EARLY season sensations Royal Oak were shown just exactly who the boss is in Division One on Tuesday night when they were thrashed 8-2 defeat by defending title holders Higher Folds.

See-saw action early on saw Neil Clayton put Folds in front on 12 minutes with Oak's Tony Halliwell replying on 17. Mick Blakeley restored the champions lead on 27 minutes but again the home side responded with John France making it 2-2 on 29 minutes.

"Enough is enough" was the Higher Folds message as straight from the kick off Clayton caught out keeper Shaun Holt with goal number three from the halfway line. There on in it was all one way traffic with Clayton getting two more, Blakeley his second and Steven Connor two for a 8-2 emphatic away win.

Goals from Jason Hardman (2) and Mark Brown saw unbeaten Britannia to a 3-2 win at Leigh Three Crowns. Moonraker's 2-2 draw at Leigh Avenue with two Simon Whittaker goals sees them another side yet to taste defeat after five games played. Astley Villa picked up their first point of the season with Lesley Walker (2), Greg Guest and Matt Willan earning a 4-4 home draw with Union Arms. Church Inn took a three goal interval lead through Mark Spencer (2) and Jamie Munro at Leigh Sportsmen.

The home team battled back after the break through Jason Caldwell and Lee Cambray but Church clung on for 3-2. AFC Limelight were held 2-2 at home by Courts A, a first point of the season for the away side.

Prior to Tuesday Royal Oak were proving to be the surprise Division One package of the early season.

Four games played, three wins, one draw and not a defeat to mar the record.

Coming out of the weekend Oak sat two points adrift of defending champions Higher Folds having scored the same number of goals, an impressive 19, as the current leaders.

On Saturday Leigh Sportsmen were the latest side to be on the receiving end as Steve Howe with two and Dave Calland and Kevin Loughlin with one apiece registered a 4-0 win.

Higher Folds, however, are already showing they are going to take some catching as Steve Connor, Brian Twist and Neil Clayton made it 3-0 before the half hour mark in the fixture at Church Inn.

The home side rallied a little until Terry Flannery put through his own goal on 55 minutes. Jamie Munro scored a consolation 10 minutes from time but the eventual 4-1 scoreline could almost be said to have an air of respectability about it after such a disastrous start for Church. For Higher Fold it was business as usual with a fourth win in four games.

Elsewhere Les Walker got Astley Villa off to a flying start with a goal on 11 minutes in the game at Three Crowns A.

Greg Anderson levelled on 38 minutes only for Neil Mason to put Villa in front again five minutes after the break. The last thirty minutes was all Three Crowns as Neil Unsworth, Mark Saunders and Anderson again made it a 4-2 victory.

Britannia are looking a pools punter's dream team with four draws on the bounce. An incredible fightback on Saturday with a Jason Hardman eleven minute hat-trick saw Britannia erase a three goal deficit for 3-3 and a well deserved point. Simon Whittaker, Scott Mulcrow and Steve Anderton had appeared to have put Moonraker in the driving seat but they took their foot off the gas.

Union Arms put eight past bottom club Courts A for no reply with three from Chris Gallagher, two each from Paul Monaghan and Stuart Gaskell and one from Gary Howcroft.

Fir Tree Rangers are the team of the moment in Division Two. Goals from Peter Mitchell (2), Gary Rigby and Neil Ainscough earned a nailbiting 4-3 win at pre-season hot title tip Howe Bridge Mills on Thursday and on Saturday, Mitchell got three, Rigby two, John Bailey two and Phil Buxton one for a 8-1 home win over Three Crowns B.

Rangers sit top of the shop with four wins in four. Gary Farnworth (2), Carl Barrington, Dave Woodward and Rob Houghton saw second placed Atherton Royal to a 5-2 win over new team Asda Golborne in midweek, surprisingly followed on Saturday by a shock first defeat of the campaign in a 5-2 derby setback at Atherton C&N.

Rob Menzies, Dean Lord, Steve Harris, Ryan Shaw and Dave Lord saw C&N celebrating a win and looking forward with well-founded optimism to the rest of the campaign, hope fully recapturing past glories.

Sir Charles Napier have repeated last season's dismal start going down 2-1 at home in midweek to Hag Fold and on the weekend falling to a hat-trick from Chris O'Neill and one from Jason Ward in a 4-1 defeat at Mechanics Arms.

The clash of the division's two new boys saw Horns Inn beat Asda Golborne 2-2 with Andy Tipping getting both goals. Shaun Priest netted a hat-trick for Courts B in a 6-1 win over Sailors and Soldiers. The Atherton derby on Saturday saw a Paul Hook 42nd minute penalty settle the game 1-0 in Hag Fold's favour at home to Howe Bridge Mills.