ALEXANDRA moved up into joint second place in the Ovalworld Super League when they completed a clean sweep 6-0 win over neighbours Witton.

This was only the second success for the reigning champions and something of a surprise result against opponents who had put together three excellent scores before this eclipse.

The Alex got away to a great start thanks to Mick Chapman and Reg Horman who romped home 21-5 and 21-9 respectively.

Captain Vincent O'Donnell followed up with a 21-15 win after being level at 14 across to make it 3-0 at the interval.

All second half games were competitive close affairs. Brian Tomlinson and Colin Campbell peeled at 12-12 before the Alex man ran out 21-15.

But the last two games put the icing on the cake for the homesters as Alan Cottam maintained a slender lead to hold off Mark Green 21-18 and Terry Connell nosed in front at the vital time to win 21-19.

Meanwhile, Rose 'n' Bowl lost ground when they went down 4-2 at Bamber Bridge.

Louis Stevenson, who chalked up his fourth success of the season, was once again in brilliant form to dismiss Keith Illingworth 21-16. Peter Williams played well to defeat captain Phil Parkinson 21-14 to make it a respectable score for Stacksteads.

The feature of the match was the performance of Frank Harrison, who trailed 6-0 after four ends, but then replied with the first ever Super League 21 break to win 21-6.

George Gregson also won easily 21-8 for Bamber Bridge while Geoff Pugh and Tony Shorrock 21-16 and 21-17 respectively secured the result to remain league leaders.

Ighten Mount were held to their third consecutive home draw by Sunnybank who at the end of the day were satisfied with a share of the points.

Although two near misses almost gave the home side their biggest win of the season,

Sunnybank resisted losing the match.

Simon Haworth, who is on top form, gave the visitors an early boost with a quick return 21-11 followed by Fred Barlow 21-18.

At this stage Ken Topham kept Ighten Mount in the match with a 21-13 win to make it 2-1 at half time.

After the break homesters Fred Bulcock and Eric Beaver put them in the driving seat with two very easy 21-7 scores and 3-2 lead in points.

However, Sunnybank captain Jim O'Connor secured a draw for his Helmshore side when he won a thrilling finish 21-19.

This weekend, Sunnybank entertain neighbours Stacksteads while Witton have a chance to get back to form when they entertain league leaders Bamber Bridge.

Alexandra have a tough fixture away at pre-season champion favourites St Annes, who are rarely defeated on home turf.

Results: Alexandra 6, Witton 0; Bamber Bridge 4, Stacksteads 2; Ighten Mount 3, Sunnybank 3; Lostock 3, Frenchwood 3; St Annes 6, Ramblers 0.

Fixtures for Sunday May 23: Frenchwood v Ighten Mount; Ramblers v Lostock; St Annes v Alexandra; Sunnybank v Stacksteads; Witton v Bamber Bridge.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.