Astley & Tyldesley visited Stoke for a Northern League match, on a bright but windy day.

Stoke were missing injured top rider Lewis Bates, who refereed the match. A & T had plenty of riders missing on holiday, but welcomed the inclusion of Przemek Binkowski and Tomasz Szwajorek for their second appearances of the season.
 
Stoke moved into a 7 points lead after heat 2, but A & T fought back to take a 3 points interval lead. The lead changed hands twice again before Stoke levelled the scores in heat 16. With tension mounting, it was A & T who kept their composure and sealed the match with two successive 6-4 heat wins.
 
A & T can feel justly proud of a magnificent performance in inflicting Stoke's first defeat of the season. A & T felt that their win should have been by a much bigger margin, as they were unhappy with several of the referee's decisions. For A & T, Burchardt and Kurkowski lost once each, as did Pilas, after his exclusion in heat 2. Stoke made good use of Franks at reserve and he too lost only once. Both sides gave it their all in what was a really good, highly competitive match.
 
Northern League match result
Stoke 87 Astley & Tyldesley 91
Stoke: Simon Munden 17, Andy Franks 15 (4), Errol Thaw 14 (1), Richard Harrison 14, Leighton Bates 13, Lance Bates 8, Dave Hancock 3, Kelvin Williams 3.
A & T: Darek Kurkowski 17 (1), Remi Burchardt 16 (3), Przemek Binkowski 15 (1), Dariusz Pilas 15, Tomasz Szwajorek 10 (1), Mick Knowles 10, Joe Allen 8 (2), Roy Heslop 0.
Referee - Lewis Bates.
 
A & T ran out easy winners in the Combination match. Stoke conceded 16 penalty points after using an ineligible rider, Richard Harrison. Mike Hack, Mick Knowles and Joe Allen all lost only to Harrison, who raced unbeaten. There were solid performances from the rest of the A & T team. Stoke used a reserve rider, as well as fielding an ineligible rider, which is contrary to league rules.
 
Northern Combination League match result
Stoke 'B' 51 Astley & Tyldesley 'B' 85
Stoke: Richard Harrison 16, Dave Hancock 11, Kev Burton 6, Matt Bailey 5 (1), Jim Simpson 5, Callum Booth 4, Kelvin Williams 4.
A & T: Mike Hack 14 (1), Mick Knowles 14 (1), Joe Allen 13 (1), Andy Knowles 11 (1), Ben Keen 10 (1), Joel Partington 7 (1).
Referee - Lewis Bates.