HALIFAX, Huddersfield were no match for this season’s Inter-District Union champions Sheffield, going down 24-12 in their final fixture of the season at the Dore & Totley course.

There was very little to choose between the two sides after the morning Foursomes with the Halifax, Huddersfield players winning one match, through Dave Stafford and Michael Murray, while three other pairings all battled well to come away with halves.

And after four Singles in the afternoon, the visitors were still only two points adrift, after fine wins from this year’s Jubilee Trophy winner Nick Marsh from Elland, and Woodsome Hall’s Adam Cryer.

But from that point the match quickly slipped away from Halifax, Huddersfield, with only halves from Aaron Schnake, Iain Powell and Clive Crawshaw preventing a run of eight straight wins for the South Yorkshire team.

The result left the Halifax, Huddersfield team in fourth place behind winners Sheffield, Bradford and the East Riding with two wins, two defeats and a tie, while Aaron Schnacke, from Huddersfield finished on top of the Order of Merit with 40 points from all seven matches, one ahead of West End’s Dave Stafford, who also played in all seven Union fixtures.

Both Schnacke and Stafford will again be in action for the Union’s six-man team at Forest Park in York tomorrow, when they will be joined by Nick Marsh, Mathew Colcombe, Mark Birkett and Adam Cryer, while Iain Powell is the reserve.

Results from the Sheffield match are:

Foursomes: (Sheffield names first): Dan Wasteney & Joe Dean halved with Mathew Colcombe & Nick Marsh; Tom Perry & Richard Oades bt Jamie Bower & Aaron Schnacke 4&3;James Harrison & Neil Stones bt Iain Powell & Adam Cryer 3&1; Richard Hodgkinson & David Briggs halved with Chris Lander & Mark Birkett; Nathan Rogers & Lewis Hollingworth halved with Clive Crawshaw & Brad Tupman; Gary Fullwood & Mike Hammond lost to Dave Stafford & Michael Murray 4 & 2.

Sheffield 7 Halifax, Huddersfield 5.

Singles: Wasteney (Bondhay) bt Colcombe (Longley Park) 2 & 1; J Dean (Renishaw Park) bt J Bower (Meltham) 1 hole; J Harrison (Rotherham) lost to N Marsh (Elland) 3&2; T Perry (Abbeydale) lost to A Cryer (Woodsome Hall) 2 holes; R Oades (Abbeydale) bt C Lander (Halifax) 2&1; N Rogers (Wortley) bt M Birkett (Halifax) 2 holes; R Hodgkinson (Lindrick) halved with A Schnacke (Huddersfield); D Briggs (Renishaw Park) halved with I Powell (Hebden Bridge); N Stones (Wath) halved with C Crawshaw (Halifax); L Hollingworth (Tankersley Park) bt D Stafford 5&4; G Fullwood (Wath) bt M Murray (Todmorden) 4&3; M Hammond (Wath) bt B Tupman (Huddersfield) 3&1.

Sheffield 17 Halifax, Huddersfield 7.

Overall score: Sheffield 24 Halifax, Huddersfield 12.

The top 10 in the Order of Merit (with number of appearances) was:

1 Aaron Schnacke 7-40; 2 Dave Stafford 7-39; 3 Mathew Colcombe 7-32; 4 Brad Tupman 7-27; 5 Mark Birkett 5-25; 6 Adam Cryer 6-25; 7 Ben Adamson 4-19; 8 Nick Marsh 3-18; 9 Steve Martin 3-17; 10 Iain Powell 5-17.