LEADERS Swan A came unstuck at Yarnton British Legion as the Premier Section title race was blown wide open, writes ANDY BEAL.

Swan suffered a 3-0 defeat to the Greene King Oxford & District League Section 1 front-runners in wet and windy conditions.

And with New Club A beating second-placed Gladiators A, only five points now separate the top three.

The leaders could only set 16 against Yarnton in the opener and the hosts scraped through with 17.

They then took the next two legs to earn maximum points.

New Club boosted their own title hopes with a 2-1 win over Gladiators, which included five sixes.

They had to come from behind, though, after losing the first on a three-stick shoot-out.

After levelling the match, New Club took the decider 29-27.

Roger Goodall was their top-scorer with 14 (5-3-6), with teammates Robert Taylor (4-3-6) and Pip Goulding (3-6-4) whipping off 13.

Barry Townsend was top dog for Gladiators with 13 (4-5-4).

Rob Bradford clanged off a bakers dozen (6-3-4) for the Black Prince as they came from behind to beat Garsington Sports A 2-1.

Bullnose Morris A beat Woodman 3-0, while Six Bells A Quarry fell to their 11th defeat of the campaign, losing 2-1 to George A.

The Crown went top of Section 2 with a 3-0 triumph over Six Bells A Kidlington. Pete Sellar shone with 13 (5-5-3).

Previous leaders Swan B slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Donnington D, who had Steve Walton to thank.

He not only clanged off 14 (4-4-6), but hit all six needed to win the deciding leg.

Runaway Section 3 leaders Chequers A were shocked 3-0 at home by Vikings Sports A.

It remains too close to call in Section 4, with five points separating six teams.

Blackbird have slipped to second after a 2-1 defeat at Littlemore British Legion And Donnington leapfrogged them into top spot after beating the Berkshire 3-0.

Garsington Sports B moved within a point of the leaders after claiming a 2-1 win over Green Road Club B.

Red Lion A Marston’s hopes were dented when they lost 2-1 at home to Masons Arms B.

In Section 5, leaders Black Swan were forced to dig deep to beat Red Lion B Marston 2-1.

Eamon Hanlon hit 13 (5-4-4) as they clinched the decider 21-16.

The Fox & Goat moved off the foot of Section 6, with a 3-0 win at home to Rose Hill Club B.

The Pheasant are still second after beating Chequers B 3-0.

Northway Club A still lead the way in Section 7 despite defeat, but face a battle on their hands with six teams in with a chance of the title.

Florence Park B triumphed 3-0 after Northway set all three legs.

However, second-placed Bullnose Morris B were unable to take advantage, losing to Green Road Club A 2-1, meaning the two clubs are only separated by the number of dolls.

Northway Club B’s ambitions were severely dented as they crashed to a 2-1 loss at home to bottom side Red Lion B Cassington.

The decider was won on three sticks, with Marcus Bunning topscoring with ten (3-3-4) for Lion.

Original Swan A also faltered, collapsing to a 3-0 defeat at Marston British Legion.

But the match was closer than the scoreline suggests, with Marston winning 11-9, 14-13 and 12-11.

Cricketers Arms boosted their Section 8 title hopes by beating leaders Black Horse 3-0.

They are now three points behind in third place.

Red Lion A Cassington move to within a point of Cricketers after beating White Hart at home 2-1.

Meanwhile, Section 9 outfit Corner House have withdrawn from the league.

RESULTS

GREENE KING OXFORD & DISTRICT LEAGUE

Premier/Section 1: New Club A 2, Gladiators A 1; Six Bells A 1, George A 2; Yarnton BL 3, Swan A 0; Garsington Sports A 1, Black Prince 2; Woodman 0, Bullnose Morris A 3.

Section 2: Swan B 1, Donnington D 2; Crown 3, Six Bells A 0; Gladiators B 1, Queens Head 2; North Oxford CC B 3, New Club B 0.

Section 3: Chequers A 0, Vikings Sports A 3; Masons Arms A 1, Chequers C 2; Vikings Sports B 1, Florence Park A 2; Six Bells B 2, Tiddington CC 1; George B 3, King & Queen 0.

Section 4: Berkshire House 0, Donnington A 3; Green Road B 1, Garsington Sports B 2; Littlemore BL 2, Blackbird 1; Red Lion A 1, Masons Arms B 2; Vikings D 3, Prince of Wales 0; Cricketers Arms 2, Three Horseshoes 1.

Section 5: Swan C 1, Six Bells B 2; Black Swan 2, Red Lion B Marston 1; Donnington C 3, North Oxford CC A 0; Red Lion Yarnton 0, Democrats A 3.

Section 6: Vikings Sports D 3, Prince of Wales 0; Pheasant Inn 3, Chequers B 0; White Hart 3, Vikings Sports C 0; Fox & Goat 3, Rose Hill B 0.

Section 7: Marston BL 3, Original Swan A 0; Florence Park B 3, Northway A 0; Bullnose Morris B 1, Green Road A 2; Northway B 1, Red Lion B 2.

Section 8: Cricketers Arms 3, Black Horse 0; Red Lion A 2, White Hart 1; Democrats B 0, Catherine Wheel 3.

Section 9: Headington CC 1, Kings Arms 2; Gladiators C 0, Golden Ball 3.

Sixers: R Taylor, P Goulding, R Goodall (all New Club A), K Giles, D Butler (both Gladiators A), D Armstrong (Crown), S Walton (Donnington D).

Blobbers: R Trafford (North Oxford CC A), P Lawrence (Vikings Sports C), W Branstone (Northway B), M Davey (Marston BL), D Havard (Black Horse), A Bracey (Headington CC).

Top doll scorers: 14 – R Goodall (New Club A), S Walton (Donnington D). 13 – R Taylor, P Goulding (both New Club A), B Townsend (Gladiators A), P Sellar (Crown), E Hanlon (Black Swan).

ABINGDON & DISTRICT LEAGUE

Premier Section: Plum Pudding 2, Spread Eagle 4; Spread Eagle B 6, Abingdon RBL 0; Steventon Sports A 2, Abingdon United B 4; Abingdon RBL A 4, Hart Harwell A2; Berinsfield SC A 0 Tandem 6.

Section B: Abingdon Con Club 3, College Oak A 3; Abingdon Utd C 2, Plum Pudding B 4; Chequers Charney 0, Berinsfield SC 6; Vine A 6 Fleur De Lys 0 .

Section C: Fox Denchworth B 0, Grapes 6; Red Lion A 2, Fox Denchworth A 4; Stanford-in-the-Vale FC 4, Bowyers Arms 2; Wheatsheaf Drayton 0, Plough East Hendred 6.

Section D: Bear & Ragged Staff 2, Wheatsheaf Didcot 4; Red Lion C 0, Harwell RBL B 6; Bell at Grove 6, Eight Bells Eaton 0; College Oak 6, Saxton Rovers 0.

Section E: Abingdon Arms Wantage 0, Waggon & Horses B 6; North Star A 6, Black Horse A 0; Queens Arms Didcot 6, Waggon & Horses C 0; Spread Eagle D 2, Plough Long Wittenham 4; Waggon & Horses A 3, FMSS C Morning Star 3.

Section F: Boundary House A 3, Old Anchor A 3; Crown Marcham 3, Boundary House 3; Old Anchor B 4, Brewery Tap B 2; RAL Rec Soc 0, Packhorse 6.

Section G: Black Horse B 0, Berinsfield SC C 6; George & Dragon Upton 0, Plough A West Hanney 6.

Sixers: D Davies (Abingdon United B), L Clapton (Abingdon United B), P Longford (Tandem), R Flowers (Hart Harwell A).

Blobbers: A Miller (Plough A West Hanney), J Morton (Waggon & Horses A), J Watters (George & Dragon Upton), K Ryves (Boundary House A), L Chadwick (Boundary House), M Parker ( Brewery Tap B), R Bishop (Old Anchor A), R Brown (Crown Marcham), R Crook (Stanford-in-the Vale), R Jeffreys (Harwell RBL B), S Brownsill (Old Anchor A).