Division Two of the Leicester & District League continues to bubble nicely both at the top and bottom of the chart with Desford Village’s second team, while not directly involved in either, may be having a decided effect at the top of the chart having beaten two of the promotion candidates.
Not content with having defeated their own first team they then followed up by overcoming top team, Knighton Park III, 7-3 enabling Winstanley Wizards to take over at the top. Matthew Briggs notched three for Desford, Paul Bumpus two and Kevin Parker one in a good team performance. Brajesh Patel, Oscar Bentley and Patrick Cox all won one for KP to take what might be an important point.
Winstanley, meanwhile, were beating Great Glen 7-3 to leapfrog KP when Dan Andrews won his customary three, backed by two from Himansu Mishra and one by Mick Box. Alex Mason took two for Glen and Kevin Trueman one as they continue their battle against the drop. Another point that might well prove crucial.
The third team vying for the two promotion spots are Desford’s first team who easily overcame Electricity III 9-1 when Malcolm Truman and Jessica Birbeck each won three and Arun Jogi two. The Sparks’ lone voice was that of Russ Pettitt who prevented the full house.
With 11 teams in this division, only one will go down, Electricity II one of those at risk, Great Glen another while Blaby and Whetstone are the other team, just losing out 6-4 to Syston Casuals who had both Clive Stretton and Bob Whitaker unbeaten. That important point was again secured when Phill Hinson, John Winsper and Nick Rayner all scored one.
Division Three is another providing great entertainment at both ends of the chart, including the already promoted Holwell Works II who had to battle hard to secure a share of the points at 5-5 with Nomads. Tony Fox won three, while individual leader, Mike James, could only clinch two, beaten by Laszlo Kocsis who took two for Nomads. Having beaten James in five Kocsis then teamed up with Mark Clay to grab the doubles 13-11 in the fifth for the share.
Fleckney have been scooting up the chart having secured the services of the, so far, undefeated Pete Jamieson who is teaming well with Jason Prescott, these two each emerging unbeaten in a 7-3 success over Electricity IV and are now just two points behind Syston Casuals III for second, but with a match in hand.
Syston defeated Unicorn III 7-3 to confirm the latter’s bottom spot when Cheton Tailor and Scott Morris each took maximums, but this team has the unenviable task of having to beat Holwell in their final fixture to stand a chance of promotion. Fleckney, meanwhile, have the two Knighton Park teams remaining.
KP’s fifth team, despite an excellent 7-3 victory over Regent Sports II have a must-win situation against Fleckney to avoid the drop. Against Regent Steve Bessant won three, Simon Aldis and Martin Pember two apiece, while Richard Anderson took two for the opposition.
The Park’s sixth team just about made sure of staying up by beating Electricity V, who looked for all the world a promotion team a month ago, 7-3 with Steve Adams, David Mountain and Eddie Kwok all taking two, Kwok’s win over Andy Wright, who otherwise won two, particularly noteworthy.
A shock for already crowned champions of Division One, Unicorn, who were beaten 6-4 by Electricity II despite a terrific three-straight maximum by Lois Peake who found support only from Geoff Parsons who scored one. Two each for Marcin Kasprzyk and Adam Pettitt who also combined for a five-games doubles success, while Harry White lobbed in a very important singles victory to give the Sparks the edge.
Division Four champions, Unicorn IV, cemented their top position with a dominating 10-0 victory over Syston Casuals IV while second placed, Goons II, lost 6-4 to Lutterworth who had Colin Jones winning three. The latter have left their promotion challenge just a little late as Goons retain second position.
The other relegation spot to join Regent Sports III who are bottom is going to the wire with Nomads III, on 30 points, going down 8-2 to Desford Village, Luke Blair and John Henshaw three each. Knighton Park VII, on 29 points, lost 7-3 to Electricity VI for whom Dave Bray scored three. Who knows, that point scored by KP might prove crucial.