Roosters Edge Closer To Division One Title

Division One side DTH Redlands Roosters took another step towards the Division One title this week with a comfortable 8-2 win over bottom side Ryton Park Adders. The result has massively contrasting meanings for both sides with the Roosters going 11 points clear at the top and with only 7 league matches remaining it means that the Roosters would have to lose at least 4 out of the last 7 games for the team in second place to catch them and as they haven't lost a single league game all season then the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim. At the opposite end of the division one table the Adders have had a tough time of it this season having not won a single game and managing only three draws so far and find themselves a massive 10 points from safety and look all but relegated. Despite the gulf in league places the match was a little closer than the result suggested and the Adders did enjoy some success on the night with Andy Lee managing to beat Steve Fox and then teaming up with Harry Tomlinson to take the doubles set against Fox and Rick Harris. For the Roosters there were hat tricks for both Harris and Tom McIntosh who now boasts a record of played 36, won 36 singles games and looks increasingly likely to go unbeaten for the whole season.
Another side stuck in the middle of a relegation battle are Ryton Park Eagles who still have a slim chance of avoiding the drop into Division Two being only 5 points behind the team above them but their chances of survival took a hit this week as they were on the wrong end of a 10-0 mauling against Worksop Miners Welfare 'A'. There were hat tricks all round for the Welfare trio of Richard Element, Stuart Element and Phil Walton in a comfortable win against their hapless opponents and the Eagles side of John Hallgarth, Brian Allen and Keith Swift are going to have to lick their wounds and try to put a run together to halt their slide towards Division Two.
DTH Redlands Fluffy Toys kept a little pressure on their club colleagues the Roosters at the top with an 8-2 win over two man Manton Misfits for whom only Steve Lyon managed to trouble the scorers beating both Steve Walker and Lea Dickinson. Walker, Dickinson and Steve Johnson all beat the Nomads only other player Malcolm Manuel with Johnson and Dickinson also taking the doubles in a 5 set thriller over Lyon and Manuel.
Another side who are odds on to win their respective title is Division Two side DTH Redlands Monsters who notched up yet another win this week over bottom side Stanley Street Cypriots. The Monsters ran out 10-0 winners but the match was a lot closer than the result looked with 4 out of the 10 matches going to a deciding 5 set but the Cypriots just couldn't manage to get over the winning line. All three of the Riauba brothers in Martynas, Orestas and Valentinas registered hat tricks with Graham Stent, Neil Fisher and George Makrakis all having to go home empty handed.
If the race for the title looks to be over, the battle for the second promotion place looks to be wide open. Worksop Welfare 'B' who are currently in 2nd place enjoyed an 8-2 win over a useful Stanley Street 'B' side with both Erlands Skels and Pete Hodgson remaining unbeaten on the night and also added the doubles set to their teams total. Glyn Payne added a solo win over Glyn Williams but lost out to both Jack Kirkland and Paul Linfield. The win put them 3 points clear of 3rd placed DTH Redlands X-Youth who fought out a 5-5 draw with DTH Redlands Joggers who still have a chance to grab the 2nd promotion place themselves. For X-Youth both Jeff Reay and Mark Bloomer won two games both beating Lewis Comley and Matthew Mudd but losing out to Dennis Learad with X-Youths 3rd player Clive Eden losing to both Comley and Mudd but managing to beat Learad. Only one match was won in straight sets with 5 of the matches going the distance which included a fabulous doubles match with Comley and Mudd finally winning it 11-9 in the deciding set.
Only one Division Three result was in by the time this report was written and it involved two Ryton Park sides, the Cougars and the Falcons with the Cougars running out 9-1 winners, a win that puts them back into the promotion places leapfrogging The On-Line Elks. The Cougars win was built on hat tricks by both Ivan Stallworthy and Dave Rix who beat all three of the Cougars players in Jordan Potter, Mick Potter and Jak Eden with the Cougars only success coming when Jordan Potter beat Dave Lee. Stallworthy and Lee wrapped things up by beating Mick Potter and Justin Flear in the doubles.