On a night when a number of matches were postponed due to Yorkshire League commitments, there was little movement between the top teams with the exception of the third division.
Second placed Wynyard seized the opportunity of a home fixture against divisional leaders Middlesbrough Municipal to leapfrog over their opposition and create clear space at the top in the race for promotion. Fielding a strong scratch section that included three scratch players Tom Robinson, Ryan Luke and Nick Mounter, Wynyard overwhelmed their opposition taking all six games for twelve unanswered points. It proved somewhat different with the handicap section players as a win for one side was countered in like fashion by a player in the opposition team. Kevin Mannering, Adam Murphy and David Bell won for the "Muni", matched by Peter Devitt, Martyn Jones and Lee Ellison for Wynyard, the 6-6 share of the handicap points meaning that the match ended 18-6 to Wynyard, talking the club nine points clear of the "Muni" which drops to second place.
The other match played in the third division saw Barnard Castle journey to Dinsdale Spa and another match without a halved game. The Dinsdale scratch players held the edge throughout, with wins form Ian Pattison, Nick Sanderson, Lee Cattermole and Dave Kynman, giving them eight points to Barnard Castle's four from two victories by Craig Young and James Hare. The handicap section points were shared in the same fashion as the Dinsdale players led by Richard Parsons chalked up four wins with the two wins adding to Barnard Castle's score coming from Craig Wren and Johnny Hall. A final match score of 16-8 to Dinsdale, moving the club past Wilton and Barnard Castle into third place behind the "Muni".
Hartlepool suffered their first setback of the league season as they ran up against a Billingham team eager to stake their claim for a return to the first division. Although Paul Newbury overcame Andrew Allen to give the visiting Hartlepool team the points from the number one game, honours were shared in the scratch section as wins from Billingham's Paul Oakley, Michael Lee and Nigel Fick against a further two for Hartlepool from Rod O'Donovan and Robert Walsh meant a 6-6 split of those points. The Billingham handicap section players gave their opposition no chance to get a result as led by I. Stewart win followed win throughout the card for a 12-0 whitewash and an 18-6 team win. Although losing, the match score kept Hartlepool at the top of the second division while Billingham moved up three places to second still 23 points behind Hartlepool, but with a home match in hand.
Blackwell Grange, second placed at the start of the night went to Teesside and into a match when again one section dominated. This time it was the Teesside scratch players, Darren Rayner playing number one started the card with a win, followed by four other Teesside players. John Matthews was the only Blackwell scratch player to score, but even then he could not get the better of Mark Risby as the players halved their game to leave the scratch points 11-1 to Teesside. The Blackwell handicap section players fared better than their team-mates, with wins from Mike Hird and Jim Morris and two halved games between Kevin Griffiths and Simon Higgins, and Mark Eynon and Phil Cummins. With two wins for Teesside from Steve Cuthbert and Paddy Mannion the sides ended the night with six handicap points apiece, Teesside winning the match 17-7. Teesside have closed to within four points of their opposition, moving off the bottom of the table into fourth place, in a division which looks as though both promotion and relegation are going to be closely contested throughout the season.
League leader's, Seaton Carew made the journey down the coast to Saltburn, to a team starting the night in fourth place but sitting on the back of two good results. Seaton did not seem initially to miss Hugh Hamilton who did no play, as James Harper playing number one took the scalp of Julian Jackson, but that was Seaton's only scratch section win. A further point for Seaton came from Ian Hendry in his halved game with Andy Birkbeck, but with wins from Dale Smith, Michael Tucker, Darren Nalton and Liam Jackson, the scratch points went 9-3 to Saltburn. It was a closer contest in the handicap section with both sides trading wins, Simon Dell, Colin Gray and R. Morris for the home side with Jonathon Neill, Guy Sowerby and I. Lacey for Seaton A 15-9 match score that puts Saltburn alongside Cleveland in second place behind Seaton, now just ten points behind the leader.
There had been only one away win in the league this year to date, Eaglescliffe have now doubled that number at the expense of Darlington. Keen to regain the league title won in both 2001 and 2002, the "Eagles" started the card well with points from the first five games, two from the halved games between Geoff Charlton and Euan Waller, and Peter Manson and Jim Wharton added to wins from Ryan Riley, Julian Wynn and Roland Todd took Eaglescliffe's scratch section total to eight points to Darlington four from the two halved games and their solitary win from A. Inglis. Darlington fought back in the handicap section, Leigh Walton and Wayne Trotter halved their game, but with three wins from Mark Pattinson, M. Baldwin and N. Hodgson to Eaglescliffe's two from ex-Middlesbrough footballer, John Craggs and Julian Danby, Darlington edged the handicap points 7-5. The handicap section win was not sufficient to redress the balance and Eaglescliffe ended the night 13-11 winners, remaining behind Darlington in the league, but closing to within four points.
Division One: Darlington 11, Eaglescliffe 13; Saltburn 15, Seaton Carew 9; Castle Eden v Cleveland Postponed.
Division Two: Middlesbrough v Richmond Postponed; Billingham 18, Hartlepool 6, Teesside 17, Blackwell Grange 7.
Division Three: Wilton v Hunley Hall Postponed; Dinsdale Spa 16, Barnard Castle 8; Wynyard 18, Middlesbrough Municipal 6.
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