Little Dawley C's 4-1 win over second placed Hills Lane B may have left them sitting pretty at the top of the Telford Snooker League third division table - but the battle for the runners-up spot is anything but a foregone conclusion with just four points separating the next eight teams.

Despite their defeat, Hills Lane B still hold on to second place - a point ahead of both Little Dawley G and Maddocks B who had mixed fortunes last week. The Little Dawley outfit took all five points against lowly Bayley C whilst Maddocks B fell to 3-2 reverse at home to fellow promotion hopefuls Bayley D.

But it is Little Dawley C who continue to look the likeliest contenders for the third division title after a superb performance against their closest rivals, Hills Lane B.

Mike King set them on their way with a fine 60-46 win over Hills Lane captain Kev Davis. Lee Drinkwater's black ball finish against Lee Harris made it 2-0 before Steve Powell pulled a frame back for the visitors with a 54-29 win over Steve Farrington.

Byron Mitchell restored Little Dawley's two frame advantage with a 23 break in his 62-59 black ball win over Richie Jones before Lee Elcock sealed a fine win for the home side by taking the final frame 67-15 from Steve Weaver.

And there may be two Little Dawley teams promoted to the second division come the end of the season if Little Dawley G maintain their current form. They followed a fine win over first division Bayley A in the cup the week before by taking all five points on offer against Bayley C.

It took 14 matches for Bayley C to succumb to their first 5-0 defeat of the season, but only one week to repeat the feat, when they were convincingly outpointed by their hosts.

With several key performers back in the side, the Bayley men were looking to turn their recent form around. However the writing was on the wall early on when Gary Clifford got the better of Craig Johnson on the pink to secure the first chalk for Little Dawley.

Ray Leneveu then proceeded to pot his way to victory over Mick Healey as he took the next frame by74 points to 23. The Dawley man looked on course for a crack at the divisional highest break with several reds spread enticingly around the pink and black, only for to sadly falter on 22.

Graham Copson went one black better with a run of 27 in his win over Les Frances to keep his hopes of taking the Division 3 averages on course.

The best chance the visitors had of taking a frame went to Jim Lewis who came back well against Gary Clements only to watch the home player sink a long black to snatch the frame 51-49.

Dave Leneveu then wrapped up a solid team performance by taking the fifth frame over Pete Woodcock 53-30, to send the Wellington lads back home with nothing to show for their efforts.

Without a point from their last 2 matches, the Bayley must surely be looking anxiously over their shoulders and wondering if their first taste of division 3 snooker will be served upon the league's wooden spoon?

Maddocks B join Little Dawley G in joint third place after suffering a 3-2 defeat at home to Bayley D.

Having put out last season's runners-up Wellington Billiard Hall A in the cup last week, the Bayley side were clearly in fine fettle - a point emphasised by Darren Rhoades's 62-40 win over veteran Les Hicks.

John Archer levelled for Maddocks by taking the next 67-36 from Brian Aberdeen only for Dave Williams to restore the visitor's lead against Doug Morrey.

Steve Pritchard drew Maddocks level once more with a fine 55-46 win over captain not-so-courageous Steve Lane. But with Dave Dudley proving as solid as ever as anchor man for the Bayley, the visitors ran out 3-2 winners thanks to Dave's 58-37 victory over Geoff Tudor in the last frame of the evening.

The Bayley side are now one of three sides on 39 points and will be thankful that the other two sides level with them both fell to 3-2 defeats.

Anstice C lost at home to Wellington Billiard Hall F whereas Bayley B fell to their eighth defeat of the season at home to Maddocks D.

Anstice will nonetheless be happy with two points after falling three frames behind as they entertained the Billiard Hall's F team. Rob Cook and captain Chris Durham set the tone by putting Billiard Hall two up early on. Chris Fletcher added to their total with a close 57-47 win over Kevin Smith only for the home side to respond through Jason Mills' s 66-64 black ball triumph over Steve Williams.
Steve Camp then made the final score more respectable with a 30 break on the way to a 76-33 success over Steven Weatherall.

Bayley B also have 39 points after falling to a 3-2 defeat at home to Maddocks D.

Brendan Wincott gave the visitors just the start they were looking for by taking the opening frame against young Danny Oliver. The only lady player in the league, Christine Eldridge, potted some lovely long pots early on but couldn't prevent Paul Easthope levelling for the Bayley with a frame score of 59 points to 32.

Ken Davies then put Maddocks in front for the second time with a fine 58-20 success over the hard-to-beat Dicky Beddall only for home captain Bob Tracy to force the decider with a 56-28 win over Roy Adams.

And the decisive frame couldn't have been tighter as Roy Lowe sank the final black for a 48-44 win over Robin Sturmey to seal a 3-2 win for Maddocks.

Newport British Legion celebrated only their second win of the season after a brilliant 3-2 home win against Wellington Billiard Hall B.

John Yapp won the crucial first frame with a 64-27 winning margin against Ken Francis and although Kev Whitehead replied for the visitors Andy Davies put Newport in front again with a 54-29 success over Iain Atkinson.

Manjit Gidda then sealed victory for the Legion with a 59-39 win against Gareth Hughes and although Allen Francis got the better of Mike Doverskog in the last, it was Newport who left happy with their second win safely in the bag.

DIVISION 1

Reigning first division champions Hills Lane A will be keen to take a look at the league table after both they, and second placed Coddon A recorded 4-1 wins. That means that the Madeley side remain 6 points clear of their Donnington rivals with both teams due to face each other in next weeks' fixtures.

Indeed, the league table can now be viewed on the Telford Snooker League's new web site at www.telfordsnooker.com. Wellington Billiard Hall player John Tranter has done a fabulous job designing the new site and although many areas are still under construction it is well worth logging onto.

Hills Lane captain Ian Duffy looks likely to be lifting the League Trophy for yet another season, and it was Ian who set the scene for his side's fourteenth win in fifteen matches with a 66-42 success over Paul Smith.

Shaun Harris kept up his chase for the most wins trophy with a 60-26 triumph over Steve Collins before Matt Bailey made it 3-0 by taking the next 57-39 from Jon Wright.

A crucial miss on the brown proved costly for Tim Hicks as Keith West took frame four on the black only for Darren Pountney to complete a 4-1 win for the Madeley team with a 57-41 score over Paul Devey.

Bob Mason produced some of his best form for Bayley A as they entertained second place Coddon A. The Bayley player found himself some 20 points in the lead with just the colours remaining - however a well judged snooker from his opponent Darren Weston, proved pivotal as Bob was called for a miss four times before eventually losing out on the blue by 68 points to 45.

Former County Champion Zenon Lembicz may have been playing his first game at the Bayley for several years, but it didn't stop him taking the second frame against Arthur Burrows to double Coddon's advantage. Dave Lloyd rattled in a couple of 20 plus breaks to deny Steve Nicholls, who also notched a run of 28 before a polished display of potting from Ade Smith made it 4-0 with a resounding victory over Chris Morgan-Adams.

Only a vital fluke on the last red allowed Steve Fletcher to take the final frame for the Bayley against Lee Szklarzewicz as Coddon ran out worthy 4-1 winners.

That defeat leaves the Bayley second from bottom with 28 points - level with Dawley A who emerged pointless from their home clash with Anstice A.

As a consequence, the Madeley side are now six points behind Coddon in third place and they took the lead when Mick Cahill beat Barry Roden 68-32.

Phil Reynolds and Nick Oakley, the latter with a 28 break, made it 3-0 to the visitors before Keith Price emphasised his side's intentions with a 48 break to take the fourth frame against Rick Bailey by 75 points to 31.

Brother, Neil Price sealed a fine win by claiming the final frame from Chris Woods to leave Dawley fighting for their first division survival along with bottom of the table Bayley E.

Their 4-1 defeat at Maddocks A sees them three points adrift of both Dawley and Bayley A with Little Dawley A a further point to the good.

Wellington Billiard Hall A have no such worries however - especially after defeating Shifnal A by three frames to two.

John Fallows missed a vital pink to give Ian Eldridge just the chance he needed to take the first frame for the Billiard Hall on the black.

Linsay Knox then raced into an early lead against Alan Turner. Linsay looked certain to threaten the highest league break only to call himself for a foul when his break stood at 51. Alan duly replied with a 30 break of his own only for the Shifnal player to eventually take the frame 67-54 to level the match at one frame apiece.

Andy Easthope then put Shifnal in front with a narrow 2 point victory over his namesake Andy Kendrick before Graham Darrall levelled matters once more with a 57-28 win over Roy Martin.

And with Nigel Fletcher knocking in a superb 61 break to deny Simon Biddulph the Billiard Hall left for home with three well earned points.

DIVISION 2

It's also tight at the top of Division 2 with only four points separating the top four teams.

And things are looking good for the Shifnal War Memorial Club as the two of their three sides in this division feature prominently in the promotion race.

Shifnal E may be top of the table at the moment, but they had to fight all the way against an Anstice B side fighting for their second division survival.

Aaron Sparkes gave them the lead against Bill Watson only for the in-form Nigel Wallcroft to produce a fine array of potting to level the scores against Chris Petford.

Jeff Sparkes won a close third frame to give Shifnal the lead. His 60-52 success over Stuart Wimbush made it 2-1 to the home side - and Shifnal were pleased to have "Rocket" Rob Wright to call on in the next frame. The League's top referee is no slouch either when it comes to playing the game and he recorded his fourteenth win of the season with a 50-13 win over John Darrock to secure his side's twelfth win of the campaign.

However it was the visitors who had the last laugh with former League Secretary George Hammond stealing the final frame on the black against Fred Harper to secure a second - and much needed point - for the visitors.

Shifnal F did their promotion hopes a power of good by returning from Wellington Billiard Hall X with all five points in the bag.

Spencer Rowley's 28 break was enough to take the first frame against Ammn Ali 63-15. Wally Harper also came up with the goods when he took the next frame for Shifnal by 58 points to 20 against Bsmo Alyas.

Nev Whitehead then made the match safe by defeating Dabbs Shadab 90-44. Breaks of 32 and 22 gave Nev a commanding lead on the colours - and although the Wellington man obtained the two snookers he needed on the green he could not stop the League President clearing up from the brown.

Dave Peplow put together breaks of 30 and 22 against Manajid Shabar to put the home side four frames up and then once again lack of players forced the X team to concede the last frame to Brian Painter.

That result maintains the F side's push for promotion and they are now in second place - only a point behind Shifnal E but with a game in hand.

Coddon B also celebrated a 5-0 win when they travelled to Newport to play Audco A. Andy Jones won a close opening frame by 46 points to 34 against Paul Smith and the next two frames were also quite close with Mark Wall defeating Andy Heathcote 64-45 and Nick Pearce edging out Ray Hendy 54-43.

Steve downs then made it 4-0 leaving Phil Szklarzewicz to wrap up all five points with a final frame victory over Chris Austin which leaves the Donnington side handily placed in third spot, two points off the lead.

Wellington Billiard Hall E drop one place to fourth after a narrow 3-2 win away at Pot Black A.

Ray Evans's close 55-41 win over Toby Welsh gave the Wellington side their early lead and Paul Wilkes followed suit to make it 2-0 with a 67-36 win over Neil Robinson.

Tom Firmstone replied for Pot Black by taking frame three by 62 points to 43 against John Powell only for Chris Morris to restore the Billiard Hall's two-frame lead with victory over Dave Welsh.

However, Mike Thompson's black ball win over Nigel Stallard could prove crucial for both the Billiard Hall and Pot Black come the end of the season, as the Oakengates side battle to preserve their second division status.

Pot Black are now level on points with Anstice C with both teams four points ahead of bottom-of-the-table Shifnal D.

Like Pot Black, Shifnal D will have been pleased to have returned from Wellington Billiard Hall C with two points - especially as the Wellington side are in fifth place on 47 points - six points behind the leaders and with a game in hand.

Things started brightly for the Billiard Hall too when Dave Blagborough knocked in a brilliant 38 break to take the opening frame from Geoff French.

Terry Askew drew Shifnal level with a fine 52-33 win over John Rawlins before Alex Turnbull put the home side back in front with a 27 break against Steve Morse.

Mick Smith's 62-33 defeat of Wayne Week's restored parity once more only for the Billiard Hall to take the match by the narrowest of margins when Paul Lucas sank the final black for a 64-63 deciding frame victory over Sanjay Chauhan.

Sef Tusel was another player to prove to be a match winner when he took the final frame for Coddon C to secure a 3-2 win over Maddocks C.

Sef used all his experience to carve out a 74-39 deciding frame win over Billy Rushton to complete a fine comeback after his Coddon C side had found themselves two frames down early on.

Joe Oliver's 25 break had secured the opening frame for Maddocks as he beat Ray Whitehead 56-28 and the visitors then extended their lead as Jim Hill produced a great performance against Matt Bothwell.

But the Donnington side were not to be denied as first Don Bayliss beat Geoff Hoof and then Fraser MacKinnon defeated Dave Thomas 53-31 to set up the decider.

STEVE FLETCHER    

Steve.Fletcher@telfordsnooker.com

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