The South London & Kent Pool Alliance was at the quarter-final stage of the Founders Cup this week and there were still three first division teams in the competition, but they were all playing topflight opposition, with little fortune but a lot of credit. 

 

There was an excellent match between two of the highfliers in their respective divisions, as Eltham Terrace Nuthouse took on Allstars. 

 

Nuthouse maybe second in the first division and Allstars top of the Premier, but both teams have the same, won fourteen and lost one record in the league, so this game was always going to be close. 

 

Alex Biggs got Nuthouse off to the perfect start, winning the opening frame, but Craig Mallinder and Paul Cook put Allstars, 2-1 up. 

 

Louis Wilbourne won frame four to tie the match and send the set into a deciding frame, which Tony Halpin won to give Allstars a, 3-2 lead. 

 

Stacy Redman and Mallinder won the first two frames of the second set to increase Allstars lead to, 5-2 however, Alex Biggs and Danny Kent won the next two frames to bring the score back to, 5-4 and again send the set into a deciding frame. 

 

The ever dependable Halpin came up trumps again to give his team a, 6-4 lead which quickly became, 7-4 with the first frame of the final set, to put Allstars on the hill.

 

 Wilbourne pulled one back for Nuthouse, with some audacious pool, but it was all in vain as, Derek Power won the thirteenth frame to give the Premier Division side the, 8-5 triumph. 

 

Alex Biggs and Wilbourne played some lovely pool to win two of their three frames however, Nuthouse did have an unbeaten player, Danny Kent who won his only frame. 

 

Allstars had three players scoring a brace; Halpin who was unbeaten and Mallinder and Redman winning two out of three. 

 

Nuthouse pushed Allstars all the way and if they had taken a few more of the chances they were presented then they may have created an upset and gone through. 

 

Saying that, they were not embarrassed, and they will be a worthy addition to the top division next winter season, as promotion is almost certain.

 

Despite the nine places between the two teams across the two divisions, Fox & Hounds gave Bull Tavern a run for their money. 

 

The frames in the first set alternated between the two teams, ending in a deciding frame, which Joe Kane won for the Bull.

 

 Naf Ayieko extended that lead to, 4-2 but Glen Ward and Alan Dolan won the next two frames to tie the match. 

 

Kane won frame nine to tie the set and restore Bull’s lead however, Kerry Wyatt won the deciding frame of the set to make the overall score five all. 

 

This spurred on the Bull and Tony Bailey with a break and dish, Tony Gear and Adam Coppen won the first three frames of the final set to give their side the, 8-5 triumph. 

 

As well as his break and dish, Bailey won both of his frames, as did Kane, with Ayieko also unbeaten, winning his only frame. 

 

Bellegrove A faced their second battle of the Bellegrove in a row, but this time it was against much tougher opposition, as the team in sixth place of the first division played their sister side and the Premier Division’s third placed team, Bellegrove. 

 

Bellegrove A won the first frame, after their opponent potted an early black, but Bellegrove went on to win the set, 3-2. 

 

From the first set you would never have known there was such a gap between the two teams in the league, but Bellegrove showed their quality and started to take control, and were, 6-3 up before Kieran Evans won back to back frames to complete his hat-trick and give his side the, 8-3 triumph. 

 

Evans was supported by three more unbeaten teammates; James Couch with two wins and Paul Elford and Graham Levingbird, both winning their only frame. 

 

The remaining quarter-final was an all Premier Division affair, as Rugrats in eighth played hosts to fourth placed Sharks, who were 25 points ahead of their opponents, so was this to be the only upset of the round?

 

In the race to eight, Sharks steamed ahead, winning the first three frames, with Rugrats Captain Scott Shephard stopping the rot, before Jeff Laporte won frame five to make it, 4-1 to Sharks. 

 

Dafydd Ruffell and Ashley Hewson brought that back to, 4-3 before Laporte made it two out of two and increased Sharks’ lead to two frames. 

 

Shephard and Josh Page won the last two frames of the set to give it to Rugrats, 4-1 and tie the match at five all. 

 

The upset was back on, as Ruffell put Rugrats in the lead for the first time, winning frame eleven, but that was short lived, as Sharks won the next three frames to prevent the upset and win the match, 8-6.

 

 There was only one unbeaten player in this match, Laporte with a brace. 

 

The semi-finals will be played on 12 March between four of the top six sides in the Premier Division; Allstars, Bellegrove, Sharks and Bull Tavern.

 

Also played this week was the postponed Division One match between New Eltham New Stars in fourth and eighth placed Falconwood Club. 

 

New Stars, 9-6 victory saw them leapfrog Rack Pack into third place, but only by one point, so it’s going to be a real scrap between those two to see who finishes in the promotion play-off spot. 

 

Despite the loss, Falconwood were playing their game in hand and overtook Just Bellegrove by six points to pull themselves out of the relegation zone and join Bellegrove A on 100 points. 

 

The fight is not over for any of those three teams though, as they are sandwiched by Academicals in ninth and Fox & Hounds in fifth, with just eleven points separating them all. 

 

The SLKPA also held its Ladies Singles and Mixed Pairs competitions this weekend, and a massive congratulations goes to Angie Hobbs, who was victorious in both tournaments. 

 

She did the Barnes double, beating Melissa Barnes, 4-1 in the Ladies Singles final and with her partner, Shane O’Reilly narrowly beat Michael Barnes and Kerry Wyatt, 4-3 in the Mixed Pairs final. 

 

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.