No surprises in opening day Division 1 results

Veterans League

Review of all the opening day results in the Veterans 6-Man League

The 6-Man season has started and the Division 1 table bears a resemblance to lat year's end of season finished article with reigning Champions Clayton West A heading the pack once again. Three teams recorded 6-1 wins and commendably two of those were for teams playing away fixtures as Clayton West A continued where they left off last season and a 6-1 win at Thongsbridge A sees them head the Day 1 table. They are followed by Marsh United A who had a good 6-1 home win over Skel Windmill A who finished one place behind them at the end of last season. That win claiming second place in the new table.

Promoted Broad Oak A had a great first day 6-1 away win at Shepley A, who finished last season in in 5th position, to give notice of their intent to build on their Division 2 Champions success of last season. Lindley Lib A also had a good first day back in the top division with a good 5-2 home win over Netherton Con A.

Golcar C&BC served notice of a better season ahead when beating last year's runners-up, Waterloo, by 5-2 after losing to them twice last season. Milnsbridge A and Slaithwaite finished last season bang in the middle of the Division 1 table and promise a likely repeat of that outcome after a 4-3 home win for the Milnsbridge team saw them step back into 6th and 7th positions which are exactly where the ended up last season.

The Day 1 Division 2 table-toppers are Holmfirth A who had a good 7-0 home win over newly promoted Milnsbridge B and they are top on the Aggregate Difference over Marsh Lib A who had a similar 7-0 opening day win over Longwood. The Holmfirth and Marsh Lib teams finished last season in 3rd and 4th positions and they announced their 2026 intent with these opening day wins.

Paddock I&C had a good start to their 2026 campaign with a 4-3 away win over promoted Denby Dale and that indicates they are to be more stern opponents for other teams than they were last year when finishing third to bottom. Lockwood Con had the biggest away win of the day when collecting 5 points from their trip to Brockholes A. With two Brockholes teams in this division this season there will be some internal competition to work through and a 1-6 away defeat for the Brockholes B team at New Mill A sees the two club teams closely matched at present.

Almondbury Lib were promoted into Division 2 after winning the Division 3 title last year by 18 points but an opening day defeat at Golcar Lib B will have introduced some reality into their 2026 aspirations. Linthwaite Hall saw off Greenhead Park A with a 4-3 scoreline which included an 88-88 aggregate scoreline.

Losing your opening Division 3 fixture of the season at home should start to sound the warning bells and Broad Oak B, Clayton West B and Primrose Hill Lib will have those ringing in their ears after this weeks set of results.

The opposite can also be true and opening day away victories can be an indication of a team due a good season. Hemplow A are in that group of three as are the B teams from Marsh Lib and Thongsbridge and they all feature in the top four positions for now.

Going level top of the table Netherton Con B posted a good 7-0 home win in the opening round of Division 4 fixtures to settle level on points with Marsh United B who have already played one match more than their rivals.