St Andrews A's early march towards the title continued this week. They were at last week's table toppers Bradford Deaf Centre, who had Ihjaz Hussain missing and as they were unable to field a reserve of their own, it was agreed that St Andrews A's reserve John Rider, could make one in. As it turned out, John was the only winner for the Deaf Centre. It was a close one, but he managed to overcome Gary Rogers 186-182. The winners for St Andrews A were Graham Pearson, Neil Lee and Nigel Brayshaw. That 4-1 win propelled them to the top of the table... and they are still unbeaten.

At Pudsey Congs, the A team took on lowly Princeville. A home win therefore looked like an odds-on bet, given this season's form so far. However, James Butcher was able to bring a strong side. And as a result, the Great Horton Road outfit didn't disappoint. Brian Haigh, playing in his second game of the season, had a big 76 point win, Graham Bentley had a 36 point win and seasonal debutant, Gareth Kershaw was also victorious by 10. All three winners beat the 50 minutes. The shocked home team's only winner was Richard Bowes against League Chairman, James. I'm sure if Princeville were able to field this team, week in week out, they would not be at the foot of the table for long. Richard Bowes Facebook comments on this match read:- 

"Playing order was 2, 1, 3, 4. Our marginal lead at the half way point looked relatively secure when Graham and Dave were level but Graham’s solid play left us 23 adrift going into the fourth game. This looked to be going our way with John in the early 180s after a nicely made 18 and Gareth about 15 behind with us having an eye on 3 points but Gareth put together a well fashioned 15/18 of his own and then showed good scoreboard awareness to first secure the aggregate and then run out with a 15(?) at his next visit to quash our hopes of a consolation point from a victory for John."

At Littlemoor, Pudsey Congs B were back to full strength, with the return from holiday of skipper Mick Hirst. An 18 point win for him got them off to a good start, despite a 24 break from opponent Ralph Allan. On the other table, Graham Tudor played his game of the season, so far, for Littlemoor knocking in a 21 break and when just 2 behind Roy Denson, he followed up with an unfinished 28 to give Littlemoor a slight advantage. Also returning from holiday, John Allan then had a close 16 point win over Trevor Smith (whose late, but backdated, registration was agreed at the committee meeting on Friday). However, Sid Ash also played his game of the season, so far, with a convincing 50 point win over yours truly, to secure the win and aggregate point for Congs B. 

So, after 5 weeks, and with Princeville now registering their first win, the table is looking more compact and competitive. Having 7 teams, though has caused some player shortages in certain areas, and combining that problem with holidays and other absences, has meant we have had to be more flexible by allowing some reserves to play for other institutes. This matter was discussed at the committee meeting on Friday this week, and although it's not an ideal situation, it was agreed that we should allow this arrangement to continue. We will review it again at the next meeting, when there could be some restrictions imposed at that stage. 

At the meeting, we drew the Individuals and Pairs. They are now published on the appropriate page.

This coming week, the two Bradford teams meet for the first time this season, at Princeville. In Pudsey, Congs A are at St Andrews B and Congs B will host St Andrews A. Littlemoor will sit out.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary