Astley & Tyldesley made the short trip to Bury for a Northern League fixture.

There was the customary late start whilst Bury held up proceedings to enable a late arriving Bury rider, Leo Brindley, to compete. A & T Team Manager Mike Hack objected to his inclusion and asked that the sport's rules concerning late arrivals be upheld. He was then subjected to a torrent of abuse from Bury Secretary and Northern Chairman Tony Mann, before match referee John Whiting decided, at 3.10 pm, that Brindley could compete in the match for Bury.
 
The first three races were shared, before the experienced Bury pair of Rothwell / P. Dyson combined for a 7-3 over Dickenson / Partington. C.Dyson led up to the last bend in heat 5, before both Allen and Knowles burst through to take a 7-3 and level the scores. Three more shared heats, then a Burchardt / Knowles 6-4 over Scranage / P. Dyson in heat 9 put A & T two points ahead at the interval.

A 6-4 to Kurkowski / Hack in heat 11 over Howarth / Miladinovic put A & T four points ahead. Heats 12 and 13 saw first C. Dyson and then Brindley each shed a chain and A & T moved into an eight points lead. Knowles and Kurkowski held a 7-3 over Miladinovic / P. Dyson in the next race and the match looked won for A & T. However, Kurkowski took a heavy fall after his cog jammed, Knowles taking the race win.

C. Dyson and Scranage teamed up for a 7-3 heat win over Dickenson / Heslop in heat 16 and Bury had reduced the deficit to three points. A & T sealed the match with wins in the last races to Burchardt and Kurkowski, to win 89 - 87. Allen was harshly excluded as he passed Brindley on the last lap of heat 18, the Bury rider appearing to lose balance as he tried to close the gap.
 
This was a typically hard fought local derby encounter on a well prepared track. For A & T Remi Burchardt raced unbeaten and would have been joined by Darek Kurkowski, but for that painful machine problem. Excellent support was provided by Mick Knowles and youngsters Joe Allen and Ben Dickenson. Bury fought valiantly and kept plugging away, but couldn't match A & T's top end riders.
 
Northern League match result
Bury 87 Astley & Tyldesley 89
Bury: Neil Howarth 17, Ben Scranage 16 (1), Chris Dyson 13, Fred Rothwell 12 (2), Leo Brindley 10 (3), Paul Dyson 10 (2), Jon-Luc Miladinovic 7 (1), Michael Kennedy 2.
A & T: Remi Burchardt 20, Darek Kurkowski 16, Mick Knowles 13 (1), Joe Allen 13, Ben Dickenson 10 (3), Roy Heslop 7 (1), Mike Hack 7, Joel Partington 3 (1).
Referee - John Whiting.
 
A & T's youngsters raced to a convincing win over a 5 rider Bury team in the Combination match. Laura Watson took a heavy fall in heat 2, but bravely continued and scored vital points. Joe Allen lost only to John Whiting in heat 6, whilst Whiting's only defeat was by Ben Dickenson in heat 11.
 
Northern Combination League match result
Bury 'B' 52 Astley & Tyldesley 'B' 63
Bury: John Whiting 15, Jon-Luc Miladinovic 13 (1), Michael Kennedy 10, Lauri Brierley 8 (1), Carmen Brierley 6 (1).
A & T: Joe Allen 15, Ben Dickenson 14, Joel Partington 13, Adam Watson 8 (2), Laura Watson 7 (2), Philip Atherton 6 (1).
Referee - Neil Howarth.