Halifax's home defeat by Stourbridge, coupled with news of Wharfedale's victory over Blackheath at Threshfield, ensured that Rhys Morgan's side would be embarking on a new chapter in the club's history after a decade of unparalleled success.
There are still six games to play until this most difficult of league seasons finally comes to an end - and to many it cannot come soon enough.
But it is not inconceivable that now, with the pressure off, Halifax could pick up one or two welcome victories along the way.
Nothing would surprise in a season that has seen Halifax plumb the depths in terms of performance and, just as agonisingly, contrive to secure defeats from the jaws of victory.
One thing that should be noted is that, despite only picking up the single league victory, Halifax have continued to play with passion, something that was joined by pride against Stourbridge.
They are determined to go down fighting and the promotion-chasing visitors certainly knew they had been in a game.
Ultimately it was Stourbridge's renowned, and settled, pack that paved the way for the victory. Four of their five tries came via forward pressure.
Halifax, in contrast, had three players in their squad who only met their teammates earlier in the week. Coupled with that, both recognised locks were out which meant back row forwards Richard Brown and Matt Harrison filled the second row with flanker Gareth Lewis taking over at No 8.
Halifax were forced to defend manfully during the opening exchanges but did not help their cause by conceding penalties.
Stourbridge eventually made them pay. A simple and effective catch and drive from the lineout saw No 8 Duncan White crash over, winger Alistair Bressington banging over the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Halifax appeared to double their efforts and in return they rattled Stourbridge into conceding penalties. A kick to the corner from Iain Gordon set up a catch and drive that looked to have foundered with the ball turned over.
However, Brown put in a crunching tackle on full back Jonathan Hall, the ball fell loose and the Halifax man pounced to touch down, Joe Knowles levelling things with a well-struck low conversion.
Both sides were fully committed to gaining the upper hand with Halifax meeting any challenge head on.
But Stourbridge were marginally enjoying the better of the possession and made it count when lock Benjamin Hughes ran straight through Dave Hall's attempted tackle to touch down, Bressington sending his conversion across the face of the posts.
The visitors extended their lead to 15-7 with Bressington landing a straight penalty, but once again dogged play from Halifax put them firmly on the front foot.
Gordon set off on a thrilling break, only to see his attempted chip forward blocked. And Halifax kept the pressure on with Stourbridge happy to find respite in the referee's half-time whistle.
The crowd added to the atmosphere at the start of the second half with Halifax receiving plenty of vocal backing.
But they were unable to inspire Knowles to finish off an excellent run which came to nothing. Halifax coughed the ball up and Stourbridge went on the offensive, winger Gareth Brear having to run a long way to execute a superb tackle on Rod Petty that saw him bundled into touch.
However, the visitors made the most of the good position and hooker Ben Gerry rumbled over amid a huge drive, Bressington kicking the conversion.
Knowles rapped over a penalty to maintain Halifax's interest, but the visitors were able to stretch away again after a bout of pressure saw White leg it over following another drive for a classic No 8's try.
The game entered a period of stalemate as rain joined the bitingly cold wind to create difficult conditions.
Halifax's best attacking intentions were quickly stifled while Stourbridge prospered, Knowles having to execute an excellent tackle on Bressington to prevent a certain try.
As it stood Halifax could feel proud of their efforts but once again the scoreline was to flatter the visitors. Another huge drive deep into stoppage time brought its reward with Scott Whitcomb the beneficiary. That left Bressington to nail the final conversion.

STARMAN
A number of players stepped up to the plate and showed spirit in adversity.
No one did so more than Gareth Lewis. Injuries meant that the hugely effective flanker was shifted to No 8 where he worked even harder, if that is possible, than usual.
Lewis does not have the bulk to dominate the position, and there were times when Stourbridge's powerful pack caught him out.
But he put in another 80 minutes of hard, honest graft that has been a trademark of his Halifax career.
Fraser Hall took over Lewis's role at open side flanker and immediately set about making himself known on the pitch.
He might not have had time to learn his teammates' names, having only signed in the days leading up to the game, but he certainly made his presence felt with some strong tackling, positive work with ball in hand and some decent organisational skills.
Richard Brown was another player to find himself in a relatively alien position, the back rower joiner Matt Harrison in the second row. He was one of the players to experience coach Rhys Morgan's wrath after the first half at Nuneaton and he responded then with a solid second half display.
He took that performance on a stage further on Saturday and was one of Halifax's most potent forwards as they stood up to the Stourbridge pack.

MATCH FACTS
Halifax: Knowles, D Hall, Marns, McGee, Brear, Gordon, Dillon, Blades, Kay, Jenkins, Brown, Harrison, Townsend, F Hall, Lewis. Replacements: Bradley (Dillon 71), Saparamadu (Jenkins 74), Endersby (D Hall 73), Sanderson.
Tries: Brown
Conversions: Knowles
Penalties: Knowles
Drop goals: None
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None

Stourbridge: Hall, Bressington, Billig, Morris, Freeman, Lavery, Pointon, Rowlands, Gerry, Tideswell, Hughes, Muldowney, Knight, Jordan, White. Replacements: Petty (Lavery 26), Whitcomb (Knight 61), Homer (Hughes 65), Olver (Tideswell 63).
Tries: White (2), Hughes, Gerry, Whitcomb
Conversions: Bressington (3)
Penalties: Bressington
Drop goals: None
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None

Referee: Richard Kelly (RFU)

PLAYER POINTS
WORKOUT WAREHOUSE PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 20 Matt Harrison; 18 Gareth Lewis; 17 Craig Aikman; 16 George Jenkins; 11 Joe Knowles; 10 Oli Marns; 6 Dominic Moon; 5 Tom Eaton, Richard Brown; 4 Danny McGee; 3 Dave Hall, James Endersby, Ben Mitchell, Iain Gordon; 2 Richard White, Adam Blades, Fraser Hall; 1 Phil Skillen, Martin Smith, Gareth Brear.