On a bright sunny day, Astley & Tyldesley / CWTS welcomed Sheffield Rockets for a Northern League fixture at Gin Pit. Torrential rain the day before had left the track grippy, but in need of some reinstatement work, which was carried out beforehand.

Polish star Tomasz Wlodarczyk marked his return to the A&T side by winning heat 1, but another returnee, Danny Swales, fell at the first bend, as the points were shared. The next two races were drawn, before A&T took the lead after Rich Hudson collected a gate exclusion. In the re-run, A&T held a 7-2 right up to the chequered flag, before Rob Mawhood pipped George Hughes on the line, to take 2nd place behind Mark Graham for a 6-3. Two more shared races followed, before an action packed heat 7. Mick Knowles took the lead after Kyle Holland moved out Danny Hughes on the 1st bend. Hughes pulled off a great pass on Holland on the 3rd lap and chased after a slowing Knowles. He made his move to pass the Sheffield veteran on the last bend, but a smart switch by Holland saw him cut back inside to join his partner for a Sheffield 7-3. This put the visitors 1 point ahead for the first time in the match, but A&T hit back with a 6-4 to the Graham brothers over Ellie Sullivan and Vicky Brown, for an interval lead of 40-39. Astonishingly, all seven races in the 2nd half were shared 5-5, as A&T held on grimly to take a 75-74 win and move off the bottom of the Division 1 table.

Tomasz Wlodarczyk rode to an immaculate 20 points maximum score, with great performances from Danny Hughes, Paul Graham and Mark Graham. George Hughes and Roy Heslop took valuable third places in the second half, with the points scored by Danny Swales and Ciaran Collins essential for the win. A&T provided the race winner in 10 of the 15 races, but it was good solid team riding by Sheffield in packing the minor places, which kept them in strong contention throughout the match. Their captain Kyle Holland and Zac Smurthwaite led their charge, whilst a back injury restricted Rich Hudson to two race wins.

Northern League Division 1 match result

Astley & Tyldesley 75 Sheffield Rockets 74

A&T: Tomasz Wlodarczyk 20, Danny Hughes 16, Paul Graham 13 (2), Mark Graham 12, George Hughes 5 (1), Roy Heslop 5 (1), Danny Swales 3, Ciaran Collins 1.

Sheffield: Kyle Holland 16 (1), Zac Smurthwaite 14 (2), Vicky Brown 9 (2), Rob Mawhood 8 (1), Rich Hudson 8, Mick Knowles 7 (1), Matt Parrott 7 (1), Ellie Sullivan 5 (1).

Referee - Alan Farrell.

In the Division 2 match, Sheffield eased into a 39-31 lead after heat 7, before scoring four successive 7-3 heat wins to put the outcome beyond any doubt. Sheffield had four unbeaten riders - Rich Hudson, Matt Parrott, Kyle Holland and Rob Mawhood, with solid support from Ellie Sullivan, Mick Knowles and James Bunting. Roy Heslop and George Hughes won a race apiece for A&T, in a match which was good experience for A&T's youngsters.

Northern League Division 2 match result

Astley & Tyldesley 59 Sheffield Rockets 91

A&T: Roy Heslop 11, Mark Graham 8 (1), George Hughes 8, Ciaran Collins 8, Max Evans 8, Matthew Snell 7 (2), Ben Dickinson 5 (2), Alex Semtyshin 4.

Sheffield: Kyle Holland 17 (3), Matt Parrott 14 (2), Ellie Sullivan 14 (1), Rob Mawhood 12, James Bunting 11 (1), Rich Hudson 10 (2), Mick Knowles 10, Jack Brownell 3.

Referee - Alan Farrell.

The top two teams in Division 3 met in a match which will go a long way to determining the overall league winners. A&T lined up with eight riders against Sheffield's three. James Bunting rode to a fine maximum for Sheffield, but all eight A&T riders rode well and scored plenty of points to secure an emphatic 87-29 win. This makes it ten wins out of ten matches ridden. Wins in the remaining two matches against Hull at home and Stockport away will clinch the Division 3 title.

Northern League Division 3 match result

Astley & Tyldesley 87 Sheffield Rockets 29

A&T: Matthew Snell 14, Max Evans 14, Alex Semtyshin 12, Jessica Burgess 12, Ben Dickinson 10, Emily Burgess 9, Joe Quarmby 9, Charlie Burgess 7.

Sheffield: James Bunting 16, Jack Brownell 7, Joe Brownell 6.