Twelve months ago the players of Wellington Billiard Hall C were celebrating success in the Pool League having won the league title for the second year running. A year on and they are once again gathering silverware, but this time on a much larger table as they secured the Telford Snooker League Division 3 title with a 3-2 away win over bottom of the table Newport British Legion B.

Led by their charismatic captain John Rawlins, a well known Karaoke host in the Telford area, the Wellington side have taken the third division by storm this year, losing only twice in a highly successful first season on the snooker scene.

Indeed, with just four games remaining at the start of play last week, the Billiard Hall side needed just three points to secure the title as they travelled to Newport to face the British Legion Club's B side.

And that is exactly what they got as they reeled off the first three frames before the home side replied to take the last two frames in some style.

Dave Cartledge belied his "Machine Gun" nickname as his opening frame victory over Manjit Gidda took over an hour to complete before captain John Rawlins found some fine potting form to beat Alan Munn to make it 2-0.

Mick Birch showed few nerves as he took on Keith Gardner needing a win to make sure of the League Title. As the game neared it's conclusion Mick held a 15 point lead with just pink and black remaining and finally secured the frame and title when Keith potted the final pink to leave the Billiard Hall with an unassailable 3-0 lead.

The home side may be near the foot of the table, but they were not to be outclassed by their table-topping opponents as Alan Davies became only the second player so far this term to beat young Matty Locklin to reduce the deficit to 3-1 with an excellent 64-16 success over the talented youngster.

Obviously inspired by his team-mate's excellent performance, John Yapp then made the final score 3-2 with a classy 65-29 defeat of Paul Cartledge as the Newport side finished the stronger but it was the visitors who left home happy in the knowledge that their first ever season in the Snooker League had been one to remember.

That win leaves the Billiard Hall with 71 points from 19 games played - 18 points more than Shifnal D who jump into second place on the back of a thumping 5-0 win over Bayley B.

The Wellington side haven't had the best of times recently as they have seen their promising start evaporate with a series of defeats which has sent them tumbling from second place to seventh in a matter of weeks.

And the Shifnal boys took full advantage as they returned home with all five points in what was actually a very closely fought contest.

Mick Guest set the trend for a series of nail biting finishes as he took the opening frame for Shifnal on the final black against Robin Sturmey.

Mat Hester then followed by beating Dicky Beddall 65-50 before Goeff French made it 3-0 against Fred Spragg.

Mick Smith put the visitors further in front as he got the better of Dave Weston 44-34 and with Arthur Aston unable to gain a recall to the in form Shifnal line-up it was left to Barrie Easthope to take on home captain Bob Tracy in the final frame.

And with Bob somewhat jet-lagged after returning home from holiday in Lanzarote just an hour before hand, Barrie soon opened up a 28 point lead before Bob recovered magnificently to take the lead on the blue.

However, he was unable to prevent a superb three ball clearance as Barrie coolly knocked in a brilliant blue followed by the pink and black for a 47-34 triumph to complete the whitewash and put his side in pole position for the runners-up spot.

Little Dawley B are hot on their heels though after a 3-2 derby win over their E side leaves them with the same number of points as Shifnal D, 53, but having won one less match.

The B side started brilliantly as Lee Elcock took the first frame against John Rawlinson and Brendan Wincott got the better of G Clements.

D Wilson increased their lead still further with a 53-20 success against C Jones but it was the E team who ended the match on a high with two fine wins for Graham Copson and Paul Perks against two of the leagues brightest young stars.

First a 20 break from Graham secured a fine win over Byron Mitchell before Paul Parks completed a 58-37 success over Darren Wincott with a finely taken 22 break.

Hadley B maintained their drive for promotion as they came from behind to record a 4-1 home win against Pot Black D who drop to sixth as a result.

Mick Pearson was once again in excellent form to put the visitors in front with a narrow 52-42 win over Frazer MacKinnon but it was all downhill for his side from then on as the home side responded brilliantly.

Joe Fileding first levelled matters by beating Rob Palin 59-48 before P Lucas put the home side in front with an excellent win over Harry Jones.

A total of 130 points were then shared in the next frame as John Whitehouse edged out Mick Egan by 70 points to 60 leaving Ray Whitehead to complete the comeback with another close finish, 54-44 against Neil Pearson.

Comeback kid Steve Lane was on hand to give Bayley D the lead as they entertained Wellington Billiard Hall B and ran out 3-2 winners.

The Bayley captain opened the scoring with a 64-39 win over Alan Francis but the lead didn't last long as Brian Aberdeen certainly wasn't in seventh heaven as he recalled having only seven visits to the table as Andrew Kendrick made the frame scores all square at one apiece with an 84-20 win over the Bayley favourite.

Mark Beddall was certainly ian a rush to put things right in the next as he got the better of Ian Atkinson by a score of 54-32 to put the Bayley back in front only for R Barrett to draw the scores level once more as he ended Dave Williams recent good run with a 55-22 win.

That left Dave Dudley to secure the Bayley side's eleventh win of the campaign by snatching the final frame 56-31 against Rory Francis to leave the Bayley with just a faint chance of promotion in fifth place.

DIVISION 1

A brilliant performance from Dawley Social's Pete Nolan wasn't enough to prevent Hills Lane A securing a 4-1 win to maintain their stranglehold on the first division crown they won last year.

With Shifnal A having a bye in this week's fixtures, the Madeley side's lead is now some eight points over second placed Wellington Billiard Hall A who themselves enjoyed a 4-1 success at home to Bayley A.

Hills Lane A made the short trip to Dawley looking for their fifteenth win of the current campaign and they soon took an early lead as captain Ian Duffy got the better of Chris Woods to put the visitors in front.

Shaun Harris then made it 2-0 with a 45 break on his way to victory over Mark Jones before Pete Nolan raced into an early 40 points lead against Keith Price with the aid of a 20 break.

The Hills Lane man fought back strongly with a 30 break of his own only to see his opponent produce an outstanding clearance when after potting a long yellow he reeled off the remaining six colours for a memorable 63-36 win.

The home side's joy was short-lived however as breaks of 30 and 22 gave Matt Bailey the fourth frame against his namesake Rick, before Richard Wade wasted no time in the last to make the final frame score 4-1 to the reigning champions.

Bayley A made the short walk across town to Billiard Hall A looking to continue their recent good form which had seen them win their last three matches on the trot.

And they started brightly too with both Bob Mason and Arthur Burrows playing superbly against their more illustrious opponents.

Arthur never gave up as he took on leading player Paul Harper and after Paul had unluckily gone in-off the yellow the Bayley man found himself trailing by just five points and with a chance on the colours.

However, his attempted pot to the middle hit the knuckle and Paul was eventually able to complete a 20 clearance to the pink for a 62-37 win to give the home side the lead.

Bob Mason shot into an early 23 point lead as he took on the experienced Morton Hughes. However it was the Billiard Hall player, having earlier sportingly owned up to a foul stroke when his cue accidentally touched the black, who lost out by just two points when he potted the final black only for his white to go in-off as Bob took the frame by 50 points to 48.

Phil Whitby soon put the Billiard Hall back in front in the next with an excellent 44 break against Steve Nicholls before Graham Darrell took on Steve Fletcher in an incident packed game.

Early on it looked as though a re-rack may have been required as the black ball hung tentatively over a corner pocket surrounded by reds, but it was Graham who eventually forced his opponent into knocking the black in before opening up a 20 odd point lead with just one red remaining.

The expertise of a nearby qualified referee was then called upon as the Bayley captain thought he should have been awarded a free-ball after his opponent failed to negotiate a snooker.

Referee Ivor Hellyar, whose Newport British Legion side were playing on an adjacent table, was called over to resolve the matter, and after several minutes of debate, Steve had to settle for an alternative shot which in the end proved quite fruitful, although it was Graham who justifiably rattled in the final blue to secure his side's third frame.

A fourth soon followed as Spencer Rowley wrapped up a comfortable 4-1 win for the home side with a final frame victory over Chris Morgan-Adams to keep the Wellington side in pole position for that runners-up spot.

Coddon A made their points total for the season so far a round 50 with a stunning 5-0 whitewash at home to Minesota Fats.

Lee Szklarzewicz took the opening frame before Ian Ferriday made it 2-0 with a narrow 60-51 defeat of P Humphries.

Adrian Smith then rattled in a 34 break on the way to victory against John Shepherd before Dave Lloyd continued in the same vane to post a 65-39 win over A Matthews.

With the visitors unable to field a last man, the home side finished off 5-0 winners to consolidate their position in fourth spot.

Hills Lane B recorded their fifth win as they entertained near neighbours Anstice A and ran out 3-2 winners after twice falling behind.

Phil Reynolds put the Anstice ahead with a 27 break against home captain Kev Davis but Steve Powell soon levelled with a fine 56-35 success against Nick Oakley.

Mick Downing put the visitors back in front once more 66-42 against Paul Eyke only for Lee Harris and Richie Jones to take the last two frames for the home side.

First Lee got the better of John Darrock 64-35 before Richie took the decider from Mick Cahill to pull the Madeley side away from the relegation zone.

Adrian Barraclough gave Maddocks A the lead as they travelled to Shifnal F and returned home happy after recording a 3-2 win.

Ade's 40 point lead on the yellow proved too much for Shifnal captain Brian Painter to recover as the visitors moved ahead.

The Foundrymen then increased their lead through Ian Skelton whose excellent 48 break put the seal on a 78-41 win over Wally Harper who, having found himself 43 points down on the green persevered for a while before an in-off on the green finally sunk any hopes of a comeback.

Things then got even better for the visitors as Fred Harper's in-off jinx struck again to give Phil Davis the opportunity for a 69-38 victory as Maddocks moved into a 3-0 lead.

Shifnal's Nev Whitehead then restored a glimmer of hope for his team when he outpointed Leigh France 49-19 with a 24 break before the final frame saw the two Dave's come face to face as Shifnal's "Houdini" Dave Peplow took on visiting captain Dave France.

An exciting and tense frame saw the Maddocks man lead by just eight points on the final three colours but the "Pep" called on all of his resourses and his escapology act to sink all three to complete a close 55-50 victory, leaving the home side happy to have rescued two valuable points in their fight to stave off relegation.

DIVISION 2

Hadley A maintained their unbeaten run with an emphatic 4-1 defeat of Pot Black A.

Andy O'Brien and Steve Hoof took the first two frames for the champions elect as they got the better of Mike Thompson and then Dave Welsh to put the away side well and truly in the driving seat.

The Pot Black side replied magnificently through Tom Firmstone though as the Oakengates player took the next frame against Hadley captain Dave France to give his side some hope.

Neil Robinson came close in the next for Pot Black but couldn't prevent Ali Jones scraping home 54-44 and with John Squire taking the last 35-14 over Tony Hall Hadley returned home with their hundred percent record still intact and indeed now look all set to clinch the title mathematically next week.

Match of the day in this division was undoubtably the clash between second placed Little Dawley A and Coddon A who started the day just a point behind their opponents in third spot.

As expected this was a keenly fought contest, and this was demonstrated as early as the first frame when both Richie Heighway and Bob Dando knocked in breaks of 24 before Richie took the frame on the final black to give Little Dawley the lead.

Jesse Lowe then doubled the home side's advantage with a 65-27 win over Steve Downs before Nick Pearce replied for the visitors with a super win over Ray Clements.

Ade Henry then restored the home side's two frame lead leaving Rick Cousins to complete an important win for his team with a brilliant 66-39 success over Phil Szklarzewicz.

Billiard Hall E, unlucky to miss out on promotion last term, are still in with a shout this year after a fine 4-1 success over Newport British Legion A sees them move into third place, just two points behind the Little Dawley side.

Alan Turner gave the Wellington side the perfect start as he got the better of Colin Farge by 65 points to 34 to put his side in front.

Chris Morris then made it 2-0 - but only just, as he took the next by a single point against the unlucky Ivor Hellyar.

The home side then increased their lead still further thanks to Mick Hughes' 55-37 success over Welsh Wizard Paul Jones before Matt Bothwell stopped the rot by taking the next for Newport against Ray Evans.

Although with Nigel Stallard securing a 52-41 win over Simon Thornley in the final frame, the Newport side's hopes of moving up a division this year have now surely faded.

Shifnal B are still in striking distance of second place though after a 3-2 home win over Maddocks C keeps them five points off the pace - although with the games now rapidly running out this may prove too big a gap to bridge.

Emlyn Watts set the ball rolling with a fine 49-15 win over D Thomas and things looked bright for the Memorial men as they took the next two frames too to open up a 3-0 lead.

Rich Whitehead played brilliantly to make it 2-0 with a 74-41 win over Mark Finucane before Steve Nolan's 85-40 defeat of Billy Rushton put the home side firmly in control.

Graham Hoof was in no mood however to see his side fall further behind as his 50-34 success over John Jones put Maddocks on the scoreboard before Joe Oliver took the last frame for the visitors as well against Danny Bedworth to leave the home side content with a 3-2 win which keeps them in the chase for promotion to Division 1.

Bayley C were disappointed to return home from the basement battle with Anstice B with just a solitary point to their name as the Madeley side have now moved up to third from bottom - one place and six points ahead of the Bayley who now look likely candidates for relegation to Division 3 along with Coddon C who lie bottom a further 3 points behind the Wellington side.

Danny Weaver gave the Anstice the early lead as he got the better of Mike Healy 65-25 only for John Bethell Trophy finalist Jim Lewis to equalise with a stunning 51-43 success against former individual champion Adam Moore.

Pete McCleary soon restored the home side's lead however as he cruised to victory over Darren Rhoades and things got even better for the Anstice as S Smallwood beat Pete Woodcock 62-31 for a 3-1 lead.

And with George Hammond wrapping things up nicely for the Madeley side with a 70-30 final frame win over Bayley captain Ian Johnson, the Anstice now seem certain to retain their Division 2 status for another season.

STEVE FLETCHER    

Steve.Fletcher@telfordsnooker.com

Return To Top