Report: Brian Brighouse

It was back to cup action this week; just to remind readers that this starts with 3 champions league style groups. The winners and runners up both progress to the next round, but the group winners can’t be drawn against each other in the next round. They will be joined by the two teams who finish third in their group with the best percentage win record.The leagues were not based on performance, the participants in each group were simply drawn out of the hat. But Group A is probably the group of death as it boasts 3 of the top 5 teams based on current league standings.In Group A, the Queen Inn posted a 6 (7) - 1 win away at Shaw Hall, while Bar 22 got back to winning ways after their shaky start to their 2019 league fixtures with a 5 (6) - 2 win over the Bridge.After 4 of the 6 scheduled games the Bridge (on 20 points) have a 3 point lead over their nearest rivals Bar 22. The Queen Inn sit just one point below Bar 22 but Shaw Hall need to make up some ground in their last two matches if they want to be in the knockout stages of the cup.

In Group B, the Stanley look like certainties to make the next round after 4 (5) - 3 win over La Cantina A. They sit on 27 points some 6 points ahead of their nearest rivals The Farmers. The Farmers saw off the Queens Head with a 7 (8) - 0 victory, though the match was anything but easy as several games could have gone either way. La Cantina A sit a further 6 points behind the Farmers with two rounds of fixtures to go.

League C is a bit more complicated after a team dropped out at an early stage. This meant left only 3 teams are left in this league so the 22 Club enjoyed a free date this time around. In the fixture played the Railway had a solid 5 (6) - 2 win over the Bridge Dogs. This result sees the Railway take pole position in the group with 14 points after 3 games played, the Bridge Dogs find themselves two points adrift of the leaders.

The 22 Club sit third on 6 points but they have a game in hand one the other two teams.