Winter warmier for golf winner


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SPORT


that show class diviile


goals


Smith admires league leaders


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NEXT TEST: Clitheroe’s Luke Blackledge faces his second professional bout in Colne tomorrow night at The Muni


By Dan Black dan.black@eastlancsnews.co.uk


against Chester,” Smith said. “They just have a different class of players and that’s why they are top of the league. You just can’t compete against them. Our.lads


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3-0 at half-time through goals from Steven Beck (7), Carl Ruffer (12) and Chris Simm (42), before Mark Gritton (54) and Ashley Williams (59) rounded off the scoring for the visitors. “We took a bit of a drubbing


the standard at the Deva Stadium early in February, though five dif­ ferent players contributed to the Blues five-star scoreline at Shaw- bridge on Tuesday evening in front of a bumper crowd of527. The Kibble Valley side trailed


BLUES boss Peter Smith paid tribute to Chester’s quality af­ ter Neil Young’s league leaders scored five past Clitheroe for the second time in just over two- and-a-half weeks. A Michael Wilde hat-trick set


WORTHY OF APPLAUSE; Clitheroe boss Peter Smith says Chester’s piay shows quality


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slide away from the play-off' places in the First Division North table, but Smith is realistic about, the constant challenges the club faces, especially when put head-


all the way back to the top. They • will be playing in the football league again within time. They’ve got quality players and proven, goalscorers. It’s testament to the quality within the division, it’s a competitive league.” Clitheroe continue their steady


and only need one or two chances to score. We did our best and went at them. The chances we created were glorious and they gave us a lesson in finishing. They were ruthless.” He added: “Chester are going


were wasteful in front of goal, said: “It’s really tough to compete against sides like that, but we created seven clear-cut chances of our own. That just shows the difference in the class of players because they created chances and took them. “The better players are prolific


goalscorer within the three tiers of the Evo-Stik league with 29 goals, which Smith believes epito­ mises the quality and proficiency among the Deva ranks. Smith, who admitted his side


worked hard and gave everything they had, but at the end of the day Chester had that extra bit of qual­ ity; they are going places.” Chester’s Wilde is the leading


■ “It was unbelievable looking at their bench. They had two or three lads that have played ^at conference level on the bench and they would have matched our entire wage bill. They have got the finance and the support, and they are an ambitious club. You’re always going to be up against teams like that. “My players know what level


to-head with club’s like Chester.


. was pleased with the performanc­ es of my players. Tom Williams was excellent despite missing some golden opportunities but he looked veiy dangerous. “It was a good crowd, espe­


they need to be at now if they want to go further in their career. That was the benchmark. But I


.brought Clitheroe level before a late Danny Doherty strike sealed' the points. ■ The Blues next game sees them travel to Ossett Albion on March 12th.


from 2-0 down to beat Radcliffe Borough 3-2. A quickfire sec­ ond- half double from Williams


cially for a Tuesday night when Manchester United and Chelsea were playing. But on a Saturday I reckon we would have doubled ^ the 500-plus that we had at Shaw- bridge. It’s great to see teams like Chester come here.' It was a great atmosphere.” • At weekend the Blues came


Luke ready for latest big fight


.Fighter 3 light heavyweight tournament win­ ner Michael Bisping.


of the MMA trade by Clitheroe’s former Cage Warriors Fight Championship light- heavy\veight champion. Cage Rage light- heavyweight champion and The Ultimate


; lifeline. “If you’re going boxing every day at the


who got me in to it really,” Luke said. “I was always getting into loads of trouble on the • streets and boxing has since kept me out of bother. I’d definitely recommend the sport to other people because it does give you a


. But that’s not the most impressive story to stem from the Kibble Valley fighter’s brief career. As a 15-year-old, Blackledge was involved in petty crime, was violent towards his peers and had become reliant on smok­ ing the recreational drug, cannabis. He then spent 15 months in a young offenders prison before turning his life around and finding solace within the four walls of a resoundingly different constitution - a gym. “It was my stepdad Stephen Molyneux


kind of training is hard work; there isn’t any easy sports.”


..... After being mentored by Bisping, Luke


gym, then you’re not going to have the time or energy to cause trouble. It gives you a lot of discipline and focus and you’ve got to be­ have yourself. I’m in the gym six days a week now. It’s hard work but it’s all worth it. Any


British boxing, sparring with reigning Com­ monwealth Games light-heavy\veight cham­ pion Kenny Anderson and former super middleweight champion Tony Quigley.


And now he’s mixing it with the best of


HERE’S a name to look out for in the bo.x- ing world - Luke Blackledge. The 20-year-old has been taught the tricks


to get my pro licence and they thought I was good enough. I did a lot of training in boxing when I did kick-boxing so it all came natu­ rally, and I stopped him in the fifth round


me and I’m a good body puncher. When you land a good shot underneath the ribs they’re going down because it’s tough to recover from that.


going. I’m definitely going to go in to my next fight and try to stop him.”


been going to lots of different gyms to spar. I’ve sparred with Kenny Anderson about 15 times in preparation for this fight, Tony Quigley and WBA champion Robin Reid, so I’ve been sparring with some top fight­ ers ranked in Britain’s top 10. I’m confident about the fight. “I’m really happy with the way things are


“I’m really keen and I’m hungry for it. I’ve


battle with journeyman James Tucker at Colne Muni tomorrow evening in front of a bumper crowd. However, Luke will be bouncing back into the squared circle with the ambition of claiming another KO. “My work rate is a massive strength for


on my debut. I was absolutely chuffed to bits with it.” Luke’s forthcoming quest is a six-round


now and I turned pro recently. I had a kick­ boxing background, but my training was similar so I was used to it. “I had to spar in front of the boxing board


turned his attentions to boxing where he won 25 consecutive fights in his t\vo years as a novice. The super-middleweight’s profes­ sional debut came in October as he record­ ed a devastating victory over Birmingham’s Stuart Tordoff as he forced a stoppage in the fifth round. “I’ve been doing it for just over two years


Magnificent f| Seven for rampant Green


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