The first weekend of Division 1 action at Ponds Forge ended with Lancaster completing a runaway 23-11 victory over home club City of Sheffield.

The score after one quarter was 4-4 but internationals Alex Parsonage (pictured in blue cap) and Tom Curwen took over after that, claiming ten and seven goals respectively.

It means that Lancaster join Cheltenham and Manchester in moving on to the next top division weekend at Sunderland Aquatic Centre on 31 October/1 November with two victories apiece under their belts. Cheltenham face both Lancaster and Manchester during the Sunderland weekend.

For tight finishes, you can rely on men's Division 2 team Worthing! After beating Penguin 5-4 on day, they took on another London team, Polytechnic - and lost 4-5!

Worthing's biggest problem on this occasion was finding a way round Poly's Spanish goalkeeper Matteo Gaspari, who pulled off a number of top saves. It was 3-3 after three periods before Poly sneaked ahead with goals by Sergio Schiaffino and John Bright. Richard Hooper replied for Worthing but Poly claimed the points.

Penguin picked up their first points with an 8-6 victory over Welsh Wanderers. The London side were always ahead in a closely fought match after taking a three-goal lead in the first quarter through Miguel Ortiz (2) and Yasutaka Ota.

Devonport are looking strong in women's Division 3, following up their day one success against Polytechnic by outplaying Sunderland 15-4 - including six goals by Robyn Greenslade - and Leeds Hammerheads 18-4.

Jennifer Quirk's four goals helped Liverpool Water Beatles defeat Polytechnic 11-3.

Manchester, powerful on the counterattack, proved too strong for Caledonia in men's Division 1 at Ponds Forge today, winning 14-8.

The second quarter effectively decided the match. Manchester scored six times - through Aaron Winstanley (2), Rob Simpson (2), Tom Hadley and Rob Rae - to two by the Scots, whose best efforts were thwarted by goalkeeper Ed Scott.

After labouring to a win over Caledonia on day one, Cheltenham outgunned Invicta 16-5, including four goals by Jake Vincent and three from Adam Legge.

Bristol were too strong for Team Northumbria, winning 17-7. Mark Thresher (4), Ryan Padbury (3) and Chris Taylor (3) led the scoring.

Men's champions Cheltenham were given a scare by Caledonia before edging a 16-15 victory at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today.

The Scots staged a superb rally to recover from 12-9 down towards the end of the third period to claim a brief 13-12 lead with goals by Andrew Woodall (2), Alasdair Campbell and Mark Speed.

The game went to 14-14 before goals by Michael Thomas and Mark Banwell settled Cheltenham nerves and made the score 16-14. Chris Campbell added the final Caledonia goal six seconds from the end.

The Bristol-Lancaster clash was also decided in the final period. With four minutes to go, it was 8-8. Then the 'old firm' of Alex Parsonage and Tom Curwen scored vital goals to snatch a 10-8 lead for Lancaster. An Ashley Castle penalty reduced the gap near the end.

They've done it at last! After three years of losing every British League match, the youngsters of Iceni claimed their first point in women's Division 3 with a 6-6 draw against West London Penguin Rockhoppers.

It could easily have been an Iceni win. They recovered from 3-1 down early on to lead 6-5 when Rohan Etchingham scored with a minute and half remaining. Then Penguin salvaged a point thanks to Lidia Tosh's second goal 23 seconds from the end. Heidi Kearsey and Abigail Lence both scored twice for a delighted Iceni team.

In the same division, Birmingham and Leeds Hammerheads were all square at 4-4 after three quarters. Then three goals by Lauren Keight clinched the points for Birmingham at 8-5.

Team Northumbria celebrated their debut in the top tier of the British League with a 13-7 victory over City of Sheffield at Ponds Forge today.

Sheffield led 4-3 at the end of the first quarter but five goals without reply in a dominant second put Northumbria in charge. There were hat-tricks for Brett Perkins, Zak White and Josh Brown, plus two goals apiece for Ed Grundy and Neil Bowers.

Solihull eased through their opening Division 2 match against Manchester Hawks, Jordan Elliot netting six in an 18-7 win.

Venues for phase two of the season are now confirmed. Please note two or three key changes since the provisional list was published a few weeks ago.

The men's and women's Super 5s - as recently announced - will be staged at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, on 13/14 February. The date was changed from 6/7 February at Cardiff as Otter's women's team will be competing in Europe on that weekend. Men's Championship 2 goes to Watford on 6/7 February. Full schedule:

28/29 November Matlock            Men's Championship 2
                         Liverpool          Men's Championship 3
5/6 December     Guildford          Men's Super 5s, Men's Champ 1
                         Watford            Women's Championship 2
12/13 December  Lancaster Uni    Women's Super 5s, Women's 1
                         Leeds Uni          Men's Champ 4
9/10 January       Lancaster SA     Men's Super 5s, Men's Champ 1
                         Leeds Uni          Women's Super 5s, Women's 2
16/17 January     Walsall              Women's Champ 1
                          Grantham         Men's 2 (4 teams), Men's 3
23/24 January      Luton               Men's, Women's Super 5s
                          Gloucester        Men's 2 (4 teams), Men's 4
30/31 January      Swansea          Men's 1
                          Northampton    Women's 2
6/7 February        Watford            Men's 2
                          Northampton     Men's 4
13/14 February     Ponds Forge     Men's, Women's Super 5s
                                                 Women's 1, M4/W2 play-offs
20/21 February     Gloucester        Men's 3, M4/W2 play-offs
                      

Men's champions Cheltenham warmed up in style for the new BWPL season with a hat-trick of victories at Egyptian champions Gezira - 8-7, 11-7 and 9-6.

Cheltenham face Caledonia and Invicta when the Division 1 programme opens at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, this weekend.

Seven-goal Emma Bartlett inspired City of Manchester's tense 9-8 victory over Otter in women's Division 1 at Watford today.

The London side recovered strongly from 8-5 down in the third quarter but missed a vital chance to snatch a draw near the end by failing to score after Manchester had a player excluded.

Kathryn Fowler (4) and Katie Hesketh (3) were Liverpool's main scorers in a 14-10 win over Otter. Both Liverpool and Manchester completed their three-match programmes with 100 per cent records. 

It's tough at the top! Peggy Etiebet, of Otter, under pressure at Watford. Photo: Trevor Hyde.