IT wasn’t as close as that”, was the magnanimous verdict proffered by the Vicar following his Royal Blenheim (Oxford City) side’s surprise 73-71 defeat to the North Oxford Conservative Club (Summertown).

Very rarely do Premiership teams get overturned by more lowly-placed outfits, yet this performance was all the more impressive in that the Con Club led from the gun, never once yielded their advantage and then settled the contest with over half the final round remaining.

Pacesetters in the Premier Division prior to hostilities, the Blenheim’s misery was further compounded by a victory for the Plough (Wolvercote) which propelled them instead to the head of affairs.

In what was comfortably the highest scoring encounter of the evening (84-74), visitors the Eight Bells (Long Crendon), kept pace with their more illustrious opponents before fading near the finish.

With byes this Thursday for the Blenheim and the Ploughman’s Bunch!, the Plough can assert a commanding position in the title race.

Billed (by this column at least) as the ‘Match of the Night’, the top-of-the-table clash between the Bletchingdon Nomads and the Chequers (Chipping Norton) failed to live up to the hype. Ten points ahead at the interval, matters became even more one-sided in the second half with the Nomads victorious even before the last round was read out.

The 79-53 scoreline is a bit of a battering, but the Chequers were punching a little above their weight and their total roughly matched their season’s average.

Elsewhere, reigning back-to-back champions in the North, the Blue Boar Bees (also ‘Chippy’), suffered a fifth loss in six outings when submitting 73-62 to the White Hart (Eynsham), and their crown will almost inevitably now have to be passed on.

The Millwall v Oxford United game proved quite a distraction in the Woodman (North Leigh). Suitably attired in his United kit, Dot had to be constantly prised away from the telly but he and his Royal Sun teammates prevailed comfortably enough, 75-61.

The U’s march to Wembley was also monitored closely at the Black Swan (East Oxford) where the hosts and guests, the Ploughman’s Bunch!, managed to play out a quiz in between all the football. Bizarrely, Captain Conway read the questions and his rudderless charges perished 84-57.

The evening was also notable for the Seacourt Bridge (Botley) breaking their duck for the campaign. They overturned the Chandos Arms (Oakley) 73-60 but it’s the Plough next up!

The Green Road Club (Kidlington) maintained their grip on the East after squeezing past the Gardener’s Arms (North Parade), 73-68, whilst the Windrush Club (Witney) held onto their slender lead in the West after overcoming a slightly lacklustre Bell (Lower Heyford), 67-56.

JAMES CARR'S QUESTIONS
1
The first six episodes of which TV comedy series were subtitled ‘Six of the Best’?

2 Which actor’s films include The Time Machine, The Birds, Seven Seas to Calais and The Liquidator?

3 The Tennessee Three was the backing band for which country singer?

4 Governor Sir Hudson Lowe is best known for being the jailer of which historical figure?

Answers: 1 Whack-O, 2 Rod Taylor, 3 Johnny Cash, 4 Napoleon.