Five away winners in Division 1

Veterans League

Review of results from fixtures played in the 6-Man League on Monday 21 July

Five away team winners in Division 1 this week with a couple of surprise defeats by the away team underdogs. Crucially one of the two home teams to win on Monday was the leaders Clayton West A who saw off the challenge of Slaithwaite to run away as 6-1 winners. That gave them an extended lead at the top as second in the table, Marsh United A, were surprisingly beaten at home by Skel Windmill A by 5-2.

The other home team to win their Monday fixture was bottom-of-the-table New Mill A who beat Netherton Con A by 4-3 with an 81-80 aggregate win sealing the extra points to take the match. New Mill A played two matches on Monday and after beating Netherton Con A they took on Waterloo with a different outcome going down 2-5 which was enough to push the Waterloo into second place in the table..

Golcar C&BC were one of the five away winners this week when they won 4-3 away at Thongsbridge A which sucked the losers back into the drop zone battle, which now involves five teams. Shepley A reawakened hope of honours this season after narrowly beating Milnsbridge BC A 5-2 thanks to a 97-95 aggregate win which collected the two bonus points on offer.

We have joint leaders at the top of the Division 2 table after Broad Oak inflicted a whitewash 7-0 win over bottom team Thongsbridge B. Holmfirth A hold on to top spot but their one point lead has been eroded after they couldn't match the Broad Oak whitewash scoreline but taking six points off a mid-table opponent is always going to be a satisfactory outcome. The top two are opening a gap over the 3rd-placed team as a new name appears as the new threat to the promotion intentions of the top two. Marsh Lib A did hold 3rd spot but after a 2-5 home defeat to Lindley Lib A the teams have switched positions.

There were two winning teams from the bottom half of the table and both were crucial away wins against fellow bottom half opponents. A 4-3 away win for Lockwood Con at Paddock I&C and Crosland Moor winning 5-2 at Longwood condemned the two losing teams to the 30-points mark vying to stay out of the 2nd relegation place. The Lockwood Con win was particularly close with the aggregate scores locked on 86-86 it was the game count that decided the destiny of the points.

Almondbury Lib continue to have the 6-Man League's only 100% win record with a straightforward 6-1 away win at Elland C&BC to extend their Division 4 lead even further up to 18-points. That was helped by second-placed Denby Dale losing 2-5 at home to Primrose Hill Lib which enabled Milnsbridge B to take the second promotion place after a 5-2 away win at Lindley Lib B.

Linthwaite Hall and Marsh Lib B are going in different directions in the table after the Marsh team established a comprehensive 6-1 away win at Linthwaite Hall. Hemplow A recorded their 2nd win of the season when beating Greenhead Park A 5-2 but stay in bottom place for now but only 4 points from safety and a diminishing gap to be reduced further. It was a good day for the Hemplow club as their B team also played the Greenhead Park B team in a Division 4 fixture and another 5-2 winning scoreline for a League double which did little to dispell the possibility of the two Hemplow teams swapping their division placings for next season.

Unclear why the Shepley B v Thongsbridge C Division 4 match result hasn't been added to Bowlsnet as per the next day deadline rule but both teams continue to occupy the bottom two positions in the table. Did that match even go ahead? Meltham were the only bottom-half winners as they recorded a 4-3 home win over Marsh United B to ease themselves out of the bottom four.

Skel Windmill B remain top after a 4-3 home win over Clayton West B but their lead has been reduced to two points after Netherton Con B notched up a 6-1 home win over Brockholes C to overtake both Marsh United B and Hemplow B and go second. Hemplow B did have a good 5-2 away win at Greenhead Park to drop a place but level on points with the Netherton Con B team.