Depleted Pontefract team show their mettle to increase lead at top
Pontefract 1 showed why they are red hot favourites to defend their Yorkshire Premier Squash League crown as they defied having to field a severely depleted team with a gutsy victory over Harrogate.
The runaway league leaders were without their top seven nominated players and yet they still managed to grind out a 14-9 victory over their fifth-placed opponents, recording a tenth win in 11 matches this season.
Ponte's delight was further enhanced by news from down the A1 as a similarly-depleted second-placed Doncaster side were thrashed 20-0 at home by Dunnington, thus widening the gap at the top to a yawning 32 points with only five games remaining.
Australian junior Jackson Wylie was thrown in for his Ponte home debut and he settled in quickly, dismissing Harrogate's home-grown Tommy Simpson in three games.
On the next door court, Adam Taylor won a much tighter third-string affair with ex-Pontefract player Isaac Green.
Such was Ponte's selection crisis that they promoted youngster Adam Smith from the fourth team to play at number five. He heroically came back from 2/1 down to conquer Harrogate veteran Phil Nightingale and seal the five winning bonus points.
The top two matches both went to the away side, with Gabriel Cox defeating Tom Bamford rapidly and Guernseyman Chris Simpson toppling home skipper Matt Godson at number one.
Doncaster slipped down to third place after a damaging whitewash at home to Dunnington, who leapfrog them into second.
None of their top nine nominated players were available, thus pushing Aussie skipper David Turner up to number one.
The result was straight-games defeats for all five home players as Dunnington's Ed Shannon, Taminder Gata-Aura, Jamie Brown, Amaad Fareed and Owain Taylor showed no mercy.
Cleethorpes' plight remains perilous after they lost for the ninth time this season, a 15-8 reverse at home to Pontefract 2, who eased their own relegation concerns in the process.
Wins for Danny Siddall and James Wilkinson laid the platform and although the home side's Louie Truman won a tight four-setter against American Ben Gemma, Ponte's top order soon reasserted control.
Teenager Chester Dockray and Kiwi Lwamba Chileshe won in straight games against Cleethorpes' Oscar Hill and captain Harry Falconer respectively.
The other fixture was a mid-table skirmish between Queens and Ferriby Hall, which the visitors from Humberside won 16-7 thanks to victories from stalwart Glyn Saunders, number four Yusef Forster and number one Ben Smith.