IT’S BEEN a busy week for sides in the Craven League, with a backlog of fixtures seeing matches being played in midweek, as well as on Saturday.

In the Premier Division, AFC Barnoldswick looked to cause an upset at table-toppers Trawden Celtic on Tuesday night but instead found themselves on the wrong side of a six-goal thriller.

Callum Thomas’ double gave the visitors some hope but they proved no match for Trawden, with goals from Ben Gorman, George McCaigue, Jake Hart, and George Watson seeing the hosts to a comfortable win.

Sides were also in action on Wednesday, with Cowling scoring once in each half to edge out Silsden Whitestar 2-1, while Carleton Sports Club and Cononley Sports Club played out a rare goalless draw.

Cononley and Cowling then met in the only match on Saturday, a brace from Craig Gregory seeing the visitors claim a 3-0 win to take the points back to North Yorkshire.

Four goals brought four different scorers for AFC Crossleys at home to Baildon Trinity Athletic in Division 1, with Lewis Oldridge netting his 27th of the season to move the champions a staggering 22 points clear at the top.

That result though opened up the chance for Ingleton to move second, and they did so in style with a 3-1 win against fellow promotion chasers Salts 3rds, who sat just a point behind them before kick-off.

Aaron Woodhouse scored twice for the hosts, who will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins when they travel to Saltaire for the reverse fixture next weekend.

There was one midweek match in Division 2, with Cowling Reserves picking up just their third win of the campaign after edging out Bradley 3-2 on Tuesday evening.

With the score finely poised at 1-1, the game sparked to life in the second half, with the hosts taking the lead from a sublime free-kick before the hosts scored twice on the counter to claim a valuable three points.

The high-scoring matches in the division however came on Saturday, with Grindleton and Otley Town 3rds registering emphatic wins against Skipton Town Reserves and Sutton respectively.

Max Livesy and Sean Holmes scored braces either side of a Dom Smith goal as second-placed Grindleton sealed their promotion with a 5-1 victory, while Otley built on their 2-0 half-time lead to beat Sutton 6-0.

In Division 3, Rolls Reserves were in fine form in midweek, putting eight past iPlay to keep their title hopes alive.

Doubles from Callum Dickinson and substitute Aaron-Lee Barber contributed half of those, with Mohammed Butt, Sam Chapman, Sam Harrison, and Sam Parry also finding the back of the net.

Sutton Reserves were also in action on Monday evening, with goals from George Blackwell, Josh Franklin and substitute Kalvin Singh helping them to a 3-1 win at home to Carleton Sports Club 2nds.

On Saturday, it was first versus second in the game to watch, as FC Keighley United Open Age welcomed Rolls to Marley.

But the hosts needn’t have worried about losing their title decider, with a comprehensive 5-1 win enough for them to open up an eight-point lead at the top and all but secure the title.

The only other match in the division saw Carleton and Otley Town 4ths share the spoils in a 1-1 draw, a result that does little to calm the hosts’ nerves at the wrong end of the table.

Sides were also in action in the Craven League’s cup competitions, where Crosshills progressed to the semi-finals of the Northern Plant Hire Trophy with a 4-1 win at home to Bradley.

The scoreline perhaps flattered the hosts, with Bradley in the game for large periods before conceding an Olympic goal from a corner, and another two from defensive mistakes at the death.

There were two matches in the Premier Division Cup, where Silsden Whitestar earned their place in the semi-final with a 5-0 thrashing of Carleton.

Winning that match will see Whitestar face leaders Trawden Celtic, who booked their spot in the final after edging out Grassington 2-1 in a top-of-the-table clash.

Gareth Sellars and Stephen Wood were on target as Cowling Reserves secured their spot in the final of the Division 2 Cup with a narrow 2-1 win at home to Hellifield Sports, with AFC Crossleys Reserves doing the same in the Division 3 competition after beating Sutton Reserves 3-0.