Leiston chairman admits he never expected to win automatic promotion
LEISTON chairman Andy Crisp admitting winning automatic promotion to the Ryman League Premier Division at the first attempt was beyond his wildest dreams at the start of the season.
The Suffolk side achieved back-to-back promotions when they beat Potters Bar Town 6-0 on Tuesday night to lift the Division One North title – just 12 months after winning the Ridgeons League Premier Division.
At the start of the season Leiston targeted reaching the end-of-season play-offs, and Crisp said he never expected the club to gain automatic promotion in their first season at Step 4 level.
“No I didn’t, but it has been an incredible season which has gone ever so quickly. It is hard to put into words, but we kept plugging away and other teams fell by the wayside.
“Overall I think we deserve to be champions, although some of the games we won without playing our normal attacking style of football, but there are some great teams and I wish those involved in the play-offs all the best.
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“Next season will be a huge season for us, but we will give it a real go and are thoroughly looking forward to playing in the Ryman Premier.”
Skipper David Head, who played in three FA Vase finals for AFC Sudbury, said winning the league ranked alongside any of his other achievements in football.
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“It is right up there. I have played in this league a few times before with Sudbury and came close to winning promotion, twice getting into the play-offs, so to win it is a fantastic achievement.
“We felt hard done by after the Enfield game, where we lost to a penalty with three minutes to go, when we thought we had got the point we needed to win the title.
“We have limped across the finishing line, although we finished the job in style (against Potters Bar) after the early goal settled us down.”
