IN the latest round of the lace Mawer league, Bolton 1st 1X won an epic battle with Wirral-based club Bebbington 3-2.

Bebbington had the edge for most of the first half but it was Bolton who took the lead through a brilliant piece of individual skill by Dave Simms.

He took the ball inside the opponents' area and beat three men before coolly slotting the ball home.

The second half was much more even and Bolton scored again after a run and reverse stick cross by flying winger.

Chris Aitken left Andy Chadwick with an easy tap in. Bebbington stormed back and equalised with two goals despite good defensive work from Guy Mathison and Scott Tobbutt.

Bolton's winner came late in the game when a goalbound shot was illegally stopped on the line and Dave Simms slid home the subsequent penalty flick.

The second X1's attacking shortcomings were underlined when they lost a close game 1-0 to Congleton.

The third X1's front league match of the season started well when Chris Dean netted early in the game against Southport.

However their defensive frailties were ruthlessly exploited by Southport who replied with six goals. Matthew Moore scored a late second goal to make the final score 6-2.

The fourth X1's first league match saw them earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Liverpool Sefton.

Matt Britton linked well with Nilesh Patel scored two goals but an injury to key defender Alan Bell left Bolton hanging on for victory.

The fifth X1 lost 4-2 against Southport and the Badgers, 1-0 up through a Mark Eggleston goal with 10 minutes to go, eventually lost 3-1.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.