Ormskirk miss out on top spot as Hillside hit peak
DIVISION one leaders Sphynx certainly sent out a statement to the rest of the league, as they dismantled Birkdale 16-0 in a top of the table encounter to end the first half of the season.
After being crowned league champions in 2015, it looks as if Sphynx want to make it the perfect season as they made it seven wins out of seven so far.
Capitalising on that result were Campion, as their 10-6 win over North Meols puts them level points with Birkdale for second in the division. Results elsewhere saw Formby Holy Trinity jump into the top half after defeating Argyle 10-6.
Croston prevailed in the battle of the bottom two as they took home the points in their 9-7 win over Blundellsands.
That result now puts Croston three points off safety.
There were a couple of upsets in the top half of the third division.
Leaders David Lloyd were taken down a peg or two by Formby, who defeated them 10-6 to be level on points.
Ormskirk 3 missed their chance of being division leaders as they lost out to Hillside 10-6, who themselves are now two points off top spot, despite being in fifth. Carlton also remain in the mix after their 12-4 win over Mawdesley 2.
At the bottom of the table, Formby Holy Trinity 2 brushed aside Arygle’s second team 15-1 who remain without a point.
While division two leaders Ormskirk made light work of bottom side North Meols 2 by winning 12-4. Upsets were being made down below, as Aughton narrowed the gap between them and promotion by one point.
This is after they took down Mawdesley in spectacular fashion, 15-1.
With that result in mind, comfortable wins for Sphynx 2 and Southbank over Birkdale 2 and Ormskirk 2 respectively has given them hope that they still have a chance of making it to the league’s top division.
The big news in division four is the unfortunate departure of Maghull who now have no teams within the Southport Tennis League.
That meant leaders Campion 2 had a bye week. So it was all about catchup for the chasing pack.
Leading the way is Ormskirk 4 who are now level at the top after they took down Blundellsands 2 in a tough encounter 10-6.
Waterloo maintained their two point gap from promotion after comfortable beating Carlton’s second team 11-5. The woes continue for North Meols 3 as they recorded their seventh straight defeat of the season with a 15-1 loss against Hightown.
There was a highly entertaining encounter between first and second in division six.
But leaders Hillside 2 prevailed in their 10-6 win over Croston 2, who remain in the second promotion spot.
It was wins all-round for the chasing pack as Aughton 2, Southbank 2 and Formby Holy Trinity 4 all collected comfortable wins to remain within touching distance of the top two.
It was top against bottom in division five, leaders Sphynx 3 defeated Birkdale’s third team 14-2.
Also winning were second place side Carlton 3, who managed to narrowly defeat fellow promotion hopefuls Mawdesley 3 by a score of 9-7.
The rest of the fifth division match went to form as Formby Holy Trinity 3 and Hoole saw off Argyle 3 and Formby 2 respectively.
Week seven of the 2016 season proved a happy one for the top two within the seventh division.
Despite winning by their smallest amount, it was a largely successful 11-5 win for leaders Mawdesley 4 over mid-table side Carlton 4.
As for Formby 3, they easily ousted Ormskirk’s sixth team 14-2.
North Meols 4 moved into third place after they produced an impressive performance to beat Southbank’s third team 14-2.
Bottom side North Meols 5 collected their first points of the season after battling hard to draw against Formby Holy Trinity’s fifth team 8-8.
Hillside’s third team move one step to an expected title as they continue to lead division eight after they saw off North Meols’ sixth team 11-5.
Looking to join them are Sphynx 4 after impressively seeing off Birkdale’s fourth team 12-4.
That result pushes Mawdesley 5 into third place as they took care of bottom side Hillside 4 by winning 12-4.
Nothing could separate Argyle 4 and Formby 4 as they shared a point with an 8-8 draw.
It was a week of one-sided affairs in division nine as both Rainford and Mawdesley 6 recorded 16-0 whitewash wins over Hightown 3 and Birkdale 5.
It was a little tougher for leaders Campion 3 in their 10.5-5.5 victory over third-place side Hightown 2.
To find the rest of the results and latest league tables, check out www. southporttenisleague.org.uk for more information.