They’ve done it again! Anstice A have retained the Telford Snooker League (sponsored by Romeo & Juliets) first division title after a 4-1 win at Bayley E put them a massive 12 points clear of second-placed Maddocks A who suffered a rare defeat at home to Little Dawley A.

Captain Ian Duffy celebrated reaching the final of the Chris Ward individual the night before by rattling in a 40 break against Andy O’Brien as the league leaders went ahead.

Neil Price’s 67-38 win over Martin Watkins made it 2-0 to the Anstice and they continued to pile on the pressure as Keith Price won the third frame with a fine display of potting to deny Karl Owen.

Nick Oakley suffered what was to be only his fourth defeat of the season when he came up against John Squire in the next – the Bayley man running out the winner by 69 points to 47 – but the visitors finished in style with Noel Stones comfortably seeing off the challenge of David France to leave Anstice 4-1 winners.

Maddocks A have had a fine season this time around and are now certain of runners-up spot despite losing for only the fifth time this year when they entertained Little Dawley A in a high-quality encounter.

Lee Elcock won a tense opener by the narrowest of margins as he edged out Ian Eldridge on the final black 61-60 before Darren Pountney put Little Dawley two up by beating Phil Davis 64-42.

Maddocks hit back through the in-form Darren Wincott. Darren reached his first final of the Chris Ward Individual earlier in the week and took that form into his league match, knocking in a delightful 57 break against Ade Henry to bring Maddocks back into the match.

Ian Skelton then weighed in with a superb 60 break to deny Richie Heighway but Maddocks’ comeback was cut short when the ever-dependable Jesse Lowe gave Leigh France little chance in the decider as he took the frame 64-19 to secure his side’s ninth win of the season.

Last season’s runners-up Broseley stay third after coming from behind to beat Shifnal A by the odd frame.

Carl Walker gave them the lead by beating Chris Painter 62-38 but the visitors hit back strongly with Linsay Knox producing the snooker we all know he is capable of as he got the better of Richie Hulme 64-29 before Simon Biddulph defeated Paul Humphries to put Shifnal 2-1 up.

Shifnal looked as though they might extend their lead when Angus Way opened up an early 20 point lead on Mick Brezwyn only for the Broseley man to find his form with a super run of 41 to draw his side level.

And with Simon McLeod in equally impressive form, compiling a 30 break in his deciding frame victory over Roy Martin, the Broseley side completed a 3-2 win which sees them in third spot, two points ahead of their opponents.

At the other end of the table, already relegated Shifnal B went on the offensive against a Minnesota Fats side who had been well placed to challenge for honours earlier in the season.

The Shifnal lads decided to pot anything and everything – and it seemed to work for most of them as they came up trumps with a 3-2 victory.

M Shadab was one of those it didn’t quite come off for though as Paul Devey proved too strong on the night as he gave the home side the lead with a 71-20 opening frame win.

Ray Evans then fired them in from all angles as he beat Steve Collins 51-17 and John Powell was equally impressive for Shifnal as he gave Jamie Morris little chance in the next.

A 60-26 win for A Ali over Kev West ensured the visitors would leave having recorded their fourth win of the season and they had hoped they may have left with four points rather than three as Competitions Secretary Nigel Stallard took to the table to play Jon Wright.

However it wasn’t to be as Nigel twice fell victim to the night’s football match – missing vital blacks as the cheer went up for first Chelsea and then Arsenal as the match was relayed in the hall.

It’s not yet certain who will join Shifnal B in Division Two next season as two of the candidates for relegation fought out a close encounter at the Anstice club last week.

The Madeley side’s D team find themselves in the unenviable position of lying second from bottom with just one game remaining – although they kept alive their hopes of survival with a spirited 3-2 victory over in-form Wellington Billiard Hall A.

Darren Wilkie led the way with a 22 break as he took the first frame on the black against Graham Darrell.

A 44 break saw Adam Moore safely home against Andy Kendrick as the home side opened up an early 2-0 lead.

League Secretary Alan Turner stemmed the tide by taking the next by 46 points to 27 against Andy Elliott only for Phil Reynolds to restore Anstice’s two-frame advantage with a 23 break against Alex Turnbull.

However John Ralwins won what could prove to be a vital final frame for the Billiard Hall as he beat Nigel Wallcroft 62-35 to leave the Billiard Hall fourth from bottom and four points ahead of the Anstice.

DIVISION 2

In Division 2 Coddon B took a step closer to gaining promotion to the top flight when they edged out Little Dawley G by the odd frame to leave themselves two points clear of both Bayley A and Dawley A - although with Dawley’s result not yet in they still have any points gained from last week’s match to be added to their total.

Simon Yeats gave the Donnington side the perfect start when he beat Roy Vickery 53-20 and things continued to go the visitor’s way when Mark Wall defeated Roy Leneveu 57-30.

However their progress was halted temporarily when Terry Hill edged out Andy Jones 52-39 only for Steve Downs to restore his side’s two-frame lead by beating Darren Leneveu.

But the home side had the final say with Graham Copson taking the final frame of the evening with a 24 break against Phil Szklarzewicz to leave Coddon the victors by three frames to two.

Bayley A really needed to take more than the three points they managed against Maddocks B if they were going to improve their slender hopes of returning to Division 1.

Shrewsbury Town fan Steve Fletcher took the opening frame for the visitors against Nigel White before another Town supporter (yes that’s two in the same room) produced a brilliant comeback for Maddocks.

Doug Morrey found himself some 30 points adrift of Chris Morgan-Adams but produced a superb comeback to take the frame on the black to level the scores.

Wally Harper’s 65-24 defeat of Spencer Rowley put the home side in front only for Bob Mason to level the scores with a brilliant performance against John Archer.

Steve Nicholls then took on Tony O’Neil, knowing that he had to win the final frame for the Bayley if he was to keep his side’s promotion hopes alive – and he duly did so in fine style to leave the Wellington side two points behind Coddon B.

Fourth-placed Maddocks C enjoyed a rare 4-1 win away from home at the expense of Anstice C. Nev Whitehead took their first scalp as he beat Colin Westwood to give Maddocks the early advantage.

Madeley man Ken Smith then evened matters when he defeated Colin Smith 58-37 only for the visitors to go back in front as Iron man Dave Thomas won the third frame 52-22 against Steve Camp.

Bill Rushton then claimed what was to prove the winning frame for Maddocks as he beat Mick Musgrove 44-30.

Big Bill has not enjoyed much success this season and he was behind all the way to the brown but then found another gear to take the last three balls to put Maddocks 3-1 up.

Jim Hill was then inspired and clocked up a 38 break to win the last frame from Dave Harper to complete a fine win for the visitors.

Dawley B enjoyed similar success as they too dropped just one frame from their game with Wellington Billiard Hall B.

It could have been different though as the first frame was only settled on a re-spotted black. Dawley man Kev Jones held his nerve to sink the final ball for a 57-50 winning margin over Sean Parks to give Dawley the lead.

The next frame was also a close affair – and it too went Dawley’s way – with Barry Roden edging out Wayne Weeks 45-33 to put the home side two up.

Don Pugh wasted little time in extending that lead as he took the next against James Price with a stylish display and the Billiard Hall must have wondered what had hit them as Alex Jones made it 4-0 with a 49-25 win over Craig Davies.

However the visitors did have some joy as Aaron O’Donnell knocked in a run of 28 on the way to sealing a 59-50 final frame win over Steve Hewitt.

DIVISION 3

It’s all set for a title showdown next week after Bayley F’ s 4-1 win at Wellington Billiard Hall B saw them take over at the top of the table – one point ahead of Maddocks D who suffered a rare defeat against Minnesota Fats C.

And with Maddocks and Bayley playing each other in the title-decider next week it couldn’t be closer.

Young Tom Maxfield gave the Bayley boys the perfect start when he defeated Gareth Hughes 57-34 to put his side ahead.

Kev Whitehead doesn’t lose many frames and he still heads the averages for this division after beating Chris Shaw 63-27 to level the match at one frame all.

Eddie Whitehead’s 57-38 success over Danny Francis restored the Bayley’s lead and they never looked back with Paul Maxfield beating Alan Francis and Andy Summers rounding things off with a good final frame showing against Iain Atkinson.

The Bayley side appear to have hit form just at the right time – but they will have to be one their mettle next week if they are to lift the title as a 3-2 win for Maddocks D would see them crowned as Champions as they have won more matches.

The Oakengates side will have been disappointed to have lost their place at the top of the table having held that position for most of the season – but in the end they will have been pleased to have come away from Minnesota Fats C with two points after a hard-fought encounter.

Mick Wincott gave them the lead, slotting home the final black for a 47-43 win over Bob Lane. Another black ball frame went Minnesota’s way as Tom Firmstone defeated Ken Davies 44-39 and the home side took the lead when Dave Welsh beat Mick Lucas 44-34.

Toby Welsh made it 3-1 to the home side with a good win over Brendan Wincott only for Fred Spragg to salvage what could prove to be a vital second point for Maddocks with a 63-30 triumph over Neil Robinson.

Bayley D’s slim hopes of moving up a division petered out as they were beaten 4-1 away at Newport British Legion B.

Nigel Simpson’s narrow 40-32 win over visiting captain Darren Rhoades set the scene for possibly Newport’s best performance of the season.

Manjit Gidda’s 51-50 black ball win over Craig Whitehead made it 2-0 and another close frame went the home side’s way when Alan Davies got the better of Dave Williams 43-30 to put them into a commanding three frame lead.

Brian Aberdeen’s 49-36 success over Mike Doverskog proved scant consolation for the Bayley as Les Stirling completed a superb win for Newport by beating Dave Dudley in the last frame of the evening.

Stew Wimbush gave Anstice B the lead as his side move up to fourth on the back of a good 3-2 win at Bayley B who won both of their frames on the last black.

Stew’s 66-30 victory over Danny Oliver was cancelled out by Chris Haycox who beat John Darrock in a black ball finish

Mick Cahill was in devastating form for the Madeley side as he put them in front again and they moved into an unassailable 3-1 lead courtesy of George Hammond’s 47-19 defeat of Alan Wheatley.

Dickie Oliver salvaged another point for the Bayley when he edged out Billy Watson 50-48 to leave the visitors victorious by the odd frame.

Wellington Billiard Hall F will be wishing they had started the season in the kind of form they have been showing of late. They duly dispatched bottom of the table Hadley A by winning all five frames last week and move into fifth spot as a result.

Had their early season form been anything like their current form they would surely have been up their challenging for honours. As it is they look to be in good shape for next season as Chris Bates and Pete Smith showed by winning the first two frames against Andy Barnett and Shane Dicken respectively.

Steve Weatherall and Chris Fletcher signed off with similarly good victories before they jetted of to Peru in search of Paddington Bear – and for Hadley it was the cupboard that was “bear” as Rob Cook completed the whitewash with a 65-24 final frame win over Dave Barnett Senior.

Second from bottom Shifnal D completed their penultimate match of the season in winning mood as they completed their sixth win of the season with a 3-2 success over Little Dawley B.

Garry Clements gave the visitors the lead, beating Ivor Peplow 40-22 but the home side responded magnificently with Terry Askew levelling matters with a 68-46 win over Phil Cottey.

A 21 break from Sanjay Chauhan secured the next frame too for Shifnal as he edged out Tom Wotherspon by 55 points to 39 only for Little Dawley to draw level again through James Evans’ 42-33 defeat of Geoff French.

However Barrie Easthope was in heroic form for Shifnal to take the deciding frame 67-43 from Craig Darrock to complete a fine win for his side.

STEVE FLETCHER    

Steve.Fletcher@telfordsnooker.com

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