Summer 2023 week 10 match reports
New Leaders in SLKPA Elite League
Week ten of the South London & Kent Pool Alliance summer season and the top and bottom of the Elite League have changed.
Sharks were one point ahead of Hotshots at the top of the table and this week they played third placed Bellegrove, four points behind them.
This game was incredibly close, with Bellegrove just edging it, 2-1 & 8-7 to close the gap between the two teams to two points.
Bellegrove stay in third, but Sharks drop to second after Hotshots narrowly beat Pickwick this week.
The first set swing one way then the other until Ryan Francis won the deciding frame to give Hotshots the first set, 3-2.
The close nature continued in the second set as each side won one of the opening two frames however, Francis and Joe Kelly won the next two frames to give Hotshots the second set and the match.
Elliott Giles took frame ten to make it, 4-1 in the set and put Hotshots on the hill for the bonus point.
Pickwick fought back and Dave Pile, Enis Dogangun and Jamie Davis won the first three frames of the final set to give them a point.
Hotshots were now only, 7-6 ahead so the bonus point was in the balance, but Francis recorded his hat-trick to secure the bonus point, before Martin Storey won the last frame to make the final score, 2-1 & 8-7.
Francis wasn’t the only hat-trick hero, as Dogangun also won all three of his frames for Pickwick.
This result meant that Hotshots leapfrogged Sharks into top spot by just one point, while Pickwick stay in fifth.
The bottom two of the Elite League, Eltham Terrace Nuthouse and Bears faced each other this week with three points between them and this was another very close game, with Nuthouse running out, 2-1 & 8-7 winners.
Just above Bears but on the same points were Duke of Northumberland and they hosted fifth placed Terry’s Allstars this week.
There was only two places between these teams, but that equated to eleven points, so it was no surprise that Allstars won the first two frames.
However, Phil Tworek pulled one back for Duke, before Paul Cook won the set for Allstars, then John Cochrane took the last frame of the set to finish it just one frame behind.
Allstars did the damage in the second set, with Tony Stork, Stacy Redman, Cook and Derek Power all winning frames.
John Cochrane won frame eight for his second frame of the night, which also turned out to be the one that prevented the set whitewash.
Allstars were on the hill at, 7-3 but had to wait until the twelfth frame, which Redman won to give his team the bonus point.
Stork and Power won the next two frames to give Allstars maximum points, before Tworek took the last frame making the final score, 3-0 & 10-5.
It was a wonderful team performance from Allstars, but Stork, Redman and Power stood out, all winning three frames.
Allstars stay in fourth two points behind Bellegrove and seven ahead of Pickwick.
Duke drop to the bottom while Nuthouse and Bears both move up a place however, Duke and Nuthouse are on the same points, with Nuthouse ahead by just one frame.
With just four weeks left of the season it is still all to play for, with five points separating the top four and one point the bottom three.
In SLKPA Tier Two East there was two 100% records, with Rugrats unbeaten at the top and Hurricanes Reborn winless at the bottom and they both played each other this week.
In the first set Rugrats proved why they are league leaders, racing into a, 2-0 lead.
Hurricanes’ Captain Kevin England battled hard, but missed a crucial black, letting in Jimmy Maloney to make it, 3-0 and Shane O’Reilly soon made it, 4-0.
Arif “The Wizard” Salah got Hurricanes on the board with a third time lucky pot on the black in frame five to end the set, 4-1 down.
The second set was much closer however, Dylan Suggars and Aaron Shephard won the first two frames of the set to give Rugrats an overall, 6-1 lead.
Salah played a magical frame to prevent the set whitewash, but O’Reilly won the set and the match for Rugrats, before Ben Walsh won a scrappy frame to bring Hurricanes back to, 7-3 overall.
Salah completed a fantastic hat-trick to give Hurricanes the first frame of the last set, but Ashley Hewson, Maloney and Steve Gibson won the next three frames to give Rugrats maximum points.
Charles French won the final frame to give him a win that his recent form has deserved.
Hurricanes were outclassed but they fought hard to keep the score line at, 3-0 & 10-5 and none fought harder than Salah, who was not outclassed in his three frame wins, but he was not the only unbeaten player as Rugrats’ Hewson won both of his frames.
Bellegrove Flyers continue to lead the chasing pack after they beat fourth placed Bell Ya Later this week.
Flyers were two places and seven points above Bell Ya Later, but this match was much closer than this and the score line suggests.
The first set went down to the wire, with Flyers’ Captain, Jay Arnold winning the deciding frame for a, 3-2 lead.
Set two was a carbon copy of the first set, giving Flyers a, 2-0 & 6-4 advantage.
Flyers stepped it up for the last set, taking it, 4-1 for a final score of, 3-0 & 10-5.
Special mentions for Paul Thomas, who took out a difficult clearance while his opponent had the black hanging over a pocket and Reece Stewart for a quality long red to get position on his final red, prior to potting the black.
Jason Brunton and Jay Arnold won all three of their frames for Flyers, with Angie Hobbs doing the same for Bell Ya Later.
Falconwood Club continued their run of good form with a, 3-0 & 11-4 win over New Eltham New Boys to stay within five points of Flyers.
There was no change in the positions of this division, apart from the top three pulling away from the bottom three after they all scored maximum points.
There was also no change in the positions of SLKPA Tier Two West as the top tree all earned victories over the bottom three.
It was bottom versus top as Farmhouse hosted New Eltham New Stars and despite the 26 points between the two teams, this match turned out to be much closer than anticipated.
Farmhouse stunned the New Stars with Jack Anstee and John Denahy winning the opening two frames, but the league leaders dug in, and Sam Baker, Luke Terry and Steve Pearce won them the set, 3-2.
The second set also went down to a deciding frame, which Pearce also despatched to give his side a, 2-0 & 6-4 lead.
Steve Knight put the New Stars on the hill and Paul Rivers earned them the bonus point before Dave Jandu gave them maximum points and Paul Carroll made it double figures and six frames on the spin.
Denahy played Pearce in the last frame, with both unbeaten so far on the night and it was Denahy that ended up with the bragging rights to prevent the set whitewash and make the final score, 3-0 & 10-5.
Denahy was the shining light for Farmhouse, winning all three of his frames, with Rivers and Carroll also unbeaten for New Stars, both scoring a brace.
New Stars have increased their lead at the top of the table by one point, as Bellegrove A only managed to beat Eltham Terrace Rack Pack, 2-1 & 9-6.
Academicals reduce the gap between them and Bellegrove to nine points after they beat Fox & Hounds this week.
Fox will feel hard done by not to have won a point in this, 3-0 & 9-6 defeat to Academicals, where each set was won by the odd frame, 3-2.
The first two frames were shared, but Greg Phillimore and Jamie Walkey won the next two to give Academicals the set, before Kerry Wyatt took frame five.
Paul Donohoe made it, 4-2 overall however, Joe Kane and Alan Dolan levelled the match in frames.
Walkey nudged Academicals into the lead overall, tying the set in the process, before Chris Gaunt got his own back on Wyatt from the first set to put his side, 2-0 & 6-4 ahead.
The final set went one way then the other before Gary Mason won his side the bonus point with the penultimate frame and Phillimore secured maximum points with the last frame.
There was only one unbeaten player, Donohoe scoring a hat-trick.
In SLKPA Tier Three the match between Downham Tavern Terrors and 7 Ups was postponed however, they stay in third and second place respectively.
This gave Cue-ologists the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table and they did just that with a, 3-0 & 13-2 demolition of Downham Tavern A Team to continue their unbeaten run and go nine points clear at the top.
The A Team drop to the bottom after previous bottom team, Plough & Harrow comprehensively beat seventh placed Bexleyheath Raiders, 3-0 & 12-3 to also leapfrog their opponents.
Fourth played fifth as The Con Men took on Eltham Terrace Tigers with just one point between the two sides.
John Ly and Chris Unwin both scored hat-tricks to help Tigers to a, 2-1 & 9-6 triumph, lifting them above their opponents by one point.
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.
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