New leaders Dunnington in pole position for second title
The York club, who first won the trophy three years ago, stormed to a 20-4 victory at Pontefract to leapfrog Hallamshire – without a game this week and with only one fixture left – into top spot.
Dunnington now lead the Sheffield outfit by 19 points with two games to go and can clinch the trophy on Wednesday night when they face third-placed Queens, as they only need 14 more points.
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Hide AdThe Halifax club, who also have two matches left and trail Dunnington by 27 points, kept alive their faint hopes of the title with a 15-8 home success against Chapel Allerton.
Dunnington were led to their sixth consecutive win by world no.23 Chris Simpson, who bounced back from his 3/0 Premier Squash League loss to German champion Simon Rosner the previous evening playing for Duffield with a straight-games win of his own against Alex Hodgetts at first string.
Gareth Lumsden also eased to a 3/0 win at no.2, against Lewis Doughty, while Ed Shannon, Matt Stephenson and Alistair England ensured a clean sweep for Dunnington with respective triumphs over Sam Wileman (3/1), Kyle Maree (3/1) and Stuart Hargreaves (3/2).
Queens’ win against fourth-placed Chapel Allerton was a more closely-fought affair, with James Earles tipping the balance by bridging a 50-position world ranking gap in overcoming world no.52 Eddie Charlton 3/0 at first string.
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Hide AdMatthew Sidaway and Connor Sheen ensured Earles’ hard work was not wasted with respective 3/1 successes against Dominic Hamilton at no. 3 and Niall McKinnon at no.4.
Declan James and Adam Wellstead gained consolation victories for Chapel Allerton against Patrick Rooney (3/0) and Irish national champion Madeline Perry (3/1).
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table relegated Pontefract seconds scored a rare win – only their fourth of the season – by a 17-9 margin at Heaton.
They will be replaced by Abbeydale seconds next season, as they are runaway leaders of Division One.