19 May Knock-out Round-up

The season may be in its early stages, but team knockouts are well under way, with teams in action this week across three separate competitions.

So, who has caught the eye so far and who’s looking in form?

The Julie Fuller 6-Man went into the third round on Monday with half of the Division One sides already eliminated, along with current holders Broad Oak, leaving the competition feeling unusually open this year.

There were two scratch teams left in the hat, Clayton West ‘A’ and Marsh Utd ‘A’ who both have the talent and experience to go a long way in this tournament. But the Julie Fuller has always had a habit of producing surprises, and so it did with the exit of Marsh Utd ‘A’ at the hands of Lindley Lib ‘A’. That’s the sort of performance that can give a team serious momentum in a competition like this. You would have to fancy the Lindley team to go deep into this competition now, possibly to the final. Their likely contenders if they do? On the other side of the draw none other than Clayton West who made comfortable progress against Brockholes ‘A’. But that said. This is the Julie Fuller so anything can happen. And often does!

The 10-man Bistro kicked off this week with teams in action on Tuesday. Like the Julie Fuller it is notorious for springing surprises for all the same reasons. As we write first round results are coming in and there is one already, with Div 2 Waterloo narrowly beaten by Div 5 Holmfirth ‘B’. At this stage it is way too soon to spot any emerging favourites, but one team this writer will be keeping an eye on is Elland WMC who did not need their +6 advantage to ease past scratch team Clayton West and set up an intriguing next round tie with Lowerhouses. That could be tasty.

Later this week we have the 10-Man Team Knockout reaching the business end after two completed rounds, with the quarter-finals taking place on Friday 22nd May.

Holders Longwood are firmly in the mix as they chase a third successive title. Once again they ended Lowerhouses hopes early, knocking them out in the first round for the second year running. They’ll not have it easy though, with a tie against Lindley Lib ‘A’ who carry a useful +9 handicap advantage and sit only one place behind them in Division One.

Golcar’s teams have also made a strong impression so far. Between them they’ve already eliminated three Division One sides and, whisper it quietly, there’s a realistic possibility of the teams facing each other in the final.

That said, neither quarter-final tie will be straightforward. Golcar ‘A’ face a dangerous Springwood side with a sizeable +27 handicap advantage, while Golcar ‘B’ take on Brockholes ‘A’, who have also been in impressive form in this particular competition so far.

There’s still a long way to go, but Friday’s matches should give us all a much clearer picture of who we may fancy to be lifting the silverware later in the season.