Apologies for my rant!

Veterans Legue

Review of the Veterans 10-Man League Divisions 1&2 matches played on Tuesday 19 August

It gets a little frustrating to report on the weekly results from the Veterans 10-Man League when the results submitted become later and later. As we well know 'old news doesn't sell newspapers' and the same is true in the electronic age. There is always one team where the results are late, delaying the reporting of the results and updated league tables. It is always the same Division 1 team that causes the delay.

The Veterans League has a rule that results must be submitted by midnight on the day following a match otherwise a £10 fine can be imposed on the home team who have that responsibility. This club is a serial offender of this rule but have they ever been fined? Surely they would have got the message by now if the League Rules had been enforced. Heaven forgive me reporting that this team is the one that the Veterans League Treasurer plays for. Are the two factors linked?

One result missing has become a fortnightly feature of the results reporting service. So in future I will not be delaying the reporting of the Division 1 results and will run the review one result short. Name and Shame may have a better outcome than the League ignoring their own rules. For a league that aspires to be the best Veterans League in the area it is a drop in standards that is harming their own prospects of claiming that title.

It is 7.00am on a Thursday morning when this report is posted online. The fortnightly absence of one Division 1 home team's result is apparent once again. There may be a valid reason for the delay this week. Did the match even go ahead? Who knows? Apologies for my rant.

The League headline may be missing from this report if the table-toppers, Lowerhouses, have been beaten by Waterloo but what I do know is that 2nd-placed Longwood only just beat Lindley Lib A by 5-4 after a 122-120 aggregate scoreline. That is probably not enough to close the gap on the leaders. Regulation home wins for the four teams following the top two means no change in the running order this week which is identical in all 12 places to that in place before this latest round of fixtures.

With the top two teams both winning their Division 2 fixtures by the same 7-2 scoreline means no change in places in the table with Elland WMC's win at Almondbury BC A ensuring that the 7-point gap is maintained. With Elland C&BC also winning handsomely at home by the same 7-2 scoreline and third-placed Shepley losing at Denby Dale sees the gap widen between the top two and the chasers with Shepley now 15 points short of the second promotion place.

Denby Dale's good home win sees them distance themselves from the relegation scrap festering for the second drop place, seemingly now between New Mill A and Netherton Con A. The teams are locked together on the same 64-point mark after New Mill A had a great 8-1 home win over bottom team Golcar Lib B who now look seriously adrift of a chance of securing their Division 2 status. Netherton's 3-6 away defeat at Milnsbridge A being a blip in their recent record of 5 wins from 6 matches which had raised hopes of a great escape.