Astley & Tyldesley took on Heckmondwike at Gin Pit in a Northern League encounter. The match was tight, with three of the first four races drawn, before disaster struck A & T, as race leader Tomasz Wlodarczyk (pictured) fell heavily after slipping a chain, in heat 5. The visitors moved into a 7 points lead and despite A & T's best efforts, they could not claw back the deficit. Heckmondwike rode steadily throughout to maintain their lead and withstood a late A & T onslaught to win the match, 76-72. Darek Kurkowski raced unbeaten for A & T, with Wlodarczyk unbeaten in his other four races. Full credit to A & T's youngsters for stepping in to replace missing seniors. This result means that Heckmondwike move off the bottom of the table, replaced by A & T.

Northern League match result

Astley & Tyldesley 72 Heckmondwike 76

A & T: Darek Kurkowski 20 Tomasz Wlodarczyk 15 (1) Roy Heslop 14 Joe Allen 11 (1) Joel Partington 5 Katie Keirl 3 Stefan Whitelegg 2 Philip Atherton 2.

Heckmondwike: Darren Kent 17 Richard Bowkett 16 (2) Dave Murphy 14 (1) James Carter 13 (2) Richard Westcott 9 (1) Mark Dilcock 7 (1).