Veterans League
Things remain very tight at the top of Division 1 with the top three teams all winning their matches this week. Two of them were away from home and both clocked up narrow 5-4 wins. Kirkheaton Con 'A' made it 7 wins on the bounce at Longwood and Lockwood Con 'A' won at old rivals Elland C&BC. Both needed the aggregate bonus points to edge past their opponents whilst Golcar Lib 'A' won 7-2 at home to Lindley Lib 'A' to go back to the top of the table and condemn the Lindley side to bottom place.
Despite that defeat the Elland side stay in 4th place but are joined on the 98-point mark by Rastrick who had a good 6-3 away win at a fading Cowcliffe team who have lost their last 5 fixtures. Lindley BC 'A' won for the 3rd time this season, all at home, with a 6-3 win over Clayton West and they were the only winning team in the bottom four.
Meltham's dismal away form (played 9 lost 9) is in danger of dragging them into the relegation equation. A 1-8 loss at Waterloo this week didn't help their case and with 3 of their remaining fixtures being away from home then things could still get much worse. However Lindley BC 'A's next three matches are all against top four teams so that could be Meltham's saving grace although next Tuesday's match at Lindley Lib between the two teams could prove key in deciding how close they come to the drop.
Second-placed in Division 2 Almondbury BC 'A' beat the leaders Milnsbridge 'A' 5-4 but that won't trouble the leaders too much as they have a 20-point safety cushion which should see them over the line without too many problems. Things are much tighter for the second promotion place with just 4 points between the next 6 teams who all won this week to keep the pressure on the press for promotion.
With a match in hand over the other five contenders and only 2 points off 2nd spot, Lowerhouses are well placed to make a good case for promotion. Three of their last 5 matches are at home including a final day home game against bottom-of-the-table Brockholes 'A'. Before then they only play two of their main rivals so have every chance of claiming that second promotion place.
New Mill 'A' and Thongsbridge 'A' are the form teams in that bunch both having won their last 4 matches. Thongsbridge has the hardest run-in with all four of their remaining fixtures being against teams above them in the table although that also presents the best opportunity to move up with the right results.
The bottom five teams in the table all lost this week but that will be of most concern to the bottom three who seem destined to sort out the relegation matters between them. Thorpe Green went down 1-8 away at Lowerhouses whilst 2-7 home defeats for Brockholes 'A' (to Netherton Con 'A') and for Lockwood Con 'B' (to Thongsbridge 'A') confirmed their bottom three status and real concern for their futures.
Denby Dale were the only losing team in the top four of Division 3 when they went down 2-7 at Almondbury Lib and that aided Holmfirth 'A's promotion hopes, 7-2 home winners over Paddock I&C, as they now have a 9-point lead over Denby Dale and Skel Windmill although they have played a match more than their two prime rivals. A 6-3 home win for leaders Linthwaite Hall kept their lead to a comfortable 11 points with Skel Windmill staying in touch after a 6-3 away win at Marsh United 'B'. The Lindley Lib 'B' result against Golcar Lib 'B' wasn't in when writing this report but they are unlikely to have moved off bottom spot as a result.
Nine points separate the top five teams in Division 4 and that is a direct result of Primrose Hill Lib beating the long-time leaders Meltham 'B' by an eye-catching 8-1 scoreline. That result coupled with another eye-catching result when Outlane whitewashed Ravensknowle Park 9-0 to overtake their opponents and claim second-place. That was a second successive 0-9 away defeat for the Park side who not long ago were top of the table and looking nailed on for promotion. Recent results indicate that such thoughts were premature whilst Outlane are on a 7-match winning run and the promotion momentum is certainly with them.
Lindley BC 'B's hopes of joining the promotion tussle were damaged at bottom-placed New Mill 'B' who claimed a welcome 6 points in their bid to survive the season and retain their Division 4 status. That bid has not been helped by Thongsbridge 'B' beating fellow strugglers Brockholes 'B' 6-3 to stay, for the moment, outside of the relegation places. Almondbury BC 'B' collected a welcome 4 points away at the Rugby Club to stay out of the clutches of joining the relegation jungle for another week
Kirkheaton Con 'B' beat local rivals, the Cricket Club, by a 9-0 scoreline to clock up a 12th consecutive win and extend their lead at the top of Division 5 to 21 points. Marsh Lib appear to be the favourite to go up with them as they head a group of four teams separated by just 6 points although Marsh Lib have played the least number of matches among those four. They were without a match this week and saw the other three interested parties all win their league games. Dalton catching the headlines with a 9-0 home routing of Greenhead Park whilst Broad Oak 'B' and David Brown Sports were both winning their away matches by the same 6-3 scoreline.
Comments