Craven's footballers deserve the highest plaudits following last Saturday's weather conditions which were the worst of the season encountered so far.

Gale force winds coupled with rain and hail left the pitches resembling paddy fields and good football virtually impossible. Seven games were lost to waterlogged pitches with several surprise results to hand.

In the Devonshire Carpets Craven League Premier Division Hellifield are proving to be a Jekyll and Hyde team - they visited leaders Skipton LMS and came away with a 4-1 victory.

Grassington Utd lost at home 6-3 to Oxenhope while Skipton Town drew 1-1 at bottom club Bradley. In Division One Carleton won for only the third time this season with a 3-2 win at windswept Cowling. Gargrave reserves won 4-2 at Oakworth in another game dominated by the wind. Another top team to lose were Earby Town at Skipton Town reserves by 4-2 having held a two goal lead, while second placed Chatburn conceded a last minute goal to Embsay reserves to draw 3-3. Horton lost at home to Rolls Royce reserves 3-1 and there was a welcome win for Cononley Sports over Grassington Utd reserves by a single goal. Barnoldswick Barons remain on top with a 4-0 win over Earby Town reserves while Skipton Town A are in second place, albeit having played more than most clubs in the division, courtesy of a 5-2 win at Waddington reserves.

In the Premier Division Hellifield, with the help of a strong wind, did most of the early attacking in the match at Skipton LMS with Freakes in the home goal making several saves throughout the match including a second half penalty. George Glawadansky gave Hellifield the lead and early in the second half Jamie Wright doubled it. The visitors were playing their best football for several weeks and were rewarded when Carl Stanford scored two quick goals. Although LMS pulled a goal back they were not going to trouble the visitors who were well served by Lee Windle and James Hordern in a 4-1 victory.

Bradley and Skipton Town drew 1-1 with both goals having a element of good fortune. Bradley took the lead when a James Ayrton free kick was fumbled and the ball went into the net off a Town defender while the equaliser also came from a deflection. Neil Lambert, Bradley's goalkeeper, saved a penalty to deny Town all three points in another match dominated by the high wind.

The same conditions prevailed at Gargrave with winds and driving rain spoiling the game but Sam Watson took advantage of the elements to power home a long range shot to earn home side victory over Cononley Sports.

There were plenty of goals at Grassington where the home side lost to Oxenhope 6-3 in atrocious conditions. The visitors were always in command, leading 3-1 at the break and scoring three further goals before Grassington came back with two late strikes. Jan Ozdoba (two) and Adam Steventon were the home team scorers.

Gargrave reserves hold a mid-table position following the 4-2 win at Oakworth, but with games in hand could yet have a say in the top positions. The weather conditions in the Bronte country was raw but both teams battled against the elements with Joel Timmins, in impressive form, claiming a hat-trick and Matt Brown adding another. Defender James Wilkin was man of the match. Carleton recorded a win at Cowling on a very muddy pitch and with a howling gale to contend with the players deserve credit for their endeavours. Carleton had a 3-0 interval lead thanks to two Stuart Gee free kicks and a wind-assisted strike from Peter Grant, then it was backs-to-the-wall defending as Cowling pulled a goal back through Kyle Willis. It was only in the final minutes that Mark Adams, with another powerful header, got Cowling's second goal after his own keeper James Metcalfe was called on to make two excellent saves.

Leaders Oxenhope reserves inflicted another defeat on Rolls Royce in another game dominated by the elements in a 2-0 score line. On a pitch resembling a mud bath, good football was difficult and the visitors were equal to any pressure that Rolls could put them under.

Leaders of Division Two Earby Town, playing with the wind, dominated the game at Skipton Town reserves. They took the lead through Anthony Dean who then provided the pass for Wayne Hooper to head home. Earby failed to press home their advantage and Skipton got back in the game with a penalty just before the break. With elements worsening the home team were using route one methods but were finding Johnny Martin in the Earby goal in good form, though he was powerless to stop the equalising goal. Despite the gale facing Earby they took the game to Skipton but could not find a way through and were caught twice with long balls that were very well finished by the Skipton forwards to give a scoreline of 4-2.

Rolls Royce reserves took advantage of the gale-force wind blowing down the field at Horton to secure a 3-0 interval lead and then restrict the home side to a single goal. Rolls took an early lead when a home defender deflected a header into his own goal from a corner and winger Dale Robinson curled a shot into the top corner to increase the lead.

It was all Rolls with the elements playing a major part and it was no surprise when Michael Wilkinson scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-0 at the break. Rolls keeper Andrew Fisher gave a commanding performance in the second half to keep Horton at bay but could not stop Horton scoring in the latter stages with a good goal as the home side had the majority of the play.

Embsay reserves scored a late equaliser at second placed Chatburn to cut short their goal celebration as only a minute earlier the home side thought they had secured a win. The game ended 3-3. Chatburn had taken the lead only for captain Wally Robertson to strike a 25 yard leveller and Embsay were caught when the ball stuck in the mud with ten minutes left. Chatburn regained the lead only for Neil Robinson to head his side level again. The game was set for a dramatic finish when the home side scored again. But amid over-zealous goal celebrations Embsay's sub Dave Greenwood grabbed an equaliser.

Rain, wind and surface water did not deter the efforts of both Waddington reserves and Skipton Town A, Town running out 5-2 winners. William Knight scored a hat-trick and Andy Cooke used his pace to score twice to leave Town in second place.