Mirfield derby match is top-of-table clash

Winter League

Preview of the fixtures in Divisions 3&5 scheduled for Wednesday 3 December

Denby Dale incurred a 10-point start of season penalty for declining promotion last season

There is a top versus bottom Division 3 clash this Wednesday when the leaders, Slaithwaite, take on Lindley BC B. Whilst Slaithwaite have only suffered one defeat, the Lindley side have only enjoyed one win in the first half of the season. That single victory came in their last match against Thorpe Green C to give them some hope that they may have turned the corner. However playing the leaders will be the ultimate challenge of that and anything other than a win for Slaithwaite would be a major surprise.

If Thorpe Green C had won that last fixture rather than losing it to the bottom team they could have been placed alongside their Wednesday opponents and second-placed Lindley Lib C, As is is they sit 4 points and three places behind them. Springwood A have played every season since the League began in 2020 playing on their own green. Even the year they finished in the relegation places it coincided with a reorganisation of the divisions that kept the Springwood team still playing on their own green. That association may be about to come to an end. Once again sat in the second relegation place and a match this week against a Denby Dale side that beat them 8-0 on the opening day of the season.

The Denby side are still working hard to recover the 10-point penalty incurred at the start of the season for declining promotion that there 2nd-placed finish merited. To accept it would have meant resigning from the League as they have played in a Barnsley competition every Wednesday for much longer than they have played in the Huddersfield Winter League. They could be placed in a similar situation this year.

Almondbury BC B have 'gone off the boil' in not winning any of their last three fixtures after starting the season with four successive wins. They begin a repeat of those first four fixtures this week when taking on a Lockwood Con A team trying desperately to remain above the relegation line. Having lost their last fixture and a first 0-8 reversal of the season to Denby Dale they are not in the best of form to restart their season and move back into the promotion picture.

A Mirfield derby match which sees the top two Division 5 teams facing each other and both on the 30-point mark all adds up to a rivotting encounter which will no doubt have a big impact on the title aspirations of both teams. Although the Old Bank team sit in the top spot on a better Aggregate For total (288-282), it is the Mirfield A team that has the division's only unbeaten record. So a fascinating confrontation to be closely monitored by the other Division 5 teams especially Jackson Bridge who have a special interest in the outcome as they develop their own hopes of joining in the promotion race. Anything less than a big win against Wednesday's opponents, Thorpe Green B, will not serve them well in taking closer order with the loser of that top-of-the-table fixture.

A the opposite end of the table the bottom two teams meet up as Paddock I&C play the team nearest to them, Dalton. Should the Paddock team lose out, and they haven't won a match this season, it could be the start of the end of their Division 5 tenure. The outcome of that match could see Kirkheaton C&BC A drop into the relegation places if they cannot match the Dalton result when they play Milnsbridge C. The danger of dropping into the drop zone extends to the three teams all level on 16 points and sat above the bottom team at present.