In the end, it was the final quarter in the very last match in men's Championship 1 that settled the promotion issue.

Poly took on familiar rivals Sutton & Cheam in a game that guaranteed the winners the third promotion spot to Division 1 alongside Invicta and Sheffield. And it was Poly who battled through in dramatic fashion, winning 6-5 thanks to the only goal of the nerve-racking last period by Lyndon Cranley.

Sutton had looked strong early on, leading 3-1 after two periods and then 5-2 in the third. That sparked a Poly revival in which goals by Chris Icely (2) and Luke Jones brought their side level at 5-5. 

​Picture (Trevor Hyde): All smiles . . . Poly celebrate the club's return to the big time. Back row, L-R: Joan Secanell, Chris Brown, Luke Jones, Richard Polya, John Clark, Rapha Perretta, Matteo Gaspari, Brian Hoy, Jorge Herrando Garijo, Chris Icely, Andre Ferdinand, Gary Simons. Front: Gareth Keen, Federico Carucci, Lyndon Cranley, James Reddick, Sergio ​Schiaffino.

Invicta defeated Penguin 13-7 at Watford today, wrapping up the men's Championship 1 title and earning a return to the top flight at the start of next season.

With Sheffield securing second place by beating Bristol 11-7 - including seven goals from Joel Abbott - it left one promotion place still up for grabs. And that was all down to a scheduled last game decider - Polytechnic against old rivals Sutton & Cheam!

​Invicta's win over Penguin included five goals by 2012 Olympian Jack Waller, plus three from Pat Baker. They were always in charge, building a 6-1 lead in the first two periods.

Photo by Trevor Hyde.

Portobello's rebuilt team maintained their steady progress back up the BWPL ladder by clinching the men's championship 3 title at Walsall today.

​The Scots knew that victory over Cheltenham Spartans would leave them in the clear, even though Bridgefield could finish level on points (Portobello beat Bridgefield 14-8 when they met at the start of phase two).

​In the event, it was a fairly straightforward exercise. Portobello won 15-8, with Neilson Rutherford, Mario Alvarez, Fraser Rutherford and Hadrien Collinson all notching hat-tricks. The match marked the retirement of Cheltenham's David Edwards (see Edwards Calls It A Day below), who signed off with a couple of goals in the final quarter.

​Portobello withdrew a team from the League's top division after 2014/15 and re-entered with a new-look, younger line-up last season, when they won Championship 4. Their only defeats in this campaign were against York and Castleford.

Later, Bridgefield raced into a 5-0 lead on the way to defeating York 14-10 - and claiming runners-up spot.

As happened in Championship 1, the last match of the season offered a winner-takes-all promotion spot for the winners. The honours went to Castleford, who beat Otter 17-10, led by seven goals from the division's top marksman, Luke Franks.

Spare a thought for Otter. They began the final weekend with a one-point advantage at the top of the table - and ended in sixth place! Such has been the competitive nature of several divisions in phase two of the season.

Callum Bailey, one of men's Championship 1's most consistent marksmen, notched six more as Invicta defeated Team Northumbria 13-8 at Watford today.

It means his team remain one point clear at the top of the table - but knowing they must still beat promotion-challenging Penguin tomorrow to be sure of winning the title.

Penguin's games tend to be real cliffhangers - as illustrated by their Championship 1 results  so far. After losing their opening match 10-8, they won 13-11, won 13-12, lost 13-14 and drew 11-11!

The nail-biting tension continued today against Exeter, the game reaching 10-10 deep into the last period. Then Exeter goalie Tom Benson was excluded, allowing Dan Balanov to put Penguin 11-10 ahead. And, with less than two minutes remaining, a Lazzaro Vallarino goal secured a breathless 12-10 victory.

No one will be surprised to learn that Dave Edwards (Picture: Trevor Hyde) was once again on target for Cheltenham Spartans in a 14-11 victory over Castleford in men's Championship 3 at Walsall.

But this is no ordinary weekend for the former Wales and Great Britain international. At the age of 57, he's finally hanging up his cap and retiring - leaving memories of a career that has involved constant national league action (and an unknown tally of hundreds of goals) since his debut for Leamington Spa in the men's league of old a mere four decades ago.

Dave's club career took him from Leamington to Maindee Olympic (men's National League champions in 1982. 1983 and 1984) and eventually to Cheltenham, where he has been an influential player for the past 25 years.

His record of longevity is unlikely to be bettered. It will be farewell after a final appearance against Portobello tomorrow and we will all wish him well in his retirement.

In the top-of-the-table Championship 3 clash at Walsall, Otter took an 11-9 lead into the final quarter against Portobello but then lost their way and went down 15-12.

Polytechnic, a dominant club in British men's water polo throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, have their sights on a return to the top level after defeating City of Bristol 13-10 in Championship 1 at Watford today.

The win, which strengthened their position in the division's top three, featured hat-tricks by Andre Ferdinand, Chris Icely and Sergio Schiaffino. Poly led at the start and then built a commanding lead when Bristol lost a player to a brutality offence, increasing their advantage from 8-5 to 11-5.

In another key promotion clash, Sheffield edged out Sutton & Cheam 5-4. Sutton were 3-2 up after two periods but Sheffield countered with goals by Elliot Kelly, Alex Gaywood and Chris Armstrong before Ryan Symington replied for Sutton with seven seconds remaining.

Bridgefield stepped up their bid for a top three place in men's Championship 3 with an exciting 17-15 win over Manchester Hawks at Walsall today.

Hawks led early on but Bridgefield dominated the second period, scoring seven times to build an 11-6 advantage. The Manchester side rallied again - they cut the Bridgefield lead to 14-13 at the start of the final quarter and, briefly, drew level at 15-15. Lee Cadwallader settled Bridgefield nerves with a goal a minute from the end; Paul Williams added another from a man-up with seven seconds left.

York also maintained their push for promotion via the top three with a 15-12 victory over Hucknall. Star of the show was York's Chris Burns with seven goals.

Polytechnic, bottom team in women's Division 3 this season, have announced their withdrawal from the British League.

​This simplifies the women's qualification progress for 2017/18. Sunderland and Sheffield Stingrays, sixth and seventh respectively in the lowest division, will now compete against new applicants City of Bristol (formerly Bristol Central) and Cheltenham for three places. The tournament will be completed in one day at Walsall Gala Baths on Saturday, 8 April.

​The men's qualification tournament, also for three places next season, is to be staged at Walsall on 25/26 March and sees new applicants City of Coventry and Chelmsford up against Sheffield Dolphins, Watford Saxons and Spalding.

The line-up for both tournaments is, of course, subject to any further withdrawals from the League. Should a club currently playing in phase two drop out, the qualification line-ups will be adjusted accordingly.

​Current teams are reminded that the deadline for withdrawal is the final day of their divisional competition this season.

Lancaster may have struggled to qualify for the men's Super 5s (losing four of their seven matches in Division 1) but they will be very much in contention for championship honours when the season's final games are played at Gloucester on 18/19 March.

​Glen Robinson's five goals were a key feature of Lancaster's 11-9 victory over Manchester at their own Salt Ayre pool today. And it meant they head for Gloucester two points behind leaders Cheltenham - and with a clash with Cheltenham still to come.

​Cheltenham, whose other remaining match is against Manchester, hit back today after their defeat by Solihull to beat Caledonia 16-9. Marc Tarres (5), Albert Tarres (3) and Will Middleton (3) were the chief scorers.

Picture (Bury PS Sports Group): Michael Thomas, white cap, leads a Cheltenham attack against Caledonia.

Rotherham Metro made it five wins out of five in men's Championship 4 with a 10-8 victory over one of their main rivals, Leeds, at Haberdashers today. They eased into a 5-0 lead before Leeds registered their first goal.

​Picture (Trevor Hyde): Leeds (blue caps) under pressure against Rotherham.

​There were tight finishes to two more matches in the division. Jack Crump's goal with 18 seconds remaining earned Warwick a 10-10 draw against Caledonia Storm.

Tyldesley remain second behind Rotherham thanks to a 14-13 success against Invicta Marlins. With six-goal Addison Brown again in top form, Tyldesley recovered from 9-7 down to lead 14-11 in the final quarter. Jamie Bailey's fourth and fifth goals for the Marlins came too late to rescue a point for his side.