Title hopefuls on cloud nine

SADDLEWORTH Cricket Club ‘B’ v Unison ‘D’: Ian McLean (back row, left, Saddleworth coach), Ian Connell (Unison), Barry Fordham (Unison). Peter Skuse (front row, left, Saddleworth), Alex Griffiths (Saddleworth), Dennis Heyes (Unison). Not pictured: Chris Brazewell (Saddleworth).

TABLE TENNIS: GLODWICK continued their march to the Oldham Table Tennis League division one title with an impressive 9-1 win over Hyde YMCA.

Mark Ramsbottom and Jeff Craighill enjoyed a hat-trick of victories for the reigning champions, while Geoff Ogden clinched Hyde’s consolation.

Honeywell ‘B’ overcame Werneth ‘C’ 7-3. The Honeywell team of Steve Barber, Ken Hayes and Tom Ryan recorded two victories apiece.

Dave Buckley was superb for Honeywell ‘A’, who defeated Werneth ‘B’ 7-3. Amanda Winskill registered two good wins for Werneth.

Saddleworth CC ‘A’ had something of a New Year hangover as they were beaten 9-1 at BAE ‘A’.

Tony Bates and Tony Smith were unbeaten for BAE, while Duncan Hadfield supplied Saddleworth’s only point.

Sean Ellis won three crucial games for Grotton ‘A’ in a 6-4 defeat of Hollinwood ‘B’.

Hollinwood ‘A’ promoted Nathan Buckley from the ‘C’ team and he responded with two good wins to support first-team regulars Tristan Swan and Ian Quinn, who were both undefeated, in the 9-1 win over BAE ‘B’.

Bad weather meant that Rosehill could only field two players against Werneth ‘A’, and they subsequently went down 9-1.

In division two, Coldhurst ‘A’ continued their championship challenge with an 8-2 win at Pennine.

Paul Howarth and Simon King recorded trebles, while Glen Chadwick supplied Pennine’s only singles win.

Steve Hilton and Neil Coppard bagged maximums for Hyde YMCA ‘B’, who beat Honeywell ‘D’ 9-1.

Honeywell ‘C’ defeated Hollinwood ‘F’ 7-3, with Howard Travis claiming three wins for the home team and youngster Paul King replying with two for Hollinwood.

Hollinwood’s ‘D’ and ‘E’ teams played out a hard fought draw, with Saj Mohammed winning three and Paul King two for the ‘E’ team.

Nathan Buckley registered two victories for the ‘D’ team and they also won the final doubles to secure the draw.

In division three, Gilders had a tremendous 9-1 win at promotion contenders Unison ‘B’.

Mark Craven and Gerry Lees landed trebles for Gilders, with Steve Slater snatching Unison’s only point.

Deaf Club ‘A’ continued their title pursuit with a 7-3 win at Coldhurst ‘C’. Ian Cockcroft bagged a hat-trick for the visitors, while Gary Keylock had two good wins for Coldhurst.

Unison ‘D’ won only their second match of the season, 6-4 at Saddleworth CC ‘B’.

Ian Connell and Dennis Heyes won three and two respectively for Unison, and Chris Brazewell secured a double for Saddleworth.

In a match closer than the scoreline suggests, Werneth ‘E’ maintained their hunt for the division four title with a 9-1 win over St Saviour’s ‘B.

Joe Taylor and Dave Holme were unbeaten for Werneth, while Jacob Reilly won the Saints’ only point.

Our Lady’s ‘B’ defeated their ‘C’ team 8-2 thanks to trebles from Matt Kelly and James Chappell. Yonni Morrisson and Callum Allman won one each for the ‘C’ team.

Joe Taylor scored his second treble of the week, but his Werneth ‘F’ team went down 6-4 at Honeywell ‘F’, for whom Lee Rowbotham and John Rutland both won two.

In a tremendous match at Coldhurst, the ‘E’ team went down 6-4 to Deaf Club ‘C’ despite Paul Cahill being undefeated for the home team. Alan Cockcroft and Ron Tench recorded two victories apiece for the visitors.

Deaf Club ‘B’ beat Coldhurst ‘E’ 8-2, and Deaf Club ‘C’ won the final doubles to secure a keenly-fought 5-5 draw with Glodwick Academy, for whom Zac Rajput won three. Ron Tench won two for the Deaf Club.