Southern sides take comprehensive wins on week three
Report by Mike Crook:
Malew and Port St Mary Legion share top spot after week three of the Mann Crane Hire Snooker League, the latter becoming the first team this season to pick up maximum points in their home win over the Wannabes.
Marc Morley 67-63 Steve Cowin - Early in the frame Marc went in-off and Stevie fluked a red with a blue leaving Marc with a mountain to climb. Marc ended up nicking it though with a great double on the pink plus the black after a tense battle. Phil Joynes 80-51 David Callister - Phil was very steady and left David very little to go at, once he got the start back Phil ran out an easy winner. Andrew Hutchison 98-61 James Teare - Andy was potting well and James showed a lot of ambition taking on some tough reds with good position on colours, but was unlucky to rattle them. Andy got well in front and should have finished with a 22 but the black stayed up. Dave Pickersgill 66-39 Michael Creer - Dave soon got the start back. Nothing in it, Michael got a good red but left a tricky black in the jaws, Dave took 18 from the miss. Micheal, 23 behind with only two balls left tried for a few snookers before shaking hands. Terry Boyle 77-68 Paul McKinstry - Paul started well with a few cracking reds and I feared the worst. However, with some steady pots and a few fouls from Paul I got back into it. Level on the colours, I left the brown over a pocket, Paul reciprocated leaving the blue which I took with the pink for frame. A great result for us, but that black ball win in the first frame could so easily have gone the other way and changed the night.
Tony Pring 78-36 Ian Brookfield - Ian made a couple of good teen contributions but Tony with his 35 start was never overhauled. Eric Drinkwater 55-59 Harry Boyle - I didn't know what to expect from Harry with him being a member of the Boyle dynasty. He was 24 points behind with two reds remaining, but sank the brown, blue, pink and black for a first league win. James Goodwin 66-30 Max Barnes - Once again Jimmy’s start helped him over the line. Max made a good fist of it but Jimmy held out. Alec Oates 70-37 Mike Boyle - Mike and I have played each other a number of times down the years. In my mind he has usually dominated and I expected nothing less this time around. However, still ahead at the colours I sank the brown and fluked a snooker on the blue. Mike missed it and hit the black. This was enough for Mike and we shook hands. Tony Cubbon 51-38 Garey Ellison - Garey sank the final pink and came close to potting the black in the yellow pocket for the frame, only to see the white drift into a middle pocket, game over. The second time in three matches that Tony had been involved in an in-off the black to decide a frame, this time in his favour.
Strangely, this match contained all of this week’s ‘high’ breaks, all four coming from St Olave’s players in a losing cause. Stuart Sandford 64-49 Luca McDermott - This looked like a stroll for Sandford as a 20 break put him ahead. McDermott came back strong with a series of long pots, but a surprising miss on the pink let Sandford in for victory. Paul Smyth 65-100 Rob Dolby - A couple of missed blacks from Smyth ended any chance of overturning an 84 start for Dolby. A few nice pots at the death from the latter. Dave Kelly 6-51 Ben Peach - Just six single reds from Kelly, Peach rubbed in his opponent’s frustration with some late exhibition shots. Dan Crawley 85-57 Mark Corlett - Another good display from Crawley with breaks of 22 and 23. A missed black off its spot would’ve seen an even higher one. Geoff Hall 50-58 Olllie Pickford - With two tables in use this was the last game in play. Pickford was well ahead but a 21 break from Hall, which included no easy pots put him on the brink of stealing it. However, with no shot at the black, he left Pickford a half chance to the centre and he finished it very well for frame and match.
Matt Monks 31-64 Harry Ellis - Harry, with a 14 start controlled the game from start to finish with some excellent individual pots and high colours. Matt battled hard but missed three routine blacks as Harry ran away. A handicap chop needed for the young man? Richard Hillier 47-59 Shaun Roberts - Shaun chased the start, potted some lovely balls but unlike him, didn’t capitalise fully on the colours. Rich, picked off opportunities throughout, taking it to the final few colours. Shaun’s smooth cue action was just enough to see him victorious. David Welsh 48-83 Alex Kennedy - Dave chasing 42 from the break had work to do, what started off as an open game soon saw it turn messy and colours tied up. Alex, on his league debut picked off individual reds and gained a few points in fouls. Dave needed several snookers and after trying for some time realised tonight wasn’t his night. Alex Sinclair 51-28 Dave Hill - Alex potted well throughout, some lovely cueing saw him make red/colour combinations to keep Dave at bay. Some good tactical play from both saw the game edge the way of Alex as he continued to hold the lead. Dave played two excellent snookers on both blue and pink but Alex was cool enough to escape, pot and seal victory. Lee Gale 63-53 Scott Campion - With the Blinders having won the night it was up to Gale to gain a “bones” point for the Ballers. 35 behind, Gale managed 19 and 17 breaks. 49-49 going into the colours, both had chances but Gale cued a blue into the corner pocket from the jaws of the middle pocket with the pink and black “routine pots”.
Martin Rigg 41-57 Mark Davenport - Martin managed to level the score after giving a 21 start but Mark potted some good balls to take the win on the pink. Frame two was a walkover win for the Masters as the Bar-barians were a player short. Jez Hill 71-31 Chris Reynolds - Chris struggled to get going, with most of the reds bunched up on the top cushion. Jez extended his start to leave Chris needing snookers before the colours. Les Briggs 47-25 Andy Moore - Les confirmed a Masters win by taking frame four. Ivan McMaw 56-36 Paul Craine was another close one, neither player more than a few points ahead but Ivan was able to take it.
The title holders are still searching for their first win of this campaign, having now lost all three matches to deciding frames. Conversely, Hurricanes’ new look squad have started the season well with their new team members Rob Cowin, Brandon Forrester and Paul Westhead all scoring wins. Rocket’s, Rodger Clague made it three from three with his victory. Frame scores: Jamie Wilson 43-74 Leon Martin, Rob Cowin 75-20 Paddy Delaney, Danny Beattie 15-50 Rodger Clague, Brandon Forrester 78-36 Marc Bolton, Paul Westhead 61-32 Doug Kinrade.
The Musicians took the first three frames for the win but the Mob prevailed in two very close final games to stay tied with their opponents in mid-table. Peter Kirkham (Mob) and Vic Rigby (Musicians) close in on handicap cuts, both now three from three. Frame scores: Jonny Hogg 37-73 Pat Maher, Steve Finnegan 68-86 Vic Rigby, Alan Heath 47-72 Calum Gardner, Lee Hunt 60-52 Paul Tangeman, Peter Kirkham 89-86 Vinny Dale.
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