POOLE Park’s brief tenure at the top of Section Three came to an end after they went down 80-77 at Iford Bridge.

Chris Quick, Colin Rattue, Roger Lawrence and Colin Lakey (23-14) topped Iford’s three winning rinks. John Hobby (26-14) denied the hosts a full house.

Braeside replaced the Dolphins at the head of affairs after crushing Moordown 128-56. Four huge winning rinks were headed by Ian Cameron, Tony Brunt, John Phipps and Neil Rogers (36-12).

Knyveton Gardens, meanwhile, regained second place after completing the double over West Moors. Gardeners’ Roy Fenton, Ken Budd, Peter Figg and Adam Broom (27-12) swept their side to a 12-2 (80-56) win.

Richmond Park kept in touch with the leaders by racking up a 10-4 win over Redhill Park. The main contributors to HQ’s 80-72 win were Frank Smith, John Butler, Dave Garrett and Brian Devine (27-14).

Elsewhere, the mid-table clash at Nea Gardens between Highcliffe and Braeside A resulted in a 12-2 win for the hosts. Colin Bridgewater, Jim Wilson, Bill Berry and John Irons led the Castlemen to an 86-72 victory.

• Despite Middleton Cup demands, Boscombe Cliff still collected 12 points with an 88-64 win over Section One rivals Branksome Park.

Cliff put out one triple rink – Ron Sparks, Hugh Sissen and Tony Gabb – who, even with an adjusted total of 24.75-9, still took the plaudits in Cliff’s 88-64 win.

Knyveton Gardens are a clear second after their 14-0 (84-66) win at West Moors. The Gardeners’ best effort came from Dave Hart’s ‘bucks’ Lloyd Hemming, David Swindells and Dave Flexman (24-16).

Alexandra Park, meanwhile, trailed by 16 shots at tea, but still overcame Southbourne 10-4 (75-67). Daniel Tomberry, Alan Burden, Mike Stapleton and Mark Tomberry (26-16) turned round a 12-6 deficit to win 26-16.

Lymington are firmly entrenched in the drop zone following a four-rink defeat at Poole Park. Bob Atkins’s quartet of David Pearce, Dave Eatwell and Clive Faulkes (27-9) blew away the opposition as the Dolphins won 103-63.

Ringwood moved clear of the relegation struggle by thrashing Bournemouth 14-0 (103-58). Dennis Newham, Bob Curtis, Barry Seymour and Barry Horne (31-14) pipped Lee Croad’s rink (31-15) for top billing.

New Milton increased their lead in Section Two with a 10-4 win at Wimborne. Brian Ludlow’s crew (24-13) were the pick of Wimborne’s winning rinks, but a 35-12 return by Peter Wooller, David Morrison, Kevin Gilliver and Bill Wallace en-sured Milton of an 87-76 victory.

Southbourne went second following their 12-2 win over Boscombe Cliff. Malcolm Teagle’s squad of Scott Biden, Chris Eames and David Wilkinson (32-17) were the cutting edge in their 91-69 triumph.

Fordingbridge, however, dropped off the pace after their 12-2 (83-69) defeat at Broadstone-Wessex. Don Yea, Dave Gibb, Dave Edwards and Trevor Smyth (27-12) topped the Wessex men’s three successful rinks.

Bottom club Kings Park could only muster one point when losing 13-1 at home to Pelhams. Chris Ceiciura, Andy Hickisson, John Bond and John Watts (24-14) charged up the Kinson men to win 81-60.

Electric joined the ton-up club with a 12-2 (101-60) win over early season challengers Swanmore. The Sparkies’ main supply came from Noel Pennington, Bill Kerr, Peter Cutts and Rob Burchell (30-12).

• Branksome Park A clocked up their ninth win of the season in Section Four when easily accounting for Poole Park B 12-2 (108-74). The Squirrels’ victory was assured after Danny Newman, Steve Flay, Reg Chick and Evan Veitch checked in with a 34-12 win. Ron Newbury (24-15) salvaged two points for the Dolphins.

Argyll, meanwhile, returned from the Purbecks with 11 points in the locker after overcoming Swanage 95-67. Argyll’s best return came from Dave Thomas, Tony Gerry, Dave Cleave and Paul Debnam (33-7). Terry Buck’s squad included a hot-shot in their 26-20 win for Swanage.

There was the same points margin for Wimborne A who had a comfortable 94-70 victory at New Milton. Lee Tilson, Des McQuire, Dave Middlewick and Brian Gooch (34-16) topped the Minster scoring. Derek Tansley saved Milton’s blushes, holding on to win 19-18.

Ferndown remain at the foot of the table following their 12-2 defeat at Milford-on-Sea. Dixie Dean (30-16) fought a lone battle for the Stags. The Seasiders’ skips Tim Capron (23-15) and Rod Somerton (21-13) shared the glory in Milford’s 80-75 triumph.

• With Section Five leaders Southbourne on a rest day, Broadstone-Wessex missed an opportunity to close the gap when losing 11-3 at Boscombe Cliff. Cliff’s Michael Drage collected a last-end 17-17 tie. The main contributors to Boscombe’s 82-71 win came from Ken Bolt, John Simmons, Mike Stainer and John Struck (27-14).

Highcliffe took over third spot from their opponents of the day, Pelhams. Paul Oastler, Tony Collins, Bryan Taylor and Ron Hazell (29-10) led the Castlemen to a 10-4 (90-64) victory.

There were handy points for Ringwood who completed a season’s double over Redhill Park. The Foresters’ crew of Alan Boyt, Ken Wyatt, John Davis and Ted Fay (24-11) came out tops in Ringwood’s 12-2 (78-71) success.

Knyveton Gardens, meanwhile, were handed their 10th defeat of the season when losing 10-4 (86-77) at Lymington. Lymo skips Danny Watson and Frank Johnson shared the honours, both contributing 23-17 wins.

• Branksome Park’s lead in Section Six was cut to just seven points following their 12-2 defeat at Ferndown. Squirrels’ skip Colin Burns (19-21) was tamed for the first time this season, while Dave Rickets, Bert Whincup, Bert Williams and Geoff Clark (24-12) starred in Stags’ 77-69 triumph.

Argyll A closed the gap after collecting 12 points from their 81-68 victory over Southbourne C. Alan Godfrey, Ed Wiles, Geoff Halstead and Rod Thomson (23-16) top scored for the winners.

Swanmore A are back in the frame after turning over Kings Park A 10-4 (102-80). Harry Small’s squad of Peter Holden, Tony Warren and Roy Watson made it look elementary for the Swans by winning 34-18.

Poole Park’s Bob Wilson rattled up a 33-16 home win against Rich-mond Park A. However, this fail-ed to cover HQ’s three winning rinks topped by Anson West-brook, John Ridout, Vittorio Gar-iano and Roy Milton (28-3). Rich-mond emerged as 95-73 winners.

Wimborne B, meanwhile, toppled Iford Bridge A 12-2 (83-59) with Grant Bocking, Dave Hallett, Eddie Day and Alan Garland (32-8) leading the way.