–2

1–1

0–1

1–2

1–1

1–1

1–1

3–0

1–1

Boreham Wood

1–0

2–1

0–0

2–2

4–2

1–2

2–3

1–0

0–1

2–1

3–1

1–1

0–0

2–0

0–2

1–1

1–0

4–1

0–4

2–0

2–1

2–1

0–1

Bromley

0–1

0–2

0–0

3–2

1–1

3–1

2–2

0–0

4–2

0–0

2–1

3–0

2–0

6–1

1–1

2–3

2–2

1–0

0–1

3–1

0–1

2–0

1–1

Chester

1–1

0–0

3–2

1–2

3–2

0–4

0–2

3–1

1–1

1–3

0–2

0–0

1–1

0–1

0–2

2–0

1–3

1–0

2–3

0–2

0–2

0–2

0–1

Dagenham & Redbridge

2–0

0–2

2–1

2–3

5–1

3–2

1–0

1–2

3–3

3–1

3–2

3–1

4–2

0–0

1–0

1–0

2–1

1–3

1–2

1–0

0–4

1–1

0–1

Dover Athletic

0–1

1–2

1–1

0–1

1–2

4–0

1–0

2–0

1–1

3–2

2–1

0–0

4–0

1–0

2–0

1–1

2–2

1–0

0–1

1–0

0–1

3–1

1–0

Eastleigh

2–2

0–0

0–2

0–2

4–4

2–2

2–2

2–1

0–1

3–2

4–2

0–0

4–3

0–0

0–2

2–2

0–1

1–2

1–0

1–1

2–0

2–2

1–1

Ebbsfleet United

3–3

0–2

3–2

0–3

2–1

0–1

1–1

2–1

2–2

0–0

4–0

2–0

3–0

2–1

2–2

1–1

2–0

1–0

0–1

0–1

0–0

2–1

3–0

Gateshead

1–2

0–1

1–2

1–1

1–2

3–2

0–0

0–0

2–0

2–5

1–0

0–0

2–2

1–3

3–0

7–1

2–1

2–2

0–2

3–0

1–0

1–1

0–0

Guiseley

1–0

1–1

0–1

0–0

0–1

1–1

3–5

1–1

0–0

2–2

0–1

1–1

0–1

1–3

1–2

1–3

0–0

4–2

0–2

3–2

0–0

1–2

0–2

F.C. Halifax Town

2–1

0–2

0–1

2–1

2–1

4–0

2–1

1–2

3–3

1–2

2–2

2–0

2–0

1–2

1–4

3–2

0–2

0–0

2–1

1–1

0–2

0–0

0–0

Hartlepool United

0–2

0–2

1–0

0–0

2–1

1–1

1–0

0–1

1–2

0–1

2–2

0–1

4–0

1–0

1–2

1–2

3–1

0–1

1–1

1–1

1–1

3–2

0–2

Leyton Orient

1–2

2–3

4–1

0–0

0–1

2–2

2–0

1–1

1–1

1–1

0–2

4–1

0–3

1–2

0–1

0–1

2–0

3–1

4–1

0–1

1–1

3–0

1–0

Macclesfield Town

2–1

2–0

3–1

0–0

0–0

1–0

2–0

1–0

1–2

1–0

1–0

2–1

2–1

1–1

1–1

1–0

1–4

0–0

1–0

1–1

2–2

1–3

4–1

Maidenhead United

1–2

3–3

0–1

2–1

5–2

3–0

1–1

3–2

3–1

1–1

0–3

3–0

0–0

2–1

0–1

1–1

0–0

1–0

2–1

1–2

1–0

2–1

1–2

Maidstone United

1–0

1–1

0–1

0–4

0–2

1–0

0–0

2–2

2–3

1–2

2–2

1–1

0–0

1–2

0–2

2–2

1–1

1–1

1–0

1–0

2–3

3–1

2–1

Solihull Moors

0–4

0–0

3–3

0–0

2–0

2–0

2–2

3–2

1–4

1–3

1–1

3–1

0–1

1–2

1–0

0–1

3–1

1–0

0–2

1–1

0–2

3–0

0–0

Sutton United

2–1

2–1

3–2

1–1

0–3

3–2

2–1

2–2

2–0

0–0

1–1

4–0

3–2

1–1

2–0

2–1

0–2

1–3

1–0

0–1

1–3

2–0

1–1

Torquay United

1–3

0–0

3–1

2–4

0–4

1–1

0–3

0–2

1–2

1–1

1–1

3–4

1–0

0–2

3–0

0–1

4–0

0–1

1–2

2–3

0–0

2–1

0–0

Tranmere Rovers

4–1

2–0

1–0

2–2

1–0

0–0

2–0

0–1

3–1

3–0

4–2

4–0

4–2

1–2

2–1

1–4

3–2

4–0

1–2

0–1

3–0

3–1

0–1

Woking

1–0

1–2

1–2

0–0

0–2

1–0

1–0

1–2

2–1

1–0

2–1

2–3

1–3

1–1

0–2

2–3

1–1

4–4

2–1

2–0

4–1

0–1

2–2

Wrexham

0–0

2–2

3–3

0–1

2–0

2–0

1–2

0–0

2–1

2–0

1–0

1–1

1–1

0–0

2–2

0–1

2–0

1–0

1–0

1–1

4–0

2–2

1–0

Updated to games played on 28 April 2018
Source: The Vanarama National League
¹The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

As of matches played 14 April 2018

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Andy Cook	Tranmere Rovers	24
	Danny Rowe	AFC Fylde
3	Macauley Bonne	Leyton Orient	22
4	Bruno Andrade	Boreham Wood	19
	James Norwood	Tranmere Rovers
6	Josh Rees	Bromley	16
7	Ryan Bird	Dover Athletic	15
	Danny Kedwell	Ebbsfleet United
8	Louis Dennis	Bromley	13
	Chris Holroyd	Wrexham