PONTEFRACT TITLE DEFENCE OFF TO A FLYER WITH DERBY WIN
Pontefract got their title defence under way with victory in their derby match but it’s 2023 champions Hallamshire who top the new 2025/26 Yorkshire Premier League table.
Having won their first White Rose crown for 15 years back in April, Pontefract 1 started the new campaign against their freshly-promoted stablemates Pontefract 2 in front of a packed crowd.
Pontefract 1 had the opening night victory wrapped up early as veteran Adam Taylor and two-time club champion Tom Bamford took care of two teenage opponents, Akash Nahal and Noah Riley, respectively, both in straight games.
That theme continued up the order as first team captain Matt Godson eased past James Wilkinson and the returning Neil Cordell made light work of Connor Sheen.
Only at top string did the pattern reverse, as the second team’s Kiwi top string Lwamba Chileshe – who switched from Harrogate over the summer – recovered from 1/0 and 2/1 down to overcome another debutant, Australian Brad Fullick. That took the edge off the scoreline to give the champions a 19-3 victory.
Hallamshire went one better with a clean sweep of five victories against Cleethorpes – completed by Lwamba Chileshe’s younger brother Temwa, who battled from 2/1 down to force victory 16-14 in the fifth game against the tenacious Harry Falconer.
Earlier on, there were more straight-forward victories for Alistair King at fifth string, Welsh youngster Oliver Jones at no.2 and Adam Turner at no.3, all in straight games. Nick Wall Snr showed he still has plenty left in the legs at the age of 53 by seeing off Charlie Jubbs in four games. That made the final score 20-3.
Queens will be playing all their fixtures away from home until at least Christmas because of the fire that devastated the Halifax club in April, leaving its five squash courts severely damaged.
The first of a series of weekly away trips ended in victory at Dunnington on Wednesday night, however, and it went down to the wire.
Dunnington’s Sam Gibbon won a tight opener in five against Danny Bray, but Ben Gibson overcame Taminder Gata Aura in four to level things up. Queens’ Jordan Hardwick won in three, but the home side’s Jamie Brown then did likewise to make it 2-2 in matches.
Sam Buckley, the Irish no.1 ranked 118 in the world, seized the five bonus points for Queens by dismissing Pakistani Amaad Fareed in straight games to seal a 16-7 team victory.
Doncaster, the 2023/24 champions, started their campaign with a 19-6 triumph over Ferriby Hall.
The South Yorkshire side’s only slip-up came in the first match in which world no.102 Asia Harris battled back from 2/0 down against Glyn Saunders but lost the final game 11-8.
Rob Thirst was also taken to five by Ferriby’s Edward Bidder but he managed to seal the win, and that precipitated a comfortable home victory from then onwards, captain Joel Arscott and Aussie David Turner both winning in three and top string Simon Herbert, the world no.54, capping off the night with a four-game victory over Ben Smith.
The Yorkshire Premier League is reduced to nine teams this season as Woodfield requested to be moved down to Division One. Harrogate were the first team to have a rest night, but they begin their season next Wednesday night at Dunnington.
