STACKSTEADS are hot on the heels of early pacesetters Bamber Bridge after their 3-3 draw at Frenchwood and are just two points adrift at the top of the Ovalworld Super League.

Rose 'N Bowl have strengthened their squad, but it did nothing to help them in a first half 2-1 reverse and had to rely on Geoff Alderson 21-15 to keep them in the game.

However, they were well worth a share of the spoils in the second half as Frank Herbert 21-18 and anchor man Louis Stevenson added valuable points.

Bamber Bridge did not have it all their own way against newcomers Ram-blers who scored solid wins from Peter Hawkes and Tommy Mitchell, both 21-15.

But the league leaders notched four comfortable wins, Larry Deary 21-12, Geoff Pugh 21-13, Keith Illingworth 21-10 and best of the day George Gregson 21-5.

Ighten Mount opened their account with a 4-2 success over reigning champions Alexandra who looked a pale shadow of last year's runaway winners.

But all credit to the Burnley team who bounced back from a disastrous opening fixture and were deserved winners of the match.

Eric Beaver 21-9 and Tom Dewhurst 21-7 were surprise easy winners and romped home without being seriously challenged.

At least Brian Tomlinson, who replied with a solid 21-12 win, kept Alex hopes alive. After the break, Mick Chapman levelled the scores with a resounding 21-9, but Ken Topham 21-14 gave Ighten Mount the advantage before Fred Bulcock edged out Alan Cottam in a close finish 21-19 to secure the match.

Following a disappointment in the opener at Stacksteads, Witton were pleased to get a victory under their belt especially against strongly fancied St Annes, 4-2.

Mick Lee 21-15 and Bill Green 21-11 gave them a good start before Terry Wood replied for the visitors after an exciting duel with Colin Campbell that went all the way to the wire 21-20.

Brian Hoole finished well to clinch victory 21-18 while captain Peter Slinger made sure of the result with a solid performance 21-17.

Sunnybank 6-0 winners last week almost suffered the same fate themselves at Railway Hotel, Lostock, and had to thank Brian Haworth for their single point 21-16.

The strong Lostock line-up were quite outstanding and Dave Barnish, Barry Sutton, Bob Cowling, Tommy Fishwick and Dave Hughes all won handsomely to mark their first success in the division.

Results: Ighten Mount 4, Alexandra 2; Frenchwood 3, Stacksteads 3; Lostock 5, Sunnybank 1; Bamber Bridge 4, Ramblers 2; Witton 4, St Annes 2.

Fixtures for Sunday: Bamber Bridge v Alexandra; Ighten Mount v Lostock; Ramblers v Frenchwood; St Annes v Stacksteads; Sunnybank v Witton.

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