The weather again got the better of the District League with only seven fixtures being played last Saturday.
However, despite the conditions, they were very competitive affairs as there was one draw and another four settled by the odd goal.
One of the games with one goal separating the teams was a first round match in the Barlow Cup.
The two teams that met were Scholes, currently bottom of Division I and Skelmanthorpe, who are second in Division II.
As it is highly likely that these two clubs will be swapping places next season, it was no surprise that the second division team won.
Skelmanthorpe played up the Scholes hill in the first half and despite both sides having a couple of chances, it was only a Jordan Saville goal for Scholes that separated them at the break.
Being only one down and having played up the hill, Skelmanthorpe were reasonably happy with the score line but they could not level until two thirds into the second half when Duane Short headed in from a corner.
Extra time was looming as the match reached the final minutes, but a shot from Skelmanthorpe’s Ben Dyson was only parried by the Scholes keeper and Gideon Osawe was on hand to tap in from close range.
Skelmanthorpe now have a second round meeting with near neighbours Shepley.
Apart from Skelmanthorpe winning their own match, they were pleasantly surprised by the result in Division II at Honley.
There the home side, in a mid table position, took a couple of points of leaders Heyside which means that the difference at the top between Heyside and Skelmanthorpe is just two points.
The ground at Jagger Lane Rec was frost bound early in the morning but come kick off time, referee John Gray deemed it playable.
Honley took the lead with an assist from keeper Liam Temple.
His long clearance evaded the whole of Heyside’s defence and Jamie Taylor ran on to score.
Heyside thought they had replied but the goal was disallowed for off side but within a couple of minutes it was 1-1 – James Leonard was given plenty of space in the Honley area and he took his time to level matters.
In the first attack of the second half, Heyside went in front with a well taken goal by Michael Ward.
His turn and low shot found the corner of the net, but Honley then had to wait until the 70th minute for their equaliser.
Man of the match, Phil Rigby went on a solo run through the Heyside back four and waited for support from Mick Foster who slide in to score from Rigby’s pass.
With sleet coming down, the ground was now resembling a bog but both sides tried to play football and both nearly scored a winner.
Firstly, a Josh Rowbottom shot for Honley hit the outside of the post and shortly after, Heyside were denied by keeper Temple although the Heyside header was straight at him.
Also in Division II, Kirkheaton Rovers had a 1-0 win over Holme Valley Academicals with Jonathan Lodge scoring the only goal of the match.
It leaves them in fourth spot but for to have any chance of promotion they will need to take points off the top two.
This is not an impossibility as earlier in the season, they have drawn 2-2 with Skelmanthorpe and only lost 3-2 at Heyside, so their season is not finished yet – especially as they still have cup interests in the West Riding Trophy and the League’s Barlow Cup.
There was a third game played in Division II and involved two teams trying to avoid relegation. Goals from Daniel Smith, Ricardo Ianzito and Greg Mitchell gave Lepton Highlanders a 3-0 win over KKS Spartans.
This win moved Lepton up two positions out of the relegation zone, but it’s very tight at the bottom. KKS are bottom with 12 points with Slaithwaite one point above them. Lepton are level with Slaithwaite but have played one game more.
A further point above them is Linthwaite but they have three games in hand of the teams below them.
Another match with only one between the teams was the fourth division game between Calder Athletic and Almondbury Woolpack.
The Woolpack won by 3-2 with two goals from Stephen Brook and the other from Ryan Kennedy.
This win now gives them a three point advantage at the top over Moorside but they are only six points above Salendine Nook who have played five games less.
But there are more than three teams with chances of promotion should any at the top falter.
This campaign is the third season of the Huddersfield FA Respect Trophy and is open to all teams in the Leagues in the Huddersfield FA area.
The two previous winners are Wellington Westgate A and Cumberworth A.
To qualify for the competition, clubs have to have recorded a certain number of respect scores from the referees.
This means that if a team does not have a referee very often, it may not qualify for inclusion in the table.
With 91 of the 123 teams reaching an average of eight or over, the majority teams in the area can be proud of the respect that they are showing towards the referees and this has been reflected by more games been staffed by officially appointed neutral referees.
The current leaders of the table are Field Head of the Kirklees Sunday League closelt followed by Brook Motors and Slaithwaite Utd Reserves
