The race for the top in the Hudderfsield District League’s Division I is down to three clubs and last week, two of them met.
It ended all square at 2-2, but current leaders Berry Brow were grateful for the point against third placed Newsome.
There were no goals in the first half but while Berry Brow hardly had a shot in anger, Newsome could have been three up in the first fifteen minutes with chances from close range being squandered. The second half was much the same except that Newsome took two of their chances to go ahead.
Firstly, Jobarteh was on hand at the far post to give them the lead and then Adam Hill came off the bench for the second. With twenty minutes to play, the points looked destined to be going to Newsome but up stepped Brow’s Tom Oakes. He had earlier being the only Brow player to have a shot at goal but late on, he popped up twice to earn the Brow an unlikely point.
His first was when he lobbed the ball over the Newsome keeper from just outside the box and with two minutes to play, sub Alec Thomas crossed for Oakes to head home the equaliser. The action hadn’t finished as Newsome missed another chance which would have closed the gap between the teams to a single point but instead the difference remains four points.
The result was probably just what second placed Holmbridge wanted. They travelled to Lepton and returned with all three points and a 8-3 score line.
The Bridge are now two points behind the Brow with Newsome a further two away and all have played the same number of games.
Heywood Irish need a minor miracle to avoid dropping into the Second Division despite a 2-0 win at Shepley. With many first teamers not available last week, Heywoods couldn’t fulfil their second team fixture as their second teamers were needed to step into the first teamers boots. With four of the reserves starting and a couple more on the bench, the 2-0 win was meritorious.
It has been and up and down weekend for Division II side Holmfirth Town. They started in second position just three points behind leaders Shelley with three games in hand. It was then a case of bad news - good news - bad news for them.
Firstly the bad news was they went down 1-0 at home to mid table Cumberworth for whom Kane Bowker was scoring the winner for the second week in succession.
This was followed by the good news that leaders Shelley had lost at home to Meltham Athletic.
The further bad news came at the Management Meeting when it was discovered that Meltham had played an ineligible player and the points were awarded to Shelley.
As a result, Shelley are now six points ahead of Holmfirth who have still three games fewer.
But there are more than two teams challenging for promotion to the top flight.
Heyside, Kirkheaton Rovers and Skelmanthorpe all won last week and although they are several points adrift, they all have games in hand. Mathematically, Cumberworth, with two good wins in successive weeks, still have a slight chance.
In Division III, second placed Aimbry were without a game so leaders KKS Spartans, who beat AFC Lindley by 4-1, extended their lead at the top to eight points.
They are also twelve clear of third position, so to be certain of promotion, it appears that they only need seven points from their five games to guarantee Division Two football next season.
But there is actually more danger lurking in seventh position in the form of Upperthong. Due to conditions at Sands Rec, Upperthong have only played ten League games (still twelve to play) and could close the gap to one point if they won their seven games in hand- a tough ask.
But last week, Upperthong beat Division One opposition in the Huddersfield FA Challenge Cup which means that they are now only 180 minutes away from a visit to the John Smith Stadium on 30th April.
In the Upperthong team, there are four ex Netherton players and there were certainly “up for it”. A couple of goals from Ben Ravenhill gave Upperthong a 2-0 interval lead. Then man of the match Chris Margis added a third which was followed by another from Ravenhill to complete his hat trick. Margis then scored the best goal of the game with an effort from the right hand edge of the box before Netherton replied with a consolation goal.
Upperthong now face a Division II side in Meltham Athletic for a place in the semi-finals.
In Division IV, the results went the way of leaders Colne Valley. They visited third placed Cartworth Moor and scored twice in reply. With the second placed team, 3D Dynamos also losing, Colne Valley are now five points ahead and the three below them have all played more games.
In fifth are Moorisde who put seven past mount to claim all three points but they suffered a bit of a setback at the Management Meeting on Monday night. The Committee reviewed their abandoned match against third placed Cartworth Moor. Both sides were deemed to be at fault, so the decision was that no points be awarded to either team for that match.
The team in sixth place, Royal Oak, must be among the favourites to gain promotion and if they and Colne Valley were promoted, it would mean that both clubs that transferred from the Works League to District League at the start of this season will go up together – albeit under different names, they were MAC and Coach and Horses last season.
In Reserve Division II, Netherton A were down to ten men early in their match but still had a narrow 4-3 win at bottom club Slaithwaite and KKS Reserves disposed of Heyside Reserves 8-2 but it appears as both are chasing shadows in the quest for the top spot.
Hepworth United Reserves beat Shelley Reserves to maintain their single point lead but they have more to play and only require nine points from six games to clinch the divisional title.
In Reserve Division IV, AFC Lindley Reserves had a narrow 1-0 win over Junction Reserves but it was enough to maintain their unbeaten League run. Their record is 12 wins and two draws from 14 games and they have built a lead of 10 points at the top.
Click here to take you back to more Sports news.
Want to read, watch and hear more? You can download the FREE Examiner Apple App here, the FREE Examiner Android App here or you can view the paper as an e-edition on your Apple, Android or Kindle device by clicking here
To follow us on Twitter click here
