# 2018–19 National League The 2018–19 [National League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-league) was the 2018–19 season of the fifth tier of English men's football, the division below the four professional divisions of the [English Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-football-league). Leyton Orient won the title with 89 points and returned to the Football League after a single season at this level, while Salford City won the promotion play-offs to reach League Two for the first time.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) • [2](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/NonLeagueTables/Con2018-19.htm) | Key fact | Detail | |---|---| | Champions | Leyton Orient, 89 points from 46 matches (25 wins, 14 draws, 7 losses), promoted[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) | | Play-off winners | Salford City, who beat AFC Fylde 3–0 in the final on 11 May 2019 and were promoted to League Two[3](https://soccer365.net/competitions/566/2018-2019/) | | Top scorer | Danny Rowe (AFC Fylde), 27 goals[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) | | Most clean sheets | Rob Lainton (Wrexham), 21[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) | | Leyton Orient's record | 73 goals scored, 35 conceded, +38 goal difference, 1.93 points per match, average home attendance 5,445[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) | | Relegation outcome | Aldershot Town finished 21st but were reprieved when Gateshead were administratively relegated with a 9-point deduction[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) • [4](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2019.html) | ## The title race and Leyton Orient's promotion Leyton Orient topped the 46-match table with 89 points, a 1.93 points-per-match return built on 25 wins, 14 draws, and 7 losses, scoring 73 goals and conceding 35 for a +38 goal difference.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) Their leading scorer was Macauley Bonne with 23 goals, and Dean Brill was the listed goalkeeper.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) The club's average home attendance of 5,445 was among the largest in the division.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) As champions, Orient won promotion directly to League Two, restoring their Football League place after finishing the previous season at this level.[2](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/NonLeagueTables/Con2018-19.htm) ## The promotion play-offs The play-offs gave the clubs finishing second through seventh a second route to League Two. Wrexham finished fourth with 84 points (25 wins, 9 draws, 12 losses, 58 goals scored and 39 conceded) and entered the qualifying round.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) Eastleigh took a play-off place with 74 points from 22 wins, 8 draws, and 16 losses, a 62–63 goal record.[4](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2019.html) The final, played on 11 May 2019, ended AFC Fylde 0, Salford City 3, with Salford winning in normal time and taking promotion to League Two; Fylde remained in the National League.[3](https://soccer365.net/competitions/566/2018-2019/) Salford had earlier needed a penalty shoot-out after extra time to advance past Eastleigh to the final.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) The final was the first Wembley National League play-off final in which both clubs had never previously played in the Football League.[2](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/NonLeagueTables/Con2018-19.htm) ## Individual leaders Danny Rowe of AFC Fylde finished as the division's leading scorer with 27 goals, four more than Leyton Orient's Macauley Bonne managed for the champions.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) In goal, Rob Lainton of Wrexham recorded 21 clean sheets, the most in the league, anchoring a defense that conceded 39 goals across the season, the fewest among the top four finishers.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) ## The bottom of the table and an administrative reprieve Gateshead finished with 57 points after a 9-point deduction and were demoted from the division.[4](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2019.html) Aldershot Town, who finished 21st and would otherwise have been relegated, were reprieved as a result of Gateshead's administrative relegation.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) The demotion was an off-field outcome rather than a sporting one, and it changed the composition of the following season's division. ## The season in context The 89 points that won the division sat within the recent range for champions of this tier: Macclesfield Town had won the 2017–18 title with 92 points, and the following season Barrow took the 2019–20 title with 70 points in a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.[5](https://retrostatsports.com/leagues/england/national-league/) The two promoted clubs of 2018–19 illustrate the division's dual function. Leyton Orient, a former Football League club, went straight back up as champions, while Salford City reached the Football League for the first time through the play-offs, a route open to clubs finishing as low as seventh.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) • [2](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/NonLeagueTables/Con2018-19.htm) ## References 1. [2018-2019 National League Stats, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/comps/34/2018-2019/2018-2019-National-League-Stats) 2. [Vanarama National League 2018/19, footballsite.co.uk](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/NonLeagueTables/Con2018-19.htm) 3. [National League 2018/2019, soccer365.net](https://soccer365.net/competitions/566/2018-2019/) 4. [England 2018/19, RSSSF](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2019.html) 5. [National League season history, Retro Stat Sports](https://retrostatsports.com/leagues/england/national-league/) --- *Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Domestic league season editions › Western and Southern European league seasons › British and Irish league seasons* *Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026* *Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.* License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license