Winter League
Review of the Division fixtures played on Wednesday 7 December
It was a remarkable day in the Division 1 season with all four possible scores delivered on a day of shock results as the leaders were once again shunted aside for yet another change at the top.
Let's start with the leaders at the start of play, Lower Hopton. They have never been beaten 0-8 before, ever, but there is a first for everything in this Division and their old adversaries, Kirkheaton Con, delivered that knock-out blow this Wednesday. The Cons started the day six positions behind the leaders but by the end of the day Lower Hopton had dropped three places and were just 2 points ahead of their rivals.
Six teams have an active interest in the destiny of the Division 1 Championship at present with only 4 points between those six teams making a congested battle ongoing. Meltham's 6-2 win over Lindley Lib 'A' saw them claim the top spot for the second time this season climbing above Thorpe Green 'C' who lost for only the second time with the rare 3-5 scoreline giving Lindley BC their first win of the season. A 5-3 scoreline can only be realised with a drawn aggregate factor and so it was with a 48-48 outcome. That result was all the more commendable as it was their second match of the day having drawn 4-4 in their catch-up fixture against New Millers with an early morning start.
That early morning start didn't agree with the New Millers who could have gone top if they could have conjured up an 8-0 scoreline but they were well off course with that destination and their day got worse as they followed by losing their later fixture 0-8 to Clayton West who are right in that title-chasing mix.
For the record the four teams that have already led the Division 1 table this season are Kirkheaton Cons (Week 1), Meltham (Weeks 2 & 7), Lower Hopton (Weeks 3 & 6) and Thorpe Green (Weeks 4 & 5) and who is to say that the total will not go beyond four as the season plays out. Certainly, it is impossible to forecast with any degree of accuracy the final destination of the title this season as teams continue to shoot above their rank and the shock results just keep on coming.