One of the problems of this season has been the high number of postponements across all divisions except Division Four of the Leicester and District League, ensuring a significant flurry of rearranged fixtures being needed as all matches must be cleared before the second half of the season begins.
There is a nice tussle emerging in Division Three, where Nomads moved to the top with a 7-3 victory over Leicester Taxes when Zaheer Mohamed and Andy Searle both grabbed maximums. Mohamed has lost only one so far, while Searle has an 85 per cent average. Martin Taylor supplied one while Bruce Johnson and Phil Hodgson scored one each and then won the doubles for Taxes to secure a consolation point.
Electricity IV kept their promotion aspirations intact with an excellent 8-2 success against Syston Casuals III. There were three each for Chris Woodward and Sheriff Makhani, while Dave Greasley just got the better of Scott Morris in the fifth, the latter playing up from Division Five. The Sparks took the doubles 17-15 in the fifth.
Goons are poised to move onto the top rung but have not played for several weeks while Knighton Park VI who missed promotion by just one point last season are now firmly entrenched in the relegation zone after being soundly beaten by their own seventh team 8-2, Martin Pember and Patrick Cox three apiece.
In the top flight, not a great deal has changed with Knighton Park and Unicorn still neck and neck at the top with 100 per cent records.
Both won 7-3, with the Park seeing off Electricity when Chris Rogers and Karen Smith both emerged undefeated. Unicorn beat Desford Village when Lois Peake won all three fairly comfortably, but there were many other very close sets.
Unicorn’s Georgios Briskolas lost to both Neil Matthams and Tony Smith in five while his team-mate, Geoff Parsons, managed to squeeze home twice in five-gamers and the doubles also needed five games in favour of the students.
Four teams reside on 22 points at the top of Division Five with Regent Sports in the best position with a game in hand of the rest. They defeated Desford Village 8-2 when James Smith and Keith Bramhall both took three and Mick Smith two. Luke Blair won one for Desford, while Gemma Hargrave almost won her first when she went down in five to Bramhall.
Goons II, undefeated so far albeit with a few draws, beat Knighton Park XII 8-2 with Steve Harrison man of the match and unbeaten. Steve Webb and evergreen Pete Gerdes, now well into his 80s, each took two. There was a great show by Park’s young Maya Dehnen, who won both for her team in an excellent performance.
Neither of the other two teams at the top, Knighton Park II and Lutterworth Rotary, played in a division particularly blighted by postponements.
Pick of the performances in Division Two saw Alex Jackson of Unicorn II win three against Knighton Park IV in a 5-5 draw, John Genovese supplying the other singles and these two the doubles. For Park, Kinar Sheth and Rayan Kotecha each notched two.
John Szostak of Syston Casuals included a win over the in-form Peter Wilson when his team beat Knighton Park’s third team 6-4, Jason Woodfield supporting with two.