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Hotshots only unbeaten team in SLKPA

This week saw the last two unbeaten teams in the South London & Kent Pool Alliance, Hotshots and Sharks face each other, so one record had to go.

As you would expect it was a very close game, with Hotshots running out the victors by eight frames to seven, to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier Division and maintain their unbeaten record.

Sharks not only lost their unbeaten record, but also dropped one place to third, as the surprise team of the season, Rugrats beat bottom team, Bears.

Ashley Hewson is becoming a reliable opening bat for Rugrats, and he continued his winning run this week, with the first frame.

Gary Heath and Jeff Bailey took the next two frames for Bears, before Aaron Shephard and Steve Gibson won the last two frames of the set to give Rugrats a, 3-2 lead.

Dean James levelled the match however, Rugrats won the next five frames to open an unassailable, 8-3 lead.

Bailey pulled one back for Bears, but Hewson and Gibson moved Rugrats onto ten frame wins for the night.

Shane Burnett won the last frame for Bears, making the final score, 10-5 to Rugrats.

Despite the relatively large winning margin, there was only one unbeaten player, Rugrats’ Gibson, who won all three of his frames.

Rugrats have leapfrogged Sharks by three points, who are one point ahead of Pickwick in fourth despite picking up their fourth loss of the season against Bull Tavern.

Pickwick started well with Paul Gafa winning the opening frame, but not for the first time this season, Bull’s O’Boys, Jordan O’Connor and Shane O’Reilly turned that around.

However, Dave Pile and Martin Storey won the last two frames of the set to give Pickwick a, 3-2 lead.

Pile, Gafa and Paul Dawson quickly made that, 6-2 with the first three frames of the second set, making it five in a row for them.

Bruno Silva started to chip away at that lead, and he was joined by Tony Gear to end the second set, 3-2 down and, 6-4 behind overall.

Naf Ayieko and Silva won the first two frames of the last set to tie the match at six all.

Gear won frame thirteen to make it five on the bounce and put Bull in the lead for the first time since frame three, but Storey won the penultimate frame to send the match into a final frame decider.

Dawson faced O’Connor, with both having won and lost a frame already, and it was O’Connor who held his nerve to win the match for Bull.

Of their four losses, this is the third, 8-7 of the season, whereas Bull Tavern are two places and five points below them, even though they have won two more matches.

Sandwiched between Pickwick and Bull are The Cocked Hats, who this week beat Bellegrove, 9-6 to go six points ahead of them.

Falconwood Club lost their second match in a row, but stay top of SLKPA Division One however, their lead has been reduced to two points.

It was a tense match played in good spirits against Bellegrove A, which caused it to be littered with mistakes, especially in the first set.

Falconwood won the opening frame, then in frame two Ian Stringer fouled and instead of calling a foul snooker with two visits and ball in hand on the black, Bellegrove’s Joe Hills unintentionally played a foul, handing the frame to Stringer to give his team a, 2-0 lead.

Tony Garrett could have made it three in a row, but when he lost position, instead of playing a deliberate foul he potted a ball that was over a pocket and covering the black.

This gave Jack Taylor the opportunity to take the frame, which he took to bring Bellegrove back to, 2-1.

Stacy Redman levelled the match, then Petrina Pearce looked like she was going to give Bellegrove the set, with a great clearance, but she appeared to forget she was carrying two visits onto the black.

She went for the pot, but it rattled to safety and Falconwood eventually took the frame for a first set, 3-2 lead.

Amongst the comedy of errors there was a little bit of quality in frame seven, as Stringer doubled the black the length of the table to top off a wonderful clearance.

However, this was to be Falconwood’s only frame in the second set, although Ross Webster was unlucky not to get another when he snookered himself on his second visit on the black, which was hanging over the pocket.

Bellegrove now had a, 6-4 lead and top-quality pool returned for the third set.

This started with Stringer performing the best clearance of the night to secure his hat-trick and pull the score back to, 6-5.

Ben Walsh put Bellegrove on the hill, before Brett Crawley pulled another back for Falconwood, with a superb clearance where he carried two visits throughout.

Peter Moult clinched the match for Bellegrove with the penultimate frame, before Falconwood took the final frame to keep the score down to, 8-7.

Ian Stringer was the only unbeaten player on the night however, Stacy Redman, Jack Taylor and Peter Moult all won two of their three frames for Bellegrove.

Bellegrove are now in third place, six points behind this week’s opponents and sandwiched between them are New Eltham New Stars after their massive derby win.

New Eltham New Boys were no competition for their sister side, New Stars, as they won the first eight frames to have the match won without reply.

Billy Russell won frame nine to prevent the whitewash for New Boys, but Steve Pearce and Steve Knight won the next two frames to put New Stars into double figures.

Alfie Waldron became the second New Boy to trouble the scorers, before Paul Carroll, Pearce and Dave Jandu all completed their hat-tricks to give New Stars a massive, 13-2 triumph.

As well as scoring three out of three, Steve Pearce also performed a break and dish to edge the man of the match award.

Eltham Terrace Rack Pack leapfrogged New Boys by three points after they won their second match of the season against bottom team Fox & Hounds.

Tony Frost was the inspiration behind Rack Pack’s, 8-7 victory, winning all three of his frames.

This division is playing out to be quite a close one, as all six teams are separated by just sixteen points.

It was second versus first in SLKPA Division Two, as Academicals hosted Duke of Northumberland.

As the league positions suggest, this was a close game, as after going, 3-1 up, Duke found themselves, 4-3 and 5-4 down.

Duke nicked frame ten to tie the match and went on to take four of the last five frames for a, 9-6 triumph.

Paul Clements scored an unbeaten hat-trick for Duke, and he was supported by John and Sam Kinsville who both won two of their three frames.

Duke hold onto top spot but Academicals drop to third after Bellegrove Flyers recorded an impressive, 11-4 triumph over Happy Hustlers to go three points ahead of Academicals into second.

Flyers had a hat-trick of hat-trick heroes, with Alan Boltwood, Mark Porter and Jason Brunton all unbeaten.

Farmhouse went one better than Flyers, beating bottom team, Bexleyheath Working Men’s Club, 12-3 to leave them winless at the bottom of the table.

Bexleyheath are now fifteen points adrift of Happy Hustlers, who are ten points below Farmhouse.

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 always looking at potential sponsors and any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.