Burley Trojans brought the curtain down on another season with their annual presentation evening at Burley Cricket Club.
The first team finished in third place in the Harrogate and District Premier Division for the third year in a row, a disappointing end to the season ruling them out of title contention once again.
There was the hollow consolation of knowing that for the third year in succession they had inflicted the heaviest defeat on the eventual champions, the 3-0 victory at Ilkley in November giving clear evidence that the side is good enough to challenge for honours.
There was also cup disappointment as they fell at the semi- final stage in the Senior Cup.
In the absence of any competitive silverware the focus was on the domestic awards which, as ever, were closely contested.
Fittingly for the side with the best defensive record in the division all five regular members of the rearguard polled votes in the first team Players' Player-of-the- Year award. Both Ian McKain and Chris Lockwood received nominations and 'keeper Chris Hargreaves, last year's winner, finished in a close third place.
There was a tie for the award with Stuart Dibb and Kieren Hanogue, the central defensive pairing, sharing the accolade.
The first team Match Point award went to skipper Nick Quaife for an amazing fourth year in a row, narrowly pipping Dibb who had appeared favourite for the award until the final weeks of the season.
The Reserves' season had started brightly with a comprehensive defeat of eventual champions Ilkley Reserves but they were unable to sustain their challenge and finished in a distant fifth place.
There is however plenty of promise among the younger players who have emerged to suggest that better times lie ahead.
The Reserve team Players' Player-of-the-Year award was comfortably won by midfielder Oliver Barrand who beat off the challenge of leading goalscorer Phil Constantine, with youngster James Hoskin being the only other player to poll votes.
Barrand also picked up the Reserves' Match Point prize, narrowly fending off Constantine and midfielder Rob Wheeler.
The club would like to thank Burley Cricket Club for their hospitality over the season and also main sponsor Mark G Spauls who has provided tremendous support over the season.
Forthcoming summer events include a trip to York Races on Friday, July 11, plus the annual Golf Day on Friday, July 25. Further details will appear on the web site nearer the time, at burley-in-wharfedale.org, as will details of pre-season training.
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