Macc teams enjoy taste of success
THIS week’s round-up of action in the North West Counties League sees name-checks outweigh description, as a whopping nine of the 11 men’s teams from our local clubs enjoyed victories last Thursday!
In Division Two East, Prestbury’s and Bollington’s First Teams both got back to winning ways - having last enjoyed success on, respectively, 2 February and 26 January, and in each case against basement side Alderley Edge 3.
Sixth-placed Prestbury 1 did cut things rather fine at home to relegationthreatened West Heaton 1, but wins for Rob Alcock and brothers Mike and Brian Lomas saw the hosts over the line by the odd match in five.
And that result will have been received as good news at Bollington, where the ‘Firsts’ hosted, and triumphed 4-1 over, Alderley Edge 2 to remain in ninth and four points above the drop-zone, thanks to victories by Lyndon Stonier, Rick Walters and both Chris Ogdens Senior and Junior.
Prestbury’s ‘Seconds’, in Division Three South-East, were, like their club’s First Team, without a win since 2 February.
But they, too, stopped the rot, and moved up a place to seventh, after Chris Dunkerley, Rick Bower and Rob Thorneycroft edged their contest 3-2 at Alsager 1 - albeit not without a possible cost for subsequent weeks, with Dunkerley and Andrew Worsley (who retired hurt in his first game) sustaining injuries.
Macclesfield Squash 1’s winless campaign continued, with a 5-0 defeat at divisional leaders Crewe Vagrants 2 - a result that sees the bottomplaced team mathematically certain of relegation with three matches still to play.
Bollington’s Second Team remain in the second place for promotion from Division Four East, after visiting Grove Park 5 and celebrating a seventh successive victory.
Stuart Arnold, Olli Stewart, Mark Collins and Malcolm Kendrick all won, as the ‘Bolly Seconds’ prevailed 4-1.
And the Prestbury ‘Thirds’ continued to progress their great escape from the trapdoor into the Fifth Division by winning 5-0 at relegation rivals Knutsford Sports 3.
Victories for Nick Barker, Paul Bartle, Graeme English, acting captain Paul Maher and David Fitzpatrick took their team 25 points clear of the bottom three.
Fifth Division South leaders Prestbury 4 played host to fourthplaced Buxton 2, and kept their noses in front at the top with a 5-0 victory thanks to triumphs for the appropriately-named Kevin Wynne, as well as for Gareth Evans, Dave Jones and junior players Jonny Murray (15) and Matt English (18).