New Boys clinch SLKPA Division Two title

 

New Boys secured the title with a, 10-5 triumph over third placed, Sea the Angles, although the score didn’t reflect how close the game actually was. 

 

The first two frames were of marathon length and seemed to last forever, but it was well worth it for New Boys, as Billy Russell and Greg Fothergill won them for a, 2-0 lead. 

 

Dan Brown won frame three for Sea the Angles and his win was sandwiched between the first two for New Boys and the next two, which Michael and Melissa Barnes took to put New Boys, 4-1 up. 

 

Jade Holmes pulled that back to, 4-2 but Mike Peka and Russell put New Boys 2-1 up in the set and, 6-2 ahead overall. 

 

Angie Hobbs tied the set for Sea the Angles and Jo Williams won the set decider to bring the score back to, 6-4.

 

The comeback continued as Reece Stewart brought Sea the Angles back to within a frame however, they ran out of legs, as New Boys won the last four frames to finish off, 10-5 victors.

 

Massive credit goes to Mike Peka this week, who after a long streak of losses went unbeaten, winning both of his frames. 

 

He wasn’t the only unbeaten player for New Boys this week, with Anthony Lee winning his only frame and Russell scoring a hat-trick. 

 

New Boys are now three points ahead of second placed Royal Oak, who have played all their matches, making New Boys the Division Two champions with a game to play. 

 

Sea the Angles also have a game left, but they are 17 points behind Royal Oak and 24 points ahead of their neighbours, Anglesea Arms, so have secured third place and the play-off position. 

 

Royal Oak were playing their last match of the season against Farmhouse and were looking to seal second place and had an outside chance of stealing top spot however, that was unlikely. 

 

Bottom of the table Farmhouse stunned promotion chasing Royal Oak by taking the first two frames, but Johnnie Allen pulled one back for the Oak, before Alfie Cambridge and Steve Millson extended Farmhouse’s lead to, 4-1. 

 

Unfortunately for Farmhouse, Royal Oak’s desire for promotion was strong and they whitewashed the second set to go,6-4 up. 

 

John Denahy pulled one back for Farmhouse however, victories from Allen and Dean Whitewood sealed the win for Oak. 

 

The last two frames were shared, making the final score, 9-6.

 

Royal Oak have secured second place and are guaranteed promotion to Division One next winter season, alongside New Boys, who both became the first teams in the division to score more than 100 points, making it thirteen teams, over half of the league, to do so. 

 

Farmhouse are now within thirteen points of Anglesea Arms, so it is possible to catch them and avoid the wooden spoon however, Farmhouse play Sea the Angles and their neighbours Anglesea Arms host the champions New Boys, so who knows what might happen, and Farmhouse’s penalty points may prove costly.

 

The Premier Division was full of out of the ordinary results this week, as both of the top two lost and Rose Inn, who hadn’t won a match in the first half of the season picked up their third victory. 

 

The league leaders, Allstars fell to their first defeat of the season to the in-form Sharks, who are in fourth place. 

 

Taking nothing away from Sharks, Allstars only had four players, but Sharks were still good for their, 8-7 triumph. 

 

Saying that, Allstars worked hard to win seven of the twelve frames played and were unlucky not to pick up the victory with an understrength side, which just goes to show why they are 23 points ahead at the top of the table. 

 

Hotshots couldn’t capitalise on Allstars loss, as they also suffered a defeat this week, only their second of the season, to The Fox. 

 

It looked like Hotshots were going to run away with this, as they romped to a, 5-0 whitewash of the first set, but The Fox were not disheartened, winning nine of the next ten frames to win the match, 9-6.

 

The Fox have stayed in fifth, but have broken the 100-point barrier, ending up on 105 points.  

 

Third placed Bellegrove did manage to capitalise on the top two’s bad fortune this week, with an, 11-4 triumph over Rugrats in eighth. 

 

Bellegrove were quite fortunate in winning the first set, 3-2 as it could quite easily have been, 5-0 to Rugrats. 

 

This inspired Bellegrove and some good pool mixed with good fortune gave them the next two sets, 4-1 to complete the, 11-4 triumph. 

 

Most of the good pool was played by Barry Barham and Kieran Evans, who both won all three of their frames, with Graham Levingbird also unbeaten winning his only frame. 

 

Bellegrove are now 17 points behind Hotshots and only four points ahead of Sharks. 

 

Rugrats defeat was even more important as the bottom two, Crayford A and Rose Inn were playing each other. 

 

The first two frames were shared, but Rose Inn won the last three frames of the set to take a, 4-1 lead. 

 

Lewis Hearn and Dean Greany-Parr extended that lead to, 6-1 with the first two frames of the second set. 

 

Paul Cobbold and Gary Heath won the next two frames for Crayford to tie the set however, Jack Wilson won frame ten to give Rose Inn the second set and a, 7-3 lead to take into the final set. 

 

Rose Inn only needed one more frame for a much-needed victory over their nearest rivals for the wooden spoon, but they had to wait until frame twelve to seal the win, with Hearn recording his hat-trick in the process. 

 

The next two frames were also shared to send the final set into a set decider, which Shane Burnett won to give Crayford the set, 3-2 despite losing the match, 9-6. 

 

As well as Hearn winning all three frames for Rose Inn, Cobbold also won his three frames for Crayford. 

 

After recently coming off the bottom of the table, Rose Inn recorded their third win of the season this week to leapfrog Rugrats into eighth and the relegation play-off spot. 

 

There are now just six points between the bottom three teams and 15 points between Rose Inn and Eltham Terrace Club A above them. 

 

Seventh played sixth, as Terrace went to Bull Tavern and the match was as close as their placing and the six-point gap between the two suggested, with Bull just edging it, 8-7. 

 

Bull Tavern’s season couldn’t be more even, as they have won seven and lost seven matches, winning and losing 105 frames in the process. 

 

This makes them the sixth team in the division to go past 100 points, joining The Fox on 105 points. 

 

After saying last week that Pickwick were virtually guaranteed the SLKPA first division title, they went and lost for the second time this season.

 

This week fourth placed New Eltham New Stars were the visitors and Pickwick just weren’t sharp enough, missing the crucial shot on a number of occasions, which New Stars pounced on and deserved the win. 

 

The first set was incredibly close, with each side winning alternate frames, which New Stars eventually took by 3 frames to 2. 

 

The first two frames of the second set were also shared, but New Stars stepped it up, with Ron Brown, Jim Duff and Steve Pearce all winning to give them the set, 4-1 and a, 7-3 lead overall. 

 

Pickwick haven’t been trailing by such a margin all season, having been dominant in most games and only losing one so far, so it came as a shock when Dave Jandu won frame eleven to secure the victory for New Stars. 

 

However, Pickwick weren’t going to make it an easy victory and won three of the last four frames to make the final score, 9–6.  

 

Brown and Jandu were the difference between the two teams, both winning all three of their frames. 

 

This victory has leapfrogged New Stars into third place, the promotion play-off spot, by just two points. 

 

This is because Eltham Terrace Rack Pack suffered a shock defeat to seventh placed, Bellegrove A, who were looking to get back to winning ways, but knew they were in for a tough time. 

 

Rack Pack got off to a flying start, winning the first three frames, but Steve Hughes and Nick Morris won the last two frames of the set to bring it back to, 3-2. 

 

Rack Pack rattled off the next four frames to go, 7-2 up however, Morris won frame ten to prevent the set whitewash. 

 

At, 7-3 down Bellegrove had to win all five frames in the final set, and they did just that, with Joe Hills successful in the final frame decider and Morris completing his hat-trick on the night. 

 

A great win for Bellegrove, coming back from, 7-2 down to win, 8-7 against a team that were four places and 22 points ahead of them. 

 

The only team in the bottom three not to pick up a win was Just Bellegrove however, they were playing second placed, Eltham Terrace Nuthouse, who had lost only one game all season. 

 

Despite being understrength, Nuthouse still ran out, 11-4 winners however, it wasn’t as easy as the score suggests, and Nuthouse had to fight hard and took their chances to keep the pressure on Pickwick at the top. 

 

Nuthouse are now nine points behind Pickwick with just four games to go, whereas Just Bellegrove are seven points away from their neighbours Bellegrove A and guaranteed Division One pool next winter season. 

 

Academicals are now just two points below Just Bellegrove, after they beat sixth placed, Falconwood Club. 

 

Falconwood only had four players, which proved costly in the end, as they lost by the three frames they had to forfeit, 9-6. 

 

Most of the damage was done in the first set, as Academicals took it, 4-1 with Brett Crawley the only Falconwood player to trouble the scorers. 

 

Chris Bracey (bye) and Paul Doherty made matters worse for Falconwood by winning the first two frames of the second set to make the score, 6-1 but Falconwood fought back, winning the next three frames to steal the set, 3-2 and reduce the deficit to, 6-4.

 

Frame eleven was handed to Academicals sending them to the hill, but they had to wait until Shane Hutley and frame thirteen before sealing the victory. 

 

The last two frames were shared to make the final score, 9-6. 

 

It was a great all-round team performance to give Academicals their fourth win of the season, with both Doherty and Hutley winning both their frames and they were supported by Paul Thomas winning two of his three frames and Bracey, Gary Mason and Louis Nwnham all chipped in with a frame each. 

 

Rugrats Guardians remain nine points behind Academicals at the bottom, despite a narrow, 8-7 triumph against fifth placed Fox & Hounds. 

 

The first two sets had a very similar vibe, with Guardians taking the first frame and the remaining frames of the set alternating between the two teams. 

 

This gave Guardians a, 6-4 lead, but Fox turned this around with victories from, Alan Dolan, Neil Shelton and Tom Wyatt to put them on the hill.

 

Ross Webster won the penultimate frame to tie the match and teammate Luke Matthews took the final frame to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and give Guardians their fourth victory of the season. 

 

It does look as though the top two in this division will occupy the promotion places, but there is a fight for the play-off spots as only nine points separate the next three teams, and at the bottom 19 points separate the bottom five teams, so there is still a battle on over the next four games. 

  

For more information on the SLKPA including league tables visit our website at www.slkpa.com or contact our Secretary, Paul Gafa on 07443 456662 or secretary@slkpa.com with any queries.

 

The league is looking at potential sponsors; any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.