Div. One.

Highfliers Hadley A faced their toughest test of the season to date with a home match up against previous multiple champions Shifnal B. Mick Hughes got one on the board for the home side putting in a vintage performance to outgun John Fallows. Surely Shifnal would level the match with County and England man Mat Davies up next but what followed was a truly mesmerising edge of the seat frame against Steve Clayton. Hadley’s Steve took every advantage possible leaving him needing just the pink to win the game and put him on a very short list of Mat’s conquerors but Mat showed his class as he potted a long pink and left himself perfectly on the black to snatch victory. Another vintage performance from Graham Darrall of Hadley saw him pot a long black to overcome Aaron Sparkes before Angus Way levelled it for Shifnal in the fourth. The decider was yet another close encounter with Simon Biddulph making a rare appearance for the away side but it was John Williams who won another black ball game to seal a fourth win from five this season for the Hadley Side. This is by far the best start to a season the Hadley boys have ever made but with plenty of tough matches to come it will be a very interesting season.

Div. Three.

I’ve never heard of rain affecting play in a snooker match before but tonight was the exception. When the heavens opened over the Polish national stadium the previous evening and the England game was postponed to the following day the result was inevitable. A 4 o’clock kick off followed by an 8pm break off shot is never a good combination! Tug, Tony, Paul and Dan all succumbed to the devil juice with only stalwart Al Frances earning the Z men a point. It could have been so much better but as usual the lads will take the result with a pinch of salt ….. a slice of lime and a shot of tequila!

Shifnal were a man down so Arthur Aston stepped in for his first game in a long time. Unfortunately matched against Dave Lloyd, who knocked in a nice 28 to take the first frame. Mark Hebden equalised against Dave Lloyd Jnr, who started well, but Mark scored heavily from mid frame to run out comfortably. Brian McMillan played Paddy Kershaw third, neither potted well, but there was lots of good safety. Brian had more of the run of the balls and took the frame on the colours eventually. The next frame saw an improvement in the scoring with Terry Askew scoring well against Gary Owen. Both players were unbeaten this season and Terrys run maintained as Shifnal took the win. Chris Cotterill won the last frame against an out of sorts Geoff French, who also loses his unbeaten run this season. 3 - 2 to Shifnal, but 2nd Club are no mugs and will take some beating this season.