AS usual at this time of the season, there were a few surprise results.

One team to feel the strain were YMCA Under 12s who, after securing the Under 11 title last season with an unbeaten 22-game run, slipped to their second defeat of this season at the hands of Longcroft Lions.

YMCA were unable to find a reply as Ben Hooper (2) and Matthew Sumpner fired the Lions to a 3-0 away victory, leaving YMCA with an uphill task if they are to maintain another title challenge.

One team hoping to get their season back on track after being dumped out of the cup a couple of weeks ago are Brighouse Town.

Having won the Under 13 league last term, Town have found life a little more difficult this season and, with only two points to show from their last two league games, Brighouse needed a big result to restore confidence.

And they don’t come much bigger than an away victory over league leaders Hepworth United.

Harry Sutcliffe, Bradley Gresham, Matt Wensley and Daniel Holmes provided the goals as Town ran out 4-1 winners.

Golcar United are a team hoping to take advantage of their rival’s heavy involvement in League Cup and County Cup competitions .

Having gone out of the league cup a few weeks ago, United can now concentrate on maintaining their position at the top of the Under 16’s section and, with title challengers Upperthong, Silkstone, Batley and Howden Clough all dropping points in recent weeks the Colne Valley side, whose last league defeat was in October, will be hoping for a strong finish to the season.

United added another three points to their tally when goals from Adam Sharif, Josh Martin and Michael Modeste gave them a solid 3-1 victory over Battyeford.

Golcar United have only one other team in the RCD League and they are still on course for a successful season.

The Under 11s remain unbeaten in three competitions this term and, with a league cup final appearance already booked, United will be hoping to make it to the Huddersfield Minor FA Final. But first they will have to get past Hepworth United in the semi-final on April 11.

In the league, meanwhile, Hartshead were the latest side to challenge Golcar’s 100% league record but goals from Elliot Thompson, Robbie Turner and Callum Denton secured a 3-0 win for United over their Division III rivals.

Savile Town’s chase for the Under 13 Division IV title was boosted by another three points following their win at Howden Clough.

Savile raced to a 4-0 half-time lead with goals from AdeebŠRrehman, Suhail Aswat and Faisal Hussain (2) and, although Clough managed to threaten a fightback early in the second half with a super free-kick from Keelan Charlton and a fine chip from Liam Pollard, Savile simply were not going to let their advantage slip and a hat trick from Sulaiman Adam, together with further strikes from Ibraheem Rasa, AdeebŠRrehman and Zaahir Patel secured a comfortable 10-2 victory.

Farsley Celtic Under 18s have been one of the most successful teams in Yorkshire over the last few years but, with players chosen to represent the District and County, even they finally gave up their unbeaten run when they were defeated 3-1 in the semi-final of the cup by BPA Juniors.

And in the Under 17s, Silkstone were dumped out of the cup at the semi-final stage by Rothwell.

The two title rivals were locked at 1-1 until five minutes before the end of extra-time when Rothwell booked their place in the final, where they will meet Clifton Rangers.