MATCH REPORT: A&T win Northern 4’s for the 1st time
Astley & Tyldesley sealed two more team titles at Bury on Sunday. In a very tense and close finish, A&T won the Northern Fours League for the first time ever, pipping Stockport by just six race points, after the two teams had tied on match points. A&T beat their closest rivals Sheffield, to win the Northern Junior League title for the third successive year.
A&T started the final round of the series with a one point advantage over Stockport, with Bury a further two points behind in third place. In a very tightly contested match, Hull took the match win on the day, scoring 48 points, with both Andy Angell and Nathan Everett racing unbeaten. Everett’s win from the outside gate over Stockport’s Devon Campbell in
the last race proved decisive in clinching Hull’s win on the day. A&T had to finish no more than one place behind Stockport, to win the title, as long as they kept the deficit to less than 8 race points on the day. In a very disciplined team performance, A&T stuck to their guns, regularly picking up 2nd and 3rd places in their races, to finish 3rd on the day, just behind Stockport, but crucially only 2 race points behind. Steve Harris and Reece Pollitt led the scoring, with two race wins apiece, as the team avoided any last places on the day.
Northern Fours League match result
Hull 48 Stockport 47 Astley & Tyldesley 45 Bury 38 Sheffield 35 Heckmondwike 16
Hull: Nathan Everett 16, Andy Angell 16, Jack Lister 11, Matt Eglen 3, Will Alvey 2.
Stockport: Terry Norman 12, Devon Campbell 12, Jake Read 9, Louis Wright 8, Ben Higham 6.
A&T: Steve Harris 14, Reece Pollitt 13, Mark Grantham 10, Matt Snell 8, Duncan Whalley dnr.
Bury: Danny Taylor 15, Will Owens 10, Kaysar Mohammadi 7, Adam Turnbull 4, Eryk Motala 2.
Sheffield: Kielan Burton 12, Luke Morton 9, Laura Watson 7, Niamh Morton 7.
Heckmondwike: Darren Kent 9, Thomas Kent 7.
Final Northern Fours League standings
Astley & Tyldesley 25 (242); Stockport 25 (236); Bury 21 (226); Hull 18 (203); Sheffield 8 (146); Heckmondwike 8 (125).
Northern 4’s League winners Astley & Tyldesley
There was also a close finish to the Junior League series, as A&T and Sheffield started the day level on match points at the top of the table. A&T had a much better turn out of riders than in the penultimate round, and beat Sheffield by 38 points on the day.
In the u-10s category, Sheffield’s Edward Balfour raced to maximum points, with A&T’s Aiden Green losing only to Edward in heat 8. This meant that both riders were tied on points for the u-10 GP series. Edward run the run-off to take the overall series win.
With Sheffield’s Kielan Burton being the only u-16 rider present, he raced with the u-13 riders and the points were subsequently adjusted. Stockport’s Ewan Ferreira and A&T’s Duncan Whalley both raced unbeaten in the u-13s match. A&T’s Chloe Warn raced and scored 15 points, but her points were deducted as she rode later in the Women’s category, so again, points had to be adjusted.
A&T’s Matt Snell raced to a 16 points maximum in the Division 2 event, whilst Sheffield’s Laura Watson did likewise in the best turn out of the year in the Women’s event.
Just three riders contested the combined u-19 and Division 1 event, which saw A&T’s Reece Pollitt and Bury’s Eryk Motala’s both finish with 16 points each in their respective categories.
Northern Junior League match result
(all GP scores except Div. 1 count to team totals)
Astley & Tyldesley 162 Sheffield 124 Bury 53 Hull 42 Stockport 35 Heckmondwike 19
U-10s: Edward Balfour (Sheffield) 16, Aiden Green (A&T) 15, Oliver Banyard (Sheffield) 15, Steven Warn (A&T) 13, Freddie Cox (A&T) 13, Levi Edwards (A&T) 12, Bobby Dunphy (Bury) 11, Joseph Farrell (Stockport) 11, Myles Grantham (A&T) 9, Ada Cox (A&T) 9, Erin Balfour (Sheffield) 9, Charlie Quinn (Sheffield) 8, Elizabeth Hindley (A&T) 5.
U-13s: Ewan Ferreira (Stockport) 16, Duncan Whalley (A&T) 16, Tom Dunphy (Bury) 14, Lewis Skitterall (A&T) 12, Lucy Grantham (A&T) 12, Minnie Whalley (A&T) 10, Owen Simcock (A&T)
9, Ryan Byrne (Stockport) 8.
U-16s: Kielan Burton (Sheffield) 16.
U-19s: Eryk Motala (Bury) 16, Will Alvey (Hull) 12.
Div. 2: Matt Snell (A&T) 16, Luke Morton (Sheffield) 12, Darren Kent (Heckmondwike) 11, Jack Lister (Hull) 10, Matt Eglen (Hull) 9, Thomas Kent (Heckmondwike) 8, Dawar Mohammadi (Bury) 8, Steve Mann (Bury) 4.
Women: Laura Watson (Sheffield) 16, Niamh Morton (Sheffield) 14, Reagan Stubbs (Hull) 11, Chloe Warn (A&T) 11, Jorja Banyard (Sheffield) 10, Jess Banyard (Sheffield) 8.
Div. 1: Reece Pollitt (A&T) 16.
Final Northern Junior League standings
Astley & Tyldesley 27 (621); Sheffield 26 (566); Bury 19 (276); Hull 12 (177); Stockport 8 (103); Heckmondwike 7 (124).
Northern Junior League winners Astley & Tyldesley
Individual Grand Prix Series – top 3 scorers in each category
U-10 – Edward Balfour (Sheffield) 76, Aiden Green (A&T) 76, Oliver Banyard (Sheffield) 66.
U-13 – Ewan Ferreira (Stockport) 60, Duncan Whalley (A&T) 52, Tom Dunphy (Bury) 50.
U-16 – Kielan Burton (Sheffield) 78, Harry Radford (Bury) 35, James Morris (Sheffield) 12.
U-19 – Eryk Motala (Bury) 76, William Alvey (Hull) 36, Steven Webber (Sheffield) 12.
Div Two – Darren Kent (Heckmondwike) 70, Luke Morton (Sheffield) 39, Matt Eglen (Hull) 37.
Women – Laura Watson (Sheffield) 59, Niamh Morton (Sheffield) 49, Emily Burgess (A&T) 26.
Div One – Reece Pollitt (A&T) 76, Nathan Everett (Hull) 24, Neil Howarth (Bury) 12.