4 Division leaders stay in front

Veterans League

Review of the results from Monday's matches in the 6-Man League

Clayton West reclaimed top of the Division 1 table after a 7-0 home win over Golcar C&BC last Monday. Marsh United A conceded their one-point lead after losing away at bottom-of-the-table Thongsbridge A by 3-4 and an aggregate difference of 84-85. Broad Oak A closed in on second place after a 5-2 home win over Slaithwaite who have now been caught and overtaken by fourth-placed Waterloo, who enjoyed an emphatic 5-2 away win over Netherton Con A.

That great win for Thongsbridge A wasn't enough to lift them out of the relegation places and the same can be said of Skel Windmill A who beat Lindley Lib A 5-2 and both have more to do to build on those encouraging results and bridge that current 7-points gap to safety. Shepley came close to collecting their first away win of the season before going down 3-4 to Milnsbridge A where the aggregate score of 94-96 robbed them of that win.

New Mill A quickly dismissed the threat of being beaten in their Division 2 away match at Lockwood Con with a 6-1 win to match the points totals of Brockholes A and Holmfirth A who stay the same distance behind the leaders. Another close aggregate scoreline saw Almondbury Lib go down 3-4 to Milnsbridge A (aggregate 86-88) to stay in fifth position.

Denby Dale dropped three places right into the relegation mix after losing 0-7 away to Longwood. That in turn elevated the winning Longwood team out of the bottom place and out of immediate danger. Brockholes B are now bottom after their 1-6 defeat at Paddock I&C but with only 5 points separating the bottom 5 teams more shuffling of places is expected.

Thongsbridge B, as expected, picked up a confident Division 3 whitewash win at Marsh Lib B which dropped them two places to the foot of the table and resulted in the Thongsbridge team opening up an eight points lead over their nearest rivals. That is Hemplow A who provided a quick response to their first defeat of the season and normal service is resumed with an 8-point gap to third-placed Crosland Moor who lost for a third consecutive match. This time to Primrose Hill Lib by 2-5 and that lifted the Pip Hill team off the foot of the table and out of the drop zone.

Elland C&BC were on the wrong end of a 0-7 scoreline away to Linthwaite Hall and find themselves in the relegation places as a result. Big 6-1 home wins for Golcar Lib B and Lindley Lib B kept them safe but also offering no threat to teams chasing the two leaders. Meltham lost the chance of moving into title contention after losing 2-5 at lowly Shepley B .

A disastrous day for the Division 4 leaders, New Mill B, saw them lose at home 3-4 to Hemplow B which lifted the nvictors into the top half of the table. The New Mill side stay on top for now but that lead is reduced to one point as Netherton Con B snap at their heels and also have a game in hand.

Meltham's bid for the title took a setback this week when they lost 2-5 away to lowly Shepley B. They stay third but that is 6-points behind the leaders and having lost 2 of their last 3 matches they will need to up their game if they are to resurrect those hopes. The two Brockholes teams both lost their matches this week and remain in the bottom three, separated by the Shepley B team.