Edge make it night to forget for Bollington
LAST Thursday saw the final set of fixtures completed in the North West Counties League before a fortnight’s interruption for half-term - with one of the 13 men’s teams from our local clubs beginning its break a week sooner than the others.
Prestbury’s ‘Firsts’, in Division Two East, were the side to miss out on match action - but, with injuries afflicting a number of their regular players, doubtless felt grateful for the additional week off!
They remain in eighth - one position above Bollington 1 who probably would have swapped playing for resting, in the light of a 5-0 thumping at thirdplaced Alderley Edge 3.
In Division Three South-East, both local representatives still have just a single victory apiece to their names after finding themselves on the wrong end of 4-1 scorelines at home. Rick Bower and Stuart Arnold were the sole winners for Prestbury 2 and Bollington 2, respectively, on a night that left Prestbury in ninth place and nine points above both the drop-zone and the ‘Bolly Seconds’.
Having got back to winning ways the previous week, Prestbury 3 and Bollington 3 were again victorious in Division Four South, courtesy of respective 4-1 triumphs at mid-table Knutsford Sports 2 and at home to basement side Grove Park 5. Andrew Worsley, Rob Thorneycroft, Rupert Richards and Paul Minshull steered fifth-placed Prestbury to victory - while the relegation fears of the ‘Bolly Thirds’ were eased considerably as they moved up a position to ninth, thanks to wins by Martin Ogden, Andy Phillips, Malcolm Kendrick and Eugene Mole.
But the campaign continues to be one of struggle for divisional companions Macclesfield 1, who dropped to tenth after losing 5-0 at promotionchasing Radbroke Hall 1 - and will need to see out the season without unbeaten leading player James Douglas, who is now at work overseas. And Prestbury 4 stay one place below, 16 points adrift of safety, following a 4-1 home defeat to Crewe Vagrants 5 - with Paul Wilson’s straight-games win providing a consolation success.
In Division Five South, Prestbury 5 went into the break having strengthened a hold on the second promotion slot.
The ‘Fifths’ are now 19 points clear of third place, following their 5-0 victory at struggling Grove Park 8. Rich Curry, Gareth Evans, Alan Whiston, 14-year-old Rhys Asquith-Evans and (on his final appearance before working away) Dave Marwood ensured the collective rout.
They also reduced slightly the points-gap on the leaders, as Alderley Edge 6 were denied maximum points in the course of a 4-1 home victory over Prestbury 7 by another of Prestbury’s junior players, Harry Mattocks (16) - who won his first-string match by the odd game in five.
Bollington 4’s good run continued, as the seventhplaced team registered a fourth win running - although two walkovervictories, added to that of captain Will Jordan on court, greatly assisted the cause in a 3-2 triumph against three-man hosts Radbroke Hall 3.
Prestbury 6 and Macclesfield 2 both lost at home - but exchanged places to go ninth and tenth, as the 3-2 reverse suffered by the ‘Sixths’ (for whom Phil Colville and 15-year-old Kaamil Bhatti were successful) against Grove Park 7 yielded a greater pointshaul than that from the 5-0 defeat by Club AZ 2 for Macc.
Three days earlier, in the Cheshire Ladies’ League, Prestbury’s ‘Firsts’ suffered a narrow 3-2 loss for the second consecutive Monday - and in spite of straightgames victories by Helen Thaw and Vicky Bisset. They stay in fifth place, after being edged out at Brooklands.
In Division Three (b), Bollington retain the lead - and are 15 points clear of second-placed Marple, who beat Prestbury’s ‘Seconds’ 5-0.
This column will return three weeks from today, on 7 March.