FOUR Huddersfield Eagles juniors were entered as a Kirklees team in an Under 16 Inter-area tournament – and won it!

Molly Holman Sheard, Oliver Platt, Billy Prady and Rachel Fay, who plays for Yorkshire and has come through the coaching system, were allowed to enter the B tournament against teams from Leeds, Bradford, East Yorkshire & Humberside, North Pickering and Sheffield, and they were best.

For Molly, Billy and Oliver it was the first time they have entered such an event, and their success is down to them playing at a higher standard with the Eagles and is testament to the excellent coaching within Kirklees.

Meanwhile, Jim Brown and Sharron Hollewerth were the toast of Beaumont Park after clinching victory over Holmbridge in the last end of the final rubber of the night.

The match was all square after eight rubbers, and in the final one Brown and Hollewerth opened up by winning the first set against Craig Pickering and Jane Moore 21-16, only for the Holmbridge duo to level in the second.

So the whole match rested on the final set, and it went to Hollewerth and Brown 21-18 to seal the 5-4 victory for the visitors.

It had looked so different earlier in the evening, when the Holmbridge men had opened up a 3-0 lead, Mike Hall and Andrew Bennell coming from a game down to beat the first pairing of Paul Green and Chris Joynson.

But then the Beaumont ladies turned it round as they won all three rubbers, led by Christine Berry and Joanna Brown, along with Hollewerth.

Green and Berry put Beaumont Park ahead in the first of the Mixed, before Hall and Maggie Lowe levelled it again for Holmbridge to send the match into the thrilling decider.

Holmbridge C 4 Beaumont Park A 5

Men: Mike Hall & Andrew Bennell bt Paul Green & Chris Joynson 16-21, 21-13, 21-14; Hall & Craig Pickering bt Green & Jim Brown 21-13, 22-20; Bennell & Pickering bt Joynson & Brown 21-16, 21-17.

Ladies: Doreen Dewhirst & Maggie Lowe lost to Christine Berry & Joanna Brown 21-23, 26-28; Dewhirst & Jane Mooore lost to Berry & Hollewerth 5-21, 18-21; Lowe & Moore lost to Brown & Hollewerth 5-21, 15-21.

Mixed: Bennell & Dewhirst lost to Green & Berry 17-21, 15-21; Hall & Lowe bt Joynson & Brown 21-17, 21-19; Pickering & Moore lost to Brown and Hollewerth 16-21, 21-19, 18-21.

The Eagles came up against a strong St Cuthberts’ Racquetters side in the Men’s League, and despite the youngsters losing 6-0 they put up plenty of strong competition with many games going over 16 points.

Eagle regulars were joined by Avneet Cheema and Josh Dyson in their first full league match.

The experience of Peter Miners and Nick Martinek proved too much for Platt and Dyson while Geoff Steel and Munir Ahmed were also too experienced for Alex Price Thomas and Dyson in the second singles match-up.

Huddersfield Eagles 0 St Cuthberts Racq’s 6.

Oliver Platt & Josh Dyson lost to Peter Miners & Nick Martinek 19-21, 9-21; Alex Price-Thomas & Avnett Cheema lost to Jeff Steel & Munir Ahmed 16-21, 13-21; Platt & Cheema lost to Miners & Ahmed 9-21, 6-21; Price-Thomas & Dyson lost to Steel & Martinek 19-21, 16-21; Cheema and Dyson lost to Ahmed & Martinek 7-21, 15-21; Platt & Price-Thomas lost to Ahmed & Martinek 13-21, 17-21.