THREE teams are in contention for the top spot in Division One, Ramsbottom D on 84 points, Ladybridge A who have played one match more than the other two on 80, and Nomads A on 77.

Ramsbottom consolidated their position with an 8-1 victory over Grubba Fans.

The win featured trebles for Martin Holt and Neil Both, and a double from TomRyan who lost to Grubba’s recent signing Andy Kaye.

Nomads came away with a 6-3 win at Hilton B which included doubles from Derek Watmough and Dennis Collier, and a single win by Clive Taylor. Dave Andrews won two and Alan Tomlinson claimed one for Hilton.

Coburg inflicted a 7-2 defeat on Nomads B with three wins for Bob Bent and two each for Jim Hewitt and Mark Speakman. Keith Dale and Martin Howarth won one each for the losers.

There is a different picture in Division Two, where the gap between top team Heaton C and Meadow Bank in second place is 20 points.

Heaton scored a 6-3 win over their D team which featured three wins for John Scowcroft, two for Duncan Kay and one for Mel Brookes. Paul McCormick grabbed two wins and Steve Woods one for the E team.

Meadow Bank’s 8-1 win over visitors BEN A featured trebles from Mike Brierley and Alan Auxilly, and a double for Paul Pover who lost to John Dodd.

Hilton D lost ground at St Catherine’s C where they scraped a 5-4 win, including two wins for Steve Jones and Chris Naylor and one for sub Craig Duncan. Junior, Krishna Chauhan, won two and Roy Alty and Paulina Ozerchowski one each for St Cath’s.

Alan Lansdale trebled for Little Lever D who beat Farnworth TTC A 7-2.

Alex Waring was also unbeaten for Ladybridge B who beat Hilton E 5-4 as was Mike Dunn for Heaton E who won 6-3 at Hilton C.

The top-of-the-table clash in Division Three resulted in a 5-4 win for Hilton G in second place over tabletoppers Farnworth TTC B who have a five point advantage. But they have played one more match than the two Hilton teams below them, as Hilton F who are also in contention are just one point behind the G team Brian Hall and Gary Hibbert scored two wins and Barak Young one for Hilton and, Farnworth’s top ten leader Nathan Patel won two and Sam Evans and Daniel Harris one each.