Punchbowl FC have won Blackburn Sunday League's Fair Play Award for December.

The Division Three side picked up the award, sponsored by Bleasdales Ltd, for earning maximum points from the three games they played in December.

The club won £40 in vouchers.

Meanwhile, Station have won the league's Team of the Month Award for December. The Division One side played two matches during the month and picked up two hard-earned victories.

They beat Preston side BAC Continental to reach the fifth round of the Lancashire Trophy and followed it up with a 1-0 victory in the Cherry Tree derby against Bee Hive.

Station win a voucher for £15 from sponsors Lower Audley Tyres.

It may only be the second week of January but you are unlikely to hear a better excuse for missing football training this year.

Following a 5-0 mauling against Witton Inn in the last Blackburn Sunday League game of 2000, Forresters manager Kevin Filbin read the riot act to his under achievers and called for big changes in attitude -- or else!

The raging manager demanded every single player turn up for the first training session of the New Year or not bother coming back.

So who should be the only absentee of that first training session...the gaffer himself!

But he did have an excuse to beat all excuses -- a bus crashed in to his house!

He said: "I couldn't believe it. After the blasting I gave them I had to phone the lads up and tell them I couldn't make it. However, when I said it was because a bus had crashed into my house nobody believed me."

But the manager was saved being branded a lair by his players as the story made front page news in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on Friday.

Kilbin, 40, added: "I made a New Year's resolution to make sure I went to more training sessions and this goes and happens."

Accrington Combination new boys Stanley Street Social Club have vowed to look on the bright side of things despite conceding the 100th league goal in just nine matches.

Stanley got thumped 27-0 by Castle to leave them firmly rooted to the foot of Division Two.

Secretary Lee Blunstone said: "Some of the lads are getting a bit fed up and some have left but the main thing is we just want to have a game of football and get on with it."

Jamie Whitehead and Darren Gillibrand scored four apiece while Daniel Wilson scored a hat-trick.

There were two goals each for Ryan Hindle, Carl Smith, Paul Segar and Shaun George with Bernard Hall, Nicholas Cooper and an own goal completing the scoring.

Blackburn Combination will hold an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday, January 17 and all clubs must send a representative.

The meeting, at Longshaw Working Men's Club at 7.15pm, will be held to discuss changes to this season's cup competitions due to the backlog of fixtures.

The league is proposing that all cup matches should be played to a finish -- meaning extra time or penalties if necessary.

All cup matches will also kick off at 2pm if clubs agree to the amendments.