Bottom-of-the-table focus in Divisions 1&3

Veterans League

Preview of the Veterans 6-Man League fixtures for Monday 1 September

An interesting couple of fixtures at the foot of the Division 1 table this coming Monday with the bottom 3 teams all looking at their closest rivals as the tension mounts. Two of those teams face each other as New Mill A travel to play Thongsbridge A with only two points between the teams. Couple that up with Brockholes A travelling to play title-chasing Clayton West A and it feels like we have a key day in the survival stakes.

The table below shows the remaining fixtures for each of the bottom three teams and they all seem much the same in terms of difficulty. Maybe the form book will be a better guide as to the survival hopes of all thtree teams. New Mill A have won 3 of their last 4 matches and are clearly the team in the best form. Just as clearly is the fact that Thongsbridge A, having lost their last 10 fixtures, are the worst form team.

Although it may look like a contest just featuring the bottom three teams neither Golcar C&BC and Netherton Con A can consider themselves safe from the drop whilst the gap is less than one week's good result apart.

It looks like one from three in the title race as the top three teams have engineered a 10-points gap over 4th-placed Shepley. With just 3 points between the three of them there is plenty still to be decided but the likely outcome is that one of these three will be crowned Champions at the end of the season. All three teams have home matches this week so the probability is that all will win and provide no indication of which team is going to emerge at the prime title-winning contender.

We have another close contest at the top of the Division 2 table with Lindley Lib A and Broad Oak level on 70-points each. Holmfirth A are 4 points behind that pair with their own hopes of taking over at least the second promotion place. Of the three Lindley Lib A are the form team having only been beaten once in their last 7 matches and have to go to play mid-table Brockholes B this week. Broad Oak, who have played one less match than their title-chasing rivals, and Holmfirth A both have home fixtures with Holmfirth's meeting with relegation-threatened Longwood the least difficult of the three.

That may be a false position for the Longwood team as they have played one match less than the three teams directly above them and all three are within a 6-1 victory gap that would open up a real challenge for all three teams.

An away win on Tuesday for the Division 3 leaders could just about stir the promotion celebrations for Almondbury Lib as they go to play third-placed Primrose Hill Lib who are 24 points behind them. However the title race promises to simmer on for a few more weeks as Milnsbridge B continue to threaten to extend their current 11-match winning run. The last time they lost a league match was against Almondbury Lib on 12 May so a home match this week against bottom-of-the-table Holmfirth should hold no fears.

With Holmfirth B unlikely to collect many points away to the leaders allows the two other teams involved in the relegation scrap to face up to each other with renewed hope of avoiding the drop. Hemplow A have a one-point deficit but home advantage over Elland C&BC. There is particular emphasis on the opportunity this clash offers as it is the only fixture featuring two of the bottom three teams meeting each other. In contrast Holmfirth B's next three fixtures are against the top three teams in the Division, two of them away from home. To add to their woes is the fact that they are the team with the worst recent form having lost their last 5 fixtures. The table below shows the remaining fixtures for the bottom three teams.

The destination of the Division 4 title cannot be determined this week but the results will have a big impact on the timing of the 2025 Champions. Hemplow B are 19 points clear at the top of the table ahead of Skel Windmill B who have a game in hand over the title favourites. This week the leaders have to go to play New Mill B who are in danger of being dragged back into the relegation fight. Skel Windmill B need to keep close to the leaders and will need to at least match their result when they go to play Netherton Con B.

Clayton West B are lurking to move in should the Skel team fail to win at Netherton and are only 3 points behind their rivals from the same number of games played.