Maddocks A are having a great season so far this year, and this week they top the table after visiting the Shifnal F side. John Briscoe for Shifnal started the match, with his opponent, Phil Davis from Maddocks winning the first frame quite comfortably, 67-17. The next frame was between Ian Eldridge and Rob Wright, and after Ian’s first defeat of the season last week, that had not affected Ian’s form what so ever, as he compiled breaks of 41 and 29 in his 102-9 defeat of Rob. Roy Martin suffered the same fate against Ian Skelton and in the next frame , it was much the same with Leigh France making it 4-0 for Maddocks, when he played Chris Petford. In the last frame, Spencer Rowley will be relieved to win only the second frame of this campaign, albeit, only just, when he got the better of Dave France, 54-42.

Anstice A look to be a more vulnerable team this season, and that was portrayed in the result between then selves and the struggling Bayley E team. One of the hardest players to beat in the league, Ian Duffy, opened the match against D. Beyer, and it was Ian who won this frame to put his side 1-0 up. Keith Price was up next and he found Ali Jones to be a tough opponent, and it was Ali who took this frame just, 53-40,so a small blip for the Anstice team, or was it? Keith’s brother came to the table next, and he was pitched against John Squire. John, a very capable player, took this frame from Neil to give the Bayley side a 2-1 lead. Adam Moore made no mistake with his victory over Dave France, but in the last frame, although suffering a defeat last week, Simon Yeats won the match for Anstice, when he beat Andy O’Brien.

For the second week running Maddock's C experienced a 4-1 defeat , this time at the hands of last seasons champions Shifnal B . In a low scoring first frame Aaron Sparkes , with some excellent safety play , stopped Steve Hassack from really getting into the game , eventually taking the pink to win 43-32 . Up next was Graham Hoof against Matt Davies , a player who would not have been out of place at the Telford International Centre this week . Matt , as is usual did not give his opponent much of a chance and with breaks of 47 and 22 ran out an easy winner 102-9 . Darren Wilkie , playing much better this season then put a point on the board for the home side with a good victory over Angus Way 57-24 . The fourth frame between Joe Oliver and Linsay Knox was very close until with 2 points the difference and 3 colours left Linsay potted a tremendous blue down the side cushion and left himself perfect on the pink to take the frame 53-40 . Ian Cleary started the final frame very well with a break of 22 before John Fallows got into his stride , and with an excellent break of 51 won by 71-26 to round off a good result for the Shifnal lads and keep them in contention to retain their title .

This report courtesy of Joe Oliver.

Broseley A are in fourth position in this weeks table, but have a lot to do to catch up with the leaders. It’s very pleasing to see that this years title is not a one horse race, and Broseley, I’m sure, will be challenging again when they get a settled side. In this weeks match Broseley were at home to Dawley A, and in the opening frame it was Neil Caswell to play Carl Walker. I am assuming that this is Carl walker who used to play for Broseley, but no doubt some one will enlighten me on this point. However, it was Carl who took the first frame, and having a 39 break during the course of the frame. The next frame saw Mick Brezwyn, ever dependable, taking the point when he played Pete Nolan. Rob Dubicki, who entered the highest breaks table last week, continued in good form when he beat Mark Jones 79-27. Simon Mccloud enjoyed a 50 break in his frame with Andy Garbett to make it 3-1 for Broseley. In the last frame, John Banks played Sean Nolan, and it was Sean who took this frame to record a respectable match result!.

Second Division

Bayley F were drawn at home to the Second Club A side this week, and it was the Bayley side who took an early, unexpected lead. Phil Whitby who had lost his previous four frames was matched with Ian Ferriday, not the easiest of draws at any time, but Phil kept his head down and played really well to get the Bayley the first point on the board. Andy Kendrick in the next was masterful in his win over Toby Welsh, and as always, a pleasure to watch in action. Let’s hope there aren’t too many transfer requests in the close season! Alan Turner had a difficult frame with Neil Robinson in the third, and Neil actually gifted the frame to Alan in the end, fluffing a couple of chances that he normally wouldn’t miss. Mick Hughes changed cues this week, and taking nothing from Bob Lanes win, we all suggested he should cut a couple of inches of the cue, so that he could get it in the dustbin easier! The last frame saw Graham Darrell overcome all the odds to win his frame, when at times it looked to be going so well. In the end this was a tough frame when he played Dave Welsh, and fortunately, Graham never lost his impetus, and came out the winner. Will this be Bayley F’s year for promotion? Looking good at the moment!

Coddon C are mid table, and this week they played Bayley B who did so well last year without making the top flight. Bayley B are joint second in the table with early leaders, Min Fats A. Coddon C are holding their own so to speak, but they found the Bayley side too much to handle in this weeks match. Daniel Ballard lost out to Tom Mulholland in the first frame for Bayley to take the lead, but in the next, Mark Tusel had a good win over Craig Baugh. Ollie Wall for Coddon was up next, and he was beaten by Danny Oliver who had a 22 break during the frame. Garry Owen then lost out to Danny’s dad, 42-17, and that gave the visitors a 3-2 lead. It was a very close affair in the final frame with Matt Bothwell taking on Kev West, but in the end it was Kev who won the frame to give his side a 4-1 victory.

Minnesota Fats A are joint second in the table, and this week they played the L.D.S. C side. Neil Pearson got the home side off to a good start when he beat Joe Rixom in the opening frame. Aaron O’Donnell continued in the same mode with an easy win over Peter Randall. John Calvert hit back for the Dawley side with a win over Mick Pearson to make the overall score 2-1 to Min Fats. The match was decided in the next frame when Dave Blagborough defeated Carl Kesterton for the home side to go 3-1 up. In a tight frame in the last, it was Gary Wall for the Dawley side who the victor, winning 60-48 against Phil Bufton.

Next in the table, Maddocks D were at home to the Shifnal A side. Although it was a close in the first frame of the evening it was Maj Illyas for the home side who gave the lead to his team mates when he beat Ian Postins. Ian Courtney added the second for Maddocks with a win over Chris Crooks. Cheryl Caswell was next up for Maddocks, but she met an in form Gaz Lloyd who made a 27 break on his way to winning this frame. Roy Lowe also lost out to Shifnal’s T. Lloyd, maybe on the black ball, although not stated. With the match won, Fred Spragg saved face for the Maddocks side in yet another close frame as he went on to beat Mark Jones.

Dawley B and Maddocks D B, both at the wrong end of the table met at the Dawley venue, and it was the Dawley team who made the most headway in this match. Grant Heighway beat Wally Harper in the first, to put his team one up, but the evergreen Doug Morrey, playing so well this season, levelled the scores when he played Barry Roden. Nigel Brazenhall regained the lead for the Dawley side with his win over John Archer, and Wayne Weeks made the match safe for the home side when he played Geoff Tudor. Liam Goodman made it a 4-1 win for the Dawley side when he was pitched against Roy Adams, this result moves Dawley , to third from bottom.

Third Division

Hadley B are now 12 points clear in this division, and look set to win this division with probably the highest amount of points ever achieved! Ken Booty had a 34 in his 71-1 demolition of Terry Brentnall, and all the rest of Hadley B were comfortable winners. At least with the new play offs in place for this season, there will still be a chance of promotion for the chasing pack.

LDS B are in second spot, and they played the other Hadley side, Hadley A. Richie Heighway won the first playing Roy Francis, and Sam drake for the Dawley side added the next in his frame with Richard Benting. Hadley A got a grip of the game at this stage, and in the next it was Tony Morgan for the Hadley side who started the revival with a 53-34 victory over Mark Randall. Iain Atkinson, unusually so, went on in fourth place, and he gained a win over Colin Gittus to make it two all. A very exciting finish in the decider with Allen Francis pitched against Pete Clarke. The score line in this frame was 48 to Allen and 47 to Pete, thereby giving Hadley the away win.

After this weeks match between Bayley D and Anstice B, both teams are locked on equal spot in this division. It was the Bayley side who hosted Anstice, and in the first frame of this match, Mark Bedall came up against an in form Noel Stones, who had a 44 break during the match, and came out an easy winner. Brian Aberdeen for the Bayley then levelled the match getting the better of Steve Smallwood. A close frame ensued with Dave Williams overcoming George Hammond 56-42. Mick Cahill for the Anstice won the next frame with Jim Lewis on the receiving end of that one, and that set up a decider between Dave Dudley and Billy Watson. Dave won this one comfortably to give his team the match win.

Shifnal D are in a glut of teams in mid division with only four points separating the themselves, and second bottom of the table. Shifnal did their cause no good at all this week when they were the home side against Newport B. The away side went into an early lead courtesy of Allan Davies beating Terrie Askew, 50-43. Another point for the away side, this time it was Colin Farge who added the second beating Sanjay Chauhan. The tide turned in the next frame with Shifnal gaining their first, and last point of the evening, and in this one it was Pete Wharton who beat Keith Gardener. Steve Speake won the match for Newport with a win over Arthur Aston, but in the last Geoff French did his best to retrieve another point but just lost out to Richard Goldie, 46-44. So, a good 4-1 result for the away side, Newport B.

Second Club B are rooted to the bottom of the table and are still to win a match. Unfortunately it wasn’t going to be in this fixture as the Trench side, even on home ground went down 4-1 to the improving Bayley club Q team. Chris Coterhill did get the home side off to a good start when he beat Chris Durham, but in the next, Steve Weatherall took the frame from Alan Kynaston. A close frame the next, but it was Bayley again who took the spoils with Chris Bates beating Nick Holmes. This vein continued in the next two frame with Lee Newton recording a 51-12 win over his opponent, Jim Hayward, and Richard Tranter completing the rout, 56-27 over Roger Smith.

Alan Turner    

Alan.Turner@telfordsnooker.com