Hyde United narrowly missed out on a spot in the Northern Premier League play-offs on Saturday (22 April) after a 3-1 defeat to Warrington Town.

The Tigers needed to win their final match of the season to move up to 5th place and claim that final play-off spot, but were denied by a quality performance from the team placed 2nd in the division. A first-half brace from Josh Amis put the hosts in control, before a late strike from AJ Leitch-Smith halved the deficit for Hyde, who looked to have found a route back into the game, but moments later Jordan Buckley grabbed a third for Warrington and put the game beyond any reasonable doubt.

A largely positive season for United but one that has ultimately ended in disappointment. They can take positives from the fact that not many would’ve given them a chance of getting close to the play-offs at the start of the year, so they have exceeded expectations in that sense, however from the position they found themselves in just a matter of weeks ago, Nick Spooner and his men may well see this as a missed opportunity.

“There was no expectation at the start of the season, we’ve played with freedom, we’ve been positive”, said Spooner. “But to be up there for so long and not finish in the top five, it feels like an unsuccessful season, a play-off place should have been dead and buried”, he added.

At the start of March, Hyde were sitting in second place in the table, with just eight games to go, but a dismal run of form towards the back end of the season has ultimately cost them, and their promotion dreams will have to be put on hold until next year.

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