IT'S been one of those seasons so far in the Skrill Conference North. Not everything has gone quite as expected.
Last season Chester strolled to promotion, while FC Halifax Town went up via the play-offs after challenging near the top of the league throughout the campaign.
Their promotion looked likely to leave second-place finishers Guiseley in a position to storm the league this time around but things haven't quite worked out that way.
The West Yorkshire side currently lie in 12th and have struggled to make their way through a difficult set of fixtures so far.
In stark contrast, Hednesford have set the league alight and sit top of the Conference North pile.
Prior to their 1-0 defeat to Brackley Town on Saturday, they had gone seven games undefeated, a run that included an impressive win over their title rivals Altrincham.
Following in the footsteps of Chester, the Keys Park side are looking for back-to-back promotions from the Evo-Stik Northern Premier but they could find it tough to keep up over the busy Christmas schedule.
Their defeat to fifth-placed Brackley, who lost in the play-off final last term, showed they are far from invincible and there are further tricky tests to come in December.
They host Harrogate Town before facing a resurgent Stalybridge Celtic, with both of those teams eager to make a push for the play-off places.
The Pitmen then have a Boxing Day and New Year's Day double header against AFC Telford, who are currently sixth and are eying an immediate return to Step 1 of the Non-League pyramid following relegation last season.
Telford have a slightly easier run over the festive period. Barrow and Worcester – both of whom are in the bottom five – are next up for the Bucks and at 6/1 shown by FreeBets.com, Liam Watson's men could be good odds with a BetVictor free bet.
What Hednesford will be looking for however, is for Elliott Durrell to keep scoring. With 15 goals in the bag already this season, he'll play a pivotal role in their title race.
He's helped sink Telford once already this season, and a big Christmas for the 24-year-old would make a real statement going into the second half of the season.
