2006-07: Week 10

Belvedere Park A remains top of the Just Wood Premier Division as the main contenders manage to close the gap. They visited Swad SC B and at the midpoint of the match looked like they might be held to a draw. Owen Jones and Alan Davies then pulled out all the stops to take the remaining frames and ultimately an easy win. Spot On A had a tough match this week and it showed in the result. Andy Jenkins being the only player to take a frame from Swad SC A as they ran away with the match. Mark Sherratt stamped his authority on the match and maintained his unblemished record and took both off Tony Clements whilst Brett Bailey and John Chambers (44 break) also hit home with two a piece. Rob Chambers was the player sharing with Jenkins but he too played fluently and compiled a 40 break. Burton Cons A whitewashed Ivanhoe A to narrow the deficit to Belvedere Park. Jonathan Fletcher, Stuart Roberts, Mick Simpkins and Mat Milnes making sure that they are going to be in close contention very soon. Ivanhoe B beat Rolleston A in a tight match. Ivanhoe’s Gaz Dolman took two and Kev Norris replied with the same for Rolleston on the other table. Graham Measures then gave the home team the advantage and left Darren Wilson to snatch the decider. Newhall A were expecting a win against Belmont A who have been unable to turn out their usual strong side, but Belmont have regained the services of Kev Elkin and this will surely help them to better results. Newhall players had a handful of 30+ breaks and probably should have won. Adam McNulty set the ball rolling with two out of two but Ady McDonnell (37 break) was pegged back for the draw by Elkin. Reborn Ian Archer then levelled the match at 3-3 and the improving Andy Straw made sure of the match draw by taking one from Fran McNulty. In Presidents Division 1 the leading pair of Swad SC C and Woodville WMC A played each other. Steve Ayre set the early pace by outplaying Phil Wright as John Davis, Andy Thompson, Chris Dewey and Simon Smith all took one a piece. It was man of the match Geoff Pritchard that took his first after being 28 behind and then added the second more easily from a down hearted Graham Bailey. At Belmont the B team stood against Tutbury A where Mark Vaughan found himself a frame down within 15 minutes to some of the best potting he had seen. The second started in a similar vein and he was soon 27 in arrears but this made him knuckle down and he produced a division high break of 50. Rich Goldby took his first easily but could not get the second as Pete Shaw upped his game with some excellent shots. Dave Mabbott gave the Tutters the advantage as he took Paul Twigg apart but Shaun Gebbie fought back to win two against Brian Holmes and share the points. Belvedere Park B could not do a lot about Burton Cons C who continue to impress, and went down with little resistance. Tom Eggington and Joe Ellis put the Cons four up followed by Steve Hathaway and David Shipton sharing the spoils with Chris Gould and Tim Knopik respectively. Drakelow A brought in snooker legend Jim Marcer due to team captain Tony Coleman being unavailable. However Tutbury’s Lee Causer was too much of a handful for ring rusty Marcer. Top match was a high quality affair between Mark Press and Simon Orpwood which ended all square. Alan Orpwood lifted Drakelow’s spirits but this was soon ended as Russ Banner out played Pat Ryan. Ivanhoe C raced into a 2-0 lead with Tony Davey potting Garton Bloor off the table. Steve Cockeram and Andrew Bloor couldn’t be separated as they shared two black ball finishes. The rest of the games were also shared giving Ivanhoe the extra point for the win. John Carr A has bounced back with a win over Stapenhill A. Ian Shrive and Dave Plunkett took all their frames leaving Dennis Ganley to get the winner with the aid of a 32 break. In Furniture King Division 2 Swad SC F have extended their lead after a tough match against Alrewas A. It was Alan Wilson that made Swad rethink when he took both frames from Adam Harrison, and they did just enough to fall over the winning line. At Alrewas B, Brian Eckleston set off with a 24 break but Ivanhoe D’s Dave Watson came back with a 22 & 27 to win the first. Eckleston then got his cue action sorted out and took the second easily. Tony Truman ground down Matt Gray for a draw as Micky Morris took his first with breaks of 22 & 37 and followed this up with a 36 break and the second frame from Brendan Matty. Stuart Tagg secured the match draw for Ivanhoe by taking a respotted black in the first and the final pink in the second. Measham WMC A played a rearranged match earlier in the week and then ripped apart Burton Cons D to launch themselves up the division. Paul Boyle put together a 35 break and Captain Paul Eaton hit a 34. Dave Rushton dropped the frame to give the Cons a consolation point. Newhall B and C both took victories at the expense of Swad Cons C and B respectively and showed that they are capable of better snooker. John Carr B played well against Swad SC E and drew the first three games. Unfortunately new signing Dean Brassington was unable to prevent Phil Maddocks from taking the Swad win. In David Wain Insurance Division 3 Stapenhill D were hoping for a good win as John Carr D rested and it worked out well as they demolished Rolleston B. The highlight was Rob McMeechan’s 34 break. Rolleston C shared the honours with Belmont C, the best efforts coming from Belmont’s Gaz Ward with a 37 break. Anthony Rushton took Rolleston’s two framer as all others drew. Three weeks ago Woodville S&S A won 7-1 but this week they were on the receiving end of the same score against Rolleston D. I am sure this young Rolleston side are going to go up a division next season. Stapenhill C and Willington B beat struggling John Carr C and Swad Cons D respectively by the same score of 6-2. This means SBK and the Cons will have to pull something out of the bag soon to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon at the end of the season. Competition Draw Evershed Vase (ATA) Round 2 to be played by 31st December L. Sherratt (4) v M. Satchwell (11), J. Fletcher (1) v R. Kent (5), N. Townsend (9) v S. Orpwood (13), D. Lester (12) v M. Simpkins (1), A. Davies (12) v R. Gilmore (12), Z. Hussain v C. Keen (12), M. Morris (8) v S. Smith (11), T. Hodgkinson (1) v M. Sherratt (9)