Can Woodley United win it? – Football in Berkshire

For the second time in 10 years we’re staring at the very real prospect of Woodley United becoming a Step 5 team.

The only difference between the Kestrels and Combined Counties League Division One table-toppers Brook House is games drawn, of which Woodley have nine and Brook House three.

In fact, the side formerly known as AFC Hayes before reverting back to their pub name origins in 2022, have lost more matches than Woodley this season.

That isn’t the real story, however. It is Jordan Blake’s side who are front and centre of this piece, for a very different reason. You may remember last season United were the designated ‘Great Escape’ side, and perhaps theirs is an even greater one than Binfield’s the season before.

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Having been in the relegation zone all season – and I mean all season thanks to the basic beauty of alphabetical order before a ball is kicked – Woodley popped above the line that doomed the bottom three in the table on the final day of the season after a 5-0 win over Oxhey Jets at Scours Lane.

The ‘escape’ then is testament to both a manager and a club holding their nerve, and the reward is there for all to see this season. Without one of the stars of 2025/26 – Ty Moorcroft – Woodley remain a young side that started the season going 18 games without defeat. A first league loss came on Tuesday 11th November at home to Molesey. It’s a side that is greater than the sum of its parts.

There have been only two more defeats since, meaning Woodley, with games in hand on the sides around them look odds on for at least a play-off spot come the end of the season. The key for the Kestrels this time around has been a spread of goals across the side, with only Troy Williams in double figures, while boasting the meanest defence in the division, conceding just 34 times.

The game away to Brook House on Tuesday 10th March could be the pivotal one in deciding whether Blake’s side have a chance of going better and taking the title.

Predicted final Combined Counties League Division One table – by FootballWebPages

In terms of the play-off challengers, realistically, it’s second to seventh that have a chance, and that includes Berks County, although they have played more games than the teams around them.

Bedfont (67 points), PFC Victoria London (66), Woodley (63), London Samurai Rovers (63), Penn & Tylers Green (62 – but two games in hand) and Berks (58) are all vying for a top five spot.

Mick Woodham’s first season in charge at Langley is likely to yield a solid mid-table finish for the Slough-based side. It’s unlikely the experienced boss as we know him, is spending too much time looking down the table, but two more points would at least match the total that kept Woodley up (43) on the final day last season, then you would expect it’s onwards and upwards.

Speaking of the bottom of the table, nothing is confirmed there and we could well see it go down to the wire again. The demise of Chalfont St Peter is incredibly sad but the basement side have shown some life of late.

Once a stalwart Isthmian League side, the Saints were in Division One in the early 1990s (when the competition had four divisions) and as recently as 2022, but have dropped through the divisions with county league football looking increasingly likely despite picking up a couple of wins either side of Christmas.

Recent results have boosted Sandhurst Town’s survival hopes – they are now 18th with 28 points in the bag. The Fizzers, along with Spartans Youth (25), Spelthorne Sports (24), FC Deportivo Galicia (22) and Rising Ballers Kensington (16 but with two games in hand) all have plenty of work to do.

Do you agree with the predicted table? Let us know in the comments below.