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PAUL OUT TO MAKE


THE CUT TPAGE 70


i t f Sip- /T hursday,';March.23rd^ 2006:^^v;^ Blues to battle By Adrian Capstick i ;


M fT P ?


f e i m l


MARK Smitheririgale is not about to give up th e : hunt for promotion just yet 4- although he con­ cedes Clitheroe’s bes t hopes are behind them. i Successive defeats to


f c


relegation-threatened sides Warrington Town and Ossett Albion have realistically brought a n ' end to their chances of a top-six finish,’ but as long as it is:mathematically: possible, the Clitheroe ’ manager will keep on fighting - starting with ■ this Saturday’s derby trip


fI fpe 'Ml-': liK


; to Rossendale United.' He said: “'We’ve got 10 •


games left to the end of the season, and we!ll con­ tinue to fight tooth and


V nail for every point avail­ able. “I agree, having lost


, this game and the last aga ins t 'Warrington it makes it very difficult,


CQ-


- and perhaps i t is now, •^beyond.us, but we’re


■ going for th e highest ' position possible.” Saturday’s opponents


i -


have seen a resurgence since Derek Egan took over as manager at Dark Lane and are currently ; six games unbeaten.


. . The R.ossendale boss, / who was interviewed for the Shawbridge jbb a t '


: 'the beginning of this sea- . son; is also pushing for a play-off; place,-with the;


K- as:'


. advantage of a game in ; hand and a point over, '


UNIBOND


FOOTBALL LEAGUE Fir.st Division


P W D L P


-Woodley Sports...30 15 CoIwynBay ...'..33 14 StocksbridgePS ■ 13 11


„ Mossley ......'...34, 19 8 7 65 KendalTn.......32, 16 10 6 58 FIcetwoodTn ..1.33 .17 -7 9 58 GrcsIeyRovcrs ...34 15 8 11 53 9 51


10 51 6 50


, Chorley .........33 13 Rossendale Utd.. .31 9


:Mark Smilhcringalc - •


Clitheroe.", The'same fixture last


seasori also saw; the two teams similairly matched, albeit at the wrong end of the’table.


- . I t fell at a'similar time,


and the;: 3-2 .iwin-jcon- tributed a great deal to the,Blues avoiding the drop and Rossendale fin­ ishing in the bottom two. ■ -United only enjoyed a '


stay of execution due to relegated Premier Divi­ sion side Spennymoor folding, meaning only one • club dropped out of the' First Di-vision. - So,'just like last year,;


this game means a lot, to both ades, and the rivalry is certainly.not lost on Smitheringale. “I t’s a massive game for


us,-for the players,'-fans and everyone at the club,” 'said the Blues b o s s . -


.BelperTn ■•Goole '....M ....3 3 Ossett Albion '..'..31, •WarringtonTn ...28 Spalding Utd. . ; . ,33


Bridlington Tn .. .35 14 EastvvoodTn..V..33 12 11 10 47 BriggTn,........32 11'12 9,45 .34'11 12 1145 5 15 44


; CLITHEROE ...32 11 KidsgrbveAth. ...3 r 11.


ShepshedDyn.,...32'.10 10,12 40 .'.32 10 9:


15 37 15 35


- Bishop Auckland '.W '•pointsdeducted -


.7: 15 34 11,11: 29 11-16 29 5 20 14


“Derek Egan has


strengthened his squad significantly since the, bejginning of the season- and he has done an excel- lentjob. - “There are a few good


players there that both Clitheroe players and fans, alike know well and will, be pleased to see again,; , like Russ Clarke. I t’s just:


. a shame, th a t he’s o u t , injured a t the moment a,nd probably won’tb e available.” Smitheringale had his


ovra a-vailability problems in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat. at Ossett Albion, but he'


:expects several players to return this week. ; Chris Clajk should fea­ ture and, all being well,


, James • ;;Featherstone . returns ; if_.,he hasn’t - picked up any injuries while 'away ski-ing last week;, -


' - '. . ■ -. Clitheroe crowned


CLITHEROE Badminton Club ; secured their first trophy of the sea-' son last week'when the A team


' travelled to Chorley to play Hawks, D in the Mid-Lanra league. The Idcalsiwere looking for the .,


: two points that would secure them :the league championship, and ■despite a-hard-fought;match, - Clitheroe managed to secure a 10-8.,, win, and therefore the title, with . two matches still to play.


; The Ribble 'Valley side will be going all put in their reinaining fix-,, tures in ah atternpHo preserve their unbeaten record throughout ' the season.


' ' Special thanks must go to team ,


captain,Mary Brass, who)in.her; first year in charge has managed on' a weekly, basis to blend individual ■players into a formidable winning-; team. ' ■


. . - ; On Monday night, the A team


travelled to play Westholme in the Blackburn.First Division,'and despite some eirtreinely competitive matches, Clith'e'rde could not rise to the challenge,' losing 11-5 on the night. Despite this disappointment,'


Clitheroe are still on track for a very, creditable fourth place finish


ri in the.First Division, the highest .position they, will have achieved'in the club’s history.


. 3C


15 , 7 .42 8 13 41 7 13 40


14 49 ' Darryl Dicken was


. working, , Alan; Uoar. : (thigh) and Mark Tom-. linson were injured and Steve Caton was absent through illness. All three players are expected to be


' back in the reckoning for Saturday. Paul Stansfield also


had a bit of a problem with his knee throughout Saturday’s game, but the Skipton-based boss


. expects him to be fit for the trip to Rossendale. ' And hopefully,' with


these additions, Clitheroe won’t see a repeat of the' Ossett game where “slop- ; py defending” against a


. poor side proved costly for the Shawbridge supre-


-iDo.'- -. He said: “We were very


■ poor at breaking their. off-Mde trap down but I thought they were a poor, side, incredibly poor.,


■


They weren’t sophisticat­ ed and they didn’t play’


: the offside trap that par­ ticularly well, it was just


. th a t we couldn’t cope- with it.


' ' ,


' ■ “We had the lion’s share of possessioii again' but got punished for slop.-


; py defending. Essentially they were, two mistakes made by Gregg Ander­ son. Admittedly it was a


- good pass through for the first, but he'didn’t get in ; tight enough on his mark­ er, and his touch let him down for,the second. “Overall it was a very


frustrating and disap­ pointing display.”.


CHAMPION: Lizzie Highton won the Lancashire Open Age 100m backstroke. A21030G/3


Lizzie swims to Lancashire title


■ The .15-year-old swim­ mer took part at the in the Championships held a t Manchester Aquatics Cen­ tre over the last two week­ ends and also collected the junior championship in the same event.’ ' Her winning time has


LIZZIE Highton has been crowned the Ladies 100 metres backstroke champi­ on of Lancashire. ^ ■


ensured qualification to the National Championships, and she also took first place for her age group in the;


■ 50m backstroke earlier in . the meet. - . - Lizzie, though still a jun-


; ior, was the eldest swimmer in the young,; 11-strong, Clitheroe Dolphins team : th a t had their most suc­


cessful, weekend for a decade. The future' looks bright as Thomas Carter, Luke


'Tasker and Harry Paige all made top-eight finishes in their age group events and Rebekah Rodgers, Anna Carey, Bethany Jones, ..Isaac Banki-williamson;


Hayleigh Jones, Jack Dewhurst, Phillip Sellars all advanced their persona best times. ■ This weekend, top of the table Clitheroe, traveltc second-placed Chorley ir. the penultimate round o) ^ 1 the NL Swim League Sec- ^ ond Division.


977096336511912 9_______ , j , . ®I Phil S im p s o n a n d A d r ian C a p s t ic k .- \ . ..'■.7 2 :


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7 f.,*A t / r . i —


2 WEEKS TO GO


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