AFTER two great wins in their first parks matches Birkenhead and District unfortunately lost both the home and away legs against the current champions South Yorkshire in the third of their qualifying matches.

They had five winners in both matches, with James Whalley having the best result at home and Geoff McAdam the best away, and overall they lost by 21 points to 10.

Despite this defeat the team are confident that they have done enough in their three games to have qualified for the semi-final stage of this year's championship which will be played on August 18.

Higher Tranmere Vets' Peter Hammond clearly enjoyed playing on the very fast and challenging Pensby green as he defeated his team captain Peter Hughes to become the Ben Webster Memorial Shield Champion for 2013.

Hammond had opened with a comfortable win over the newly crowned Wallasey Vets Champion, West Kirby Victoria's Jack Beecham, before coming through a hard match with another Higher Tranmere player Vic Peers in the semi-final.

Meanwhile Hughes had two challenging games to get through to the final; he only just got the better of Moreton's Tony Ratcliffe in the quarter final before coming from 18-17 down to beat Bill Astles of Manor Road.

The early stages of the final were close but then Hammond opened up a big lead and he held on to this to record his first win in this competition.

Results: Quarter-finals: P Hammond (Higher Tranmere Vets) 21, J Beecham (West Kirby Victoria) 10; V Peers (Higher Tranmere Vets) 21, P Williams (Tixall ) 14; P Hughes (Higher Tranmere Vets) 21, T Ratcliffe (Moreton RBL) 19; B Astles (Manor Road) 21, Nick Burridge Snr (Higher Tranmere Vets) 19.

Semi-finals: Hammond 21, Peers 17; Hughes 21, Astles 18.

Final: Hammond 21, Hughes 13.

There are still quite few games to go before the season is completed but the top positions in the first divisions of the various Wirral leagues seem to be taking shape.

In the first division of the Evening Birkenhead and Wirral league Gladstone lead by two points but Tixall in second place have played three games fewer and must be the favourites.

In the Afternoon League first division last year's champions Heswall RBL have just completed the double over their closest rivals, Higher Tranmere Vets, and they have now established a big lead and must be feeling confident of maintaining this to the end of the season.

In the Wallasey Association, New Brighton Quarry Viking look as though they are finally going to emerge from the shadow of West Kirby Victoria and depose the long time (12 years) champions.

Finally, in the Bebington and District League, Gladstone have only lost one game and they currently have a reasonable lead over their two main rivals Tixall and the Lever Club.

The two winners of the Juniors' Richard Evans Memorial Tournament played at Cammell Laird on Saturday were: under 14s; Zoe Stratton - who also won the recent Tixall Junior Classic; and under-18s; Liam Rhodes.

Results: Under-14s: Semi-finals: Zoe Stratton beat Connor Huckle; Jake McElnay beat Michael Cavanagh.

Final: Stratton 21, McElnay 08.

Under-18s: Semi-finals: Liam Rhodes beat Kyle Gordon; Frazer Jeffries beat Josh Bunting. Final: Rhodes 21, Jeffries 20.

In the subsidiary tournament Daniel Jeffries beat Mark Wood 15-08.