A season of frustration for First Division's Lothersdale 'A' where the constant search for a regular third player has hampered their campaign, finally ended in the disappointment of relegation, confirmed by a 6-4 defeat at Oakbank. Never one to go down without a fight, Dave Adams held his team together with wins against Katie Lightowler 13-21, 21-11, 21-12 and Nick Clegg 21-9, 21-12, but the mesmeric Gareth Wiles wrapped up his season with a 14th treble, 21-9, 21-14 against Peter Midgley, 21-15, 21-18 against Martin Connolly and 23-21, 21-18 against the fighting Adams. A 20-22, 21-12, 23-21 doubles win for Lightowler and Wiles over Midgley and Connolly sealed the win for Oakbank.

In Division Three Craven and Skipton 'B' served up a competitive end of season treat that belied both team's mid-table position. The inclusion of Rorie Roberts in the Craven team usually ends with a victory, but although posting a full house, the Gargrave youngster didn't have everything his own way. Working hard to defeat Nick Emblem 13-21, 21-12, 21-11 he then overturned Paul Griffin by the narrowest margin 21-19, 22-20 and Matthew Piergies 18-21, 21-13, 21-14. Griffin and Emblem hit back well for Skipton with a couple each against Graham Southam and Dave Roberts, with Emblem's 18-21, 21-12, 21-19 defeat of Roberts being particularly significant before teaming up with Griffin to snatch the doubles 21-18, 22-20 from Rorie and Southam.

Both Crossflatts teams will finish in mid-table, yet this statistic hides the notable achievements of two of the clubs players. Ben Hinchcliffe and Danny McHugh are playing in the League for this first time this season and both look set to finish with an average around the 70% mark, this would give them the enviable accolade of sharing the best return for a first time junior in the League this season and must surely result in them being considered for the Keighley Junior team next season. This week, McHugh notched the only point for his team away at St Peter's with a 23-21, 21-16 defeat of Sam Atkinson who is a regular in the Keighley Junior squad in both the National Junior League and the Yorkshire League. Meanwhile, Ben Hinchcliffe was registering a full house for Crossflatts 'A' away at Skipton 'B' that included a 21-10, 21-13 defeat of Paul Griffin, another member of the Keighley Junior squad. With young talent such as this in their team, coupled with the steadying influence of the dependable John Patrick, next season could be a big one for Crossflatts.

Without a match this week, leaders Oakworth 'B' could only watch as Haworth 'B' reduced their deficit to 14 points with two fixtures in hand following a comprehensive 10-0 away win at a Hinchcliffe-less Crossflatts 'A'. Azeem Khan cruised through to a treble, but both Nafis and Kamran Ramzan were made to work hard by Patrick, before winning out 17-21, 22-20, 21-19 and 18-21, 21-13, 21-18 respectively.

RESULTS

Yorkshire Vets Two: Doncaster 9, Keighley 1st 1.

Yorkshire Vets Three: Wakefield 1st 4, Keighley 2nd 6.

Division One: Oakbank 6, Lothersdale 'A' 4; Oakworth 'A' 0, Embassy 'B' 10; Oakworth 'A' 4, Nemesis 6; Terriers 'A' 6, Oakworth 'A' 4; Terriers 'A' 3, Embassy 'B' 7; Lothersdale 'B' 1, Embassy 'A' 9.

Division Two: Cononley Sports 5, Ilkley Road 'A' 5; Ilkley Road 'A' 7, Wilsden 3.

Division Three: Craven LTC 5, Skipton 'B' 5; Crossflatts 'A' 0, Haworth 'B' 10; Crossflatts 'B' 1, St Peters 9; Haworth 'A' 0, Ilkley Road 'C' 10; Skipton 'B' 2, Crossflatts 'A' 8; Skipton 'B' 2, St Peters 8.