First win of season is a surprise 7-0 result

Veterans league

Review of the results from the Veterans 6-Man League Bank Holiday Monday matches

There were two 7-0 whitewash wins in Division 1 this week, one not unexpected, one very unexpected. The unexpected one seeing Shepley A collecting their first win of the season in some style, seeing off fellow strugglers Lindley Lib A and passing their rivals in the updated league table. That scoreline doubled their points tally for the season and moved them up three places and right out of the relegation picture for now. Clayton West were the other whitewashers beating Netherton Con A for a second 7-0 win this season.

That scoreline enabled the leaders to put some daylight between themselves and second-placed Marsh United A who beat Golcar C&BC 5-2 which maintained the two-point lead over third-placed Broad Oak A who also had a 5-2 home win over Skel Windmill A. Fourth-placed Milnsbridge were another 5-2 home winner as they saw off Waterloo and complete a clean sweep of the top four teams winning home fixtures this week. That was a setback to the Waterloo team's chances, especially with also being overtaken by Slaithwaite who had an impressive 6-1 away win at Thongsbridge A who remain firmly rooted to the foot of the table.

There were four 6-1 winners in Division 2 on Tuesday but only two of those involved top four teams. Holmfirth A and Brockholes A registered those wins and move up into the two promotion places as a result. At the start of the day New Mill A and Lockwood Con were in the top three but the Lockwood team suffered a surprise 3-4 home defeat to Paddock I&C. That was their first defeat of the season and saw them drop a place to fourth as a result. New Mill were top of the table but had a difficult match away to Marsh Lib A and just got over the line thanks to a drawn aggregate score of 78-78 resulting in a 4-3 win which saw them drop two places to third.

Holmfirth A are the new leaders after a 6-1 home win over Brockholes B who drop two places and take the second relegation place as a result. Brockholes A had the day's top score of 102 aggregate points to see off relegation-threatened Milnsbridge BC B by 6-1. Golcar Lib A had a resounding 6-1 home win over Denby Dale to move out of the relegation places and sit just two points behind the Denby Dale outfit.

The top three teams in Division 3 all had 6-1 wins this week to retain the same running order with Hemplow A continuing to lead the way after a home win over Marsh Lib B to extend their 100% winning record this term. As did Thongsbridge B who also won 6-1 but this was away from home at Linthwaite Hall, a most commendable outcome. A 6-1 home win for Crosland Moor over Clayton West B kept them firmly in the promotion chase with the top three now seven points clear of the chasing pack.

That pack being led by Greenhead Park A after they had a good 5-2 away win at Primrose Hill Lib. Broad Oak B forced themselves into the reckoning after a 7-0 away win at Elland C&BC put them at the head of a trio of teams on 16 points. You can only better a 7-0 win by collecting the same score from an away match, making the Broad Oak win all the more noticeable.