Royal Oak have taken over top spot on the Auckland Premier League table after Round 5 of competition last night at the North Shore Squash Club, while Remuera and Eden Epsom put themselves in a good position for the semifinals with two rounds remaining. 

The 12-5 victory by Royal Oak over Remuera helped them leapfrog over the bye week team Henderson.  The Oak's #1 Ed Dromgool led by example with a battling five set win over Todd Redman after recovering from being two games to one down.  David Matthews collected the sole victory for Remuera with a four-set win over Michael Shelton-Agar, with Michael Blanchard and Richard Thompson both picking up three-game wins for the Oak.

Depsite missing their #1 player Anthony Lepper, Eden Epsom took home 11 valuable points against North Shore who were also without their #1 Sion Wiggin.  Justin Sayes had the comeback win of the night overcoming a two game deficit to Matt McHugh before winning the fifth game 11/8.  Elijah Thomas and Nick Terry also had wins for Eden Epsom with Ryan Kothe picking up the sole North Shore victory over Nathan Gunn.  

The closest fixture of the night saw four even matches between Browns Bay and Papakura.  Brad Robinson produced yet another come from behind victory in beating Chris Lloyd in five games.  Semo Old and Jason Browne both had wins for Papakura in five games each, while Paul Langdon made a triumphant return from injury with the lone Browns Bay win against Paras Khanna.  The final score was Papakura 12 - Browns Bay 9

Royal Oak open up a four point lead over Henderson who are in second place, while Papakura and Eden Epsom round out the top four.  The competition now takes a week break and returns on the 12th June at the Remuera Rackets Club.

Round 5 results
Remuera (5) vs Royal Oak (12)   
Todd Redman lost to Ed Dromgool - 13/11 6/11 5/11 11/8 11/6
David Matthews beat Michael Shelton-Agar - 9/11 11/4 11/5 11/3
John van Velzen lost to Michael Blanchard - 11/6 13/11 11/4
Michael Fowke lost to Richard Thompson - 11/9 11/8 11/4

North Shore (5) vs Eden Epsom (11) 
Gary Duberly lost to Elijah Thomas - 11/7 11/5 11/7
Matt McHugh lost to Justin Sayes - 10/12 9/11 11/0 14/12 11/8
Akil Afghan lost to Nick Terry - 11/1 11/6 11/3
Ryan Kothe beat Nathan Gunn - 11/7 11/6 12/10

Browns Bay (9) vs Papakura (12)  
Chris Lloyd lost to Brad Robinson - 10/12 11/8 11/13 11/4 11/6
Paul Langdon beat Paras Khanna - 11/5 10/12 11/9 13/11
Mark Foxcroft lost to Semo Old - 11/4 9/11 11/6 9/11 11/6
Fletcher Gilbert lost to Jason Browne - 9/11 11/4 6/11 11/9 12/10

Bonus Match
Henderson vs Henderson Div. 2 
Neil Rossin beat Ashton Matthee - 11/3 11/4 11/9
Leo Fatialofa beat Apa Fatialofa Jr - 11/1 11/1 11/6

Standings after Round 5 (29 May);
1. Royal Oak - 47 points
2. Henderson - 43 points
3. Papakura - 42 points
4. Eden Epsom - 38 points
5. Remuera - 35 points
6. North Shore - 32 points
7. Browns Bay - 21 points

Round 6 - June 12 @ Remuera
Royal Oak vs Papakura
Henderson vs North Shore
Harcourts Eden Epsom vs Remuera
Browns Bay vs Panmure Div. 2 (Bonus Match)