Stanley Street 'D' Blow Division Three Title Race Wide Open

After beating one of the teams above them last week Division Three side Stanley Street 'D' repeated the same feat again this week and by doing so dragged themselves back into the promotion race. After defeating DTH Redlands Tarr Babies last time out they were faced with the daunting task of overcoming the league leaders Stanley Street Rascals who had previously only lost one league game all season. Street D's task was made all the more easier when the Rascal's third player didn't turn up which meant that they were already 3-0 ahead before a ball was struck. Thomas Gladwin and Harry Downing, the two Rascals players that did turn up may have wished they hadn't as both of them lost to all three of the Street 'D' players in Andrew Agnew, Glyn Williams and Lee Webb to leave themselves 9-0 down and facing a whitewash but all credit to the Rascals pair as they dug in and managed to win the doubles rubber against Williams and Louis Spray to finally register a win in a 9-1 defeat.
DTH Redlands Tarr Babies have finally caught up on all of their outstanding fixtures with two games in a week which both resulted in wins which has seen them jump up to 2nd place in the table. Their first win came away at Ryton Park Dragons with a Josh Nelson hat trick being the backbone of their win with two from Greg Suchalski and a solo effort from Adam Pinches along with the doubles securing a 7-3 win. The scorers for the Dragons were Justin Flear with two good wins and Lee Banton who managed to beat Pinches. The same trio of Tarr Babies players also played in their second fixture and came away with a comfortable 9-1 win away at Stanley Street 'E' with hat tricks for both Josh Nelson and Greg Suchalski with Adam Pinches adding a further two wins losing out to the Streets Jasper Turner.
4th placed Stanley Street Cypriots may not win the Division Three title but may have a say in who actually does as they are capable of troubling all the teams above them on their night and they had another solid win again this week against the improving Ryton Park Falcons. Both Graham Stent and Tom Parker remained unbeaten for the Cypriots as they cruised to an 8-2 win over the Falcons which now only puts them 4 points off top spot in the division. The two wins for the Falcons came courtesy of Jordan Potter and Jack Eden who both beat Harvey Renshaw but the two same players couldn't repeat the same form in the doubles match as they lost in straight sets to Stent and Mitchell Radford.
The last remaining unbeaten record In Division One fell this week as DTH Redlands Roosters were beaten 8-2 away at MBE. Richard Element was the man of the match beating all three Roosters players in straight sets with Mick Bell and Craig Straw adding a further two wins each with Element and Straw then teaming up to take the doubles. The scorers for the Roosters were Rick Harris who defeated Craig Straw and Steve Fox who beat Mick Bell. The result now leaves only 2 points separating the top three sides in the division.
Other Division One Results: Stanley Street 'A' 9 Manton Tigers 1, Ryton Park Adders 1 DTH Redlands Fluffy Toys 9, Manton Misfits 6 DTH Redlands Joggers 4.
The biggest surprise result of the week came in Division Two as title chasing Ryton Park Eagles crashed to a 7-3 defeat to Stanley Street 'B'. The Eagles had made their game in hand count the week previously by hammering their club colleagues Ryton Park Cougars 9-1 and had therefore closed the gap on leaders Manton Nomads to just 3 points but have now slipped 6 points behind with their defeat against Stanley Street 'B'. The Eagles couldn't field their strongest three players and had to draft in Connor Bettley form Division Three to ensure they could turn out a full side and Bettley was always going to be up against it against players from a higher division and subsequently lost all his three games as surprisingly did Bettley's more experienced team mate Keith Swift and it was left to Brian Allen to get on the score sheet for the Eagles as he went home with a hat trick of wins under his belt. For Street 'B' Ralph Rodda, Glyn Payne and Adam Hamilton all won two each with Rodda and Nigel Stent winning the doubles.
Other Division Two Results: Manton Nomads 6 Manton Sports 4, Ryton Park Cougars 1 Stanley Street 'C' 9