ANDY Crowther admits achieving promotion to Step Five with Droitwich Spa at the third attempt feels ‘bittersweet’.
Spa won the Hellenic League Division One title with two matches left to play following a 2-0 victory at Shortwood United last weekend.
Droitwich suffered play-off final heartbreak in each of the last two seasons – losing last term’s promotion decider via a penalty shootout.
And Crowther feels relieved to have clinched the title before the end of the current campaign.
Crowther said: “There’s a bit of relief after the last two years and the disappointment of the play-offs.
“We haven’t got to go down that route and it’s done, we’re champions and we’ve got that promotion at last.
“The players deserve it for what they’ve put in over the last two years.
“It could have gone either way after the disappointment of the play-offs and it’s bittersweet now that we’re champions and we’ve finally got that promotion.”
Spa moved laterally across Step Six to the Hellenic League prior to the start of the 2024/25 season following two campaigns in the Midland Football League Division One.
And Crowther believes his players used the disappointment of their previous play-off final defeats as motivation to win the title this term.
Crowther added: “The drive we’ve had comes from the play-off final defeats, we’ve topped the league from the first game of the season.
“The experience has helped, it’s been nice that we’re not chasing this time around.
“The pressure has been on everyone else, we’ve been consistent and the lads have used their past experience well.
“I’ve kept the core of the group, we added three or four new players and it helped us having a lot more experience in the team.
“The fans have been like the 12th man, they’ve been unbelievable all season.
Promotion to Step Five means Droitwich will play in next season’s FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
And Crowther insists Spa want to push themselves again next term, no matter what division they are playing in.
Crowther said: “It’s always good to play in the FA Cup, to put Droitwich in that category, it’s brilliant for the club, it’s brilliant for the town, it’s a community club.
“I just hope more and more people come down and support us moving forward.
“We’ll finish this season and then reassess for next season, whatever league we’re in, we’re going in to challenge and push ourselves as far forward as we possibly can.”
