W18-19 week 13 match reports
Allstars & Rose Inn close in on titles
The South London & Kent Pool Alliance are approaching the business end of the winter season and Allstars and Rose Inn are a step closer to the Premier and first division titles respectively.
This week Allstars went to fifth placed Eltham Terrace Rovers and raced into a, 4-0 lead, with the help of a break and dish from Tony Halpin.
Rovers had Ryan Francis to thank for preventing the first set whitewash.
Allstars dominance continued in the second set, winning it, 3-2 to take a, 7-3 lead into the final set.
For the second week in a row Rovers came from behind to tie the match at seven all and send the game into a final frame decider and again their hopes were dashed, this time by Jamie Simmons, who broke and dished the last frame to give Allstars the, 8-7 triumph.
Despite finishing on the losing side, Adam Coppen won both of his frames and Francis went one better with an unbeaten hat-trick.
Allstars stretch their lead over Hotshots to 15 points after they lost only their second game of the season, this time against New Eltham.
The game was finely poised at two all when Hotshots put on a spurt and went two frames in the lead, but New Eltham capitalised on Hotshots mistakes and by the end of the second set had tied the match again at five all.
New Eltham went on to win the first three frames of the final set to take an unassailable, 8-5 lead before Hotshots took the last two frames to make the overall score, 8-7.
Barry Barham, Billy Levingbird and Peter Whyte combined to win seven of New Eltham’s eight frames, with Whyte winning all three of his frames.
With five games to go in the Premier Division the fifteen-point gap may prove too much for Hotshots to overcome.
This result has pulled New Eltham to within four points of Rovers just above them.
It was bitter sweet for each of the bottom three clubs, as they all recorded victories.
The biggest victory went to Pickwick, shocking fourth placed Hustlers with a, 10-5 score line.
Pickwick lost the first set, 3-2 with Steve Dixon clearing the table in one visit after a foul in frame two for Hustlers, but Pickwick came good, at last, to win both of the last two sets, 4-1 and give them their third victory of the season.
Apart from Dixon’s clearance the only other highlight for Hustlers was a break and dish from George Covington in frame eleven.
On the other hand Pickwick’s highlight was a hat-trick from Paul Gafa and he was supported by Will Byrne and Paul Dawson, both winning two of their three frames.
Pickwick would have hoped their triumph would have catapulted them up the table, but Rugrats scored their own victory, 8-7 against Sharks to stay one point ahead of Pickwick.
Sharks took a, 2-0 lead and stayed in front right up until the twelfth frame when Pat Firth equalized.
George Taylor put Sharks back in the lead, but Steve Gibson and Scott Shephard won the last two frames to give Rugrats the victory.
Given the closeness of the game, there was only one unbeaten player, Sharks’ Taylor, who won all three of his frames.
Bottom team Eltham Terrace Nuthouse had a derby match against third placed Eltham Terrace Club A and Nuthouse took a, 2-0 lead but Terrace won the next four frames, which included back to back wins for Dave Rawlinson, to go, 4-2 up.
To top that, Nuthouse also won four in a row to regain the lead by, 6 frames to 4.
Victories in the final set swapped between the sides, with Terrace just edging it, 3-2 but it wasn’t quite enough, as Nuthouse ran out overall winners, 8-7.
Rawlinson went on to win all three of his frames for Terrace, as did Alex Biggs for Nuthouse, with Zoe Healy chipping in and winning her only frame
Nuthouse would have wanted more reward for beating a team seven places ahead of them but with all of the bottom three winning, it has squashed the table somewhat and there are now only 19 points between Nuthouse at the bottom and Hustlers in fourth.
The top two faced each other in SLKPA Division One in what looked like a title decider between Rose Inn, who have recently taken over at the top and Crayford Arms.
With just four games to go Rose Inn have opened up a 13-point gap over their opponents, with a, 10-5 triumph over them.
Automatic promotion may not be totally guaranteed for the top two, as New Eltham Club and Eltham Terrace Rack Pack are eight and twelve points behind Crayford respectively and they both have a game in hand.
New Eltham Club didn’t have a game this week, which gave Rack Pack an opportunity to catch them up and they did with a, 10-5 triumph over Bellegrove A.
Bellegrove A are now four points and one place above their neighbours, Just Bellegrove, who were just edged out, 8-7 by CSC Sorry in Advance, who have gone up a place as a result.
The biggest movers in the division were Academicals, who dropped two places to seventh after a surprise, 10-5 defeat to Fox & Hounds.
Fox took the first set, 3-2 but Academicals equalized with the first frame of the second set however, Fox won the next four to take the set and a, 7-3 lead into the final set.
Academicals brought it back to, 7-5 but Fox won the last three frames to again win the set and the match, all without Alan Dolan who is with the Barmy Army in Barbados.
There was only one unbeaten player on the night, the Fox Captain Kerry Wyatt, who won all three of her frames.
Again, this division is far from over, as 22 points separate ninth from third.
If the top two divisions are still all to play for, Division Two is pretty much done and dusted, as they only have two weeks left to play.
The top two also played each other in this division and Bexleyheath Working Mans Club’s, 11-4 victory over New Eltham Social Club gave them the title, as they are 36 points clear of their opponents.
Despite this week’s win, New Eltham New Boys cannot catch New Eltham Social Club, so they will also be promoted.
Happy Hustlers got off to a flying start, with Angela Hobbs, Reece Stewart, Matt Prince and Claire Stork all winning frames to take a, 4-1 lead in the first set.
The trouble was it started to go downhill from there, as New Boys edged the second set, 3-2 although there was a shining light with Hobbs recording a break and dish.
Happy Hustlers had a, 6-4 lead going into the final set, which New Boys whitewashed to win the match by 9 frames to 6.
Happy Hustlers are twelve points behind New Boys but have a game in hand, so can still catch them, but they do have to play Bexleyheath.
For more information on the SLKPA including league tables visit our website at www.slkpa.com or contact our Secretary, Paul Gafa on 07443 456662 or secretary@slkpa.com with any queries.
The league is looking at potential sponsors; any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.
You can't hurry a craftsman. |
Cocked-HatCommittee MemberMember Posts: 347
Joined: 11.12.08
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