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Happy Birthday to… US!

Yes, NL Full Time celebrated its 5th birthday this week, and we did so in the way we know best – by covering the Step 1 and Step 2 football we all love.

In the Vanarama National League, some of the biggest hitters took a weekend off, but they weren’t inactive, because it was the Buildbase FA Trophy quarter-finals.

It was looking like an all National League final four until York City gatecrashed the party, but who else is in the frame for a trip to Wembley in May?

In the league itself, FC Halifax Town didn’t miss the opportunity to make up some ground – could Pete Wild’s side capitalise if those above them falter?

Boreham Wood and Chesterfield are two of the teams Halifax may have their sights on, and they met in BT Sport’s televised live game, where all the drama came late in the day – the team give their thoughts on the encounter.

Altrincham has found a rich vein of form, and there were two five-goal thrillers, one involving King’s Lynn Town that brought a reaction from chairman Stephen Cleeve – was he right to air his view on social media? Rob, Luke and Dickie discuss.

In the National League South, the story of the weekend HAD to be Alfie Rutherford; the Dorking Wanderer went from hot-shot to shot-stopper as Marc White’s men overcame the dismissal of their regular keeper to defeat Hemel Hempstead Town, with Rutherford in goal!

Elsewhere, some of the other promotion contenders stumbled, whilst at the bottom of the table Billericay Town had a huge win at Hungerford Town – can ‘Ricay defy the odds, and some gloomy financial news, to stage a remarkable survival campaign?

Dickie was at Brackley Town and took the opportunity to speak to manager Kevin Wilkin; his side are in the title hunt, and although they are almost always a play-off side, they’ve not been able to take the step up to the National League. With a dozen games remaining, how are Kevin and Brackley handling the situation? 

Dickie and Luke also reviewed the rest of the National League North, where AFC Fylde have the ‘Under New Management’ signs up; former Chesterfield boss James Rowe is quickly back in the game – can he inspire the Coasters to a play-off charge?

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All previous episodes of the podcast are also available.

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