LEADERS Hermits B tasted defeat for the first time as the top two teams in Division Two of the Bradford Summer Table Tennis League went head to head.

Unity lost the corresponding fixture in May, when Dave Renton drew a blank – but he turned the tables on Hermits with an unbeaten performance and, with Dave Rawlins and Steve Whitaker winning two each, Unity triumphed 8-2 to cut the gap at the summit to just four points.

In Division One, the leading pair were also in opposition as unbeaten Yeadon A met defending champions Yeadon C and the rivals produced a titanic tussle which went the full distance.

The first two sets were shared as Deo Jones put the C team in front against Pete Clarkson, with Tim Dyson replying for the A team against Fred Yeung.

The next four sets all went to five games, with Shahriar Masoudi beating John Chew 11-9 to put the C team 2-1 up.

The A team responded as Clarkson pipped Yeung 11-9 in the fifth and then Chew overcame Jones 21-19 in the decider.

Masoudi made it 3-3 with a great win over Dyson and he also beat Clarkson. But Chew and Dyson got the better of Yeung and Jones respectively as the A team led 5-4 and they easily won the doubles to maintain their 100 per cent record.

Division One: Hermits A 4, Embassy A 6; Yeadon C 4, Yeadon A 6. Division Two: Unity 8, Hermits B 2; Hermits E 4, Embassy B 6; Hermits C 9, Hermits D 1.