Third victory has Prestbury sitting pretty
ELEVEN of the 13 men’s teams from clubs in and around our town were in North West Counties League action for the third round of fixtures last Thursday.
Both of the sides to have an enforced free evening were from Prestbury, whose unbeaten ‘Seconds’ and winless ‘Sixths’ are in divisions (Three South-East and Five South, respectively) that comprise odd numbers of participants.
The club’s First Team made it three wins out of three, and sit at the top of the Second Division East, after seeing off Congleton at Bollin Grove. Rob Alcock, Nathan Mayers, Adam Colebatch and Brian Lomas all triumphed in straight games to secure a 4-1 victory.
While Prestbury 1 have won each match by that overall scoreline thus far, divisional companions Bollington 1 have been on the wrong end of it three weeks running. The ‘Bolly Firsts’ suffered their latest 1-4 reverse at newlyrelegated Warrington 2 - in spite of a 3-2 win for Brigg Simpson.
Bollington 2 also continue to struggle in Division Three Central South - and now lie 10th, with a points-total that owes almost everything to a walkover-victory from the season’s opening fixture. Neil Garner and Martin Ogden both prevailed 3-1 in their side’s most recent match at the village’s leisure centre - albeit ultimately in vain, as Manchester University won by the odd match in five.
In Division Four Central South, two more Prestbury teams are enduring diametrically opposite fates - with the ‘Thirds’ one of five sides retaining a 100 percent record and the ‘Fourths’ one of five yet to enjoy the taste of victory. Prestbury 3 brushed aside Bowdon 5 at home, as Mike Quartley, Rich Curry, Paul Bartle, David Fitzpatrick and Rupert Richards ensured a collective 5-0 rout.
But their Fourth Team club-mates suffered defeat by the same margin at leaders Monton 3.
The trio of local representatives from the Fourth Division South, having previously been bunched together in three consecutive places around mid-table, now find themselves spanning five positions after a contrast in fortunes six days ago.
Prestbury 5 are up to third, following a 5-0 thrashing of basement side, and fellow promotees, Buxton 2 - as victories for Rob Thorneycroft and Barry Jupp, together with inaugural Division Four wins by junior players Harry Mattocks (17), Kaamil Bhatti (15) and Rhys Asquith-Evans (14), continued their impressive start to the campaign.
Macclesfield 1 sit two places below, after edging out Stockport 1 at Grove Park 3-2, courtesy of straight-games triumphs by James Douglas, Simon Evans and Daz Glaser. But Bollington 3 are stuck in eighth - with a 3-0 win for 13-year-old George Lomas the only positive from a 4-1 reverse at Buxton.
Prestbury’s ‘Sevenths’ once again picked up points a-plenty in defeat - and, in fact, are a rather impressive fifth in Division Five Central South, despite awaiting a first win - but they were desperately unlucky not to break their duck at home to Grove Park 7.
Successes for father and son Fara and Keon Raked should have been supplemented by one at first string - only for Dave Pearce to retire from his contest unwell, and concede the overall match, after leading 2-1.
Both Division Five South sides from the area who played - in each case at home - suffered their first defeats, with second-placed Bollington 4 losing 4-1 against leaders Knutsford Sports 3, and Macclesfield 2, in third, going down 3-2 to Grove Park 5. Tom Grimes secured a win to console the ‘Bolly Fourths’, while Annika Hall and Joe Green were the two victors for Macc.
Three days earlier, the Cheshire Ladies’ League got under way - with one local team, Prestbury 2, taking to the courts in Division Three (b), at home to The Northern 3.
The visitors eventually prevailed 4-1, although a victory for Penny Asquith-Evans, combined with games won by each of her team-mates, secured a creditable nine-point haul on their opening night.