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Astley & Tyldesley took on Edinburgh in a Northern League fixture at a
dry, warm and sunny Gin Pit on Sunday afternoon. Edinburgh won the
Northern K.O. Cup last month and are riding high in the Northern League,
but a fighting display by A&T made the visitors work hard throughout the
Division 1 match. Once again, A&T got off to a slow start and trailed by
8 points after just three races. A run of shared races followed, before
the Paul Graham / Danny Hughes pairing took a 7-2 heat win over Kamil
Greszla, after Jake Slight fell in heat 10, to reduce the gap to just
four points. Two more drawn heats followed, before Edinburgh took a 7-3
from Jake Slight and Lee Lawrence over Paul Graham and Ron Makin in heat
13 to effectively seal the points. A&T immediately hit back with a 6-4
heat win from Reece Pollitt and Roy Heslop, but Edinburgh held on to win
77-71.
There were plenty of crashes in a hard fought match, as A&T put in a
much more determined effort after the previous week's shock defeat. Best
for Team Green were Reece Pollitt, Paul Graham and Danny Hughes, who all
won races, with solid support from Roy Heslop and George Hughes. Lee
Lawrence was best for Edinburgh, losing only to Pollitt in heat 7,
whilst Mikey Hewitson's and Jake Slight's scores were reduced by an
exclusion apiece. Kamil Greszla and Gavin Kennedy chipped in with
valuable points.
Northern League Division 1 match result
Astley & Tyldesley 71 Edinburgh 77
A&T: Reece Pollitt 17, Paul Graham 15 (1), Danny Hughes 13 (2), Roy
Heslop 11, George Hughes 9 (2), Ron Makin 6 (1), Max Evans dnr.
Edinburgh: Lee Lawrence 16 (3), Mikey Hewitson 16, Jake Slight 15, Kamil
Greszla 12 (1), Gavin Kennedy 12 (1), Mark Lee 4, Douglas Morgan 2, Neil
Swanson dnr.
Referee - Bill Phillips.
The Division 2 match was an even closer affair, with the first six races
all drawn, before Edinburgh edged into a 2 point lead in heat 7. A&T hit
straight back with a 7-3 heat win, but a 6-4 win to the visitors in heat
13 levelled the scores with just two races to go. A shared heat
followed, so the teams entered the last race level. Edinburgh's Gavin
Kennedy suffered the agony of toppling over at the start and was
subsequently excluded, leaving the A&T pairing of Roy Heslop and George
Hughes to take a 6-3 heat win and secure a narrow 76-73 win.
Reece Pollitt was best for Team Green, losing just the once to Kennedy,
with the rest of the team all chipping in with valuable points in a hard
fought victory. Best for Edinburgh was Stevie Gilroy, well supported by
a solid scoring quartet.
Northern League Division 2 match result
Astley & Tyldesley 76 Edinburgh 73
A&T: Reece Pollitt 18 (1), Roy Heslop 13 (1), George Hughes 11 (1), Max
Evans 9 (3), Stefan Whitelegg 9, Ciaran Collins 9, Ron Makin 6 (1), Liam
Briggs 1.
Edinburgh: Stevie Gilroy 17, Douglas Morgan 14 (1), Gavin Kennedy 14,
Neil Swanson 13 (1), Mark Lee 10 (3), Callum Cairney 5.
Referee - Bill Phillips.
Astley & Tyldesley's u-12 riders kept up their winning run to make it
six wins on the bounce in the Division 3 match. Max Evans raced unbeaten
with good scores from Ben Dickinson, Emily Burgess and Alex Semtyshin,
as A&T ran out easy 62-14 winners to remain top of the Division 3 table.
Edinburgh's Callum Cairney lost twice to Evans.
Northern League Division 3 match result
Astley & Tyldesley 62 Edinburgh 14
A&T: Max Evans 16, Ben Dickinson 12, Emily Burgess 12, Alex Semtyshin
10, Karina Pendlebury 6, Charlie Burgess 6.
Edinburgh: Callum Cairney 14.
Referee - Mike Hack.
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