A look at how Stamford AFC were crowned Northern Premier League Midlands Division champions
A date forever etched in the history of Stamford AFC has been marked by another memorable milestone for the Daniels.
April 10 was the club's first-ever appearance at Wembley when they suffered an extra-time defeat against Billericay in the final of the FA Vase in 1976.
Stamford went on to win the United Counties League that season and, 47 years later on the same date of April 10, they were celebrating another title triumph.
Graham Drury's side were crowned Northern Premier League Midlands Division champions after a day of mixed emotions at the Zeeco Stadium.
The early frustrations of the postponement of their Easter Monday derby with Spalding United had subsided by the time the final whistle sounded on Halesowen Town's home defeat to Sutton Coldfield which put the Daniels into an unassailable position at the top of the league.
Scenes of celebrations then followed at the Zeeco Stadium as fans flocked to the ground to await the arrival of the title winners who came from all corners of the region to join together and toast their success well into the night.
It typified the unity within the whole club which has been the cornerstone of Stamford's success this season as they bounced back in the best possible way from the play-off heartbreak of the previous campaign.
It wasn't always plain sailing as they suffered two serious blows before the league season had even got underway.
The loss of Cosmos Matwasa and Tendai Chitiza after a couple of captivating campaigns with the Daniels was understandable but equally a big setback to Stamford's chances.
The duo's talents were worthy of a higher level and they both moved on with the best wishes of everyone at the club.
It forced a re-think in Stamford's style of plan as they tended to grind results out in the early stages of the season rather than blow teams away like the previous year.
A sticky start to the past campaign had left Stamford too much to do in their pursuit of eventual champions Ilkeston Town as they fell agonisingly short on the final day of the season.
There was no repeat of that this time around though as Stamford stormed to three wins in their opening three games of the campaign.
Retaining the services of last season's ace marksman Jonathon Margetts was a major coup for the club and he picked up where he left off the previous year by leading Stamford's goalscoring spree.
By the start of October, Stamford were one of only a handful of teams with an unbeaten record in the division ahead of a hectic spell of games.
They faced eight matches that month but despite the first loss against bogey team Sutton Coldfield - who are probably forgiven by all now at the Zeeco Stadium after their win on Monday - they recorded an impressive seven wins.
The streak of victories continued into November with a home success over title rivals Halesowen putting Stamford into the driving seat for honours.
However, the chance to move seven points clear was spurned after a 3-1 away defeat at Loughborough Dynamo - just their second league loss of the campaign so far.
Normality was restored with a six-goal success at Yaxley but a series of postponements threatened to detail Stamford's title charge.
They went down to a 3-1 defeat at Coleshill and then, after more than three weeks without a game, lost the Boxing Day derby to a Spalding side who were still unbeaten.
There was no sense of panic in the Stamford camp though - unlike that of two of their title rivals who both parted company with their managers when the going got tough.
Stamford started the new year with a vital home win over Corby Town which kick-started the run of form that would ultimately lead to their championship success.
Home crowds continued to grow as the feel-good factor started to rub off - both on and off the pitch.
They were also boosted by the return from injury of midfield maestro Rob Morgan who had missed a large part of the first half of the season.
His comeback was dampened by the loss of the ever-reliable Mike Armstrong who suffered a season-ending injury in the away win at Harborough.
But Stamford's squad did have that vital strength in depth with everyone seemingly happy to play their part.
Margetts continued to score for fun and he was superbly supported by Jack Duffy and Cameron Johnson who were now back to their best.
Goalkeeper Dan Wallis also returned to the playing ranks and kept a string of clean sheets behind an assured defence and industrious midfield as the Daniels only conceded more than one goal in a game once during the current 15-match unbeaten run.
It was now all systems go for the Daniels and, with Marshall Willock committing to the club as a further boost, they went marching on while their title rivals faltered.
Spalding lost for the first time in January and struggled to regain that momentum while Halesowen picked up just four points from a run of five games during February and March.
Stamford, on the other hand, won six successive matches in a fantastic February and, despite being held to a draw by, who else, but Sutton Coldfield, another four wins followed to leave them on the brink of the title.
A goalless draw at Gresley at the weekend gave Halesowen a glimmer of hope following their victory at St Neots.
But the Yeltz were unable to back it up 48 hours later and put more pressure on a sidelined Stamford team who could watch on and get ready to celebrate their success after a memorable campaign.
Stamford have won more games and lost fewer than any other team in the division and also boast the best overall goal difference.
They've got three games remaining with boss Drury and his management determined that his side will finish the season unbeaten.
His side have delivered everything that the manager has wanted this term and will want to end a super season in style.
