Keighley Juniors hit an unexpected brick wall in the shape of a much improved Wigan side in the third round of the National Junior League Division Two competition at Lytham St Annes.

Having beaten them 5-1 in the previous encounter they were surprised to lose 6-0 this time. However, despite playing below their normal standard, no heads went down and face-saving wins were achieved in the remaining two matches with a 6-0 score against bottom of the table Preston 'B' and a 5-1 triumph against Lancaster & Morecambe.

The team still stand's a good chance of promotion if the quality of play can be lifted to previous levels for the final round, but the three players on duty, Richard Foster, Chris Dunn and Paul Griffin, can be commended for their grit and determination.

In Division One, Lothersdale 'A'and Terriers 'A' fought out a 5-5 draw with some determined table tennis evident on both sides. The dales men's Barry Snowden was the outstanding player on the night with his masterful treble taking in a 21-5, 21-8 defeat of Mark Emmott, a 21-11, 21-8 success against Paul Beck and, impressively, a 21-16, 21-13 win against Tony Boyd. Dave Adams provided good support with defeats of both Emmott 21-12, 21-19 and Beck 21-15, 21-17, but the Terriers fought back with defeats of Bob Davis by all three players and a 12-21, 21-19, 21-15 win for Boyd against Adams before he teamed up with Beck to nick the doubles 21-23, 21-16, 21-13 from Adams and Davis.

Lothersdale 'B' swap places with their 'A' team following an 8-2 home defeat to Oakworth and now occupy the second relegation place. In contrast, Oakworth move to second from top thanks to full houses from both Ben Lowe and Keith Wilkinson. Peter Midgley pushed Lowe hard before finally slipping up 18-21, 21-15, 21-10 and repeated the score against Wilkinson, starting well before finishing on the wrong end of a 22-24, 21-18, 21-4 scoreline. A notable doubles win for Midgley and Martin Connolly 21-12, 7-21, 21-18 inflicted the first defeat of the season against Lowe and Wilkinson, but the only other score for Lothersdale was a 21-16, 21-17 win for Connolly over Steve Busfield on a disappointing night for the home team.

Peter Holbrook did this week what only Tony Boyd has done so far this season - score 42 points in two games against Gareth Wiles. However, unlike Boyd, Holbrook did what every other one of the Oakbank maestro's opponents has done and ended as a loser 25-23, 21-19. Holbrook managed a couple with wins against Nick Clegg 21-12, 21-16 and Katie Lightowler 22-20, 21-13 to help the Ukies cause as did Jerry Harkaway whose 21-19, 13-21, 21-16 defeat of Lightowler was probably his best display of the season. However, wins for Clegg and Lightowler against the luckless Stef Szczur and the defeat of Holbrook and Harkaway by Wiles and Lightowler in the doubles 21-16, 17-21, 21-16 ensured a 6-4 win for the Juniors.

In Division Two, Embassy moved three points clear of Terriers 'B' with a match in hand at the top following a whitewashing of visitors Stockbridge Spartans. Steve Crossland, Derek Briggs and Nadim Asghar all enjoyed a quality return to league action with only Munza Nasir (21-9, 19-21, 21-15 against Crossland) and Ray Wallace (21-17, 15-21, 21-4 against Asghar) pushing the Champions-elect to three.

Adam Broadbent led the way for Wilsden at Johnson & Johnson with three impressive victories. John Pullen defeated Luke Broadbent 21-8, 21-11 and Dave Broadbent 21-15, 21-14 to keep the Gargrave team in touch, but although both Derek Stanforth and Vince Ferran defeated Dave, Luke and Adam wrapped it up for Wilsden with a fine 21-14, 21-9 doubles win against Pullen and Ferran to earn their team a 6-4 success.

Lothersdale 'C' seem to have waved goodbye to any lingering hope of promotion following a 7-3 reversal at home to Terriers 'B' who are themselves going flat out for Division One. Mark Emmott was top class with three good wins that included a 8-21, 21-12, 21-18 defeat of the vastly experienced Jack Anderson. Stuart Myers also got the better of Anderson 21-12, 15-21 21-15 on his way to a brace. Richard Crookes was the best player for Lothersdale with his couple including a 21-23, 21-12, 21-19 defeat of Tom Lacey.

In Division Three the derby clash between Crossflatts 'A' and 'B' ended with the 'A' team maintaining their arms length advantage over the 'B' squad with a 7-3 victory. However, none of the 'A' team could come to terms with Danny McHugh who scored all his team's points with a victory parade that included a tremendous 20-22, 21-12, 21-9 success against John Patrick.

With two months of the season still to go, Oakworth 'B' and Haworth 'B' already look odds on for promotion. Oakworth, who have improved markedly since the beginning of the season, cruised home at Ilkley Road 'C' who could only muster one point in the form of a Steve Ives defeat of Alistair McIlroy 19-21, 25-23, 21-18. Both Steve Smith and Jason Procter earned trebles with Procter's 13-21, 21-17, 21-19 defeat of Paul Stead being the closest of the lot.

Twenty points ahead of the rest, Oakworth may be excused for thinking that the winners trophy has already been engraved with their name, however second placed Haworth 'B' with three games in hand may take exception to this view following a 9-1 demolition of South Craven. The victory march of Mohammed Nafis, Kamran Ramzan and Shahid Iqbal was only punctuated by a 21-19, 21-18 win for Tom Fryett against Iqbal.

RESULTS

National Junior League: Keighley 0, Wigan 6; Keighley 6, Preston 'B' 0; Keighley 5, Lancaster & Morecambe 1.

Yorkshire League: Leeds Vets 2nds 6, Keighley Vets 4; Doncaster Vets 2nds 3, Keighley Vets 2nds 7.

Division One: Lothersdale 'A' 5, Terriers 'A' 5; Lothersdale 'A' 4, Embassy 'B' 6; Lothersdale 'B' 2, Oakworth 'A' 8; Nelson Nomads 3, Lothersdale 'A' 7; Oakbank Juniors 6, Ukrainians 4; Oakworth 'A' 3, Embassy 'A' 7.

Division Two: Embassy 'C' 10, Stockbridge Spartans 0; Ilkley Road 'B' 0, Ilkley Road 'A' 10; Johnson & Johnson 4, Wilsden 6; Lothersdale 'C' 3, Terriers 'B' 7; Stockbridge Spartans 9, Ilkley Road 'B' 1.

Division Three: Crossflatts 'A' 7, Crossflatts 'B' 3; Haworth 'A' 5, St Wilfs 5; Haworth 'B' 9, South Craven 1; Ilkley Road 'C' 1, Oakworth 'B' 9; St Wilfs 0, Craven LTC 10.

Jeff Naylor Quarter-Finals: Lothersdale 'C' 351, Embassy 'A' 361; Oakbank 322, Terriers 'A' 348; Oakworth 270, Nelson Nomads 348.