2013-14: Week 16

Owen Jones writes for Just Wood Premier division

Champions Burton Cons A took the victory against Swadlincote Snooker Centre A, but it was the visitor’s Andy Goldingay that left with all the plaudits after knocking in a great 86 break on the way to defeating Matt Milnes. John Shilton put in a steady performance on the other table to take both frames and level the scores against John Davis. Owen Jones then played the visitor’s captain Chris Dewey. Jones was in fine form and took the first frame in three visits scoring 40, 35 and 24. There was no relenting in the second as he knocked in a 42 and a 22 to put the home side in front. Finally, Darren Coady hosted Steve Ayre with the away side player needing to take the frames to force a draw. However, it was Coady who potted well in both frames to seal a 6-2 for the home side.

Willington A took on Tutbury A in what looked to be a great match on paper. Wayne Pereira opened proceedings against Chris Mabbott and it was Mabbott who clinched two scrappy frames to put the away side ahead. The other Mabbott brothers, Dave and Steve, then put the match out of reach for Willington as they defeated Bill Stewart and Alan Davies. Gaz Barker halted the whitewash by beating the unlucky Steve Hathaway to leave the score at 6-2 to the visitors.

Belmont A picked up a good 5-3 victory at Swadlincote Snooker Centre B. Henry Thomas got the match underway against Josh Gebbie. Gebbie showed what a good player he is developing into by taking both frames to give the Belmont side the early advantage. Another young talent Harry Farrell then put one of the league’s best players to the sword as he defeated Ian Archer aided by a 32 break. Back came Belmont with Fran Mcinulty taking both frames against Ben Davies aided by a 34 break. Adam Harrison and Mark Press closed out the match by taking a frame each.

The Alrewas derby ended with the A team pinching a 5-3 victory. Will Sherratt drew with Ian Hiley and Alan Wilson drew with Colin Kinsella to see the scores level at the half way stage. Phil Marklew then also played out a draw with Carl Poulton, who knocked in a 28 break to take his frame. Marklew responded by knocking in a 32 to level it up. Dave Trueman made the decisive move by beating John Sharpe to take the victory.

Rileys A picked up a rare victory by defeating Willington B. Nigel Tomlinson and Mark Stirling did the damage by defeating Brian Burgh and Steve Gaunt respectively. Andy Spiers drew with John Hardy and Ade Harper knocked in a 31 in taking a frame from Tony Clements to give the home side a much needed victory.

In another derby on the night, Ashby Ivanhoe A defeated the B team in a close encounter. Daniel Blunn took the decisive win against Gaz Dolman with all other matches ending all square. Ian Rennocks drew with Steve Cockerham, Mick Kirk drew with Graham Measures and Ant Moore drew with Darren Wilson.

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Insurance Division One

Burton Cons B have been due a good result for a few weeks now and got one this week at the expense of Swad cons B with a great 8-0 win away from home, Bob McInulty for Swad Cons took on Jason anguish in an open game with both players potting well, Jason winning the first game on the brown. The second was similar, Jason saw himself build a 28 lead however bob made it difficult for Jason who only won by taking the blue. Swads Ross Hollis played the solid David Plunkett and in two more open well contested games Dave went 35 in front and then cleared to the pink to take the first, the second game was similar but much closer, Dave winning on the pink. Colin cope played Burtons inform player Simon smith and Simon played well to take two off an out of sorts Colin. Paul Hollis for Swad Cons ended the match against Tom Egginton which was probably the best game of the night, Paul had some bad luck on two occasions going in off after great pots via other balls, Tom came back with a hard fought 24 break and eventually took the first on the colours. The second game saw tom go 35 in front with only 22 on the table Paul got some great snookers but it was too much to pull back giving the Burton side a great win which puts Swad Cons in to the relegation places.

South Derbyshire Snooker Centre D team the current leaders in division one, this week hosted Swad Cons A who occupy one of the promotion places, the clash got off with arguably both teams best players facing each other Wayne Brewin for SDSC and Andy Grainger for the cons team, Wayne took immediate control of the first frame and made a decent 34 break which helped take the frame, some good snooker followed but it was the snooker centre man who took the second as well, on the other table Swad Snookers Ryan Gilmore who has also been in great form faced Mark Hadley, the game lived up to expectations with great potting and safety and ended in a draw, the usually steady Lee Sherratt then went on against Cons Simon Mansfield and it was the cons man who came from behind with the help of a 29 break to take the first and did the same in the second to level the match going in to the last frames between Andy Rice and cons Paul Slater, after two hard fought frames they could not be separated and took a frame each for the team draw keeping SDSC on top of the league.

Newhall B refuse to give up the promotion challenge and faced yet another side chasing promotion in the shape of South Derbyshire Snooker Centre C, the game got off with Newhall’s Adam McInulty taking on Mark Satchwell, Adam took the first frame making a decent 33 break and then continued in the same vane making the divisions highest break this week with a 54, which could have been more no thanks to a kick ruining his position and leaving him with no shot to take while on the other table Swads Simon Orpwood played two great games against Mark Anslow to level the scores, Newhall then sent out Martin Hicks who played Brian Bloor and Carl Glover against Garton Bloor with the Newhall lads winning all 4 frames to dent SDSC C title challenge but keeps Newhall in third and on course for promotion.

A Stapenhill derby match was played between the clubs A and B teams and turned out to be a great contest, the A teams Steve Ford played Bryan Sherratt and won two frames with breaks of 36 and 32, Bryan came back with a 25 which was not quite enough to take a frame. The A teams John Richardson played some excellent snooker to beat Greg Britton to make it 4-0 halfway, the B teams John Sherriff and Tim Knopik pulled back two frames to give them hopes of a comeback but this was not to be as The A teams Carl Jeffcote and Chris Sheldrake came back to give the A team a solid 6-2 victory which with the game in hand they have could give them a chance of promotion.

Willington C and Ivanhoe C played out a draw.

Tony Coleman Reporting on Rileys Division 2

Ivanhoe D have had an excellent week. It began with them winning the President’s Division Cup Final where they had a good victory at home to Woodville S&S A winning 3-1. Back in the league they put in another fine display as they beat the current league leaders Willington D 5-3 this was the leaders third defeat of the season. Tim Bale for Ivanhoe played some very good snooker as he drew with Dave Budworth who is near the top of the Division’s averages and by all accounts he was unlucky not to take both losing the second on the black. On the other table ‘Mr Sequence Dancer Extraordinaire’ Warren Collins waltzed off with the first frame against Trevor Heath and in the second frame it was role reversal with Trevor taking it. The second half of the draw saw Ivanhoe put pressure on the leaders with Jason Collins who has been playing some first rate snooker this season saw him take both frames against the unfortunate Bill Davidson who had no answer to Jason’s long potting. Barry Fieldsend got the teams winning frame with some quality potting and a share of the spoils with Brian Alford.

In the battle between the fourth and fifth placed teams SDSC E and Belmont C respectively it was Belmont C who ran out worthy winners winning 6-2. The match got off to a even start with Terry Bosworth for Belmont who has been in fine form this season who took both frames off Ray Bancroft fairly comfortably. This was then levelled up thanks to Nick Harcombe edging out Glen Mathews with Nick having a little bit of good running in both frames. Although Nick did knock in a 24 break to win his first frame. Belmont’s player of the night was undoubtedly Brian Cutting who played two excellent frames of snooker both with his potting and safety play which lead to a most frustrating evening for Andy Jefferies who lost both frames. Dave Press got the winning frame as he beat Ray Stretton in two extremely tight frames with Dave taking both on the black. This win keeps them handily placed in the promotion race.

Rolleston B had a fine home win as they beat Alrewas D 5-3. Steve Atkin and Dave Riley had to settle for a frame each with both players getting some fine pots. Rolleston’s skipper John Ward put his side in a good place in winning both frames against John Hill who does not lose many frames over a season but tonight John was a little too hot for him. This put Rolleston 3-1 ahead at the turn. Neil Cheadle was again his normal consistent self as he played some steady snooker to beat Tony Trueman and the win for Rolleston as Dave Bentley lost frames in a scrappy match to Tom Smith.

SDSC F seem to be on a bit of a roll as they won for the second week running this time against fellow strugglers Swad Cons C winning 5-3. Alex Read got the ball rolling for SDSC with a competent display against Barry Bentley taking both frames with both players making some valuable contributions to the match. Alex Glover continued the good work beating John Griffin in a highly entertaining match. For the Cons Pete Fearn added some respectability to the score line as he beat Ashley Beard with probably his best display of the season. Jon Petcher made Henry Carlton fight really hard to get the one frame they needed for victory as they ended the match honours even.
Tutbury B had an excellent home win as they thrashed Burton Cons D 7-1. The Tutbury boys were given a dream start thanks Paul Atterbury taking both frames off the unlucky Paul Brookes who did very little wrong it was just that Paul was on fire. John Peto probably played his best snooker this season as he put the home team in a commanding position with a cracking display of potting to easily beat Nathan Brookes. For the Cons it was left to Ian Protheroe to prevent the dreaded whitewash as he shared the frames with Colin Bell with both players playing some good snooker. Jeff Siddalls kept his good run of form on track winning two close frames with Al Munnien.

Second in the table Rolleston C had to settle for a draw against one of the draw specialists Swad Cons C. It was a very tight match all through the game with neither side being able to get a player to win two frames. Richard O’Dell drew with Dave Bodie who has been having a bit of a lean time this season. Lionel Lewis did well to get a share of the spoils against the in-form Scott Gee. Joe Docksey did not have everything going his way as he shared the frames with Marc Egan. In another tight struggle between Kev Norris and Bob Birch neither player was able to take the opportunities when they arose hence another drawn game. This result keeps them three points ahead of the third placed team SDSC E.

This division is extremely tight as only eight points separate the second position to the seventh position.

 

2013-14: Week 15

Owen Jones writes for Just Wood Premier Division

A landmark event occurred in the Premier division of the Burton Snooker League writes Owen Jones. Second placed Ashby Ivanhoe A visited the Tutbury Tutters and came away with the points in a 6-2 win. It was in-form Andy Marriott who stole the headlines as he became the first player of the season to knock in a century, scoring a brilliant 102 in his game with Steve Mabbott. Ant Moore also took the frames against Dave Powell to put the visiting side firmly in the driving seat. Chris Mabbott and Dave Mabbott drew with Mick Kirk and Daniel Blunn respectively to close out the match.

Willington B and Belmont B fought out a battling draw on the night. John Hardy took both frames from Mick Morris, but back came Arron Vaughan who defeated Rich Turner to tie the scores. Tony Clements drew with Brett Craddock and Steve Gaunt knocked in a 31 when taking his frame in the drawn match with Michael Lomas.

Another tied game saw Ivanhoe B host Rileys A. Gaz Dolman, Steve Cockerham, Graham Measures and Jerry Cook drew with Ade Harper, Andy Spiers, Mark Stirling and Adam Edwards respectively in what was an evenly contested match.

The battle between third placed Belmont A and champions Burton Cons A proved to be a one sided affair in the visitors favour. The Belmont side began well with Ian Archer playing some great stuff in taking the first frame against John Shilton. Back came Shilton in the second to take it on the colours but it all went down hill from then on. Fran McInulty lost his game with Owen Jones, who knocked in a 32 on his way to victory. Matt Milnes then defeated Josh Gebbie with both players knocking in some lovely shots. Darren Coady completed the rout beating Shaun Gebbie in his usual efficient manner to close the match 7-1 in the away sides favour.

Alrewas A were looking to bounce back after the previous weeks mauling at the hands of champions Burton Cons A. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan as they lost to Swadlincote Snooker Centre B. Harry Farrell and Henry Thomas defeated Dave Trueman and Carl Poulton to put the visitors in control. Ian Hiley took a frame against Ben Davies but back came his opponent to take the second with a 34 break. Colin Kinsella was also unable to take both frames against Adam Harrison and the final score was 6-2 to the visitors.

Swadlincote Snooker Centre A hosted Willington A and it was the away side who claimed a great 7-1 victory. Andy Goldingay was the only player to take a frame against Daz Lester. Wayne Pierra, Dean Johnston and Jan Pawlaczyk gained maximum points from the remaining games to give the visitors the spoils.

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Insurance Division one
 
Current league leaders Ivanhoe C faced a promotion battle against third placed South Derbyshire Snooker Centre D, Ivanhoe’s Jason Pickering came up against Swad snooker’s Wayne Brewin who has been in consistently good form all season and carried this form on taking two frames off Jason, while on the other table Swad’s Floating player Mark Satchwell stole the first frame off Stu Tagg and almost did the same in the second but Stu held his nerve and won it. Ashby’s John Skellett took the first frame from Lee Sherratt but Lee showed his class by winning the second, Swads Ryan Gilmore yet again put in a great performance against Tony Tredger to give his side a 6-2 win which makes them new league leaders and pushes Ivanhoe down into second.

Swad Cons A have also got themselves into contention for promotion and played another team who have been putting together impressive results, Newhall B, the game got off to a great start with Swad’s Andy Grainger knocking in a 32 break in the first only to lose it at the death and then see Newhall’s Adam McInulty make a good 34 and take the second, Newhall’s Callum Gray had a brilliant 32 clearance to take the first off Swad’s Mark Hadley who then came back to take the second, Martin Hicks played well and made a 35 break in the two frames he took off the unlucky Lee Wood, while in the final match the result was reversed with Paul Slater winning two off the unlucky Carl Glover to give Newhall a 5-3 victory that keeps Newhall B in fourth and Swad Cons A in third.
 
South Derbyshire Snooker C is a team much better than the league position before this match suggested and turned it on against another decent side, Burton Cons C. The Burton side got off to a good start with Mike Buckland beating the talented Andrew Bloor in both frames, sadly for the Burton team this was as good as it got with Swad’s Brian Bloor beating Steve Castledine, Garton Bloor doing the same to the Burton captain Ian Shrive which was no mean feat and Swad’s Simon Orpwood defeating Jim Jennings for a 6-2 win to move them up to fifth.
 
Burton Cons B and Willington C find themselves in mid table but two good results could move you up into contention for promotion, this is how close this division is, Burtons Simon Smith has played consistently well in the league and league competitions and is proving hard to beat as Willington’s Daz Harris found out in two close games which Simon took, on the other table Burton’s Jason Anguish came up against Loz Kennerson who is playing well and took two frames with the help of a 39 break, in the next matches which were well contested Tom Egginton was defeated by Steve Butterworth and Dave Plunkett was held to a draw by Steve Lane to give the Willington visitors a 5-3 win.

Alrewas C did their survival hopes some good with a close away win at Stapenhill B With the home teams Andy Tomlinson drawing with Colin Wood and Alrewas’s Rob Mcmeechan beating Greg Britton in two close frames, Stapenhill’s Tim Knopik struck back for them by beating Nigel Edwards but the match was decided in Alrewas’s favour by Karl Hancox who defeated John Sherriff in an entertaining game.
A sad note to end on, Rolleston A have withdrawn from the league, hopefully we will see them back next season.

Rileys Division 2 Snooker Report by Tony Coleman

In the Division’s match of the week between league leaders Willington D and second placed Rolleston C ended all square a 4-4 draw. In the Division thriller a careful start by both players Dave Budworth and Joe Docksey along with good safety play left Dave Budworth requiring the last three colours to win the frame but unfortunately he rattled the jaws with the black leaving a simple pot for Joe to win the frame. The second frame was not as tight with Joe needing to clear the colours to win but failed on the green leaving Dave to clear the colours and to share the frames. Trevor “hot shot” Heath was in outstanding form against ex Willington player Lionel Lewis. In the first frame he potted everything that was put in front of him and in the second frame Trevor had to put in a little more effort to win it as Lionel tried to up his game but to no avail. Brian Alford and Kev Norris shared their frames with Brian winning his frame on the black. In the second frame Kev controlled the frame from start to finish which put the leaders 4-2 ahead and favourites for the win but in a tight first frame between Bill Davidson and Andy Winson. Andy for Rolleston won it on the black. Andy also won the second frame to earn his team a draw and in the second frame Andy was helped a little by a bit of good running.

Third in the Division Woodville S&S A could only draw with Tutbury B in a very tight and most enjoyable match with neither side deserving to lose and was played in the right spirit. Paul Atterbury for Tutbury got them off to a good start as he took both frames off the Woodville talisman Jim Marcer who was not at his best on the night. Paul won the first frame on the pink and in the second he played some lovely snooker to win fairly comfortably. Although not firing on all cylinders Alan Orpwood was still too good on the night against John Peto with both players getting some good pots. Pat Ryan took command of the first frame against Colin Bell with some fine pots and good safety play but in the second Colin stepped up his game to win the frame fairly comfortably. In another tight match between Tony Coleman and Jeff Siddalls both players had to settle for a share of the spoils. Jeff won the first frame on the black which included a 25 break after an excellent bout of safety play on the pink. The second frame went to Tony despite Jeff knocking in a 21 break.

Probably the most surprising win of the week was SDSC F beating the high riding Ivanhoe D 5-3 for only their second win of the season. SDSC were given a great start thanks to Alex Read taking two well deserved frames from Eric Avins with some fine potting. Alex was well supported by Alex Glover who took both frames from the consistent Jason Collins who has very rarely dropped two frames in a match this season. Alex played his best snooker of the season for his win. Henry Carlton played out of his skin to earn a draw with the master of the ‘foxtrot’ Warner Collins with both players getting some good pots. This frame gave SDSC a well deserved victory and puts them in good spirit for the rest of the season. Tim Bale for Ivanhoe added some respect to the score line as he won both frames in a rather dour match with Ken White.

Swad Cons D just about deserved their win of 5-3 over Rolleston B. Gaz Ward and Steve Atkin had two really good frames up to the colours and that was when Gaz turned on the style as he cleared up the colours in both games. Dave Bodie was his usual frustrated self as he kept missing some easy pots with which his opponent John Ward made him pay heavily by comfortably winning both frames. Bob Birch had little problem on the night against Dave Bentley who was a little out of sorts as Bob won both frames with plenty to spare. Scott Gee won his first frame against Neil Cheadle with some steady snooker giving the Cons the win but in the second he could not find enough to beat Neil who deserved a share of the spoils.

Belmont C had a fine home win against Swad Cons C winning 6-2. Terry Bosworth was back to his imperious best after the previous weeks hiccough as he took both frames off John Griffin with quality snooker play with John also making a valuable contribution to the match. Brian Cutting continued Belmont’s good start as he drew with Alan Jowett who was playing his first league match for a few years. Brian was in fine form to win the first frame but Alan came back well to take the second. At the turn Belmont were 3-1 ahead. Another player getting back into the swing was Belmont’s Glen Mathews after a number of years out of the game proved that he can still play to a good level as he beat John Petcher with a solid performance. In a dour match between Dave Press and Peter Fearn the frames were shared. This was a good win for Belmont but thanks to the Cons for making it a good night and also playing it in the right spirit.

SDSC E had a very good win away to Burton Cons D winning 7-1. This win keeps them well in touch with the leading bunch for promotion. Ray Bancroft got the Snooker Centre ball rolling nicely for them as he beat Nathan Brooks in two tightly contested frames. This was then followed up by Tony Mitchell sharing the frames with Ian Protheroe with both players making some good pots. With Ian taking that frame it prevented the Cons from a whitewash. Al Munnien then lost both frames to Nick Harcombe who is playing some really good snooker this season. Andy Jefferies then beat Paul Brookes with a solid display thus giving the snooker team one of their best wins of the season.

2013-14: Week 14

Owen Jones writes on the Just Wood Premier Division
The second half of the season started with a bang for champions Burton Cons A after they defeated Alrewas A 8-0. John Shilton began proceedings with a comprehensive victory over Ian Hiley which included breaks of 34 and a 55 clearance in the second frame. Mat Milnes potted convincingly on the other table, beating Dave Trueman to put the Cons 4-0 up at the break. Darren Coady and Owen Jones, who knocked in a 34 and a string of 20 plus breaks, then completed the rout beating Colin Kinsella and Carl Poulton respectively.
Nearest rivals Ivanhoe A were held to a draw by Swadlincote Snooker Centre A. Andy Marriott was unfortunate to meet Andy Goldingay in the mood he was in as the Swadlincote man showed no mercy taking both frames, aided by breaks of 40 and 37. Ian Rennocks then continued his impressive season, taking both frames from the visiting side’s captain Chris Dewey helped by breaks of 36 and a lovely 61 to leave the scores all square at the break. Mick Kirk then lost his game with Steve Ayre to put the away side in the driving seat. Ivanhoe captain Ant Moore came to the rescue, defeating John Davis to end the match as a well contested draw.
Willington A defeated Belmont A 5-3 in a closely fought encounter. Jan Pawlazych started the match against young Josh Gebbie. Both players took a frame each with Gebbie knocking in a 25. Daz Lester then potted well in taking a frame from the Belmont talisman Ian Archer. Dean Johnston and Mark Press then continued the pattern of the match, drawing their game with Press grabbing a 25 break. The decisive factor proved to be Gaz Barker yet again for Willington as he beat Fran McInulty with a break of 43. McInulty also knocked in a 25 break but it was to no avail. 
Alrewas B hosted Willington B in what proved to be a fruitful night for the visitors. John Sharpe was first up against Steve Gaunt and his opponent played very well in taking both frames, aided by breaks of 37 and 34. Alan Wilson drew with Tony Clements to leave the score at 3-1 at the break. Phil Marklew was then held to a draw by John Hardy, despite knocking in a 36 break. Will Sherratt then met Andy Jenkins needing to take both frames to force a draw. Unfortunately that did not materialise as Jenkins potted well throughout to take both frames, which included a 41 break to leave the final score as 6-2.
Rileys A and Tutbury A shared the points in a well contested match. Tom Elliot knocked in a 35 but it didn’t stop his opponent Dave Mabbott taking both frames to put the away side in front. Andy Spiers then made a draw with Chris Mabbott and Ade Harper and Dave Powell followed suit. Mark Stirling forced the draw by defeating Steve Hathaway, helped by a 44 break.
Belmont B and Ivanhoe B also shared the spoils on the night. Micky Morris defeated Jerry Cook to put the Belmont side ahead, but back came Ivanhoe with Steve Cockerham taking both against an out of sorts Arron Vaughan. Mark Vaughan was then unlucky to lose the first against Gaz Dolman but was well beaten in the second. This meant that Brett Craddock needed to take his frames against Daz Wilson to force a draw. He did it in some style, knocking in a 35 and playing some great snooker to leave the match all square.
Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Division 1
The restart of the league campaign brought together two sides fancied for promotion in the shape of Newhall B at home to Ivanhoe C who had lead the division for much of the first half and had recently slipped to fourth place, the match was played in great spirit and witnessed some excellent snooker from all players, Newhall’s Adam McInulty went on first against Jason Pickering and knocked in a good 35 break which helped him take the frame, Jason was not finished and came back to win a scrappy second frame, on the other table Mark Anslow was up against Ashby’s Brendon Mattley, and in two classy frames the Ashby man came out on top to give his side the upper hand. Next up for Newhall was Martin Hicks against John Skellet and this match was another classic with great potting from both players which rightly ended in a draw. The last game proved to be the closest with Carl Glover for Newhall winning the first on a black ball to give his team the chance of a draw, the second frame was also very close and went down to the final black, Ashby’s Stu Tagg getting it to give his side a 5-3 away victory that sends Ivanhoe back to the top of the league.
Burton Cons C hosted Swad Cons A in a mid-table clash with Swad Cons welcoming back Andy Grainger who took on Burtons Steve Castledine in a high scoring game which saw Andy take both frames, on the other table Swad’s Simon Mansfield took on Burtons Mike Buckland both games going to the wire and ending in a draw, Burton captain Ian Shrive played Paul Slater and played some of his best snooker winning both to leave the result hanging on the last match between Swad’s Mark Hadley and Burtons wily campaigner Jim Jennings, both games were close and ended in a draw to leave a drawn match.
Stapenhill A have also lead the division and must fancy themselves for promotion as did this week’s opponents Swad Snooker Centre C. Carl Jeffcote faced Swad’s Brian Bloor and Brian won two frames to give his side an early advantage which was matched by his team mate Simon Orpwood who made two 31 breaks in the two frames he took off Mark Waldron to leave the Swad side 4-0 up, Stapenhill’s John Richardson then went on against Garton Bloor and duly won two frames aided by a good 38 break, on the other table team mate Steve Ford took the first frame leaving the result hanging on the last frame, Andrew Bloor took control of it and knocked in a great 44 break to give his side victory and keep them in with a good chance of promotion.
Two teams who find themselves at the wrong end of the table are Swad Cons B and Stapenhill B with both teams having talent in their ranks, The game got off to a cracking start with Andy Tomlinson making a decent 44 break which proved not to be enough against Rob Hadliegh who came back to take a frame, Swad’s Bob McInulty on the other table took the first frame against Greg Britton who bounced back in the second to keep the scores level. Paul Hollis then went on against Stapenhill’s John Sheriff and it was the Stapenhill man who came away with the points while in the last match between Swad’s Ross Hollis and Stapenhill’s Tim Knopik Hollis unluckily went in off on the black to lose the first and then just lost the second to give the away side a valuable 6-2 victory.
Swad Snooker Centre D played Burton Cons B with both teams in the hunt for promotion in what is the leagues tightest division, Swad’s David Wain was first up against Burtons Simon Smith with Smith coming out on top in both games, Wayne Brewin brought the sides back level by beating Dave Plunkett, Andy Rice then lost two to Burtons Tom Egginton to give the Burton side the edge but Swad’s Ryan Gilmore defeated the talented Jason Anguish with the help of the divisions highest break of the week 46 and earn his team a draw.
Tony Coleman writes for Rileys Division 2
Willington D increased their lead at the top of the Division with a crushing defeat of Rolleston B with a 7-1 away win. Willington were given a very good start thanks to the in-form David Budworth who played extremely well in both the potting and safety department of his game giving Steve Atkin little opportunity to show off his talents in both frames. Neil Cheadle saved Rolleston’s blushes as he won their only frame of the night in a shared match with Simon Malpass. Bill Davidson then clinched victory with an assured performance in winning both frames against John Ward who at times did not appear to have much good running. Trevor “hot shot” Heath was once again in a dominant mood potting some lovely balls as he rolled back the years to win his match fairly comfortably with David Bentley.
Ivanhoe D must have fancied their chances of beating Belmont D after Barry Fieldsend made it a winning return to the snooker league as he took both frames off the most consistent Terry Bosworth with quality snooker being played by both players in a most entertaining two frames. Belmont’s Dougie Lees played out of his skin to take a frame off Ivanhoe’s highly rated Jason Collins in a match where both players missed opportunities to win. Warner Collins fresh from his Veteran Come Dancing Competition in which he and his partner came runners up had to be content with a share of the honours with Brian Cutting where both players made vital contributions to a most entertaining match with a draw being the fairest result. Dave Press was Belmont’s star of the night as he took both frames off Tim Bale in two very nail biting frames to give Belmont a well deserved draw.
Rolleston C kept their promotion challenge on track with a good home win against SDSC F winning 6-2. Ken White for SDSC did very well to take a share of the spoils in two close frames against the talented Joe Docksey in a match where both players failed to make the most of their opportunities when they arose. For Rolleston Lionel Lewis was in cracking form as he easily won both frames with Henry Carlton which included a 23 break. With Rolleston being 3-1 ahead at the turn they carried on the good work in the second half of the match with Richard O’Dell playing some extremely good and postive snooker as he won both frames against Ashley Beard with something to spare in both frames. Kev Norris and Alex Glover shared two highly entertaining frames with both players making fine contributions to the match. This win keeps Rolleston in second place.
Tutbury B did very well to beat Alrewas D 5-3 after being 1-3 down at the turn. Alrewas was given a great start thanks to Tom Smith who played some great snooker with some lovely pots from distance to which John Peto had no answer with Tom taking both frames in some style. Brian Aldridge did his best to back up Tom’s performance as he shared the frames with Colin Bell. After the turn the Tutbury boys got going first with Paul Atterbury using his previous experience gained in the Premier division last season to take both frames off a determined but unsuccessful John Hill with some fine safety play. Jeff Siddalls coped very well with the pressure as he played out two steady frames of snooker in which the talented Brian Eccleston had no answer. This excellent comeback win keeps Tutbury in with a shout of a promotion slot.
In a very close and tense match between SDSC E and Woodville S&S A it was Woodville who came away with a 5-3 hard earned win. The master cue man Jim Marcer got the team off to a fine start as he took both frames fairly easily off Ray Bancroft. In the second frame Jim really turned on the style with some superb potting every time he went to the the table which included a swiftly made 23 break. Ray conceded with one red left and only scoring 8 points 4 of which was by a foul. On the other table we had two contrasting frames between Nick Harcombe and Alan Orpwood. Nick won the first frame fairly comfortably with some fine potting and safety play then in the second frame it was roles reversed with Alan missing very little. This put the Woodville lads 3-1 ahead at the turn. In a very tight first frame between Ray Stretton and Pat Ryan. It was Ray who came and stole the frame from Pat. Pat had a straight pink into the middle bag for the frame but became distracted and left the pink on which a grateful Ray duly accepted and potted the black for the frame. Pat put this mistake behind him and played some good safety play and pots for a share of the spoils. The final two frames between Andy Jeffries and Tony Coleman was a slow and dour affair with Andy winning the first frame on the pink and Tony winning the second also on the pink thus giving Woodville the win. Woodville are the only team in the division to have beaten SDSC E this season.
Burton Cons D had their best win of the season as they beat bottom of the table Swad Cons C 7-1 away although the match score was not a true reflection of the match itself a number of frames was only decided on the last few balls. For Swad Cons it was down to Jon Petcher who took a frame off Nathan Brooks to prevent the dreaded whitewash. Burton’s Ian Protheroe played well in a most entertaining match with Pete Fearn with the outcome in doubt until the last few colours. Barry Bentley with a little bit more running could easily have shared his game with Paul Brookes. Al Munnien finished off a great night for Burton Cons with a highly entertaining win against John Griffin with both players making some fine shots.

2013-14: Week 14

Owen Jones writes on the Just Wood Premier Division<o:p></o:p>

The second half of the season started with a bang for champions Burton Cons A after they defeated Alrewas A 8-0. John Shilton began proceedings with a comprehensive victory over Ian Hiley which included breaks of 34 and a 55 clearance in the second frame. Mat Milnes potted convincingly on the other table, beating Dave Trueman to put the Cons 4-0 up at the break. Darren Coady and Owen Jones, who knocked in a 34 and a string of 20 plus breaks, then completed the rout beating Colin Kinsella and Carl Poulton respectively.

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Nearest rivals Ivanhoe A were held to a draw by Swadlincote Snooker Centre A. Andy Marriott was unfortunate to meet Andy Goldingay in the mood he was in as the Swadlincote man showed no mercy taking both frames, aided by breaks of 40 and 37. Ian Rennocks then continued his impressive season, taking both frames from the visiting side’s captain Chris Dewey helped by breaks of 36 and a lovely 61 to leave the scores all square at the break. Mick Kirk then lost his game with Steve Ayre to put the away side in the driving seat. Ivanhoe captain Ant Moore came to the rescue, defeating John Davis to end the match as a well contested draw.

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Willington A defeated <st1:place w:st=”on”>Belmont</st1:place> A 5-3 in a closely fought encounter. Jan Pawlazych started the match against young Josh Gebbie. Both players took a frame each with Gebbie knocking in a 25. Daz Lester then potted well in taking a frame from the <st1:city w:st=”on”>Belmont</st1:city> talisman Ian Archer. Dean Johnston and Mark Press then continued the pattern of the match, drawing their game with Press grabbing a 25 break. The decisive factor proved to be Gaz Barker yet again for Willington as he beat Fran McInulty with a break of 43. McInulty also knocked in a 25 break but it was to no avail.

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Alrewas B hosted Willington B in what proved to be a fruitful night for the visitors. John Sharpe was first up against Steve Gaunt and his opponent played very well in taking both frames, aided by breaks of 37 and 34. Alan Wilson drew with Tony Clements to leave the score at 3-1 at the break. Phil Marklew was then held to a draw by John Hardy, despite knocking in a 36 break. Will Sherratt then met Andy Jenkins needing to take both frames to force a draw. Unfortunately that did not materialise as Jenkins potted well throughout to take both frames, which included a 41 break to leave the final score as 6-2.

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Rileys A and Tutbury A shared the points in a well contested match. Tom Elliot knocked in a 35 but it didn’t stop his opponent Dave Mabbott taking both frames to put the away side in front. Andy Spiers then made a draw with Chris Mabbott and Ade Harper and Dave Powell followed suit. Mark Stirling forced the draw by defeating Steve Hathaway, helped by a 44 break.

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Belmont B and Ivanhoe B also shared the spoils on the night. Micky Morris defeated Jerry Cook to put the Belmont side ahead, but back came Ivanhoe with Steve Cockerham taking both against an out of sorts Arron Vaughan. Mark Vaughan was then unlucky to lose the first against Gaz Dolman but was well beaten in the second. This meant that Brett Craddock needed to take his frames against Daz Wilson to force a draw. He did it in some style, knocking in a 35 and playing some great snooker to leave the match all square.

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Division 1

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black”>The restart of the league campaign brought together two sides fancied for promotion in the shape of Newhall B at home to Ivanhoe C who had lead the division for much of the first half and had recently slipped to fourth place, the match was played in great spirit and witnessed some excellent snooker from all players, Newhall’s Adam McInulty went on first against Jason Pickering and knocked in a good 35 break which helped him take the frame, Jason was not finished and came back to win a scrappy second frame, on the other table Mark Anslow was up against Ashby’s Brendon Mattley, and in two classy frames the Ashby man came out on top to give his side the upper hand. Next up for Newhall was Martin Hicks against John Skellet and this match was another classic with great potting from both players which rightly ended in a draw. The last game proved to be the closest with Carl Glover for Newhall winning the first on a black ball to give his team the chance of a draw, the second frame was also very close and went down to the final black, Ashby’s Stu Tagg getting it to give his side a 5-3 away victory that sends Ivanhoe back to the top of the league.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black”>Burton Cons C hosted Swad Cons A in a mid-table clash with Swad Cons welcoming back Andy Grainger who took on Burtons Steve Castledine in a high scoring game which saw Andy take both frames, on the other table Swad’s Simon Mansfield took on Burtons Mike Buckland both games going to the wire and ending in a draw, Burton captain Ian Shrive played Paul Slater and played some of his best snooker winning both to leave the result hanging on the last match between Swad’s Mark Hadley and Burtons wily campaigner Jim Jennings, both games were close and ended in a draw to leave a drawn match.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black”>Stapenhill A have also lead the division and must fancy themselves for promotion as did this week’s opponents Swad Snooker Centre C. Carl Jeffcote faced Swad’s Brian Bloor and Brian won two frames to give his side an early advantage which was matched by his team mate Simon Orpwood who made two 31 breaks in the two frames he took off Mark Waldron to leave the Swad side 4-0 up, Stapenhill’s John Richardson then went on against Garton Bloor and duly won two frames aided by a good 38 break, on the other table team mate Steve Ford took the first frame leaving the result hanging on the last frame, Andrew Bloor took control of it and knocked in a great 44 break to give his side victory and keep them in with a good chance of promotion.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black”>Two teams who find themselves at the wrong end of the table are Swad Cons B and Stapenhill B with both teams having talent in their ranks, The game got off to a cracking start with Andy Tomlinson making a decent 44 break which proved not to be enough against Rob Hadliegh who came back to take a frame, Swad’s Bob McInulty on the other table took the first frame against Greg Britton who bounced back in the second to keep the scores level. Paul Hollis then went on against Stapenhill’s John Sheriff and it was the Stapenhill man who came away with the points while in the last match between Swad’s Ross Hollis and Stapenhill’s Tim Knopik Hollis unluckily went in off on the black to lose the first and then just lost the second to give the away side a valuable 6-2 victory.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black”>Swad Snooker Centre D played Burton Cons B with both teams in the hunt for promotion in what is the leagues tightest division, Swad’s David Wain was first up against Burtons Simon Smith with Smith coming out on top in both games, Wayne Brewin brought the sides back level by beating Dave Plunkett, Andy Rice then lost two to Burtons Tom Egginton to give the Burton side the edge but Swad’s Ryan Gilmore defeated the talented Jason Anguish with the help of the divisions highest break of the week 46 and earn his team a draw.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black”>Tony Coleman writes for Rileys Division 2 

_<span style=”font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black”>Willington D increased their lead at the top of the Division with a crushing defeat of Rolleston B with a 7-1 away win. Willington were given a very good start thanks to the in-form David Budworth who played extremely well in both the potting and safety department of his game giving Steve Atkin little opportunity to show off his talents in both frames. Neil Cheadle saved Rolleston’s blushes as he won their only frame of the night in a shared match with Simon Malpass. Bill Davidson then clinched victory with an assured performance in winning both frames against John Ward who at times did not appear to have much good running. Trevor “hot shot” Heath was once again in a dominant mood potting some lovely balls as he rolled back the years to win his match fairly comfortably with David Bentley.

_<span style=”font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black”>Ivanhoe D must have fancied their chances of beating Belmont D after Barry Fieldsend made it a winning return to the snooker league as he took both frames off the most consistent Terry Bosworth with quality snooker being played by both players in a most entertaining two frames. Belmont’s Dougie Lees played out of his skin to take a frame off Ivanhoe’s highly rated Jason Collins in a match where both players missed opportunities to win. Warner Collins fresh from his Veteran Come Dancing Competition in which he and his partner came runners up had to be content with a share of the honours with Brian Cutting where both players made vital contributions to a most entertaining match with a draw being the fairest result. Dave Press was Belmont’s star of the night as he took both frames off Tim Bale in two very nail biting frames to give Belmont a well deserved draw.

_<span style=”font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black”>Rolleston C kept their promotion challenge on track with a good home win against SDSC F winning 6-2. Ken White for SDSC did very well to take a share of the spoils in two close frames against the talented Joe Docksey in a match where both players failed to make the most of their opportunities when they arose. For Rolleston Lionel Lewis was in cracking form as he easily won both frames with Henry Carlton which included a 23 break. With Rolleston being 3-1 ahead at the turn they carried on the good work in the second half of the match with Richard O’Dell playing some extremely good and postive snooker as he won both frames against Ashley Beard with something to spare in both frames. Kev Norris and Alex Glover shared two highly entertaining frames with both players making fine contributions to the match. This win keeps Rolleston in second place.

_<span style=”font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black”>Tutbury B did very well to beat Alrewas D 5-3 after being 1-3 down at the turn. Alrewas was given a great start thanks to Tom Smith who played some great snooker with some lovely pots from distance to which John Peto had no answer with Tom taking both frames in some style. Brian Aldridge did his best to back up Tom’s performance as he shared the frames with Colin Bell. After the turn the Tutbury boys got going first with Paul Atterbury using his previous experience gained in the Premier division last season to take both frames off a determined but unsuccessful John Hill with some fine safety play. Jeff Siddalls coped very well with the pressure as he played out two steady frames of snooker in which the talented Brian Eccleston had no answer. This excellent comeback win keeps Tutbury in with a shout of a promotion slot.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black”>In a very close and tense match between SDSC E and Woodville S&S A it was Woodville who came away with a 5-3 hard earned win. The master cue man Jim Marcer got the team off to a fine start as he took both frames fairly easily off Ray Bancroft. In the second frame Jim really turned on the style with some superb potting every time he went to the the table which included a swiftly made 23 break. Ray conceded with one red left and only scoring 8 points 4 of which was by a foul. On the other table we had two contrasting frames between Nick Harcombe and Alan Orpwood. Nick won the first frame fairly comfortably with some fine potting and safety play then in the second frame it was roles reversed with Alan missing very little. This put the Woodville lads 3-1 ahead at the turn. In a very tight first frame between Ray Stretton and Pat Ryan. It was Ray who came and stole the frame from Pat. Pat had a straight pink into the middle bag for the frame but became distracted and left the pink on which a grateful Ray duly accepted and potted the black for the frame. Pat put this mistake behind him and played some good safety play and pots for a share of the spoils. The final two frames between Andy Jeffries and Tony Coleman was a slow and dour affair with Andy winning the first frame on the pink and Tony winning the second also on the pink thus giving Woodville the win. Woodville are the only team in the division to have beaten SDSC E this season.

<span style=”font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black”>Burton Cons D had their best win of the season as they beat bottom of the table Swad Cons C 7-1 away although the match score was not a true reflection of the match itself a number of frames was only decided on the last few balls. For Swad Cons it was down to Jon Petcher who took a frame off Nathan Brooks to prevent the dreaded whitewash. Burton’s Ian Protheroe played well in a most entertaining match with Pete Fearn with the outcome in doubt until the last few colours. Barry Bentley with a little bit more running could easily have shared his game with Paul Brookes. Al Munnien finished off a great night for Burton Cons with a highly entertaining win against John Griffin with both players making some fine shots.<o:p></o:p>

2013-14: Week 13

Owen Jones writes for Just Wood Premier Division

The top two clashed horns in the Premier Division with Burton Cons A hosting Ashby Ivanhoe A and it certainly lived up to the billing. First up, John Shilton played Mick Kirk. Shilton potted well at key times to take the first frame, but back came Kirk in the second and he knocked in a 34 break to take it. Matt Milnes played Daniel Blunn on the other table with a similar outcome. Milnes potted decisively in the first frame, but the second frame was very close. On the final black, Milnes was tight against the cushion and unfortunately miscued to hand the frame to his opponent and the scores were level at the half way point. The second half began with Stuart Roberts against Andy Marriott. Marriott started very well, taking the first frame aided by a 30 break. He then moved through the gears as he compiled an excellent 91 break in the second to put the Ashby side in a strong position. In the final game, Owen Jones played in-form Ian Rennocks. The first frame was close with both players having chances to take it but Jones potted well on the colours and went 1-0 up. The deciding frame again came down to the colours. Jones was left with a difficult long blue. He knocked in a great pot to land perfectly on the pink. The pink then went down followed by a tricky black to pinch the draw for the defending champions.

Alrewas A picked up a great result against Willington B. Carl Poulton and Ian Hiley beat Tony Clements and Steve Gaunt respectively to put the home side in a great position. Dave Trueman played out a tight draw with John Hardy and Colin Kinsella completed proceedings drawing with Andy Jenkins.

Ivanhoe B welcomed Alrewas B in another close match on the night. Gaz Dolman played well to take his frames against Roy Sherratt, which included a 31 break. Classy Phil Marklew then drew the scores level, defeating Steve Cockerham, aided by a 38 break. Graham Measures drew with Will Sherratt and Jerry Cook drew with Alan Wilson to close the match and it finished 4 each.

Swadlincote Snooker Centre B drew with Rileys A in yet another shared match on the night. Young Harry Farrell and Adam Harrison put the home side in front at the half way stage against Tom Elliott and Ade Harper only for Mark Stirling and Andy Spiers to reply for the visitors against Ben Davies and Henry Thomas.

Belmont A and Swadlincote Snooker Centre A were also in a festive spirit, sharing their frames. Ian Archer was in fine form, defeating Carl White with a 47 break and some great potting. Fran McInulty was riding his luck to take the first frame against Chris Dewey as Dewy firstly went in off the blue and then in off the black to hand the frame to his opponent. McInulty then produced a 46 break to take the second frame to put the home side in charge. Steve Ayre then stepped up to the plate for the visitors, taking both frames against an out of sorts Mark Press, aided by a 42 break. Graham Bailey then lost too scrappy frames to Andy Goldingay and the match finished all square.

Willington A went into the break with a 6-2 victory over Belmont B. The visitors began strongly with Arron Vaughan potting very well to beat Bill Stewart, winning by 60 points in the first and 50 in the second. Unfortunately that was as good as it got for Belmont with Dean Johnston, Daz Lester and Gaz Barker beating Rich Goldby, Martin Smith and Mick Morris respectively to take the win.

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Insurance Division one

At the midpoint of the season division one seems to be closing up at the top of the division with no team opening up a significant lead, the current league leaders Stapenhill A have gone to the top largely unnoticed as had this week’s opponents Newhall B who on their day are a match for anyone and in a close game Newhall took control emerging as victors 5-3 a result which loses Stapenhill top spot and moves Newhall within touching distance of the promotion places.

Burton Cons C faced Swad Cons B and first on was Burtons Mick Buckland against Swad Cons Paul Hollis, the game did not disappoint and with a succession of breaks 28 26 and 24 Mick won both frames to give the home team an immediate lead while on the other table two people who know each other’s games inside out – Burton’s Jim Jennings and Swads Bob McNulty ground each other down to share the frames to leave Burtons Cons in the driving seat 3-1 up half way.  Burton’s Ian Shrive took his first frame off Colin Cope and was in front in the second only requiring the blue to win which he missed leaving the Swad man to clear up to take the frame.  The last match proved to be the most entertaining of the night between Burton’s Steve Castledine and Swad’s Denis Moore who has not played for 4 years and showed no rustiness, scored well in the first frame with a 23 break and only lost the first frame to the great black Steve potted, Denis was not finished and came back to win the second frame to leave the score as a home win for the Burton side 5-3.

Fourth placed SDSCD had a great win at home to Alrewas C with Wayne Brewin making breaks of 43 and 34 and 29 in his two frames to win against Ross Mcmeechan, Lee Sherratt back to his best took two off Nigel Edwards one with the help of a long black as did Andy Rice who played his best snooker of the season, Ryan Gilmore was Swad’s only casualty dropping a frame against Jim Chambers to lift the Swad side into the promotion places with this comfortable 7-1 win. 

Another great win for Swad Cons A against SDSC C, Cons Cos Theopistou drew with Brian Bloor as did Lee Wood with Simon Orpwood, to leave it all square half way.  Simon Mansfield then went on against Andrew Bloor who knocked in a 31 in the frame he took off Simon to leave the match resting   on the last match between Swad Cons Paul Slater and the ever present Garton Bloor.  Both frames were tight affairs but Paul came out on top with the help of a 31 break to make the difference in the teams for a 5-3 win.

Ivanhoe C got back to winning ways with a fantastic home win against Rolleston A who could only manage 3 players, Ryan Gibbs for Rolleston the only frame winner to move Ivanhoe back to the top of the league.

Tony Coleman reporting on Rileys Division 2
Although Willington did not have a game this week their lead at the half way stage is a commanding 13 points as none of the teams below them could not make much of an impression on the lead.  Rolleston C are now joint second with Woodville S&S A after they beat Tutbury C 5-3.  Rolleston’s star player was Joe Docksey as he was the only player on either side to win two frames.  Joe not for the first time this season was in a good potting frame of mind as he won his match with Graham Smith who does not lose many matches.  Lionel Lewis put his team 3-1 ahead as he shared two close frames with Colin Bell with both players not making the best of their opportunities when they arose.  Tony Rushton was back in the Rolleston team and played pretty well as he and Paul Atterbury battled it out for a share of the spoils.  It was left to the Rolleston captain Kev Norris to get his team over the line as he also drew with Jeff Siddalls in a rather long tactical match.
Woodville S&S A drew their match with Belmont C in a very entertaining match with the result in doubt until the final frame.  Alan Orpwood of Woodville had the first frame nicked off him by Terry Bosworth who took the majority of the colours separately to win it on the black.  The second frame Terry got his cuing arm going to make some very good pots and to win the frame.  On the other table Jim Marcer and Brian Cutting had two fairly close frames with Jim making the more decisive pots on the higher pointed colours to win both frames.  Pat Ryan in his first frame with Dougie Lees was flying and very rarely missed a pot.  It seemed every time he potted a red he was beautifully placed to pot the black.  Such was Pat’s dominance in this frame that Dougie actually conceded with two reds still left on the table but great credit must be given to Dougie because he came back well to take the second frame.  In a match that contained more safety play then potting between Tony Coleman and Dave Press it was the Belmont skipper Dave who won the first frame fairly comfortably in the end with Tony winning the second frame after potting brown to pink to earn Woodville the draw.
SDSC E had a fine win at home as they beat Swad Cons C 6-2.  Nick Harcombe set the tone for the evening with a superb display of potting in both frames with breaks of 32 in the first and break of 28 in the second that the unlucky Barry Bentley on the night had no answer to.  The good work was then carried on by Tony Mitchell who managed to take both frames of Pete Fearn in a close match with both players potting some nice balls.  John Griffin got the Cons on the scoreboard with a battling display to share the frames with Andy Jefferies.  In a match that had everything great pots and some easy chances that begging probably the fairest outcome of this match between Ray Bancroft and Jon Petcher was a share of the spoils.  This win leaves them nicely placed just one point behind the two teams above them.
Rolleston B started their Christmas break on a high as they beat the high flyers Ivanhoe D 6-2.  Neil Cheadle of Rolleston got his side off to an excellent start by beating Tim Bale in two extremely close frames winning both frames on the black.  Steve Atkin and Jason Collins shared two entertaining frames with good pots by both players.  Steve knocked in a fine 22 break to win his frame and Jason made a excellent 29 break which included some good long pots for his frame.  This put the Rollestonites 3-1 up at the turn a lead they never relinguished.  Dave Bentley played well to beat Alan Richardson in a hard fought match thus giving Rolleston the win.  It was made even better when the skipper John Ward shared the spoils with “King of the Foxtrot” Warner Collins.  In the first frame John could not pot two balls together but in the second frame the roles were reversed.
Alrewas D moved up to the middle of the table as they beat a slightly unlucky SDSC F 6-2.  At the half way stage the score was 2-2 as Tony Trueman and Ken White shared the frames in a match that could have gone either way.  Then two fine frames of snooker between Dave Riley and Ashley Beard also finished all square with some good safety play by both players.  Alrewas then bought out the big guns in the shape of Tom Smith and John Hill with both players playing some good snooker as they both won their frames against Henry Carlton and Alex Glover respectfully.
A good win at home for Swad Cons D as they beat Burton Cons D 6-2.  Gaz Ward was again in fine potting form as he fairly comfortably beat Ian Protheroe which included a well made 29 break.  Nathan Brooks brought the scores level with a very convincing win to defeat Andy Boam.  Marc Egan turned on the style as he beat Paul Davies who was making a rare appearance for the team.  Bob Birch had to use all of his experience to beat Paul Brookes who put in a very gutsy performance.
In the Divisions President Cup Semi Final Woodville S&S A had a convincing win 4-0 against fellow promotion candidates Rolleston C.

2013-14: Week 12

Owen Jones writes for Just Wood Premier Division

Belmont A kept the ball rolling in the Premier Division of the Burton Snooker League, helping themselves to a 6-2 victory against Willington B. Josh Gebbie was in great form beating John Hardy aided by a 39 break. Father Shaun also knocked in a 45 break, however he could only share the spoils with Andy Jenkins which left the scores at 3-1 to the home side at the break. Ian Archer then knocked in a 39 break in defeating Steve Gaunt and finally Fran McInulty shared his frames with Tony Clements to complete the match. 

It was a mid-table clash at the Royal British Legion as Alrewas A took on SDSC A. Both had exactly the same record going into the game and finished on exactly the same record after a 4-4 draw. The in form Ian Hiley got stopped in his tracks by Chris Dewey in an entertaining game that Dewey took 2-0 after some excellent potting. Steve Ayre of SDSC A looked to be on for a 2-0 himself against Dave Trueman but Dave hung on in there in the second and took a deserved 1-1. The two Carl’s, White and Poulton, shared their game to produce another draw on the night. White took the first on the final pink and Poulton easily wrapped up the second. That left Kinsella to earn a 4-4 draw for Alrewas with some excellent potting against John Davies to take only his second 2-0 of the season. 

Tutbury A played out a tight game with Ivanhoe B. Gaz Dolman struck first taking both frames for the away side against Steve Hathaway. Steve and Dave Mabbott both draw their games with Darren Wilson and Graham Measures respectively. Chris Mabbott then needed to win his game to take a share of the spoils which he did against Jerry Cook, aided by a 31 break.

Ivanhoe A kept themselves within touching distance of the leaders with a comfortable 7-1 victory against Rileys A. Mark Stirling was the only player to take a frame for the away side against Mick Kirk, who knocked in a 32 break. Ian Rennocks produced breaks of 73 and 33 in beating Tom Elliott, Daniel Blunn knocked in a 33 when defeating Ade Harper, and Ant Moore compiled a 34 break to beat Andy Spiers to complete the rout.

Swadlincote Snooker Centre won 5-3 against Belmont B. Mick Morris took both frames for the away side against Henry Thomas and Michael Lomas drew with Ben Davies. That was as good as it got for Belmont as young Harry Farrell and Adam Harrison both won against Brett Craddock and Martin Smith respectively to take the match.

Willington A recorded a good 6-2 victory against Alrewas B. Wayne Pierera defeated Alan Wilson and Dean Johnston beat Will Sherratt to put the home side in command. Daz Lester drew with Roy Sherratt and Bill Stewart did well to take a frame off the in-form Phil Marklew to complete the victory.

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Insurance Division 1

Current league leaders Stapenhill A are turning on the style coming up to the halfway point of the season and maintained their standing as title contenders with a great team performance against Alrewas C, first up for the home team was Carl Jeffcote who took control immediately against Colin Wood winning both frames comfortably as did John Richardson to go 4-0 up. Alrewas fared no better in the next frame as Steve Ford knocked in a good 45 break in the one frame he took off Jim Chambers and Mark Waldron followed suit against Karl Hancox for a great 6-2 win.

Second placed going in to this week’s match Burton Cons B played against a Newhall team who have moved up the league to be considered for the top spot in this division with some great play and continued with Martin Hicks playing fluently to take two frames off Dave Shipton, Callum Gray for Newhall suffered, and in the end his head went and was beaten by Simon Smith to draw the Burton side level. Adam McInulty then hammered Burtons Tom Egginton to restore the lead leaving Mark Anslow to win the frame that moved the South Derbyshire side level in the league with their opponents.

SDSC D currently lying in third place can thank Wayne Brewin for strengthening their position with the two frames he took off Matt Newbold aided with a great 54 break, the highest in the division this week, all other players drew in an entertaining match for a valuable 5-3 victory.

Burton Cons C hosted Willington C in a mid table clash, Jim Jennings started for the Burton side but found the going hard against the ever improving Lee Cooke who won both frames whilst on the other table Mick Buckland restored his team with the help of the divisions second highest break of the week a fabulous 51 to level the scores against Willington’s Daz Harris, little did he know that these were to be his sides only frames as Loz Kennerson and Steve Butterworth won all there frames to move themselves up the table to the misfortune of the Burton side.

Tony Coleman writes for Rileys Division 2

Ivanhoe D who were second in the table before this weeks results did well to go to fifth placed SDSC E and come away with a draw.SDSC are currently the divisions draw specialists.Neil Harcombe and Jack Bale shared two good frames of snooker with both players getting some quality pots.Tony Mitchell played very well to take a frame off Jason Collins who is well up in the Divisions averages.Andy Jefferies showed some of his best form of the season as he took two well deserved frames off Tim Bale which included a well made 28 break.This then put SDSC 4-2 ahead and tasting victory but Ivanhoe had their saviour in the form of twinkle toes Warner Collins as he waltzed around the table very rarely missing anything and if he did it went safe for the unfortunate Ray Stretton as Warner earned his side the draw.

Rolleston C remain in third place despite a very good win at Belmont C winning 5-3. Rolleston’s talented Joe Docksey played some excellent snooker in sharing both frames with Terry Bosworth.The first frame Joe won fairly comfortably and should have possibly won the second also but he lost it on the black.Brian Cutting of Belmont could not cope on the night with the potting prowess of Kev Norris who missed very little in both frames. Dougie Lees played some very good snooker in sharing the frames with Lionel Lewis who has not dropped many frames this season.Dave Press and Richard O’Dell shared their frames in a very safety conscious two frames.

In what was a very close match between Alrewas D and Woodville S&S A although looking at the score line you would not think so with Woodville winning 7-1 away.Woodville’s Alan Orpwood was again unplayable as he won both frames with plenty to spare against Dave Riley who admitted on the night he was beaten by a much better opponent. On the other table Brian Aldridge and Tony Coleman had two extremely close frames with Tony needing to pot pink and black in both frames to win which he did.This put Woodville 4-0 ahead at the turn. The two frames between Tony Trueman of Alrewas and Jim Marcer was of a very high standard of snooker both in the safety play and potting.Tony started potting from the off which included a well constructed 26 break but Jim managed to get himself back into the frame but left Tony one or two chances to win it.The second frame was a close run thing with Jim stealing it on a re-spotted black after requiring the pink and black.Two more close frames were experienced with both going to Woodville in the game between Pat Ryan and Brian Eccleston both players were in good potting form with Pat winning his first on the pink and the second on the black.The match was played in a great spirit and a good atmosphere.

Swad Cons D got back to winning ways as they beat SDSC F 6-2.Dave Bodie gave his team a fine start as he took both frames against Ashley Beard in two very open frames.Gaz Ward for the Cons knocked in the highest break in the division this week of 45 against Alex Read.Gaz made some excellent long pots and his control of the cue ball was top notch in the break but Alex did well in the other frame to share the spoils.Bob Birch used his experience as he won both frames in a tight match with Henry Carlton.Andy Boam and Alex Glover also shared the spoils in a rather dour match.

Willington D go into their Christmas break with a commanding lead over the team in second place as they thumped Burton Cons D 7-1. Like a lot of their games this season they have been given a good start by the opening pairing of David Budworth who played with a nice fluency through out his match with Ian Protheroe and made a number of small breaks in both frames to win his match and the other pairing of Trevor “hot shot” Heath was again in cracking form as he made some very good pots in taking both frames fairly easily off Nathan Brooks.The experience of many years playing on the green baize helped Brian Alford to beat Al Munnien in a couple of good frames of snooker with both players making some nice pots.Paul Brooks for the Cons prevented the whitewash as he shared the spoils with Bill Davidson in a game with some good safety play by both players.

Rolleston B had a good win at home beating struggling Swad Cons C 6-2.No matter whether they win or lose the Cons always enjoy the night.Aaron Doyle for Rolleston got the ball rolling rather nicely as he took both frames in a close match with Barry Bentley.John Ward and Pete Fearn both played well taking a frame a piece.Dave Bentley put the home side on the road to victory as he took both frames against a rather unlucky John Griffin who did not have too much luck in the match.Steve Atkin who has been in good form this season had to settle with a draw with Jon Petcher who got a number of cracking pots to win his frame. 

2013-14: Week 11

Owen Jones reports on Just Wood Premier Division

Week 11 of the Burton and District Snooker League began with a close match in the Premier division between title challengers Belmont A and Ivanhoe A. Graham Bailey began for the hosts against Daniel Blunn. Blunn potted well in both frames to put the visitors in front. Fran McInulty then hosted Ian Rennocks and played some great stuff, including a 31 break to beat the in-form Ivanhoe player. With the scores tied at the half way stage, up stepped Belmont’s talisman Ian Archer who knocked in a 32 break on the way to defeating Ant Moore. Mark Press then closed out the match against Andy Marriott, taking the frame required to seal the 5-3 win for the Belmont side.

The Tutbury Tutters were at it again taking maximum points against an out of sorts Willington B. Steve Hathaway began proceedings, beating Rich Turner to put the Tutbury side on their way to victory. The Mabbott brothers, Steve who knocked in a 30, Dave and Chris who scored a 36 break then piled on the misery defeating Dave Mawhinney, Steve Gaunt and John Hardy respectively. The 8-0 result keeps the Tutters there or thereabouts and continues their good start to the season.

Champions Burton Cons A hosted the not so young guns Swadlincote Snooker Centre B. Matt Milnes was first up against Adam Harrison. Milnes took two close frames to put the home side in the driving seat. John Shilton played Henry Thomas on the other table, and also looked in fine fettle, taking the frames to put the Cons 4-0 at the break. Darren Coady then played young Harry Farrell. Coady took the first frame with some lovely potting, much to the Farrell’s annoyance. He came back strongly in the second however, to draw the game. Owen Jones closed the match against Ben Davies. It was Davies who took the frames, restricting his opponent to scraps and leaving very little when missing to leave the final score 5-3.

A close game was fought out between Ivanhoe B and Alrewas A with the visitors coming out on top. In the first match Steve Cockerham demolished “fiery” Fred Trueman in the first frame, but Trueman fought back to take the second on the black. Gaz Dolman took the first on the final black that went in off two cushions after some sporting play by Carl Poulton. Poulton took the second to make it even. Adam Walton and Jerry Cook struggled through 2 frames with each taking a share of the spoils. The crucial win of the night came from Captain “hot shot” Hiley with a comfortable 2-0 win over Darren Wilson to give the Legionaires the win.

Willington A also claimed a whitewash victory over Rileys A. Alan Davies, Jan Pawlazych, Dean Johnstone and in-form Gaz Barker inflicting the pain on Taylor Richardson, Andy Spiers, Nigel Tomlinson and Mark Stirling respectively. This result shows what a good Willington side are.

Alrewas B scored yet another big win on the night, beating the unfortunate Belmont B 7-1. Will Sherratt went up first against Brett Craddock and duly took both frames to put the Alrewas side in front. Alan Wilson then played out a hard fought draw with Micky Morris. Phil Marklew put in another eye catching performance, beating Rich Goldby, knocking in breaks of 30 and 31 in the process. John Sharpe closed out the match taking two close frames against Arron Vaughan.

Mark Vaughan reports on David Wain Division One

South Derbyshire Snooker Centre C faced a tough home game against Burton Cons B with both sides chasing promotion, Andy Bloor took on Dave Shipton in the first match and Dave took an immediate lead with good potting to then unluckily go in off on a pink, from that point on it was all Andy who won both frames to keep his 100% home record. The game on the other table took a little longer and Burton Cons Tom Egginton had the run of the ball against Brian Bloor and won both frames to tie the scores, Swads Simon Orpwood played Jason Anguish who has recorded some good wins this season and continued by potting consistently to win the first with Simon making some great pots in the second to go into a 13 point lead on the brown only to see Jason clear the table to win the game, the last match between Garton Bloor and Burton’s Dave Plunkett saw Dave pot well making a couple of breaks over twenty and see him pleased with his potting to give his team a great 6-2 away win.

Burton Cons C bounced back from the 8-0 mauling they received last week to win a close match against Alrewas C, Mick Buckland for Con’s was first on against Karl Hancox and it proved to be a good contest, Karl taking the first with some great pots and Mick’s excellent safety play eventually earning him a draw, Steve Castledine and Ian Bradford shared two close frames as did Jim Jennings and Colin Wood to leave the result resting on Burton captain Ian Shrive and Alrewas’s Rob Mcmeechan with Ian playing his best snooker of the season so far to win the match for his team 5-3

Newhall B hosted second in the league South Derbyshire Snooker Centre D with last season’s team mates playing each other, Adam McNulty for Newhall had some run in the first to win it but pulled away in the second making Wayne Brewin concede the frame with the colours still on the table, Mark Anslow played well in the two frames he took off Andy Rice putting Newhall 4-0 up, the trend continued with Martin Hicks potting well in both frames to comfortably beat David Wain. Callum Gray was last on against Lee Sherratt and won the first with the help of a 32 break and went on to win the second on the blue for a great 8-0 result for Newhall.

Swad Cons A faced the league leaders Stapenhill A and Swads Lee Wood lost out to Steve Ford while on the other table Swads Mark Hadley played well making breaks of 21 and 29 in the frame he took off John Richardson, Simon Mansfield drew the scores level by beating Stapenhill’s Chris Sheldrake and the last match between Paul Slater and Carl Jeffcote ended all square for a drawn match.

The mid table clash between Willington C and Swad Cons B ended drawn Lee Cooke for Willington winning two frames as did Swads Bob Mcnulty.

Tony Coleman reports on Riley’s Division 2

Willington D increased their lead at the top of the Division as the team who are currently in second place.Ivanhoe D had a rest week enabling teams below them to catch up a little.The Willington boys made the long journey to Swad Cons D a most successful one as they came away with a well deserved victory winning 6-2.Skipper Dave Budworth led from the front winning both frames in a tight match with Marc Egan.A couple of seasoned campaigners in Trevor Heath and the Cons Bob Birch shared a highly competitivematch with neither player deserving to lose with both players getting some good pots.Bill Davidson is gradually getting back into the groove with a solid performance in winning both frames against Andy Boam.Brian Alford with his own inimitable style shared the frames with Keiran Dadley which was enjoyed by his team-mates.

Rolleston C and SDSC E who were third and fourth in the division respectively played out a hard earned draw.Kieron Waddell and Andy Jefferies had to settle for a share of the spoils as neither player took the chances when they arrived to win the frame. Rolleston stalwart and captain Kev Norris could not do much on the night against an inspired performance from Ray Stretton who missed very little taking the two frames.Andy Winson for Rolleston came out of retirement to help out his team although a little rusty showed what a talented player he is sharing the two frames with Tony Mitchell.Tony played some fine safety play.It was left to Joe Docksey to get the required two frames for Rolleston to draw the match and this he duly did beating Ray Bancroft in a tight match with Joe’s excellent long potting being the difference.

Belmont C had a very good win 7-1 away to SDSC F.This win moves them into the top half of the table only four points off second position.Belmont were given a great start thanks to Terry “boswie” Bosworth and Brian Cutting winning all of their frames fairly comfortably.Brian Cutting knocked in a great 30 break against the unlucky Henry Carlton.Apparently Brian played his best snooker of the season in winning.Terry against Ashley Beard did just enough to win also.The two senior players on show Dougie Lees and Ken White shared the frames in a very tactical match.Dave Press also won fairly comfortably against Alex Glover with Dave at last finding some good form.

Woodville S&S A whitewashed Swad Cons D 8-0 although the matches were closer then the scores show.For the Cons Jon Petcherstarted off well with a well taken 17 break then Jim Marcer took control of the frame to win it fairly easily.The second frame went down to the black with Jon having the first shot at it after potting a most awkward pink after a short safety battle Jon left the black in the jaws of the pocket awaiting the master cue man Jim to pot it.Although not firing on all cylinders against Pete Fearn, AlanOrpwood was able to raise his game when the frames got down to the colours with some stunning pots. Tony Coleman struggled a little in the first frame with Barry Bentley but won the second fairly comfortably.Pat Ryan was at his mischievous best in the two frames he took off John Griffin.Pat played well within himself to take the first frame.The second frame revolved around a very good snooker laid by Pat and to John’s credit he kept trying to hit the object ball instead of trying to break up the cluster of balls around the object ball which ultimately lost him the frame.

Burton Cons D did very well to come away from Alrewas D with a draw as the A38 boys have been in good form of late.Tom Smith got the ball rolling for Alrewas with a fine display of potting and safety play allied with a little more experience than his opponent Nathan Brooks.Nathan’s father shared two longish frames with John Hill.The second half belonged to the Cons with Al Munnienplaying some fluent snooker in sharing the frames with Brian Eccleston who himself played well.Ian Protheroe secured a well deserved draw when he beat Brian Aldridge in two well contested frames.

 

2013-14: Week 10

Owen Jones writes for the Just Wood Premier Division

Week 10 of the Burton and District Snooker League began with a hard fought draw in the Premier division between Alrewas A and Belmont A. James Edwards was first up against in form Mark Press and it was Press who made all the running to take both frames to put the away side in front. Adam Walton then played out a draw with Josh Gebbie to leave the scores at 3-1 at the halfway point. Carl Poulton went up next against Ian Archer. Archer knocked in a 44 break on the way to taking his frame. Back came Poulton though and the match was shared. Ian Hiley hosted Fran McInulty in the final game. Hiley needed to win both frames to snatch a draw. He stood firm and took the frames to leave honours even on the night.

Belmont B put in a great performance to beat one of the form sides in the division Tutbury A by 5-3. Martin ‘Miffa’ Smith returned to the side, and duly won his first frame against Chris Mabbott. Mabbott came back strongly in the second to tie the scores. Arron Vaughan potted steadily in his first frame against Dave Mabbott, which included a tidy 29 break. Mabbott was not to be outdone though and won the second frame on the blue. Rich Goldby also potted well to take the first frame against the other Mabbott brother Steve. It was a repeat of the first two matches as Steve took the second to leave the scores at three a piece. Captain Mark Vaughan took on Steve Hathaway in the final game of the night. Vaughan potted well to take the first and knocked in a 25 in the second to put himself in a strong position to take the match for the Belmont side. Hathaway however, fluked the brown and potted up to the black but missed it. This left Vaughan with a tough pot to take the glory. He hammered it home to take the victory for his side.

Rileys A hosted champions Burton Cons A and the away side took a strong foothold right from the start of the game. Tom Elliot had chances in the first frame against John Shilton, but the Cons player took it and knocked in a 43 to take the second. Matt Milnes looked in ruthless form against Nigel Tomlinson and took both frames aided by a 32 break. Micky Tonks also found the going hard against Darren Coady who ground out his two frames to take the score to six for the visitors. Mark Stirling halted the whitewash, taking the first frame against Owen Jones who rattled a brown in the middle with the blue hanging over the pocket. Stirling cleared up to the pink to take it. The second was a different story though as Jones had a forty point lead going into the colours. Stirling tried valiantly to get the snookers but Jones cleared the remaining colours with some good long pots to close the match 7-1.

Willington B could only field three players and consequently took a battering from Swadlincote Snooker Centre A. Chris Dewey played well to beat Robyn Budworth and Steve Ayre did a similar job in defeating John Hardy. Tony Clements knocked in a 41 break to restore some pride for the home side but Carl White drew the game taking the second frame. John Davis claimed the final two frames to leave the final score at 7-1.

In the final game of the night, Ivanhoe A won a tight game 5-3 against Alrewas B. Andy Marriott defeated Phil Marklew and Ian Rennocks kept up his form, beating Will Sherratt to put Ivanhoe in command. Alan Wilson grabbed two back for the Alrewas side and finally Ant Moore and John Sharpe shared their frames to end the match. 

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Insurance Division One

South Derbyshire Snooker Centre D had a cracking result against Burton Cons C who are no pushovers beating them 8-0 to move second in the league, Wayne Brewin won two high class frames against Mick Buckland who will play much worse and win showing what a good player Wayne is, Ryan Gilmore was too hot for Jim Jennings to handle and won both frames comfortably. Lee Sherratt won his first frame against Steve Castledine although Steve had his chances; the second frame was a much closer affair and went down to a black ball game. Andy Rice completed the whitewash against Ian Shrive who nearly clawed both back from almost impossible positions to move the Swad side into the promotion places.

The League leaders Ashby Ivanhoe C have struggled over the last few weeks recording draws instead of the impressive wins of the start of the season which has let the chasing pack make up ground to leave the title wide open. This week saw the visit of Swad Cons A, and first on for the leaders was the talented Jason Pickering against Swads Cos Theopistou with both playing out two good frames which ended drawn, on the other table John Skellett took on Mark Hadley who has been in excellent form this season and continued by beating the Ashby man to give the away team a 3-1 lead, Stuart Tagg pulled a frame back against Lee Wood and Bren Mattley did the same against Paul Slater, The last two frames were reversed to give the Swad side a great away win to drag themselves back in to the reckoning for promotion and drop Ivanhoe to third.

The division’s highest break has been beaten again, this time by Karl Hancox of Alrewas C who knocked in a great 72 break against Newhall B teams Mark Anslow in the two frames he won which failed to help his team as they went down 5-3.

Burton cons B hosted Stapenhill B with arguably the best players in each team facing each other, Simon Smith was player of the night with 4 breaks in the twenties to win two frames from John Sheriff while on the other table Jason Anguish was potting balls against Tim Knopik in two open frames to give the home team a 4-0 dream start, Dave Plunkett then faced Stapenhill’s Andy Tomlinson it was Andy who took the first frame potting well in the letter stages of the frame as did Rob Kent for Stapenhill against Tom Egginton to leave the match balanced on the last two frames, despite stubborn Stapenhill resistance the Burton men won the last two frames for a 6-2 win which lifts them up the league.

Stapenhill A have been going about things quietly and have put some impressive results together and did again this week by beating Willington C 6-2 to go to the top of the league. John Richardson and Chris Sheldrake did the damage winning all there frames and Carl Jeffcote and Steve Ford managed one a piece.

Tony Coleman writes on Rileys Division 2

SDSC E drew with Rolleston B in a very competitive match with the draw being the fairest result.  Phil Maddocks and David Bentley shared two enthralling frames in which both players missed some good opportunities to win their match.  Tony Mitchell had to battle hard to take a frame off the Rolleston skipper John Ward who played well in the frame he won.  Andy Jefferies and Neil Cheadle both made some fine pots in their drawn match.  It was left to the final pairing of Ray Bancroft and Steve Atkin to try and win the match for their team but like the rest of the evening’s games it ended all square.  After this result SDSC have slipped a place to third.

Ivanhoe D have moved into second position after beating Swad Cons C 6-2 away.  For the Cons John Griffin played very well to take a frame off Jack Bale with both players making some good pots.  Jason Collins for the Ivanhoe did his season’s averages no harm as he took both frames with a strong performance against Pete Fearn.  Tim Bale had a fairly comfortably win against Barry Bentley with a steady stream of low breaks which kept the scoreboard ticking over.  Twinkle toes Warner Collins had to settle for a draw with Jon Petcher who played some great safety play in both frames.

An excellent win for Burton Cons D as they beat the team just below them SDSC F 6-2.  The Cons skipper Paul Brookes led from the front with a fine display of potting as he won both frames with Alex Glover.  This was backed up with Al Munnien sharing the frames with the talented Ashley Beard in a well spirited match thus putting the Cons 3-1 up at the turn.  Ian Protheroe who is starting to get back to some good form shared two fine frames of snooker with Alex Read who on his day is a mean potter.  Nathan Brooks was determined not to be out done by his father as he also played well in taking two close frames off the unlucky Ken White.

Willington D had a close encounter of the Woodville kind as they managed to hold on for the win 5-3.  Willington got off to the perfect start first with Dave Budworth potting well in both frames although Pat Ryan made him work very hard in both.  Trevor “hot shot” Heath was blowing hot and cold in a most interesting match with Jim Marcer where both players got some good pots and some very good safety play was on show.  With Trevor just having the run. In the second frame Jim had a chance to win it on the black but failed.  This win put them 4-0 ahead at the turn and in control and it only got better for Willington when pool expert Nick Hattersley took his first frame on the black to beat Tony Coleman.  Although Tony won the second fairly comfortably.  Awsome Alan Orpwood was on fire in his match with Bill Davidson missing very little in both frames he seemed to have the cue ball stuck to the end of his cue.  Unfortunately for Bill he had no answer on the night to The Orpwood domination.  This win for the Power Boys keeps them well clear at the top.

Swad Cons D had a fine win away against fifth in the table Tutbury B where they won 6-2.  The Cons were given a great start thanks to Marc Egan playing some fine snooker to win both frames against the previously unbeaten Colin Bell.  Andy Boam then put them in an unbeatable position by taking both frames in a rather fluent manner beating John Peto.  Gaz Ward who is currently near the top of the divisions averages continued his rich vein of form with an excellent display of potting for which Paul Atterbury had no answer.  Jeff Siddalls added some respectability to the Tutbury score line with a solid performance in winning both frames against Kieron Dadley who also knocked in some good pots.
 
Belmont C and Alrewas D drew their match in a closely and competitive match where Trevor Bosworth for Belmont seems to take his customary two frames against any opponent but this time it was Tom Smith who certainly gave Trevor a run for his money in two good frames of snooker.   John Hill bought the scores level with a comfortable win against Dougie Lees.  Brian Cutting and Tony Trueman shared their frames with both players getting some fine pots.  Neither Dave Press or Dave Riley were not able to get the two frames they needed to give their side the win.

2013-14: Week 9

Owen Jones writes for the Just Wood Premier Division.

Week 9 saw Premier division champions Burton Cons A lose their 100% start to the season, as they drew at home to Willington A. John Shilton got things underway against Gaz Barker, a mouth watering match on paper as they are without doubt two of the best players in the area. An early safety exchange ensued, with both players keeping the game tight. Barker showed what he can do with some clinical potting, and played in the same vein in the second frame to hand Shilton his first 2-0 loss of the season to put the visitors in front. Matt Milnes then played Daz Lester in two cagey frames, where Lester had his fair share of luck to draw the game and put Willington 3-1 up at the break. Owen Jones then played Willington’s captain Bill Stewart. Stewart looked to take the game to Jones and began the first frame in an attacking style. It came to no avail though as Jones’ decisive potting shone through to take both frames, aided with a 39 break to tie the scores at 3-3. This set the stage for Jonathan Fletcher to complete the comeback and pinch the match 5-3. All was going to plan as Fletcher took the first with a 46 break. However, Dean Johnson spoiled the party, pinching the second frame on the colours to leave the scores tied at 4 each.

Ashby Ivanhoe A looked to capitalize on that slip up from Burton Cons by whitewashing Belmont B, which they achieved to claw back some of the large deficit between first and second spots in the division. Andy Marriott began the match against Mick Morris. Marriott played steady snooker throughout to take the points. Ian Rennocks, the form player for Ivanhoe, then played some great stuff to beat the unfortunate Rich Goldby. Rennocks knocked in a 49 clearance to take the first frame and won the second on the final pink to put the Leicestershire side in a very strong position at the break. Daniel Blunn also gave nothing away against an out of sorts Michael Lomas to take the score to 6-0. Ant Moore completed the whitewash beating Brett Craddock to close out the match.

There was also an emphatic 7-1 win for Tutbury A at Alrewas A. Ian Hiley and Steve Hathaway both traded the opening two frames in a high quality match. Dave Mabbott took both off Carl Poulton in another very good match, one on the final black even though Poulton had a 30, and the second more comfortably. Jimbo Edwards could have secured the first against Chris Mabbott but failed and Chris took the second in style. Steve Mabbott demolished Adam “the cue-wizard” Walton with some great potting to make it a superb night for the Tutters.

Alrewas B visited Rileys A and came away with a 5-3 victory. Adam Bridges was first up against Alan Wilson in a game which both players gave nothing away and subsequently drew 1-1. Ade Harper then played Will Sherratt in two cracking frames, which saw Harper knock in a 31 break for the home side only for Sherratt to comeback with a 29 to take the second and again the scores were tied. Mick Tonks also played out a draw with John Sharpe. The decisive match on the night was Nigel Tomlinson against Phil Marklew. Marklew, who seems to have had no problem adapting to the premier division, showed what a good match player he is by taking both frames to take the 5-3 victory.

Swadlincote Snooker Centre A hosted Ivanhoe B in another close encounter. Steve Ayre began the match against Gaz Dolman, and two close frames ended honours even. Andy Goldingay could do nothing to halt the decisive play of Steve Cockerham, who won both frames including a 30 break. Chris Dewey then got the home side back into it by defeating Graham Measures to square the scores. John Davis then drew with Darren Wilson to end the match at 4-4.

The young guns Swadlincote Snooker Centre B were at it again pinching a 5-3 victory away at Willington B. John Hardy and Ben Davies had two cracking frames to start off the match and took one each. Adam Harrison then proved to be too good for Andy Jenkins, however Jenkins had very little luck throughout. Henry Thomas then put Tony Clements to the sword to put the visitors 5-1 up. Steve Gaunt gave the score some respectability by beating Pete Maguire, aided by a lovely 30 break.

Mark Vaughan writes for David Wain Insurance Division 1

Newhall Social B team hosted Burton Cons C; Mark Anslow for the home team played Burton Stalwart Jim Jennings, both players potting well but both winning the frame they should have lost. Steve Castledine just outplayed Newhall’s Carl Glover to put the away team 3-1 up. Martin Hicks pulled a frame back for Newhall but Ian Shrine held firm to take the second frame, last on for the home team was Callum Gray who played Burtons Mike Buckland. The games were marked with more good safety play than fluent potting with Mike just taking both games for an excellent 6-2 away win.

Swad Cons A also hosted a Burton Cons team, the high flying B team, the home team put Simon Mansfield on first again Dave Shipton and the game didn’t disappoint and ended in a deserved draw while on the other table Mark Hadley was clinical in taking two off Burtons Dave Plunkett. Simon Smith for Burton reversing the win in the two close games he took off Lee Wood, but man of the match went to Paul Slater for the two frames he took off the steady Tom Egginton with great potting matched with excellent safety play.

Rolleston A met another of leagues teams riding high in the league SDSC D, Ryan Gibbs for Rolleston was first up against Ryan Gilmore and they both played well to end the games in a draw, Adam Farrington went on in the other room and comfortably beat an out of sorts Andy Rice to go 3-1 up leaving a possible shock for SDSC looked on but Wayne Brewin played excellently and topped winning both frames from Tim Farrington with the nights highest break of 39, last on for the home team was Nick Farrington who could not hold David Wain to give a final score of 5-3 to the Swad side.

SDSC C put on a good showing at home to Stapenhill B winning 6-2, Simon Orpwood and Andrew Bloor taking all there frames and were ably backed up by Brian and Garton Bloor who got one a piece. John Sherriff making a 33 break in the frame he took off Brian.

Alrewas C played fellow mid table team Willington C with Lee Cooke for Willington beating Ian Bradford while Karl Hancox for Alrewas won his first frame before a brave fight back won Steve Lane another frame for Willington, Colin Wood drew the team’s level with the two he won against Willington’s Darren Harris but in the last frames Steve Butterworth took both against Alrewas’s Nigel Edwards to give the away team a 5-3 win.

Tony Coleman writes for Rileys Division 2

A very good win at home for Rolleston C who thrashed Swad Cons C 7-1 by all accounts it should have been a whitewash. In the first frame between Keiran Waddell and Pete Fearn the former miscued on the black giving the frame to Pete. That was the only bit of good fortune they had all evening. Rolleston’s Lionel Lewis was in fine potting form in the first frame knocking in a fine 33 break against Barry Bentley. In the second frame Lionel appeared to lose his way but fortunately he found it in time to win the frame. Joe Docksey was back to form as he displayed a fine array of pots against the unlucky Steve Jones. Rolleston captain Kev Norris sealed a good night for his team by winning both frames against Jon Petcher with some good long pots. This win keeps them well in contention for promotion.

A cracking match was played out between the divisions draw specialists Swad Cons D and Woodville S&S A. In what was most certainly a game of two halves the first half belonged to the Cons who went 3-1 up at the turn. Gaz Ward and Jim Marcer had two very close frames in which both players showed their qualities in both potting and safety play. The first frame went to Gaz on the pink after Jim failed to pot it and the second was even closer with Gaz winning it on the black. Bob Birch and Alan Orpwood shared their frames. In the first Alan was out of the blocks very quickly and had soon built up a good lead but Bob started to claw his way back into the frame until he missed a straight brown leaving Alan the chance to pot it which he gratefully accepted to win the frame. In the second frame Bob potted the better of the two to take the frame. After the turn round things improved for Woodville first with Pat Ryan taking his first frame fairly comfortably against Marc Egan. On the other table Tony Coleman took his first frame fairly easily off Dave Bodie with some good safety play and potting. Marc Egan came back well to take the second frame off Pat. The final frame of the night was extremely close with Tony missing the black ball over the pocket luckly it ran safe there was then a drawn out safety play until Tony potted the black for the draw. The home teams food was very good too.

Rolleston B had a fine win away to SDSC F winning 5-3. Alex Read got the home team off to a good start as he beat John Ward in two very entertaining frames in which both went down to the black. The home side won their third black ball game of the evening when Henry Carlton potted a lovely black. Dave Bentley played well in the second frame to leave Henry in trouble and a share of the spoils. Neil Cheadle Rolleston’s talisman had two well fought frames with Ken White with Neil making a 22 break to win the first but the second was any bodies with Neil potting the black. On the other table Steve Atkins all round game on the night was too strong for Ashley Beard winning both fairly easily.

A surprise defeat for the league leaders Willington D losing 6-2 at home to an in-form Alrewas D. The A38 boys were given the perfect start first with Brian Eccleston who was in stunning form in both frames where he very rarely missed a pot against the unlucky Simon Malpass who spent a lot of time watching the master craftsman at work. Not to be out done Tony Trueman then played some of his best snooker of the season as he took both frames off the very difficult Brian Alford who never gives in. Trevor Heath improved the score line a little as he shared two extremely competitive frames with Tom Smith with both players getting some good pots. Willington’s skipper Dave Budworth tried his best to win the two frames but was foiled by a worthy opponent in the shape of Dave Riley as they each took a frame. Alrewas most certainly enjoyed their trip down the A38 home.

Burton Cons D felt the full force of the Belmont boys as they lost rather heavily at home losing 7-1.
Tutbury B who are fifth in the table share the match spoils with Ivanhoe D who are third. Unfortunately there was no match information available at the current time regarding the last two matches.

2013-14: Week 8

Owen Jones writes for Just Wood Premier division

Week 8 saw a close game played in a great spirit between Willington A and Alrewas A with the Alrewas side coming out on top 6-2. Ian Hotshot Hiley just about outgunned Alan Davies in both frames with some good potting by both players. Carl Poulton brought  Bill Stewart down to his level with Bill unfortunate not to win both against Carl losing the second frame on a fluked final black ball.  Dave Trueman was finally back to his fiery best against Jan Pawlaczyk coming from well behind in the first to take it late on and wrapping up the second on the colours. Colin “The Nail” Kinsella was held to a 1-1 against Dean Johnston with Colin wrapping up the first comfortably but Dean firing in all the colours in the second to snatch it on the black.

The Tutbury Tutters played out a draw with Swadlincote Snooker Centre A. Steve Ayre took his frames for the away side against Dave Powell, with Chris Mabbott taking two against Carl White for the Tutbury side. All other games were drawn in a close match.

Belmont A kept up the pressure at the top with a 6-2 victory away at Ivanhoe B. Gaz Dolman put the Ashby side in a good position at the start of the match defeating Graham Bailey. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there as Fran McInulty, Ian Archer and Mark Press defeated Jerry Cook, Graham Measures and Darren Wilson respectively to claim the victory for the Belmont side.

Swadlincote Snooker Centre B claimed an impressive victory at home to one of the top sides in the division Ivanhoe A. Harry Farrell started the match with a great 44 break to take his frame against Ian Rennocks. Rennocks came back well to take the second frame. Ben Davies and Daniel Blunn also shared their frames to leave it all square at the half way point. Henry Thomas played out a tight game with Ant Moore to leave the scores at 3-3. Adam Harrison did the damage for the home side as he beat Mick Kirk aided by a break of 46 to close the match at 5-3.

Belmont B hosted Rileys A in another tight match on the night. Michael Lomas and Mark Vaughan put the home side in a strong position taking all their frames against Micky Tonks and Tom Elliott. Arron Vaughan drew his game with Ade Harper to claim the frame needed for victory. Mark Stirling restored some pride for the Rileys side by taking his frames against Mick Morris to end the match 5-3 in favour of the Belmont side.

Champions Burton Cons A continued their great start to the season by beating Alrewas B 6-2 away. Jonathan Fletcher looked in good form taking his two frames against Will Sherratt aided by a 34 break. John Sharpe lost in his match with Stuart Roberts in what turned out to be a grueler. Mat Milnes showed a touch of class on the night in defeating Alan Wilson. Milnes knocked in a lovely 47 break after Wilson had looked in control with a 31 break to take the frame. In the final match, Phil Marklew took both frames, aided by a 34 break, against Owen Jones who was poor on the night. Jones missed key balls and gave his opponent too many chances which Marklew took to close out the match.

Mark Vaughan writes for the David Wain Division One

Burton Cons B look like they are settling down to become serious promotion contenders and had another good home win against a Rolleston side that are much better than their current league position suggests but they just can’t seem to find any form. For the Cons Dave Shipton, Dave Plunkett and Tom Egginton won all there frames, Rolleston’s only comfort coming from the ever improving Ryan Gibbs winning two frames from Jason Anguish for a 6-2 scoreline.

Burton Cons C hosted table toppers Ivanhoe C and Jim Jennings was first on against Ashby’s John Skellett and held the Ivanhoe man to a draw with bouts of safety play, whilst on the other table Con’s Steve Castledine won his first against Mark Pickering who bounced back in the second to earn himself a draw, The home teams Mick Buckland who has recorded some great results this season for his team went on against Jason Pickering who can certainly play a bit and  carried on his good form taking both frames with a series of breaks, the best being a 31, Ian Shrive was last on for con’s against Stu Tagg who played solidly to earn his team a draw which keeps them at the top of the table.

SDSC D are another side vying for promotion and took an immediate lead against Stapenhill A thanks to the two frames from new player Mark Satchwell and one from Rob Press, for Stapenhill John Richardson won his two leaving Mark Waldron to get the last frame to earn the Stapenhill side a draw.

Swad Cons A continued strongly this week away to Stapenhill B, Simon Mansfield drawing with Andy Tomlinson while on the other table Swad’s Lee Wood showed great control to beat Greg Britton, Stapenhill’s John Sherriff pulled two frames back from Paul Slater who did very little wrong to leave the result on the last match between Swad’s Andy Grainger and Stapenhill’s Bryan Sharratt, Andy yet again played some great snooker and topped it off with a 32 break taking both frames for an excellent away win that keeps them in the hunt for promotion.
Swad Cons B at home had a close fought battle with Alrewas C, Chris Stone losing two to Alrewas’s Rob Mcmeechan and Bob McInulty going down to Ian Bradford to leave the home side 4-0 down. Colin Cope went on for Con’s and took the first frame off Karl Hancox while on the other table Paul Hollis got another back against Colin Wood and then with some excellent potting showed what a good player he is by also took the second leaving the match balanced on a last frame decider with Colin just losing out to Karl to give the away side a valuable 5-3 away win.

Willington C started slowly but are putting some steady results together, this week against another side looking for promotion in the shape of Newhall B, Andy Holloway playing his first match of the season came up against Newhall’s Martin Hicks who has been on fire so far this season and did well to take Martin to a black ball finish in two tight games that the Newhall man won, Loz Kennerson pulled a frame back against the talented Callum Gray but couldn’t hold him in the second to give the away team a 3-1 lead, Willington’s Lee Cooke had what can best be described as the run of the ball in the two frames he took off the luckless Carl Glover while on the other table Daz Harris looked to have put the home side in the driving seat by potting the black only to see the white go into the opposite pocket to give Newhall’s Mark Anslow the frame, Daz fared better in the second of two very close frames to win it and finish with the match drawn.

Tony Coleman writes for Rileys Division 2

Current league leaders Willington D got back to winning ways as they beat Belmont C 6-2 on their home turf which does not happen very often.  Trevor “hot shot” Heath gave them a terrific start by taking both frames off Terry Bosworth.  These were the first frames Terry has lost all season.  The two frames were of a very high standard with Trevor just having the edge in both.  Brian Cutting then brought the scoreline level in another close match with Nick Payne.  With Dave Budworth back in the team they are certainly a formidable side as he won both frames in a dour match with Dougie Lees.  Bill Davidson once again showed what a quality safety player he is as he took both frames against Dave Press.

Alrewas D inflicted only the second defeat of the season on draw specialists Swad Cons D winning 5-3.  First up for Alrewas was Brian Aldridge who potted like a dream in winning the first frame against Dave Bodie.  But in the second frame everything turned around and it was Dave who potted like a dream to win it.  Brian Eccleston took his first frame off Andy Boam after trailing all through the frame to win it on the pink after potting a lovely blue giving him a great position to knock in frame ball pink.  The second frame was not so tight with Brian winning fairly easily.  Tom Smith and the experienced Bob Birch shared two close frames with neither player being able to pot the important ball for the win.  This then put Alrewas 4-2 ahead but the match went down to the nail biting end.  With the Cons Marc Egan taking the first frame off John Hills.  John just managed to keep his nerve to take the second frame and win the match for the A38 boys.

Second placed SDSC E were held to their third consecutive draw against Tutbury B who appear to be getting stronger as the season goes on.  SDSCS’s Nick Harcombe spoilt Colin Bell’s 100% record as they shared their two frames with both players knocking in some good pots.  Graham Smith the Tutbury captain made a very good break of 28 to win his frame against Ray Stretton.  Ray did well to win a frame as Graham was playing well.  Andy Jefferies and Paul Atterbury shared their games.  It was left to the consistent Ray Bancroft of SDSC and Jeff Siddalls to try and get the two frames for the win but neither was able to take their chances when they arrived.  They ended sharing the frames.

Woodville S&S A just managed to get over the line beating SDSC F 5-3.  Jim Marcer and Ken White had two close frames.  The first frame Jim only needed the blue but it rattled in the jaws leaving Ken the chance to steal the frame which he did taking the last three colours in some style.  The second frame Jim kept his nose in front making sure he didn’t slip up a second time.  Alan Orpwood and Alex Glover shared two entertaining frames with good play by both players.  Alex took the first frame on the black with a good pot into the green pocket.  Alan got some cracking pots in the second frame to win fairly comfortably.  Another good match was between Tony Coleman and Alex Read.  Tony won the first frame fairly easily with Alex conceding on the yellow  but Alex took the second on the black with a superb long pot to the right hand black pocket.  Woodville had Pat Ryan to thank for the win as he beat Ashley Beard with a solid display of safety and potting.

Fort Ivanhoe D was breeched by the hardworking Burton Cons D who won 5-3.  The Cons boys played very well especially young Nathan Brooks who took the important two frames off the experienced Jack Bale to give the Cons the win.  Nathan potted extremely well and not leaving Jack many crumbs.  Jason Collins and Al Munnien shared two tight frames with both players making some good contributions to the game.  The match between Tim Bale and Paul Brooks seemed to ebb and flow in both directions with a share of the spoils being the fairest outcome.  Old twinkle toes Warner Collins did his best to get the two frames they required for the draw against Ian Protheroe but Ian put in a fighting performance and shared the frames with Warner.