2004–05 Football Conference

The 2004–05 season was the 26th season of the Football Conference, and the 1st season following its expansion from one division to three divisions.

Overview

This season saw the Conference expanded to three divisions with the addition of the Conference North and Conference South added to the existing (and renamed) Conference National. The North and South Divisions were filled by teams finishing 1st–13th in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and 2nd–13th in the Isthmian League Premier Division and Southern League Premier Division the previous season (the champions were all promoted to the Conference National), together with winners of play-offs between the 14–18th placed clubs in the Southern League Premier, 14th–20th in the Isthmian and Northern Premier League Premier, as well as the top clubs from the divisions immediately below.

The Conference National was joined by Carlisle United and York City, who had been relegated from the Football League. Carlisle became the first club to compete in all top five tiers of English football, having reached the old First Division in 1974–75.

In addition to the winners and the teams that qualified for the play-offs, Exeter City fought gallantly in the FA Cup against Manchester United, holding them to a goalless draw in the third round on Old Trafford and finally going down 0–2 on home turf.

Conference National

Conference National

Season	2004–05[1]
Champions	Barnet (2nd Football Conference title)
Direct promotion	Barnet
Promoted through play-offs	Carlisle United
Relegated to Conference North/Conference South	Farnborough Town, Leigh RMI, Northwich Victoria
Promoted for the next season	Altrincham, Grays Athletic, Southport
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,305 (2.82 per match)
Top goalscorer	Giuliano Grazioli (Barnet), 29
Biggest home win	Carlisle United – Farnborough 7–0 (28 August 2004)
Biggest away win	Farnborough – Hereford United 0–6 (25 March 2005); Leigh RMI – Accrington Stanley 0–6 (11 December 2004)
Highest scoring	Barnet – Farnborough 7–1 (19 March 2005)
Longest winning run	?
Longest unbeaten run	?
Longest losing run	?
Highest attendance	Carlisle v Barnet, 9,215 (16 Oct)
Lowest attendance	Canvey Island v Leigh RMI, 201 (5 April 2005)
Average attendance	1,922 (Conference record, + 0.9% compared with the previous season)
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

A total of 22 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from last season, two relegated from the Football League Two, one promoted from the Southern Football League and one promoted from the Isthmian League. Winners and runners-up of Northern Premier League were unable to qualify in Conference National.

Promotion and relegation

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Southern Football League

• Crawley Town

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Isthmian League

• Canvey Island

Teams relegated from 2003–04 Football League Third Division

• Carlisle United
• York City

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Barnet	42	16	2	3	56	20	10	6	5	34	24	+46	86	Football Conference Champions, promoted to League Two
2	Hereford United	42	10	7	4	28	14	11	4	6	40	27	+27	74	Participated in play-offs
3	Carlisle United	42	12	5	4	39	18	8	8	5	35	19	+37	73	Promoted to League Two through play-offs
4	Aldershot Town	42	13	3	5	38	22	8	7	6	30	30	+16	73	Participated in play-offs
5	Stevenage Borough	42	13	2	6	35	21	9	4	8	30	31	+13	72
6	Exeter City	42	11	5	5	39	22	9	6	6	32	28	+21	71
7	Morecambe	42	12	5	4	38	23	7	9	5	31	27	+19	71
8	Woking	42	11	6	4	29	19	7	8	6	29	26	+13	68	Conference League Cup winners
9	Halifax Town	42	13	4	4	45	24	6	5	10	29	32	+18	66
10	Accrington Stanley	42	11	6	4	43	26	7	5	9	29	32	+14	65
11	Dagenham & Redbridge	42	12	4	5	39	27	7	4	10	29	33	+8	65
12	Crawley Town[a]	42	13	4	4	35	18	3	5	13	15	32	0	57
13	Scarborough	42	9	12	0	42	17	5	2	14	18	29	+14	56
14	Gravesend & Northfleet	42	7	7	7	34	31	6	4	11	24	33	−6	50
15	Tamworth	42	10	3	8	22	22	4	8	9	31	41	−10	50[b]
16	Burton Albion	42	6	7	8	25	29	7	4	10	25	37	−16	50
17	York City	42	7	6	8	22	23	4	4	13	17	43	−27	43
18	Canvey Island[a]	42	6	10	5	34	31	3	5	13	19	34	−12	42
19	Northwich Victoria	42	9	5	7	37	29	5	5	11	21	43	−14	42[c]	Relegated due to ground concerns to Conference North
20	Forest Green Rovers	42	2	9	10	19	40	4	6	11	22	41	−40	33	Reprieved from relegation[d]
21	Farnborough Town	42	4	5	12	20	40	2	6	13	15	49	−54	29	Relegated to Conference South
22	Leigh RMI	42	2	2	17	18	52	2	4	15	13	46	−67	18	Relegated to Conference North

Source: ^[1][2][3]
Notes:

1. New club in the Conference
2. Tamworth deducted 3 points for breach of League rules.
3. Northwich Victoria had 10 points deducted due to entering administration and ground requirements.
4. Forest Green Rovers were reprieved due to Northwich Victoria's relegation.

Locations

Accrington Stanley

Aldershot Town

Burton Albion

Canvey Island

Carlisle United

Crawley Town

Exeter City

Farnborough Town

Forest Green Rovers

Gravesend & Northfleet

Halifax Town

Hereford United

Leigh RMI

Northwich Victoria

Morecambe

Scarborough

Stevenage Borough

Tamworth

Woking

York City

Greater London clubs
Barnet
Dagenham & Redbridge

Locations of the Conference National 2004–05 teams

Barnet

Dagenham & Redbridge

Gravesend & Northfleet

Locations of the Football Conference National London teams 2004–2005

Results

Home \ Away	ACC	ALD	BAR	BRT	CAN	CRL	CRA	D&R	EXE	FAR	FGR	GRN	HAL	HER	LEI	MOR	NOR	SCA	STB	TAM	WOK	YOR
Accrington Stanley		3–3	4–1	3–1	1–0	1–2	4–0	0–3	0–0	2–1	2–2	1–2	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	5–0	2–1	4–1	2–3	0–0	2–2
Aldershot	0–0		2–3	3–0	2–0	0–5	1–0	4–0	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–2	2–0	3–3	2–1	2–0	0–1	4–3	4–0	2–0
Barnet	3–0	2–1		2–3	1–0	1–1	3–0	5–0	1–0	7–1	3–1	4–1	3–1	0–2	3–2	5–1	4–0	1–0	2–1	0–3	2–0	4–0
Burton Albion	2–2	1–3	1–1		1–1	0–1	1–0	1–3	1–0	0–0	4–1	3–2	2–2	3–0	0–0	1–3	1–0	2–3	0–3	1–1	0–1	0–2
Canvey Island	0–2	2–2	0–1	2–2		0–3	2–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–1	0–4	3–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	3–0	3–3	2–2	4–0
Carlisle United	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–0	0–0		1–0	1–0	0–2	7–0	0–1	2–2	1–0	3–1	3–0	3–3	1–0	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	6–0
Crawley Town	2–0	1–0	1–3	4–0	2–1	1–0		2–0	0–1	2–0	4–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–1	0–0	2–1	1–2	3–0	2–1	1–0
Dagenham & Redbridge	0–5	3–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–0	1–0		2–3	0–0	2–2	5–0	4–2	3–1	2–0	2–1	2–3	0–3	3–1	0–0	1–1	0–3
Exeter City	1–2	3–1	0–3	3–1	0–1	0–0	3–2	1–1		2–1	2–0	3–0	2–1	4–0	5–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–0	0–1
Farnborough Town	2–1	1–2	0–0	1–3	1–3	1–2	2–3	2–1	2–1		1–1	0–3	3–2	0–6	0–1	1–2	0–2	0–1	0–3	2–2	0–0	1–1
Forest Green Rovers	1–0	0–0	0–2	3–2	2–2	0–3	1–1	1–4	2–3	1–1		1–5	0–0	1–3	1–1	0–3	1–3	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1
Gravesend & Northfleet	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–3	0–0	2–1	1–1	2–2	0–0		0–3	1–2	4–1	1–2	2–2	4–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	4–0
Halifax Town	1–2	2–0	2–3	2–0	4–1	2–2	1–0	2–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–0		0–1	5–1	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–1	3–3	3–1	2–0
Hereford United	0–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–2	3–1	2–1	1–0	2–3		3–0	1–1	4–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	2–0
Leigh RMI	0–6	3–3	0–3	1–4	2–1	1–6	1–2	0–1	0–1	1–2	2–0	0–1	0–3	3–4		0–2	0–1	1–1	1–2	2–3	0–3	0–3
Morecambe	1–2	0–0	1–1	3–0	4–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–1	2–1	2–1		3–1	2–1	1–3	3–0	2–1	2–1
Northwich Victoria	3–3	1–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–0	2–2	1–2	2–0	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–4	2–0	2–2		1–0	1–1	1–2	1–3	3–0
Scarborough	4–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	0–0	3–0	1–1	3–0		3–3	2–2	2–0	5–1
Stevenage Borough	5–0	0–1	2–1	0–1	1–4	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	2–0	0–1	4–1	1–0		2–0	0–2	2–2
Tamworth	1–0	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–4	1–2	0–2	4–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–0		1–3	1–0
Woking	2–1	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	2–4	3–3	2–0	0–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–1	1–2	2–1		1–0
York City	0–1	0–2	2–1	1–2	0–0	2–1	3–1	0–0	1–2	4–0	1–3	0–0	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–0	0–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs

Main article: 2005 Conference National play-off Final

	Semifinals 1st leg 2 May, 2nd leg 6 May							Final at Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent 14 May 2005
	2nd	Hereford United	1	0	1
	5th	Stevenage Borough	1	1	2
								3rd	Carlisle United	1
								5th	Stevenage Borough	0
	3rd	Carlisle United (pen.)	0	2	2 (5)
	4th	Aldershot Town	1	1	2 (4)

Semifinals

Stevenage Borough	1–1	Hereford United
Maamria 87'	Report	Carey-Bertram 74'

2 May 2005

1st Leg

Broadhall Way, Stevenage

Attendance: 6,520

Hereford United	0–1	Stevenage Borough
	Report	Maamria 68'

6 May 2005

2nd Leg

Edgar Street, Hereford

Attendance: 6,862

Stevenage Borough won 2–1 on Aggregate.

---

Aldershot Town	1–0	Carlisle United
Crittenden 48'	Report

2 May 2005

1st Leg

Recreation Ground, Aldershot

Attendance: 6,617

Carlisle United	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Aldershot Town
Livesey 13' Billy 35'	Report	Slabber 90+5'
Penalties
Livesey	5–4	Challinor

6 May 2005

2nd Leg

Brunton Park, Carlisle

Attendance: 10,803

Carlisle United won 5–4 on penalties after tying 2–2 on Aggregate.

Play-Off Final

Stevenage Borough	0–1	Carlisle United
		Murphy 23'

14 May 2005

19:30

Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent

Attendance: 13,422

Referee: Jonathan Moss

Topscorers

Pos	Player	Club	League	Play-offs	FA Cup	LDV	FA Trophy	Total
1	Giuliano Grazioli	Barnet	29	0	0	0	0	29
2	Michael Twiss	Morecambe	22	0	3	0	0	25
3	Paul Mullin	Accrington Stanley	20	0	0	0	0	20
4	Anthony Elding	Stevenage Borough	19	0	1	1	0	21
=	Chris Moore	Dagenham & Redbridge	19	0	1	1	0	21
=	Adam Stansfield	Hereford United	19	0	1	0	1	21
=	Bob Taylor	Tamworth	19	0	0	0	0	19
9	Charlie Griffin	Forest Green Rovers	17	0	1	0	0	18
10	Lee McEvilly	Accrington Stanley	15	0	0	2	0	17
=	Jonny Allan	Northwich Victoria	15	0	0	0	1	16
12	Lee Boylan	Canvey Island	14	0	0	0	3	17
=	Tim Sills	Aldershot Town	14	0	2	0	0	16
=	Justin Richards	Woking	14	0	1	0	1	16
=	Neil Redfearn	Scarborough	14	0	0	0	0	14
16	Karl Hawley	Carlisle United	13	0	1	0	1	15
=	Paul Brayson	Northwich Victoria	13	0	0	0	0	13

Source:^[1]

Conference North

Conference North

Season	2004–05[1][3]
Champions	Southport (1st Football Conference North title)
Direct promotion	Southport
Promoted through play-offs	Altrincham
Relegated to Level 7	Ashton United, Bradford Park Avenue, Runcorn F.C. Halton
Promoted for the next season	Hednesford, Hyde United, Workington
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,257 (2.72 per match)
Biggest home win	Harrogate – Ashton 5–1 (12 February 2005); Harrogate – Gainsborough Trinity 5–1 (24 August 2004); 4–0: six matches
Biggest away win	Barrow – Redditch 1–6 (11 September 2004); Kettering – Southport 0–5 (22 January 2005)
Highest scoring	Ashton – Runcorn 5–4 (28 August 2004)
Longest winning run	?
Longest unbeaten run	?
Longest losing run	?
Highest attendance	?
Lowest attendance	?
Average attendance	?
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

First Conference North/South season saw competition of best 44 teams by the results of previous season from Northern Premier League, Southern Football League and Isthmian League, except Crawley Town and Canvey Island, promoted directly to Conference National. Teams were divided by geographical criteria.

Promotion

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Northern Premier League

• Hucknall Town
• Droylsden
• Barrow
• Alfreton Town
• Harrogate Town
• Southport
• Worksop Town
• Lancaster City
• Vauxhall Motors
• Gainsborough Trinity
• Stalybridge Celtic
• Altrincham
• Runcorn F.C. Halton
• Bradford Park Avenue (Northern Premier League Premier Division playoff winners)
• Ashton United

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Southern Football League

• Stafford Rangers
• Nuneaton Borough
• Worcester City
• Hinckley United
• Moor Green
• Redditch United

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Isthmian League

• Kettering Town

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Southport	42	12	6	3	35	20	13	3	5	48	25	+38	84	Conference North Champions, promoted to Conference National
2	Nuneaton Borough	42	13	3	5	29	17	12	3	6	39	28	+23	81	Participated in play-offs
3	Droylsden	42	13	3	5	46	26	11	4	6	36	26	+30	79
4	Kettering Town	42	10	4	7	22	21	11	3	7	34	29	+6	70
5	Altrincham	42	12	6	3	45	21	7	6	8	21	25	+20	69	Promoted to Conference National through play-offs
6	Harrogate Town	42	13	5	3	40	22	6	6	9	22	27	+13	68
7	Worcester City	42	10	5	6	32	25	6	7	8	27	28	+6	60
8	Stafford Rangers	42	8	10	3	33	20	6	7	8	19	24	+8	59
9	Redditch United	42	11	3	7	36	32	7	5	9	29	27	+6	59[a]
10	Hucknall Town	42	7	8	6	31	32	8	6	7	28	25	+2	59
11	Gainsborough Trinity	42	7	8	6	27	22	9	1	11	28	33	0	57
12	Hinckley United	42	8	5	8	29	31	7	6	8	26	31	−7	56
13	Lancaster City	42	9	4	8	23	22	5	8	8	28	37	−8	54
14	Alfreton Town	42	7	5	9	24	23	8	3	10	29	32	−2	53
15	Vauxhall Motors	42	7	7	7	20	22	7	4	10	28	35	−9	53
16	Barrow	42	8	5	8	32	39	6	5	10	18	25	−14	52
17	Worksop Town	42	11	4	6	36	29	5	8	8	23	30	0	50[b]
18	Moor Green	42	8	4	9	26	28	5	6	10	29	36	−9	49
19	Stalybridge Celtic	42	7	6	8	30	36	5	6	10	22	34	−18	48
20	Runcorn FC Halton	42	7	6	8	24	26	3	6	12	20	37	−19	42	Relegated to Northern Premier League Premier Division
21	Ashton United	42	6	2	13	27	39	2	7	12	19	40	−33	33
22	Bradford Park Avenue	42	3	5	13	20	37	2	4	15	17	33	−33	24

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Redditch United had 3 points deducted.
2. Worksop Town had 10 points deducted.

Locations

Alfreton Town

Altrincham

Ashton United

Barrow

Bradford Park Avenue

Droylsden

Gainsborough Trinity

Harrogate Town

Hinckley United

Hucknall Town

Kettering Town

Lancaster City

Moor Green

Nuneaton

Runcorn F.C. Halton

Redditch United

Southport

Stafford Rangers

Stalybridge

Vauxhall

Worcester City

Worksop Town

Locations of the Football Conference North 2004–2005 teams

Results

Home \ Away	ALF	ALT	ASH	BRW	BPA	DRO	GAI	HAR	HIN	HUC	KET	LNC	MOG	NUN	RED	RUN	SOU	STA	STL	VAU	WRC	WKS
Alfreton Town		0–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–2	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–2	4–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	3–1	0–0	0–0
Altrincham	1–2		1–2	2–0	0–0	2–2	4–1	3–0	4–1	1–1	3–3	4–0	0–2	1–0	0–0	3–3	2–1	1–0	4–1	3–1	2–0	4–1
Ashton United	3–1	0–1		1–2	0–0	1–0	1–3	3–2	0–2	0–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–3	2–3	5–4	0–3	1–2	2–3	0–2	1–0	2–3
Barrow	0–3	2–0	1–1		3–2	1–3	2–0	1–0	3–0	0–3	2–1	2–2	3–4	1–3	1–6	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	2–1
Bradford Park Avenue	0–4	1–2	3–3	0–1		2–0	0–3	1–2	1–1	2–4	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–2	0–3	0–1	3–1	3–1	0–1	0–1	0–1	1–1
Droylsden	3–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	3–3		2–1	2–1	1–0	3–1	2–3	3–4	2–2	1–0	1–0	3–0	1–3	4–0	0–0	4–0	2–3	1–3
Gainsborough Trinity	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–1		0–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–2	2–1	2–3	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–2	3–0	1–1
Harrogate Town	2–1	1–1	5–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	5–1		1–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	4–2	1–0	2–5	0–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	0–0
Hinckley United	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–0	4–0	3–3	3–1	0–1		0–3	0–1	2–2	2–1	2–3	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–4	3–1
Hucknall Town	4–0	4–2	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–4	2–5	1–1	1–1		2–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–1	0–0	2–4	2–1	3–0	1–1	2–2	0–0
Kettering Town	1–1	0–1	0–0	2–0	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–0	3–1	3–1		0–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–5	0–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–1
Lancaster City	0–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	0–3	2–3	2–2	1–0		3–1	0–2	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1	0–2	1–0
Moor Green	0–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–2	0–2		1–3	1–0	2–1	2–3	0–1	2–2	0–2	1–2	2–0
Nuneaton Borough	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–1	2–1	3–2	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–0		0–1	3–0	0–1	4–3	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–2
Redditch United	1–3	0–1	3–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	2–3	0–0	3–1	1–5		1–0	3–2	1–0	2–3	4–1	0–4	3–2
Runcorn	1–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–3	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–2	2–0	2–2	2–1	0–0	0–1		0–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–1
Southport	3–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–3	3–2	1–0	1–3	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–1	3–1		0–0	2–0	2–1	2–2	1–1
Stafford Rangers	3–1	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–0	2–2	2–1	2–3	1–1	0–0	1–1		3–2	1–1	0–0	4–0
Stalybridge Celtic	2–3	1–1	2–1	1–2	1–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	3–5	1–0		2–1	1–0	2–2
Vauxhall Motors	2–0	2–0	0–0	0–2	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	0–2	1–0	0–2	3–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–3	0–0	1–2		2–2	1–1
Worcester City	0–0	2–1	2–2	0–1	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–2	1–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	4–1	0–2	2–1	2–1	1–3	0–0	2–1	1–0		0–2
Worksop Town	3–2	1–1	3–1	2–1	2–1	0–2	1–3	2–0	3–1	2–1	0–3	2–0	1–0	2–3	5–3	1–1	1–2	0–0	1–1	2–3	2–0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2005–2006. Glenda Rollin & Jack Rollin (eds.). Headline, 2006.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Pos	Player	Club	Goals
1	Terry Fearns	Southport	28
2	Colin Little	Altrincham	24
3	Norman Sylla	Redditch United	22
=	Adam Webster	Worcester City	22
5	Peter Duffield	Alfreton Town	20

Source:^[1]

Conference South

Conference South

Season	2004–05[1][3]
Champions	Grays Athletic (1st Football Conference South title)
Direct promotion	Grays Athletic
Promoted through play-offs	None
Relegated to Level 7 or folded	Margate, Redbridge; Hornchurch (folded)
Promoted for the next season	Eastleigh, Histon, Yeading
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,404 (3.04 per match)
Biggest home win	Grays Athletic – Bognor Regis 6–0 (16 November 2004); Hornchurch – Basingstoke 6–0 (4 September 2004); Hornchurch – Maidenhead 6–0 (21 September 2004)
Biggest away win	Dorchester – Grays Athletic 0–7 (23 October 2004)
Highest scoring	Bognor Regis – Welling United 6–5 (11 September 2004)
Longest winning run	?
Longest unbeaten run	?
Longest losing run	?
Highest attendance	?
Lowest attendance	?
Average attendance	?
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

First Conference North/South season saw competition of best 44 teams by the results of previous season from Northern Premier League, Southern Football League and Isthmian League, except Crawley Town and Canvey Island, promoted directly to Conference National. Teams were divided by geographical criteria.

Promotion

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Southern Football League

• Weymouth
• Newport County
• Cambridge City
• Welling United
• Weston-super-Mare
• Eastbourne Borough
• Havant & Waterlooville
• Dorchester Town(Southern Football League Premier Division playoff winners)

Teams promoted from 2003–04 Isthmian League

• Sutton United
• Thurrock
• Hornchurch
• Grays Athletic
• Carshalton Athletic
• Hayes
• Bognor Regis Town
• Bishop's Stortford
• Maidenhead United
• Ford United
• St Albans City (Isthmian League Premier Division playoff winners)
• Lewes (Isthmian League Division One South winners, promoted through playoffs)
• Basingstoke Town (promoted after higher finished Hendon decided not to take part in Conference South)

Teams relegated from 2003–04 Football Conference

• Margate

At the start of the season Ford United was given new name Redbridge F.C.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Grays Athletic[a]	42	15	4	2	60	13	15	4	2	58	18	+87	98	Conference South Champions, promoted to Conference National
2	Cambridge City	42	10	3	8	29	25	13	3	5	31	19	+16	75	Participated in play-offs
3	Thurrock	42	9	3	9	29	32	12	3	6	32	24	+5	69
4	Lewes	42	11	6	4	42	29	7	5	9	31	35	+9	65	[b]
5	Eastbourne Borough	42	10	5	6	38	26	8	5	8	27	21	+18	64	Participated in play-offs
6	Basingstoke Town	42	12	3	6	37	20	7	3	11	20	32	+5	63
7	Weymouth	42	8	8	5	32	28	9	3	9	30	31	+3	62
8	Dorchester Town	42	11	5	5	40	33	6	6	9	37	48	−4	62
9	Bognor Regis Town	42	11	4	6	46	31	6	5	10	24	34	+5	60
10	Bishop's Stortford	42	13	3	5	39	25	4	5	12	31	41	+4	59
11	Weston-super-Mare	42	12	5	4	33	23	3	8	10	22	37	−5	58
12	Hayes	42	9	4	8	29	30	6	7	8	26	27	−2	56
13	Havant & Waterlooville	42	12	3	6	38	26	4	4	13	26	43	−5	55
14	St Albans City	42	8	3	10	34	37	8	3	10	30	39	−12	54
15	Sutton United	42	5	6	10	25	38	9	5	7	35	33	−11	53
16	Welling United	42	5	5	11	23	30	10	2	9	41	38	−4	52
17	Hornchurch	42	11	5	5	44	24	6	5	10	27	39	+8	51[c]	Folded
18	Newport County	42	8	5	8	36	34	5	6	10	20	27	−5	50
19	Carshalton Athletic	42	7	3	11	19	31	6	6	9	25	41	−28	48
20	Maidenhead United	42	5	7	9	31	41	7	3	11	23	40	−27	46	Reprieved from relegation[d]
21	Margate	42	9	3	9	30	29	3	5	13	24	46	−21	34[e]	Relegated to the Isthmian League Premier Division
22	Redbridge	42	6	3	12	25	40	5	0	16	25	46	−36	33[f]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Grays Athletic were the FA Trophy winners.
2. Lewes could not participate in the play-offs due to ground issues.
3. Hornchurch had 10 points deducted.
4. Maidenhead United were reprieved due to Hornchurch folding.
5. Margate had 10 points deducted.
6. Redbridge had 3 points deducted.

Locations

Basingstoke

Bishop's Stortford

Bognor Regis

Cambridge City

Carshalton

Dorchester

Eastbourne

Grays Athletic

Havant & Waterlooville

Hayes

Hornchurch

Lewes

Maidenhead United

Margate

Newport County

Redbridge

St Albans City

Sutton

Thurrock

Welling United

Weston-super-Mare

Weymouth

Locations of the Football Conference South 2004–2005 teams

Grays Athletic

Carshalton

Hayes

Hornchurch

Redbridge

Sutton

Thurrock

Welling

Locations of the Football Conference South London teams 2005–2006

Results

Home \ Away	BAS	BST	BOG	CAM	CAR	DOR	EAB	GRY	H&W	HAY	HOR	LEW	MDH	MAR	NPC	RED	SAC	SUT	THU	WEL	WSM	WEY
Basingstoke Town		2–3	2–1	2–1	0–1	2–2	0–2	0–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	0–0	0–1	2–1	3–0	3–0	5–1	1–0	3–0	4–0	1–1	0–1
Bishop's Stortford	1–3		2–3	3–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–0	2–1	3–0	3–0	2–1	2–0	3–2	0–0	4–2	2–2	0–2
Bognor Regis Town	2–1	3–1		1–2	1–0	7–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	2–2	0–2	4–1	4–1	0–1	3–2	6–5	3–0	2–2
Cambridge City	2–1	3–2	1–0		3–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–0	0–3	2–3	0–1	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	4–1
Carshalton Athletic	2–0	0–3	0–0	0–2		4–3	1–4	0–2	2–1	3–2	0–2	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–3	1–2	0–2	0–1	1–1	0–1
Dorchester Town	0–1	4–3	1–0	0–0	1–1		3–1	0–7	2–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–0	4–1	2–3	2–2	0–2	3–2	2–3	4–1
Eastbourne Borough	2–0	1–1	4–1	1–2	1–4	3–2		2–2	1–2	1–0	4–2	1–2	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–0	2–2	4–0	0–1	3–0	4–2
Grays Athletic	0–1	3–0	6–0	1–2	4–0	2–2	1–1		3–0	1–0	5–1	4–0	4–0	5–0	0–0	4–1	2–0	5–1	2–1	4–2	2–0	2–0
Havant & Waterlooville	5–1	0–4	0–0	0–2	4–1	4–0	2–1	1–2		0–0	4–1	2–1	2–1	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–0
Hayes	0–1	2–3	0–1	4–0	1–3	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–5		1–1	3–2	2–1	1–0	3–1	1–0	3–2	1–0	1–3	1–1	1–0	1–3
Hornchurch	6–0	3–1	1–1	0–1	2–2	2–3	2–0	1–2	4–0	1–1		3–2	6–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–0	0–1	0–5	3–2	2–1
Lewes	0–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–0	3–2	3–1	3–2	1–2		0–1	7–3	2–2	5–4	1–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	3–1	0–0
Maidenhead United	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–5	4–0	0–1	1–2	0–3	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–0		2–4	0–2	4–3	3–3	2–2	0–3	2–1	0–0	2–3
Margate	2–1	1–0	2–3	0–2	0–1	1–2	2–1	0–6	5–1	3–1	0–1	1–1	2–0		1–1	2–0	2–3	1–1	2–1	1–2	2–0	0–1
Newport County	0–1	6–3	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–2	1–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–0		2–3	1–0	2–4	1–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Redbridge	0–3	1–1	1–2	0–0	1–3	4–1	0–3	1–3	3–1	0–1	0–1	0–1	4–1	2–1	0–5		2–1	0–5	1–2	1–2	1–1	3–2
St Albans City	2–1	2–0	4–0	1–0	3–1	1–1	0–0	1–4	3–1	0–1	4–3	2–3	1–2	3–3	0–1	2–3		1–2	1–3	2–5	1–0	0–3
Sutton United	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–3	4–1	3–2	0–0	0–6	1–1	2–4	1–2	3–5	2–2	2–0	0–0	2–3	1–2		1–2	1–0	1–2	0–3
Thurrock	3–1	1–0	0–5	0–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–4	1–3	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–2	1–2	2–2	1–0	1–2	1–2		1–1	3–1	2–1
Welling United	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–4	0–3	1–2	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–0	3–1	1–2	2–3	3–2	1–2		1–1	0–1
Weston-super-Mare	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–2	3–1	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–1	0–2		2–2
Weymouth	1–1	3–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–2	3–1	2–0	3–3	3–1	2–2	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–2	0–3	1–1

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2005–2006. Glenda Rollin & Jack Rollin (eds.). Headline, 2005.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Topscorers

Pos	Player	Club	Goals
1	Luke Nightingale	Bognor Regis	32
2	Lee Clarke	St Albans City	25
3	Matt Groves	Dorchester	24
4	Dean Holdsworth	Havant & Waterlooville	23
5	Paul Booth	Welling United	20

Source:^[1]

North/South play-offs

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Finals

2nd

Nuneaton Borough

1 (2)

5th

Altrincham ( pen.)

1 (4)

4th

Kettering Town

2

5th

Altrincham

3

3rd

Droylsden

1

4th

Kettering Town

2

5th

Altrincham

2

5th

Eastbourne Borough

1

2nd

Cambridge City

WO

[a]

—

2nd

Cambridge City

0

5th

Eastbourne Borough

3

3rd

Thurrock

2

5th

Eastbourne Borough

4

1. Lewes could not take part in the play-offs as their ground was not passed fit for promotion to the Conference National, and Cambridge City thus went through on a walkover.