Division 2 top 2 both thrashed this week

Veterans League

Review of results in the Veterans 6-Man League of matches played on Monday 30 June

A good 5-2 away win for the Division 1 leaders, Clayton West A, extends their ambition to secure a second successive title after heading the Division 2 table at the end of last season. Thongsbridge A were the latest casualties of the Clayton roller coaster form team who made it 5 wins from their last 6 matches. The only blip on that recent record was a 3-4 away defeat at relegation=threatened Brockholes A who then followed that up with another win over Skel Windmill A. However they came back down to earth this Monday when being beaten at home by Golcar C&BC by 2-5 who have now overtaken them in the table and they are left stranded in the relegation places.

Slaithwaite's three-match winning run came to a halt at Marsh United A where they went down 1-6 and added some reality to their recent run of results which probably indicates that their current mid-table position is the extent of their current capabilities. The New Mill A versus Waterloo fixture wasn't played and has reappeared on the fixture programme for 21st July but inactivity hasn't impacted on Waterloo's league position as they remain third but 6 points behind 2nd placed Marsh United A.

Shepley A scored a fifth successive home win to move up three places to seventh but still 13 points behind the leaders. A 5-2 home win for Milnsbridge A over Skel Windmill A enabled them to move up a place into 5th position but with only one away win to date this looks to be the highest point they are going to climb to.

The top two teams in Division 2 were thrashed 1-6 this week in away fixtures to open up the title and promotion races. In fact it was not a good day for any visiting teams as the homesters won all five fixtures. Despite losing to Broad Oak, Holmfirth A held on to top spot with their vanquishers going second to overtake Lindley Lib A who went down at 4th placed Golcar Lib B.

With the two previous top teams both having played more matches than their nearest rivals things are really warming up on this division. Longwood and Paddock I&C were both beneficiaries of the home team dominance this week with wins over Thongsbridge B and Brockholes B respectively but both continue to feature in the bottom three positions in the table.

Marsh Lib A had a 5-2 home win over Crosland Moor and move up two places to 5th and with having played less matches than any of the teams above them have potential to go even further up the table.

Division 3 leaders Almondbury Lib extended their 100% winning run to nine matches with an impressive 6-1 away win over Holmfirth B. That means the losers remain in the bottom two along with Hemplow A who lost 2-5 at home to Denby Dale who take a firmer grip on the second promotion place.

With Milnsbridge B having a bye week the gap to the promotion places has now been extended to 6 points with Almondbury Lib taking flight from the pack with a 17-point lead over Denby Dale. The bottom two are becoming seriously adrift at the foot of the table with Lindley Lib winning 5-2 at home to Primrose Hill Lib and making it a 6-point safety gap at present.

Marsh Lib B had a very good 6-1 second away win of the season when beating Elland C&BC and moved up to fifth position as a result. Greenhead Park continued their sequence of losing all their away fixtures when going down 2-5 at Linthwaite Hall who moved up two places to 4th position and are on the edge of joining the promotion race.

Clayton West B made it 5 wins on the bounce with a 6-1 home win over the Division 4 leaders Marsh United B. Despite that defeat the Marsh team hangs on to top spot and increase their lead to 4 points with 2nd placed Hemplow B without a match this week. It is unusual for the top team in any division to have lost more matches than they have won but that is the case in this division. The four teams behind them have all got better win records than the leaders so expect more changes in the pecking order as the season progresses.

Skel Windmill B threw their hat into the promotion race going second after a 6-1 home win over Brockholes C which kept the losers in a threesome level on points at the foot of the table. Shepley B and Thongsbridge C being the other two members of that trio whilst Meltham were the big winners of the day with a 7-0 home win over New Mill A which lifted them 3 places up the table and above their Monday opponents.