Chasing pair win to keep it tight at top
WITH only two weeks remaining, the top of the table in Division Two of the Northumbria League is looking terrifically close.
Matfen Senators are currently top, but they also have games in hand over Old England Crocks and Ouston A.
The Senators had no match this week but both Ouston A and Old England Crocks won 8-2.
Ouston visited Matfen Tribunes, where Mike Lyons and Mark Rogers both won their hat-tricks and Neil Rogers chipped in with a single victory.
Old England hosted Birtley, with Ken Clark taking three wins and Player of the Match.
Brian Bateman and Colin Robson both won two, with Bateman suffering a rare defeat in the division against the equally experienced Bob Dodds.
At the other end of the table, Old England Fatts lost again as they faced Ouston B. The 9-1 defeat does not mean that all is lost for the Fatts, but relegation is looming increasingly close.
The other fixture of the week saw Byker C lose 9-1 at the hands of Cramlington Trojans, with Mike Jones and Paul Fairlamb both winning three matches.
Brandon Anacondas have played 15 matches without loss as they target the Division Three title, amassing a colossal 134 sets won to only 16 sets lost.
They beat Cramlington Spartans 10-0 despite the Spartans fielding experienced Division Two player Rob Lee.
Cramlington Cobras had a more favourable fixture as they won 9-1 at home to Byker D. Third-placed Saints also won at home but Cramlington Corinthians’ Philip Smith and Steve Ralph did well to scrape three wins between them against the experienced line-up of Vince Killen, Ray Joynson and Steven Dawson.
There were three sets of Cramlington inter-club battles this week in Division Four. Cramlington Dynamos gained the biggest triumph as they cruised to a 10-0 victory over the Magpies.
Cramlington Dragons’ Sree Kanakala won Player of the Match in their ‘home’ fixture against the Knights as they won 7-3.
The final Cramlington fixture was much tighter as the Ravens and Jaguars drew 5-5, while there was a 6-4 win for Brandon Bravehearts against Cramlington Falcons, and Newton C beat Backspin 7-3.