Hallamshire top the Yorkshire Premier League table after week three, hotly pursued by Pontefract 1 who lie in joint-second having played one game less.
With only nine in this season’s top division due to the withdrawal of Woodfield, teams take it turns to have a week off.
Pontefract 1 returned from last week’s break with an emphatic 20-3 rout of Dunnington to lie second, level with Cleethorpes, two points off the top. The return of Ponte’s big guns, world no.41 Patrick Rooney and Scotland international Rory Stewart, added irresistible firepower to their line-up.
The evening began with Tom Bamford and skipper Matt Godson brushing aside Dunnington’s lower order, then Stewart sealed the five bonus points with another rapid win over former pro Amaad Fareed.
Ponte’s French debutant Laouenan Laoec recovered from losing the second game to close out victory over Dunnington no.3 Jamie Brown, then top string Rooney surprisingly went 2-0 down against Welshman Owain Taylor before battling back for a 9/11, 8/11, 11/9, 11/5, 11/5 win.
Hallamshire, who’ve played three games, claimed top spot but were pushed all the way in a 14-8 thriller with bottom side Pontefract 2.
Ponte youngster Noah Riley and Hallamshire captain Adam Turner split the opening salvos, then the top strings entered the fray with 19-year-old Oliver Dunbar beating fellow Kiwi Temwa Chileshe to put Ponte 2 ahead.
However, Welsh junior Oliver Jones beat Ponte 2’s U.S. debutant Ben Gemma to level the match at 2-2 and Matt Gregory won a gritty four-game second-string decider against Chester Dockray.
Doncaster had a rest on Wednesday night, but having won their opening two matches they are just seven points off Hallamshire in fourth.
Cleethorpes leaped above Doncaster with a 16-7 victory over Ferriby Hall in which they had to recover from two early lower-order blows inflicted by the visitors’ Glyn Saunders and Edward Bidder.
Harry Falconer began the turnaround with a four-game win over Yusuf Forster, then Wales international Elliott Morris and South African signing Dewald van Niekerk completed the job, defeating Ben Sockett and Ben Smith in straight games.
Harrogate posted a first win of the season, 19-5 against Queens, with Thomas Simpson and former world no.20 Chris Simpson both winning in four. Young Gabriel Cox brushed aside Ben Gibson and Welshman Rhys Evans dismissed veteran James Earles at top string. No.4 Phil McSweeney was Queens’ only victor in a lengthy five-game battle with Ross Kneller.
