BRADFORD'S No 1 snooker side suffered a small setback in their quest to retain the Yorkshire Inter-District League title with a 4-2 defeat at home to second-placed Sheffield No 1 at Undercliffe Cricket Club.

David Birley gave the visitors the start they wanted in the Division One contest with a 62-47 victory against Wayne Cooper, although the latter responded superbly with a 91 clearance to level the match with a 100-30 success.

Kevin Firth put Bradford ahead, making a quickfire break of 75, before opponent Martin Finnigan cleared with an impressive 88 break.

James Dabell was then in good form for Sheffield and an early break of 33 set the platform, before clearing with a 47 break for an 80-34 win.

Mark Slater of Bradford then produced a solid break of 34 and led by 47 points – but Dabell held his nerve well over a few visits and ended up winning 73-54.

Sheffield are now only three points behind the defending champions but, crucially, Bradford have two games left to Sheffield's one.

Bradford face Castleford No 2 at Undercliffe Cricket Club on Sunday (7.30pm).

Bradford No 2 did their first team a favour by beating third-placed Leeds No 1 4-2 at Cue Gardens, a result which now virtually rules Leeds out of the title race.

Gareth Green made a break of 54 against Tony Massey, with the pair sharing frames, as did Bradford captain Hanif Rafiq and Mark Ball.

Boover Singh then produced two comprehensive frames, keeping alive the team's slim chances of remaining in the division next season.

* Both semi-finals of the Bradford Snooker Championships are being played at Great Horton Conservative Club on Saturday (7.45pm), with two mouth-watering contests in prospect.

Eight-times champion Cooper (Undercliffe Cricket Club) takes on 2004 champion Howard Mawson (Eccleshill Victoria Cons), while 2012 finalist Firth (Undercliffe Cricket Club) plays 2008 finalist Slater (Clayton Libs). Both are over the best-of-seven frames.

* The draw for the first round of the Bradford Snooker Handicap has been made and matches can be viewed on the Bradford Snooker Association's website www.bsa-cuesports.com.