Exams hand Bollington’s seconds pass

TWELVE of the 13 teams from clubs in and around our town had North West Counties League fixtures last Thursday, and, by the evening’s end, a clear majority of them could celebrate victories - in one case without having needed to take to the courts!

Bollington’s

‘Seconds’ were the recipients of a walkover-win in Division Three Central South, after benefiting from the conduct of mid-year undergraduate examinations which left basement side Manchester University unable to field a team to host the fourthplaced visitors.

Left with a free evening, some of the Bollington 2 players opted to cheer on their club’s First Team at the village leisure centre instead. The ‘Bolly Firsts’ did not disappoint, either, as straight-games triumphs for Christian Ogden, Rob Alcock, Rick Walters and 18-year-old James Walton saw off bottom-placed Knutsford Sports 1 - with the 4-1 victory maintaining the hosts’ 20-point lead at the top of Division Two East.

Divisional companions Prestbury 1, in sixth, suffered a second successive 3-2 defeat - as wins by cousins Paul and Brian Lomas were not quite enough to get over the line at Crewe Vagrants 2. In Division Three South-East, Prestbury’s ‘Seconds’ went down by the same scoreline at home to Bowdon 4, despite victories for Chris Dunkerley and Graeme English. And a success at first string by James Douglas for Third Division Central South strugglers Macclesfield 1 could not avoid a ninth loss running - this time, by way of a 4-1 reverse at mid-table New Mills 1.

In Division Four Central South, it was, by contrast, a ninth win on the bounce for leaders Prestbury 3, who went 23 points clear after prevailing 4-1 at City of Manchester 4, thanks to victories by Keith Tolley, Andrew Worsley, Rob Thorneycroft and Paul Bartle. And Prestbury jumped three places to seventh, after Kevin Wynne and David Fitzpatrick, together with teenagers Harry Mattocks (18), Rhys Asquith-Evans (16) and Kaamil Bhatti (17), dealt bottom-placed Brooklands 4 a 5-0 trouncing.

Both Fourth Division South-East representatives were also successful. Andy Phillips, Tom Grimes, Rob Harland and Phil Colville secured a 4-1 win in Buxton for fourth-placed Bollington 3 - while Prestbury 5, seven positions lower, tasted victory for the first time since October, as Dave Jones, Rupert Richards, Alex Mighall and Alan Whiston achieved the same result at Disley 2.

Division Five South-East promotion hopefuls Bollington 4 kept in touch with table-toppers Alderley Edge 7 - who themselves triumphed 5-0 at sixth-placed Macclesfield 3. The ‘Bolly Fourths’ stayed second, and are six points off the top, after wins for Will Jordan and junior players Sam White (15) and Bea Lomas (12) edged out their visitors Marple 4 by the odd match in five. Prestbury 6 remained eighth, despite losing 5-0 at home to New Mills 2, while Macclesfield’s ‘Seconds’, in fourth, were the team without a match.

Three days earlier, it had been a good night for all three local teams in the Cheshire Ladies League. Second Division sides Prestbury 1, sitting fourth, and Bollington, sixth, both triumphed 4-1 against the respective Second Teams from City of Manchester and Barnton. And in

Division Three (b), Prestbury’s ‘Seconds’ - thanks to straightgames wins for Jen Powell and Vicky

Bisset, supplemented by a fifth-string walkover - celebrated a 3-2 victory at home to Bowdon 3 that followed five successive defeats.