SKIPTON LMS stole a march on their title rivals Grindleton and moved into top spot in the Devonshire Carpets Craven League table thanks to a 4-1 win at Bradley last weekend.

With Grindleton denied an outing by snow at Grassington, LMS took full advantage, although they had to work hard against the slope in the first-half to set up the win.

Their cause was helped by an early goal when a Darren Phillip shot cannoned off a defender, but Bradley stuck to the task and got back on level terms 10 minutes later when Richard Robinson reacted sharply to fire home when a ball was not properly cleared.

With a 1-1 half-time scoreline and the slope in their favour after the break, LMS were favourites to take the points in the second-half and they duly lifted the tempo to put the home side under constant pressure.

They went ahead when Mark Critchlow set up Tom Wolstenholme with some good work on the left and then the same striker made it 3-1 when Rob Kaminski did the spadework with an excellent through ball.

With the LMS defence looking solid against Bradley's best attacking efforts and man of the match John Allan in fine fettle in midfield, Bradley were rarely able to threaten and the final goal came from Steve Carling after a fine run and shot.

Bronte Wanderers must have been hoping for maximum points when they entertained Intake, but a first goal in six years by visiting full-back Alan Holmes denied the Worth Valley side and earned the Lancastrians a 3-3 draw.

Intake were much the better side in the first half and should have had more to show for their dominance than an Andrew Dibb goal. Bronte then hit back to level soon after the restart, before Adrian Daffern again put Intake ahead.

Bronte again responded and then went ahead, but a goal-keeping error enabled Holmes his moment in the spotlight.

While a draw was regarded as a fair outcome to that game, Keighley Lifts were not so happy with the circumstances which concluded their 2-2 draw at Embsay.

The visitors were leading 2-1 with the game entering the final minute when Toby Capstick snatched the equaliser. Lifts felt that their goal-keeper Stephen Duff has securely claimed possession, but Capstick and the referee decided otherwise and the goal brought a share of the points.

Both sides looked sharp in a first-half, Embsay producing a flowing movement that ended in a goal for Chris Capstick and Lifts taking advantage of a defensive lapse to draw level through Gavin Thompson.

A goal-mouth scramble then brought a second-half goal for Marc Webster and though Embsay had a number of chances to get on level terms, notably through good work from Stephen Speak, who hit the woodwork and had a penalty claim turned down, it was left to substitute Capstick to snatch a controversial equaliser at the death.

Opinions were also somewhat divided after Oxenhope's 4-3 win at Cononley, where the home side felt that their own defensive shortcomings had contributed significantly to the defeat.

Oxenhope were content to celebrate a seven-goal thriller in which both sides played good attacking football on a difficult surface.

The visitors went ahead when Joel Gallagher set up Duncan Tetley and after Andrew Hardaker had levelled from outside the area, the Gallagher-Tetley combination repeated the process.

Ewen Scarr then got Cononley back on level terms at half-time and Scarr then edged them ahead after good pressure.

Oxenhope then equalised through Simon Knaggs and as both teams battled for the winner, substitute David Collier prodded the ball home after a goal-mouth scramble.