'Elland Derby' match has impact at both ends

Veterans League

Preview of the Veterans 10-Man League Divisions 1 & 2 fixtures for Tuesday

DIVISION ONE

Clayton West v Golcar Lib A 

CLAYTON West have dominated this fixture over the past two seasons though third-placed Golcar will be hoping for a result similar to their 2022 and 2023 wins, both 6-3 victories for the visitors.

With just two defeats in nine it is Golcar who have the best recent form, Clayton West having lost three of their last seven but overall there’s not much difference to the side’s who sit third and fourth on the league ladder.

In-form: EDWIN HAIGH rotates between singles and pairs these day and trusted his own ability to win 21-16 a week ago; Although he lost by a point last week Nick Oddy is having a good second half of the season.

Cowcliffe v Marsh United A

A REPEAT of the 6-3 win between these teams last season would suit Cowcliffe as all those clubs in the bottom half of the table battle it out for those vital relegation avoiding points. However, recent form will be a worry for Cowcliffe, just one win in nine for the hosts though they have picked up ten points in their last three defeats.

Marsh United are comfortably in mid-table, though any heavy defeat at this stage of the season would not help anyone of a nervous disposition. They will be hoping for a repeat of the 6-3 home success in June when they had the upper hand in the pairs encounters.

In-form: The key to this match could be in the pairs – Cowcliffe have won 7 of their last nine; Marsh United have won all their pairs matches in their last three games.

Elland C&BC v Elland WMC

THE WMC were celebrating twice last year when these two clubs met in their promotion-winning seasons, and they will fancy make it a double again in 2026. That will be very much based on their league standings, the WMC sitting in second spot and make the short journey on the back of that excellent 7-2 win over leaders Lowerhouses a week ago.

The hosts have given themselves the chance of avoiding the drop with consecutive wins over Kirkheaton Con and Cowcliffe.

In-form: Elland rivals Mick Hiscock and Andrew Balmforth are eight and ninth in the Division 1 singles averages.

Longwood v Kirkheaton Con A

LONGWOOD have won this encounter for the past three years, the past two by 7-2 margins. A win by a similar margin on Tuesday could take them to a top four position. Their form suggests a win, they have won seven of their last eight.

However, Kirkheaton Con will know that Longwood’s defeat in that sequence was a 7-2 reversal on their own Postage Stamp green in a game re-arranged from earlier in the season. They are a bit hit and miss at the moment but with every point vital they will be hoping for a better than the two points that they collected on their last two visits.

In-form: Longwood have only lost four singles matches in their last four games, and two of them have been by a single point;

Lowerhouses v Lockwood Con A

LOWERHOUSES still have a 16-point lead at the top of the division despite last week’s setback in Elland, their second loss in eight days. They are still odds-on to take the title and the Teddy Pearson Trophy for a third year. If they do so can they start thinking of equalling Lockwood Con’s seven-year hold of that trophy?

Since their glory days the Lockwood side have slowly but surely finished further and further away from the top, it is a possibility that a large defeat and depending on results elsewhere that they could be in the bottom two come Tuesday evening.

In-form: Ashley Daykin has won his last four league games; Mark Richardson has won three of his last four and his defeat was by the narrowest of margins.

Rastrick v Lindley Lib A

AN encounter that falls into a relegation battle with the home side four points above the danger zone, and on a run of six consecutive defeats. They had a 7-2 victory in the corresponding fixture in 2025, and would take a repeat of that result any day.

Lindley Lib have won three of their last four to give them some hope of avoiding the drop into Division 2. Their worry though is that they were soundly beaten 7-2 on their home green earlier in the campaign. They need to turn some of those narrow defeats from that day into victories.

In-form: Ken Flemming has won two of his last four, and his defeats have been by one or two points; Michael Thornton has the best average for the visitors.

DIVISION TWO

Broad Oak A v Waterloo

A DEFEAT at second placed Denby Dale ended a three-match winning run for Broad Oak a week ago. They look certain to finish in a middle table position with this week’s encounter purely down to gaining bragging rights.

Waterloo have six wins in their last nine outings and have a run of games against mid-table sides before finishing the season with a game against second-placed Denby Dale.

In-form: Carl Taylor and Andy Crowther were Broad Oak’s only winners a week ago; All Waterloo’s bowlers scored 20 or more points against Netherton Con last week.

Meltham A Hemplow A 

IT’s top verses bottom at Meltham and with four games remaining it looks a case of when the hosts will clinch the championship rather than “if”. They will be looking for a return of as near as possible maximum points ahead of encounters against the two teams immediately below them in the league table.

Hemplow’s destiny is almost mathematically certain; they sit 27 points adrift of third bottom Shepley and it’s difficult to see them clawing back that deficit. Their only league wins this year have been against bottom three teams, a win at Meltham would be seen as one of the upsets of the year.

In-form: Andy Mailer had Meltham’s biggest win against Almondbury Lib with a 21-6 success; Davids Armitage and Shaw were Hemplow’s only winners as they scrapped a 21-17 pairs success a week ago. 

Milnsbridge A v Lindley BC A

MILNSBRIDGE recovered from a two-match losing run to scrape at 6-3 win at Almondbury BC thanks to taking the aggregate by two points. Inconsistency has been their biggest problem so a back-to- back win would be more than welcome.

Lindley BC, with five matches still to play, have already equalled last season’s 91-point haul. With a fixture list that looks to be against mid-table teams they should add to that tally with ease. The question is can they accumulate enough to have a say in the promotion race.

In-form: David Deighton is on a five-match winning run for the hosts; Lindley had three wins to single figures against bottom club Hemplow last week.

Netherton Con A v Almondbury Lib

NETHERTON CON have gone five matches without a win and have just picked up two league points in their last three games. They will be looking for a return to the form that saw them pick up a 7-2 win at Almondbury earlier in the season.

Although Almondbury Lib are second bottom in the league table they have picked up points in all but one of their league matches in 2026. Although they have the luxury of a game in hand on their rivals they have 13 points to make up on the third bottom club.

In-form: John Saxton was Netherton’s only winner at Waterloo a week ago; Andrew Gregory has won four out of his last five.

Shepley v Denby Dale

SHEPLEY’s 6-3 home defeat to Thongsbridge last week was certainly against the form book. Over 70% of their wins this season (39 of their 71 successes) have been at home so Shepley will be looking to not just back to their 2026 form but for a repeat of last season’s 7-2 success over Denby Dale.

To their credit Denby Dale kept up their promotion form with a 7-2 success over Broad Oak A. With home games against Meltham A and Thongsbridge A to follow the visitors will be keen to maintain their away form that has seen them pick up 17 league points on their last three outings.

In-form: Shepley won all three of their pairs matches against Thongsbridge last week;

Trying picking someone who isn’t in form for a Denby Dale side looking for their nineth consecutive win.

Thongsbridge A v Almondbury BC A

THONGSBRIDGE A returned home from Shepley last week with a 6-3 victory thanks to winning all of their singles encounters. They have a good home record against Almondbury BC A with the home side winning the last four meetings at Myre Lane. They may still feel that they have an outside chance of promotion, if so a big win is needed here.

Despite a 6-3 home setback to Netherton Con the visitors sit third in the table, just one-point ahead of their hosts and potentially with the same chances of gaining promotion. A resounding win is needed by one of these sides otherwise those promotion hopes could be dashed.

In-form: John Belford is unbeaten in seven for the hosts; John Madden has won his last five games for the visitors