Setback ends Union’s hopes

HALIFAX-HUDDERSFIELD cannot now win the Yorkshire Inter-district League after losing 19-17 to Harrogate at Oakdale.

In fact, the Union team slipped to sixth in the table, despite winning the singles 13-11 after going down 8-4 in the foursomes.

Next up for the Halifax-Huddersfield team – who have Fergus Barron at the top of their Tom Wild-sponsored Order of Merit with 23 points from Matthew Colcombe on 19 – is a match against York at Huddersfield GC on August 6.

Tom Hunt and Josh Morton led off with a combined age less than Phil Kitching, one of their opponents, but his experience and partner Marc Rice put the kids in their place winning 3&1.

Bradley Hall pairing Chris Lander and Andy Hare struggled for consistency and lost at the 17th, while Adam Robinson and new Huddersfield club champion Tom Calvert suffered the same fate.

Matthew Colcombe and Stuart Atkinson had already gone down, being drubbed 5&4 while losing eight holes in a row, but the Meltham pairing of Graham McLean and Josh McAspurn won 2&1 and the Dewsbury District pairing of Ben Crowther and Fergus Barron won easily 6&5.

In the singles, Josh Morton won, Colcombe spectacularly came from behind to win 2&1 but both Chris Lander and Andy Hare struggled, losing 5&3 and 2&1 respectively.

Tom Hunt had opportunities to be closer to the evergreen Chris Henderson but lost 2&1 and, at that point, even though Halifax-Huddersfield had lost three games, the match was still in the balance.

Stuart Atkinson was always 1up, all square or 1down to his opponent Steve Whitwham won the 17th to go all square, and pars at the last gave each side another point.

Tom Calvert held his nerve at 17 to hole a 4ft putt to remain all square and then won the last, while McLean and McAspurn walked down the 17th together, the latter having won 3&2, and McLean teed up on the last all square – but he had to hit a provisional and ended up losing 1down.

The remaining matches were also nip and tuck for Robinson, Barron and Crowther, who halved the final match, but it was Harrogate who had the spoils.

Manager Frank Greaves, whose team are sponsored by Stromberg Menswear and Glenbrae Knitwear, reflected: “We’ve certainly got a bit more fight about us and haven’t lost a singles series yet.

“However, being a plucky loser isn’t a phrase I was brought up with.”