The 2017-18 Season Review: Looking Back On January

Here's what happened across the divisions in January.

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National League:

AFC Fylde started the New Year in blistering form - and so did Solihull Moors.

One of the results of the season was recorded in January, the league leaders and champions elect Macclesfield Town stuffed 6-0 at Mill Farm. It was a performance Dave Challinor called “powerful and pretty much perfect” while measured John Askey said there would be no overreaction in the Macc camp.

Mark Yates was really getting his claws into Solihull, and alongside former England keeper Tim Flower the Moors took ten points from four games.

Yates lifted the Manager of the Month award, while the best player was Eastleigh’s Sam Wood.

It was still so tight at the top and at the end of January the leading six clubs were kept apart by just five points.

It wasn’t a good month for Billy Heath, who parted company with FC Halifax Town having taken the club up via the National League North play-offs in May.

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National League South:

New Year`s Day saw Sam Higgins bag a brace for East Thurrock in a 3-2 defeat to Concord, but those goals took him to 250 goals for the Rocks.

There were no fewer than 35 other goals scored on the day as 2018 started with a bang.

Hampton`s Alan Dowson and Oxford`s Robbie Sinclair were presented with December`s manager and player of the month awards.

Wealdstone lost defender Ciaron Brown to Championship side Cardiff.

Dartford`s lead at the top was just two points after they were held 1-1 at Concord as the weather hit the league programme badly again in early January. However, the Darts managed to win the big game against second-placed Havant 1-0 at Princes Park.

A weather-hit month ends with St Albans grabbing the headlines with a 7-2 home battering of East Thurrock and with Tony Burman being rewarded for keeping Dartford on top and Whitehawk`s Gold Omotayo was presented with the players` trophy.

Without a win in the opening 23 matches and a 19-point gap from safety, Omotayo boosted their chances of staying up by scoring five goals in as many games in January.

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National League North

The top two met once again and the score line was a repeat of their earlier match with Salford gaining a 2-1 home win, this result opened an 11-point gap at the top of the Vanarama National League North table.

Though they were defeated by Brackley Town in their next match with Harrogate Town winning their next two, the month ended with the gap closed to five points again.

It was a good month for York City as they moved into the play-off places, helped by a four-game winning run and unbeaten start to the calendar year at Bootham Crescent.

Meanwhile at the other end of the table, Nuneaton Town would quickly move away from the bottom three places by going on a nine-game unbeaten run, with Dino Maamria gaining plenty of plaudits for the work he had done.

AFC Telford United lost to three sides going for promotion in a row and were involved in the battle to avoid relegation, as they ended the first month of the new year in 21st.