| Season | 2002–03[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Champions | Yeovil Town (1stFootball Conference title) |
| Direct promotion | Yeovil Town |
| Promoted through play-offs | Doncaster Rovers |
| FA Trophy winners | Burscough (Northern Premier League Premier Division) (1stFA Trophy title) |
| Relegated toLevel 6 | Kettering Town, Nuneaton Borough, Southport |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,342 (2.9 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Barnes(Doncaster Rovers), 25 |
| Biggest home win | Yeovil –Southport 6–0 (5 October 2002) |
| Biggest away win | Woking –Morecambe 0–6 (22 February 2003) |
| Highest scoring | Burton Albion –Telford 4–7 (8 February 2003) |
| Longest winning run | ? |
| Longest unbeaten run | ? |
| Longest losing run | ? |
| Highest attendance | Yeovil Town vChester City, 8,111 (26 April 2003) |
| Lowest attendance | ? |
| Average attendance | 1,616 (+ 18% compared with the previous season) |
2003–04 → | |
The 2002–03 Football Conference season was the 24th season of theFootball Conference.
This season the number of teams promoted to theFootball League Division Three was increased from one to two, andplay-offs were introduced to determine the second team to be promoted, along with the Conference champions. The bottom three, as usual, were relegated to either theNorthern Premier League, theSouthern Premier League or theIsthmian League.
Yeovil Town clinched the league title and won promotion to theFootball League Division Three.
Doncaster Rovers also earned promotion toDivision Three following their 3–2 play-off win overDagenham & Redbridge, duringextra time with asudden death goal in the 110th minute.
The regular season began on 17 August 2002, and ended on 26 April 2003.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yeovil Town(C, P) | 42 | 28 | 11 | 3 | 100 | 37 | +63 | 95 | Promotion to theFootball League Third Division |
| 2 | Morecambe | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 86 | 42 | +44 | 78 | Qualification for theFootball Conference play-offs |
| 3 | Doncaster Rovers(O, P) | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 73 | 47 | +26 | 78 | |
| 4 | Chester City | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 59 | 31 | +28 | 75 | |
| 5 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 71 | 59 | +12 | 72 | |
| 6 | Hereford United | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 64 | |
| 7 | Scarborough | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 63 | 54 | +9 | 64 | |
| 8 | Halifax Town | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 51 | −1 | 64 | |
| 9 | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 61 | 62 | −1 | 59 | |
| 10 | Margate | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 60 | 66 | −6 | 56 | |
| 11 | Barnet | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 65 | 68 | −3 | 53 | |
| 12 | Stevenage Borough | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 61 | 55 | +6 | 52 | |
| 13 | Farnborough Town | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 51 | |
| 14 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 66 | 72 | −6 | 51 | |
| 15 | Telford United | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 54 | 69 | −15 | 49 | |
| 16 | Burton Albion | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 52 | 77 | −25 | 49 | |
| 17 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 62 | 73 | −11 | 48 | |
| 18 | Leigh RMI | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 44 | 71 | −27 | 48 | |
| 19 | Woking | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 52 | 81 | −29 | 47 | |
| 20 | Nuneaton Borough(R) | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 51 | 78 | −27 | 46 | Relegation to theSouthern League Premier Division |
| 21 | Southport(R) | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 54 | 69 | −15 | 45 | Relegation to theNorthern Premier League Premier Division |
| 22 | Kettering Town(R) | 42 | 8 | 7 | 27 | 37 | 73 | −36 | 31 | Relegation to theIsthmian League Premier Division |
| Home \ Away | BAR | BRT | CHE | D&R | DON | FAR | FGR | GRN | HAL | HER | KET | LEI | MAR | MOR | NOR | NUN | SCA | SOU | STB | TEL | WOK | YEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnet | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Burton Albion | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–7 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |
| Chester City | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 5–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | |
| Doncaster Rovers | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | |
| Farnborough Town | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–4 | |
| Forest Green Rovers | 4–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–4 | |
| Halifax Town | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–5 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | |
| Hereford United | 4–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | |
| Kettering Town | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–1 | |
| Leigh RMI | 4–2 | 4–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–4 | |
| Margate | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Morecambe | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–2 | |
| Northwich Victoria | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | |
| Nuneaton Borough | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Scarborough | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Southport | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 0–1 | |
| Stevenage Borough | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Telford United | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–5 | |
| Woking | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Yeovil Town | 0–0 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 |
TheConference National play-offs determine the second team that will be promoted to theFootball League Division Three. The teams placed second through fifth qualify for the play-offs. The semi-finals are played in a two-leg, home and away format, while the final is played as one leg, and this season it was held on 10 May 2003 atBritannia Stadium,Stoke, before a crowd of 13,092.
| Semi-finals 1st leg – 1 May 2003; 2nd leg – 5 May 2003 | Final atBritannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent 10 May 2003 | ||||||||||
| 3rd | Doncaster Rovers (pen.) | 1 | 1 | 2 (4) | |||||||
| 4th | Chester City | 1 | 1 | 2 (3) | |||||||
| 3rd | Doncaster Rovers (a.e.t.),golden goal) | 3 | |||||||||
| 5th | Dagenham & Redbridge | 2 | |||||||||
| 2nd | Morecambe | 1 | 2 | 3 (2) | |||||||
| 5th | Dagenham & Redbridge (pen.) | 2 | 1 | 3 (3) | |||||||
Source:[1]
| Doncaster Rovers | 1–1 | Chester City |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Chester City | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Doncaster Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 3–4 | ||
Doncaster Rovers win 4–3 on penalties after tying 2–2 on Aggregate.
| Morecambe | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Dagenham & Redbridge |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 2–3 | ||
Dagenham & Redbridge win 3–2 on penalties after tying 3–3 on Aggregate.
| Rank | Player | Club | League | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Trophy | LDV | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Barnes | Doncaster Rovers | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 2 | Kirk Jackson | Yeovil Town | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 27 |
| 3 | Gregg Blundell | Doncaster Rovers | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| 4 | Junior Agogo | Barnet | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 5 | Wayne Curtis | Morecambe | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 6 | Dino Maamria | Stevenage Borough | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| = | Daryl Clare | Chester City | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 8 | Mark Stein | Dagenham & Redbridge | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Christian Moore | Burton Albion | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| = | Steve West | Dagenham & Redbridge | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| = | David Brown | Telford United | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 12 | Neil Grayson | Forest Green Rovers | 15 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 20 |
| = | Mark Quayle | Chester City | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 14 | Warren Patmore | Woking | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| = | Paul Moore | Telford United | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 | Kayode Odejayi | Forest Green Rovers | 13 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| = | Lee Elam | Morecambe | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| = | Kevin Gall | Yeovil Town | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| = | Steve Guinan | Hereford United | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Source:[1]